Feb. 17/18: Luke 9: 51-56
Let’s Face It – Fear

Feb. 24/25: Luke 9: 57-62
Let’s Face It – Challenge

March 3/4: Luke 10: 1-12
Let’s Face It – Struggle

March 10/11: Luke 13: 10-17
Let’s Face It – Suffering

March 17/18: Luke 19: 1-10
Let’s Face It – Judgment

March 24/25: Luke 19:28-44
Face the Music

Let’s Face it: A Lenten Study
4-Week Study, Begins February 15th
Thursday mornings from 9:15-10:30am
Join Laura Echols-Richter for this study on Richard Wilke’s book He Set His Face to Jerusalem. Just as Jesus turns his face to the cross, the season of Lent invites us to set our face toward faith in our daily lives.

Register at the link below or contact laura@graceavenue.org. Childcare is available upon request.

When God Doesn’t Fix It: Facing the Brokenness in our Lives
2-week Women’s study beginning Feb 26th
Monday mornings 9:15-10:30am -OR-
Monday evenings 7:00-8:30pm
Our lives don’t always turn out the way we plan. There seem to be more detours than straight roads. We face struggles and the reality of broken dreams. During this story, we will focus on Jesus’ journey with the disciples and also engage with the experience of Laura Story (Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter).

Join Laura Echols-Richter and Kristen Lane throughout the season of Lent as we lean into our faith together.

Women’s Night Out: Dinner & Conversation
Thursday, March 22nd from 6:30-8:30pm
Join the women of Grace Avenue for a night of good food and conversation around some of the anonymous women who journeyed with Jesus. As we connect our stories with theirs, we will discuss times of our lives when we feel overlooked, unimportant, bruised and judged by others in our world. This is a great night to invite women from the community to join us!

Dinner will be catered by Salsa’s Tex Mex. Childcare is provided upon request. Cost is $15. Register at the link below by Wednesday, March 21st at noon.

Contact Laura Echols-Richter at laura@graceavenue.org with questions.

Easter and Holy Week Ushers and Greeters
Throughout Holy Week and on Easter, we need additional ushers and greeters to help with the extra services and the large number of guests we will welcome to Grace Avenue. Please consider signing up to help at during one or multiple services. We are happy to train you if you are new to ushering or greeting! This is an important role during this very busy time for the church.

Contact Joe Stobaugh at joe@graceavenue.org with questions about ushers or Tiffany Krieg at tiffany.krieg@sbcglobal.net with questions about greeters.

Holy Week Lunch Devotion & Soup Lunch
During Holy week we are again offering a brief lunch-time devotion followed by an opportunity for lunch and fellowship. Last year this was well received and we anticipate even better participation this year so…WE NEED YOUR HELP! Please consider volunteering to help with set-up, clean-up and to bring soup. Any and all help is appreciated. Contact Joe Stobaugh at joe@graceavenue.org with any questions.

Daily Devotion During Lent
Our “Spiritual Wellness Survey” results revealed that many of us are struggling to sustain a daily devotional time. Lent offers us the opportunity to focus on spiritual practices that will help us better understand ourselves and grow in our relationship with God. During this season of Lent we invite everyone to dedicate a time each day to devotion and prayer. This will look different for everyone. For some getting up 20 minutes earlier is the best time. For others it will be before bed, during lunch or while the kids are at soccer practice. For some it might require sacrificing time spent watching TV or on social media.

The content of your time will also vary by person. Some will dedicate time to engaging solely with scripture. Others will find meaning in music, poetry, art, writing/journaling, a devotion book, movement or silence. We encourage you to experiment until you find what works best for you. A sustainable spiritual practice should challenge your spirit and help you grow, but not be difficult or boring.

A resource that we are recommending is a book entitled Pauses for Lent by Trevor Hudson. We will have copies available for purchase at the church for $10 beginning after Ash Wednesday or you can pick up your own copy.

40 Days of Sacred Family Conversations
We often hear parents report that they do not spend enough time together as a family. Scientists and psychologists are also noting that the lack of time listening to one another and simply being together as a family is impacting the close relationships children are able to form in their teen and adult years.

To help families during this Lenten season, we have created “Lenten Prayer Kits” for families. These kits offer tools to help families to spend a few minutes together in sacred conversation each Sunday night during Lent. You can pick up a purple “Sacred Conversation Heart” envelope from the children’s tables in the Sanctuary Narthex and in the Worship Center.

Holy Week Devotions & Lunch
March 26th-30th | Noon in the Sanctuary
During Holy Week, we will be offering a time of devotion and lunch at Grace Avenue. The devotional time will consist of a brief devotion, a musical mediation (provided by area musicians) and concluding with a soup lunch (for a small cost).

Prayer Labyrinth
March 26th-30th | 8:00am*-8:00pm in the Worship Center
Walking the labyrinth is an ancient Christian tradition that combines prayer, meditation, and movement. There are many facets to this wonderful spiritual practice. In our fast-paced and hectic world, many people find it difficult to pray sitting still. The Labyrinth might just become your favorite way to pray. (*Note that on Monday, the Labyrinth will open at 1:00pm.)