Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church

Grace Notes
Volume 42, Issue 2

February 2012

CARITAS Is Coming March 3-10, 2012!

Traci, Our Doors Are Open
Traci, a guest of Grace Covenant, enjoyed music while listening to the choir practice during the week of CARITAS. She made many friends and subsequently attended several Forum classes and Sunday worship. At dinner, she said the mealtime blessing for us and our guests. We havent seen her since but trust in God that she found joy in life that only He can provide. CARITAS reaches out to those experiencing set-backs in life all are homeless; some are recently released from detention; some are recovering from substance abuse; and others are re-entering the work force. Many welcome this second chance to become productive members of the Richmond community. March 3-10, these folks will be staying with us in our church facility, and we have the opportunity to serve and love them. It takes hundreds of Grace Covenant hands to care for our CARITAS neighbors, and there are lots of ways to get involved. The Missions Committee seeks those who can to serve as overnight hosts. Others are needed to help with set-up and take-down of beds, prepare lunches and dinners, provide transportation to the YMCA for showers, and wash and dry clothes. Members with limited time also can provide books, games, and DVD movies. The week concludes on Saturday morning, March 10th, with a pancake breakfast with all the trimmings. Like Traci, we are without hope except for the saving grace of Jesus Christ. And Christ calls us to serve those who are in need. There are many who re-enter a productive life through CARITAS ministries. We look forward to seeing God work through us as we serve them. For folks like Traci, our doors are open. To volunteer to help with CARITAS, please contact one of the following Missions Committee members:
Kent Cardwell at kcardwell@healthcarerealty.com or at 804-285-7044 Dawson Watkins at dewatkins41@hotmail.com or at 804-334-2738 Matt Hartman at mchartman@vcu.edu or at 804-212-1961 Note: CARITAS is an acronym for Congregations Around Richmond Involved To Assure Shelter. 185 Richmond Congregations participate in many different ways with CARITAS annually.

Volume 42, Issue 2

Page 2

Special Music for the Presbytery of the James Worship Service

On Saturday, February 18, Grace Covenant will host the 80th stated meeting for the Presbytery of the James. The morning will begin with a worship service in the sanctuary, followed by a standard agenda for the presbytery. Our Chancel Choir has been asked to sing for the opening worship service, and we are very proud to be a part of this event. Since the first week of January our Chancel Choir has been busy rehearsing music for our normal Sunday morning schedule and for next months Presbytery worship service. Currently, the choir is working on two anthems for the Presbytery service: This Is the Day by John Rutter and Unity Psalm by John Karl Hirten. This Is the Day is a beautiful setting of verses from the Psalms and was commissioned by Westminster Abbey for the wedding of William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine Middleton. It was first performed by the combined choirs of Westminster Abbey and the Chapel Royal, in the presence of the royal family, and was broadcast live to millions across the globe. A recording of this anthem is available on YouTube. Unity Psalm was written by American composer John Karl Hirten and is a setting of Psalm 133, How good and pleasant it is when friends live together in unity. Hirtens psalm setting was performed last summer at the Region IX Convention of the American Guild of Organists in San Francisco. Unity Psalm was sung at an interfaith worship service which represented the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths. This stirring anthem is a dialogue between a cantor and choir. Guest soprano Lisa EdwardsBurrs will serve as the cantor for this anthem and sing with the choir throughout the remainder of the service. If you are unable to attend the Saturday morning Presbytery worship service, you will have an opportunity to hear the choir sing John Rutters anthem on the following Sunday morning, as it will be the anthem for that day. Chris Martin, Director of Music

Ringing and Singing Dates This Spring!

Junior Choir (grades 1-5) February 26 April 1 (Palm Sunday) May 13 (Mothers Day) Handbell Choir February 19 March 25 April 8 (Easter) Carol Choir (ages 3-K) TBA

Volume 42, Issue 2

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The Presbyterian Women will be having a luncheon on Tuesday, February 28. (Original date was Tuesday, March 6) Janet Chenoweth will be presenting two of her short plays she has written. The first one being a comedy and the second being a drama. We hope to see ya there!

