PREPARATION FOR WORSHIP

Sunday, March 2, 2014

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the mans eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, Do you see anything? He looked up and said, I see people; they look like trees walking around. Once more Jesus put his hands on the mans eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, Dont even go into the village. - Mark 8:22-26 (NIV) "Worship is meant to produce lives fully attentive to reality as God sees it, and that's more than most of us want to deal with. -Mark Labberton

Vision Statement
Grace Covenant will be reborn through faith in Christ for the glory of God alone. By submitting to Jesus Christ as the head of the church, our community will find new life in Him who is renewing all creation. Neighbors of every stripe from college students to retired professionals, hardened skeptics to committed believers will fill Grace Covenant to hear the Good News that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that all who believe in Him may not perish but have eternal life. In response, we will train our desires, thoughts, emotions, and actions towards serving God so that He might transform us into grateful disciples of Jesus Christ who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

- from our 2012 Vision Statement

Hearing Aids and Large-Print Hymnals are available from the ushers. Our worship service is broadcast live on WLES 590 AM and streamed live on its web-site, http://wles590.com/. For podcasts, go to www.grace-covenant.org, click on We Gather, then on Sermons. Both the sermon and the entire worship service are uploaded every Sunday afternoon. Welcome to Grace Covenant! We are grateful to have you join in worship with us this morning. We are an historic Presbyterian church with a singular mission: to train grateful disciples of Jesus Christ who are doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God. May you be blessed through worship and fellowship this morning.

WORSHIP NOTES
Todays musical offerings are a collective Alleluia before the church enters the contemplative season of Lent. Maurice Durufl (1902-1986) was one of the highest regarded French composers for the organ in the twentieth-century. Durufl was a master at constructing huge, magnificent works from tiny musical motives. His Fugue is a double-fugue, which is a work that is based on two separate themes. The first theme is quiet and somewhat introspective. This in turn gives way to a joyous new theme written in sixteenth-notes. The fugue builds in intensity and velocity until its heraldic ending. Philip Stopford (b. 1977) is an English composer who currently resides in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Philip began his musical career as a Chorister at Westminster Abbey under the direction of both Simon Preston and Martin Neary. His Festival Benedicite is a collection of three anthems based on texts from the Episcopal Churchs Book of Common Prayer. With its sweeping choral lines and grand swells in the organ, O All Ye Works is the first anthem in the collection. Richard Purvis (1913-1994) was the organist at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco from 1947-1971. Purvis was known for thrilling church and concert audiences everywhere with his daring harmony, colorful registration, and evocative emotion of compositions that won him instant acclaim. His Toccata Festivabased based on the Dutch hymn tune IN BABILONE (#298 Presbyterian Hymnal)is resplendent with typical Hollywood flair. We welcome Gina Maio to the pulpit this Sunday! Gina is Head of School for Church Hill Academy, a part of CHAT, or Church Hill Activities and Tutoring. She is also an ordained Teaching Elder in the PC(USA). Professionally, Gina taught high school for eleven years in Fairfax County. After teaching, she was on staff for five years at Riverside Presbyterian, located in Loudoun County, where she heard the call from God to go to seminary. She has an undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech in marketing and education, a Masters in International Transactions from George Mason University, and a Masters of Divinity from Union Presbyterian Seminary. God continues to bless Gina through her husband of over 20 years, Matt, and their two children, Davis, 17, and Mary-Dryden, 14.

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Five Cents Per Meal: The Five Cents Per Meal offering is used to help those who are hungry. A portion of the offering goes to the presbytery's hunger fund for use regionally and globally, and a portion stays locally, supporting organizations like the Central Virginia Food bank and Shalom Farms. The Loaves and Fishes offering is split 50/50 between local families who have emergency needs and to supplement

