Grace Notes

Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church

This is what the Lord says: Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV) God is doing a new thing at Grace Covenant. He is at work, blessing our fellowship with precious new life and new ways to abide with Him in service and prayer. As reported in last months Grace Notes, Grace Covenant is enjoying a baby boom with four babies having been born in recent months and more on the way. June will also bring new life to our church building as City Church of Richmond begins holding its Sunday afternoon worship services at Grace Covenant. Richmonders Involved to Strengthen our Community (RISC) which held its successful Nehemiah Action meeting at Grace Covenant in April to seek Gods justice for our city will also be moving its office to Grace Covenant this month. In addition, Richmond Justice Initiative (RJI) a faith-based organization mobilizing and educating communities in the battle against human trafficking will begin holding its weekly prayer gathering at Grace Covenant on Thursday evenings. Lastly, on July 20, we will join together in a congregationwide Service Day led by our Missions ministry team. God is filling Grace Covenant with new life a sign of his redemptive power that is awakening a love for Christ in the heart of Richmond. Of course, in June we will also be blessed to welcome our new pastor, Rev. Bobby Hulme Lippert. Bobby and his wife, Michelle and their dog, Dexter are settling into their new home on Floyd Avenue in the Fan, a little less than a mile from the church building. Thank you to everyone who has already greeted Bobby and Michelle with warm Christian fellowship. Bobby especially appreciates the hospitality as Michelle is currently in Argentina until the end of June doing research for her Ph.D. dissertation. Bobbys first Sunday with us will be June 16. Please join us for that special day as we begin what promises to be many years of fruitful ministry together: doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God as grateful disciples of Christ.
Volume 43, Issue 6 June 2013

Stewardship Corner
Aprils contributions of $29,200 were less than half those in March, a particularly strong month, but they exceeded those of April a year ago by three percent. For the first four months of this year contributions exceeded those of the same period last year by around 40 percent due to the unusually large amount in April. Expenses in April totaled $54,300, up 22% from the prior month. They included $4,800 in quarterly insurance payment and $6,000 tenant improvements in the Stuart Circle Building. Aprils expenses exceeded income by $19,400, offsetting Marchs surplus and bringing the year-to-date deficit to only $800. Aprils Five-Cents-Per-Meal offering was just $69 and the Loaves and Fishes offering was $985. -Lloyd Bostian, Treasurer Emeritus -Eric Spitzer, Treasurer//305-0139, ericjspitzer@gmail.com

Fellowship Activity
PEOPLE Group in June at the RIVAH! PEOPLE Group will be on Saturday, June 22, at Sid Yates River House on the Rappahanock River. Come that afternoon to enjoy the river. We will eat at 6:00 p.m. Hotdogs, hamburgers, and all the fixings will be provided. Please bring an appetizer, vegetable, salad, or dessert to share (enough for 10 adults). We hope to see you there.

Goodbye, Pastor Brint

So leave our humble narthex Despite our cries and rants So what our ceiling dangles? Our organs lost its Schantz! The handbells will stop ringing The tent room will collapse Vanessa will start crying Chris Martin will take naps. The VBS and A/C Lloyd Bostian and PW The Vanguard room and choir loft The big bell and Itunu Will carry on with heavy heart Like John, Paul, Job, and Luke Virginia Tech will never win While youre home watching Duke. So swab our tear-stained faces Just like you swabbed the decks We know you will recover While we stay broken wrecks. Remember all the babies Youve held before the church Remember Bobbys making sure Were not left in the lurch. Remember the Palm Sundays We marched around the block Remember all the comfort Youve given to your flock. Grace Covenant is grateful You healed us by and by. The Holy Spirit sent you To make our spirits fly. With love and eternal appreciation for all your hard work and care, Your friends at Grace Covenant

By Janet Chenoweth
We knew this day was coming Yet we are filled with gloom The air is moist and tear-y Inside this Social Room The chocolate chips arent chipper The punch has lost its punch Cause Brinton Keyes is leaving As soon as he eats lunch. You came here in your forties Turned fifty in the Fan You came here as a youngster But left an old, old man. We know we ran you ragged You had your hip replaced It couldve been our potholes Or that 10 K you raced. So who is Brint Keyes, really? A reverend man, thats clear A man who loves his famly A man who loves his beer. A man who loves his Grace Nuts For all our downs and ups A man who sometimes drowns Inside his Kuerig coffee cups.

