We will have a special service centered around our graduates on April 28. Jody Pigg will teach a combined class and we will enjoy a catered lunch of chicken and dressing after Bible class time.
As part of our phasing back into in-person services, we will be resuming our Evening Worship services on April 4, 2021 at 6PM. Additionally, our Bible Kidnection program for our 3 year old thru 2nd grade will be resuming as well. If you would like to serve in this capacity, let us know.
We look forward to seeing you at PM Worship starting April 4th!
Ever since all this started, the ministers and elders have been thinking about ways we can get back to Bible Class. On September 13, we are going to attempt to do that. We believe this is incredibly important, and a big step towards getting back to normal. We will of course monitor how it goes with schools reopening and make appropriate decisions if we need to.
We have a plan next month to start modified Bible classes for all ages in various parts of the building. We will need lots of help for this, so if you would like to help, please message me or comment below. We've already been in touch with several potential teachers already, and will need a lot of helpers for this as well. Our Pre-K will be assembling in the Fellowship Hall, specifically FR-1, 2 and 3. This will close off the main fellowship hall and keep it open for overflow at Worship services. We plan to go back to a 9AM worship and 10:15 Bible Class, just like before this all started. Our Pre-K will take part in songs a lot like they do now with our 9:15 Outdoor Classroom singing right now led by Andrew, and then have a short lesson or activity taught by a rotation of teachers. We are asking that all kids 4 years old and below are accompanied by a parent.
Our Elementary classes will be split with 1st & 2nd Grades in the Homebuilders Classroom upstairs, and our 3-5th grades in the Small Auditorium. Our 6th grade Youth Group Transitions class will be meeting in the Service Station class upstairs. Our 7th-12th graders will meet in the YAC.
That leaves our Adult Bible Class, and because of space we will only have one Adult Bible class in the Main Auditorium. But we are in for a treat because that class will be taught by several different men of the congregation. Our focus is to get our kids back in class, and we hope that soon we will be able to get back to our regular classrooms and resume adult Bible classes in their normal rooms.
We will continue to observe social distancing in all of our classes. We also ask that if you are sick to please not send your child to class.
To coincide with Bible classes reconvening, we have come up with a 20-week curriculum that will hopefully allow us to get through this and get back to normal Bible classes in 2021. The theme across the board in our classes will be "A Picture of God's People," focusing on knowing God, trusting God, and exploring topics like teamwork, devotion, and selflessness.
Of course there's questions, and we will be happy to try to answer all of them for you. Please email me if you would like to know more or ask any questions. It is our hope that this will be an interim step to returning back to normal with how we worship and go to Bible class. And most of all, we thank you for your support and help during this time. For more information, list of topics and classes, please head to graymere.com/bibleclass. This webpage will be the center all all info on our efforts to get back to Bible class.
Again, we appreciate you all so much. We know that this has not been easy, and we're probably in for several more tough months. We appreciate you willingness to help and your flexibility to adapt. Thank you so much, and we look forward to seeing you in Bible class on September 13th!
As you may have already read in our e-mail announcements, May 31st will be the first Sunday we resume meeting at the building with a Sunday morning worship service. Here are a few things to remember:
Our building use will remain as it has been over the last few weeks, with no events on our property until May 31st. While we will have worship on May 31st, we will not have Bible classes, Sunday evening worship, or Wednesday night classes in May.
As stated in the announcement, our elders understand and encourage each member to do what is best for them. If you are in a high-risk category or do not feel comfortable being out, please continue to do what is best for you and your family. Our on-line options will still be available for you to worship at home.
There will have to be some modifications to our usual worship schedule to allow for distancing practices. We will provide updates on exactly what that will look like as the time gets closer.
Let's keep praying for and checking on each other. We are all in this together, even when we are physically apart!
We are proud to announce that online giving is now available here at Graymere.com through a service called RebelGive. You should see and blue icon on the lower right of your screen anytime you’re on the site. You can click to get started and also watch the informational video below.
With everything that has taken place in the past few days our elders have been prayerfully and carefully considering the needs of our church family. We want to do what is best for each other and glorify God by showing love for our neighbors. Our elders have decided that the Sunday morning worship services for March 22nd and March 29th will be online only. We will not have a worship service at the building. You may go to our website or app, where you usually stream our worship service, or you can watch it on Facebook. It will be posted first thing Sunday morning, and we encourage people to worship together with your families. Jon Winchester will be bringing a message of hope, as well as a reminder of our mission and some exciting news about how Graymere is continually focused on serving God.
We are encouraging families to prepare and provide their own elements for the Lord's Supper. We will be posting a recipe for unleavended bread to our Facebook group if you need it. As you can imagine supplies of travel communion elements are on back order, and while we have some, we don't have enough for everyone. So please prepare that yourself. If you are not able to, please contact one of the elders or ministers.
Of course, giving is a part of worship. We encourage every family, just as we would if we were together, to purpose in your hearts what you will give. This may even be a good time to talk with children about the purpose of giving. If you could like to mail checks (no cash) to the church office, please by sure to write contribution on the envelope, or of course, you can drop the contribution by the office during the week.
This change also includes any events that will be taking place in any of our buildings during this time. This will be our schedule for two weeks, and then we will assess what to do going forward.