Dear friends,
I’m looking out the window of my office at Locust Street. And the sun is shining. How grateful I am for the sun that makes the ice beautiful and short-lived. The sun is a great spotlight on the neighborhood kids just out of school. Some are walking from the direction of Northeast Middle School. Others from the opposite direction – from Liberty High School. I love seeing kids in our neighborhood, in BECA on Sundays and throughout the week at the Locust Street Campus.
My prayer is that GRACE Church will continue to shine the light of Jesus Christ on the next generation, inviting them (and all) to find and follow Him. Pray for our children’s ministry and student ministry staff and leaders. Pray for the search for our new Next Generation Leader. Pray for our students going through Confirmation. And pray for our 17 second graders who will receive a bible next weekend at the “bible brunch.” Pray for our partnership with Freemansburg Elementary School. May God continue to use us to invite kids to know the grace of Jesus!
With sunshine ahead and bad weather behind (wink, wink), I can’t wait for Sunday. You won’t want to miss our guest preacher, Dr. Dana Allin. Dana is a dear friend and the leader of our growing denomination.
Dana Allin is a native of Santa Barbara, California. He graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara with a B.S. in Microbiology. When God called him to ministry, he attended Fuller Theological Seminary where he earned both his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degree.
Dana has served as the Synod Executive for ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians since 2013. Prior to this appointment he served as the senior pastor of Indian River Presbyterian Church in Fort Pierce, FL. During his time at Indian River, the church developed a Christ-based not-for-profit organization called Grace Way Village which is dedicated to serving families in poverty. Dana also served as the pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Lakewood, CA.
Dana has co-authored Together on Mission. His latest book, Simple Discipleship, is was released earlier this year. Dana is also adjunct faculty at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary and an Associate Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation.
Dana is married to Beth, who is also an ordained ECO pastor. They have two boys and a girl – Micah (14), Peyton (13), and Piper (10).
Please join me in in giving Dana a big GRACE welcome!
After grabbing lunch, I hope you will attend our Annual Congregational/Corporation Meeting at Locust Street. We begin at 3 pm. We will receive the annual report, get a ministry and master planning update, and elect our next class of leaders. To see a preview of the list of nominees, please click here. See you Sunday.
Thankful for God’s amazing GRACE at work in YOU.
Your pastor and friend,
Dr. Marnie Crumpler
Senior Pastor