Featured Events

NO Community Ecumenical Lent Lunch and Worship this year. ☹  However, SMU has agreed to run a brief (15 to 20 minute) devotional at noon on Wednesdays, starting Ash Wednesday, February 17.  Grace will offer one of those devotionals, as will six other Spencer churches through March 31.

Pertaining  in-person  worship…
   beginning August 2 January 17, 2021                                     

• Exercise care and prudence as to your attendance.
• Anyone who is not feeling well should not be in attendance;  as is the case for anyone who has knowingly been exposed within the previous two weeks.
• “Social distancing”  is expected from people you do not live with;
• The wearing of masks is expected and affirmed;
• Online worship will continue to be offered.

1. Be creative with greetings and “friendliness.” Refrain from greetings requiring physical contact.

2. Participants will be encouraged not to touch anything they don’t need to. Doors from narthex to sanctuary will be left open before, during and after the service.  

3. The nursery is not available for use.

4. There will be no printed ‘worship programs.’  Projection will include all congregational participation. There will be available, at the exits, a paper with any calendar items, announcements and prayers.

5. People are expected to find seats at least 6’ from any persons other than those they live with. (It may be most effective if large family units sit in a ‘clump,’ some in back, some in front.)

 6. There will be a “children’s lesson,” but the children will remain at their seat.

 7. For public address use, i.e. prayer concerns & announcements, corded microphones will be placed on stands, at the front of the aisle, one on each ‘corner’ of the platform. No touching needed.

 8. Bold, loud singing by the gathered congregation will not be encouraged. ☹  Rather, we will seek “singers” and place them well-separated from the gathered people.

9. Offering plates will not be passed person-to-person but will be placed by each of the sanctuary exits and one in the narthex.

10. At the conclusion of the service, persons will be asked to leisurely exit, back seats to front.  No “fellowship time” will be hosted.                         

Live-streaming is still a work-in progress but some improvements have been completed during our shut-down.  We are still seeking persons to be trained. 

SMU worship presentations will continue Wednesday eve and Thursday mornings.

Catch the Spirit will continue for the time being. Please remember that this entails a cost of $60/Sunday. Good way to honor or remember someone or an event.

NEW: Before the sermon we will announce, for livestream worshippers, that prayer concerns may be submitted to prayersforworship@gmail.com.  Someone will be watching that address and after the sermon, present submitted items, which is where we will place the prayers of the people in the service.

Many of your friends should not yet be attending worship nor going out into public spaces.  Reach out to those you know, neighbors or even strangers (pick a name out of the 2017 church directory!) YOU might be THE person through whom God works to connect with certain people.

Discipleship Ministries is producing a 3-session “Things We Can Do” webinar series to explore new and innovative ways to meet the needs from caring for the grieving to comforting the lonely.  This webinar will focus on ways churches can be in ministry to/with/for Older Adults and Boomers during these challenging times.   If you are a leader or would simply like to see Grace’s older adult ministries expanded, come to the Narthex so we can watch and discuss these webinars together.  Webinar & discussion will last 1 ¼ hours.  You may also register for these webinars through umcdiscipleship.org and watch in the comfort of your own home.   

Questions?  Contact Jane Moen.

• Let Older Adults Lead Ministries, Thursday, March 25, at Noon

Adult Discipleship Team has put together our 3rd Grace United Methodist Church Lent Devotional.  If you would like a copy of the Grace devotional to use during Lent, copies will be available in the Narthex.

Questions please contact Jane Moen.

The Wired Word class is meeting socially distanced Sunday mornings at 10:45 AM in the Wesley Room.  John Rahn is the leader.  The Wired Word lessons link two current events with relevant scripture and discussion questions. The Wired Word provides great thought-provoking reading for individuals and/or small groups.  Contact the church office with your current email address at office@spencergumc.com or 262-5970 if you’d like to receive these lessons.  You do not need to be a part of the group to receive these lessons. 

Easter Excitement

To help spread the good news of the resurrection of Jesus we invite you to add two activities to your celebration! Let’s make the Easter season special.

The children and youth (ages 2 to grade 12) are invited to participate in an Easter Egg Rock hunt starting March 15 through Easter Sunday.

The entire church family is invited to color the Easter egg found in this newsletter. Then display the egg in a window of your home for others to enjoy. Our hope is that “Grace Eggs” will be spotted all over Spencer and families can take a car ride through neighborhoods for an Easter egg hunt!

Check out the Easter trees in the Narthex in March.  At our March 1^st meeting, the Missions team will identify which Mission projects to financially support.  To participate:

All you will need to do is take a plastic egg off the tree for the project you’d like to support.   Fill the egg with checks, big or little bills or even change collected over time.  If you write a check, make it out to Grace UMC and put the name of the project in the memo line.   Please return the filled eggs to the offering plates on Sunday mornings or to the church office weekdays.  Please returned plastic eggs by Monday, April 15.