“In GOD we trust!”

Staff: Revs. David & Carolyn Williamson, Co-Lead Pastors Peggy Namie, Office Administrator Nataliya Birmingham, Church Treasurer Mike Sanflippo, Music Director Barbara Polomsky, Organist

Jason Forrest, Contemporary Music Leader Martha Yamnitz, Children’s Ministry Director Amanda Richter, Nursery Attendant Coordinator Jessica Chaulk, Ana O’Donnell, Nursery Attendants Bob Rusin, Property Maintenance Manager Barbara McColskey, Deaf Interpreter

Grace United Methodist Church 8 Carrera Street

St. Augustine, FL 32084

Our June Mission Offering is: Panua Partners In Hope *Please use your mission envelope when giving.

Grace Notes & the monthly calendar are sent out via email unless you request otherwise. Printed copies of Grace Notes & the monthly calendar are available at the church

or via mail (upon request). You may also view the newsletter at gracestaugustine.org .

What Does Your Graceline Look Like?

By Rev David Williamson In my high school history classes we learned to use timelines to plot differ-ent key events in history. I remember making a timeline of significant events around the US Civil War. Each point on the timeline represented a story that when put together made up my 15-page Civil War research paper. The timeline gave me a one page snapshot of those key events, helping me to see the big picture and reflect on how the Civil War shaped the laws and culture of our nation. This summer at Grace Church we won’t be studying the Civil War, but we will study God’s grace. And better yet, we expect to experience God’s grace too! To do that, we’ll be inviting you to make a graceline. Think of a graceline like a timeline to plot ways that God’s grace has been at work in your life. In the Bible we learn that God’s grace is the source of our salvation and that salvation is a process – something God does mysteriously over a span of time. Creating a graceline will put you in touch with ways God has been at work in your past and help you attend to God at work in your life today.

Recognizing Grace in Your Life During the spiritual revival in the mid-1700s that led to what became the Methodist Church, Rev. John Wesley liked to explain to everyone who would

listen how God’s grace pursues us, saves us, and makes us new. Wesley regularly pointed to the Scripture for examples of how this movement of God’s grace brought salvation to peo-ple. While present in the story of Israel found in the Old Testament, the climax of God’s salvation through grace is re-vealed through Jesus Christ in the New Testament. The Bible tells us that God came look-ing for us, before we ever thought to look for God. Referring to Jesus as light, the Gospel of John says, “The light came to his own people, and his own people didn’t welcome him.” God’s grace pursues us. Wesley called it “prevenient grace” referring to the presence of God at work in our life be-fore we are aware of it.

Prevenient Grace Looking back on your life, can you iden-tify ways that God was present and pursuing you before you were aware of it? Plot these moments on your graceline. Next, consider when you have put your trust in God’s grace and said, “Not my will but your will be done.” For some people this happens dramatically like the disciples who left their nets to fol-low Jesus or Paul who met Jesus in a blinding light on the road to Damascus. (Acts 9) For others this happens gradu-ally like young Timothy who grew up surrounded by the faith of his grand-mother Lois and his mother Eunice. (2Timothy 1:5)

Justifying Grace

When did you awaken to God’s love for you in Christ and put your trust in his grace to save you from sin and death? Wesley called this the justifying grace of God. This marks the beginning of your conscious journey with Jesus. Plot these moments on your graceline.

Finally, consider the ongoing ways God’s grace has helped you to grow into salvation (1Peter 2:2). Our rela-tionship with God mirrors the way a relationship develops between two human beings. It moves from stranger, to acquaintance, to friend, to good friend, and finally to intimate friend. This happens as we practice what Wes-ley called the “means of grace” (worship, Bible study, prayer, generosity, serving, etc).

Sanctifying Grace

Have there been times in your life which marked significant times of spir-itual growth? What has helped you become more Christ-like? More loving of God and other people? Wesley called these moments the sanctifying grace of God. Plot these moments on your graceline.