PW Lunch DATE CHANGE

PW Benevolence Fund
The GCPC Presbyterian Women Memorial Fund interest is available for benevolent purposes as determined by the PW Coordinating Team. Anyone wishing to suggest a worthy cause should put the request in writing with the dollar amount, address the request to Becky Reeves, and place it in the PW Mailbox in the glass office by March 31, 2012. Briefly describe how the money would be used, and include the name and address of the person to receive the check if the purpose is chosen.

All Circles Meet on Tuesday, February 14

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PW Circle 2 11:00 a.m. Covenant Room Hostesses: Mary Whitley & Carole Wagner

PW Circle 3 9:30 a.m. Social Room Hostess:

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Stewardship Corner and Financial Update Remember the Hungry

5 CENTS A MEAL 15 CENTS A DAY $1.05 A WEEK

Page 4

$4.50 A MONTH

As was the case in recent years, contributions in December were particular strong. The total of $107,500 was about 5% over that of last December and was over three times the total in November. With the posting of prior rental income, the total income for the month of $116,300 exceeded expenses of $46,900 by $69,400, eliminating the large operating deficit for the year. For the twelve-month period operating income of $553,300 exceeded expenses of $549,900 by a few thousand dollars. This excludes one-time income from repayments by the Child Development Center, transfers from the Radio Fund and from Restricted funds, and a bequest which together totaled $86,000. Our Five Cents Per Meal Offering in December was $331, compared with $246 in November. The Joy Gift for 2011 was $1,959.

Any unclaimed statements and envelopes were mailed in January. If you have not received yours or have any questions, please call the bookkeeper at 359-2463 ext. 205. Also, it is not too late to send in your pledge for 2012. Dont forget your Initial Offering Envelope. Donations in your cream-colored envelope help to defray the cost of offering envelopes. To date, 16 people have given $121 to the Envelope Fund.

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Grace Notes

Sunday School Attendance January 2011 - December 2011

The four Adult classes, Connections, Grace Bible Study, Vanguard Bible Study, and Forum met for 36 sessions and three times with all classes combined during winter, spring and fall. The average attendance was 53 with 11 Sundays having 55-69 members and guests. During the 12 Sundays, June 19 September 4, the average attendance was 32 with five Sundays having 3844 people. LETS MAKE 2012 A BANNER YEAR FOR OUR ADULT CLASSES. Take advantage of these opportunities to enjoy Christian fellowship, to study Scripture, to learn more about our Book of Confessions, and to discuss how better to lead a Christian life. The Connections Class meets on the 3rd floor in room 303, the Grace Bible Study class on the 2nd floor in room 217, the Vanguard Class in the basement, B-7 and the Forum in the basement, B-4, Everyone is WELCOME! Infants, 0-16 months old Toddlers, 17 months2 years old Preschoolers, 3 and 4 year olds Kindergarten2nd grade Grades 3rd6th Nursery Main Level Room 102 Room 101 Rooms 207-210 Rooms 207-210

SOUPER BOWL OF CARING -- SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5

Grace Covenant is joining the Presbytery of the James' attack against hunger by participating in the nation-wide Souper Bowl of Caring event on Sunday, February 5! The GCPC Youth will be taking up a "souper" special offering after worship -- so please look for the soup pots in the Narthex to make a contribution, as we do our part to help feed those who are in need. To learn more about this important effort, please visit www.souperbowl.org

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Grace Notes

PEOPLE Group will be meeting on Saturday,

February 11 at Westminster Canterbury in The Terrace Room, hosted by Jo Garber. Please bring a dish to share, anything from an appetizer, salad, a side, a main dish or dessert.

