Dear Grace Family,
These announcements and prayer requests are being sent out every Thursday to inform us of what is happening in and the needs of our church. Please note that since next week is Christmas week, please send any announcements or prayer requests to office@gfccsf.org by Monday night (12/23/24).
Grace and peace, The Session and Staff of GFCC
Announcements for the week of 12/16/24
Join Us for Sunday Worship, December 22 at 10:00 AM
Pastor Al will be preaching from Matthew 1:18-23; John 3:16-17. “Love Come Down: The Why of Christmas”
Last Week, Pastor Al preached on “A Star-Studded Cast of Joy: Elizabeth, John, Jesus and Mary”
What are the Sources of Joy?
Submission to God
Family
Miracle of Life
Confirmation
God’s Future at Hand
Slide Deck from Pastor Al's sermon
If you want to re-listen to Pastor Al’s sermon (and any other previous sermons), you can do so on our church’s website.
Sermons | GFCC (gfccsf.org)
Sharing Advent Hope Together on December 17
Thank you to Mylene for leading us in our mid-week advent service. Below are pictures from our Advent Gallery of our Advent/Christmas artifacts.
Advent Gallery
Sign the “This is Us” Document
The link to this document is below. We are invited to sign the “This is Us” document if we resonate with what is stated. This is a tangible way for us to say yes to who we are and why we exist.
The “This is Us” document will be left at the front of the sanctuary each Sunday. Please feel free to sign it.
If you have any questions, please contact Pastor Al or Pastor Paul.
This Is Us
A Request for Stuffed Animals for the Loops of Love Ministry
While you are out shopping in person or online, please consider purchasing some stuffed animals for the Loops of Love Ministry. We would like to bring these animals to Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in the next few weeks.
We would like them cuddly and soft. For safety concerns, Laguna Honda does not allow beanie babies (because of the bead stuffing), anything that can be easily detached from the stuffed animal (bows, scarves, hats, toys), and no large stuffed animals (bigger than 14 inches). Please drop off your donation in the "Loops of Love" basket in the sanctuary.
If you have any questions, please contact Linda Kay.
Christmas Eve Service, December 24 at 7PM at Church
Let’s welcome our Lord’s birth by gathering together to worship and celebrate on Christmas Eve.
For those who want to continue the fellowship after the service, we will have refreshments after the service.
If you wish to bring some Christmas goodies to share, let Jennifer or Caroline know.
Christmas Offering - Bridge Ministry
This year, we want to direct our Christmas Offering to the Bridge Ministry of Pastor Nelson Ng’ang’a and his wife, Annet. The link below details what their dream for the Bridge Ministry would look like in Kenya. They are called to minister to the most vulnerable in Kenya - children.
Our offering will go toward the purchase of a 4-wheel drive pickup truck. This truck will be most valuable for their outreach, travel and transportation of people and goods.
If you wish to make a gift to the offering, you can do so online or by placing a check in the offering box and indicating that it is for the Christmas offering.
The Bridge Ministry
New Year’s Eve Event at Church
Let’s put on our dance shoes and let loose on the dance floor. If you want to share part of New Year’s Eve with the church family, come to church for some good music (from Motown, Elvis, Beatles to Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift), fellowship and food.
Note - Dancing is not a requirement. Come and spend the last day of 2024 with family!
4PM - 7PM at church.
Any questions, contact Caroline
Cana Winter Weekend for Couples “Discerning our Priorities Together”
Jan 31- Feb 2 at Mount Hermon, CA
In the day-to-day grind, we sometimes fail to remember what is really important to us. Take some time away for a weekend in the beautiful Santa Cruz mountains and revisit your priorities as a couple! The weekend will include time alone and together, teaching, free time, prayer & worship, and the good company of other couples. Click here for more information, or go to canausa.org/events. Questions? Ask Dave & Lisa or Robert & Margie.
Registration Deadline is January 13, 2025
Ministry Partners Update
Jubilee Immigration Advocates (Randy Chang is the ministry liaison)
See below for the latest Jubilee newsletter. Note - the client featured was a former GFCC attendee.
https://mailchi.mp/jubileelegal/dec-2024-newsletter121924-courageousjoy
Oriented to Love 2024 Highlights (Matt McDonell is the ministry liaison)
We did more work than ever within communities (which we believe leads to more sustainable change), taking our conflict training and retreats to...
Mennonite Disaster Services national staff
Redeemer Community Church (San Francisco)
Esperanza Health Center (for underserved populations in Philadelphia)
Christian Community Development Association
Candler Seminary in Atlanta
We hosted...
3 confidential dialogues (in San Francisco, Philly, Phoenix)
2 public fishbowl conversations (DC, Portland—with a combined audience of about 175 people)
We continue to delight in the growth and growing engagement of the OTL alum community, who astound us with their generosity as they give back to the work as...
fishbowl conversations partners
big sibs (emotional support) to new dialoguers
resource producers and thought partners
faithful financial contributors
reunion hosts
dialogue recruiters
We strengthened the future of OTL by...
Prayer requests for 2025:
As we look ahead to the coming year, we ask for prayer for
our 4th BIPOC-only dialogue (May)
our 6th facilitator training (Sept)
the funds to do a qualitative study of OTL’s sustained impacts (which should help us with future grant-writing)
good health, safe travels, strong relationships, and inspired spirits for our team of facilitators, spiritual directors, and support staff
2024 Alternative Gift List
It has been our congregation’s practice, during Christmas, to direct our monetary resources, away from purchasing gifts for each other, to different ministries. Here is the Integral Mission Team’s list of recipients for this year’s Alternative Gifts:
Alternative Gift Giving Worksheet (to indicate what gifts and amounts you wish to give) and Gift Cards are available by the offering box.
Community Events
Program to Purchase a Market-Rate Home in San Francisco
DALP Flyer 2025
Down Payment Assistance Loan Program (DALP) | San Francisco