Garden of Grace
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Announcements:
MyChurch offers interactive features for members of Garden of Grace UCC, including a buy/sell/trade forum (Sharing), Bulletins and Blogging, an Event Calendar and much more! Visit MyChurch today!
Our web site now has a BLOG! Hear words of comfort, inspiration, motivation and ministry from our church leaders - click here! Entries from the congregation are welcome, subject to review.
Happening this week at Garden of Grace:
12:30 p.m. Aug 31, Fifth-Sunday Covered-dish luncheon.
6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4, Dan Greshel's Care Circle, dgreshel@sc.rr.com , gathers to explore “Easter Moments.”
9:45 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, Choir practice, led by Andy Farmer, jandyfarmer@yahoo.com .
11 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, Our Community Pride Rainbow Candle Lighting Ceremony continues. The Rite of Laying-on of Hands for healing will be celebrated. The Sacrament of Baptism will be celebrated.
12:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, Inreach/Compassion Ministry planning meeting. Linda Renner, lgrenner@aol.com , and Loretta Cobb, lorrettaacobb@aim.com , are leaders.Our Outreach Team leads Garden of Grace in sponsoring the resettlement of four Burmese people who've lived in refugee camps for years before coming to Columbia. An Iraqi couple also will arrives this month for our help in resettlement. This project is a joint effort with Lutheran Family Services of the Carolinas. Joy and Carol Smith-Dailey, fotosetc@yahoo.com , coordinate this growing ministry. We hope to work in this compassion ministry with the state's other UCCs, Peace Congregation UCC in Clemson and Circular Congregational UCC and Plymouth Congregational UCC, both in Charleston.
Patricia Grello, pgrello@sc.rr.com , leads a social-justice Care Circle in West Columbia that volunteers with Harvest Hope Food Bank and with sewing projects for infant clothing.
Good news! Our associate pastor, the Rev. Candace Chellew-Hodge's new book, "Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians," is now available for pre-order through Amazon. The book will be published Sept. 4 by Jossey-Bass. To pre-order, follow this link http://tinyurl.com/3yv59u or do a search on the title at Amazon.com. Don't forget to get your copy autographed in September! A workshop and book-signing reception is planned for 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13. A book blessing will be Sunday, Sept. 14.
7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, Our Men's Night Out. Team leader is Patrick Parker, parker557@hotmail.com . Our Women's Spirituality Group dines out at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17. Team leader is Jan Hogan, janh244@yahoo.com .
Led by Barbara Johnson, compmom1@yahoo.com , and Jennifer Schneider, jenandkris2002@gmail.com , our Youth Team plans adventures for young ones. The team is applying to become Adventure Scouts, a progressive scouting troop for young boys and girls.
Garden of Grace will have a team in the First Ladies' Walk for Life: Steps Against Breast Cancer, Saturday, Oct. 4, at Finlay Park. Please see LoRi Durbin, ezlksunmorn@aol.com , or palmettohealthfoundation.org to sign up for this fundraiser.
Erick Snyder, esnyder8@gmail.com . He'll remake name tags to replace those that might be worn or lost and will take special requests for special name tags. Just send instructions and any pictures to him.
Never miss another Sunday service! Garden of Grace UCC is now podcasting at our Web site: http://www.gogucc.com. Now you can hear every sermon and special music online. Subscribe via iTunes or stream audio from our Web site, gogucc.com.
For many faith means having more answers than questions. For others, faith means living the questions. If you want to explore the questions that your faith has raised in you, join us for Living the Questions, a 21-week long spiritual journey into progressive Christian ideas. Sessions are held each first and third Fridays at 7 p.m. at Garden of Grace UCC. A light meal is served at each session. Donations to defray the cost of food are gladly accepted but are not mandatory. All sessions are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Rev. Candace at revcandace@gogucc.com .
Have you wanted to help on the Apron Brigade (Hospitality Team) but did not like to greet people – just a little shy? Well, now you can help. In 2008, we are asking for help with donations, such as coffee cups, lids, snacks, and much more – and you don't have to be a member of this team! If interested, please see Joe Matthews, jmatthewssc@bellsouth.net .
Please see Kevin Dove, kdove@lander.edu , or Mike Grello, mgrello@sc.rr.com , to buy fairly traded Equal Exchange coffee, tea, and other items. This goes to help UCC's Justice and Witness Ministry to help small, independent farmers. Also, Garden of Grace's trustees have started a food bank to help hungry people. Non-perishable food items can be brought to our Hospitality Room. Please see Joe Matthews, jmatthewssc@bellsouth.net or Richard Morris to give in this way.
Trustee Cora Davis, archival minister, rbrducky@sc.rr.com , is gathering information about Care Circles and other ministries to maintain a record of our extraordinary history. Please see her to help. Assisting her with photography are Leta Horine, 12smokey@bellsouth.net , and Pat Seymour, seymourpat@bellsouth.net .
Photos are taken for use on our web site or my-space pages. Please let ? the photographer know if you object to your photo being used for this ministry.
David Withers and Grant Lorick of Something Special in Irmo provide altar flowers in exchange for donations to our building fund. If you have a special person or occasion to honor or remember, please sign the calendar on our bulletin board.
Care Circles gather twice monthly to share in prayer, devotion and fellowship. These are great places to find friends and ministries. A variety of Care Circle devotions are offered.
Dan Greshel's Care Circle gathers on new dates to explore “Easter Moments.” The circle gathers at 6:30 p.m. 1 st and 3 rd Thursdays, serving Columbia's St. Andrews neighborhood. He can be reached at DGRESHEL@sc.rr.com .
Linda Renner, lgrenner@aol.com , and Loretta Cobb's Care Circle gathers at 6:30 p.m. second and fourth Tuesdays in Columbia's Earlewood neighborhood.
Patty Grello's Care Circle gathers to help with social-justice ministries, including Harvest Hope Food Bank and a clothing program for babies. She can be reached at pgrello@sc.rr.com .
Rev. Candace Chellew-Hodge's Care Circle gathers at 7 p.m. first and third Fridays at the church. For more information contact Rev. Candace at revcandace@gogucc.com .
Men's Nite Out, led by Patrick Parker, parker557@hotmail.com , dines out at 7 p.m. second Thursdays.
Women's Spiritual Group, led by Jan Hogan, janh244@yahoo.com , dines out at 7 p.m. third Wednesdays.
Our mission and core values:
We exist to share this sanctuary of love, warmth, and laughter by providing Spirit-filled worship, music, and an open communion. All who enter can experience the radically inclusive love of Christ and take with them unquestionable knowledge that God truly loves all creation.
We exist to answer God's call to go and to g row God's disciples, to u plift Christ's goodness, to c reate Spiritual community, and to c are for God's people and God's world.
We claim a faith and a future grounded in the teachings of Jesus the Christ. Our ever-growing body of faith is nurtured by the Divine, Gracious, and Peaceful Spirit that unites us in our great diversity and gathers still others to us.
We sow Divine seeds of goodness and share a harvest of incredible compassion, dynamic hope, extravagant hospitality, and radical love.
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