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Grace United Methodist Church Growing Disciples of Jesus Christ

901 N. Main St. Decatur, IL 62521

NON-PROFIT ORG.

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PERMIT NO. 8

DECATUR, IL 62521

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REGULAR SUNDAY SCHEDULE 9:00 AM Traditional Worship Adult Sunday School Children’s Sunday School 9:30 AM Youth 10:30 AM Contemporary Worship Adult, Children Sunday School 11:00 AM Comcast Cable Channel 6 Comcast Cable HD Channel 914 5:00 PM The Table REGULAR OFFICE HOURS Monday-Thursday 8 AM to 5 PM

For a Time Such as This!

Dear Friends at Grace, While our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ has inestimable value for all times and situations we confront in life, it’s for a time such as this that our faith proves its worth to us and usefulness to the work of the Kingdom of our God. This is a perfect time for us as followers of Jesus to throttle up and put our faith in Jesus right out in front where all can see it by the way we live in love, speak with hope, act with graciousness, think godly thoughts, and re-spond with compassion. The Bible is full of words of hope, reminding us that our assurance and se-curity are found in God alone. The following are just a few of the many verses for you to claim in these days of uncertainty. When all else fails, we stand squarely on the Word of God: the living Word who is Jesus Christ, and the written Word which is the Bible. Be encouraged by the following vers-es. Claim them as God’s personal promises to you and your family. Store them in your heart. Hold them in your mind. Search out the many, many others in God’s Word. Let nothing, not even a virus that seeks to ravage us, shake our confidence in the One who gives us life. Psalm 27:1, 5 -The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?... For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. Psalm 46:1-7 -God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trou-ble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the moun-tains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; He lifts His voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Matthew 6:31-34 – So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. John 16:33 – I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have over-come the world.

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Grace Notes Grace United Methodist Church • 901 N. Main St. • Decatur, IL 62521

217-429-5374 Volume 165, Number 4, April 2020

In this Issue…

Sig’s Article ··················· 1-2

Beth’s Article……………….2

Calendar ······················· 11

Children, Youth, Families ··· 5-7

Congregational Care ········· 4-5

Discipleship ··················· 4

Financial News ··············· 10

Grace Family ················· 10

Holy Land Trip……………..3

Missions & Outreach ········ 8-9

Men’s & Women’s Ministry 10

Worship ······················· 2

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Philippians 4:4-7 – Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about any-thing, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Hebrews 13:8 – Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 1 John 4:18 – There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. These verses from God’s Holy Word are just to whet your appetite for more of this gift we’ve been given. This is an ideal time to read Scripture, to pray, and lis-ten to Christian music. Use this hiatus as a time to grow in your love and worshipful devotion to the Lord. Don’t miss out on the opportunities of these days of limited activities, when we don’t have all the normal distrac-tions that can disrupt our walk with the Lord. Invest yourself in your faith so that when we all come out of hibernation, you will be ready to step into the ministries of our Lord with renewed vigor and faith. In addition to tending to your spirit, here are just a few practical ideas for this very strange time:

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1. If you’re able, continue with any hobbies you have. 2. Tend to your body by finding ways to stay active. 3. When the weather allows, walk outside and look for

signs of spring. 4. Work in your yard when you can. There should be

no problem with social distancing there! 5. Read a good book. 6. Watch a movie with some redeeming value. 7. Take a break from the news of the day. It’s very

possible to become so obsessed with the news that it can have a detrimental impact on our minds and spirits.

8. Contact loved ones by phone and shore up each oth-er’s spirits!

9. Remember that this too shall pass! This is only for a season.

10. Prepare for a glorious Easter celebration whenever we’re given the go-ahead to meet again, no matter which month it will be!

