Dear Grace Community,
While technically not a Christian Holiday, Thanksgiving has the feel of a holy day. Many times in the Psalms we hear the words, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. God’s love endures forever.” To set aside a day for giving thanks is a gift. I hope it is that for you.
I am aware that Thanksgiving, or any holiday, can also be hard depending on life situations. We’ve had 14 deaths in our congregation this year, and many of you have experienced loss. Some of you may be spending Thanksgiving alone or without a significant person.
I hope that you have space this Thanksgiving to feel whatever it is you are feeling, be it sadness or joy. I also invite you to our annual Silent Night Worship Service on December 9, at 6:30 pm in the sanctuary. It is a quiet service that includes prayer and communion.
Around Grace we continue to give thanks for the Deep Roots campaign, and I want to update you on where we are. The planned updates to Jacob’s Learning Ladder were done earlier this fall, but we’ve discovered new projects in the process. One goal of the renovations was to license a new room and re-license current room. (Licensing is with the state.)
When we went to re-license the two upstairs rooms, so that we could adapt the ages we take in those rooms, we learned that in order to get re-licensed we would have to install a new sprinkler system. The Trustees approved this project and allocated funds from our building endowment and long-term maintenance funds. This was not a small undertaking but is now done.
The new room downstairs is also done, but we are still in a waiting pattern with the health department and fire department. We hope to get final approval and licensing soon and have children in there by the start of 2020. However, it is out of our hands, and we are getting good at being patient.
The new room downstairs and new office configuration meant that we needed a new teacher work area, so we converted B-13 (formerly the gold room and also the purple room) into a workspace. It is now up and functioning.
The extra projects (sprinklers and B-13) mean that we haven’t started on other Deep Roots projects. Next on the list is the Parlor, and we plan to start on that soon. Fell free to talk with me or Dr. Martin Burch with any questions you have about this process.
In Christ,
Catherine
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