Altogether, your graceline tells the sto-ry of God’s salvation in your life. It is a living story that won’t end until we go on to be with the Lord. May God bless you and those you may share your graceline with this summer!

Financial Stewardship Campaign Update Recently we talked in worship about "The Good Life". We here in St. Augustine have a pretty good life- beautiful beaches, great weather, and always something to do. But what is God's definition of "the good life"? King Solomon taught us in Ecclesiastes that the quest for material possessions and leisure is like "chasing after the wind." It brings no real purpose. Then we looked at idea that if we just had enough wealth then we would find the good life. Instead we learned that the scriptures call us to live beneath our means and that it is more blessed to give than to receive. After that we examined the idea that achieving success will bring happiness and the good life. Again though, the scriptures tell

us something different- to invest in people and relationships, and to trust in God's unfailing love. The congregation was asked to turn in giving commitment cards for the remainder of the year. Why do this? First of all because it helps you make a commitment to God to use the resources that God has given you to honor God. The scrip-tures clearly tell us that God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others. Second, turning in an estimate of giving helps the finance team and church council in our mid-year evaluation of the budget. It helps the church to prioritize min-istry and make decisions about how we can serve the people of Grace and fulfill our vision. How have we done so far? Sixty commitment cards have been turned in for a total of $131,515 pledged to the operating budget and $19,615 to the capital budget for the remainder of 2017. If you have not turned in a commitment yet, please do so. It truly makes a difference. You can find a copy on the church website, www.gracestaugustine.org, in the church office, or in the sanctuary. Thank you for giving back to God and showing your love through supporting the ministries of Grace. Together in Ministry, Carolyn Williamson

My Story Connecting Our Vision: It’s In The Numbers by Mimi Embree Mimi is a member of the Church Finance Committee. This is an excerpt of what she shared recently during worship at 7:45am Mimi is the daughter of Mary and Francis, a life-long follower of Jesus, a Florida Gator and taught high school English literature for 38 years.

I wasn’t always a “numbers person”—I serve on the Grace United Church Finance Committee. I keep the meeting minutes, and I am part of the Thursday check signers. My vision of our church is now one of numbers moving in and out, or up and down. Because I am a numbers person, I can assure you that reading this will take exactly 1 minute, 57 seconds—or less. We may not always agree on numbers, but we love our church. Our church provides memories that last. We can trace our lives through Christian ritual, holidays, sacraments, and friendships. My love for church began in Children’s Sunday School in 1944. Our teacher helped us toward being good. She said that be-ing good was like climbing a ladder, a very strong ladder. The first step on the ladder taught us that we do not lie, the sec-ond that we do not cheat, the third that we do not steal, and so on. This was a very tall ladder for 4 year olds. We all worked very hard to finish our ladder lessons. When it came time to move up to the Class for 5 year olds, our teacher gave us each a printed handkerchief for our efforts. Now, I am not a saver or a keeper, but it is now 75 years later and I still have my hankie! As you can see, it is faded and worn, but the memory is strong. Once printed with bright colors, we can see three little kittens in a basket. We remember prayers that touched our hearts, sermons that changed our lives, wedding ceremonies that made us cry, noisy baptisms which made us smile, soaring music, and memorial services that celebrated loved ones. We treasure the memories of clergy and congregation helping us through the best and worst days of our lives. Church is a part of our per-sonal histories. We realize that our visions when examined extend into the future to make history for others. We under-stand that passing the torch is our greatest legacy. As you know we have some financial burdens to bear, and concerns to meet for short and long term. Many will not be solved quickly, but we must stay current with our debt, as well as pay tax, penalties and charges for past years. A new busi-ness model for the parking lot is in progress. We have met with the UMC District Superintendent and conference Treasurer. We have had legal counsel as we move forward to get it right. We pray that our congregation will continue their support of our Church with their attendance, gifts and prayers. Keep the visions alive.

