Grace Notes Weekly Update

GRACE NOTES

February 14 - 21, 2023

For Worship services please visit our YouTube channel.

What's Going On At Grace

+Tues, Feb 21 - Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper & Palm Burning, 6:30pm

+Wed, Feb 22 - Ash Wednesday Services - 12pm and 6:30pm

+Sun, Feb 26 - Sun, Mar 5 - Family Promise

+Wed, Mar 1 - Lenten Soup Suppers, Program, and Worship begin

+Sun, Mar 12 - Ministry Fair, between services

Many of these events have more details in other sections. This section is updated each week, so keep checking in. You can also see the full church calendar HERE.

Have you taken Grace's

Strategic Planning Survey?

We have received 137 responses to our survey so far, which is fantastic! Thank you to everyone who has taken time to complete the survey already.

Our goal is 150 surveys completed by this Friday, and we are confident we can reach and even exceed it! We need your participation to get there!

Your voice and participation matter! We are asking every member to take this survey; members in the same household are each encouraged to complete their own individual survey.

More voices make for better discernment!

Please click HERE to complete the survey.

Thank you in advance for being part of this process!

If you have any trouble accessing the survey, please contact the church office for assistance.

Get to know our new members!

Welcome

Linda Herring!

Click HERE to learn more about Linda.

Please help us prepare enough pancakes by letting us know you're coming HERE

This year, we're inviting the whole congregation to take part in preparing our Grace Family Dinners!

Rather than assigning committees to dates, we are asking that everyone consider how they might help with our dinners and sign up for dates that work for you.

If you have a favorite soup, we hope you'll share it! If you're not as much of a cook, but can provide bread or drinks, that's great! We'll also need assistance with setup and cleanup.

Click HERE to sign up to help with a Grace Family Dinner.

Outreach Partnerships in Action

It was another usual morning where I picked up the ladies from The Life House Women’s Shelter at 314 N. Wilson Street (which houses 12 women, some with children) to transport them to work or the My Ride Transit Hub. If you look at these smiling faces, it’s hard to fathom that not too long ago these precious ladies were living on the streets with little hope. The only thing to keep them warm was a blanket and the warmest bush they could find. Thanks to our good Lord instilling generosity into our community and the overwhelming dedicated staff and volunteers at The Life House, they now have a roof over their heads, warm beds, food in their stomachs, and an eventual path to independent living.

If you think that is inspiring, take a look at the beautiful colonial blue house located across the street from The Shelter. This residence will be known as The Home and will house another twelve ladies within the next month! These are women who have been at The Shelter and are working toward being able to live on their own. Lots of volunteer opportunities are available at The Cottage (coming soon to Pathways), The Shelter, and The Home. If you’d like to be as inspired as I am every time I see these smiling faces while driving them around town, please contact Amy Lane, Volunteer Coordinator, at acombslane@gmail.com

-Ron Hartman

Feb 26 - Mar 5, 2023!

Take part in providing a home for our neighbors!

Your time and effort given to host Family Promise make a concrete difference in the lives of our guests. Creating a safe and welcoming home for a week is a blessing, and we are grateful for your participation.

You can sign up to help by clicking HERE.

Volunteer opportunities include:

-Sunday, Feb 26, 11 am - four volunteers are needed for about an hour to transform Sunday School rooms into bedrooms for families for the week; tasks include moving tables & chairs, inflating mattresses, making beds, putting down rugs, etc.

-At 6 pm every night (except Tuesday) dinner is needed for up to 15 people; volunteers plan, prepare and serve the meal, cooking offsite or in Grace’s kitchen. Volunteers and their families are encouraged to eat with our guests. Beverages and ice cream along with serving/eating utensils, plates, cups, napkins, etc. are furnished by the church.

-From 6-8 pm each night (except Tuesday) one or two volunteers are needed as evening hosts to eat dinner with the families and stay to visit, play games, walk around the block, watch TV, etc.

-Each night, two volunteers (one female and one male) are needed to stay overnight at the church from 8 p.m. until 7 a.m. the next morning. Air mattresses are supplied, and volunteers are housed in separate classrooms.

-Sunday Mar 5 at 7:30 am, three people are needed to prepare classrooms for Sunday School.

-Following Mar 5, one or two volunteers are needed to launder church-owned bed linens for use the next time we host Family Promise.

Thank you for your support of this ministry!

Questions about Grace hosting Family Promise? Contact Pr. Rachel

Seniors @ Grace

Seniors@Grace will be hosting our annual visit from the Carolina Copy Cats on Thursday February 23, 2023. It is always a fun filled visit that brings many laughs and smiles. Come join us at 11:30 a.m. for good conversation followed by lunch at noon.

The Carolina Copy Cats will perform after lunch. Lunch will be $6.00 and we will take up a free will offering to donate to the performers. Mark your calendars now for this fun afternoon. Please RSVP by February 21. If you have any questions please let Annie-Laurie Wheat know. She can be reached at (803) 517-0626 (cell) or (803) 980-1834 (home) or by email at wheatannielaurie@gmail.com

Race & Reconciliation

Join Race and Reconciliation at Grace Lutheran Church on Thursday, February 23 at 7pm for a discussion on "Whiteness in America" led by Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell.

