Update from Haiti. Well at Good Shepherd School faces obstacles. Oh, Jonah Music Camp Presentation

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1 ! June 2014 Volume 57, Issue 6 Well at Good Shepherd School faces obstacles In April, I was blessed to travel to Haiti, along with Charlie and Mary Scott, founders of the Good Shepherd School. There is much progress in Haiti compared to when our mission team Update from Haiti visited in June 2012! Most of the rubble is cleared away and new construction is going up. Busy intersections that were chaos in 2012 now have police directing traffic. At the school, the new primary classroom building and the latrine building are up and running, and the new middle school classroom building is nearing completion. There are, however, still challenges ahead for our vision to provide abundant fresh water at the school. The well that was drilled last year yields only a limited quantity of water, and we may find, when the test results come back, that the water is too salty to be treated economically. We have been told that drilling a deeper well might yield fresh water, so we are in the process of gathering geologic information that can help us decide if this is a good option. Headmaster Chedrick Caneus and his staff are deeply grateful for the continuing support from Grace Covenant. Please continue to pray for them. Every child they teach to read and write has a better chance of rising above poverty than their counterparts who are illiterate. Trudy Phelps, Outreach Committee Oh, Jonah Music Camp Presentation Following the 10:45 service on Sunday, June 29, you are invited to join together in Conway Hall for a special musical presentadon of Oh, Jonah. This will be performed by the children and youth who akend the annual summer Music Camp. Some goodies will be provided to appease your appedte during the performance. Mark your calendar and plan to stay aner the service to celebrate the gins and the hard work of this special group of kids.

2 2! June 2014 Family Fun Night Tuesday, June 17 6:29 p.m. Conway Hall Join friends and family for a covered dish dinner (drinks, bread and dessert provided) and a time of fun and fellowship around the tables. This is a very casual time to meet new friends and have a great time as a church family. Hope to see you there! Healthy Delights Cooking Class Come learn to create delicious, healthy dishes and taste how good they are. Health Coach Karen Ragsdale shares some new recipes on the second Monday of each month in Conway Hall kitchen. Join us on the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Please sign up on the kiosk, or call to let us know to expect you. Join us for dinner Don t miss this relaxing opportunity to meet and greet other members of the Fourth Grace Covenant Church Thursday family. Every fourth Thursday members gather at at the the Olive Garden on East Garden Colonial Drive for great food and fellowship. Reserve a spot by signing up on the kiosk or calling Service opportunity Wanted! Married couples, singles, both male and female, and high school students. The Hospitality Committee would like to involve as many people as possible in serving refreshments after the second service on Sundays. The time involved is 40 minutes before church and less than an hour after church. A committee member always works with you. We need two or three people each Sunday. This is a great way to get to know each other better and, fear not, you will not be called very often. You can volunteer by contacting a committee member or the church office. COOKIE SUNDAY is June 24. Bring cookies to be served at hospitality time after the second worship service each week. Thank you for all your contributions. See the church calendar online: weekly-calendar/ Send your Grace Notes items to Kristen Stieffel. Deadline is the 15th each month. Inside this issue: Small Blessings!... 4 Youth programs!... 5 Summer Sunday School!... 6 Message from Maynard!... 7

3 June 2014! 3 Preparation for Fall Festival underway The seeds for an exciting Fall Festival are being sown every day! Members and friends of Grace Covenant come in each week with a new idea, or items for the Craft Sale. There are some great ideas out there, and we continue to begin working on each one. In April and May, we held classes in making jewelry and note cards. Check out some of these items as they are displayed in the narthex at various times. Many thanks to Kim McKenzie and Laura Regier for their leadership in creating beautiful necklaces and coordinated bracelets. Thank you to Carolyn Castagno and the scrapbookers for taking time to create unusual blank notecards. Joseph Burns is working on a notecard for Grace Covenant that features a picture of the large stained glass window, with a little bit of history about its inspiration and creation. Those who have attended workshops and contributed are too many to mention individually! Many thanks to all who have attended so far. In June and July we will have the following classes: Stained Glass Ornaments June 5, 6 8 p.m. June 7, 10 a.m. noon. Bob Eckard and Bob Wood will help us create unique suncatchers or tree ornaments. A few members who still have tools for this can bring those tools anytime. We have a safe place to keep them. Also, any scraps or small pieces of stained glass are needed. Dyeing Silk Scarves July 12, 10 a.m. noon Kathleen Thacker, a friend of Grace Covenant, will help us start the process of dyeing silk scarves with all-natural dyes from flowers, leaves and (go figure) coffee grounds, onions and other natural ingredients. It s easy and really fun to see how these items break down into unusual colors and blends. Please sign up for these classes so our workshop leaders can plan accordingly. You can your response to Beth Meadows or sign up at the kiosk outside the sanctuary. Remember, summer is a time to grow and build! From the Deacons Attention Seniors: If you are no longer able to drive and need transportation to and from appointments, ITNOrlando may be your solution to mobility. ITNOrlando is a nonprofit organization offering dignified transportation service for seniors. Brochures are available in the narthex explaining this program. Packets with more information and applications are available in the church office. The deacons and the choir are teaming up for a midyear caroling event on Sunday, June 29, 2 4 p.m., to sing patriotic songs and old hymns to the residents at Conway Lakes and Westminster Towers. We invite the congregation to join us. The bus has been reserved, so we will meet at the church around 1:30 p.m. and then head to Conway Lakes from 2 2:30 pm and then to Westminster from 3 4 p.m., and will return to the church around 4:30 p.m. Music sheets will be provided for all participants. The next board of deacons meeting is July 13 at noon.

