Wow! Sunday’s Town Hall Meeting (Step 5) and luncheon was one of hope for Grace’s future.

I’m shifting gears to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) in this time of such devastating hurricanes. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is a most significant mission arm of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

From the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) website:

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) is the emergency and refugee program of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. The core budget, including staff and administrative costs, is funded through the One Great Hour of Sharing, and its program work is additionally funded through designated gifts. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance

• Focuses on the long-term recovery of disaster impacted communities.
• Provides training and disaster preparedness for presbyteries and synods.
• Works collaboratively with church partners and members of the ACT Alliance (Action by Churches Together) internationally, and nationally with other faith-based responders.
• Connects partners locally and internationally with key organizations active in the response — United Nations, NVOAD (National Voluntary Agencies Active in Disaster), World Food Program, Red Cross, FEMA, and others.

Participate with thousands of other Presbyterians as we partner with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) to bring hope out of the chaos. Follow this link >

Returning to last Sunday’s Town Hall Meeting, we learned that Grace, like many mainline churches, is confronted with the category 5 chaos of the hurricanes of societal and cultural change. From my perspective as a historian and our Interim Pastor, what has worked for centuries in Presbyterian Church (USA) congregations might not be as effective any longer. Oh, some things are important to continue. Might Grace need to rethink and organize a different way of being church when it comes to growth in membership and younger families? How about envisioning services we can provide at Grace for our increasingly aging population in Wichita?  Or how might we welcome guests and regular attenders as well as say goodbye at all our doors on Sundays. Or, what about providing seminars at Grace on parenting, post-traumatic stress syndrome, and living on a budget? Perhaps we can work on developing hearts for reaching the unchurched and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ in word and deed.

On the journey of Christian discipleship and spiritual formation with you, I remain faithfully yours.

Steve

The Rev. Dr. Steven M. Marsh

Interim Pastor

The Prairie Fire Marathon Run is this Sunday, October 13. Access to Douglas is limited on that day, so plan ahead and leave plenty of time to get to the church. The easiest access to Grace arrives from the north.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is a most significant mission arm of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

From the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) website:

The Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) is the emergency and refugee program of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. The core budget, including staff and administrative costs, is funded through the One Great Hour of Sharing, and its program work is additionally funded through designated gifts.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance

• Focuses on the long-term recovery of disaster-impacted communities.
• Provides training and disaster preparedness for presbyteries and synods.
• Works collaboratively with church partners and members of the ACT Alliance (Action by Churches Together) internationally and nationally with other faith-based responders.
• Connects partners locally and internationally with key organizations active in the response — United Nations, NVOAD (National Voluntary Agencies Active in Disaster), World Food Program, Red Cross, FEMA, and others.

Participate with thousands of other Presbyterians as we partner with PDA to bring out of the chaos, hope. Follow this link >

In August, we shared that we had unexpected expenses this year totaling almost $40,000, and our insurance costs more than doubled. This drained much of our contingency funds.

We had ways to alleviate some of these issues on a short-term basis because of safeguards and other approaches we put in place. But these short-term solutions are stop gaps that cannot answer the ongoing issues we are facing. Our giving this year has not kept up with our budget income expectations. Giving in the past three months has fallen well short of the regular monthly expenses we incur.

We are facing serious cash flow issues as we head into the final quarter of 2024. While we all can point to numerous reasons why this may be occurring, it clearly endangers our efforts to continue our ministries here at Grace. The coming shortfall threatens not only the quality of our experience as members of Grace, but the community work we are already doing, such as bus tickets, mission distribution and family ministries, as well as our promotion of music and the arts.

We have immediate financial needs now and ask you to consider bringing your pledge up to date if you have not, accelerate your giving if you can, or make an additional contribution if possible. Stewardship is not merely a matter of money, but of involvement and commitment. Those unable to contribute more financially can still make a contribution of time and talents.

Some may find it tempting to wait until our future is clearer, to play it safe, and to think about our own survival. That is not God’s call to us as the church; the church is the place God’s grace can be found, and we are compelled to share God’s grace with others. As the town hall process continues and the stewardship season approaches, this is the perfect time to reflect on what you can do to make your Grace Church experience more fulfilling.

Grace must be prepared to reach out in love and compassion as God directs us. We can only do this with the help of everyone here. God calls all of us to action, and we will be blessed and be a blessing as we respond to that call. Listen to God’s call for you and be a part of the great good God does through this church. Let’s all provide the resources, human and monetary, needed to fulfill God’s purpose for Grace in the world. Let us continue to be faithful stewards of all that God entrusts to us and give as we have received. Let’s open ourselves to God so that he can use us for his work in the world. As Rob Bell and Dan Golden wrote in Jesus Wants to Save Christians, “When we do this in remembrance of him, the world will never be the same; we will never be the same.” Be part of the difference God calls us to make in the world. Consider how you can help Grace meet the fiscal challenges we face today.

Each month Grace distributes bus tickets to people in our community. The next bus ticket distribution is Tuesday, October 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.