Category Archives: Church Information

Deep Roots Updates

Deep RootsWe continue to celebrate the success of the Deep Roots Campaign, and we are getting to work.  We are busy getting final bids for projects related to Jacobs Learning Ladder and setting up timelines.  All of the door handles in Jacobs Learning Ladder have now been replaced. This is a small project but an important security procedure, and we’re excited to be moving forward.

In addition we shared our first community gift. On November 7 we delivered a check for $7500 to the International Rescue Committee to support their Youth Initiative.  This new program works with high-school-age refugees who are in newcomer classes in the public schools. The Youth Initiative supports these teenagers so that they can transition to regular classes for credit and earn high school diplomas.

Morning Worship

Bus Tickets and Morning Worship: November 15

Each month Grace distributes bus tickets to people in our community.  This happens on the 15th of the month, or if the 15th is on a weekend we meet the Friday before.  Volunteers and those receiving tickets begin to gather around 6:30 am in the Grace Alcove. Guests are greeted with smiles, coffee, water, and a place to sit. Tickets are distributed at 7:50 am.

We can always use volunteers to help with set-up, clean-up, and ticket distribution.  Want to help?  Contact Kirk Anderson, kirk@mygpc.org or 684-5215.

Yellow Bag Sundays

Yellow Bag Sundays: November

Each month on the first Sunday you’re encouraged to take home a re-usable yellow grocery bag, put some non-perishable items in it, and bring it back the next week, or soon thereafter. In November and December our contributions go to Operation Holiday.  Operation Holiday is a mission of Interfaith Ministries. Operation Holiday expects to serve over 13,000 people this year.

Messy Church

Messy Church: November 11

Messy Church is our once a month interactive worship experience that always ends with free dinner. This year Messy Church happens on the second Sunday of the month at 4:30 pm, and this month it’s November 11. Messy Church is designed with children eight and under in mind, BUT people of all ages are welcome.  It’s a little different each month, but there is always singing, playing, laughing, praying, and Bible story telling.  We wrap up with dinner around 5:30 pm.

In the Image of…Grace Stewardship Season

In the Image of…Grace Stewardship Season

As Christians, we claim that humans are made in God’s image.  What does this mean?  And if it’s true, why do humans do so many things that seem counter to who God is?

In Old Testament times, kings of other nations claimed to be the actual image of God, with the authority of a god. They had idols made of gods for worship.

God’s people were different. God never intended for the people to have kings, and when God finally relented and gave them kings like they asked, it was with the understanding that the kings were not God. Idols were not to be made (though the people had some trouble with that as we see on November 4.)

We don’t think about kings and God as being interchangeable these days, but we do deal with image and idols. In whose image do we shape our lives? God’s or a modified version of God’s image that fits how we want to live?

What and where are the idols we give our allegiance to before God?

During our series “In the Image of…” we look at these questions, and we look at the words “reflect, direct, serve, and grow.”  We reflect God’s image. We direct others to God’s image. We serve in the image of Jesus, and we grow in God’s image.

How we understand in whose image we’re made determines how we live our lives. This fits well with our annual stewardship season.  During stewardship season each of us is asked to consider how we steward all that we are: our time, our talents, and our finances.  Does our stewardship reflect who we understand God to be? Join us as we explore this together.

Photo by Suhyeon Choi on Unsplash