Thursday, June 8, 2017




Dear Spirit of Grace Congregation & Friends,

Blessed to be a Blessing!  That’s what you are and that’s what you continue to show and live out each and every time you put your faith in motion living out our SoG purpose statement:  “As Christ’s people in motion, we connect, grow and serve.”  And SoG, you continue to live it out – for example with this grace-filled response for Kristen Hewett & her uncle. 




The picture at right is from Tues, May 30, following the
Esther’s School End of the year Awards Ceremony  (attended by 7 SoG folks to cheer on the students).  Left to right: Lois McDevitt & Lou Vuozzo, Council Pres., gave the congregation’s special offering to Kristen & her uncle, Judd with Mr. Chad Maesse, Esther’s School Principal looking on. 

    

The Hewett’s are trying desperately to keep the roof over their head.  Even though Mr. Hewett is employed, some financial hits are overwhelming.  About two weeks ago, Kristen, a 10thgrad er at Esther’s School (North Campus) asked if she could talk with me.  (Kristen is the one who provided cookies for the congregation for fellowship the Sunday after all the student’s received their Angel Tree Christmas Gifts from SoG – it was her way of saying thank you at Christmas time. 

She began to tell me of the very recent hardship that had come to her newly fractured family that included 4 years of undisclosed unpaid back taxes on their home where they have lived for 14 years.  They have one month to pay the back taxes, (June 13 deadline) she said, and is there any way the church could help? Would it be okay if she put a container out on the table?  “Of course,” I said, then went on to support her courage to ask for help. 


Shortly the canister showed up on the table and that weekend in worship at North Campus worshippers heard about Kristen’s story and courageous reaching out for help.  Spirit of Grace, you have responded so graciously by providing $534.00 and coins toward that $3,700 outstanding tax bill!  Thanks be to God!

Picture at right:  Lois’ hug with Kristen is also Spirit of Graces’ embrace of grace and generosity for the Hewett’s!

For those who have not yet had the opportunity & would like to provide a financial gift, Kristen’s container will be available at both South Campus sites June 4 & the family’s Go Fund Me link is posted on the SoG website. 

Lou Vuozzo, Pr. Rita, Kristen, Lois McDevitt, 
Judd & Chad Maesse – being Christ’s People in Motion!



Thank you Spirit of Grace!
See you in Worship,
Pr. Rita Gardner Tweed, Lead Pastor, Spirit of Grace



UPDATE on the Family
Judd was able to fully pay the back taxes on their home with the help of Spirit of Grace, St. Mary's Catholic Church, & Lutheran Church of the Resurrection. With the three churches combine they were also able to put food on their table, bring all the bills up-to-date, get hay for the horses and get their truck fixed (their only means of transportation).

We know we can't do this for everyone who is in need. But as the starfish story goes: as a little boy who saw a beach full of starfish started to throw them back into the ocean, a man came by and said to the boy, "Why are you bothering to do that, you can't possibly save everyone." The boy replied as he threw another starfish back into the ocean, "It matters to that one."

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Dear Spirit of Grace Congregation and friends,

As just about everyone connected with Spirit of Grace knows, this year’s Lenten season theme and focus plus the capital appeal theme and focus was Leap of Faith. For our own growth in faith, I think it profound when- ever we spend time becoming more aware of how God’s grace impacts our lives and how we respond to God’s grace with our whole lives.  Our response is most evident when we live out the 6 Marks of Discipleship: (that was the Lenten Wednesday study through the book Real Faith for Real Life by Rev. Mike Foss) Daily Prayer, Weekly Worship, Regular    Bible Study, Service both in & beyond the congregation, Caring Relationships, and Generosity.

Given the frame of reference described above as our Lenten journey together, when Palm Sunday came, which is the beginning of Holy Week and this year was also the Commitment Sunday for our Leap of Faith appeal, I hope you were as captivated by the palms and the purple at the altar as I was.  This year our Palm Sunday was just that, Palm Sunday with its focus on the triumphant entry of      Jesus into the city.  Followers of Jesus have been doing the procession with palms as far back as the 4th century!  This tradition connects us with generations of faithful followers – yet another living example of the ‘great cloud of witnesses’.  There was the procession with palms, then the procession with coins from the children, and then the procession with our commitment cards for the caretaking of God’s houses of worship – so we lived out that century’s long tradition quite well!

As so often is the case with God’s ways, I received quite an unexpected surprise the first time I went behind the altar.  Don’t know how much you can tell from the picture, but the flowing purple chiffon material draped from the cross was all one fluid piece as it lay across the altar and swaged onto the small table with the basket to receive the commitment cards, and then spilled onto the floor.  That combined with the grand palm branch behind the cross, created a different and unique feel behind the altar.  The newly defined spatial reality had the feeling of a holy embrace behind the North altar that really stayed with me. 

I perceived this holy embrace as spiritual encouragement for our Leap of Faith together as a congregation and for the Holy Week ahead.  It remains my prayer for you that you have also received      spiritual encouragement through the Lenten journey and study, through Holy Week, and the profound celebration of Easter in which 582 people worshipped at one of the four worship services/locations offered through Spirit of Grace.

Thanks be to God for God’s deep wellspring of spiritual encouragement!

Easter Joy be yours,

Pr. Rita Gardner Tweed, Lead Pastor, Spirit of Grace