Your church staff is available and willing to serve you in any way we can, even from a distance. This is our prayer for you in these days: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace (Numbers 6:25). In the Love and Service of the Savior,

WORSHIP

Although our gathering for worship, including The Ta-ble, has been suspended for now, plenty of opportuni-ties remain for virtual gathering by Facebook, our web page and through email and texting. This is a terrific time to invite others to check out what’s happening at Grace by sharing information with your Facebook friends. Log on often and you’ll find new content al-most daily! There you will find recorded messages and live opportunities for interacting with pastors, to ask questions and to share your insights. You will also find regular prayer encouragement from Carol Perry who has taken on a new prayer coordination role in the Illi-nois Great Rivers Conference! Look on the Grace Fa-cebook page for food for your 9:00 p.m. prayer time. Let us not neglect meeting together, but let’s take ad-vantage of this strange season for learning new ways to strengthen and build up the Body of Christ. We’ll see you in worship at decaturgrace.com or on Facebook at decaturgrace901. Here are some of the topics we plan to cover while we

are in exile from the Sanctuary. The message series is titled: “What would Jesus say...” Read the text to pre-pare for each week’s message. We will use these as long as our separation continues. Hopefully by mid-May we’ll be back in the Sanctuary together. “What would Jesus say...”

April 5 ...when we feel all alone? Matthew 27:45-50—Beth Preaching April 12 ...when we wonder where God is? Matthew 28:20, Psalm 122, Isaiah 49:14-16a Sig Preaching April 19 ...when we wonder if we have enough? Matthew 6:25-34—Beth Preaching April 26 ...when we’re searching for peace? John 14:25-27, Philippians 4:4-9—Beth Preaching May 3 ...when we face tribulation? Revelation 3:11-13—Sig Preaching

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Why Do We Have a Television Ministry?

Periodically it’s good for us to be reminded of why we have a television ministry. We recently received a letter from a viewer in Chatham who underscored the importance of televising our service. The following are a few excerpts from a longer letter: “My wife died a little over a year ago…During our two-year journey through her cancer, Grace became her church (and mine) when she was unable to attend our own church here in Springfield. We have followed your ministry with interest since we moved here from Wheaton in 2013, after recording and watching your services. My wife especially appreciated the familiar hymns… and all the more as she journeyed through cancer. “I drove over a few weeks ago to see if your neighborhood is what I imagined. Your have a challenging mission field. I’m glad you are trying innovative ministries to reach the community. It is not easy. “Please know that an expensive television ministry is still worth it. My wife was very – and gratefully – blessed. Me too.” To honor one of his wife’s last requests, he sent a check to support our ministry. This gentleman and his wife are part of a long line of people both within our community and beyond who have been blessed by our weekly tele-vised gift. Thank you, Grace, for making it possible. And thank you to Mitch Morrison for his work each week in producing the gift.

Contact Carol Perry at cperrygum@gmail.com for information about how to join the prayer call on April 5 at 5:00 p.m.

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MEN’S & WOMEN’S MINISTRIES

FINANCIAL NEWS

Grace Family

Grace Surrounds These

With Love & Sympathy The Family of Harold Sills on the death of Harold.

In Loving Memory

Contributions have been received in memory of: Barbara Ferguson given by James & Laura Allison, Richard & Carol Barnhart, Gary & Joanne Boldt, Leslie Cassity, Shirley Cribbet, Don & Mildred Dil-lie, Keith & Sandy Ehrat, Hugh & Carole Eubank, Barb Friend, Sharon Good, Beverly Bowlby Hall, Jim & Barb Higdon, Ann Irwin, George & Wanda Kastl, Jack & Joyce Keller, Donna Kennedy, Karen Larson, Jerry & Judy Madding, Jim & Donna Moore, Dennis & Marilyn Noonan, Barry & Kathy Park, Larry & Sally Pickett, James & Su Zane Ray, Carol Reed, Stan & Judy Rhodes, Hugh & Linda Rowden, Mike & Donna Rutledge, William & Shirley Schwesig, Di-anne Shaw, Sue Smeltzer, Phyllis Spinner, Mel & Bev Stern, Bonnie Stokes, Sandra Sweitzer, Dennis & Cheryl Taylor, Rick & Linda Thomas, Jerry & Nancy Wade, Robert & Leisa Weatherford, Penny Weaver, David & Barb Wence, Alice Wiedrich, Jack-ie Wilhour, David Williams, Rose Mary Wolfe, Beth Wright. Our Intent as a Pastoral Care Team is to acknowledge the loss of your immediate family members who are out of town or who may not be well known by Grace Church. Please make us aware of your concerns by calling the church office. This way we as a staff and congregation can embrace you with God’s love through our human expressions of sympathy.

