1020 Atlas Road, Columbia, SC 29209
803-695-9664, www.gogucc.com
How does our Garden grow?
7:34 p.m. Friday, May 8, Adventure Scouts USA, a youth group for boys and girls ages 10 and older, gathers at the church. Counselors 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.
9:45 a.m. Sunday, May 10, Choir Practice, led by Andy Farmer, jandyfarmer@yahoo.com.
11 a.m. Sunday, May 10, Worship Celebration. The Rev. Kathy Clark of Atlanta, kclark@sec.org, UCC associate conference minister, will bring the Mothers' Day message. She also will recognize Garden of Grace's Theology Among the People students were working to certified lay ministry. The Rite of Laying-on of Hands will be celebrated for Trustee Clerk Jennifer Spears, jennifervspears@aol.com, will begin in-care licensing discernment.
This is bring "Mom to Worship" Sunday. A Mothers' Day multi-media tribute is planned. Photos of mothers to remember or to honor may be sent by e-mail to pastorandys@msn.com. The Rite of Membership will be celebrated for Ben Brooks, Tunesha Cureton, Dionne Davis, Nikki Davis, Danny Fennell, Kathy Fennell, Will Nunley, and Jerry Trowell.
How does our Garden grow?
6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 12, Linda Renner, lgrenner@aol.com, and Loretta Cobb, lorettaacobb@aim.com, lead a Care Circle in Lexington, exploring "Bible Study for Amateurs."
4 p.m. Friday, May 15 and Saturday, May 16, Baseball Concession ministry. Dozens of Garden of Grace people are operating the third-base stand at the baseball arena on Blossom Street to raise money for a mission trip in September to Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Please contact Linda Renner, lgrenner@aol.com, or Loretta Cobb, lorettaacobb@aim.com, for more information.
12:30 p.m. Sunday, May 17, our Team of Trustees meets.
7 p.m. Monday, May 18, our associate pastor, Rev. Candace Chellew-Hodge, revtheodyke@gmail.com, 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, May 20, Our Women's Group dines out. Jan Hogan, janh244@yahoo.com, is the leader. This is great fellowship
7 p.m. Thursday, May 28, Our Men's Night Out gathers for dinner. Brendon Jones, bjones51@sc.rr.com, and Rickey Belton, rbelton4@sc.rr.com, are leaders.
Also, How Our Garden Grows!
We celebrate Ascension Sunday, May 24, and Pentecost Sunday, May 31. A multi-media tribute is planned for military troops and veterans. Please see Trustee Vice Moderator Joanna Crowder, joannaec@live.com, or our pastor, Rev. Andy Sidden, pastorandys@msn.com, to remember or honor someone. A fifth-Sunday covered-dish luncheon – a cookout – will follow worship May 31 as we celebrate the birthday of the church universal. Please see Apron Brigade leader, Joe Matthews, jmatthewssc@bellsouth.net, for more information.
"Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians" can be ordered at http://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 Inreach/Compassion Ministry offers a "Secret Pal" program. Deadline for signing up is May 17. This, too, is an Apron Brigade ministry.
Our Outreach Team leads Garden of Grace in sponsoring the resettlement of Burmese families 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.
Also, Upcoming in Our Community
7:15 Saturday, June 20, Garden of Grace hosts S.C. Black Gay Pride "Free Mass Commitment Ceremony" for couples regardless of gender. Registration is May 4-June 12. The ceremony will offer a blessing of relationships, legal advice, and more. Keeping God 1st Ministries is sponsoring the event. Registration forms are at Garden of Grace.
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