Church Life Weekly Newsletter
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Mission statement: Grace United Methodist Church is a family of faith striving to share God’s love with all people.
Christmas Concert. What a wonderful evening. The music was joyful, the singers amazing and the bells and brass were extraordinary. Congratulations to ALL the participants. What a blessing!
News of Friends and Members. Larry Walker and Kathy send wishes for a Merry Christmas to everyone. Also heard from Bob Whyte and Carol. They are doing well and send a big Hello.
Social Events Committee FIRST MEETING– Are you looking to have some fun??? We are too!! Grace Church is a wonderful place to worship and serve God and others through our various ministries, but we also like to have a good time! We would like to form a Social Events Committee to plan fun events for all of our church members and their friends to come and have a good time together. If you like to plan parties and events, have an eye for decorating, are a really great shopper or are terrific at getting the word out, then consider joining our committee. The goal of this committee will be to plan some new events and to help support events that are already going on. If you’re interested, or have some questions, reach out to Janet Stone (516-317-5785). We have a couple of people who have expressed interest but the more the merrier! Please join us in the Bert Keller Room on Sunday, January 11, 2026 immediately following our Worship service. Hope to see you there! Janet Stone
UNITED WOMEN IN FAITH. We had a blessed United Women in Faith Sunday on September 28. We presented the United Women in Faith Missions Award to Pat Eshun. Attached is a group photo and a photo of Pat with me and Andrea. Iris, Debbielee, and Joan missed the photo because they were helping in the kitchen. Several others missed the photo who were there as well, but you can see we had a good turnout. Thank you! If you missed today, please plan to join us next year! –Katherine Perkins
Beautiful Flowers. We are sending out a BIG THANK YOU to Diane Vitacco for the beautiful Flower Arrangements that she has made and that we will have throughout the Fall Season. Thank you so much. We are enjoying them!
Many congratulations to our youth, Dominic Becker, Ava Bolden, Alanna Bolden, and Eli Kim on their Confirmation on June 29th. We warmly welcome them as full members of Grace UMC.
Prayer List
♥†Family of Richard (Dick) Keller), ♥†Family of Michael Kurz, ♥Chris Ukanwoke, ♥Rhoda Lankins and Roosevelt Lankins, ♥Country and People of Nigeria, ♥Juana Fernandez (mother of Marisa Pershad), ♥Elmer Alfaro and Dion Alfaro (friends of Andrea Owen-Boyd), ♥Jennifer Seymour (friend of Andrea Owen-Boyd), ♥Prayers for everyone in Cuba and Jamaica, ♥Beth Zeller and family (friends of Debbielee Thomsen), ♥Rev. Carl Borden, ♥Andrea Russell (family member of Debbielee Thomsen), ♥Kalli Medina (student of Naomi Brown), ♥Barbara Woodford, ♥Pat Panzarino, ♥Sonia Elliott, ♥Amanda Brown (Naomi Brown’s mother), ♥Diane Rutledge (Naomi Brown’s aunt), ♥George and Jeanne Simmons, ♥Maudlyn Scarlett, ♥Marianne and Don Pike, ♥Jerry Noble (Tom Noble’s dad), ♥Lionel Brown, ♥Diane Vitacco, ♥Heather Manning (friend of Kim Neri), ♥SofiaRose Curry (relative of Sing Larson), ♥Edie Zipperlen, ♥Mary Flynn (mom) and Maureen Andersen (daughter), ♥Manny Kurz, ♥Debbielee Thomsen, ♥Cliff McBride (friend of Debbielee Thomsen), ♥Everon Palmer (son of Enid Simpson), ♥Carol Whyte, ♥Winston Scarlett (brother-in-law of Maudlyn Scarlett), ♥Jennifer LaRochelle (friend of Kim Neri), ♥David Biegler, ♥Vin Dowling, ♥Garvin Phillip (nephew of Eleanor Phillip), ♥Elaine Treske, ♥Marilyn Eller (sister of Elaine Treske), ♥Jim Poch, ♥All our Military men and women, ♥Barbara Siegl, ♥All UMW in Rehabilitation and Nursing Homes, ♥Castells Family (family of Elaine Treske, ♥Evelyn Neber (friend of Elaine Treske). Note: Prayer List names will continue to be listed for two weeks. After that period of time, the names will be removed unless you call us with current information. † – Death in family, ♦ – New entry
Sunday School
Church School meets September through May. My name is Janet Stone and I invite your child to join us for Church School each Sunday. Church School is where students will learn about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and how to live a Christian life. We learn Bible stories and we learn how to use those stories to help us be better people. All PreK-8th Grade students are welcome. Children start out in Church at 10:00 with their families and are sent to Church School following the Children’s Sermon. Please note that on the first Sunday of the month, children are directed to the Education Building first and then return to the church building in order to be with their family for communion. I am looking forward to a wonderful Church School year! Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns at mom2springers@gmail.com ~Janet Stone
January 4, 2026
At the time of Jesus’ birth, shepherds were considered the lowest status in society, and they had a reputation for being dishonest. But God chose the shepherds to receive the first announcement of Jesus’ birth. Many of the biblical patriarchs were shepherds including King David, and God had always shown favor on the shepherds. A shepherd’s life wasn’t easy. They spent most of their time outside watching over the herd, in all kinds of weather. They slept near their flock to protect it from wild animals. Their tools were a rod, a staff, and a sling. Each night, the shepherds would gather their flocks into places called “sheepfolds.” These could be stone walls made by the shepherds or natural enclosures, such as a cave. Shepherds used their rods to help count their animals each evening when they brought them into the fold and again in the morning when they left for the pastures. If any of the sheep were missing, the shepherd would seek diligently until he found the stray and brought it back to the fold. In those lands, sheep had to be supplied regularly with water, and for this purpose the shepherd had to guide them either to some running stream or to wells dug in the wilderness and furnished with troughs.