Economy Shop

Due to the corona virus restrictions, the Economy Shop is closed for the time being. Please hang on to your do-nations and come see us for Spring and Summer ward-robe additions when we reopen. The Economy Shop is anxiously awaiting the day we can reopen the shop. We can’t wait to show off our spring clothing and treasures. We have a large selection of women’s, men’s and chil-dren’s clothing, shoes, purses and accessories. Don’t forget to check out our beautiful jewelry. Since we are all spending more time at home, it’s a good time to clean out our closets and cabinets and pass them on to the shop. We are ready to receive your dona-tions! Don’t forget to save the date, May 2, for our annual

Grace Foundation

Your tax-deductible gift to the Grace United Methodist Church Foundation is truly a gift that keeps on giving. Conservatively invested, the Foundation’s principal is never disturbed. Instead, it continues to generate a reli-able stream of income to support a number of worth-while ministries within Grace. Please consider adding your donation to those made by many of your friends over the years. Donations for 2019 exceeded $6,300. Listed below are those who contributed to the Founda-tion in 2019. Ary Anderson Donald & Mildred Dillie Barb Edwards Marilynn Logan

The Grace United Methodist Church Foundation grate-fully acknowledges these generous gifts.

Financial Health 2020

“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” Philippians 1:4-5 YTD Giving to the Budget $ 192,613 YTD Budgeted Expenses $ 192,541 Thanks to all who blessed the Lord and our congrega-tion with your faithful and generous gifts.

UMW/Economy Shop Style Show. More details to come later in the month.

Rebekah Circle

April 13 Church Women United Representatives Meeting/Bible Study meets at 9:00 a.m. in the Fire-side Room. (Lord willing!) April 18 District Spring Meeting at Assumption UMC from 9:00 a.m. to noon. (Maybe?)

United Methodist Men

The Iron Sharpens Iron Conference has been resched-uled for September 12, 2020. Saturday Servants breakfast for May is still on the church calendar for May 16. We hope we are back to normal by then!

Rebekah Circle Mel & Bev Stern Duane Werner

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I’m not sure where we will all be or what we will be do-ing when you read this, but right now as I sit before this computer screen we are a few days into a shut-down of all ministry activities on site at Grace. I’m feeling like a foreigner in a land that grows more foreign every day! Where did the land of the free and the home of the brave go? If you have been on the internet, you know that every-body and their mother and brother and sister and cousin and aunt and uncle are all talking! There’s no end to new posts on Facebook and dinging phones with mes-sages and questions and devotions. The Christian com-munity has gotten very chatty out there! I’m on over-load. What about you? Sig and I are trying to post to Facebook regularly, but not so often that you get tired of hearing from us. Check our page now and then to stay up-to-date, but don’t sit on your phone or computer staring at the screen! Pick and choose those things you want to read and then take the time to think deeply about them. Don’t skim every-thing and understand nothing! It’s too easy to fill your soul with words, words, words and have no understand-ing at all. That’s what Jesus said in Matthew 13:13-15. “Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they under-stand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’”

Just Thinking

I believe the Lord speaks to us all the time, but we get so busy listening to the words of human beings or rushing through our busy schedules that we have no time left for quietly listening for the Lord in His Word and by His Spirit. We fill up on words, but we fail to take them to heart or put them into practice. This corona virus in-duced hiatus may be the perfect time for quiet reflection and deeper processing of our faith and our relationship with Jesus. Could this be a God-ordained time to bring our nation to repentance? Could it be a gift to us to hear what the Lord has to say about the future of Methodism and Grace United Methodist Church? Could it be an oppor-tunity for each of us to hear the Holy Spirit speak com-fort, counsel, conviction and call into our hearts? Will you really listen and hear? Can you take the time neces-sary to understand and walk in the Truth God reveals to you in these strange days in a foreign land? I’m going to do my best to read and watch only that which I can digest, meditate upon and put into practice. I plan to guard my soul against word gluttony and in-stead feed upon The Word, feast upon His Truth and cultivate a life of peace and joy in Jesus. My prayer tonight as I write this: Lord Jesus, help me and the people of Grace to come out of this forced quarantine full of your Holy Spirit, eager to serve you and worship you together, having heard from you in the quiet, having earnestly repented from sin, having prayed from the depths of our being, having shared Acts of Grace in word and deed with our neigh-bors, and expecting to see you leading the way into a bright and fruitful future where we experience a new great awakening together. May it be so! In Jesus’ name. Amen. Leaning in to Jesus,