Establishment of the Loaves and Fishes Fund

As Jesus went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. When it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late; send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat. But he answered them, You give them something to eat. They said to him, Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat? And he said to them, How many loaves have you? Go and see. When they had found out, they said, Five, and two fish. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. And all ate and were filled. (Mark 6:34-42) The Session is pleased to announce the establishment of a new restricted fund to support missions, which will be called the Loaves and Fishes Fund. In response to recent financial challenges which have greatly reduced Grace Covenants missions budget, a few members have pledged to match gifts made to this fund dollar-for-dollar, up to an aggregate amount of $1,000 each month, helping to multiply even a small offering. The Missions Committee will manage and distribute the Loaves and Fishes Fund, of which half will go to international missions and half to provide direct financial support to families in our local community. This new fund will not replace Grace Covenants missions budget, but instead supplement it. Accordingly, donations made to the Loaves and Fishes fund should be viewed as gifts and offerings that are above and beyond our regular tithe to God. You will be hearing more about the Loaves and Fishes Fund in the coming weeks and months. Please prayerfully consider providing further support to Grace Covenants missions outreach through the Loaves and Fishes Fund. With Gods help, even a small gift can go a long way. If you have any questions, please contact Matt Hartman at (804-212-1961 / mchartman@vcu.edu).

Openers/Closers February 5 February 12 February 19 February 26 Kent Cardwell Rick Nochta Whit Whitley Hank Downing

Sundays in the month and youre done! Contact Lisa Cardwell if you are willing to serve in this ministry at 804-285-7044 This can be done on Sunday mornings as well Elementary Sunday School February 5 February 12 February 19 February 26 Greeters February 5 February 12 Bob Copeland Christopher Tweel Katherine Baird Christopher Tweel Virginia Hudson Erika Tabor Janet Chenoweth

Wednesday Night Supper/Glass Monitor February 1 February 8 February 15 February 22 February 29 Nursery Volunteers February 5 February 12 February 19 February 26 Childrens Worship Kits Think you arent qualified to work with Children? Well there is another way you can help! We are need of volunteers to help with Worship Kits. Worship Kits are small bags we give out to children to help them follow the sermon with a bulletin and an activity sheet to keep them busy. Worship Kit volunteers are based on a month rotation serve for all the Susan Boze Mary Gray Ann Hubbard needed Rob Turner Carol Wood Sid Yates Scott Boze Everett Reveley

February 19 February 26

Presbyterian Women

Host/Hostess for the Fellowship Time Volunteers host our Fellowship Time in the Social Room after Worship on Sundays. If you would like to volunteer to host the Fellowship Hour one Sunday, please sign up on the sign-up sheet in the Social Room placed on the piano, or in the Glass Office. Grace Notes Deadline: Monday, February 20, is the deadline for submissions for our March edition.

Grace Covenant Child Development Center

Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, Everything at the CDC is going well! With growing numbers, we are able to make many much-needed improvements to our facility and program development. We have updated our security entrance system by providing parents and staff with a key-card, which will unlock the doors using a sensor connected to the current monitoring system. We are still able to screen visitors, now with the added convenience for those authorized of immediate access to the building. These key cards are identified with a name and code, and can be "turned off" at any time should a person become unauthorized for immediate access to our building. We are very excited about the added security and convenience this new development will give us. We have updated our tuition tracking system by buying software called ProCare, which will electronically collect tuition payments from parents. This will stabilize the budget by making payments more consistent. ProCare is database used for family data and accounting, centralizing our records and automatically updating information such as enrollment status, immunization records, family relationships, emergency contact information, e-mail, and much more. This will enable administrative staff to spend less time manually filing records and more time supporting staff in the classrooms. We've also had the blessing of being able to start a whole new Pre-K 1 classroom for our upcoming 3's and 4's. This will lead to a Pre-K classroom of 5 year olds, which will enable us to graduate students into the community once again. We are very excited about our recent improvements and upcoming expansion. Thank you, Grace Covenant, for inviting me to speak as your guest for the Wednesday night dinner program last week. I enjoyed the company and Brunswick stew as well as the opportunity to share these new improvements with the church and answer questions. I also spoke a little bit about myself and where I fit in to the Grace Covenant Child Development Center History. I am a member of Winfree Memorial Baptist Church, and choose to worship through their early contemporary-style worship service. I play flute in the praise band for that service, and feel closest to God when leading Worship through the gift of music that he has blessed me with. I also lead the Pre-School children's choir program every Sunday Night, and am thankful for the opportunity to teach young ones the joy of praising God through music and fellowship. I was hired by Beth Lloyd as an Infant Assistant Teacher at Grace Covenant in October of 2009, later growing into the role of Lead Teacher of the 2 1/2 year old class which I chose to call the Blue Room. In January of 2011, God called me to accept the Assistant Director's Position. When Brenda Van Pelt felt led to move in a different direction, I was led to act as Interim Director which I am currently still doing until God's further plans are revealed. I am looking forward to continuing my work at Grace Covenant in whatever way possible in the years to come. I am ever thankful and extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to be so involved in the process of turning the CDC into the ministry it was set out to be. Nicole Williams

