At Grace, we are called by God to be in the city for good! For those interested in volunteering this summer, we invite you to attend the orientation held in the North Room of Hope Hall on June 9th from 11:30a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Lunch will be served. Please RSVP at outreach@graceinthecity.com or call Clottee Hammons at 602-817-8996 if you plan to attend. View PDF flyer.
At the center of our religion, love. What heals us, love. What heals our communities, love. Also, the stated motive of most religious people, regardless of actual outcomes, love. I agree with the Beatles: “All you need is love.”
As we expectantly wait for Christmas, one persona dominates the church world, another persona our culture at large. These two prominent figures both speak of how we should act, what we should do—and the consequences if we do not. The persona of our culture at large? Who can we find everywhere at malls and on cards and sung about in songs during the month of December? Santa Claus.
How about the persona of the church world? Who is it who dominates our Advent stories? Right. John the Baptist.
In Luke chapter 15, Jesus shares a series of lost and found parables. Sheep are lost and found. Coins are lost and found. Sons are lost and found. Jesus shares these parables because 1) tax collectors and sinners gathered around him and 2) the scribes and Pharisees were grumbling. What they were grumbling amongst themselves was: This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.
As I walked into the classroom two things were clear to me – I had a marginal idea of what this class was about, and I wasn’t doing it out of some kind of theological curiosity. I signed up for a class on “The Theology of Martin Luther King, Jr.” mainly because someone I liked was in that class.
As you can see, I would never claim to be a paragon of virtue.
Welcome back from another wonderful Christmas season! Sunday School is in full swing at 9:45 am in the basement of the sanctuary.
We have plans for another great Vacation Bible School that will run from Monday, June 6 through Friday, June 10. All are welcome to participate in “Surf Shack” activities. Grab your surfboard and get ready for some wonderful sum-mer happenings. Sing-alongs with Pastor Sarah, great food from our hospitality ladies as well as great summer arts and crafts. Volunteers are needed as always, so look for announcements for planning meetings in the very near future.
Wanted! Sound Board Techs.
For 11:00 am Traditional Worship. You will be trained! Contact Stephanie in the Grace office.
You know, more often than not, it’s really hard to deal with bad news, sometimes, a lot of times, we’re just left wondering “Why?”
“Why did this horrible thing happened?” “Why is the world so broken?” “How can people be so messed up?”
In this week’s gospel, Jesus is faced with one of these situations.
You are invited to celebrate with us on March 10th! Please save the date and register now for complimentary tickets to the 4th Annual Art D’Core Gala at Hance Park, just across the street from Grace Lutheran!
Held under–and among–the stars in Hance Park, the Art d'Core Gala spotlights the significant contribution our arts and culture in creating a dynamic urban core.
Maps and more info is on our event page.
This fourth annual celebration is hosted by Artlink Inc., the City of Phoenix, AZ Government, Downtown Phoenix, AZ, and the Hance Park Conservancy.
The festivities will include an arts showcase; a special toast by Mayor Greg Stanton; and an eye-popping virtual tour of the Hance Park Master Plan.
Evil is real.
We, of course, know this to be true because we have seen evil touch our lives—in the form of apathy, in the form of hatred, in the form of violence and abuse, in the form of greed, in the form of systems that cement racism, sexism, poverty. Evil is real. I think we need to be careful when we talk about evil, though.
Grace Lutheran Church is pleased to host one of the country's preeminent writers, Alberto Ríos, Poet Laureate of Arizona, for an evening of poetry and conversation. On Friday, March 4 in a unique open forum, Alberto Ríos will read selections from his many published works and share stories of his Chicano heritage, reflections of a life that began in Nogales, Arizona.
Pastor Sarah and Interno Abel at Taylor Place, downtown Phoenix, as part of our Ashes to Go event.
The angel announced to the shepherds good news of great joy, the birth of our savior Jesus, but the angel’s good news began with: do not be afraid. Where we are right now, today, we might be afraid. But what we celebrate on Christmas is God’s Love born into our world. Jesus is Love incarnate, and perfect Love casts out fear.
Sunday, December 13, 12:30 pm
Calling all carolers! We will be sharing the joy and music of the Advent and Christmas seasons with some of our homebound members and other community members who are shut in. We will be carpooling, so all are welcome. Singing in tune is not required…only a joyous heart! We will gather for snacks following the caroling in Hope Hall.