Experience the Holy Land with Viki Scherer

If you are interested in exploring the possibility of a tour of the Holy Land, Viki is plan-ning her next adventure for October 3 – 14, 2021. Imagine Tours & Travel is the compa-ny through which Viki is planning this trip. You can check out their website at itt-world.com or contact Viki for more information at vikischerer@comcast.net. Here’s a sneak peek at where this tour would take you: You will visit Caesarea Maritima, Megiddo, Mt. Carmel and Naz-areth. You’ll experience a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee and reaffirm your baptism in the Jordan River. The tour will take you to Capernaum, the Golan Heights and the Mt. of Olives. There’s so much more in these twelve days in Israel including an archaeological dig! If you would like to know more, there are copies of the full description and registration form in the church office or you can contact Viki Scherer at the email above.

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SOAPY

Bible Study

2020

This year we are spending time reading through the New Testament using our SOAPY Bible study method. In case you have not yet engaged the SOAPY readings, you may wonder what is SOAPY? SOAPY stands for: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer and Yielding. Let’s put the SOAPY principles to work as we read through the New Testament together. You might want to keep a SOAPY journal for notes. If you are able to find a place of solitude for your time of reading, read the Scripture chapter for the day aloud. Hearing the Word is a powerful spiritual discipline. Make some Observations in your SOAPY journal by asking these questions: 1) What theme or themes emerge in this chapter? 2) What truth or teaching can I Apply to my life? Then write and offer a Prayer that helps you Yield more of your life to Jesus so that your study is not for information only, but for transformation as you grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ and into His likeness. Remember the readings are for the week. You don’t have to sit down and read multiple chapters of the Scripture at a time. Just read one chapter a day and you will be able to complete each month’s readings by the end of the month. If you fall behind, skip ahead and pick up your reading discipline again. Be gracious with yourself! Enjoy the reading! Submit your heart to the Lord and let His Holy Spirit do the work! We began by reading through the Gospel of Matthew in February. In March we made our way through Paul’s letter to the Romans and into the first letter to the Co-rinthian church. For April we’ll finish Paul’s letters to the Corinthians and begin the book of Acts. A book mark with the year’s readings is available by contacting Beth if you want to have the whole year of readings be-fore you. Each month in “Grace Notes” we’ll publish that month’s assigned readings.

there is still strength in numbers; so every evening at 9:00 let’s pray so the Lord knows we are faithful and trusting in Him to watch over us. Stay in your homes as best you can and obey the rules that are being put in place by the authorities. The Lord will take care of this

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DISCIPLESHIP

CONGREGATIONAL CARE

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, PRAY! PRAY! PRAY! We need to pray together even though we are apart. Pray for this terrible Covid-19 to go away and for each other. I know we cannot be in building together, but

Week of Bible Reading April 5 I Corinthians 11-16 April 12 II Corinthians 1-6 April 19 II Corinthians 7-13 April 26 Acts 1-5

New Testament Reading Group

The New Testament Reading discussion group sched-uled for Tuesday, April 28 at 6:00 p.m. will meet on Facebook. Be ready to talk about the first century church and what you are learning from Paul’s letters and from the early chapters in Acts. What have you heard from the Lord that we need to put into practice in new ways as we emerge from the tomb this spring? We’ll see you on Facebook on April 28! (Or at Grace if the quarantine has ended.)

One Minute Prayer

Check out the Decatur Grace Facebook page each even-ing for a 9:00 p.m. prayer prompt. The idea originated to pray for the General Conference but with the Corona-virus situation it has morphed into a daily prayer time for the General Conference, Methodism, Grace and the nation. Please consider adding an extra minute (or more) to your daily prayer schedule at 9:00 each even-ing. Praying in community strengthens the power of prayer. If you would like to suggest a prayer prompt contact Carol Perry at prayerprompt@gmail.com.