CDC Board Members are: Cal Gray, Jean Appich, Jordan Ball, Susan Boze, Cherry Corley, Marcia Manning, and Christof Meyer

PRESBYTERIAN OLDER ADULT MINISTRY -Reverend Charles E. SuttonPOAMN (Presbyterian Older Adult Ministries Network) is our denominational group for sponsoring annual conferences related to senior adult activities and ministry in our congregations. A newsletter is published four times a year. From this newsletter I often share quotes with you in Grace Notes. This past December and January at Westminster Canterbury we have experienced the loss by death of a large number of residents. Looking back over past years it seems that I recall a similar trend in several congregations. With this observation and the mention of POAMN I suggest now a related subject: our legacy or memoir. Many of us dread considering writing anything. Here is the way I just recently stated my reason for attempting: I desire to write about details, family members, and events of my life in order to inform my children, grandchildren, and any others interested, of past lifestyle, hinge-points, and then express my hopes for their future. That appears to cover two themes, one to recall some of the lifestyle of my generation, and the other to bequeath a statement of my simple faith in God as love, and in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In effect that is now all that we possess. I am interested in forming in our congregation a small group willing and interested in more help and information on this endeavor. While writing this I found a list of eighty topics which would not be taken as a pattern of your own journey, but most of us can use a little prompting. I have not tried it, but on the internet there is: www.mylifestory.org. to help people write about their lives...one story at a time. Also you can find www.yourestatematters.com My Legacy, My Life Story in My Own Words, from American Academy Estate Planning Attorneys.

February Birthdays
1- Joy Nevin 1 Elijah Keyes 2- Merelyn Hammett 3- George Plunkett 5- Landon Planz 6- Becky Reeves 6- Janet Miller 7- Grace Kim Weddington 8- Margaret Valentine 8- Chip Coleman 9- Edward Richardson 11- Gordon Gray 13 Grace Cardwell 14- Ellwood Meeteer 16- Jean R. Appich 17- Logan Moorhead 17- Bob Davis 19- Drew Roever 20- Diane Valentine 20- Laura Leigh Savage 20 Cameron Baird 21- Kristi Croxton 22- Megan Meyer 22 Teagan Spivey 23- Jessie Griffin 24- Patrise Sears 24- Sarah Peters 25- Carl McMillin 25- Elizabeth Flaherty 27- Sarah Kemp Bogin 28- Rick Nochta 28- Sally Warthen

February
Sunday Monday Tuesday 5 SOUPER BOWL Sunday! Mission Study Team 8:30 am Handbell Choir 8:30 am Sunday School 9:30 am Worship 10:55 am Fellowship Hour 12 noon 12 Mission Study Team 8:30am Prayer 9:15 am Sunday School 9:30 am Worship 10:55 am Fellowship Hour 12 noon 6 Mens Lunch 12 noon Worship Committee Meeting 7:00 pm 13 Mens Lunch 12 noon Property Committee Meeting 7:00 pm 7 Staff Meeting 10:00 am Care Team 3:00 pm Administration Committee Meeting 6:00 pm Finance Meeting 7:00 pm Mens Group 8:00 pm 14 Staff Meeting 10:00 am PW Circles see pg. 3 Care Team 3:00 pm Christian Education Committees 7:00 pm

Page 10

Wednesday

1 Carol Choir 4:30 pm Junior Choir 5:00 pm Wednesday Night Live 6:00 pm Fellowship Comm. 6:00 pm Chancel Choir 7:15 pm 8 Carol Choir 4:30 pm Junior Choir 5:00 pm CDC Board Meeting 5:00 Wed. Night Live6:00pm Chancel Choir 7:15 pm 15 Carol Choir 4:30 pm Junior Choir 5:00 pm Wednesday Night Live 6:00 pm Chancel Choir 7:15 pm