4 4! June 2014 Wow! The results are in and Hop for Haiti was a great success. As of right now a total of $ has been collected. A total of 17,683 hops was recorded (some little feet might be needing new shoes). What a great job by our little ones! Thanks to all who made donations and sponsored those energetic little feet. A special thanks goes to our volunteer counters: we had ten counters this year and it was a great help. May was a busy month with classes doing Mother s Day activities, practicing for and performing in their end of year programs and enjoying their end of the year parties. The Toddler, K2 and K3 class programs were held May 22 and the K4 graduation was held May 29. It was rewarding to see how much they have grown and learned and just how cute they are on stage. Now they are ready for some fun and exciting summer activities at Small Blessings. Ruth Circle had its final meeting of the season on Monday, May 12, and Kitty Barbour did a lovely job of completing our Bible study. We took some time to look back over the year to assess our progress regarding our decision to help needy people in the community, especially homeless children. We were able to provide funds for children at Eccleston Elementary who needed special size uniforms; took clothing to the Kids Closet of OCPS, part of the homeless school program; worked with Boone High School to provide breakfast foods for their food pantry and provided funds for public bus transportation to magnet school students and shoes for those difficult to fit. We look forward to starting up again on September 8 and will begin with a luncheon at The Pine Castle Women's Club, which supports the Russell Home. If you would enjoy an interesting Bible study and making a difference in our community, please join us. Everyone is welcome to join our circle, and we look forward to seeing new faces, as well as old friends. Remember to mark September 8 on your calendar. There will be more details in the August Grace Notes, but if you have any questions now, please call Barbara Hart. Still Stitchin with Grace SHARE THE CARE Round table 4 6 chairs with arms Dollar items for bingo prizes A new bingo set Cassette players Domino sets If you can provide any of these items, please contact Barbara Bell or Yvonne Miller, director of Share the Care. On April 3, we delivered sixty quilts to the hospitals, our first delivery of the new year. We truly appreciate all of the people who participate in this venture: those who quilt, those who donate supplies, and those who pray for our efforts and for the children who receive the quilts. We couldn t function without all of you. As always, if you are interested in joining us, feel free to show up any Thursday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in room 20 in John Calvin Memorial Hall. You will be welcome.

5 June 2014! 5 Envelope Fundraiser a success; busy summer ahead Once again, on behalf of the 30 youth and adults and their families who will be participating in a summer trip, I would like to say a huge thank you! We are so thankful for your support of the Envelope Fundraiser we reached our goal of making this trip affordable for each family participating. Whether you donated one dollar or hundreds, your donation mattered to us! Thanks to your generosity, we raised over $8,000 towards the $15,000 cost of the trips. I appreciate your support and prayers as I travel around this summer sharing God s word with students (both ours and others) at places like Cedarkirk and Montreat. I look forward to sharing my experiences with you throughout the summer as well as in August on Youth Sunday. Jimmy Steele All Church Trip To Blizzard Beach Join us for a trip to Disney s Blizzard Beach Water Park July 15. This trip is open to anyone in the congregation. Cost: $25 for the first person in your family and $20 for each additional person. We ll leave church at 8:15 a.m. The park remains open until 8 p.m., weather permitting. For more info, contact Jimmy Steele. Work with youth this summer Attention parents, members, and friends. The Youth Group has several fun opportunities for you to help this summer. We need volunteers in addition to parents to keep our momentum. If something on the calendar interests you, please contact Jimmy Steele or Carolyn Castagno. Thanks! June 1 Noon 3 p.m., Almost End of School Celebration at Gallagher s. Meet at church at noon; bring your bathing suit and towel, plus $2 for pizza. June 6 8 PYC Camping and Tubing Retreat at Ichetucknee for middle and high school. June a.m. noon, youth assist in Vacation Bible School daily. Sign up with Ms. Candy! June 11 5:30 9:30, Road Rally Scavenger Hunt; Pizza at 5:30, results and awards at 9 p.m.; bring $2 for pizza; Need two more adults June Middle school youth at Great Escape; Meet at church at 9:45 a.m. June 21 High School Progressive Pool Party Dinner; Need one to three volunteers (pool not required) June 28 High School Lake Day at Nimmo s / Middle School Mystery Trip (bring bathing suit and towel); Need one more chaperone per event July 9 All Youth Movie Night; $2 for pizza; Need two chaperones July 13 All-youth Game Night; $2 for pizza; Need female chaperone July 15 All Church Blizzard Beach Trip July High school youth at Montreat; Meet at church at 9:45 a.m." July 20 Middle School Progressive Dinner Pool Party; Need one to three volunteers (pool not required) August 2 Beach Surfing Trip; Need female chaperone August 8 9 Back to School Bash Laser Tag Lock-In with other Presbyterian churches; Need 3 5 parent chaperones"

