It was standing room only at last week's Blessed Grille following Sunday's service.

Adults & kids enjoyed grilled metts, hamburgers and hot dogs, accompanied by side dishes brought by members of the congregation. 

 

While the adults ate and conversed on the Garth, the young people got into swim suits and had a great time on a water slide. 

See more pictures.

We are happy to report that Fr. John Bower has agreed to be with us at least two Sundays of the month for the near future.  The tentative schedule of worship leaders for August is:

... to Belinda and Roger Perna, and to all those who worked to make our Grill last Sunday such a success.

... to Godfrey Mukasa (no relation to David) and his crew for doing an excellent job in completing the rework of our heating system in the 1957 wing.  Not only did they do an excellent job, but they were courteous, always cleaned up at the end of the day and they saved Grace Church a considerable amount of money.  If anyone in the parish needs a heating person, please consider using Godfrey and thus say thank you for their assistance.

... to sexton Bob Jones and the parolees who worked so diligently, removing all the pews, stripping the floor under them, and waxing to begin the improvement of our sanctuary floors.  The aisles and other areas will be done soon and the pews will then be rebolted to the floor.  In the mean time, please have patience with us.

... to Roger and Belinda Perna for their help in supervising the guys on Thursday and to Belinda, Roger, and Mary McLain for the great lunch they prepared.

... to Ken Lyon and Roger Perna who removed and are repairing the doors near the Garth on the Hamilton side of the church.

... to Belinda and Roger Perna, David Mukasa, Phillis Dietz and others who have given financial and other assistance to make possible the painting of our sanctuary.  And especially to Belinda who spent most of one week on the ladder painting the Peace Chapel.  Thanks to them and to all others who have helped to so greatly improve the appearance of our Sanctuary.

... the choir from Jim Edgy, who thanks them for their dedication and hard work in striving to enrich our worship service.  Most church choirs represent 7 to 10% of the average congregational attendance at the Sunday service.  Our choir generally represents approximately 25%.  We are truly blessed to have so many people who are willing to use their time and talents on our behalf.  And I want to personally say how much I appreciate them.  Thanks also to John Thayer and Lisa Perry for their contributions on the bells.  To this mix, now that we have enough people in our Sunday School to form a children's choir, next year will see the children singing for us on a regular basis.  So please extend your personal thanks to our choir today and encourage our youth for tomorrow.  

... to Belinda and Roger Perna and Wanda Miller for painting and redecorating the lower Belmont Entrance.

... to Belinda and Roger for new chairs in the parlor.

... to Carol Lyon, Wanda Miller, and Belinda Perna for inviting former members of Grace and hosting the reception for them on Pentecost Sunday.

... and to all our volunteers who do so much to keep Grace Church lively, clean, and active.

The Hip-Hop Service and the Community Healing Servce with drumming and Rieke will restart in the fall.

See the Grace Calendar Page for the most up-to-date listing of events at Grace and of possible interest to Grace people.  Let us know at webmaster@gracecollegehill.org if we've missed anything.

Some of the musical variety in our services is provided by this duo, the Grace Church Bell Choir, consisting of Lisa Perry and John Thayer.

Have you seen our new look at the Belmont entrance? When a few of our members realized that this is the first and perhaps only view that hundreds of Grace visitors have every week, they decided to make it a lot more welcoming. 

Take a look next time you're at Grace!

We have been asked by our insurance company to prepare a complete inventory of all things in the church, including furnishing, vestments and altar supplies, kitchen equipment, etc.  Obviously, this is a big job.  We will ask the various committees to complete the inventory for their area, i.e. altar guild, Sunday, school, etc., but we will need even more help.  If you can assist with this, we will be appreciative.

Last Sunday's congregation was again blessed with an offertory solo by Bennyce Hamilton.  

The Diocese of Southern Ohio through the School for Ministry will continue to offer training for lay persons to be licensed to preach.  The training program is a three-year program that meets monthly at the Procter Camp & Conference Center for three hours on Saturdays 10 times per year. The program includes worship, Bible study, theological reflection and the practice of writing, delivering and evaluating sermons.

Click here for more information.

For the rest of the summer, The Natural Mandala will be in the sanctuary of the First United Church of Christ.  The mandala is an ancient visual prayer/meditative art form that crosses religious and spiritual boundaries. 

Pastor Dan Weyand-Geise says, "The Natural Mandala's presence at First UCC provides a unique opportunity for the people of College Hill to use the mandala for personal meditation and prayer."

Read more about it in an article in this week's College Hill eNewsletter.