February 2, 9 AM  — 1PM  La Croix Church, Cape Girardeau, MO

“Stephen Ministers are the After People. They  are ready to come alongside you

—or your  friends, neighbors, coworkers, or relatives — and provide comfort

and support for as long after as needed.”   {copyright 2017 Stephen Ministries St. Louis} 

Session 1: Ministering to Those Experiencing Grief

Session 2: An Introduction to Stephen Ministry

Session 3: How to Care in a Distinctively Christian Way

$15 per person or $50 per congregation (four or more)

Registration and additional information is on the church bulletin

board. 

As you may know, one of our ongoing conversations centered on issues

related to human sexuality made us realize that as United Methodist, we hold a wide range of positions on the topic.  In light of this, a special session of General Conference is planned to be held in St. Louis in February 23 -26, 2919, and

along with other minor plans, the following “big” three plans will be discussed and voted upon: the Traditionalist Plan, the One Church Plan, and the Connectional Conference Plan. Since there are too much information to be explained, so I'd like to plan a class for us to gather together, have a discussion, and learn together of the plans, and pray for our denomination and our church. I'd like to share a video of Bishop Beard's previous briefings on this for those who didn't have a chance to attend and have a time to look over a book (see below) that covers fair amount of

details on the topic, with discussions and prayers to be followed. The following two dates will be available for me to meet with you either in the morning or evening respectively: Thursday, January 17th, 10:00am, and the following Wednesday, January 23rd, 6:00pm, both at the Sunday School room adjacent to the office, respectively. Limited copies of the book, "Living Faithfully - Human Sexuality and The United Methodist Church," will be available for purchase in the

church office for $8 each starting 2nd week of January. This book will give you some information on the issues the Special General Conference will be acting upon. Let me know if you have any questions prior to our meeting. Looking forward to seeing you there! You can reach me via email at carbondalegracepastor@gmail.com or phone at 309-224-6420.

Your servant, pastor Rhee

Pastor Rhee would love to meet you closely  every 2nd Thursdays of the month. We'll have some tables set up and coffee will be brewed.  Bring your favorite pies or cookies to pass, or just stop by. We'd like to share stories of how you came to faith in Jesus Christ, what your hopes are for Grace church, and how we can minister to each other; or just chat about anything! The next meeting is October

11, 10am in rooms 19/20.    Mark your interest in the connection card during Sunday service, or send your interest via email at "carbondalegraceinfo@gmail.com," or just stop by!

The all new Grace UMC cookbooks are available just in time for Christmas gifting. They will be available in the office during regular office hours and also at both Worship Services. See Thyra Russell in early service and Shirley Smith or Rosemary Hubenthal in late service to purchase the new cookbooks for $15

each. Money from the sales will go to mission projects.

Meet me at The Table (MaTT) Club is an exciting club, starting  this fall at Grace United Methodist Church, for children in Kindergarten through Fifth grade. We will meet on the first and third Sunday of each month from 4-6 P.M. MaTT Club is a place for kids and adults to gather with friends, old and new, at the table with Jesus. We invite Jesus to be with us at the supper table at each meeting. 

I have been running a MaTT Club for ten years. I use a six  year curriculum rotationGod’s Big Family of Friends / The Bible: Our Book of Faith

Old Testament- Servants of God New Testament- Journey with Jesus (include baptism and communion)

Parables- Learning Through Stories; God is Like a…

Fruit of the Spirit- Living Healthy

Bridging (Missionary/starting new churches)

Because some of the children who have already been attending MaTT Club plan to meet with us at Grace, I will stay on the rotation schedule. This fall we will start Fruit of the Spirit- Living Healthy. After each meeting parents will receive an electronic ‘parent letter’ letting you know the story we heard, discussions we had and games we played. You are encouraged to talk to and question your child about what they learned and how they feel about it. MaTT Club loves volunteers. You can always offer to lead craft time, teach a lesson or lead games. Just let us know what you feel comfortable doing. Parents are asked to provide supper (no cooking needed), at least once during the year. Watch for more information!

Flossie Langin

Helpers and money donations are needed  in Carbondale to open a temporary warming center for those needing winter shelter that cannot be provided by the Good Samaritan House. This project is being supported by many groups: City of Carbondale, Sparrow Coalition, Carbondale Interfaith Council, SIU Clinical Center, Jackson County Health Department, and MANY other local organizations.  To give a donation of money, please designate your check as "warming shelter" and send the check to:  Southern Illinois Coalition for the Homeless

                   P.O. Box 955

                   Marion, IL 62959

Personnel, both volunteer and paid staff, are needed to coordinate, work shifts, and clean up after each night. The temporary  warming shelter will be open during the night hours. Serious commitments have been made by groups in the community in order to begin the opening of the shelter, but our continued individual support is needed to sustain it throughout the winter.  Please give this project your prayerful consideration. As Jesus said, "...whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." ( Matthew 27:40) 

Family Fellowship is taking a break for the winter.   Look for Family Fellowship to resume in June. 

Ladies, please join us on Monday evenings at 6:30 in the auditorium at church! We will talk together, do something creative (no special skills necessary), and plan ways to help others.

If you can't come every Monday, that's ok. We will be happy to see you whenever you can join us!

Please bring: scissors and all your extra plastic grocery bags .   Our first craft/mission project is to crochet plastic bed rolls for the homeless. (No crochet skill necessary.) 

Danielle Schultz

Knitting,  Crocheting, Embroidery, O My!

Do you like to knit, crochet, embroidery, tat, etc. but like to visit with others while working or need encouragement to work on your ongoing project or need a small

project? A group of ladies are going to start meeting in the conference room at the church on Thursday, November 30 at 10:00 a.m. to ? Bring your projects to work on and enjoy the fellowship of fellow crafters. Call Lena Hake at (618-457-2688).