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several months.) Pray that God’s love is shown and accepted by the locals. (We will be reaching thousands of Mozambi-cans. Some have never heard about God before.) Pray for peace in Mozambique where we fly. (There have been ongoing opposition attacks there.) Pray no one gets sick with malaria or other sickness-es. Second, we will be in America in July on furlough. We are trying to plan our church visits with limited time in Decatur. Pray for those plans. Pray also for our time representing Mercy Air at Oshkosh during this visit. We really need to recruit and raise aware-ness of what we do in Africa. Pray that we find time to relax during the visit since it is our only scheduled time off this year! Third, I (Sarah) have been asked to do recruiting in America. Mercy Air desperately needs more helicopter and fixed-wing pilots and mechanics based in South Afri-ca. We also need people to manage the US office including fundraising and communications. Joel and I already have a full schedule this year. We need wis-dom to know where to recruit and how it will inter-fere with our scheduled outreaches. This might in-clude Sarah going to America alone while Joel con-tinues the flight programs alone in Africa. There isn’t really a budget for recruiting or new PR material so we need a financial blessing. Pray that God is al-ready speaking to people we will meet in America that are interested in joining this outreach effort in South Africa. Fourth, my laptop is dying and I really need it to last until summer when we are in America to replace it. I rely on my laptop every day for work and need it to function properly especially now that I’m putting to-gether new English PR material and running commu-nications for the organization globally. If you know of any churches, mission aviation schools, friends or family members that would like to know more about Mercy Air and get involved with our work in Africa PLEASE LET US KNOW!! If God really wants us to do recruiting in America ei-ther this fall or next spring we need to start schedul-ing where we need to visit. We appreciate your prayers and support! We honest-ly can’t do what God has called us to do in Africa without support from our home countries. We look

(Continued from page 8) forward to hopefully seeing many of you this summer when we are stateside! Love, Sarah and Joel Baertschi A Brief Follow-up Note from the Baertschis We wanted to let you know that Mercy Air US got the check Grace sent and it has been designated to the Helicopter Fund. I’ll make sure you’re updated later in the year sharing how the money was used. Thanks again for not just thinking of us, but our ministry too! Thanks, Sarah P.S. We just got back from the Zambezi Delta on our first visit there this year. One of the largest and row-diest villages we do medical clinics at, Ibo, was ex-tremely well-behaved this time and some people asked us if we would share the Gospel with them! This is huge! Ibo doesn’t have any churches and there’s a strong spiritual battle going on there. It’s really encouraging to know we have finally built our relationship culturally with the locals there that now they want to know more about this “love of God” we’re showing them through mercy ministries. Thanks for the continued prayers! This place is pro-nounced “E-boo”.

Outreach

Acts of Grace...This is a scary time in our lives, but now more than ever, it is the perfect time to focus our attention on the Kingdom of God and not this world. Our hope is not found here...but in the precious blood of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. It is also the perfect time to share our Acts of Grace with anyone you know who may be in need. We are the light in this dark world; and we have the Good News of Jesus to share with the lost, scared and bro-ken. As always, our prayers are with you all! We are the church, not the building! May the peace of Christ be with you. God Bless, The Outreach Team

Good Samaritan

Workday Saturday, May 2 (Lord willing!)

Contact Gene and Brenda Pride at

pridefam4@yahoo.com if you are interested in serving!

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Fellowship Team

Movie Night @ Grace Update: The March 12 Movie Night was attended by about 35 people enjoying pop-corn, each other's company and the inspiring movie "Overcomer". The Fellowship Ministry Team looks forward to the time when we can get together again for another Movie Night!

