Dear Grace Family:
As we continue our journey through COVID-19 and its effects on everyone, it is important that we all develop routine prayer practices. You may have specific, personal prayer needs to share. Please send those to Pat Harrison at path.gumc@gmail.com. Pat will forward those requests to me and Pastor Beth and our prayer team. If you have a need that you only want to share with me or Pastor Beth, just let Pat know that and she will maintain confidentiality.
We are working on a service for tomorrow, March 22, and our plan is to have it via Facebook live at 11am. For those who do not use Facebook, we will post the service on the church website so that you can access it that way. Our plan is to make it a simple service with a couple of songs, prayers, and a message. If you have never accessed the church website, you can find it at www.gumcmi.com.
Many of you may find that the silver lining to our current situation is that you have time to do some things you have been missing. You can pause and pray for each other as a family. You can read a Psalm every day and listen to encouraging music that reminds us of God’s love and provision. You can stay in touch with friends via phone or email.
Our scripture for tomorrow is 1 John 4:18-19. This is my favorite scripture passage. It reminds us that as we abide (dwell) in the love of God through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are free from fear. God’s perfect love casts out fear, especially during times of great uncertainty. Please pray for our team of 5 people putting together this service.
Our staff continues to work from home, and I know that Niki Hoyt is planning some online ideas for families with children, including children’s Sunday school online at 10am Sunday. I am grateful for a dedicated staff here and Grace.
If you need to reach me or Pastor Beth, just call the church office. After 3 or 4 rings, you will receive instructions on how to reach either of us just by following a prompt. The call will go directly to our personal cell phones.
May God bless you and comfort you. We will get through this together! Pastor Steve