Upcoming New Member Orientation Classes If you are interested in becoming a member of our Grace United Methodist Church Family, please plan to join one of our upcoming New Member Orientation Classes: June 11th, August 13th, or October 15th, 12:15—1:30pm in the Wesley Room (lunch provided). You will also be encouraged to attend the Disciple’s Path Course. Please note on the registration pad or call Peggy Namie in the church Office to inform of your desire. The Disciple’s Path Course will take place on Sundays: June 25th, July 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, and July 30th 12:15– 1:30pm in the Wesley Room (lunch provided).

Mission For The Month Of June Pastor Carolyn and her daughter Julia will be joining several other Florida pastors and their daughters to visit the Panua mis-sion in Kenya. Carolyn and Julia will be in Kenya May 31-June 9. They look forward to sharing with Grace all about Panua up-on their return. What is Panua all about? There are 2,500,000 orphans in Kenya, 10,000 of those live in the Naivasha region. First United Methodist Church Winter Park and Naivasha United Methodist Churches established Partners in Hope to serve the orphans and vulnerable children in Naivasha. Panua Partners in Hope is a three-year program, bringing 160 youth-led households into a system of support where they are mentored and helped to meet their immediate need for food and hygiene while training to be self-sufficient. Mission teams visit with local Panua staff of Keynan social worker, pastor and business mentor to work collaboratively to replace depend-ency with self-sufficiency and plant into the hearts of our participants the love of Christ and the hope we all receive through Him.

Update from the Board of Trustees An Update from Your Board of Trustees Work is steadily progressing on several projects thanks to the efforts of Bob Rusin, Richard MacMullen, Jason Forrest, and others. Coordination with the Committee on Finance is also proving very productive as we collectively address tax and other issues involving parking at Grace UMC. (It’s always about the parking …..) Richard is leading the effort to coordinate repairs and maintenance needed at the parsonage. These were items identified during the joint Trustee-SPRC assessment earlier this year. Jason is still grinding away at identifying the best approach – and the best deal – to stabilize our foundation before significant damage occurs. Bob has been pushing hard to improve the security of our parking lot (there it is again) and church facilities. Significant tree pruning and removal occurred at both the church and parsonage to enhance lighting of the parking lot (see!) and church grounds and as annual preparation for storm season. And we are discussing what to do with the deteriorating floor coverings remaining on the ground floor. Finally, we submitted a small matching grant proposal to the state in the hopes it will help reduce the financial burden of restoring and maintaining our historic structures. We hope the summer will bring frenetic activity as the fruits of these labors begin to become evi-dent around the church campus!

Circle Of Concern Please lift up in prayer: all unspoken prayer requests, Grace United Methodist Church, Phyllis Reed Adzima, Carlos Avilles, Francessca Bellavista, Mark Hunt, Norm Allmen, Claudia Johns, Jason Morehead, Haleigh McKee, Jason Harvey Breeze, Judy Kieffer, Dan Kingston, Marc Anthony Johnston, Sally Barnhart, Elaine Hudson Tillman, Eddie Walker, Eric Miller, Cindy Amy, Lori Ward, Curt & Cathy Tucker, Ann Riley, Judy Teagle, Lori Schaeffer, grand-daughter of Randy & Dianne Cook, Jimmy Jones, Robbie Marshall, Janet Preble, Nicole Loprena Ishii, Shirley MacMullen, Allen Family, Jerry Broyhill, Bruce Long, Fogg Family—5yr old son, Drew), DuWayne Krueger, Julia Carter, Mary Cummings, Bill Oligmueller, Sue Amole, Cindy Nicholson, Timothy Brown Allegro: Betty Fleming · Fred Grubb Bayview: Elaine Edwards · Elaine Frenzke Bayview—The Pavilion: Don Allen Brookdale: Lovie Fox, Maria Schineller Clyde E. Lassen State Veterans’ Nursing Home: Jim Donnelly Moultrie Creek Nursing & Rehab Center: Carol Sinks Westminster Woods: Midge Berger In the Military: Joel Prevatt, US Air Force, Maj. Will Bermeo, Lt Jg. Christopher Bordino-US Navy, Jacob Bradley, M Sgt. Kat Brumfield-US Air Force, Brandon Burnette-US Army, Nicholas Callahan, Brandon W. Clark, Capt. Jimmy Harris—US Army, Ray LeMieux ,Chief Petty Officer, Ashley LeMieux, Seaman Recruit, SSgt Miles Massey/USAF-OSI, Brian Riggenbach, MAC Albert J. Spiess, Master Sgt. Justin Smarr, CTR Mark Spurling, Jr., Jason Strohmetz, Thessalomica Vila-Navy, Tom Wetmore, John Young, Jr., Haley Parks, USAF, Adam Martinez—Petty Officer Second Class, PVT Nicole Mullen

