GRACE NOTES

January 9-15, 2024

What's Going On At Grace

+Jan 14 - Sunday School resumes

+Jan 28-Feb 4 - Hosting Family Promise

+Feb 13 - Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper & Palm Burning

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.

We honor the ongoing legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

While many respect Dr. King for his commitment and impact on our nation, it is not uncommon for people to be unfamiliar with his work (apart from a few speeches).

This year we will make available one of his most important works - the letter he wrote from the jail in Birmingham. King's words are as powerful today as they were in his own time, and serve as a righteous witness to the timeless cause of justice, which we all promise to serve in Baptism and Confirmation.

Click here to read the letter

Welcome The Rev. Dr. Norbert F. Hahn!

Pr. Hahn is our new Campus Minister. We've been able to introduce Pr. Hahn to our WELCM students, and this Sunday, we'll all have the opportunity to meet him! Be sure to join us on Sunday to introduce yourself and welcome Pr. Hahn to Grace.

Read on to learn more about our new Campus Minister:

Pastor Hahn, as he likes to be called, was born and raised in what formerly was West Germany. His educational journey began in Germany where he earned a B.S. equivalent in Physics and German Literature and a Master of Theology equivalent. He continued his education at Harvard University where he earned a Master of Divinity and Emory University where he completed a Ph.D. in Theology and Psychology. His dissertation focused on how congregations foster or inhibit the faith development of their members and friends.

While at Harvard University, he fell in love with the Lutheran Church in America and felt God’s call to ordained ministry in the LCA, a predecessor body of the ELCA. Since his ordination he has served congregations in Georgia, North Carolina, and, most recently, Pennsylvania. His ministry included campus ministry at three different universities, developing German-speaking congregations in Atlanta and Charlotte, serving two tours as Conference Dean in Northeast Philadelphia as well as two terms as president of an international network of German-speaking congregations. Before coming to Grace and WELCM he spent three months on a mission trip in Germany. In a previous chapter of his ministry, Pastor Hahn was trained and served as a church growth consultant.

For a while, he kept one foot in academia through teaching, publishing, and translations of academic works both from German into English and from English into German. His field of studies in graduate school was Faith Development where he worked with the pioneer of that field, the late Prof. James Fowler.

Although trained as an amateur church musician on the French horn, he eventually learned to play electric guitar and bass which led to his founding of Christian worship bands, mostly with other Lutheran pastors. After he has rebuilt the calluses on his fingers, he is willing to play guitar for the campus ministry, if necessary.

Pastor Hahn is married to Lyn who grew up in Rock Hill and his happy to return to the South. Together they enjoy gardening, taking walks, cooking, and repairing and updating the house of Lyn’s late mother where they now reside. They serve as staff to two cats, Lulu and Inky Poe. Pastor Hahn can be reached at CM@WELCM.org and 704.425-2614.

Restarting the Grace Card Ministry (Rachel's Ring)

Our card-making ministry has been on hiatus for a while, but we're bringing it back! This ministry involves creating greeting cards and sending them to members on the prayer list, those experiencing life milestones, those needing encouragement, and more!

We need your input to get the program up and running once more. If you're interested in taking part in card-making and sending, please click HERE to answer questions about your availability.

If you have questions, please contact Hilary Mullins.

It's time to share your ideas for our 2024 Outreach Partnership Grant Program! 

Each year, Grace makes Partnership Grants to local non-profit aid organizations. Through this program, we partner financially and experientially with local non-profit organizations which serve to assist those in need in greater Rock Hill and York County area.

In addition to awarding a monetary grant to each partner, Grace will learn about, connect with, pray for, support, and work alongside the organization, its staff, and its clients. It is our hope that through this partnership, we will all grow in community. 

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO MAKE THIS A SUCCESS!

The Outreach Committee invites you to submit the names of local non-profit aid organizations that might benefit from our partnership and funding, especially at this time. We will be collecting names through January, and in February, we will begin contacting organizations to invite them to apply for a Partnership Grants.

To submit an organization's name, please click HERE.

For more information, please contact Pr. Rachel or any member of the Outreach Committee.

Thank you for helping our Partnership Program succeed!

Family Promise Hosting Week - January 28 - February 4

Grace will be hosting Family Promise soon! We'd love to have you join us in welcoming our guest families and making sure they have good meals and a comfortable place to stay with us.

To take part in this week, please click HERE. We have roles for everyone - setup, making dinner, spending time socializing, sleeping, and resetting!

For more information, please contact Pr. Rachel.

Seniors @ Grace

Seniors @Grace will start the new year of fun activities with Bingo on Thursday, January 25th. We will gather at 11:30 am in the Fellowship Hall with lunch at 12 noon followed by a few fun games of Bingo. The menu is not planned yet but Annie-Laurie’s sister will do the cooking so we all know it will be good.

This is the time to bring items that you are willing to share for Bingo prizes. We had a great suggestion to not wrap prizes so winners can make their own selection. So gather anything useful or fun or just something you have loved but are ready to part with and we will swap them around.   Lunch will be $6.00. No inflation for S@G!

Please RSVP to Annie Laurie Wheat by January 23 so we can have enough food and dessert!

(803 517-0626 or wheatannielaurie@gmail.com)

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

Bethel Shelters

URGENT NEED FOR ROLLER BAGS

Due to impending construction at the Bethel Day Shelter, guests must empty their current storage lockers. They will be forced to carry all their belongings with them until the construction is completed – probably at least a month. Most already carry backpacks so a suitcase that they can roll behind them is the best option.



Do you have one gathering dust in a closet? If so, please consider donating it to help these men. If you drop it off at the church office we have a volunteer ready to transport them to the men. If you have one to donate but cannot get it to the church, please call us and we will have a volunteer pick it up.

Biggest needs this week at HOPE:

Breakfast items (cereal, grits, oatmeal, pancake mix/syrup), muffin mix, corn.

2023 Giving Statements

The 2023 year-end giving statements for tax purposes are complete and you should have received an email containing a link to access yours. Please note that the non-tax deductible items included in your Realm giving account (items such as payment for the anniversary dinner, steins, or GYM ski trips) are not included in that statement. If you would like a statement that includes those non-deductible items, just contact either outgoing financial secretary Bob Stonebraker (stonebraker946@gmail.com) or incoming financial secretary Lori Brown (LLBZMS@msn.com) and they will have one sent to you.

The Sanctuary Candle for the month of January is

available to be sponsored.

The Altar Flowers for January 14th are available to be sponsored

2024 Altar Flower and Sanctuary Candle Signups are now open

Grace keeps our Sanctuary Candle burning every week, a sign of the continuing presence of Jesus Christ in our lives. Members are able to sponsor the candle in memory or honor of someone. The cost of the candle is $25.

Please click HERE to sign up.

It has been a long-standing tradition at Grace for members to sponsor the weekly altar flowers. The cost is $45.00 for one (1) or $90.00 for both (2) vases. Each date on the sign-up form has two (2) spaces, check the number of vases you wish to sponsor, please check both if you are signing up for both vases.

Please click HERE to sign up.

GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH

426 Oakland Avenue

Rock Hill, SC 29730

803.324.5295 www.gracerockhill.com

parishadmin@gracerockhill.com



(740) 312-5774 (Pastor Gregg’s cell)

(864) 230-3816 (Pastor Rachel’s cell)

Office Hours:

Monday - Thursday 9:00 am - 4:00 pm