Posts by Jim C (Page 6)
Pastor’s Column – Dec 2020
O come, Desire of Nations, bind All Peoples in one heart and mind; Make envy, strife, and quarrels cease; Fill the whold world with heaven’s peace. – New Century hymnal #116, verse 7, o come, o come, emmanuel It was the day after Halloween. I was driving to the store and went through my preset radio stations to find anything that was not a commercial or talk-radio. I needed music that day. No Politics. No one trying to sell…
Advent Wreath Option for 2020
The Christian Education Board would like to offer people a way to continue the church family tradition of making Advent Wreaths. The board will put together bags containing the ring and the candles necessary to construct the Advent Wreath. Participants would need to provide their own greenery. Please note that we will offer some hand gardening clippers if you would like to trim some greenery on the church grounds. The materials will be available in the Narthex on Monday, Tuesday…
Live-streaming from our website
Given that we are once again, not worshiping in person due to the upsurge in Covid-19 cases in Fairfield County, we’ve made a slight change to our website. We now offer FOUR different ways you can watch live. Our primary platform is still [1] Facebook Live (and you do not need to have a Facebook account to watch), but you can also watch on [2] Twitter/Periscope, [3] Zoom (login info e-mailed to those on our news e-mail list), and now…
Why Do Leaves Change Color?
As I write this article, Gum trees at the parsonage are only now just beginning to reveal Fall’s arrival with red tipped leaves. It is subtle and easy to miss, but preparations are underway. Trees don’t need to be told when winter is coming. Trees can feel it in their roots and know it is time to care for itself. Through Spring and Summer we sat under the shade of green leaves as chlorophyll overwhelmed the tree as a…
You are a Child of God
“For in Christ Jesus you are all children, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3: 26, 28 You are a child of God. Have you stopped to think about that recently? No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey,…
How Long, O Lord?
How Long, O Lord? ~Psalm 13 If there was a prayer of the year, it would be Psalm 13. How long, O Lord? How long until we can reunite with loved ones without fear of contracting or spreading the Coronavirus? How long do we have to wear unflattering masks that are both hot and uncomfortable? How long until we can safely sit down in our favorite restaurants with close friends? How long until we can worship together in the sanctuary?…
Gary Culp
Grace United Church of Christ mourns the loss of our retired organist and choir director of more than 51 years, Gary Culp. Our prayers go out to Marilene and the family. Gary passed away peacefully earlier this week at Fairfield Medical Center. The service will be this coming Wednesday and will be broadcast live on the Facebook page of the Frank Smith Funeral Home. The obituary and further information can be found here: https://www.funeralhome.com/obituary/Gary-Culp. A memorial will be held once…
This Feels Right
It has been a long while since our parking lot worship service. After that service I was overjoyed and honored to hear that I would be your next pastor at Grace UCC. I was waiting in the church when I received the great news. Although many of you could not join us, some of us celebrated the moment at a safe distance inside. As we were talking, I noticed a phrase that kept getting repeated. That phrase was, “this just…
Covid-19 worship update
To our Grace United Church of Christ Family and Friends In response to the ongoing health crisis facing our community and our nation, our gathering time for worship was not held on March 15. After much prayer and discussion, the Church Council, in an online meeting, has decided to honor the request of the Heartland Association and the Governor to promote social distancing for the health and safety of our church family. Church services will be offered online between this…
A few notes
First off, thank you for your patience during this time of upheaval and experimentation. As noted earlier, the office and building will remain closed until further notice. All past sermons have been uploaded to the website (including this past Sunday’s Facebook live worship), click the sermon archive button to listen. If you are in need of pastoral care, please contact Pastor Vanessa via e-mail at pastor@graceucclancaster.org or call her at 740-206-9724. We will keep you updated via our various social…