If your name is not listed in the birthdays or anniversaries and it should be, please contact Peggy Namie in the church office via phone 904-829-8272 or email office@gracestaugustine.org . Thank you!

June Birthdays 1st Bob Meade, John Warmington 4th Robert Bugg, Jeanne Goedert 5th Justin Forbes, Karis Forbes 6th Theresa Cole, Connie Long 7th Bill Hughes 9th Agatha Mergenovich 10th Debi Ziemer 11th Richard Backlund, Claudia Kleiber 12th Shelby Minzenberg, Sally Silverson, Mellony Steward 13th Gracie Hales 14th Harry Cloud 15th Paula McMillan 16th Amy Jo Randle 17th Betty Fleming, Maryann Pohle 20th Stephen Osgood, Jeff Walton 21st Rose Register 22nd Inge Haberzeth 23rd Tom Ringwood 25th Natalie Barnard , Shirley Hare 26th Kerrie Crane, Nick Vander Wal 27th Mary Dickinson, Arline Findley 28th Donna D’Amico

June Anniversaries 1st Karl & Shelby Minzenberg 6th Richard & Jean Backlund 7th DuWayne & Pam Krueger 9th Russell & Joyce Luker 13th Henry & Esther Whetstone 14th Tom & Donna D’Amico 18th Dan & Kippy Kingston 21st George & Mary Von Bretzel 22nd Ken & Charlotte Atkins 23rd Bruce & Ruth Partner 27th George & Susan Splane

Thoughts From Our Lay Leader By Becky Weiss “Revive Us Again” is the theme of the 2017 Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Delegates will meet in Orlando on June 8-10 to conduct business of the church. The theme “Revive Us Again” comes from Psalm 85 which is a plea and a prayer for restoration and rec-onciliation. In verse 6, the psalmist asks, “Will you not revive us again, so that your people may rejoice

in you?” Throughout this Psalm the holy character of God is revealed. We see His mercy, steadfast love, peacefulness, faithfulness, and righteousness. The writer is asking God to bring back His people to vibrant spiritual life through a special and fresh touch of His amazing and tender love. Sometimes we wander from God’s path, but He is always willing and able to pour out the blessings of restoration, reconcili-ation, and renewal upon His people and His church. Our great and awesome God loves His people in the United Methodist Church throughout the world and He loves His children in Grace Church in St. Augustine, Florida. Never doubt it! May our hearts be open to His renewing and life-giving touch. Ask God to revive us again so that we will greatly rejoice in Him. Discussions about the Conference budget, five constitutional amendments, the realignment of districts, and eight resolu-tions will be part of the business conducted at Annual Conference. You can read about these issues on the Florida United Methodist Church website (flumc.org). Grace’s lay delegates to Annual Conference are Steve Ziemer and myself. Please keep us, Pastors David and Carolyn, and all delegates in your prayers as we go about “holy conferencing.” As always, you may bring comments or concerns about church matters to me by phone, through e-mail, or in person. You may also leave a written communication in the Lay Leader’s mailbox at church. I pray that God will bless each one of you as we work together to live into the vision for Grace Church that God has given to us. With His help, we will be that involving, inviting, and inspiring church for all generations working for His kingdom and for the transformation of the world! May God’s peace and joy live in your hearts, Becky Weiss, Lay Leader

