Unwrap Your Spiritual Gifts - Congregational Study
Hard to believe it’s been over a year since we applied for the sabbatical grant from the Eli Lilly Endowment. The grant deadline was late April 2022. It was the culmination of several months of hard work by Pastor Lars, the Sabbatical Committee, ministry leaders and the congregation to assess and determine our goals for the sabbatical time. We were excited and thankful when we were awarded the grant for 2023. We are now one month away from Pastor Lars leaving July, August, and September to “Rest, Renew, and Reconnect”. It was also a requirement for the congregation to use these three months to also renew and reconnect.
The congregational goals we agreed to and used in the application are 1) Grow our intimacy with our Lord; 2) Deepen our connection to the family of Lord of Grace; 3) Explore our gifts and talents; 4) Grow our gifts and talents as we minister to one another; 5) Gain the courage to use our gifts and talents to help Lord of Grace and the community that surrounds it to THRIVE.
With these goals guiding us the team of Phyllis Teager, Cindy Stein, and Sue Justis have been planning the study of spiritual gifts. There will be opportunities for everyone at Lord of Grace, including our “snowbirds” to participate using the short (69 pgs) book and study guide titled The Gifted Life by Joseph K Acton (Josh). The study will take place through small group participation in many different settings so everyone should be able to find a convenient group to meet with, such as in homes of hosts, at church in various ministry groups, online with a zoom group. Any day, time or place a small group of Lord of Grace folks willing to commit to as many sessions your group will need to study and discuss the nine gifts/chapters. I think the book can be studied in 3-4 sessions. You might want to invite a Christian friend or neighbor to join you.
The study will culminate with three different on-line interactive presentations by the author, Josh Acton, on Saturday Aug. 12, 19,& 26 at church from 10-11:30 AM. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn directly from a minister who has been ordained for over 40 years and serves as the Director of the North American Order of St Luke’s the Physician an international, non- denominational (Ecumenical) Christian organization dedicated to the healing ministry of Jesus, and is in great demand as a speaker, seminar leader, and retreat leader all over America. We are blessed to have him willing to help Lord of Grace grow spiritually and begin to fulfill our goals as stated in the grant during our sabbatical time.
LOOK for SIGN UPS IN THE NARTHEX for hosting a small group or interested in finding a small group. The book will be $8. That is 50% off the retail price.