funds given to international missionaries supported from the church's budget. Past giving to families has included rent assistance, emergency hotel funds, and payments for medical expenses.
Grace Covenant Justice Ministry Update! TODAY-Sunday, Mar. 2, 12:40-1:10 p.m. All are welcome to hear an update about our justice ministry and in particular our work with RISC (Richmonders Involved to Strengthen our Communities). We'll be meeting in the social room once the after-worship fellowship time has ended, come get an update on RISC's current efforts toward (1) getting Richmond's Affordable Housing Trust Fund up and running, and (2) increasing low-income access to job training programs for entry-level healthcare positions. Come hear about this ministry through which God calls us to love Him and our neighbors. At the end of the meeting, for those interested in participating we will also be building our Network to get folks out to the Nehemiah Action on Monday evening, April 7, at Good Shepherd Baptist Church (mark you calendars!) in Church Hill. The meeting will break down as follows: 12:40-12:50 update, 12:50-1:10 building Network. Light lunch items will be served to tide folks over. Children welcome to join! The 10K is coming! On Saturday, March 29, Grace Covenant will be opening its doors and hosting a hospitality station for the Monument Avenue 10K, alongside our ministry partners Boaz & Ruth! We will have coffee, snacks, and water for spectators and runners alike. We will also be cheering on GCPC members of Team Boaz & Ruth, who are running to support this organization which focuses on faith-based urban renewal in Richmond. Interested in bringing food and drink items for the station? Contact Virginia Hudson at vhudson81@gmail.com or 385-4698. Items we will particularly need are bottled water, half and half for coffee, and healthy snacks like granola, fruit, and nuts. Please also talk with Virginia if you'd like to lend a hand with the Hospitality Station before or after the event. The station will be up by 8:00 a.m., and we will be finished packing up by about noon. Interested in running for Boaz & Ruth? You can still register at boazandruth.com or by emailing Jessica Reveley at 908-433-1532 or jabreveley@gmail.com. Also, if you'd like to cheer on fellow Boaz & Ruth team members in an official 10K B&R Team Tshirt, please contact Jessica by March 14.

Interested in becoming a member of Grace Covenant? Contact Rev. Bobby HulmeLippert at bobby@grace-covenant.org

MID-WEEK FELLOWSHIP
Each Wednesday evening we gather at 6:00 p.m. for table fellowship, followed by a program from 6:30-7:15 p.m. All are welcome! Childcare is available. For more information contact Vanessa Strait in the church office at 359-2463, or info@gracecovenant.org. Program: Ash Wednesday Service in the Chapel at 7:00 p.m. Menu: Chicken pot pie, green beans, rolls, salad, banana pudding.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND DISCIPLESHIP

Sunday School is held every Sunday from 9:30-10:30 a.m. The nursery crib room and Sunday School are available for children age 2 and up.

Connections Sunday School Class (March 12 - April 13): Confessing Our Faith, Living our Faith During the first few centuries of the Church, the time leading up to Easter was often used to reflect on what Christians believed and how faith impacted daily life. Drawing on this heritage, our 6-week class will introduce some of the central confessions of the Reformed Tradition. In conversation with these texts, we will consider: What are we made for? Who is Jesus Christ? What is Scripture? And how are we to live in response to Gods grace, beauty, truth, and justice? Teacher: Joshua Ralston (Instructor, Union Presbyterian Seminary). The class will meet in the Fellowship Hall.
CLASS TEACHER TOPIC Rm# B7 Forum Tom Miller Living the Life of Faith, Hebrews 12 Rm # 212 Grace Bible Class Bill Stuart Luke Vanguard Matt Johnson Study on the Book of John Fellowship Hall Jack Corley/Virginia Hudson A Study of Christian Marriage

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Please pray for: The Bostian family; Jean Appich; John Nevin; Ainura Satterfields father, Sharshen, in Kyrgyzstan; Hannah Siboles mother, Melanie; Ben Gordon; Loretta and Peter Albertis; Bob Brooks; Ann Pais daughter-in-law, Jane Pais, with cancer; Susan Farrells grandmother Mary Lou (Uh-Oh), and her father, Jim, facing health issues; Rosie and George Turner; Brenda Harris, Dr. Carl and Mrs. Jo McMillin; Steve Cobb and his family; Stuart Chapman, David Russell, and Chris Pais, serving in our nations Armed Forces.