Each month Grace distributes bus tickets to people in our community. The next bus ticket distribution is Tuesday, April 15. 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 when people arrive. Want to help? Contact Kirk Anderson, kirk@mygpc.org or 684-5215.
Our yellow bag collection for April is our long-time partner, Covenant Church Food Bank. We know that federal assistance to food programs across the country is being reduced or ended. Therefore, food pantries and food banks are being stressed with larger client bases and shortages of food. Our help is greatly needed! Jesus teaches us to help those who are less fortunate, and this is our congregation’s opportunity to be the best Jesus we can be and others will see. We are asking you to bring shelf-stable food and canned goods. Please leave your donations by the yellow bag post (by the coffee bar).
Each year on Easter Sunday, the worship spaces of our church feature the abundant beauty of Easter flowers, given for God’s glory, and honoring our loved ones. Following worship, the flowers are delivered to members who cannot regularly join us, or who have experienced a loss. You can participate by purchasing an Easter flower for $25.00. Call the church office by Monday, April 11, mail your check marked “Easter Flowers,” and let us know in whose memory or honor the flowers are given. The names will be listed in the Easter bulletin.
Christians around the world begin Holy Week on Palm Sunday and continue with Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. We experience the journey into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ’s earthly obedience, suffering, and death is a tangible reminder that the Son of God, fully God and fully human did something for humanity that it could not do for itself: Salvation.
As I reflect upon the meaning of the Holy Week Story, I become more and more convinced that authenticity is of utmost importance in the Christian walk. This conviction arises from my experience with people in the parishes I have served, the college where I taught, and with the people I encounter throughout Wichita, Kansas, our country and the world.
What is authenticity?
First, to live authentically means to speak truth to yourself. Are you willing to look in the mirror of your life and honestly admit what you see?
Second, to live authentically means not to pretend. Integrate your Christian faith into everyday life. Living an authentic life in the Christian faith means that you face the ups and the downs with equal honesty and forthrightness.
Authenticity is the indicator of being fully alive in Jesus Christ. No untruth. No pretending. Authenticity is freeing and liberating. It’s the way of Jesus.
Remember, if you say you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you will be the best Jesus that someone sees. You are the best Jesus someone will see. May you live in the authenticity of that calling this Easter Season and every day.
On our Interim Pastor journey with you, I remain faithfully yours,
Steve
The Rev. Dr. Steven M. Marsh
Interim Pastor
The Pastoral Nomination Committee (PNC) has just completed the Ministry Discernment Profile (MDP). This document describes the Head Pastor position and the mission of our congregation, which will help us find the best candidate. The next step is to get the MDP approved by our Presbytery’s Committee on Ministry. Once that is done, it will be ready to post online for potential pastors to view. There is also a bulletin board by the coffee bar that illustrates the progress of the PNC. PNC members include Kevin East, Carolyn Shaw, Ginny Vincent, Mitzi Darmstetter, Adam Lancelot, Janet Rhoads, and Bruce Gealy.