Each month Grace distributes bus tickets to people in our community. This happens on the 15^th of the month, or if the 15^th is on a weekend we meet the Friday before. 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 at 7:50 am.

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

And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So, God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. Genesis 2:2-3

In a society that pushes us to do more and more and more, God urges us to take pause to rest. The Bible is full of examples where He’s commanded his people to stop producing, for the sake of their physical and mental well-being, and to be able to take time to revive and to draw nearer to Him.

Last November, the Session of Grace Presbyterian Church approved Pastor Catherine’s request for a one-month sabbatical during the month of May 2019. As our senior pastor, Catherine spends countless hours tending to the needs of our church, while also balancing the needs of her own family. She pours her energy, caring, and keen intellect into all she does, and it shows. We believe a well-earned rest will allow her to recharge and continue to serve us with imagination, passion, creativity, and love.

Catherine will be gone the month of May, returning to worship on June 2 and preaching on June 9. During her sabbatical, she plans to rest, recuperate, spend time with her family and nourish her relationship with God. Arrangements will be made in advance to have all of Catherine’s responsibilities covered while she is out. We are confident we will be fine.

If you have any questions regarding this decision, please feel free to reach out to us. We trust as members of the church, you see the importance of caring for our pastor as much as she cares for us.

In Christ’s Love:

The Session of Grace Presbyterian Church

 Each month on the first Sunday you’re encouraged to take home a re-usable yellow grocery bag, put some non-perishable items in it, and bring it back the next week, or soon thereafter.  In January you’re invited to choose between two options for your donations, one local and one global.

We’re sending three people to Cuba in February with the Presbytery of Southern Kansas.  They will take things to share with the people they meet in the Cuba churches.  Their requests include:

• Sewing items: thread, zippers, buttons, etc
• Deflated soccer balls with a pump
• Yards of cotton or warm weather materials
• Crayola markers
• Elmers Glue – bottles or sticks
• Over the counter pain medicine
• Vitamins
• Bandaids

If you have questions contact Darcy Eads deads@cox.net, Capri Zimmerman prizslp@gmail.com, or Pam Head headsup@cox.net.

If you prefer to buy non-perishable food items, we’ll give those to the Mt. Vernon Presbyterian Church food pantry.

Does Grace have a library?  Where is the Grace library?  These are questions we hear from time to time, and there is not a simple answer.  It’s been over eight years since Grace had an organized church library. There are two rooms that function in a library fashion (Room 103 and the Study across from the elevator), but neither is a library.

We’re looking for someone (or a few people) interested in books and libraries to organize our spaces and books.  If you’re interested, contact Catherine Neelly Burton catherine@mygpc.org or 684-5212.

Messy Church is our once a month interactive worship experience that always ends with free dinner.  This year Messy Church happens on the second Sunday of the month at 4:30 pm.  Messy Church is designed with children eight and under in mind, BUT people of all ages are welcome. It’s a little different each month, but there is always singing, playing, laughing, praying, and Bible story telling.  We wrap up with dinner around 5:30 pm.