An Update from Grace Evangelical Free Church

Grace Notes An Update from Grace Evangelical Free Church February 14, 2012 A Further Thought On Wednesday, February 22nd, (6:30 p.m.), I will lead an Ash Wednesday service in the sanctuary. The very concept of Lent as a season might be confusing to some. With this Further Thought I hope to shed some light on the practice that many Christians celebrate. The word Lent comes from a Saxon word which means ‘spring’ because Lent always occurred in the Spring of the year. Lent developed as a season of preparation for the celebration of Easter. The 40 days corresponded to the 40 days of Jesus’ testing in the wilderness. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Lenten Season. But, you ask, that is 46 days before Easter. There are six Sundays in Lent and all Sundays are considered days to honor the Resurrection – so those days are “excluded” from Lent. Ash Wednesday picks up the theme ashes as a token of humiliation and sorrow for sin. Recall how the people of Ninevah humbled themselves (Jonah 3:3-9), and the prophet Daniel turned to God in sackcloth and ashes (Dan. 9:3). “The aim of Ash Wednesday worship is to 1) Meditate on our mortality, sinfulness, and need of a savior; 2) Renew our commitment to daily repentance; and 3) Remember with confidence and gratitude that Christ has conquered death and sin. It is a time to witness the power and beauty of our union with Christ and to the daily dying and rising with Christ that this entails.” The Worship Sourcebook (Grand Rapids, Baker, 2004), 541. I felt led to organize such a service this year for a number of reasons. One comes from the fact that we are considering Romans 6 currently in our sermons. Paul calls Christians to realize that they have died with Christ. The challenge is to repent so as to live a new life in union with the resurrected Christ. In practice, that is difficult. You may want to spend some extended time reflecting on Romans 6 and evaluate your current practices. If you cannot join us, I will make available a handout / guide to lead you in a time of preparation and self-examination. The Ash Wednesday service is simply a help in your repentance to follow Christ more fully. Pastor Mark Upcoming Sermons Feb 19 Dying to Live Romans 6:8-14 Feb 26 Slaves of Righteousness Romans 6:15-18 Outreach Moment At the 2009 Kansas high school state track championship, an unusual thing happened. The team that won the girls 3,200-meter relay was disqualified. But what happened next was even more unusual. The team that was awarded the state championship by default turned right around and gave their medals to the team that had been disqualified. The first school, St. Mary’s Colgan, lost first place because judges ruled that a runner had stepped out of her lane as she handed off the baton. That meant the second team, Maranatha Academy, moved up to first. After receiving their medals, the girls from Maranatha saw the downtrodden looks on the faces of the St. Mary’s girls, so they gave them their individual medals. Why did they do this? As Maranatha’s coach Bernie Zarda put it: “Our theme for the year was to run not for our glory, but for God’s glory.” As a result of the girls’ action, their story was told throughout Kansas, and God’s name was lifted up. When we set aside our own interests and accomplishments to recognize that it’s better to care for the interests of others (Phil. 2:4), we see God’s name glorified. Acting with grace and kindness toward others is one of the best ways to point people to God.

— Dave Branon for “Our Daily Bread”, March 28, 2011 May each one reach one.

Stewardship Signposts

Building Fund Update Previous Balance: $366,543.87 Current Month Donations: $3,489.30

Approx. % To Begin Construction Goal Of $1,500,000: 24.7%

Church Cleaning Schedule THANK YOU for your valuable service to our congregation!! Feb 18 Hardwick Small Group Feb 25 Monday “B” Small Group Mar 3 Renn/Meyer Small Group Mar 10 Monday “A” Small Group Mar 17 Haight Small Group Mar 24 Wohletz Small Group Mar 31 Davis Small Group Apr 7 Kiekhaefer Small Group Apr 14 Abbott Small Group Nursery Schedule Sunday School Late Service (Arrive at 9:30) (Arrive at 10:45) February 19 Larry Vezina Pam Taylor Pat Vezina Natalie Abbott Youth Assistants Jill Stock

