bible

Sunday Morning Preaching Schedule for January 2020

February 2    

Our text for the day comes from John 20.  (We’re taking a one-week break from the Narrative Lectionary.)  In the John text, Thomas wants to see the marks in the resurrected Jesus’ hands.  In worship we talk about the marks of discipleship that people see when they look at our church.  We celebrate the Lord’s Supper at both services.  Catherine Neelly Burton preaches and shares the work the Session is doing to lead our congregation.

February 9      

We return to the Narrative Lectionary this week.  Our text comes from Mark 6.  Catherine Neelly Burton preaches.

February 16    

Our scripture for the day comes from Mark 7.  Catherine Neelly Burton preaches.

February 23    

This is Kids Lead Sunday! We have one worship service at 10 am in the Great Room.  This is the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday, and we say goodbye to Alleluia.  The Grace annual congregational meeting follows worship.

Grace Presbyterian Church

Sunday Morning Schedule for February 2020

9 am            Worship in the Great Room

10 am         Sunday School for all ages

11 am         Worship in the Sanctuary

Worship at 9 am is in the Great Room and is led musically by our band.  The style is less formal than the 11 amservice.  The 11 am service is in the Sanctuary and is led musically by our choirs.

On Sunday, February 23, we have one worship service at 10 am in the Great Room. There is no Sunday School this day.

Children and Youth

  • Children ages 0-2

A nursery is available all morning from 8:50 – 12:15. From 10 – 10:45 Colissa Fry leads a Sunday School lesson for these children.

  • 3 year old – 1st Grade

3 year old – 1st grade meets in room B10 (in the basement) also known as the ‘Foundation Station.’

  • 2nd – 6th Grades

3rd, 4th, and 5th graders meet in Room 206 (on the 2nd floor), also known as the ‘Excavation Station.’  6th graders join this class as mentors for the younger students.

  • Youth

7-12th graders meet in the Youth Center (downstairs).

Adults

There are two options for adults to participate in Sunday School in February.

Introduction to the Enneagram – Meets in the Parlor

The Christian Discipleship Team invites you to a three-week introduction to the Enneagram. The class takes place on Sunday mornings February 2, 9, and 16 at 10 am at Grace.  Erin Osbeck is our teacher for the class. Erin is a licensed counselor and is certified in the Enneagram Spectrum of Personality Styles.  Erin is a Christian and looks forward to presenting to us.

The Enneagram is an ancient tool that has been used for centuries to help people understand themselves better, including their spirituality.  It’s gained a lot of popularity in the last five years.  It is used by many Christians, ranging from Catholics to Evangelicals, and it is also used by non-Christians.  The Christian Discipleship Team offers this with the confidence that the focus of this class is on Christians and our learning.

As with all offerings of Christian Education the hope with this class is both for personal growth and that the growth leads to furthering one’s life of discipleship.

If you want to learn a little more about Enneagrams before our classes, here are a couple of places to visit. For an Enneagram overview look at the website The Enneagram Spectrum of Personality Styles. And here’s an article the Religious News Service did in 2017 called “What’s the Enneagram, and why are Christians suddenly so enamored with it?” Join us in February as together we learn more about this tool.

Steamers Class – Meets in Room 209

This fall the Steamers Class explores the sermon text of the week.  Steamers is a long running class with both longtime and new members.

 

field notes

Grace Field Notes Book Club: February 25

Are you interested in reading books that offer perspectives different from traditional, mainstream Christian authors? Join us for a new reading and discussion experience!

Inspired by author Sarah Bessey’s 2020 Field Notes Book Club, we read “books that help to form us more into the image of Jesus for the sake of the world written by exclusively BIPOC (black, indigenous, and/or people of colour) authors.”

You may choose to read each book and come to all six meetings, or pick the ones that interest you and fit with your schedule.

The first book is The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and His Holiness the Dalai Lama with Douglas Carlton Abrams. Join us February 25 at 6:30 pm to discuss the book. We meet in the Grace Parlor.

Everyone is welcome! Questions? See Melissa Buteyn (englishteachmb@gmail.com). Find out more about Sarah Bessy at sarahbessey.com.

Book List

January-February:
The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and His Holiness the Dalai Lama with Douglas Carlton Abrams

March-April:
Defiant: What the Women of Exodus Teach Us About Freedom by Kelley Nikondeha

May-June:
Native: Identity, Belonging, and Rediscovering God by Kaitlin B. Curtice

Messy Church

Messy Church: February 9

Messy Church happens at 4:30 pm on February 9. Invite your neighbors and friends to this fun, interactive hands-on ministry. Dinner is served at 5:30 pm.

This is our chance as a congregation to make a heart connection with our kids and families who may be new to our church or even new to Christian faith.  Passing on our story means that every believer gets the opportunity to share the ways in which God has rescued them.  Life is Messy, why should our faith be any different?

From the Pastor's Desk

From the Pastor’s Desk

Dear Grace Community,

This month we started reading through the book of Mark in worship. The first two weeks there was a focus on healing stories.

In my sermon preparation, I focused on the history, and context, and connecting the stories to our month-long theme, “Why Church?”  Then I stood up to preach and looked at you and thought of your stories and the people in your lives who long for healing.  It occurred to me then how hard it might be to hear stories of Jesus’ healing miracles while those miracles are not realized in your lives.

I was grateful when one of you came to me and named this tension; how are we to understand these miracles in our lives today?

What I can tell you is that I believe the miracles in scripture. I believe that Jesus performed miracles. I believe miracles still happen. You’ve told me too many stories for me to believe otherwise. And I don’t know why they don’t happen more. I don’t know why God doesn’t heal more people. I know it’s not for lack of faith. I know that sometimes the healing comes through medicine, and sometimes it comes with death and wholeness in God.

When I sat down to write this, I kept hoping I’d come up with the perfect way to tie it up neatly, but I don’t have one. Only to say, know that you are not alone in asking these questions of scripture. This is one of the reasons why we read it together, so that we are not alone in our questions.

In Christ,
Catherine