COMMUNITY & OUTREACH

Sharing God’s love, making disciples, and inviting others to be a part of our church family at Grace are all goals of the outreach and community ministries at Grace. Our Outreach Team is responsible for overseeing this mission. Six Outreach Ministry sub-teams provide support: Hospitality, Visiting, Prayer, Helping Hands, Communications/Distribution, and Website.  

As part of the congregation’s long-range planning goals, this team is charged with developing and implementing intentional strategies to spread the Gospel to people who are unchurched or spiritually searching. Their efforts are to include varieties in worship experiences and outreach to people of various backgrounds.

The Outreach Team has reactivated the Hospitality Ministers program (greeters) and initiated an Outreach Referral program.  Information sheets located in the narthex can be placed in the Outreach Referral Box to refer someone who needs prayer, assistance or a church home.

Through our community and outreach ministries, our congregation reaches out beyond our own doors to share the Good News and support and serve our neighbors in the name of Jesus Christ.

COMMUNITY SERVICE FUND

Through this fund, Grace congregation is able to provide financial assistance to families and individuals in our community and congregation in times of crises or tragedy. Donations help pay electric bills, medical expenses, or provide other essentials for those in need.

GRACE OUTDOOR NATIVITY

Under the leadership of the Outreach Team, Grace congregation presents a Live Outdoor Nativity Drama the week before Christmas. The annual presentation includes Mary and Joseph, the baby Jesus, shepherds, the wise men, live animals, and of course, the greatest story ever told. The enactment takes place on the front church lawn. 

CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR CHILDREN
Members of Grace adopt 50 children each year for the Christmas Giving Tree sponsored by the Naomi-Ruth WELCA Circle. Members choose an “ornament” off of the Giving Tree, which tells them a specific child’s needs and/or wants. These gifts and Bible Story books are given to underprivileged children in the Prosperity Head Start program. Another 68 DSS children are adopted through the Christian Schools families. The Senior Youth also provide Christmas presents for four Prison Ministry children and purchased blankets for homeless men of the Oliver Gospel Mission in Columbia.

INTERFAITH COMMUNITY SERVICES & MID-CAROLINA MINISTERIAL ASSOCIATION

Newberry Interfaith Community Services (ICS) provides support for Manna House Food Pantry, Free Medical Clinic, the Hospital Chaplain program at Newberry Hospital, Prison Ministry, Alcohol/Drug Center Ministry, Transient Assistance and other ministries for our county. Grace congregation provides financial support for many of these ministries, including the Free Medical Clinic, and sponsors food drives at least annually to assist Manna House.

Mid-Carolina Ministerial Association also sponsors “Prayer-at-the-Pole” for elementary schools and the annual Baccalaureate Service for Mid-Carolina High School.

SCHOOL-TIME BIBLE EDUCATION

School-Time Bible Education provides a faith-based Bible course for 8th graders at Mid-Carolina Middle School. The pilot course began Jan. 4, 2005, with 32 students enrolled representing 22 churches and eight different denominations. Mount Tabor Lutheran Church in Little Mountain serves as the off-campus site. Grace is one of the congregational sponsors, and Pastor Eric Fink serves as program coordinator.  All transportation and instruction are provided by volunteers and sponsoring congregations. Contact Pastor Eric (364-3331) for more information or to learn how you can help.

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

A community Vacation Bible School is held each year with an average attendance of more than 100 people.  Classes are offered for toddlers through adults with a nursery for infants. A Special Needs Class is a highlight of VBS, with participants from four Newberry County Disabilities group homes and the Columbia Cottage at the Lowman Home. Bible stories, crafts, recreation time, and music provide opportunities for growth in faith for children and adults. The fun-filled week of faith ends with a cookout and closing program attended by more than 200. 

RELAY FOR LIFE

Grace sponsors a team for the annual Newberry County Relay for Life held each May at Newberry High School. The Relay for Life team usually sponsors one of the evening Lenten suppers as well as a Yard Sale.  Contact Emmett Wicker if you would like to be a part of this effort.

LOWMAN HOME VOLUNTEERS

For years, volunteers from Grace have journeyed to the Lowman Home to visit with residents and assist them with shopping, mending, and other activities. If you would be interested in this special ministry opportunity, please contact Pastor Eric.

SOUPER BOWL OF CARING

SOUPER BOWL OF CARING
Each year on Super Bowl Sunday, Senior Youth of Grace ask members to participate in the Souper Bowl of Caring by contributing $1 or more to help feed the needy. As worshippers leave the sanctuary, youth stand outside with soup pots to collect donations, which are then forwarded to Manna House, our local food bank. This movement originated in 1990 with the youth of Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in Columbia and has raised more than $28 million for soup kitchens, food banks, and other charities nationwide.

ADOPT-A-HIGHWAY TRASH PICKUPS

Adopt-A-Highway Trash Pickups are held quarterly as announced. Grace has adopted Highway 76 between the Prosperity ball fields and Georgia-Pacific. Participants often enjoy breakfast together before the clean-up begins. 

HUNGER MONTH

Each November, we give thanks for the many blessings God has given us by sharing those blessings with others. During the month, World Hunger Coin Banks are distributed and a special World Hunger offering is received. Donations of food, paper items, cleaning supplies and personal items are collected for the Manna House Food Pantry in Newberry.

COMMUNITY THANKSGIVING EVE SERVICE

An annual community Thanksgiving Eve Service is held at one of the sponsoring congregations each Thanksgiving Eve. Grace, Wightman Methodist, Zion Methodist, Colony Lutheran, and St. Luke Lutheran churches take turns hosting the service, supplying the choir, and providing the pastoral leadership and lay readers. Refreshments are served after the service at the host church.

COMMUNITY EASTER SUNRISE SERVICE

A community Easter Sunrise Service is sponsored each Easter Sunday morning by Grace Lutheran and Wightman Methodist churches at Mills Walking Track.  An Easter breakfast follows the service at one of the host churches.

WORLD HUNGER APPEAL

The ELCA World Hunger Appeal provides food, clothing, agricultural and vocational training for those in need in our own country and throughout the world. While members may give to this cause year-round, a special emphasis is held each November when World Hunger Coin Banks are distributed and a special World Hunger offering is received.

DISASTER RESPONSE

The ELCA Disaster Response offers direct assistance (housing, medical care, finances, counseling support, etc.) to those affected by disasters in our own country and throughout the world. Following the devastation in the Gulf Coast area by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Grace not only received offerings to help the victims, but also sponsored a steak supper to raise additional funds for Disaster Response.