GRACE NOTES

Dec 5 - 11, 2023

What's Going On At Grace

+Dec 17 - Cookies, Cocoa, and Carols

+Dec 22 - Peter Mayer Concert

+Dec 24 - Advent 4 worship at 10am, Christmas Eve worship at 5, 7, & 11pm

+Dec 31 - One service at 10am

Many of these events have more details in other sections. This section is updated each week, so keep checking in. You can also see the full church calendar HERE.

Thank you to all who helped during the Rock Hill Christmas Parade!

On Friday, we welcomed hundreds of neighbors to our church to watch the parade, enjoy hot chocolate and popcorn, and use the bathrooms!

Special thanks to our Cub Scout Pack, who helped serve hot chocolate, and to our Scout Troop, who popped and served popcorn!

Happy Advent! To celebrate the start of Advent, our Young Youth and Youth made Advent wreaths to use at home!

Thank you for your support of our Youth & Family ministry, which makes projects like these possible!

Family Promise Hosting Week - December 3-10

Grace is hosting Family Promise this week!

We are welcoming two guest families, making sure they have good meals and a comfortable place to stay with us.

We are so thankful to everyone who is taking part in this ministry this week!

To read about a Family Promise Success, click HERE.

To take part in this week, please click HERE.

We still have opportunities for evening hosts to join us!

For more information, please contact Pr. Rachel.

End of year giving

We are deeply grateful for all the financial support you've given to Grace this year! Your gifts have made it possible for ministry to happen and the gospel to be shared! However, our ministry doesn't stop once we cover our expenses, and we have made a plan for the gifts that we receive over and above the cost of planned ministry for 2023.

This year, our surplus dollars will be directed to two funds:

75% of our surplus will be designated to the Capital Expense Fund, in anticipation of a new Fellowship Hall roof being needed soon. We are preemptively planning for that!

25% of our surplus will be designated to the ELCA Youth Gathering Fund, to support the 8 Youth and 4 Adults who will be traveling to New Orleans in July to grow in faith in a completely unique way with other ELCA youth from across the country!

Thank you for your continued generosity and for being part of the ministry of Grace this year!

Please remember that for gifts to be tax-deductible for 2023,

they must be received in 2023.

A letter from the Council President

Click HERE for a letter from Council President Lori Brown

Christmas Eve Worship Assistant Roles are open!

We invite you to be part of leading our services to welcome Christ, the Newborn King!

Click on the service times below to add your name to the worship assistant schedules for Christmas Eve.

Christmas Poinsettias

Poinsettias will be placed in the Sanctuary for Christmas Eve services. You have an opportunity to either purchase one or more poinsettias. Please click HERE to sign up. The price per plant is $13.00. Please order your poinsettia by Sunday, Dec. 17.

Please call the church office for more information and payment details.

Seniors @ Grace

It is that time of year again for our Annual Jubilee Christmas Party on Thursday December 14th.

Come dressed in your best holiday outfit, bring a gift for our wild gift exchange and something yummy to eat and share with the group. We will gather in the Fellowship Hall at 11:30am. Lunch at noon as usual followed by much laughter and good nature gift stealing. We also usually do a collection to help a local charity.

Please let Annie Laurie Wheat know if you can make it and what dish you are bringing by December 12. (803 517-0626 or wheatannielaurie@gmail.com)

Remember there can never be too many desserts!  

A huge thank you to everyone for all of the prayers, cards, texts, phone calls, visits, food, etc. during Rick’s unexpected surgery, hospital stay and since we’ve been home. You are all very special and your love and support sustained us through a very difficult and scary time.



Rick & Dee Westbrook

100th Anniversary Events

We have 2 celebration events left! Be sure to take part in our Cookies, Cocoa, and Carols event and the Peter Mayer concert!

It's time to get tickets for

Peter Mayer

Our final 100th Anniversary Event will be the Peter Mayer: Stars & Promises concert!

This concert will be at Grace on Friday, December 22nd, and it is open to the public - we expect to see many community members and we're excited to welcome them to Grace!

Tickets are now on sale, and they could go quickly - Click HERE to learn more and purchase your tickets for the show!

NOTE: These tickets are only available through the above link - we will not be selling them through Grace.

A message from the Financial Secretary

Offering envelopes for 2024 are available in the Fellowship Hall. We have not prepared envelope sets for those of you that only give online and/or have not been using envelopes this year. However, there are extra sets, so if you do not find a set with your name and would like to use giving envelopes, please let the office know and we will get a set for you.

THANK YOU

to everyone who has made a commitment to our Grace ministry for 2024!

So far, we have received 100 commitments for a total of $436,097 committed!

This is wonderful news - we are well on our way to fully supporting our 2024 initiatives!

You can still make your Commitment if you haven't yet. Contact the church office if you need assistance.

Thank you again for your support and prayers for the ministry we will share in 2024!

100 Connections

We have 87/100!

Over the course of our 100th year, our congregation is making 100 new connections in the community.

We know that we've definitely made 100 new connections at this point - we just haven't shared them with each other yet! During the meeting, we invited people to write down their connections, and we received 26 new cards! This brings us to 86 - only 13 to go to meet our goal, and we'd be excited to exceed it, too.

These connections are simple - where have you met someone new, learned their name, and felt connected, even for just a few moments? You don't have to have talked about church - we ARE the church, we take it with us wherever we go!

To share a connection you've made, please click HERE and help us meet our goal. Thank you for being the church in the world, sharing God's love with the community!

100th Anniversary Apparel is available for order again!

Did you forget to order your 100th anniversary gear last time?

Do you love your short-sleeve tee so much that you want it in another color and long-sleeves?

Does the cooler weather have you dreaming of a celebratory sweatshirt?

You're in luck! You can order any and all of these items and have them delivered right to your door for your wearing enjoyment!

TIME IS RUNNING OUT! The last day to order your shirts December 15th!

Click HERE to order your 100th Anniversary Apparel!

Can we get a ride?

We have several members of Grace who would love to come to worship on Sunday mornings, but can't drive themselves.



We are creating a list of those who would be willing to give someone a ride to and from church, so that those members can be in touch and be with us in person! If you'd be willing to give a member a ride, please let the church office know HERE.

Centennial Temple Talks

As a part of Grace's 100th Anniversary Celebration, we will share a Temple Talk highlighting Grace's history through the decades on the first Sunday of each month, from March through December.

Click on the button to read our Temple Talks written by Anne Cline Johnson.

Grace Outreach Partnerships

Click on the buttons below to learn more about our 2023 partners and how you can offer support through volunteering and donations

Biggest needs this week at HOPE:

Breakfast items, baking items, jelly, broths, spaghetti, spaghetti sauce, condiments, bread and green beans.

The Sanctuary Candle for the month of November is given by

Mary and Eddie Hinson to the Glory of God

and the birth of our Lord Jesus

The Altar Flowers for December 10th are given by

Judy Hall in memory of Charles W. Hall -

Beloved husband and father