19 Mission Study Team 8:30 Handbell Choir 8:30 am Prayer 9:15 am Sunday School 9:30 am Worship 10:55 am Fellowship Hour 12 noon 26Mission Study Team 8:30 Handbell Choir 8:30 am Prayer 9:15 am Sunday School 9:30 am Worship 10:55 am Fellowship Hour 12 noon

20 GRACE NOTES ARTICLES DUE! Mens Lunch 12 noon

21 Staff Meeting 10:00 am Care Team 3:00 pm Mens Group 9:00 pm

22 Carol Choir 4:30 pm

Junior Choir 5:00 pm Wednesday Night Live 6:00 pm Chancel Choir 8:00 pm

ASH WED SERVICE 7pm 29 Carol Choir 4:30 pm

27 Mens Lunch 12 noon

28 Staff Meeting 10:00 am

Junior Choir 5:00 pm PW Coor. Team 11:00 am Wednesday Night Live PW Luncheon 12:00 noon 6:00 pm Chancel Choir 7:15 pm Care Team 3:00 pm

Thursday 2 Mothers Together 9:30 am Nominating Committee Meeting 7:00 pm 9 Mothers Together 9:30 am 10 3

Friday

Saturday 4 Church Work Day 8:00 am New Members Class 9:30 am 11 Teacher Training 12:00 noon 1704 Hanover Avenue PEOPLE Group 6:00 pm at Westminster Canterbury Terrace

16 Mothers Together 9:30 am SESSION MEETING 7:00 pm 23 Mothers Together 9:30 am Evangelism Meeting 6:30 pm

17

18 80th Stated POJ Meeting 8:00 am4:00 pm

24

25

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Grace Notes

Dinner is served from 6:00 - 6:30 p.m. Menus for February:

February 1: Barbeque, rolls, cole slaw, baked beans, pineapple upside-down cake February 8: Baked chicken, scalloped potatoes, Harvard beets, salad, rolls, brownies February 15: Chicken pot pie, broccoli, rolls, salad, banana pudding February 22: No-peek beef, noodles, peas, salad, rolls, cherry cobbler February 29: Lasagna, garlic bread, salad bar, lemon custard cake

Programs for February:

February 1 Members of the Mission Study Committee will present an overview of the Mission Study. February 8 Peter Rowan, VCU Minister for Reformed University Fellowship, will present equipping VCU students with Christian knowledge as they face a variety of challenges in college and in the world at large. February 15 Dr. Robert L Johnson, Executive Director of Friends of Forman Christian College, will share his experiences while in Pakistan and at Forman Christian College. February 22 Ash Wednesday Service

February 29 Mission Study members will present the final Mission Study Report.

Wednesday Night programs are from 6:30 - 7:15 p.m. every week in the Fellowship Hall. Programs include special guest speakers or people in our own congregation, sharing various topics.

Meals are:

