PCUSA General Assembly (and Catherine Neelly Burton) Part III

Dear Grace Community,

When I last wrote to you about my service as a commissioner to the General Assembly, I had completed the first weekend.  I’m sure you’ve been waiting with anticipation for my final report.  I’m kidding of course, but I do want to let you know how it went.  My first two blogs are here:

The second weekend of service began Friday morning, June 26, and went through Saturday evening.  (Don’t worry, we got a break to sleep.)  The outgoing co-moderators, Elder Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri and Pastor Cindy Kolhmann, led worship Friday morning and did a wonderful job.  I’m grateful for the ways they led the church over the last two years.  When the new co-moderators, Elder Elona Street-Stewart and Pastor Gregory J. Bentley, took over the gavel I was impressed with their agility in leading and monitoring the many digital screens before them.

It was remarkable what was pulled off with technology.  The staff in Louisville was incredibly prepared, and there was only one minor Zoom glitch the entire time.  Still, being in a Zoom meeting with 700 plus people, most of whom were delegates was not my favorite way to serve the church. The platform made what was already a tedious process more so because we couldn’t do voice votes.  This meant that the simplest things (like calling the question) had to go through a 5-10 minute vote instead of a voice vote.

On Saturday morning, we re-elected our national Stated Clerk. The Rev J Herbert Nelson has served in the office for four years and will continue for four more.  I’ve worked with J Herbert and his wife Gail and admire and appreciate them both.  While J Herbert was the only candidate for the position, I’m excited about his leadership and am glad I got to vote for him.

Over the weekend we covered a lot of required assembly business, things like approving people to boards with ease, but everything else took a long time.  There was a sense that all needed to buy into the process, and not everyone did.  When I say “buy in’ I mean that everyone had to agree that we couldn’t do much of the business and move on. Those who didn’t buy in were determined to get their specific items to the floor, and this took a tremendous amount of time and caused great frustration.

As I watched the social media commentary of the meeting there were many critiques of what we, the assembly did or failed to do.  If you’re interested in my thoughts on specific issues, I’m glad to visit in person.

Despite a less than thrilling experience as a Zoom commissioner, I believe there are many good things about the PCUSA.  There is no perfect denomination, or individual church, but I am grateful for the ways we, together, strive to be who Christ calls us to be.

In Christ,
Catherine

 

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From the Pastor’s Desk: June 20

June 17, 2020

Dear Grace Community,

At its June 15 meeting, the Session voted to begin in-person worship on July 5. We look forward to again gathering at Grace. The worship services also will be live-streamed in real time and available online. Sunday School will not meet.

While we are excited about this return, it is important to note that the Sunday morning experience will be different than it was March 8, the last time we were here. The dangers of Covid-19 are real, and it’s important that we observe the requested safety measures. While many things will be different, we know some things will be the same:

  • We get to greet (at an appropriate distance) the church community.
  • We hear music, some live and some recorded.
  • There will be scripture, prayer, and the word proclaimed.
  • We share one another’s joys and bear each other’s burdens.
  • God’s name will be praised.

On July 5, we worship with One Service at 10 am in the Great Room. Starting on July 12, we have two services: one at 9 am in the Great Room and one at 11 am in the sanctuary. The following guidelines apply to all Sundays moving forward. The Session also emphasizes that we may return to on-line only worship at a future date because of the virus.

What to expect when you come to worship at Grace:

  • The main doors to the church will be open – no one needs to touch door handles.
  • You may be asked to give your name as you come in. This list is internal only and allows us to contact worshipers if we learn that someone who was present tests positive for Covid-19.
  • There will be hand sanitizer and masks at each entry. Please bring your own mask if you have one. The expectation is that all wear masks unless prevented from doing so by a medical condition.
  • The coffee bar is closed.
  • There will be no paper distributed and no hymnals or Bibles used.
  • We will have a place to give offering after the service, but no offering plates or bags will be used in worship.
  • There is no passing of the peace.
  • There is no congregational singing.
  • For the month of July there is no nursery available. Children of all ages are welcome in worship – noise and all!
  • Windows will be open to help with air circulation.
  • Ushers will seat and dismiss the congregation.
  • The seating is socially distanced so limited by space. If we are not able to accommodate crowds, we will have to turn away people.
  • A custodian will be on duty to clean surfaces throughout the morning.

We encourage those of you in high risk categories to remain at home for online worship. Please stay home if you have any symptoms of illness.

