MINISTRIES OF GINTER PARK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH and WAYS YOU MIGHT STRENGTHEN THEM

WORSHIP AND MUSIC (Jessica Cook, Ardyth Lohuis)

We glorify God, celebrate God’s gifts to us, and listen for God’s voice as we worship together.

This area of ministry includes:

- Pastoral & intern leadership in worship and preaching
- Choir and music leadership and supplies
- Special worship, such as Supper Church, Lovefeast, and Palm/Passion Sunday
- Piano & organ maintenance, acquisition and/or rental of other instruments, hiring guest musicians
- Worship supplies, such as bulletins, candles, & flowers
- A Sunday morning nursery worker, to give parents of infants a break

How might you contribute to GPPC’s worship and music? A few ideas:

- Come regularly to worship. Pray, sing, listen, speak!
- Invite a friend to worship.
- Help “set the table” for communion. If an elder, help to serve.
- Sing in the choir.
- Help us bring the visual arts into our worship.
- Help us to imagine and plan new ways to worship. Volunteer to serve on the Worship Team.
- Buy a Martin’s Card to support the choir.
- Read scripture for our worship. Be part of a choral reading.
- Play an instrument as part of our worship.
- Contribute to our organ campaign.
- Be part of an intern mentoring team.
- Help with the Lovefeast: usher, candles, hot chocolate – we need all kinds of help!
- Be part of a Sunday morning ushering team (once per month), or be a substitute usher.
- Donate flowers one Sunday. Or help us coordinate flower donations.
- Help to host a Supper Church: cook, welcome, pray, clean, come!

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION (Sterling Lloyd, Andreas Schuele, Alfred Walker)

We nurture God’s children (of every age and stage!) along their journeys of faith –
teaching the stories of faith, cultivating the ability to interpret those stories, and sharing spiritual practices to help us know, love, and follow Christ better.

This area of ministry includes:

- Church school for children, youth & adults
- Wednesday afternoon program for elementary-school-aged kids
- Sunday evening program for youth, 5th grade and up
- Retreats, conferences & camps
- Vacation Bible School
- Education for individuals seeking church membership, baptism, or confirmation

How might you contribute to GPPC’s Christian Education? A few ideas:

- Attend Sunday School. There are classes for all ages!
- Cut figures from wood or felt to be used as we tell Bible Stories with “Godly Play.”
- Teach a craft to a child.
- Share your special expertise for adult Sunday School.
- Be a substitute teacher for one of our children’s Sunday School classes.
- Come to the Neighborhood Class. Befriend our Adult Home Resident members.
- Supervise children in our nursery one Sunday.
- Cook supper for our older youth one Sunday evening.
- Help to organize our craft supply closet. Donate supplies.
- Help to plan the Spring Retreat. Share something you knowor can do that weekend.
- Help us to think about ways of marking milestones in the life of faith.
- Share with Jessica Cook or Alfred Walker what you think it means to be the church. They are designing and teaching our youth’s Sunday School class on this subject.

CARE AND FELLOWSHIP (Joe Adams, Nancy Davis, Maggie Hayes)

We aim to be a welcoming and caring community where each person will experience the love of God through the love we practice. We offer ongoing care and support to all members and friends of our congregation. We host events where folks can make friends and strengthen
relationships.

This area of ministry includes:

- Visits to hospitals, seniors’ residences, & the homebound
- Gifts for homebound members at Christmastime
- Cards to GPPC members who are not able to worship with us (at college, homebound, etc.)
- Bereavement counseling
- Memorial & other receptions
- An annual spring retreat for members & friends
- A variety of fellowship gatherings (e.g., picnics, fellowship dinners & after-worship events like potlucks)
- Newsletters & weekly email news
- Small groups like Presbyterian Women, the Knitting Group, and the Dining Out Group

How might you contribute to GPPC’s care and fellowship? A few ideas:

- Help to host one of our meals in the Fellowship Hall. Set up, cook, clean up – or any of the above!
- Help to host a reception for a family following a Memorial Service. Bake cookies for such receptions.
- Knit a baby cap or prayer shawl for the church to share with a member in sadness or celebration.
- Cook a meal for a new parent, or for someone sick or grieving.
- Write a note to remind someone we care.
- Plan a game for children to share at one of our gatherings.
- Visit someone who is sad or lonely.
- Help us keep our website current and interesting.
- Interview a member about his or her life. Share it. We’re starting a project like StoryCorps.
- Check in with a member you haven’t seen in awhile.
- Welcome visitors and help new folks make friends at GPPC.
- Join one of the “Presbyterian Women” circles for Bible Study and friendship.

