Grace

The two congregations that share worship space at 4201 N. Monticello Ave., Grace Evangelical Covenant Church and Iglesia del Pacto, sponsor a ministry to provide emergency food distribution for those in the community in need. This distribution is called fed at Grace and takes place every Saturday from 11:00am-1:00pm. The food is provided by the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

This Sunday in worship during the sermon, students in grades K through 6 are welcome to join a special camp time in the memorial room behind the sanctuary. Parents are free to let their children attend this Covenant Harbor and Covenant Point “preview,” have them remain with them to experience and participate in the service of communion, or0 pick them up just prior to receiving communion. The 2 year-old to preK class will meet as usual.

This Sunday is The Third Annual Chili Cook off at Grace. Will Tom Hansen be back to defend his crown? Will Jon Boyd reclaim the title? Or will someone new sneak in and claim victory!?
Join us after church in the fellowship hall for chili, drinks and desserts.

Offering envelopes for the Watchcare Fund will be in the bulletin this Sunday. Please prayerfully consider what you may give as a gift to help people in and around our church with emergency funds. Make your check payable to: Grace Evangelical Covenant Church. Put Watchcare Fund on memo line. Thank you.

Please contact Mary Jane Dawson if you can help with set-up or clean-up this Sunday, March 7. 847-966-9932 or maryjanedawson@juno.com – Set-up involves setting up tables & chairs or helping get out the condiments or making coffee. We would need to start about 9 a.m. on Sunday. – Clean-up involves taking down tables & chairs, putting away condiments and coffee, some dishwashing, sweeping, and collecting trash. Your help will be greatly appreciated!

Next weekend the youth at Grace will be participating in the 30 Hour Famine, a worldwide movement of students who are serious about serving God and fighting hunger – all on an empty stomach. For 30 hours, participants get a taste of hunger by not eating –by doing fundraising activities, community service projects, and learning more about the facts of world hunger. We will be participating in this event on March 12-13, 2010, from 4:30 pm on Friday until 8:00 pm on Saturday. We will be joining other Covenant youth groups from the northside of Chicago for this experience at Ravenswood Covenant Church. YOU can help by purchasing paper chain links for 25 cents…see a youth to find out how!

Our next membership retreat is scheduled for Friday, March 12 from 6:30-9:00 p.m. and Saturday, March 13 from 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. This retreat is designed to be informational and relational. Attending the retreat does not obligate one to become a member of Grace Evangelical Covenant Church, but it is a necessary prelude should you choose to become a member at Grace. If you would like to attend, please contact the church office by Tuesday, March 9.

On Sunday, March 14 Justice with Grace is planning to meet between the English Grace and Iglesia services from 11:45 am-12:45 pm. At this meeting we will continue our discussion on the issue of immigration, and assess the “fed at Grace” emergency food distribution program after its first three months of operation. If you are interested in attending this meeting, have any questions about getting involved in this ministry, or have any justice issues that you would like to explore as a group, please contact Curt Roeschley at 773-283-4273 or croeschley@juno.com.

The scripture reading for Sunday, February 28, 2010 will be Philippians 3:12-4:1. Pastor Amanda Olson will be preaching “Towards Transformation”.

The youth will be doing a 30 hour famine in March. Here are the details.

What is the 30 Hour Famine?
World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine is a worldwide movement of students who are serious about serving God and fighting hunger – all on an empty stomach. For 30 hours, participants get a taste of hunger by not eating – something more than a billion people around the world experience every day. And by doing fundraising activities, community service projects, and learning more about the facts of world hunger, students are changed in amazing ways as they help others and save lives.
When?
Grace Youth Group will be participating in this event on March 12-13, 2010, from 4:30 pm on Friday until
8:00 pm on Saturday. We will be joining other Covenant youth groups from the northside of Chicago for this
experience. The event will take place at Ravenswood Covenant Church and will include activities, community
service opportunities, educational experiences, music and worship, and games. The fast will be broken at 8:00 pm with communion and small meal following.
What does it take to help a hungry child?
Worldwide, the average cost to feed and care for a child for a month is $30 – just $1 a day. That means that if you find twelve people to each donate $30, you’ve just raised enough money to feed and care for a child for an entire year! It really is that simple (and that impactful). In order to raise money for the cause, we are going to be selling paper chains. Now there are several ways to do this. We will be selling ours for 25 cents a piece. We will have sheets of paper with lines, indicating where they will be cut. Each person will write their name on a chain (or however many they purchase) and then the group will link the chains together as we go. The goal is to sell 29,000 chains (with all the churches)! That would be 7,250 and would represent the number of children that die daily from starvation. When we come together for the famine, we will link each church’s chains together. It’s going to be a very powerful image.