Upcoming March 15, 2009 at Garden of Grace UCC

Upcoming at Garden of Grace:   You are invited to celebrate with us!  1020 Atlas Road, Columbia, SC 29209 803-695-9664, www.gogucc.com   How does our Garden grow?   5:15 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, pastoral staff meeting.   6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, Linda Renner, lgrenner@aol.com, and Loretta Cobb, lorettaacobb@aim.com, lead a Care Circle in Lexington, exploring "Bible Study for Amateurs."   7 p.m. Thursday, March 12, our associate pastor, Rev. Candace Chellew-Hodge, revtheodyke@gmail.com, represents us at a spirituality panel discussion at the SCGLBG's meeting at Embassy Suites on Greystone Boulevard.   7:30 p.m. Friday, March 13, and Saturday, March 14, our pastor, Rev. Andy Sidden, pastorandys@msn.com, serves our community as a priest in a walk-on role in the Columbia City Ballet's production of Don Quixote at the Koger Center on Assembly Street.  Tickets are available by calling 251-2222 or church member Jason Cobb at 799-7605. Garden of Grace's beloved William Starrett is director.  More information is available from jasonhowellcobb@yahoo.com.   9:30 a.m. Sunday, March 15, Choir practice, led by Andy Farmer, jandyfarmer@yahoo.com.  Our choir is growing! New members are Joanna Bentwood and Ben Brooks.   11 a.m. Sunday, March 15, Pastor Andy presents the message, "Tower of Taboos?  Realm of Rules?", based on Exodus 20:1-17 and Matthew 19:16-22.  A garden of grace trumps a realm of rules.  S.C. Progressive Network representatives will make a short presentation on ways we serve our community together.  Music Team member, Jay Greene, colablkdragon2@aol.com, will provide special music.   12:30 p.m. Sunday, March 15, Team of Trustees meets.  Joanna Crowder, joannaec@live.com, is vice moderator.   Also, How Our Garden Grows!   7 p.m. Monday, March 16, Rev. Candace leads series of Care Circle lessons at church.  At Garden of Grace we believe that God is still speaking.  God can speak to us in many ways – through the Bible, nature, and even through song. We'll explore how God speaks to us through the songs of the Irish rock band U2.  As a new album comes out from the group, we'll delve into past songs that reveal God as justice, lover, absent, and present.  The circle gathers first and third Mondays at 7 p.m. to explore how God is still speaking through U2.   7 p.m. Wednesday, March 18, Our Women's Group dines out.  Jan Hogan, janh244@yahoo.com, is the leader. This is great fellowship!   1 p.m. Sunday, March 22, Theology Among the People Class, taught by our Rev. Candace and coordinated by Trustee Jennifer Spears, jennifervspears@aol.com.   7 p.m. Thursday, March 26, Our Men's Night Out gathers.  Patrick Parker, parker557@hotmail.com, is the leader. Twenty-two folks attended the February gathering!   7:34 p.m. Friday, March 27, Adventure Scouts, a youth troop for boys and girls ages 10 and older, gathers at the church.  Leaders are Barbara Johnson, compmom1@yahoo.com, and John Faulkner, JFaul37010@aol.com.  Like all Garden of Grace groups, Adventure Scouts is open to the community.  The group gathers second and fourth Fridays of each month.   Also, How Our Garden Grows!   A fifth-Sunday covered-dish luncheon will follow worship Sunday, March 29.  A Ministry Fair – a time for ministry leaders to share information will be included.  Please see Joe Matthews, jmatthewssc@bellsouth.net, or Pastor Andy,pastorandys@msn.com, for more information.  The morning's message by Pastor Andy will explore "The Stations of the Cross" on our journey to Easter.   9 a.m. Saturday, April 4, Garden of Grace will host the UCC's Georgia/South Carolina Association annual meeting. This is a great ministry opportunity!  Registration is $20 and forms are available at church.  Keynote speaker is the Rev. Kathy Clark, UCC Southeast Conference associate minister, kclark@secucc.org.   11 a.m. Passion/Palm Sunday, April 5, we celebrate with a dramatic re-creation of the Last Supper.  Participants include Rebecca Causey, Jason Cobb, Loretta Cobb, Joanna Crowder, Tex Green, Jessica Grello, Mike Grello, Patricia Grello, Barbara Johnson, Richard Morris, Will Nunley, Linda Renner, Jennifer Spears, and Pastor Andy.  Our Wee Diggers Children's Sunday School will take part, too.  Special music is planned by our Celebration Choir.   7 p.m. Good Friday, April 10, we worship with a dramatic remembrance of Christ's important living on the cross. Special Music is planned.   11 a.m. Easter Sunday, April 12, much special music is planned during our celebration of the holiest day of the year.   "Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians" can be ordered athttp://www.bulletproofbook.com.  This exciting new book by our associate pastor, Rev. Candace Chellew-Hodge, has received much acclaim.   Please feel free to phone or email any prayer requests during the week or please write the requests in our prayer book in our entryway on Sundays.   Our Outreach Team leads Garden of Grace in sponsoring the resettlement of two young Burmese couples who have lived in refugee camps for years before coming to Columbia.  This project is a joint effort with Lutheran Family Services of the Carolinas. Joy and Carol Smith-Dailey, fotosetc@yahoo.com, coordinate this growing Outreach/Compassion Ministry.   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. A barrel for Harvest Hope's food drive is at Garden of Grace.               Aluminum cans are collected each Sunday by Trustee Jennifer Spears, jennifervspears@aol.com, and Church Sexton Lois Spears, loistalk1948@aol.com, as an on-going fundraiser.               Plans are under way for a Labor Day week mission trip to help build homes on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.  Linda Renner, lgrenner@aol.com, and Loretta Cobb, lorettaacobb@aim.com, are organizing this trip.