Grace Membership Seminar

Sunday, March 4
2:30-6:00 PM
Childcare and Dinner Provided

“What difference will it make to become a member?”  It’s the difference a covenant makes. To become a member of Grace is to make a covenant—to commit to some promises. It’s similar to vows one might make in marriage. To enter into a covenant is to be shaped by it. You become a promise keeper. A membership covenant governs the way you conduct your life in relationship to God, to the people of God and to the world. In the end, perhaps the more important question might be, “Will you allow something (a covenant) and someone (God and the people of God) to be a shaping influence in your life?”

Register by CLICKING HERE.

Grace Family,

Thank you for praying for our middle school group as we spent the weekend Loving Long Beach. It was a wonderful trip that allowed the students to see the people and city of Long Beach in a different way. We partnered with Covenant Presbyterian Church to help with whatever they needed, which included cleaning classrooms, organizing donated clothing, and making crafts for their after school program. We engaged the homeless of Long Beach at 1st Friends Church, where the students went out of their comfort zones to engage in conversations with people who are different from them. This experience helped students understand that all people have value and stories to share. We also shared meals with people from Grace Long Beach who are being creative to serve and love our city with the talents and gifts God has given to them. This trip challenged students to see that serving is not just something we do, but should be part of who we are, because of the people God has called his church to be.

Thank you,

Daniel G. Long

View photo album by clicking here.

Creative Calling

Beth Giles, a member of Grace Long Beach, is featured in this current edition of the online magazine, Comment.  The article, written by Cory Willson (Grace elder and Fuller PhD candidate), focuses on Beth’s business as an example of how a Christian can engage in the market economy with a creative vision.  Beth’s journey of cultivating her creative calling is a story that leads us into the “sacred ordinary,” where God’s desire for human flourishing met her creative passions in surprising ways. In a world of endless possibilities and a society that provides countless opportunities, her story is instructive for those among us who are afraid to take a risk, fearful of missing out on “better” possibilities, and yet who feel passionate about making life count in meaningful work.  To read the full article, click here.

“Share the Love” With Hope for Long Beach Partner Schools!

On Saturday, February 25, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Hughes Middle School and Longfellow Elementary School will team up with Goodthrift Used Clothing and Recycling to host a USED Clothing and Toy Drive.  The event is open to the community, and you can drop off your items for donation at the Longfellow upper playground (on California, between Roosevelt and Bixby).  Their goal is to collect 10,000 pounds of material.

Accepted donations include:
- clothing
- accessories (purses, backpacks, hats, gloves, ties, scarves, belts, etc.)
- household fabrics (bedding, curtains, towels, bath mats, etc.)
- toys (yes, stuffed animals and other soft toys will be accepted!)
*NO furniture, appliances, outdoor toys, books, tapes, or CDs.

Please put clothing in well-tied, plastic garbage bags and package shoes in a separate bag.

Contact:  Cathy Procopio

Attention Financial Peace University “Alumni”

There will be a “reunion” for those who’ve taken the FPU course through Life Groups on Sunday, March 18, at 11:10 AM. We’re planning this event for two reasons:  1) we realized that FPU has been a rich, life-changing experience for a lot of people at Grace, and we want to celebrate that with each other, and 2) we also realize that the kinds of life-changes that FPU calls for can be difficult to sustain over time, so we want to offer encouragement and resources to help people on their journey to financial peace.

RSVP by clicking here.

Missionary Bess Farrell on Home Ministries This Summer

Bess Farrell, who serves with Encompass World Partners (formerly GBIM) in Mexico City, will be in the States for home ministry from June 14 to September 22.  She and teammate Brenda Welling will need transportation to use for visiting churches and supporters in California and Arizona from June 14 to August 17.  If you have an automobile that Bess and Brenda can use for this time period, please contact Pastor Jesse Krohmer.

This Sunday, Pastor Lou Huesmann continues in our new series on 1 Peter with a message called “The Difference Hope Makes”, from 1 Peter 1:13-21.  If you missed a previous message or would like to listen to one again, check out Grace Media.

Congratulations!

Elias Marcos was born February 18 to Marcos and Amanda Mercado.