Grace Church News, Summer 2020
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It's summer time! Though there are still restrictions in place, this is a time to enjoy the weather, get outside, and have a little fun. Hopefully, new Grace initiatives help everyone enjoy the summer!
All of those earlier plans are starting to come through. Here's what's on this summer...so far...
- Elena Kroeker, the new Youth Director, has a summer Pen Pal Program
- Engagement: Yahoo! The Virtual Stampede Party video is here!
- Service: An interview with Bobbi Turko, the Executive Director of I Can for Kids
- Belonging & Community: Learn about the Drive Thru Summer Adventure
- Community: A Grace parking lot graduation with Never Too Late
- Grace Snapshot including a link to Session Highlights & a Money Matters Update
- Summer Worship Presbytery Pulpit Exchange
- Leadership Update: An update on Exit interviews and leadership
- The Six Month Relaunch Plan
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Ongoing online resources and upcoming events!
Weekly updates are shared on the website:
Grace Weekly Updates
. You may also notice some website reorganization over the summer!
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Meet Elena Kroeker,
Grace's New Youth Director
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This month, Grace welcomes Elena Kroeker as the new Youth Director. She will be working with Rev. Maren.
Elena graduated from Central Memorial High School in Calgary. She is currently majoring in Biology and is going into her second year of university.
Having lived in Calgary all her life, Elena's favorite part of living in Alberta is having the mountains in her back yard. She loves to go hiking whenever she can and enjoys being out in God's beautiful creation, and spending quality time with her dogs and her Oma. Another passion of Elena's is dance. For the last two years she has been a student teacher for dancers ages three to five at her studio.
Elena’s favorite place to spend time during the summer months is at Camp Valaqua in Water Valley, Alberta. She has been working there both as a C.I.T. (counselor in training) and a counselor for three summers and enjoys the peace and laughter it brings during the summer months.
Elena has been raised in a strong Christian home. Her family has been a part of the Grace community since Easter 2019. Elena really enjoys the connections she has made at Grace and loves being a part of the DWELL Sessions lead by Rev. Jake on Sunday Mornings.
Elena is super excited to be the Youth Director at Grace - and already has a program!
Summer Pen Pals Program
This summer Children and Youth are launching a pen pal program.
Grace youth are pairing up with a pen pal who is within the Grace community and in need of connection over the summer.
In an attempt to veer away from electronics, the program is about writing old fashioned letters by mail. These letters can include writing, pictures, colourings (for kids if they can’t quite write yet), anything that you think your pen pal would like. If you are interested in joining the pen pal program please email Elena at
elenak@gracecalgary.org
and we will pair you up as soon as possible.
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A welcome note from Rev. Maren: On behalf of the Children and Youth Committee, welcome to Grace, Elena! We welcome your enthusiasm, creativity, and ideas!
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Grace Virtual Stampede Party Video
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Thank you to everyone who shared a phone recording for the Virtual Stampede Party video! The party is here! Like 3 in 1 Worship, it is pre-recorded so you can enjoy it when you have time and share with friends, family and neighbours!
The video aims to share Stampede culture, spread some summer fun, and help relieve hunger for kids and their families in Calgary! You will:
- Learn to make a mean buttermilk pancake
- Take a line dancing lesson
- Flip a pancake
- Have an opportunity to donate to I Can for Kids this weekend to help feed hungry kids in Calgary by donating your (usual) cost of Stampede admission to I Can for Kids (Save-On-Foods is matching donations dollar for dollar)
The video is on the website
here, or you can connect on
Grace's Facebook page. Please help share the video with likes, shares, and comments!
This event was included in a
Global News National TV clip
Friday, July 3, featuring ways Calgarians are celebrating Stampede in Calgary. See anyone you know?
YAHOO!!!!
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Sutton Garner was 11 when she saw a news story on summer food insecurity impacting kids in the U.S. When she asked her mother, Bobbi Turko, if Calgary kids faced holiday hunger - and what to do about it - I Can for Kids was born.
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Service: Reducing Food Insecurity in Calgary with I Can for Kids
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In 2015, Bobbi Turko and her 11-year old daughter Sutton were watching a story on Good Morning America about kids who relied on school breakfast and lunch programs for food. The kids were going hungry over the summer. “It was something we never thought about. Sutton wondered if Calgary kids were hungry over the holidays – and if they were, what could be done about it,” Bobbi says.
Food Insecurity a Hidden Problem for Kids in the Summer
The mother daughter duo soon discovered that summer food insecurity was very much a Calgary issue. To help, they launched I Can for Kids, and distributed 4000 simple, non-perishable food packs over the summer. Word spread and I Can for Kids grew. By 2019, more than 24,000 food packs were distributed.
I Can for Kids shared seven varieties of food packs, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables, and bulk items, such as jars of peanut butter (4,000 peanut butter jars were distributed in 2019). For 2020, “we were on track for 30,000 food packs,” Bobbi says. “Then COVID hit.”