Hope Academy

Thank You Grace United Methodist Church (This editorial recently appeared in the Decatur Trib-une.) Dear Editor: The time is always right to do what is right (MLK Jr.). We would like to give, a HUGE thank you to the pas-tors, staff, and congregation members of Grace Unit-ed Methodist Church. These wonderful people have been quietly but faithfully supporting the staff and students at Hope Academy, starting last August when school began. They tutor students, volunteer in classrooms, provide delicious treats for meetings, and hosted a delightful Christmas party for the staff. Every Tuesday morn-ing without fail, a group from the church leads a prayer circle before school for any staff that wish to take part. As each person leaves to begin the school day, they are given a written prayer and scripture for the week, and the comfort of knowing that these people care and are praying for us. In writing this, I am joined by a grateful Hope staff. Thank you, Grace United Methodist Church! Beth Coit, Retired teacher working at Hope Academy

Keep Our Schools in Prayer

Please continue to pray for the students, teachers, staff and administration of Hope Academy and the whole Decatur School District. Pray that during this time of shut down, wise plans may be made for the 2020-21 school year. Pray that children will be safe and cared for during this extended break and that those moving from elementary school to Junior High or from Junior High to Senior High will be able to make that transition smoothly academically. Pray for

MISSIONS & OUTREACH

seniors who are graduating this spring and for plans for celebrating their accomplishments. Pray for re-cruiting of new teachers for next year and a full com-plement of teachers, teaching assistants, maintenance and security staff, secretaries and principals to all be in place when school begins again.

Missions Mailbag

Below you will find correspondence from Sarah and Joel Baertschi, our missionaries in Mozam-bique. Sarah’s P.S. is a wonderful confirmation and testimony that their work continues to bear much fruit for the Lord! Also, through our support of them our congregation also bears Kingdom fruit! Right? Please continue to keep them in your prayers as they do this work. Pray for their safety, good health, continued encouragement through those they serve and that they will see more and more people with a thirst to know more about Jesus. Blessings, Brenda & Gene Pride, Co-Chairs Missions Ministry Team May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 The Baertschis’ Mission Update & Prayer Letter Dear Praying Supporters, Greetings from sunny South Africa! Joel and I leave Saturday, February 22 for Mozambique on our first outreach of the year. Until now we have been busy with office work, preparing for outreaches, moving into our new home, and enjoying Joel’s brother’s wedding in Switzerland. We have some prayer points that we would like to share with you (a proper newsletter will go out proba-bly in April when we are back in South Africa). The following prayer requests are kind of urgent—as in we need some answered within the next week or two. First, we have four back-to-back outreaches between February 22 and April 6 with only a few days off dur-ing this time. Pray we have favor with documents (visas, flight permits, etc.) and that our fellow mis-sionary partners in Mozambique are given their visas. (Some have been struggling to renew their visas for

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CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILIES

Vacation Bible School 2020

Vacation Bible School Planning is in full swing! One of our needs for VBS will be willing servants of Jesus! If you have volunteered in the past and would like to vol-unteer again or feel a tug on your heart to help, please contact Va-lerie Pries at valerie@decaturgrace.org.

Even though we are not meeting together right now, we anticipate activities will resume by summertime! So our planning and preparing must continue! An important element of that preparation is prayer. We would love to have you praying specifically for our Vacation Bible School. Here are a few suggestions to be praying for us. You can cut it out and put it on your fridge or in your Bible. 1. Pray for all the planning being done for this year’s

VBS. 2. Pray that we would have all the volunteers we need

for a successful VBS. 3. Pray for health and safety for all volunteer servants,

church staff, and children at VBS. 4. Pray that the sign up process would be smooth and

easy for parents and staff. 5. Pray that every day of VBS would run smoothly. 6. Pray that all of the children coming to VBS would

leave knowing that Jesus loves them.

maybe more of you will consider joining us on our prayer walks once the virus is gone. As you pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ, don’t forget to pray for our neighbors in the Grace neighborhood and those living next door to you too! Our prayers will continue planting seeds in Jesus’ name as He watches over all. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! These greetings are for all who are homebound or in care facilities. April 6 – Florence Kruzan April 19 – Rosemary Bradford April 27 – Beverly Barnett Living under God’s love and protection, Mary Grace

in His time, not ours. By holding fast to our faith we will get through this ordeal. I miss going to the facilities and seeing the residents. I so enjoy visiting with each and every one of them. However, I will be calling all of them until this is over. We can praise the Lord for their safety since there are no visitors allowed. I know it is lonely for them too. So take a moment to give your friends a call or drop them a card. STRONG FOR LIFE The strong for life program has been suspended until it is safe for us to be together again. My hope is that we come back as a larger group. Think how healthy it is and fun! WEDNESDAY PRAYER WALKS As we come into spring and the days grow warmer,

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7. Pray that children will make a commitment to fol-low Jesus at VBS.

