Jo Anne Campney died on March 23, 2021, after a three year battle with ALS. A memorial service will be held at Grace when it is safe for everyone to gather.
Please hold Jo's children, Ben (Beth) Campney and Rev. Rebecca (Philip) Carver, her extended family, and all who mourn her passing in your prayers.
Come pick up your palm leaves so that you are prepared for Palm Sunday! Palms will be in buckets sitting outside the north and south doors. Pick up as many as you need. (Palms will be delivered to Wesley Acres.)
Masks and social distancing will be required.
"Protest and Palms"
Palm Sunday Worship for Peace
Sunday, March 28, 2021 at 3 p.m.
Due to the pandemic there will be no procession this year, but we will stream our serviceto raise our voices in support of peace, justice, and an end to racism. The keynote speaker will be The Reverend Lizzie Gillman, with scripture reading by The Reverend Zebulun Treloar. This will be a service live-streamed from Capitol Hill Lutheran Church, with the link available from the Des Moines Faith Committee for Peace Facebook page or Capitol Hill Lutheran Church’s website a few days before the service. The prayer service will express a vision of peace and justice, and a pledge to recommit ourselves against racism and war. We will remember the true meaning of Palm Sunday and renew our dedication to be instruments of God’s peace.
***Deadline is approaching!***
Be sure to submit your application by Wednesday!
Applications are now being accepted for the 2021-2022 Grace Foundation/Bolsinger Scholarships.
An electronic copy is available on the Grace UMC website.
Paper applications are available in the church office.
The Grace Free Medical Clinic is in session again!. Patients will be seen on a first come, first served basis each Tuesday. Registration will begin at 5:00 pm. Patients will be seen starting at 5:30.
Spring Clean-Up Day
Saturday, April 17 starting at 9 a.m.
Please bring rakes, garden shears, work gloves, and sunscreen.
Face masks and social distancing will be required.
Have you seen the pictures of our "Cardboard Congregation" that is currently set up in the sanctuary? If you would like to be included, please email your photo to coreenwitke@gracedesmoines.org. Close up photos of your head/upper body work best. You may also send a photo of your pet to be added to "The Pet Pew" in the front row.
Opportunities for Prayer and Meditation
Throughout Lent, the sanctuary will be open for prayer and meditation each Wednesday from 11 am to1 pm and from 5 pm to 6 pm. Masks and social distancing are required in the church. When you enter from the south parking lot doors, you will need to sign in. As you leave the sanctuary, we ask that you sanitize your seat; cleaning supplies will be provided.
Important COVID-19 Update
Grace worship remaining online/over the phone only.
As you may have seen in the Des Moines Register, beginning next week, congregations in the Iowa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church may resume in-person ministry if the 14 day COVID positivity rate is below 15%. As of Wednesday, January 6, the positivity rate in Polk County is 14% (https://coronavirus.iowa.gov/pages/case-counts).
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Some congregations in the Iowa Annual Conference may choose to resume masked, socially-distanced worship. At Grace, as we seek to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, Grace will not yet resume in-person worship and we will continue to worship online on Facebook, YouTube, and at gracedesmoines.org as well as over the phone by calling 515-203-2479.
Have you borrowed any items from the Grace kitchen recently?If so, please be sure items are returned to the kitchen. Thank you!
Sunday School Update
Since we are not meeting in person at this time, our teaching teams will be seeking to stay in touch with students and families through various means that work best for their class. This might include phone calls, cards, sending emails with a suggested lesson or a link to appropriate resources, or an occasional Zoom session. (We will try not to overdo Zoom or other meeting apps for children and youth, as we realize all ages are doing quite a bit of school or other meetings that way.)
For adults, the Carpenters class is going to continue to meet on Monday nights. The Ikono/Odyssey Class is now meeting at 9 a.m. on Sunday mornings. A combined Neighbors and WinSum class is meeting at 2 p.m. every other Wednesday. Their next meeting is February 24.
The Open Table small group will have some meetings on Zoom and others as socially distanced gatherings. For information on joining these groups, please contact Coreen Witke at coreenwitke@gracedesmoines.org.
You have opportunities to support our Grace Youth through their Virtual Concession Stand and Charleston Wraps Fundraisers.
Since we have not been able to host the Tuesday free meal at Grace due to Covid-19, Grace has partnered with Lucky Horse to give free meals to the community. Lucky Horse is a new restaurant in the Drake neighborhood and we are excited to have this new opportunity to provide meals to those that need them.
If you need a meal, please let us know and we will get you a card that can be redeemed for a free meal at Lucky Horse.
You can also thank Lucky Horse for their support in our community by ordering a meal to-go or eating in if you are comfortable doing so.