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Prayer Pals Picnic

We are so excited about our very first Prayer Pals Picnic!! At this time, we have 114 members of our congregation as part of a multigenerational prayer pal group!! That is so awesome! Many of you have asked me to point out your prayer pal or asked for an address to send them a card, and all of that makes my heart so happy! But now we are going to have an opportunity for all of our prayer pals to get together. We will be having a picnic at The Riverview Club park on Wednesday, June 21st from 5:00-7:00 and you are all invited to come!! More details will come to you as the planning continues, but I can definitely tell you that it will be a fantastic time!! So mark the date and the time on your calendar and come spend some time with your prayer pals!

Wednesday, June 21st 5-7pm @ The Riverview Club Park

Reporting For The Month Of April-

PDF $ 530 PDF Hurricane $ 322 UMVIM $ Dalit Freedom Network (from GUMM) $ CareFest $ Children’s Summer Camp $ 1,924 St. Francis House $ 1,340 In APRIL: Dining With Dignity served 87

General Fund

Needed through April $ 215,855

Received through April $ 238,852

Mission Offerings:

Mission Trip to Cuba $ 25

Transportation $ 671

Youth Mission Trip $ 2,391

Rise Against Hunger $ 895

Florida Conference $

VBS Mission Project $

Gideons $

Children’s Home $ 3,146

Young Life Capernaum $

Alpha Omega Home $

MUip (Cuba) $

Office Hours: The office hours for Grace United Methodist Church are: Main Office: Monday & Friday, 9am—3pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 8am—3pm/Peggy Namie—Office Administrator Finance Office: Tuesday & Thursday, 9am—3pm/Nataliya Birmingham—Church Treasurer

Chancel Choir Summer Schedule

Our Chancel Choir is on summer hiatus as of May, 22nd after the service on May 21st. Many thanks to our choir singers for their contributions to our worship services. They will not be silent, however! The choir will share an anthem on each of our summer Communion Sundays, and they will be singing each week from the congregation.

Other Volunteer Needs

Worship Video Techs • Fellowship Time Host/Hostess • First Wednesday Community Meal Host/Hostess • Office Help Contact the Church Office if you are interested in volunteering office@gracestaugustine.org or 904-829-8272

Deadlines For Church Publications:

→Weekly Bulletin Submissions ARE DUE BY 2PM THE WEDNESDAY PRIOR TO THE BULLETIN THAT THE INFORMATION IS TO BE INCLUDED IN: June 4th bulletin—submissions are due by Wednesday, May 31st 2pm June 11th bulletin—submissions are due by Wednesday, June 7th 2pm June 18th bulletin—submissions are due by Wednesday, June 14th 2pm June 25th bulletin—submissions are due by Wednesday, June 21st 2pm July 2nd bulletin—submissions are due by Wednesday, June 28th 2pm

→Newsletter Submissions FOR THE JULY ISSUE OF GRACE NOTES ARE DUE BY 2pm Tuesday, June 20th

Tour Guides Needed Grace UMC has several Tour Guide vacancies, please prayerfully consider becoming a Tour Guide. We have weekly, by-weekly, and “as needed” slots available. Training is easy and available. If you would like more information or if you would like to sit in on a Tours session, contact Luther Storey: 904-466-9450, 937-236-6871 or email LJStorey71@aol.com

Ushers Needed For The 11am Worship Service Please prayerfully consider becoming an usher for an 11am Worship Service. It usually involves only one Sunday a month. If you are interested in doing so, please contact Gary Hare 904-461-2842 (H) or 904-687-9895 (C)

June Meetings: · Church Council Meeting—June 1st/Thursday at 6:30pm in the Wesley Room · Finance Committee Meeting—June 13th/Tuesday at 1pm in Room #4 · Trustees Meeting—June 13th/Tuesday at 7pm in Room # 4 · Discipleship Ministry Team Meeting—June 14th/Wednesday at 1:30pm in the Wesley Room ALL meetings at the church are open for anyone to attend. For SPRC meetings, please call the church office in advance.