8. Pray that new families would join the church as a result of VBS.

Thank you for your prayers. I know God hears them and will lead the way.

Big Needs in The Children's Area on Sundays!

We are in great need of volunteers for our Sunday mornings and evening services when we resume. Most of our current servants in these areas do so without time off. We plan to get enough teachers and helpers signed up so each one would only serve one Sunday a month. Areas and times of needs are listed below along with a brief description: Nursery: In this area we serve newborn to potty-trained children, typically up to age 3. For both morn-ing worship times we are looking for someone loving, gentle, and kind in spirit. We would love to have you in the nursery to hold and love on babies and play with toddlers. Pre-school: This area serves ages 3 to 5 or potty-trained to Kindergarten. We are looking for a someone to lead a lesson with the kiddos each week. We will equip you with an easy to lead lesson and you will lead the kids in it. We are also looking for a helper in this

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room to help the teacher manage the children and assist with crafts. The Pre-school room is open at both the 9:00 and 10:30 worship hours. Sunday School Room: Here we serve Kindergarten to fifth grade. We are looking for someone who would enjoy teaching God’s Word to these awesome kiddos. Again, we would supply the easy to prepare lesson and you would plan how you want to teach it. We are also looking for a helper in this classroom to help wherever the teacher would need them. This is for the 9:00 a.m. service only as this age group goes to the 10:30 worship service. We would love some volunteers to sit with them in the 10:30 service as well.

Two areas of need for The Table

The Nursery for newborn to 1st graders is in need of a teacher to lead a video or fun craft with the kiddos who are able. We would have materials provided for you. We also need a person to hug and love on the babies or to be a helper for the crafts. Attendance each week is different so the duties would depend on the ages of the children attending each night. The Pre-school room, serving grades 2 through 5, needs a teacher to lead a lesson and craft and to play games with the kiddos. We would supply all the materi-als needed for the teacher with instructions. We also need a helper during this time to shepherd children and to help the teacher with whatever the evening holds.

Celebrating a Servant of Jesus!

I would like to introduce you to Aileen Bonham. She has been married to Greg for 37 years. She has two grown children, Jessica and Jarrod. Jessica and her husband, Brian, have given Aileen three beautiful grand-children, Dallas, Faith and An-nabelle. She has a little shi tzu named Kruzer. Aileen has been a member of Grace and in-

volved in ministries for twenty plus years. She has helped in several children's activities over the years and currently serves in the nursery and pre-school area on Sundays. She also helps on Wednesdays with our Good News Club. When I asked Aileen why she does what she does for our Children’s Ministry here was her sweet response: “I am blessed because it opens the door in my heart for others to see what God has done and I want to give what I can for others. I have been blessed beyond measure to

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Explore the Meaning of Easter

meet wonderful people and play with the cutest kids. It's been wonderful!!” What I see in Aileen is someone with patience that tru-ly comes from the Lord. She absolutely is an example of God’s unconditional love. Aileen is kind and always wears a sweet smile. She always has a hug for you too!

Understanding the deep meaning of biblical events is a vital part of our faith journey. And while children may not have the same understanding as adults, we can in-troduce them to concrete concepts and then guide them to understand more abstract levels of meaning. This progression from concrete to abstract thinking means your children will begin to understand events and sym-bols of the Bible on a deeper level. Begin by presenting Bible events, including Easter, in their entirety—and in age-appropriate ways. Symbols and objects play a key role in some Bible ac-counts, such as the events of Holy Week. Determine which symbols kids understand and which are more dif-ficult. Then keep these tips in mind. Add relevance. Identify themes your kids have experi-ence with, such as friendship, fear, or kindness. Then connect the Bible account to one of those themes. Sto-ries that show how God works in kids’ lives will stick with them. Be faithful to the Bible. Present God accurately and tell the whole story in an age-appropriate way. Build “cognitive bridges.” Make connections by ex-panding on common experiences. For example, city kids may not relate to the image of sheep and a shep-herd. Begin with the familiar—pets kids have—and talk about how they love and care for them. Proceed to other animals and their keepers, and finally to the sheep and shepherd. That integrates a solid base of understanding into the child’s life. Read on for more about sharing Easter’s message using symbols.