6 6! June 2014 Dear Church Family, Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support. I am so blessed to have so many people in my corner. I m in a good place to have faith in God and my doctors and I know there is a plan. I feel good because I am off chemo for the time being. I passed my tests and now it is in their hands. I know this will be a marathon and not a sprint, so thank you for hanging in there with me! Love, Phyllis Ciavaglia The Hospitality Committee thanks those people who set up the communion console every month and those who go out after church to serve communion to the shut-ins. Summer Sunday School Classes Adult classes continue to meet throughout the summer from 9:30 10:30 a.m. There are four continuing adult classes and one mini-series class (Room 8) offered each week. More information on these classes may be found at the visitor table in the narthex or on the shelf just inside the doors of Smith Hall. Children s and Youth classes also continue each week, however, we do try to give the teachers who have been in these classes each week throughout the school year a break and a chance to join an adult class for the summer. Because of this, we need others to share with the children during this time. Please call or the church office if you would be willing to be in a preschool, combined elementary or combined youth class one or more weeks during June, July, or August. You would be provided with curriculum and any additional help you might need. We need to have two adults in each class each week. Please prayerfully consider when you might be able to help. We extend our Christian love and sympathy to the family of Hattie Session, who died May 8. We extend our Christian love and sympathy to the family of Mary Jo Hackley, who died April 18. Room 8 Studies Beginning June 8, Kristen Stieffel will lead a twelveweek study of 1 Thessalonians, A Spiritual Road Map in a Mixed-Up World. Successful Christian living is largely measured by our ability to put our faith into practice in everyday life. The practical instruction Paul offers in this timeless letter will benefit everyone, no matter where they are in their spiritual journey. Topics include spiritual growth, discipleship, and reaching outsiders Room 8 is upstairs in Smith Hall, and we meet Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m.

7 June 2014! 7 Message from Maynard This month I will be away for several days. My wife and I will be attending the General Assembly. This is a gathering that takes place every other year to do the work of our denomination. I am not a voting commissioner, but like hundreds of others I will be there as an observer. I will be permitted to attend most of the meetings and I plan to attend quite a few. I like to attend General Assembly for two reasons first, the newspapers often get it wrong. Going there personally gives me the opportunity to answer questions from some of our church members who may be confused or concerned about what they read in the papers. The secular press does its best, but many times they do not understand that a committee voting in favor of something doesn t mean anything to us here in Orlando until the entire General Assembly later in the meeting also Lectionary For June June 1 1 Peter 4:12 14; 5:6 11 June 8 Acts 2:42 47 June 15 Matthew 28: June 22 Matthew 10: June 29 Genesis 22:1 13 adopts that action (and, in many cases, each Presbytery will also have to vote yes or no on something). There is a second reason I like to attend General Assembly. I love seeing old friends, colleagues, and mentors. My wife and I always love going to the worship services it is not often that I get to attend worship without the responsibility of leading or preaching. General Assembly is a great experience, reflecting the many missions and programs of our denomination. I look forward to sharing positive experiences with you in our next newsletter. Outreach Opportunities Many of our programs need people to show up and extend the hand of compassion. Please consider volunteering your time; we have many outreach opportunities so you can choose the one that fits you best: Mentoreach: Help elementary students with reading and other skills Share the Care: Program for physically and cognitively impaired adults Family Promise: Hospitality for families without homes Good Shepherd School: Our adopted school in Haiti Community Food and Outreach Center: Hunger relief and crisis care We can t stress enough how rewarding and uplifting one-on-one contact is for our volunteers. Getting involved is a reward in and of itself.

8 ! Non-Profit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No Orlando, FL JUNE 2014 GRACE COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Return Service Requested Sunday Worship: 8:30 & 10:45 a.m. Office Hours: Mon. Thurs.: 8:30 a.m. 3 p.m. Fri.: 8:30 a.m. noon 1655 Peel Ave., Orlando, FL Phone: churchoffice@grace.to To: WE RE ON THE WEB! Dr. Maynard Pittendreigh, Senior Pastor Rev. Harvey Oster, Parish Associate Candy Vander Weide, Commissioned Lay Pastor Summer Activities It s not too late to register Summer Activities for Kids begin with Vacation Bible School June 9 12, 9 a.m. noon. Next, Music Camp will be held June 23 26, 9 a.m. noon. Then in July we have D.E.C.K. for younger and older students. Younger DECK is from July 14 16, 9 a.m. noon; Older DECK from July 28 31, 9 a.m. 2 p.m. DECK stands for Discover, Explore and Create for Kids. This is an arts and crafts camp. Registration for this must be in by June 15. More information on each of these summer opportunities can be found on the kiosk, on the desk in Halleluia Hallway, and in the church office. Don t Delay.Register today!