Dining With Dignity

The June Dining with Dignity will be held on Friday, June 16th at 6pm. You are invited to come help do any or all of the following: set-up, prepare, serve, and clean up after the meal.

Altar Flowers

Our church is so beautiful and the flowers on the altar each week just add to that beauty. If you would like to sponsor the flowers one week, please sign up on the Flower Chart that is located in the rear of the sanctuary. You can dedicate the flowers “in honor of” or “in memory of” by writing a note (sheet below the Flower Chart) that will be added to the bulletin for the week that you have chosen. The cost of the altar flowers is now $30 for the two arrangements on the altar only (note the change in number of arrangements and the cost). We no longer place flowers on the pulpit unless specifically requested and paid for. You may take the flowers with you after the 11am service concludes or you may leave them for the CareTeam to share with our Homebound.

Job Opening For Audio Tech A part-time hourly position, approximately 6 hours weekly. Requires time on Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings to run sound for worship music band and worship services. See job description at gracestaugustine.org . Send inquiries and applications to Rev. David Williamson.

Did You Know You Can Give To Grace UMC Online Or By Text? Visit the church website gracestaugustine.org and click “Give Online.” Or you can text an amount to 904-717-4772 and then follow the instructions to designate your contribution to the general, capital or missions budgets. This is one way you can stay consistent with your commitment to financially support the ministries of Grace Church. With online and text giving you can still give even if you are out of town or on vacation. Thank you!

Children’s Ministry Weekly Schedule

Sundays—Sunday School at 9:15am and 11:00am Wednesdays—Kids of Grace or PowerHouse 5pm—6:30pm Fridays—Bible Tales for Tots 10:30am—11:30am

Vacation Bible School

Grace Methodist will be hosting VBS the week of June 12th from 9:00 - 12:00. All children ages 3 years thru 5th grade are invited and encouraged to join us. This year the theme is Maker Fun Factory. Kids will get to play games, eat snacks, cre-ate, sing & dance, meet new friends, and explore bible stories all related to the message that God made them and they are built for a purpose. On Sunday June 18th, the children that attended our VBS will be leading our worship services at 9:15 and 11:00! We will be passing on the message we learned during the week to the congregation! We hope you can join us for a fun & fabulous week! Register online at gracestaugustine.org or registration forms are available at the church. Contact Martha at marthayamnitz@gmail.com if you would like to volunteer to help.

Wednesday at the Park

Join us at the Park this summer as we meet together from 5:00-6:30 at different parks & playgrounds throughout St. Johns County. This will be a relaxing time for families to hang out at the park letting the kids play while we adults get to know each other better. All families are invited to join us, grandparents, parents, youth, and of course you can bring friends too!

Call Martha at 501-9043 if you have any questions. Park Schedule & Location

June 7th—PowerHouse Family Worship & Discipleship at Grace June 14th— not meeting due to VBS June 21st—The Riverview Club Park Prayer Pals Picnic!!! June 28th—SWING Park—Downtown St. Augustine July 5th—Palencia Park 405 Palencia Village Dr., 32092 July 6th—Vaill Point Park 630 Vaill Point Rd., 32086 July 12th—Riverview Club Playground 790 Christina Drive, 32086 July 19th—North Beach Park 3721 Coastal Hwy., 32084 July 26th—Ron Parker Park 607 Old Beach Road, 32080

Music News... Music at Grace on May 6th - Regina Torres and Stephen Mumbert presented "Love and Other Misadventures"

Save The Date... On Saturday, September 30th at 5pm Music at Grace will present our own Barb Polomsky in recital on the Colby/Walker organ. Barb's program is "Old, New, Borrowed...and Blues!" Let's FILL the Sanctuary for this!

