Lent is a holy season of spiritual preparation for Easter. Mirroring Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness, it is a time of depth and spending time with God. We offer the following.

Ash Wednesday Service – Feb. 17 at 6:30 p.m.
Join us as we begin with the sign of the ashes.

Weekly Communion – Sundays at 5:00 p.m.
We will have a 30 minute time of communion each Sunday in our new Prayer Room in the Ministry Center, with the Upper Room Worshipbook in hand.

Wednesday Night Suppers
Beginning February 24, we will serve from 5:15 to 6:00 p.m. BibleZone for kids and Lenten studies for youth and adults are at 6:00, followed by choir rehearsal and gym time for youth at 7:00. We meet through April 21 (not meeting Spring Break or Holy Week).

Lenten Devotional Book
Suggested by Pastor Steve is Paul Chilcote’s “The Song Forever New: Lent and Easter with Charles Wesley” (available for $14 during February). He will use it for Wednesday night and Thursday lunch classes.

Stations of the Cross
Our Outdoor Prayer Trail will be marked. A guide for walking meditation may be found on the information tables or on the trail itself.

Missions Offering
Consider a daily sacrifice to deepen your spiritual life and set aside gifts for a Lenten Missions Offering, which may be brought to worship during Holy Week.

The building is approaching completion! It’s time to get ready for a wonderful transition.

Perhaps you can celebrate by showering the church with a gift of equipment or furnishings, above and beyond giving to the General Fund or Building Fund. There are many needed items, large and small, not paid for by our building budget.

The trustees have approved a “Wish List” of items that are needed to make the transition. This does not include disposable items or larger capital improvements to be accomplished later, but gives us furnishings and equipment needed to make our building usable upon entry.

It will work very much like a Gift Registry for a wedding. Here are instructions:

1. The Gift Registry including item details is posted in the hallway at church. A copy for reference is at www.graceumchsv.org/wishlist but in order to register for a gift, you must sign the Gift Registry at church before you buy (or contact Todd Noren-Hentz and ask him to do so). If you prefer confidentiality, you may ask Todd to mark the list for you and keep your name privately on file for reference.
2. If possible, please purchase the item yourself and store it at home until we open the building (there is no storage available until then). With a receipt, tax credit can be given for in-kind donations.
3. If you prefer making a monetary donation, you must use the Gift Registry to specify items you want your gift to go toward (and mark them “paid” after giving toward it). You may indicate a general area you want your gift to go to if not a specific item. There is one designated fund, the “Wish List Fund,” for receipts toward all items. Checks should be made to “Grace UMC” and marked “Wish List.” It is the responsibility of the donor to use the Gift Registry to clarify what your gift goes to (rather than marking your check). Partial gifts toward expensive items may be accepted. Unspecified gifts and funds left after needs are met will be used for remaining items on the list, as prioritized by trustees.

See the Gift Registry for Food and Fellowship, GraceFull Players, Office Furnishing, Adult Ministry, Children’s Ministry, Café, Sports and Recreation, and Technology items we would love for you to give!

If you would like to see the pictures that are in the Grace Pictorial Directory online, please click the link below. Also note that the site requires a password and because of privacy concerns, it cannot be posted here. Please contact Joanne Weis or one of the office staff for the password. Joanne can be reached at 430-0003 Extension 805.

Link to the Grace UMC Pictorial Directory