GRACE NOTES
May 3 - 10, 2022
For Worship services please visit our YouTube channel.
This coming Sunday is Youth Sunday!

Our Children and Youth will be singing, assisting, and leading in worship, and we will be blessing our High School Seniors.

We hope you'll be able to join us!
Join Race & Reconciliation of Rock Hill for the next community event, THIS Thursday, May 5th at 7pm via Zoom.
Dawn Johnson, Co-Chair, African American Cultural Resource Advisory Committee, will provide an update on the progress being made to develop an African American Cultural Center in our town. We will provide the Zoom meeting link on May 5th. Hope to see you there!
Join us for our next meeting this Saturday, May 7 at 2:00 pm at the home of Karen Harris.

At our meeting we will explore Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
 
Please bring snacks to share (and a drink if you want something other than water). Contact Karen Harris with any questions.
Mark your calendars and RSVP - Grace is going to a Charlotte Knights baseball game!!

Parish Life invites you to join us on June 5th for an afternoon of peanuts and crackerjacks watching the Knights run the bases. The game starts at 1 pm, and even if you go to 11am service you should be able to make first pitch!

Tickets at our group rate are $21 each (a steal!) and come with your church friends sitting with you!

If you plan to join us, we need to know ASAP so we can buy tickets. Please click HERE to let us know you're coming! We will request your payment once we've purchased our ticket block.

We hope you'll join us!

Questions? Contact Pr. Rachel here.
SENIORS @ GRACE
Seniors@Grace will gather on May 19, 2022 to meet Rev Emily Sutton from Bethel United Methodist Church who will share the inside story of the Bethel Shelters that are the latest partnership program with Grace Lutheran. The Bethel Shelters "provides a safe place to sleep, a hot meal to eat and pathways to self-sufficiency for homeless individuals year around." The program also has a daytime shelter available for anyone in need of their services. We will gather at 11:30 AM with lunch at noon. Monty Bennett will also join us again to provide a musical sing along. Lunch will be $6.00 and will include a salad and sandwich buffet with the usual yummy desserts. If you can make it please reserve your spot by May 17. Please call or text Annie-Laurie Wheat at (803) 517-0626 (cell phone) or send an email to wheatannielaurie@gmail.com OR call the home phone at (803) 980-1834. The lunch and presentation is open to anyone (of any age) with an interest in learning about this important new partnership.
Get to know our new members!

Welcome Fawn & Dennis Bollinger

Click HERE to learn more about the Bollingers.
Grace will be hosting Family Promise guests June 12-19!

After a two-year COVID pause, we will re-start hosting guests from York County’s Family Promise program, helping homeless parents and children resume and maintain self-sufficiency.

Family Promise is a 30-year-old national program with over 200 affiliates in 42 states.
Grace, along with more than a dozen other local congregations, has been a part of the ministry for over 20 years.

We are thrilled to be welcoming Family Promise back into our building, and we need YOUR help to make this a success.

Your time and effort given to host Family Promise make a concrete difference in the lives of our guests. Creating a safe and welcoming home for a week is a blessing, and we are grateful for your participation!

Volunteers are needed during the week to ready the church for guests, prepare evening meals, visit with families (up to 15 people) and spend the night at the church. You can sign up to help by clicking HERE.

Volunteer opportunities include:

-Sunday, June 12, 11 am - four volunteers are needed for about an hour to transform Sunday School rooms into bedrooms for families for the week; tasks include moving tables & chairs, inflating mattresses, making beds, putting down rugs, etc.

-At 6 pm every night (except Tuesday) a meal is needed for up to 15 people and Grace guests; two or three people are asked to plan, prepare and serve the meal, cooking offsite or in Grace’s kitchen. Volunteers and their families are encouraged to be present and eat with our guests. Beverages and ice cream along with serving/eating utensils, plates, cups, napkins, etc. are furnished by the church.

-From 6-8 pm each night (except Tuesday) one or two volunteers are needed as evening hosts to eat dinner with the families and stay to visit, play games, walk around the block, watch TV, etc.

-Beginning at 8 pm Sunday through Saturday, two volunteers (one female and one male) are needed to be a presence at the church until 7 a.m. the next morning. Air mattresses are supplied and volunteers are housed in separate classrooms.

-Sunday the 19 at 7:30 am, three people are needed to prepare classrooms for Sunday School.

-Following June 19 one or two volunteers are needed to launder church-owned bed linens for use the next time we host Family Promise.

Thank you for your support of this ministry!