In Christ,

Catherine Neelly Burton, Senior Pastor

The Grace Session:

Sandy Blaylock                       Dennis Buteyn                        Darcy Eads

Pam Head                               Fred Heismeyer                       Dave McIntire

Betsy Ross                              Elyse Scholl                            Ginny Vincent

Joe Wangombe                        Alisa Watkins

 

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From the Pastor’s Desk: March 2020

,

Dear Grace Community,

But now says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. – Isaiah 43:1

I’m writing to let you know that we are cancelling worship and all church activities (meetings, events, rehearsals, regular groups, etc.) through the end of March.

This is not a decision made lightly but prayerfully and thoughtfully with the best information we have right now.  This decision was made by members of the staff in consultation with the church session and with physicians in our congregation.   We made this decision, not out of fear, but as a way to protect the most vulnerable around us.  There is much uncertainty around the Coronavirus/Covid 19, but what is clear is that limiting large gatherings is prudent in stopping the spread.

This decision is hard for many reasons, including that gathering to worship is central to who we are, and so we invite you to worship in a new way for a few weeks.  Starting this Sunday, we will live stream worship on the Grace Facebook page at 10 am CDT.  The same service will be available on the mygpc.org website later that day.  This week the service will be primarily scripture, prayer, and music.

This technology allows us to, in fact, worship together.  While not ideal, it is a gift.  Staying connected while not seeing each other at Grace is important.  We will send out regular communications through email.

If you are staying home all of the time because you are self-quarantining or because of your health, do you need any help?  Do you need things dropped off at your house (medicine, food, etc.)?  Please let us know so that we can help you.  Do you need prayer?  We’d love to pray for you.  If you are willing to help run errands for people or to make check-in phone calls to members of our community, please let me know, 316-684-5215, catherine@mygpc.org.

I look forward to hearing from you, and I will miss being together this Sunday.

In Christ,
Catherine

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From the Pastor’s Desk: A Note About Health Precautions

What does life at Grace Presbyterian Church look like in this time of the Coronavirus – Covid 19?  The answer will likely change from day to day.

Tim and Isaac, our custodians, are cleaning as vigilantly as ever.  Tim is in tune with what cleaning supplies are best equipped to kill the virus.  Jacob’s Learning Ladder is receiving regular updates from the state health department and follows all guidelines.

The other change to our common life is that on Sunday we ask you not to shake hands, even during the passing of the peace.  While some of you are completely comfortable with shaking hands, the people next to you might not be.  In addition our ushers will greet you with words of welcome but no handshakes.

We are exploring the possibility of video recording our services so that those of you who need to stay home may watch.  Right now, you may listen to sermons on our website.

[button url=”https://www.mygpc.org/sermons” target=”” size=”small” style=”orange” icon=”” popup=”” title=””]Listen to Sermons[/button]

If you are sick, we ask that you not come to worship.  If you are sick or choose to stay home because of your vulnerability to sickness, please let us know if you need anything.  Do you need someone to run to the store for you?

For the coming weeks look for updates like this in the Thursday email.

In Christ,

Catherine

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From the Pastor’s Desk: February 2020

Dear Grace Community,

What do you think of when you hear the word parlor?

Do you picture women drinking hot tea?  Or do you imagine a place where you go to meetings?

As part of our Deep Roots renovations we now have sights set on the Grace Parlor.  Chris Alexander, Ben Juhnke, and Kendall Price are working with me and Martin Burch on this project.  One of the early conversations the team had was about what our parlor is used for.  This is the list I came up with:

Monthly Grace Meetings

  • GRACE Session
  • GRACE Deacons
  • GRACE Mission Distribution Team

Monthly Outside Group Meetings

  • ALS Support Group
  • Delta Kappa Gamma
  • PEO – twice a month

Occasional Grace Fellowship Events

  • Steamers
  • Windjammers

Showers (wedding, baby)

  • 2-3 a year

Wedding (bridal space)

  • 1-2 weddings a year

Gathering Space for families before funerals

  • Dependent on number of funerals in a year, lately 12-14

Funeral meals or small receptions

  • 4-6 a year

Other

  • Study groups, Sunday School, or team meetings
  • Down Syndrome Society of Wichita – 4 times a year
  • Small Congregational dinners (planned giving)

We envision a renovated parlor that works for what we use the space for.  We know that it needs to be quite flexible with room for various table configurations.  We also want it to be a comfortable space for people to sit and visit or relax.   Feel free to ask any of us questions.

In Christ,
Catherine

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