Dear Grace Family,
May the Lord increase our faith to believe more and more that we are loved by God and can bring to him our doubts, complaints, baggage, and even our sins. Listen to Pastor John encourage us in the truth of our belovedness, here.
Morning & Evening Prayer is one helpful way to make the rich spiritual disciplines of prayer and reading Scripture a more regular part of our lives. For a brief description of these practices, go here.
New ministry year begins Sunday, October 3
- Who are we? We will be introducing the congregation to our updated Vision, Mission, & Values (and a completely new website).
- Get connected. In addition to participating in regular worship, we are encouraging everyone to participate in one of our Connect Groups.
- Christian Formation Hour (like Sunday school, but cooler). New learning opportunities for adults, children, and youth. Follow the links for a quick overview or a more in-depth description.
Sundays at Grace
- We will hold in-person worship and livestream this week at 10:30 AM. Nursery age 6 months to 36 months is open this upcoming week with a limit of 6 children. Registration required for nursery.
- Grace Kids Volunteer Trainings: Sunday, September 19 at 9:15 AM in the Fellowship Hall. Contact Linn at linn@graceseattle.org to register or for more information.
- Grace Kids Registration/Survey: If you have an infant through 5th grader, please fill out this Grace Kids Registration/Survey as we prepare for the ministry year.
- Church wide party: Sunday, September 26 after the worship service to celebrate the beginning of the ministry year. Amy's Merkato Eritrean & Ethiopian Restaurant is catering lunch for us. We welcome back Jess and Danielle to our staff, meet some of our Grace Kids Teachers for the year, and welcome back and say goodbye to some members of the Pastoral Care Team returning from or moving toward sabbatical.
- Sunday Volunteers Needed!
- With the return to in-person worship, we need people willing to help with communion, ushering, check-in, reading Scripture, and sound crew.
Please contact Danielle at danielle@graceseattle.org to sign up!
Connect
- NEW Youth Central/Alpha: Grace is partnering with Central Community Church, Icon Church and St. Joseph Church. Our last summer gathering is this Thursday, September 16, 6PM. Beginning October 4, 6-7:45 PM, a 10 week class for 6-12th graders called Alpha begins! Alpha is an evangelistic course with the aim of unfolding the basics of the Gospel and Christian theology. Through small group discussion and prayer, this version of Alpha will serve to sharpen the understanding and zeal of our young people at Grace.
Please email Pastor Jason at jason@graceseattle.org with questions.
- Community and Connect Group Leaders Training! If you are a connect/small group leader, host of a group, or are a member and considering becoming a leader or host, please mark your calendar for a weekend training-palooza October 1-2 (Friday night start 6PM, Saturday morning start 8:30 AM. Meals provided along with important training topics on how to lead and host groups. We will meet at Epiphany Parish Church in Madrona: 1805 38th Avenue.
Please RSVP with Jamie at jamie@graceseattle.org.
- NEW Listening Prayer:
“By beginning with the revealed word of God, lectio divina (listening prayer) continues the conversation that God has begun. We first pay attention to his approach to us and focus on our receptivity. Scripture becomes a means for God to feed, heal, and love us. We open ourselves to God’s presence and respond with our hearts.” -Stephen J. Binz – Conversing with God in Scripture.
- A Listening prayer group is a small group that meets monthly with the intention of building community around the word of God. During this time together we will listen to God’s word read out loud. We will have an opportunity for individual silence and reflection on the scripture, and then conclude our time together, sharing the gifts that God has given in our silence with him.
- If you’d like to join a listening prayer group, please contact Shelly Morse at shelly@graceseattle.org by September 26th. Group Listening Prayer will begin in October.
- GraceLife Distribution List: GraceLife (gracelifeseattle@googlegroups.com) is an email group designed to foster spontaneous generosity and hospitality among anyone and everyone who regularly attends Grace. The distribution list allows anyone who signs up to send out an email to the larger group. It is designed to be used to let others know about a party you’d like to invite others to join, a game night you’d like to host, a request to borrow something, a post to give goods away, a need you’d like to ask for help from the larger group, etc. If you are interested in joining, please email Danielle at danielle@graceseattle.org.
- Virtual Book Discussion: The Post Quarantine Church by Thom S. Rainier: On Saturday, September 18, 2021 from 11 AM to 1 PM, the Sarah Allen Sisterhood, auxiliary of First AME Church, is excited to plan a book discussion for this Saturday. The discussion will take place on Zoom. For the meeting link or other questions, please contact Anita Dias at ginas42@outlook.com.
Serving the City
- Meal Delivery: We partner with local businesses by purchasing meals and delivering them to local shelters. We'll do this regularly this fall. Sign up to go to a business, pick up a meal, and deliver it to a shelter here.
- New Horizons Youth Shelter has an opportunity for meals to be prepared and delivered once or twice a month for the youth that utilize their services. Prepared meals would need to feed 40 youth (teenaged to young 20's) in family style containers. If you are interested in supporting this opportunity please reach out to jason@graceseattle.org.
Blessings to you,
Grace Office
Weekly Calendar at a Glance
Tues 9/14, Betrayal Trauma Support Group - 6:30 PM
Wed 9/15, Recovery From Sexual Compulsivity Discussion Group - 7 PM
Fri 9/17, Friday Moms Group - 9 AM
Sun 9/19, 9:15 AM Grace Kids Volunteer Training
Sun 9/19, 10:30 AM: Youth Planned and Led Sunday Worship - 10:30 AM