June
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday
2 3 Mens Lunch 12 noon Prayer 9:15 am Sunday School 9:30 am CDC Staff Meeting Worship 10:55 am 6:10 pm Fellowship Hour 12 noon Congregational Lunch 12:30pm

4 Missions Meeting 7:00 pm

9 10 Pastor Bobby Here! 11 Prayer 9:15 am Sunday School 9:30 am Mens Lunch 12 noon Staff Meeting 10:00 am Worship 10:55 am Fellowship Hour 12 noon Property Meeting 7:00pm Finance Meeting 6:00 pm Congregational Lunch 12:30pm Worship Meeting 7:00pm

12 CDC Board Meeting 5:00pm

16 FATHERS DAY! 17 Mens Lunch 12 noon Prayer 9:15 am Sunday School 9:30 am CDC Parent Worship 10:55 am Meeting 5:30 pm Fellowship Hour 12 noon Congregational Lunch 12:30pm

18 POJ Meeting
Staff Meeting 10:00 am Deacons Meeting 5:30 pm

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23 24 Mens Lunch 12 noon 25 Prayer 9:15 am Sunday School 9:30 am Staff Meeting 10:00 am Worship 10:55 am Fellowship Hour 12 noon Congregational Lunch 12:30pm
30 Prayer 9:15 am Sunday School 9:30 am Worship 10:55 am Fellowship Hour 12 noon Congregational Lunch 12:30pm

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Thursday

Friday

Saturday 1

CDC Chapel 10:00 am CE Meeting 7:00 pm

8 Piano Recital Vivien Chens students

13 CDC Chapel 10:00 am

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20 CDC Chapel 10:00 am

SESSION MEETING 7:00 pm

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22 PEOPLE GROUP at Sid Yates River House Come early, dinner at 6:00 pm

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CDC Chapel 10:00 am

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Openers/Closers June 2 June 9 June 16 June 23 June 30 Whit Whitley Charlie Appich Lloyd Bostian Kent Cardwell Wayne Casey

June Birthdays
2 Chase Appich 2- Jim Londrey 3- Cheryl Jacobs 5- Shirley Ferguson 5- Langdon Moss 5- Judy Waldron 5- Samuel Ritchie Holt 6- David Saleeba 7- David Horner 9- Delores Crews 10- Deb Goodloe 11- Ginger Norris 12- Chris Flaherty 12- Melissa Whitley 13- Julia Poppell 14- Lee Farrar 15- Pat Aldridge 15- Nathaniel McKinnon 17- Kip Moore 20- Ed Adams 20- Kent Cardwell 22 Betty Appich 23- Suzanne Sizemore 24- Sid Yates 25- Bill Stuart 29- Mary Whitley 29- Mary Gray 30- Patience Mboe

Worship Kits Lisa Cardwell Grace Notes Deadline: June 21 is the deadline for submissions for our July edition.

Fellowship Hour Schedule June 2 June 9 June 16 June 23 June 30 The Baird Family Jean Appich Sallie Leys The Rosebro Family Dawson Watkins

Adult Summer Sunday School-Heroes of the Faith: Part II June 2 - August 25

The Adult Sunday School classes will once again join forces this summer to study "Heroes of the Faith." We will begin meeting in the Fellowship Hall June 2 - August 25. The schedule is below. Please contact Nelson Reveley (nmr2uf@virginia.edu) or Christof Meyer (christof_meyer@me.com) if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you there! 6/2/2013 6/9/2013 6/16/2013 6/23/2013 6/30/2013 7/7/2013 7/14/2013 7/21/2013 7/28/2013 8/4/2013 8/11/2013 8/18/2013 8/25/2013 Eric Liddell led by Tom Miller Boethius led by Christof Meyer Ernest Gordon led by John Nevin William Wilberforce led by Tom Miller TBD Mother Theresa led by Nelson Reveley MLK or Flannery O'Connor led by Bobby Hulme-Lippert Dorothy Sayers led by Virginia Hudson Samuel Davies by Jack Corley TBD Rich Mullins led by Bobby Hulme-Lippert Julian of Norwich led by Christopher Tweel Pearl S. Buck led by Christopher Tweel

Note: Children's Sunday School will kick back up in the fall. Childcare in the nursery will be available throughout the summer for ages 3 and under.