Chancel Choir On Summer Hiatus

The Chancel Choir is taking a little break over the summer, but will be sitting among the congregation each week singing along with you! We will share monthly anthems on Communion Sundays as well. Have you thought about joining the choir? No worries if you think it's difficult; it's not! We're back to weekly rehearsals beginning Wednesday, September 13th. Think about joining us!

On Sunday, June 18th the children will be hosting a Father’s Day Pancake Breakfast! All families are in-vited to attend and enjoy homemade pancakes as we celebrate the wonderful Fathers, Grandfathers and Father-figures we love so much! Pancakes will be served following the 7:45 service (which will be a hymn sing due to VBS Sunday.) Then we will serve again following the 9:15 service. So make sure you plan to stick around after the service and if you attend the 11:00 make sure you come early! Parking may be an issue, so anyone willing to park at the Parking Gar-age or along the street would definitely bless those that can’t make that walk! See you on the 18th!

Father’s Day Pancake Breakfast

PowerHouse Family Worship and Discipleship

Wednesday, June 7th 5-6:30pm followed by a “Build your own Taco” Dinner. Invite a family to come join us for this casual service designed for families wanting to worship together.

Hurricane Matthew Recovery

For additional information and to learn how you can help, please contact:

Pete Royal, Case Manager at (904) 687-9561 or proyal@flumc.org

Tom Heineken, Program Coord. at (904) 671-4549 or theineken@flumc.org

UPDATE: Grace UMC Involved in Hurricane Matthew Recovery Long after the news media moved on to other stories, emergency and volunteer responders came and went, the

FEMA presence dissolved, and most in our community tired of regaling friends and families with their own hurricane experi-ence - thousands of survivors are left wondering how they will ever recover from their own storm damage.

In the eight months since the storm brushed by St Johns County as it headed toward the Carolinas, a small group of

volunteers have been steadily trying to meet the overwhelming needs of those who have exhausted the possibility of further assistance from FEMA, their insurance companies, and family and friends. Among them have been a group informally dubbed “The Gray Angels” – a group built around a nucleus of Grace UMC members guided by Pete Royal. They have done a lot, and are a very welcome sight when they arrive at a home to offer help and hope to those who thought none was left. However, there are still 650+ homes in our county that need some of their own help and hope!

In response to this need, numerous non-profit agencies and inter-faith organizations formed the St. Johns and Put-

nam County Long Term Recovery Organization (LTRO). It’s anticipated that the LTRO will work together for the next eighteen months – or longer – to assist those who still have recovery needs related to Hurricane Matthew. Because of Grace’s reputa-tion for community involvement, we were invited to participate in this effort. Pete Royal volunteered to serve as the Vice-Chair of the LTRO and will also work as a Disaster Case Manager. Tom Heineken is serving as the Program Coordinator for the Hurricane Matthew UMC Recovery, coordinating the UMC effort across St. Johns, Putnam, Flagler and Volusia Counties.

Grace UMC pastors and trustees agreed to allow our church to serve as the central location for our denomination’s

coordination work. Grace will also continue to host volunteer work teams whenever possible. The Florida Conference Disas-ter Recovery Ministry and UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) will continue to provide key training, funding and other assistance to this recovery effort in partnership with Grace UMC and other churches and organizations responding to the need. All are welcome and encouraged to become involved in this opportunity, providing hope and healing to our commu-nity and beyond. For additional information and to learn how you can help, please contact Pete or Tom.

Did You Know?

The last week of April, we hosted a group of 23 (adults and youth) from the Seventh Day Adventist, Harbert Hills Academy in Savannah, TN. They came to work on homes that were still in need of work from Hurricane Matthew. They went out each day, all day and returned to GUMC in the evening to eat and sleep.

“THANK YOU” to

Anastasia Fitness who allowed them to shower daily at their facility located at 1045 Anastasia Blvd, St Augustine, FL 32080!