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Holy Week and Easter are ideal opportunities to use Christian symbols to share the Gospel. Remember that although children are wired to be spiritually curious, they reason concretely. Keep kids’ perspectives in mind and realize that their brains are continually devel-oping. Faith growth is a progression, not a leap, and children’s images of God expand as they struggle with life’s complexities. Accept immature perceptions for now, but challenge kids more as their ability to think abstractly develops. Try these activities to spark dis-cussions about Jesus’ death and resurrection. “Palm” Parade Say: “In Bible times, people waved palm branches to show honor. Today we support peo-ple such as athletes by waving rally towels or signs.” Use fabric markers to decorate large cloth pieces for Easter week. Include words and pictures such as “Jesus is King!” and “He’s Risen!” Re-enact Palm Sunday by cheering for Jesus. Then display the fabric pieces as reminders of Jesus’ place of honor in your lives. Precious Preparation Read aloud Mark 14:3-9. Say: “Before Jesus died, this woman gave him a very spe-cial gift. We can give Jesus gifts from our heart, too.” Have family members take turns sharing things they can do to honor Jesus. As each person shares, spray perfume into the air or on the person. Given for You Celebrate Jesus’ last meal with his dis-ciples—and his gift of Holy Communion. Share a loaf of bread, with each person tearing off a bit before pass-ing it on. Read aloud Matthew 26:26-28. Say: “It might sound strange to eat Jesus’ body and drink his blood. What do you suppose the disciples thought at this sup-per with Jesus?” Share your church’s tradition of Com-munion or talk about what the special meal means to you. Betrayed! Set out 30 dimes and let kids count them. Read aloud Matthew 26:14-16. Say: “Judas betrayed Jesus, or turned him in to soldiers, for about 120 days of wages.” Ask: “Was Jesus’ life on earth worth more than that silver? Why or why not? What’s the

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Celebrate Jesus and Faith

Teachable Moments

“I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will have life, even af-ter dying. Everyone who lives in me and

believes in me will never ever die.”

—John 11:25-26

true value of Jesus’ life to our family?” Egg-stra Impact For kids who won’t swallow small items, fill plastic Easter eggs with symbols of Holy Week. Ideas include purple cloth, a thorn, a sponge, a nail, a rock, and so on. (For more, visit childrensminis-try.com/new-resurrection-eggs/) Let kids handle the ob-jects as you discuss Jesus’ journey to the cross. From Death to Life! Set three small cups in a row. Fill the two outside cups halfway with water. Add blue food coloring to one and yellow to the other. (Leave the cen-ter cup empty.) Say: “When Jesus died, people were sad and blue. But on Sunday, they were happy to see he was alive!” Fold two paper towels. Put one partway in the blue water and partway in the empty cup. Place the other partway in the yellow water and partway in the empty cup. Water will travel through the towels, filling the center cup with green water. Say: “Jesus rose to give us life!”

Wiped Clean Demonstrate how Jesus’ death on Good Friday wipes away our sins. You’ll need newspapers, baby wipes, a candle, matches, and a trash can. Sit in a circle around some newspapers. Say: These newspapers represent sin, or ways we disobey God. Grab some and rub the ink on your hands. Read aloud 1 John 1:9. Say: Just as the ink stains our hands, our sins leave dirty stains on our hearts. Give each family member a baby wipe. Dim the lights and light the candle. Say: Jesus came into a dark, sinful world to be our light. Because Jesus died for us, we are forgiven and can live in his light forever! As you focus your eyes on the light, Jesus, clean your hands with the wipe. Then drop it into the trash can to remind you that when Jesus erases your sins, they’re gone for good. Close in prayer, thanking Jesus for being a light in our dark world and for dying on the cross for our sins.