Grace Notes

The Return of Disciple Bible Study! Sept. 2013 - May 2014

The Disciple crew is excited to announce the next 34 week study, which will run from September 2013 through May 2014 (roughly from after Labor Day until Memorial Day). We will be using the Disciple Bible Study program that delves deeply into Genesis, Exodus, Luke, and Acts. Here is your chance to join with others in a transformative spiritual discipline to deepen your walk with Christ. Disciple consists of 30 minutes of prayerful scripture reading per day as well as a two -hour gathering per week with fellow participants to discuss the weeks scripture in more detail. The meeting time for the weekly gathering will be determined by interested participants schedules. The aim of this study is not simply scriptural knowledge, but genuine growth in Christ and application of life in God to ones daily existence. This spiritual discipline does call for a serious commitment of roughly four hours per week, and it consequently generates the tangible and lasting fruits of spiritual growth. Please pray, reflect, and look over your schedule for this coming fall through spring. If you are interested or feel presently called to this discipline, please contact Nelson Reveley 387-8094 or nmr2uf@virginia.edu. It will be an excellent time!

We received a thank-you card from Willie Alfords family.

We, the Alford family, would like to thank the Grace Covenant Church family for all your prayers, hugs, calls, visits and encouragement. It has been a journey, but God knows best. God is an awesome God and in Him we find our strength to continue on. Thank you for loving Mr. Willie Alford and all the support you have shown over the years. God bless you all and watch over you. Amen! - The Willie Alford Family

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Grace Covenant Service Day Saturday, July 20!

The Missions Ministry Team and the Christian Education Committee are delighted to invite you to a congregation-wide service day on Saturday, July 20. It will be a time for fellowship, service, and Bible study. There will be service activities both at the church and out in the community, and you will have the chance to select among various service opportunities when you register this June. We are planning to partner with Shalom Farms and our KHISH Honduras Mission Trip among others. The Bible study will focus on the Letter of James and be led by our own Nelson Reveley. Childcare for infants and toddlers will be available, and with enough interest a Bible study for older children will be held during the adult study sessions. Many of the service opportunities will be family friendly so that older children can participate! 9:00-9:30 a.m. 9:30-10:45 a.m. 10:45-5:00 p.m. 5:30-6:15 p.m. 6:15-7:15 p.m. - Potluck Breakfast & Fellowship - Bible Study - Service Activities (includes bag lunch time, as well as travel time for those going beyond GC. Some activities will end before 5:00 p.m.) - Dinner & Fellowship - Reflection & Bible Study

Mark your calendar and keep your eye out for registration this June!

Note: This Service Day will in some respects take the place of Vacation Bible School this summer. Since most VBS leaders this year are enjoying the blessings of newborn and infant children (eager participants of future VBSs!), the Missions and Christian Education/Discipleship Ministry Teams are focusing on this meaningful and more compact day of service.

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Child Development Center

Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, Welcome summer! With the end of May and the start of June, the children will begin learning all about summer! They will observe and discuss summer temperatures, learning what to wear to stay cool. They will discuss summer weather such as thunderstorms and summer sun. A big part of summer is staying safe, so summer safety will be their focus as they learn the effects of sun exposure and how to protect themselves by applying sun screen, wearing hats, and staying in the shade when they feel too hot. They'll learn all about nutrition and the importance of staying hydrated so that their bodies can move and stay cool. But summer's not just all about safety; we'll be exploring summer fun as well! We'll discuss many fun summer activities like camping and picnics, and even participate in some ourselves! With water play starting the first week of June, we'll discover water as we run through sprinklers, play at water tables, and much more. By pouring, measuring, splashing, and dunking, we'll actually be learning about our bodies and the world around us while we play! On days without water play, we'll observe the world around us and learn what kinds of plants grow in the summer, as well as what animals come out in the summer and how they behave. We'll even compare how the animals stay to cool to our own methods. I know the children will have lots of their own ideas for summer fun, so we'll also be sure to leave some time open for their own free exploration of how to enjoy these summer weeks. -Nicole Williams