The night of Jesus’ birth, shepherds were taking care of their sheep on a hillside outside of Bethlehem. They saw and heard the glory of the Lord all around them. The first angel gave the message: 1. Don’t be afraid. 2. We bring great joy. 3. And this will be a sign… Then the heavenly host joined the first angel. They were praising God and giving God all the glory, and they announced peace for humans.
The shepherds immediately went to Bethlehem. They found the baby just like the angels had told them, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. The lowly state of Jesus’ birth didn’t cause the shepherds to doubt that Jesus was the Savior. After seeing the baby, they left praising God, and they told everyone they met about Jesus. The people along the way wondered about the shepherds’ story. Mary carefully considered everything that had happened and kept the memories close to her heart.
Use of Kitchen – Just a gentle reminder that clean-up in the kitchen after use is the responsibility of the user(s). Our Sexton is only responsible for mopping the floor.
A Big Welcome to our newest members – Cherissae and Lionel Brown, Allison LaVoie, Janet Wilson, and Desrine Edwards who joined our Church on Sunday, March 23, 2025.
Youth Dinner Church – Many thanks to those who have prayed for the youth and also helped cook as well. If you have questions call Pastor Prumeh at 646-280-9885 or email Prumeh.lee@nyac-umc.com.
We had a lovely Fellowship Time after church on Father’s Day hosted by the United Women in Faith. We appreciate our men of Grace!
Happy 102nd Birthday to Dick Tiedge!!
We (Pastor Kim, Everett, Carol, and Eileen) were so very happy to see Richard (Dick) Tiedge and his daughter Jeanne. Dick looks great and Jeanne says his health is good. We were in the BKR and reminisced, told funny stories, heard stories of involvement in the war, and had a lot of laughs. Jeanne told us that her Dad was sweeping up leaves at his home in Malverne! Dick will be remaining at his home in Malverne and will be celebrating his 102nd Birthday – May 2025! What a Super Man!!
PRAISE MUSIC. We have started a Praise Singing group that performs every other month in church. If you are interested or have any questions, please see Kim Neri or call Kim at at 515-644-0979. All are welcome!
Chancel Choir rehearsals are on Thursday evenings at 8:00pm in the church. All adults and teens who like to sing are welcome to join!!
Please sign up for Coffee Hour, now known as Fellowship Hour. Please use the sign-up sheet in the BKR or call the Church Office. Thank you Evangelism Committee and the Thrift Shop for volunteering to host Coffee Hour this past Sunday, January 4, 2026. The Kim Neri Family will be hosting this coming week, January 11, 2026.
MISSIONS
You can give to Missions at any time. You may put your money in an envelope marked “Missions” or write “Missions” in the memo line of your check or Zelle. Your giving through Missions goes to Far Rockaway Mission, Anchor House, Methodist City Society, Brooklyn United Methodist Church Home, and El Porvenir (clean drinking water projects in Nicaragua).
Far Rockaway Mission (also called United Methodist Center in Far Rockaway), which operates a food pantry on Tuesdays and Thursdays and provides hot meals Monday through Friday, is one group that we support with our Missions money. On November 19 we delivered canned cranberry sauce to Far Rockaway Mission for their Thanksgiving meal. Thank you!
We delivered a trunk-full of food to Long Island Cares on November 19 and over 550 pounds of food to the INN in Hempstead for their Thanksgiving food drive. Thank you!!