Rev Boswell is the creator and founder of Confronting Whiteness; an organization committed to inviting people racialized as white on a journey of becoming anti-racist practitioners in their spheres of power and influence.

He has served as the Senior Minister of Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC since 2016. A former U.S. Army Officer with degrees from Campbell University (B.A.), Duke Divinity School (M.Div.), and Saint Paul School of Theology (D.Min), Dr. Boswell is known as a preacher, pastor, civil rights leader and public speaker who facilitates anti-racist education for people racialized as white and white-dominant organizations.

In 2021, Dr. Boswell was awarded the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr. Medallion, which is the city of Charlotte’s highest honor given to a person who promotes racial equality, social justice, and community service. He has published numerous articles and two books: "For the Facing of this Hour: Preaching that Resists White Christian Nationalism," and "Confronting Whiteness: A Spiritual Journey of Reflection, Conversation, and Transformation.”

"The Ski Trip is a great time to connect with each other and get to know each other better. My favorite parts of the ski trip are doing Sunday worship with everyone and also doing snow activities with friends." - Mary V

At the end of January, our Youth went on our Ski Retreat! We had a fantastic time with snow sports, spending time together, and enjoying God's creation.

Thank you for supporting for our Youth Ministry,

providing for trips like these!

We especially thank Stephanie Beer, Lori Brown, and Sean & Heather Litzinger for serving as our adult leaders with Pr. Rachel on this trip!

To see photos of this great weekend, click HERE!

February is American Heart Health Month.

Click HERE to read an article from the Health & Wellness Committee on heart health.

It's time to register for Summer Camp at our NovusWay Lutheran Camps! If you're interested in going to one of our 4 regional camps, click HERE for info about their programs!

We know camp can be expensive, and we don't want cost to be a barrier to anyone's faith formation. If you'd like to apply for a Grace scholarship for a NovusWay camp, please click HERE or speak to Pr. Rachel for more information.

As we celebrate our 100th year of ministry at Grace, we give thanks that we have been called to be in this community for 100 years. We know our community and we are known here. Still, there are more connections to be made. As we begin Moving Forward in Grace, we are diving into our goal of making 100 new community connections in 2023.

We'll be keeping track of our connections and sharing them with each other. To do so, please click HERE to share your connection!

To read the previous enews about our 100 Connections, click HERE.

OUTREACH UPDATES AND OPPORTUNITIES

HOPE of Rock Hill Donations

Biggest needs this week:

Diapers sizes 4, 5 & 6, Pull-Ups all sizes, Hygiene Items, Toilet Paper, Paper Towels, Cleaning Supplies, Condiments, Cereal

HOPE has plenty of green beans and asks that you do not donate more at this time.

You can drop items off in the bin located outside the church offices and a volunteer will take them over to HOPE. Please only place non-perishable items in the bin!

Congregation Connections

Click here for our current Prayer List

Click here for our Memorials & Honor Gifts

Click here for our February Birthdays

The Sanctuary candle for the month of February is given by Linda Bailey in memory of Mike Bailey.

The Altar Flowers for February 19 are available to sponsor.

Member Memories

One of the ways we will be celebrating the rich history of Grace this year is to hear about its impact on the lives of its members.

Following the example of Richard Denton (one of the first to be baptized at Grace, and now a member of the Church Triumphant), we hope to share these member memories throughout our 100th year. Click HERE to read Richard Denton's Remembrance of Grace "The Early Years."

These do not need to be very long - even a single paragraph would be fine. Simply share with us your perspective, the way your story and Grace's story came together, and we will publish these remembrances in these Grace Notes publications throughout the year.

Email your memories to 100years@gracerockhill.com

Sunday Morning Hospitality is a true gift in our congregation! We have the opportunity to gather around coffee and pastries while catching up, sharing news, and meeting new people!

If you'd like to be part of this ministry, please click here to sign up as a host. If you've never hosted before, we have people who can walk you through it. Your time and effort make a big difference for the congregation.

Thank you to everyone who has been part of this ministry, and who will be taking part in the months to come!

2023 Sanctuary Candle

The month of October is still available to sponsor.

The cost of the candle is $25.

Click HERE to sign up.

Altar Flowers

It is a long-standing tradition at Grace for members to sponsor the weekly flowers, often in honor or memory of a special person or event.

The cost is $45 for one or $90 for both vases.

The flowers are available to sponsor for Feb. 19. Click HERE to sign up.

Worship Assistant Schedule

Click HERE for the current schedule.

Don't see your name? Want to be part of leading worship? Email the church office today!

Offering Our Gifts to God

Your gifts to Grace allow our ministry to happen! You can give in several ways:

Give via the offering plate in worship
Give online by clicking HERE (you have the option to offset the cost of giving online)
Set up giving though your bank
Mail your offering to the church office.

Thank you for continued faithful giving!