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From Susan Farrell and The Missions Ministry Team: One Sunday, seven years ago, as a new member of our Missions Ministry Team at Grace Covenant, I was standing in the narthex discussing the need for more personal connections with missionaries with the head of the committee. As we were talking, a young couple walked through our doors, obviously visitors. We welcomed them and learned that they were visiting from Moldova with a ministry to college students. That was the start of Grace Covenants relationship with Valentin and Svetlana Chicu. It has been a challenging past couple of years for Valentin and Svetlana. They are a young family with three small children living in the very poor country of Moldova, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with college students. Their children have had several significant health problems and Svetlanas mom died from cancer this year. Thanks be to God that we at Grace Covenant have been able to be a blessing to them!!! What a joy for us to be part of their ministry. Effective college student ministry is so very important. Its a desire we have for our own neighboring campus of VCU. During this past year, the Chicus have had over 360 personal conversations about their faith with students. As a result of those encounters, fifty students have come to put their faith in Jesus and are now learning Gods Word. Wow!!! Lets pray that we can one day see that kind of fruit in our own neighborhood. In the meantime, please pray that God would continue to bless the Chicu family and their ministry. They count on us for financial support and prayer and would love to hear from any of you. Just a brief word of encouragement and love can be emailed to them at valentin.chicu@newlife.md

May His Kingdome Come!

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The Staff
Bobby Hulme-Lippert Pastor bobby@grace-covenant.org Chris Martin Director of Music and Organist martin@grace-covenant.org Vanessa Strait Administrative Assistant strait@grace-covenant.org Martha Rubin Bookkeeper bookkeeper@grace-covenant.org James Greene Custodian

Church Officers
Our Elders serve the church as leaders. Our Deacons lead the church in service. Please feel free to approach them with any questions or feedback about Grace Covenants ministries. CLERK OF SESSION: Everett Reveley ELDERS Jordan Ball (14) Wayne Casey (13) Jack Corley (13) Matt Hartman (13) Virginia Hudson (14) Cheryl Jacobs (15) Caroline Leith (15) Katie McCullough (13) Dana McKnight (14) Christof Meyer (15) Joy Nevin (14) Everett Reveley (15) Nelson Reveley (15) Robert Rosebro (13) Rob Turner (14) Nominating (M), Finance Property, Small Groups (M) Finance, Missions Missions (M), Small Groups Evangelism (M), CE/Discipleship CE/Discipleship, Fellowship, Worship Administration (Co-M), Property Administration (Co-M) Worship (Co-M), Finance CE/Discipleship (Co-M) Fellowship (M) Finance (M) CE/Discipleship (Co-M), Evangelism Property (M) Worship (Co-M)

Church Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. Phone: (804) 359-2463 Fax: (804) 278-6298 www.grace-covenant.org Sundays:
9:45 a.m. 10:55 a.m. 12:00 noon Sunday School for all ages in the Education Building Worship Service in the Sanctuary Congregational Fellowship in the Social Room

DEACONS Compassion Ministry (Flowers, Prayer, Visitation and Care Team) Jan Kessel (14), Ann Pais (14), Dawson Watkins (13), Carol Wood (13) Hospitality Ministry (Ushers/Greeters, Glass Office, Inquirers Class, Guest Follow-up) Lisa Cardwell (15), Courtney Clements (15), Jennifer Schooley (15), Erika Tabor (14) Service (Meals, Transportation, Deacons Fund) Mary Gray (15), Ann Pais (14), Judy Waldron (14), Dawson Watkins (13) TRUSTEES: Lloyd Bostian (13) Kent Cardwell (13) Caroline Leith (14) John Roberts (15)

Grace Covenant Child Development Center Nicole Williams Director director.gccdc@verizon.net www.gracecovenantcdc.com

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