Relationships, Food Distribution and Adaptation
I Can for Kids works with a network of front-line agency partners across Calgary to distribute food. “This is the most efficient and effective way we have found to reach children,” Bobbi says. “The relationships agency partners have with the families means they know the challenges and level of support needed.”
During the summer, I Can for Kids also works with the Calgary Police Service. Officers carry non-perishable food packs in cruisers. When they come across situations where people need food, from domestic calls to homeless youth, officers are able to provide immediate support.
When COVID hit, Bobbi and her team rallied agency partners and determined that “the most efficient way to get food into the bellies of kids was to provide grocery gift cards.” Cards “give people dignity,” Bobbi says. “They are in a grocery store, just like everybody else, choosing foods they know and understand that meets their dietary requirements.”
Grocery Gift Card Stats
As of Tuesday, June 30, I Can for Kids:
- Distributed 6200 $50 grocery gift cards (a value of $310,000)
- Supports more than 8000 kids in 65 communities in Calgary
- Has a goal to provide $525,000 worth of grocery gift cards by August 31
- Save On Foods is matching online donations dollar for dollar
This summer, families can pick up not only grocery gift cards, but also fresh fruits and vegetables to supplement the grocery gift cards.
Grace a Summer Food Distribution Point for Connaught School Families
Grace teamed up with I Can for Kids to help support Connaught School families over the summer. Pre-pandemic, Grace helped to supply food and lunches for Connaught students and knew kids would go hungry in the summer without support. From March to June, Connaught distributed I Can for Kids grocery gift cards - now Grace has become the summer distribution point.
Virtual Stampede Party Video in Benefit of I Can for Kids
Grace has created a Virtual Stampede Party video. The purpose of the video is to share some Stampede culture, aim to bring some fun into summer – and to help relieve hunger for kids and their families in Calgary. The video features Grace members and community organization representatives.
Participants from Connaught School, Never Too Late, English Language Learners, and I Can for Kids (Sutton) are taking part – as well as organizations within the I Can for Kids circle, such as the Calgary Police and Firefighters.
This weekend, consider donating to I Can for Kids (Save-On-Foods will match you dollar for dollar)
If you are in a position to do so, please consider donating the cost of Stampede admission to I Can for Kids. (Admission was $18 for those between 13 and 64 in 2019, and $9 for seniors and children). Save On Foods is matching contributions dollar for dollar – immediately doubling your contribution! Learn about I Can for Kids
here.
Watch the Virtual Stampede Party Video
Watch, share and like the
Virtual Stampede Party video! (It’s pre-recorded and shareable so you can enjoy it when you like – and share some Stampede culture with friends, family and neighbours!) Expect to see some familiar faces, meet some new community connections, and learn a thing or two about how to make buttermilk pancakes and do the “Slap Leather” line dance! Yahoo!
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Drive Thru Summer Adventure
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Looking for tech-free summer adventures for your family?
Come to the Drive Thru Summer Adventure. Sundays, July and August, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Grace South Parking Lot.
Pick up:
- a snack
- a summer toy
- a family challenge to do at home or in your neighbourhood
- a Bible in a Bag pack
Starts this Sunday, July 5th! Grace Kids has a new Facebook page - see more details
here. (And like the page to learn more about what Grace Kids Calgary is up to!)
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Never Too Late Parking Lot Grad
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Grace Church is pleased to partner with Catholic Family Services on the coordination and implementation of two graduations for students from two Never Too Late classes. These back to back graduations will take place in our south parking lot in August.
Never Too Late is a community-based GED (high school equivalency) completion program for adult learners that provides academic, social, and emotional support at no cost to students.
We will be looking for several volunteers to assist with these events. If you are interested, please contact Cindy Stephenson at
cindys@gracecalgary.org. Stay tuned for more details over the summer!
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Balloon drops were made at the end of the year for Church School participants. Have a great year everyone - until we connect again! (Thank you to everyone who shared photos on Grace's Facebook page!)
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Online Summer Worship:
July - Virtual Pulpit Exchange
August - 3 in 1 The Lord's Prayer
This summer, Grace is taking part in a Virtual Pulpit Exchange with several churches in the Presbytery of Calgary-Macleod.
The schedule for the Virtual Pulpit Exchange includes:
- Sunday, July 5: 3 in 1 Worship with Grace Presbyterian Church, Calgary
- Sunday, July 12: Worship with St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Calgary
- Sunday, July 19: Worship with St. Giles Presbyterian Church, Calgary
- Sunday, July 26: Worship with Varsity Acres Presbyterian Church, Calgary
- Sunday, Aug. 2: Worship with Cyclical Calgary-Macleod
This schedule for this worship with links is posted on the website
here.
Weekly worship emails will also be shared. (Not all churches provide bulletins, but we will be sure to share the materials each church provides.)
Following the Virtual Pulpit Exchange, 3 in 1 Worship focuses on The Lord's Prayer.
