Behind the Scenes at Grace UMC
Here at Grace United Methodist Church some incredible things are happening, but many of them are “behind the scenes.” I’d like to take a moment to pull the curtain back and highlight some of this great work.
First, you probably heard about it already, but our Founder’s Day celebration was a tremendous success! We celebrated with over 25 members present with 25+ and 50+ years at Grace, then afterward had a concert and barbecue. The concert was presented by Margin Alexander, our music director, and people were absolutely wowed by his performance! So many people came up to me afterward and raved about it. I think hearing about his international experiences has people even more excited about the Grace UMC choir heading to Poland after Christmas to perform as part of an international tour! I’d also like to say thank you to the team of people that made the day a success, from the Ewings that helped set up tables and chairs to the Capazzis who grilled and prepared the food (well done, Peter!). Carol arranged for people to bring food, and Bill jumped in on preparations just because he has a good heart and wanted to help. It was a tremendous event and I was proud to see Grace members and friends come together for this celebration!
Some other highlights behind the scenes includes our Sunday School program. Emily Neville shared that the Sunday school had a 300% increase in attendance from last year. That’s absolutely phenomenal! We also have more children in the Sunday School nursery care and are looking to hire a part time person to cover that area, as well as during choir practice immediately following Sunday worship. This will allow more choir members to participate in practice and strengthen our choir ministry, as well as strengthen our Sunday School program. We are right on the edge of taking this step and continuing the move of these programs in the right direction!
Our Youth Ministry is just about to kick off their regular Sunday evening meetings. They’ve had a great summer with the pool party and a trip to Six Flags. Not only has Sunday School grown, but so has youth group! We have about 20 youth in our program and are welcoming in three new 6th graders, too! There is great energy around this group of young people. Several have commented about how much they like being around each other and that at the end of church they don’t want to leave! What a blessing it is to see young people excited and enthusiastic for life lived in and through the church. We celebrate our young people and the whole church family that is helping to raise up a new generation to love and serve Jesus Christ.
In the nursery school we have Donna Ernst, who has helped the nursery school take some tremendous strides forward. The start of the school year has been eagerly anticipated and smooth in its first few weeks. Enrollment is up, teachers are happy and the school has resumed profitability. We thank Donna for her excellent work and the great additions happening in the programming and education of our littlest Methodists.
Truly excellent things are happening in the church. If you’d like to get involved, let Pastor Brian know. We are making significant strides, but there is so much more we can do! Together we are becoming an inclusive community passionately following Jesus Christ. God bless!
— Pastor Brian Neville