Stephen Ministry Corner

By the time you read this, our first Stephen Ministry training class will have completed 50 hours of training stretching over the last four months. We are tentatively scheduled to commission seven Stephen Ministers on Sunday, June 4 in morning worship. Newly commissioned Stephen Ministers are Judy Bechtold, Sandi Hunsuckle, Peggy Namie, Joyce Royal, Pete Royal, Donna Ruhsam, and Marva Warmington. All through this time of training, our trainees as well as the Stephen Leaders who led the weekly training modules have felt God’s guidance and blessings and your prayers for this ministry. And we are truly grateful! What next? Soon, our commissioned Stephen Ministers will begin participating in twice monthly gatherings for Continuing Education and Small Group Peer Supervision under the continued guidance of our Stephen Leaders (Sue Amole, Roger Carl-son, Marie Russo, and Stan Russo). Stephen Ministers will also be assigned “Care Receivers” – persons within the congrega-tion or community who are dealing with a crisis or a difficult time in life. We all experience challenges in life – times when we could benefit from care and support. Stephen Ministers can provide the emotional and spiritual care needed when faced with a crisis or difficulty, such as the loss of a loved one, a time of hospi-talization, a divorce or separation, loneliness or discouragement, a spiritual crisis, a terminal illness, issues around aging, and many other life challenges. If you feel you could benefit from the support offered by one of our Stephen Ministers or you know of someone who might benefit, please consider contacting one of our Stephen Leaders or Pastors David or Carolyn Williamson. May God bless us all in this Spring and Summer season!

Your Stephen Leadership Team Sue Amole (904-553-8536; samole2013@gmail.com)

Roger Carlson (240-483-7183; revrogerj@yahoo.com) Marie Russo (804-712-3712; mqrusso71@gmail.com) Stan Russo (804-243-1814; stanrusso46@gmail.com)

Summer Is Here!

Grace Youth Summer Schedule

We are teaming up with our friends at First UMC for a great summer. All youth (including rising 6th graders) are welcome to join in the fun! Please let Carolyn know if you would like to receive weekly text reminders about youth events (which will include any changes if they occur).

Weekly Events: May 31st—Summer Luau Party! 6:00-8:00pm at First UMC June 7th—Grossest Youth Event (Dress to get Messy!) 6:00-8:00pm at First UMC June 12th-16th VBS 9:00-12:00 at Grace (sign up with Martha Yamnitz if you want to help) June 14th—Beach Day @the Pier 1:00-4:00pm, lunch provided June 28th—Pool Party/Cook out! 12:30-3:30pm at Sandi Hunsuckle’s house in the Oakbrook neighborhood, 3340 Kings Rd. S. Lunch provided July 5th—Tacky Golf Tournament, 6:00-8:00 pm, at Fiesta Falls July 10th-15th—Fuge Mission Trip, Nashville, TN July 19th—Mission Project! To Be Announced…Look for details coming soon July 26th*—Boat (kneeboarding/tubing) Day! 10:00-3:00 at the Ginn’s house, 9051 Gene Johnson Rd. St. Augustine 32080, lunch provided, bring chips, drinks or cookies to share Aug 2nd—Itchetucknee Tubing $20, 6:30am-4:30pm, need parents to drive (please talk to Carolyn), $20 is suggested to cover $5 tube rental and cost for lunch at Sonny’s Aug 9th — End of Summer Extravaganza! Details coming soon If you have any questions about these events, feel free to call or text me! 407-625-7850 Thanks and God bless, Carolyn Williamson

Welcome To Our Summer Youth Intern!

Hello, my name is Megan Blazina. I grew up in Longwood, Florida with my mom and dad. I will be a senior at Flagler College in the fall of 2017. I am currently studying Religion and Philosophy, and minoring in Youth Ministries. After studying at Flagler, I hope to join the Peace Corps. Eventually, I plan on going back to graduate school to study Pastoral Counseling. In my spare time, I enjoy hand-making things such as vintage jewelry and furniture.