Remember, God does not abandon the faithful. Leveraged giving spends your intellectual, emotional, spiritual, financial, physical, and time capital, sacrificially. Sacrificial and responsible giving makes the community stronger. Mike Slaughter in The Christian Wallet writes, “Responsible investing means taking all that God has placed into our hands and fully deploying it in every sense of the word toward God’s preferred future picture—both for our own lives and for the lives of others. Investing in tomorrow also requires a simultaneous trust in God’s provision for both today and tomorrow.” Leveraged giving spends your intellectual, emotional, spiritual, financial, physical, and time capital, sacrificially. It is responsible investing.

Dependency on God combines God’s action and human action into experiencing the kingdom of God. According to Barna Research, U.S. teens and adults have reported that, while they have mostly positive opinions of Jesus, their perceptions of the Church and Christians as a whole have often led them to doubt Christian beliefs. Other data from Barna studies shows that the Church’s reputation in specific areas like pursuing justice and stepping up to help solve local problems is wavering among both teens and adults alike. It appears that most Christians (57%), including over seven in ten practicing Christians (76%), are at a point in their spiritual journeys where they want to help the Church refocus on what’s truly important. Christians want to help the church realign with Jesus’ priorities. (Adapted from Barna’s State of the Church Initiative, 2024). What are Jesus’ priorities? Micah 6:8 reads, “He (God) has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Let’s make justice, kindness, and humility our priorities.

Grace Presbyterian Church exists to demonstrate and offer others a better way to live. We do that by leveraging our giving. Jesus says, go, sell, give, come, and follow. Leverage your giving by spending your intellectual, emotional, spiritual, financial, physical, and time capital, sacrificially. Let’s combine our action with God’s action and see Grace continue its transformation from a mindset of “doing church” into “being church.”

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

Steve

The Rev. Dr. Steven M. Marsh

Interim Pastor

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 out of the chaos and hope. 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 the 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

Today is the DAY. YES, the Town Hall Meeting (Step 5) and Luncheon in Our Interim Pastor Journey is right after today’s service in the Great Room.

The Step 5 question is: How might we prepare for new leadership and plan for Grace’s future?

Folks, our amazing food team has announced the following food theme: “Think crock pots, football, and pumpkin spice.” Don’t miss out. These meetings are a great time of eating, friending, and anticipating what God has in store for Grace’s emerging future.

As you heard this morning, serving or volunteering in any of our ministries on campus or in the community is essential to our discipleship in Jesus Christ. Experiencing the hope, peace, joy, and love of God by being a follower of Jesus is such a blessing.

YOU ARE NEEDED. YOUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS ARE NEEDED. OTHERS NEED YOU! BE LIBERATED FROM A MINDSET OF SCARCITY TO ONE OF ABUNDANCE.

Friends, nothing in your life is an accident. God has a purpose for each of you. Read the benediction below (benediction, in Latin literally means, “good word”) written by the late Richard Halverson, Minister of Word and Sacrament (PCUSA), and Chaplain to the United States Senate (1981- 1994). You’ll be encouraged.

You go nowhere by accident.

Wherever you go, God is sending you.

He has a purpose in your being there.

Christ who indwells you has something he wants to do through you wherever you are.

Believe this.

And go in his grace and love and power.

Amen.

Remember, nothing in your life is an accident. Nothing in Grace’s life is an accident. Everything is purposed by God!

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 next Town Hall Meeting (Step 5) in Our Interim Pastor Journey is Sunday, October 6, immediately following the worship service at 10:30 am in the Sanctuary.

The Step 5 question is: How might we prepare for new leadership and plan for Grace’s future?

Folks, our amazing food team has announced the following food theme: “Think crock pots, football, and pumpkin spice.” Don’t miss out. These meetings are a great time of fellowship and anticipation of what God has for our church.

Here’s an update on our Journey to the New Pastor.

¨ Step 5 in Our Interim Pastor Journey is Sunday, October 6.

¨ The Strategic Plan (Mission Study) is presented to the Session for approval at the Stated Session Meeting, Monday, November 18.

¨ November 2024-January 2025, the Nominating Committee identifies Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) members.

¨ The PNC slate is elected at the Annual Meeting on Sunday, February 23, 2025. The Strategic Plan is also presented.

¨ The PNC begins its work in March.

Friends, nothing in your life is an accident. God has purpose for each of you. Read the benediction below (benediction, in Latin literally means, “good word”) written by the late Richard Halverson, Minister of Word and Sacrament (PCUSA), and Chaplain to the United States Senate (1981- 1994). You’ll be encouraged.

You go nowhere by accident.

Wherever you go, God is sending you.

He has a purpose in your being there.

Christ who indwells you has something he wants to do through

you wherever you are.

Believe this.

And go in his grace and love and power.

Amen.

Remember, nothing in your life is an accident. Nothing in Grace’s life is an accident. Everything is purposed by God!

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

Steve

The Rev. Dr. Steven M. Marsh

Interim Pastor

Friends, thank you for making the Step 4 Town Hall Meeting a successful experience. The Potato Bar was amazing, the fellowship sweet, and the result of the process significant.

The Step 4 question is: In what ways would you suggest strengthening Grace’s relationships with the local community and the Presbytery of Southern Kansas?

Do pick up a copy of the Step 4 Results at the Kiosk on Sunday mornings. Or check it out on our website, www.mygpc.org.

Here’s a brief update on our Journey to the New Pastor.

• Step 5 in Our Interim Pastor Journey is Sunday, October 6.
• The Strategic Plan (Mission Study) is presented to the Session for approval at the Stated Session Meeting, Monday, November 18.
• November 2024-January 2025 the Nominating Committee identifies Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) members.
• The PNC slate is elected at the Annual Meeting on Sunday, February 23, 2025. The Strategic Plan is also presented.
• The PNC begins its work in March.

Friends, nothing in your life is an accident. God has purpose for each of you. Read the benediction below (benediction, in Latin literally means, “good word”) written by the late Richard Halverson, Minister of Word and Sacrament (PCUSA), and Chaplain to the United States Senate (1981- 1994). You’ll be encouraged.

You go nowhere by accident.

Wherever you go, God is sending you.

He has a purpose in your being there.

Christ who indwells you has something he wants to do through you wherever you are.

Believe this.

And go in his grace and love and power.

Amen.

Remember, nothing in your life is an accident. Nothing in Grace’s life is an accident. Everything is purposed by God!

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

Steve

The Rev. Dr. Steven M. Marsh

Interim Pastor