Children’s Ministry Blog

Written by Jennifer Snook

“Out of the mouths of babes you have prepared praise for yourself…”(Matthew 21:16)

We all listened when they spoke. We heard the miracle of the Christmas story anew because the children in our church body lead us. Indeed, children have a voice that should be heard, and through them, the elders might just receive the guidance needed to journey on toward what God is planning for Grace Presbyterian Church in 2016. A special thank you to all the families who worked with the children to prepare them for the video recording on Christmas Eve.

New beginnings usually come with a full cup of energy and vision. Even now our Vacation Bible School team is meeting and making plans for the summer. Our Sunday School teachers are delving into the stories that need to be told. On Sunday, January 31, all families are invited to Laser Quest at 3:40 pm for a family-fun day. Each family with children ages 5-11 is asked to bring $7.00 per person and a snack to share. The Children’s Ministry department will offset the rest of the cost. Older siblings are welcome to attend as well. Please call Jennifer at 684-5215 if you have any questions or email Jennifer.

College Conference Blog

College Conference: Montreat, North Carolina

In early January 2016, Kirk Anderson and Sean Foster took five of our college students to Montreat, North Carolina, for a Presbyterian College Conference. Spencer McIntire, a freshman at KState, wrote a reflection for our blog:

I really enjoyed the Montreat College Conference! It was an amazing experience where I met with about 1,000 other college-aged Christians to discuss our faith. Specifically, the verse that the conference centered around was John 3:16 and the many different meanings that are associated with the verse. We spent the weekend in worship and in small discussion groups talking with one another about our understanding of John 3:16 and about what the keynote speakers said about John 3:16.

Our two keynote speakers for the weekend were Jason Brown, ex-NFL player who left the NFL to start farming, and Nadia Bolz-Weber, a pastor and author out of Denver. Both spoke about 3:16, though both looked at the different aspects of the verse. Jason focused on how belief in Jesus and God leads to eternal life, while Nadia focused more on God’s unending love for us and the grace that comes with that love.

The conference also offered many other experiences along with worship and discussion. On Monday, we were given a Sabbath morning to have some free time to do with what we pleased. I spent the morning exploring the Montreat campus and the surrounding mountain trails. They also offered different workshops to help us learn about different aspects of faith. I went to a workshop to learn more about applying God’s gifts to the real world. All the workshops seemed interesting, and I wish I could have gone to more.

Overall, the conference was an amazing experience that I believe helped me grow in my faith. I met many amazing people and experienced something that I have never experienced before.

Human Trafficking Awareness Blog

January is Human Trafficking Awareness month. The Wichita State University Center for Combating Human Trafficking hosts events during the last week of the month that are free and open to the public.

January 26, 5:30 pm – WSU Old Town, 238 N Mead

“A Path Appears” Documentary Screening and Discussion

Free, open to the public, no registration required

January 28, 6 pm – Eastside Community Church, 14242 E 21^st St N

“Engage, Act, Abolish: Do No Harm in the Anti-Trafficking Movement”

Free, open to the public, registration is required. Call Eastside Church to register – 733-7011 – or register online: register

On Sunday, January 24, Pastor Catherine Neelly Burton preaches on the text Matthew 2:13-23 and talks about human trafficking. This text is uncomfortable and tells of Herod’s slaughtering of all of the children two years and younger in Bethlehem.

From the Pastor’s Desk: January 11, 2015

Dear Grace Community,

Sunday, January 10, was Baptism of the Lord Sunday. Each year we read the story of Jesus’ baptism and remember our own baptisms. In 2015 we baptized five people in our congregation.

What was unique was that none were infant baptisms. Three of the baptized were teenagers, and two were adults who had been active in church for their entire lives but never baptized. Each baptism was a beautiful celebration of God’s claim on their lives and a reminder of God’s claim on each of our lives.

A phrase that comes up in our church is ‘baptismal promises.’ You’re most likely to hear it when we talk about why we teach children’s Sunday School or why we support our youth group. We do these things for many reasons, including that when those children and youth were baptized we promised to help them grow in the knowledge and love of Christ. These promises require action, and it’s easiest to think about it in regards to children and youth, but these promises extend into adulthood and go all the way to the grave.

It’s rare for one person to be born into a church, live a long life, and die in that church. At 97 years old, Bob McCune is one of the few people to be in this situation in our community. He was born into this church, married here, served in countless ways here, and if you ask him, he’ll tell you that when the day comes, his funeral will be here.

I say this to emphasize that Bob is the exception and we have to think more broadly about the promises we make at baptism. We may not be the community to raise a child if her or his parents move to another city, but we trust that another church will carry out those promises for us. In the same way, anytime we welcome a baptized member into our congregation we take on the promises made by another church.

Adults are more self-sufficient than babies, but the promises are as important for adults as they children. In fact, it’s an adult who is likely to know the deep hurts of the world, to experience job loss, divorce, death of loved ones, and other pain. It is our responsibility to let everyone in our congregation know that no matter what, they belong to God. That’s what baptism tells us. No matter what, we belong to God.

These promises to affirm our sister and brothers’ identity in God carry all the way to the grave. We promise to share this good news with the one baptized from the moment of baptism to death. This is why I believe that attending funerals is an extension of baptismal promises. It doesn’t matter if you know the person who died. If they are in our church, we are the church to fulfill the promises made years ago, and we do this by walking with them and their family all the way to the grave.

Each baptism is a glorious celebration, but it is so much more. It is a reminder of God’s claim on our lives and a reminder of the promises to share the good news with others.

In Christ,
Catherine

Bus Tickets and Morning Worship: January 15

Each month Grace distributes bus tickets to people in our community. This happens on the 15th of the month (or the Friday before the 15th if it falls on a weekend.)

Volunteers and those receiving tickets begin to gather around 7 am in the Grace alcove. Guests are greeted with smiles, coffee, water and a place to sit. Tickets are distributed at 8:30 am, and a brief worship service follows. Everyone is invited to stay for worship, which includes communion.The worship service lasts about 15 minutes.

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