$5.00 per adult

$2.00 children and students

$12.00 maximum per family

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Grace Notes

MISSION TRIP TO HONDURAS

Cherry, Ron, and I have returned safely from the 8th annual mission trip to Honduras under the auspices of the Kurtz Humanitarian Initiative for Southern Honduras (KHISH). Due to some last minute health issues, our group was missing two of its veteran members, and so we were a lean, mean band of eleven. We were joined again by Dr. Barbara Olson from Nashville, Dr. Len Jensen from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dentistry, Denny Leeper from Trinity Presbyterian in Berwyn PA, Rick Kurtz from Florida, and the Rev. Dr. Richard Graugh from First Presbyterian Church in Port Jefferson NY. Newbies were Richards wife Marlene DuBois, nurse Cathlin Vinett Mitchell from Nashville, Bill Kinsley from Immanuel Episcopal, and dental student Laura Barunas. We were joined in Honduras by four members of Living Waters of the World (Jane Collingwood, Harlon Mills, Tom Kelso, and Rev. Melvin Flores), by a Mennonite missionary nurse, Malerie Plank, by Rev. Mark Wright, PCUSA missionary to Honduras, the Moreno family, and a host of support staff (drivers, translators, and security guards). The roads were horrid due to widespread flooding in the South in October. One whole lane of the main north-south highway had washed down the mountainside with no signs of any intention to repair it. As always, the group split into several teams working in parallel, and joining morning and night for meals and times of reflection. Cherry and her work team were presented with the great honor of beautifying the entrance to the Hospital San Lorenzo, and did so, much to their own satisfaction and the delight of many onlookers. The medical/dental team held clinics in three one-room Presbyterian churches. The LWW representatives met with members of the communities of Puerto Grande and Moropocay, moving closer to their goal of a clean water supply in those towns. Len and Laura held a one-day Dental Symposium for local dental care professionals. The doctors and nurses did follow-up for the 95 persons who had undergone eye surgery the previous week by surgeons Drs. Jim Wheatley and Carlos Martinez. Mark was with us every step of the way, even fitting dozens of individuals with eyeglasses donated by the Lions Club. Many thanks for the prayers and support of Grace Covenant. Dates are already set for 2013 (January 18 for Project Vision; January 5-12 for the Medical/Dental/Work teams). The entire ophthalmology group has pledged to return. If you have the heart for this mission and time and skills to share, please look for us at www.KHISH.org and contact any of the GC members who have previously participated (Brian Baird, Cherry Corley, Susan Farrell, Elizabeth Russell, Susan Pillsbury David).

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Grace Notes

-continued from page 16Whatever the circumstance, God calls us, and calls us together, to make His person and His work known to one another. What a blessing we then can be to others! In a culture that labels Christians intolerant and judgmental, we can witness to others a God who does not wait with imperial aloofness to be loved, but chooses to love first (1 John 4:19), leaving His heavenly throne to live, work, and walk amongst us. Such is Gods work among us among this congregation. I have been blessed to meet with a number of people who are either wrestling with a call from God, or wrestling with life and wanting to know where and how or whether God is with them. I have also heard godly direction and discernment from the lips of brothers and sisters here. As I pray for this congregation, I am humbled and grateful to be able to say that God is truly working among us, both in ways known and in ways hidden. Thank you for continuing to lift up one another and this congregation in prayer. Ask that God show you where He is moving; ask Him to use you in His work (Is. 6:8). And as He uses you, loves through you, works in you, and glorifies Himself through you (John 15:8), may you bear witness to the fact that He is not done with us yet.

Yours in Christ,

GCPC Hosts the 80th Meeting of the Presbytery of the James

On Saturday, February 18th, Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church will host the 80th meeting of the Presbytery of the James (POJ). 235 Ruling Elders from 111 congregations, plus 235 Minister Members, constitute the voting membership of the presbytery. They will gather at GCPC that morning for coffee and refreshments prepared by the PW, then move to the sanctuary for worship, where they will be led by Chris Martin and our Chancel Choir. After worship, they will conduct the business before them, breaking for lunch at 12:30 in the Fellowship Hall, which is being coordinated by Dottie-Ray Koch of the Food Committee and Dawson Watkins with the Deacons. We will also have newly-refurbished restroom facilities for the convenience of the attendees, courtesy of Charlie Appich and the Building Fund.

The Session voted last year to invite the POJ to meet here as a token of our appreciation for its support of GCPC during 2010. We are privileged to host this first meeting of the new year, and are grateful to the many who have already given of their time and effort. If you would like to offer your time or services in support of this event, please contact event coordinator Suzanne Sizemore at sizemoress@aol.com or 804/288-7757 (home).

The Staff
Brint Keyes

2012 Officers
Our Elders serve the church as leaders. Our Deacons lead the church in service. Please feel free to approach them with any questions or feedback about Grace Covenants ministries.

