Lent 2022: Full to the Brim

fulltobrim

Have you ever used the expression, “I’m maxed out,” or “My plate is too full?” Both sayings imply that you can’t take on one more thing, whether it be a task or emotional weight. Then there’s the expression, ‘full to the brim,’ which sounds similar but has a different meaning. ‘Full to the brim’ implies that your cup overflows in a good way.

Our theme this Lent is Full to the Brim.  This theme invites us to invest in a relationship with our God who pours out grace on us, our God whose love for us overflows. My challenge to you this Lent is to examine your life and the places where you’re maxed out: at capacity.  What can you let go of this Lent so that you can fill your life with good things from God?

This Lent we join five other PCUSA churches in the Wichita area in sharing this theme. As part of our shared Lent the pastors from these churches will share pulpits. Catherine preaches in Derby on the first Sunday of Lent and at Westwood on the fifth Sunday of Lent. We welcome pastors from Covenant and First Wichita.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 2.  There are two opportunities for worship on Ash Wednesday.  read more >

Study opportunities during Lent include:

  • Witness at the Cross is a weekly class with Dr. Martin Burch. read more >
  • How to Read the Bible – A class exploring ‘The Shape of the Hebrew Bible’ – taught by Kirk Anderson and Mike Fetters
    • Classes meet on Tuesdays at 6 pm starting on March 22 through April 26
  • Weekly Sunday School for people of all ages

 

/by

PCUSA Per Capita

pcusa

Each year Grace is financially assessed for each member of our congregation. This assessment is done by our presbytery and is called per capita. Per capita is not a tax. Nothing happens to us if we don’t give (or pay) it, but we do give it because it strengthens the Presbyterian Church. What we give helps fund our presbytery and national church.

Grace budgets for the per capita cost of each member. Some members choose to give an additional gift to cover the per capita. The per capita for 2022 is $40 per member. If you choose to give this, please designate your gift as per capita.

/by

Reading John Through Johannine Lenses by Stan Harstine

Reading John

In January we welcomed Dr. Stan Harstine from Friends University for four weeks of Sunday School.  Dr. Harstine is a John scholar, and as we began two months of focusing on John in worship, he taught an overview of John.  The Christian Discipleship team was excited to have so many people participate in the class.

Dr. Harstine has a new book on John. There’s information here and a discount code for 30% off the book.

 

/by

Children’s Bibles and Jacob’s Learning Ladder

Children’s Bibles and Jacob’s Learning Ladder

This fall we received a special financial gift and were charged with how to share it. We shared this with the congregation in November >

One way we used the gift was to give Children’s Bibles to the preschool children at Jacob’s Learning Ladder (JLL).  JLL families are reflective of society which means some go to church and some don’t.  The number who do not participate in a church continues to grow.  No matter how much we invite them to church, they aren’t interested in church, period.  Still, we have an opportunity to share the good news of Jesus with them.

Jennifer Snook and I each lead Bible story time once a month with older JLL students.  This means that some 50 children get to hear two Bible stories a month.  That’s far more children than we have here on Sunday morning.  Jennifer has also worked closely with JLL to support family events.  Other initiatives from the past have been hampered by Covid and may or may not come back.

Jennifer is passionate about supporting families, and we realized that getting a children’s Bible into every home was a great way to support them.  There are lots of good children’s Bibles, and we went with the one my family uses because I can share how much we enjoy reading it together.

During the JLL Thanksgiving program Jennifer and I presented each child with a Bible from Grace while their parents watched. They were able to hear us talk about the joy and value of reading these stories at home, and we hope they are doing so.

~Catherine Neelly Burton

/by

Session Summary: November 2021

  • The Grace Session met on November 15, 2021, in the Grace Alcove.
  • The meeting was opened and closed with prayer.
  • We welcomed Lilian Mayer into membership. Lilian joins Grace by reaffirmation of faith.
  • Plans for the upcoming Hanging of the Greens service were discussed.
  • Covid protocols were revisited. It was voted on to no longer keep exterior doors open on Sundays.  Windows in the sanctuary will be closed.  The question was raised about what metric we use to make changes to our policy.  No metric was set
  • Financial reports were given and received. Other reports were given including an update on stewardship pledges for 2022.
  • Presbytery met the next day (November 16, 2021) and it was reported that on the docket was the dismissal of the New Covenant Presbyterian Church in Hutchinson from the PCUSA to the EPC.
/by