OUTREACH (Kimberly Carswell, Amy Clark, Diane Estep)

As people of God, we seek to be agents of God’s mission in the world – welcoming, healing, feeding, and caring for others as God has welcomed, healed, fed, and cared for us.

This area of ministry includes:

- Support for missionaries (especially the Boyds and Ruth Brown in Africa) and mission projects
(e.g., the Congo educational special project, & Forman Christian College in Pakistan)
- Support for local initiatives such as CARITAS (caritasshelter.org, which provides shelter to homeless folks), ACTS (actsva.org, which supports people on the verge of homelessness, to keep them in their homes),Boaz and Ruth (boazandruth.com, which helps folks moving out of prison), and the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy(virginiainterfaithcenter.org)
- Support of special GPPC initiatives (e.g., neighborhood outreach, support of students preparing for ordained ministry in the PCUSA)
- Support for the mission of the Presbyterian Church (USA) locally, nationally, and globally.

 

How might you contribute to GPPC’s outreach? A few ideas:

- Join one of our five new Local Missions Teams to do some goodfor the neighbors God’s given us:

The Good Neighbor Team, which will find ways for the church to be a better neighbor to the people living in its neighborhood.

The Royal Ambassadors, which will continue our ministry with “The Palace” Adult Home (at 3502 Chamberlayne Ave.) and with members of GPPC’s Neighborhood Class.

The Supporting Schools Team to support our local schools.

The Food Team, which will focus on activities such as CROP Walk, Food Bank collections, Bread for the World, Garden Faire and CARITAS.

The Benevolence Team, which will make decisions about GPPC’s benevolences and promote PCUSA (mission) offerings.

- Give money to one of our special offerings.
- Bring something for the Food Bank on one of our Food Drive Sundays.
- Help with CARITAS – cook a meal, transport guests to showers, wash laundry, contribute personal hygiene items.
- Volunteer at Boaz and Ruth.
- Join the Global Missions team, working to be part of God’s mission globally.
- Write a letter or email to one of our members in mission. If they write back, tell GPPC how we can pray for them.
- Learn what issues are facing this year’s General Assembly and contact your congressperson in regard to things that matter to you.
- Befriend an international student from UPSem. Invite him or her to a meal at your house.
- Work with others in the Presbytery to help us figure out how to support the people of Haiti and Pakistan.
- Adopt a classroom at Ginter Park Elementary School. Write thank-you notes to teachers. Mentor a child.
- Relax awhile on our playground someday, and be friendly to anyone you see.

 

SUPPORTIVE MINISTRIES (Lee Bedsole, Randy Hallman, Margaret Lucas Jacobs, Jon Peiper, David Ross, Owen Sharman)

A variety of teams support the ministries of GPPC. They are foundational and essential to our life together.

Property and Grounds
This team helps to maintain our property and make it welcoming for everyone who uses it. (You may be interested to know the variety of folks who use our building on a regular basis. They include the City Singers Children’s Choirs, an Alzheimer’s Support Group, Alcoholics Anonymous, the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Richmond Men’s and Women’s Choruses, and an African Apostolic Fellowship.)

Administration, Stewardship, and Finance
These teams help GPPC to run efficiently and well. They make sure we’re stewarding the gifts you give wisely and thoughtfully. They oversee budgets, financial gifts, property, and personnel.

Personnel
This team supports the church staff: Carla Pratt Keyes, Doug Brown, Roxanne Mucklow, and Meth San.

Communications
This team oversees GPPC’s communications: website and advertising, mostly. Some of its work is general, some seasonal (around the Lovefeast, for instance). This team is also starting a project like StoryCorps (to help GPPC members share their stories) and a History Comittee (to preserve and share stories from our past and present for the future).

How might you contribute to the supportive ministries of GPPC? A few ideas:

- Offer to help on one of the teams.
- Help to paint a room that needs freshening up.
- Help to count the offering after our Sunday worship (usually Monday morning).
- Help conduct a financial review.
- Help on one of our clean up days. Rake, blow leaves, weed gardens, clean rooms.
- Join the “work gang” that meets a couple times a month (usually Tuesdays) to survey the property and make improvements and repairs.
- Help with landscaping around the church.
- Adopt a flowerbed.
- Thank church staff for the things they do well.
- Help with GPPC’s website – share photos or stories.
- Help us to think creatively about how to “get the word out” about GPPC.
- Work for a day (or more!) in our archives room. Help us to share the “gems” of GPPC’s history with the congregation at large.

 

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