Interim Pastor
Revbrint@verizon.net Chris Martin

Director of Music and Organist

martin@grace-covenant.org Vanessa Strait

CLERK OF SESSION: Everett Reveley ELDERS: Jordan Ball (14) - Nominating (M); Finance Maurice Bell (13) - Stewardship (M); Property Kent Cardwell (12) - Fellowship (M) Matt Hartman (13) - Missions (M) Virginia Hudson (14) - Evangelism (M) Cheryl Jacobs (12) - Worship (M); Fellowship Katie McCullough (13) - Administration (M) Dana McKnight (14) - Finance, Worship Christof Meyer (12) - Christian Ed (M), CDC (M) Tom Miller (12) - Christian Education Joy Nevin (14) - Administration Everett Reveley (12) - Finance (M) Robert Rosebro (13) - Property (M) Rob Turner (14) - Worship DEACONS: Pat Ball (12) Cherry Corley (12) Susan Farrell (12) Nikki Hazlegrove (13) - Vice-Moderator Jan Kessel (14) Jim McCullough (13) Ann Pais (14) Erika Tabor (14) - Secretary Judy Waldron (14) - Moderator Dawson Watkins (13) Carol Wood (13) Sid Yates (12) MISSION STUDY TEAM: John Nevin (M) Matt Johnson (Co-M) Brian Baird Matt Hartman Christof Meyer Everett Reveley Brint Keyes (ex officio) M=Moderator)

Administrative Assistant
strait@grace-covenant.org Martha Rubin

Bookkeeper

bookkeeper@grace-covenant.org Willie Alford

Sexton

Christopher Tweel

Student Assistant for Christian Education

Christopher.Tweel@upsem.edu Church Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Phone: (804) 359-2463 Fax: (804) 278-6298 www.grace-covenant.org Sundays: 9:30 a.m.
10:55 a.m. 12:00 noon

Sunday School for all ages in the Education Building Worship Service in the Sanctuary Congregational Fellowship in the Social Room

Grace Covenant Child Development Center Nicole Williams

Interim Director director.gccdc@verizon.net

Brothers and sisters in Christ A couple weeks ago I set out to update my prayer schedule. New officers had been ordained and installed, and I wanted to get their names before me on a regular basis. Also, after having caught up with some extended family over the holidays, I decided I wanted to make them a more regular part of my prayer life. I then thought of other extended family that we had not seen, and realized there was no reason to exclude them, so I began adding them. Before I knew it, I had scheduled myself to pray for over 30 people every day (some daily, some on a rotation). At first I thought that might be too many to handle but while there have certainly been days when I have not gotten to everyone, I am grateful that the Holy Spirit moved me to expand my prayer horizon. The wonderful grace of intercessory prayer is that (so long as we guard against it becoming simply a list of names to read), in lifting brothers and sisters up before the Lord, we necessarily behold their lives, their circumstance. And even if that is just a moment, it is a moment when we are deliberately focusing our mind and spirit not upon ourselves, but upon a colleague, a loved one, a co-worker someone else. Our gaze is turned outward, away from ourselves, toward another, and toward God. And the grace that comes with that re-orientation is the grace of discerning the hand of God in people and circumstances around you. It is not usually something that is readily obvious. The hiddenness of Gods ways from human eyes is attested to throughout Scripture. Isaiah preaches, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD (Is. 55:8). As his brothers stand before Joseph, fearing his retribution for the evil they did to him years ago, he explains, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good (Gen 50:20). Paul builds on this when he writes that all things work together for good for them that love God (Rom. 8:28), asserting a divine (and hopeful) truth that is often hidden from our eyes by earthly appearances. Mordecai testifies to this same truth before his niece Esther when he posits, who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Esther 4:14). The disciples ridicule Jesus when He asks, in the midst of a large crowd pressing in on Him, Who touched me? But Jesus discerned what no one else (except the woman with the hemorrhage) knew that power had gone out from Him (Luke 8:46). When we intercede for others when we lift up before God the lives and trials and hopes and circumstances of those we know then we are given to see those lives and those people not of our own sight i.e., not how they relate to our personal concerns, or how they appear to our eyes, but rather illumined by Gods perfect light. We begin to see them with Gods eyes, as God sees them, and thence to discern in their lives the holy workings of our heavenly Father, through His Holy Spirit. And just as God revealed to Peter His redeeming will for Cornelius, and for all Gentiles (Acts 10:13ff.), so does God reveal to us His perfect will in the lives of those we bring before Him. Why? Why would God show such things to us? Because, in Gods wisdom, He uses broken vessels such as ourselves to make Himself known to others. They may be unable to see God in their own lives because cares and worries have occupied their attention, or because they do not know the Lord, or because the enemy is working to keep them spiritually blind. -continued on page 14-