We had a wonderful International Potluck Dinner on Saturday, April 26. We shared lots of delicious food from around the world. Rev. Prumeh and Pastor Kim shared about their time as missionaries in Kazakhstan, about the people and culture there, and about the United Methodist presence there. There was an engaging question and answer period and a table of items from Kazakhstan. We collected $717 for mission projects in Central Asia (which includes Kazakhstan.) If you missed the International Potluck this year, we hope you will join us next year!!
Give to Disaster Relief through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). We encourage you to give to UMCOR for Disaster Relief following the floods. The link to the UMCOR giving page for disaster relief is https://advance.umcmission.org/p-620-umcor-us-disaster-response-and-recovery.aspx. That link takes you right to giving for Advance #901670. When you type in your information, you will be able to choose Grace Valley Stream as your local church.
Meet missionaries on Zoom. The link to Register to meet missionaries on the Still In Mission monthly Zoom is https://umcmission.org/stillinmission/.
2024 Missions Giving Summary: In 2024 Grace Church gave $450 to each of the five groups listed above plus an additional $366 was spent to provide meals at Far Rockaway Mission. Thank you!
SPECIAL SUNDAY OFFERINGS – 2025
MISSIONS – January/April/July/October 2025
HUMAN RELATIONS DAY – January 19, 2025
UMCOR SUNDAY – March 30, 2025
EASTER – April 20, 2025
NATIVE AMERICAN MINISTRY – May 4, 2025
PEACE WITH JUSTICE SUNDAY – June 15, 2025
WORLD COMMUNION SUNDAY – October 05, 2025
UNITED METHODIST STUDENT DAY – November 30, 2025
CHRISTMAS EVE – December 24, 2025 (Wednesday)
CHRISTMAS DAY – December 25, 2025
CALENDAR – If you have any dates that you would like to have on our calendar, please send them to me (Eileen) at GraceVSNY@aol.com. The meetings could be weekly, monthly or just a special meeting or event. Thank you.
PLEASE put your envelope number on any of your donations (check/Venmo/Zelle). This will help our Counting Teams, It also helps the Church Office to input your donation to the correct account.
COUNTING TEAM SCHEDULE FOR JANUARY 2026
January 04 – Marisa Pershad
January 11 – Debbie Nicosia
January 18 – Everett Fitch
January 25 – Debbie Nicosia
COUNTING TEAM SCHEDULE FOR FEBRUARY 2026
February 01 – Marisa Pershad
February 08 – Marisa Pershad
February 15 – Debbie Nicosia
February 22 – Everett Fitch
Where You Can Volunteer
Liturgist or Reader – Contact Pat Eshun
Sunday School – Contact Janet Stone
Evangelism – Contact Andrea Owen-Boyd
Thrift Shop – Contact Marianne Pike, Andrea Owen-Boyd, or Maudlyn Scarlett
Music – Contact Drew Banzhoff or leave a message for the Music Ministry Office (516/825-1940)
Missions – Contact Katherine Perkins
Worship – Contact Kim Neri or Carol Provenzano
Acolytes – Contact Tim Neri or Mike Provenzano
Ushers – Contact Mike Provenzano or Carol Provenzano
Counting Team – Contact Marisa Pershad or Eileen Robertson
Hospitality – Contact Bob DiSalvo
(Please call Eileen if you need contact information – 516/825-1182)
Weekly Meetings and Rehearsals
Please note whether meetings are in-person at the church or via Zoom. Thank you.
*Every Sunday – Church School will resume in September – 10AM/start in Church (except 1st Sunday of the month start 10AM/Education Building)
*Fourth Sunday of every month – United Women in Faith (no UWF meeting in July and August)
*Every Wednesday – Bible Study 7:30PM-8:30PM/Zoom (Same Zoom Link every week)
*Every Thursday – Westminster Ringers 7PM will resume in September
*Every Thursday – Chancel Choir 8PM/Church
*Every Saturday – Prayer Meeting 8AM/Zoom (Same Zoom Link every week)
*Every Saturday – Thrift Shop 10AM-2PM
Upcoming Meetings and Events
*Sunday, January 11, 2026 – Social Events Committee Meeting after Church
*Tuesday, January 13, 2026 – Board of Trustees Meeting 7:30PM/BKR
*Saturday, January 24, 2026 – Evangelism Annual Prayer Breakfast
*Tuesday, March 10, 2026 – Board of Trustees Meeting 7:30PM/BKR
*Tuesday, May 12, 2026 – Board of Trustees Meeting 7:30PM/BKR