Questions about Grace hosting Family Promise? Contact Sig Huitt 704/576-0407 or email him here.
OUTREACH UPDATES AND OPPORTUNITIES
York County Free Clinic is now Palmetto Community Health Care.
On May 29th, we are invited to a Grace Partners Open House, and we will hear more about what PCHC does in our community! More details will come soon.
The Life House Women's Shelter are finalists for the State Farm Neighborhood Assist Grant!

This year, 100 winning causes will be chosen and given $25,000! You can help them win one of the $25,000 grants by following the steps below:


AND vote 10 times a day until May 6th for The Life House Women’s Shelter. You can even set up a text reminder for each day!

Volunteer opportunities at Life House include: adding new mulch in the back of the house, interior trim painting, kitchen cabinet painting, and pressure washing the driveway and sidewalks.
Ongoing volunteer opportunities: assist with transportation, visit with the women, serve a meal (click HERE for meal sign up).

If you are interested in volunteering in any capacity or for further information, please contact Volunteer Coordinator Amy Lane at acombslane@gmail.com or 803.659.9885.
Bethel Men's Shelter has volunteer positions available for you to sign up for now! If you'd like to learn more about these positions, and/or would like to sign up, please click HERE.
Going to Camp? Thinking about it?
We have scholarships available!

ELCA Summer Camp is an awesome way to spend a week forming faith, meeting friends, and spending time in creation! We have scholarship funds available to help you go to an ELCA camp!

If you'd like to apply for a scholarship, click here for the application form, and then submit it to Pr. Rachel.

If you'd like to explore local camp opportunities, click here to visit the NovusWay website. Pr. Rachel would also be glad to talk with you to find the right program!
As the war against Ukraine continues, many of us are asking "What can we do?" Lutheran Disaster Response, an ELCA organization which coordinates with other crisis response groups, invites us to consider some options. Click HERE to read more and to give to the Eastern Europe Crisis Response.
Volunteer at HOPE

Volunteers needed Monday through Thursday mornings
(or Tuesdays at 6:00 pm). Call Rachel Bell, Volunteer Coordinator at (803) 493-5840 or Grace’s HOPE liaison, Ron Hartman, at (330) 620-4711 for more information.
Needs for this week:

+ CEREAL (biggest need) + Pop Tarts + Grits & Oatmeal + Canned Beans, Baked Beans, Canned Corn + Jelly + Pancake Mix & Syrup
+ Spaghetti Sauce + Individual snack packs + Condiments + Coffee (Instant & Ground) + Dog food & Cat food + Body wash & Shampoo
+ Toothpaste & Toothbrushes + Feminine Hygiene Products + Toilet paper

You can drop items off in the bin located outside the church offices when you're in the building, and a volunteer will take them over to HOPE. Please only place non-perishable items in the bin!
Worship Assistant Schedule

Click HERE for the May & June Worship Assistant Schedule.

Don't see your name? Want to join the rotation? Email the church office today!
2022 Altar Flower Sign-Up

There are many open dates to sponsor Altar Flowers.The cost is $45.00 for one (1) or $90.00 for both (2) vases. Click HERE to sign up. Contact the Church office with any questions.
Congregation Connections

The Sanctuary candle for the month of May is given by Elisa & Ron Gordon to the Glory of God and in memory of my parents,
Rev. Charles & Jean Mertz.

The Altar Flowers for May 8 are given by Sara & Steve Johnson
in honor of Youth Sunday.
Lose something at church? We have several items in our lost and found located at the Grace front desk outside the offices.
Offering Our Gifts to God

Part of our worship is offering our gifts to God. You can give in several ways:

  • Give via the offering plate in the Sanctuary

  • Give online by clicking HERE (you have the option to offset the cost of giving online)

  • Set up giving though your bank

  • Mail your offering to the church office.

Thank you for continued faithful giving!
Click HERE for the March Treasurer's Report
Can We Help?

If you are in need of help (of any kind), or simply want to connect,
please reach out to the pastors. We want to walk with you.
Please call or email us.
Stay connected! Click on the links below!
In-person activities at
Grace Lutheran Church are beginning again. All in-person activities need to be scheduled in advance at this time.

Please contact the church office if you need to schedule an activity.

We are praying for the health and well-being of our community and world.
GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH
426 Oakland Avenue
Rock Hill, SC 29730
803.324.5295 www.gracerockhill.com

(740) 312-5774 (Pastor Gregg’s cell)
(864) 230-3816 (Pastor Rachel’s cell)

Office Hours:
Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm