Sunday, April 23, Electricity Update

light bulbWe had major power issues on Sunday morning, April 23. At about 6:20 am, power fluctuations started at Grace that triggered alarms. Kirk Anderson and Martin Burch arrived to discover flickering lights and partial power. Evergy was notified, and we called P1, the company that handles our HVAC maintenance.

A P1 technician arrived to shut down our HVAC system to try and prevent damage to units due to our partial power situation. Evergy arrived at about 8:30 and discovered issues with the incoming power transformer. Power was shut down, repairs made, and power restored by 9:40. The P1 technician then restarted the equipment.

Ideally, that would have been the end of everything. …But we don’t live in an ideal world. In our world, additional issues have been discovered since power was restored. And these additional issues will cost us.

  • Our IT specialist came out on Sunday afternoon to restore connectivity between the server and our internal network and restore wireless service, none of which was functioning after the power was back on.
  • We had to have backup batteries in our fire alarm notifier system replaced.
  • We have discovered some HVAC systems are not working correctly, so P1 will return.
  • The organ lost power to it, so our electrical contractor came out Tuesday, and we have power again.
  • The hot water booster that our commercial dishwasher needs to sanitize dishes is not functioning, so someone will come out and find the issue and correct it.
  • The power dock that hooks Martin’s computer up to all its peripherals is not functioning, so a workaround has been created until the offending piece of hardware can be replaced.

That is what we know about currently. We may discover other issues as we move through the next few days.  Thank you for your flexibility!

Session Minute Summaries

Session Minute Summaries: March 20 and April 2

March 20, 2023 – Stated Meeting

  • The Grace Session met on March 20 at 6:00 pm. The meeting began in the church alcove with dinner with the confirmation class.  After dinner, the Session, confirmands, and staff broke into two rooms for discussion. Before the meeting the confirmands had shared their written faith statements.
  • The Session joyfully voted to receive four confirmands into membership upon their making a public profession of faith (and baptism for one). The three making a public profession of faith are Brennan Bean, Colin Buteyn, and Hope Juhnke. Catie Harrison will make a public profession of faith and be baptized.  Confirmation Sunday is March 26 at both services.
  • The confirmation class left, and the Session moved to the church parlor for the remainder of the meeting. Laurie Haury led a devotional.
  • Catherine reviewed the two-year Vital Congregation program that Grace did from 2018-2020. There was a discussion about whether to renew this program.
  • Financial reports were given and received. Other reports were given.
  • The meeting was closed with the sharing of joys and concerns, and prayer.

April 2, 2023 – Called Meeting

  • The Grace Session held a called meeting at 10:15 am on Sunday, April 2, in room 103 for the purpose of welcoming a new member. We joyfully received Karna Shroeder into membership by reaffirmation of faith.
  • The meeting was opened and closed with prayer.

 

How to Avoid Scams: May 9

Beware of Scams Instagram Story (1)

Everyone 65 and older is invited to a presentation on “How to Avoid Scams.”  Whether it is scamming by phone, computer, or paper mail, we all encounter this, and some of us have fallen for scams.  Come and learn how to spot scams and what to do.

This takes place on Tuesday, May 9, at 1 pm, in the Grace Parlor.  The Deacons are coordinating this, and the presentation is by a representative from Humana.  Questions?  Contact the church office at 316-684-5215.

Youth Car Night

On Wednesday, April 12, the youth group moved to the north parking lot for car night. The evening included instructions on how to check tire pressure, change a tire, and check the oil. In addition to Kirk Anderson, parents, and youth advisors, Wichita Police Officers visited.