There is one worship service on Sunday, May 5, at 10:00 am, in the Sanctuary. Following the service, a congregational potluck luncheon and Town Hall Meeting is in the Great Room. We are having a Cinco De Mayo Mexican food theme. Please bring a dish to share with a south-of-the-border flair! Sign-up sheets are on the bulletin board by the coffee bar.

Session voted to join over 35 worshipping communities as a founding member of the Justice Together initiative. You are invited to join a Sedgwick County multi-faith community effort with the Justice Together partners to make a difference in the lives of those who have no voice and are underserved.

Justice Together focuses on homelessness and access to mental health care. You can find detailed draft proposals on either of the kiosks.

Justice Together is a nonprofit organization formed in 2023 to research data, propose solutions to problems, and present solutions to our elected representatives at the county and city levels. The solutions are objective, doable, measurable, outcome-driven recommendations that have been proven to work.

Your presence is crucial to the success of the 2024 Justice Together Nehemiah Assembly. We expect 2000+ people to join us on Thursday, May 9, at 6 p.m. at Century II Convention Hall, located at 225 W. Douglas. We know for elected officials to take action, they need to see and hear the movement of the community. You can be a part of this movement. We are asking 100 of you to join us. You can pick up additional information regarding Justice Together as well as sign up to attend the May 9 meeting at the kiosk or online. If you have questions, please talk with Darwin Eads, Janice Fahrenholtz, Shelby Schnieders, or Kirk Anderson.

Our Interim Pastor Journey Town Hall Meeting Step 2 is Sunday, May 5. We have one service in the Sanctuary at 10:00 am, followed by a covered dish lunch, including dessert, water, iced tea, and coffee. The question we focus on for our discussion is: How would you describe Grace to someone you wanted to attend with you? You may pick up a flyer for all the Steps from the bulletin board in the Narthex.

Our Grace Justice Together team wants to invite you to join us in becoming a part of the Sedgwick County multi-faith community, which is coming together to make a difference in the lives of those who have no voice and are underserved. Did you know…

• Kansas is dead last of all the states in America in its access to mental health providers, emergency interventions, psychiatric beds, and short-term, and long-term care.
• There are 350 people with psychiatric problems who are incarcerated for mostly misdemeanors, like disturbing the peace in the Sedgwick County jail on any given day without assessment, psychiatric medication, or treatment, who would be better served and more cheaply served in treatment facilities?
• Homelessness is a big and increasing problem, soon to be a crisis, in Sedgwick County. There were 7,500 evictions last year due to people who could not pay their rent.
• 20% of our citizens are at or below the poverty line, and 45% of our citizens do not have $400 in a bank account to handle an emergency, like a car breaking down, job loss, medical emergency bills, etc., and are on the brink of homelessness every day?
• The cost of necessities like groceries, rent, transportation, utilities, clothes, and healthcare has far outpaced the rise in incomes.
• People who have full-time jobs are homeless because they cannot afford the rent and other necessities described above.
• When a community has a 4% housing vacancy rate, there is a housing crisis, and we are at 4.5%. And there are soon to be 3000 students attending the new KU med center in Wichita, 2900 new jobs coming to Sedgwick County, and a possible 200-million-dollar aquarium coming to Park City.

Justice Together is a non-profit multi-faith organization that was formed in 2023 to research data and propose solutions to problems that go unaddressed to our elected representatives at the county and city levels. The solutions are objective, doable, measurable, outcome-driven recommendations that have been proven to work.  You do not have to join or become a member to make a difference. On April 11, if you like, you are invited to attend hundreds of people who will gather for a Solutions Rally at First United Methodist Church at 330 N. Broadway, Wichita, at 6 pm. 

Most importantly, please join 2000 people for the 2024 Justice Together Nehemiah Assembly on Thursday, May 9, at 6 pm at Century II Convention Hall, located at 225 W. Douglas. Please let one of us know as soon as possible or sign up at our Justice Together kiosk so we can give an account of how many will attend. Thank you in advance for your consideration. We hope to see you there. 

Grace Justice Together members include Darwin Eads, Janice Fahrenholtz, Schelby Schnieder, and Kirk Anderson.