Hello Grace Family! I am so grateful to all of you as you continue to volunteer around the church in support of the many mission and ministries of Grace. You are truly building bridges between Christ and our community in so many ways.
This past week saw several new beginnings. MOPS had their first meeting on campus since mid-March and seeing all the moms with their little ones was wonderful. And Saturday the Scouts were here helping to set up the pumpkin patch! Thank you Colleen for all your work getting us to this place where we will be able to offer this wonderful outreach to our community as we continue to ensure people are wearing masks and social distancing while they make the very important choice of which pumpkin they will choose to carve this year. What a wonderful sign that things are beginning a new.
And then Sunday evening we finally were able to offer “The Five” worship service. It was such a great time as we gathered outside and were able to listen to live worship music! I had forgotten just how much I miss live music! I can hardly wait until we are able to do the same in the sanctuary. But in the meantime if you are like me and would like to hear some live praise music, come on out Sunday nights at five. We have prewrapped snacks for everyone, bottles of water, social distancing and worship! A great combination.
This Sunday I hope you will join me as I will be preaching about love and fear. In 1967 The Youngblood’s, released a song called “Get Together.” The first two lines of the song say: “Love is but a song to sing, fear’s the way we die.” It is interesting that most of us think of hate as the opposite of love. But in reality it is fear. Fear kills our hopes and dreams. Fear hardens our hearts and keeps us from experiencing true love. Fear really is the way we die little by little. Join me online or in the sanctuary as we explore these two emotions and how we can find the courage to face our fears, to not become a stumbling block for others, and to love all people just as Jesus modeled throughout his ministry. The scriptures I will be using are Leviticus 19:11 – 18 and 1 John 4:16 – 21. I hope you take the time to read these prior to Sunday. Please keep me and all who are involved in the Sunday service in your prayers as we prepare the worship service. Thank you! Blessings, Pastor Beth