February 26 Gloria Hansen Nina Kiekhaefer Jewel Allen Barbara Borde-Koufie

Greeter Schedule 8:30 Service 11:00 Service 2/19/2012 Kim Hardwick & Janet Morgan Larry & Pat Vezina 2/26/2012 Keith & Eunice Davis Paul & Janet Pollock 3/4/2012 Dave & Gloria Hansen Pat Ashby & Gloria Wiedlocher 3/11/2012 Greg Perry & Emily Jeff Wilbers & Rick Lancaster

Announcements DSL Wednesday – February 15th Dine – Potluck Dinner beginning at 6:00 pm (please bring a dish to share!!) Socialize – Over Dinner Learn – From 6:30 – 7:00; Getting to Know You Series. Get to know some of the new parents and parents-to-be of 2012! Feel free to come and go as your schedule dictates!! Ladies of Grace — The Women's Ministry Team is pleased to invite you to another fabulous Grace Ladies Breakfast! Please join us for an hour (or so) of food, fellowship and fun on Saturday, February 25th, 8:30-9:30 in the basement of the church. This will be a wonderful time for us all to build closer connections with our sisters in faith. Youth Group Dinner Theatre — Each Sunday in February tickets will be available for the Youth Group’s Dinner Theater scheduled for Sunday February 26 (a limited number of tickets are available). The tickets are free of charge but all donations will be used to support the high school mission trip to New Orleans this summer. Please visit the table outside the sanctuary this Sunday for more details or to make your reservations. Men’s Breakfast — Mark your calendars now for the next one on Saturday, March 3rd! Community Bible Study is coming to Jefferson City! If you are interested in finding out more about this non-denominational, in-depth study of the Bible, please contact Jewel Allen at 573-659-4594 ([email protected]) and/or Mary Lou Hinzpeter at 573-638-3767 ([email protected]). Classes are being considered for Men, Women, Singles, Children and Teens. Come discover the joy of studying together and growing together with friends old and new!

Spring Forward – Daylight saving time begins March 11th. Be sure to set your clocks ahead one hour Saturday night March 10 when you go to bed so you will not be late for services!! Baptism Service — Consider expressing your commitment to the Lord through baptism. A baptism service will be held Palm Sunday, April 1st, during the Sunday school hour. Please contact Pastor Mark or Pastor Jason if you are interested. Severe Weather — We encourage you to check the church’s website (www.gracejc.org) or the church answering machine (893-3359) in the event services are cancelled because of a severe weather event. If you are unable to access these options, please feel free to contact any church staff member or one of the Elders.

Church Office Staff Senior Pastor Mark Kiekhaefer 635-2653 Associate Pastor Jason Abbott 635-7952 Administrator Cathy Frank 619-4481 (texting is an option too!)

Elders Jay Allen 659- 4594 Randy Haight 353- 5249 John Hardwick 584- 9370 Bill McKinley 619- 9749 Jeff Wilbers 634- 3849

Please keep this information handy for future reference! On The Calendar Wednesday, February 15 6:45 am — Men’s Bible Study (church basement) 6:00 pm — February DSL (Don’t forget to bring a dish for the potluck dinner!) Sunday, February 19 8:00 am — Prayer Time (church basement) 8:30 & 11:00 am — Worship 9:45 am —Sunday School 5:00 pm — Middle School Youth Group—Bring $2 for pizza! 6:00 pm — High School Youth Group—Bring $2 for pizza!

Coming Up February 22 — Ash Wednesday Service (Sanctuary; 6:30 pm) February 25 — Ladies Breakfast (church basement; 8:30 am) February 26 — Youth Group Dinner Theatre March 23-25 — Middle School Youth Group Mission Trip June 11-14 — 2012 VBS-Babylon: Daniel’s Courage in Captivity July 1-6 — High School Youth Group Mission Trip