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Grace 3 in 1 Worship hits the cover of PCC national newspaper...
- Grace has been in the news a few times in 2020, highlighting missional work. See the April CTV interview on the #BellsofPeace with Rev. Jake (Grace's bell was rung every night that Calgary was in a State of Emergency), and a February Calgary Herald article on the Community Pancake Party: Grace in the Media.
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Grace Snapshot: Session Highlights and Money Matters Update
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Here is a snapshot of what is happening at Grace:
Session Highlights
Money Matters
June Update from Rob McDonald, Treasurer on Donations:
- Mail: $13,275.00
- PAR (Pre-Authorized Remittance Contributions): $13,372.00
- Contributions through CanadaHelps: $6,901.66
- CEWS (Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy COVID-19 Program): $108,207.21
- Parking: $1,091.91
During a ZOOM call on the Six-Month Relaunch Plan (June 24) for Elders, questions were asked on finances. Support Services Director Alan Facey gave this overview:
Finances: Grace has sufficient funds to cover budgeted expenditures to December 31
st, 2020. Currently, all revenues – parking, rentals and offerings are down. Grace operations and committees have been tasked by Session to review budgets, keep the must haves and reduce others. Operations and committees will prepare spending forecasts to December 31
st, 2020 for Session. More details will be shared in Session Highlights through the website. (Please find the June Financial Report to Session from Treasurer Rob McDonald
here.)
Contributions are greatly appreciated, as Grace continues to operate. All contribution options are available at this time. To learn more about how to donate, visit this
webpage
.
Those with questions on financials can contact Rob McDonald, Grace's Treasurer, by email at
robm@gracecalgary.org
.
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The resignation process for the Rev. Dr. Nick Athanasiadis continues.
- Next steps: Exit interviews for the Rev. Dr. Nick Athanasiadis and the Rev. Dr. Jean Morris are complete
- Session and Presbytery are preparing communications for the congregation
- Communications from Presbytery and Session will be shared: by mail, through email, and website postings once this process is complete.
Background information on the process: Timeline: Past Updates, documents, and details can be found
here
.
- April: The Rev. Dr. Nick Athanasiadis resigned as Lead Minister, Vision, Worship, Discipleship effective April 8, 2020. To view documents, letters and announcements, click here.
- April: Following Rev. Nick's resignation, Presbytery appointed Rev. Mark Tremblay as the Interim Moderator
- May 31: Pastoral Tie severed
- June: Terms of Reference for the Interim Moderator: Provide support for the Rev. Jake Van Pernis, Rev. Maren McLean Persaud and Rev. Christian Persaud; Work with the Clerk, other Grace Presbyterian Church Ministers, to co-moderate Session, review minutes and the congregational summary (Session Highlights); Work with Session to create a synopsis of the exit interviews of both Rev. Dr. Jean Morris and Rev. Dr. Nick Athanasiadis, to communicate to the congregation; Guide and support the Session to discern possible changes to the Grace Presbyterian Church minister model
Additional Information
- Rev. Jake Van Pernis is serving as Co-Interim Moderator at St. Giles, and Rev. Maren McLean Persaud is serving as Co-Interim Moderator at Westminster Presbyterian
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Reopening the Church Building
The past three months have been hard. Physical distancing and other public health measures have halted not only Sunday morning Worship but also what follows – a time of fellowship, where many head to the Family Room to catch up with friends over a cup of coffee. There is a desire to return to gathering in-person and people are asking when the church building will reopen.
To answer this question, Grace has taken a cautious, long-term approach through a Six-Month Relaunch Plan. Plan website Page:
Six-Month Relaunch Plan
Plan highlights include:
- The plan was approved by Session Monday, June 8
- Stage One: June, July, August: Building closed, entry by special permission from Support Services Director Alan Facey.
- Stage Two: September to November 31: A gradual reopening of the building, following AHS guidelines, to appropriate groups.
- Stage Three: December 1 target for resuming in-person worship
- On Wednesday, June 24, all Grace Elders were invited to a Zoom Meeting on the Six-Month Relaunch Plan. Elders asked many questions, and and answers to those questions are found here.
Do you have questions? Reach out to your Elder, or share questions by emailing
office@gracecalgary.org.
We will do our best to point you to the answer or find out what it is and add it to the website page FAQ:COVID-19
here
!
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Summer Online Worship, Connections,
Resources & Links
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DWELL Coffee: ZOOM CALL:
DWELL focuses on connection between members and digs into the scripture for the week. Join DWELL by emailing
office@gracecalgary.org
. DWELL sessions are hosted by both lay leaders and Rev. Jake.
Links for Resources
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Our goal is to create value with this newsletter, so it’s helpful to know what you think. Send your feedback to
communications@gracecalgary.org
. We may not always be able to incorporate suggestions, but we’ll do what we can to respond to interest and need.
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1009 15 Avenue SW, Calgary AB T2R 0S5 | 403-244-5861
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