The writer of Hebrews 12 reminds us that we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. On this page, we share testimonies from members of the Grace Church family, aiming to contribute ourselves to this wonderful weather!

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer -- January 8, 2006

I have been healthy all my life, both physically and spiritually. This past year my life as a productive, and independent person fell apart. As a nurse, I am programmed to be the caregiver, the nurturer. As the days and weeks past I became more disabled and more dependent on others. I was very uncomfortable in this "sick role". It would have been easy to become "poor in spirit".

"Compassion means being with those who suffer". I have been the recipient of much compassion as evidenced by cards, visits, food offerings, inquiries into my status and especially prayers. Intercessory prayer is very powerful. I have adopted a new mantra that has been inspiring to me: "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." The knowledge that many were praying for me unceasingly, lifted me up on many occasions and sustained me along the way. It gave me great peace to know that people were lifting me into the loving, caring, healing hands of God. God Bless the family of Grace Church who not only supported me but also my caregivers, my sister Carol and Ed.

Yours in Christ, Myrna Miller

A Story of Stewardship -- June 27, 2004

We are called to be stewards of the gospel.

Everything we are and everything we have are gifts from God. They are precious gifts, given into our care to use, to nurture, and to share. One of our most precious gifts from God is the good news that God loves us and forgives us. As Christians, we are bound to share that good news.

What does that mean in our lives? For Larry Thokey, it means teaching Sunday School in the Wedding Ring Class on a Sunday morning. It means studying to become a Certified Lay Speaker. And it means carrying the message of the gospel outside the walls of Grace United Methodist Church. Grafton Oaks Nursing Home sent a letter to Grace Church asking for a Bible teacher, and Larry said, "Yes" to that call. So, once a month, on Sunday afternoon, he took a Bible story to Grafton Oaks and took his class through it, verse by verse. He says it is half Bible study, half sermon, more of a Sunday School class than a worship service. It is clear that the six to eight residents who attend regularly see value in the good news he brings, because they keep coming. One lady encourages him by saying, "Amen" when he makes a good point, and another looks at him with great love and tells him, "You are a blessing." And of course, Larry is blessed by them. A little while ago, Larry was taking pictures at Summerville Nursing Home and mentioned his Bible class at Grafton Oaks. That's how he became is the Bible teacher there as well, teaching on another Sunday afternoon once a month. His ministry is growing! And Larry has found yet another venue for spreading the gospel. Once a year, in the summer, he conducts a worship service at the outdoor chapel next to Old Man's Cave campground. This summer series is sponsored by the Athens United Methodist Church. Armed with his voice and his boom box, Larry fills the beauty of God's creation with the beauty of God's message.

Larry has found ways to carry the gospel to others in unexpected places. He's not the only member of Grace who does, of course. Each of us, in fact, carries the precious gift of the good news of God's love in our hearts. If we let the joy of that gift spill out into our daily lives and color the way we respond to the people God brings into our lives, we will be answering the call, too.

With thanks and joy, Susan Bennett

A Story of Faith and Grace -- June 27, 2004

Imagine spending the first eight years of your life in the hospital. That's how Edmund Jordan spent his first eight years. He was born with a twisted bowel that did not allow his body to process food properly. For the first eight years of his life, he took in nutrition through tubes and central lines. He understood so well that he must never put anything in his mouth that, at age eight, when his doctors and nurses told him he could eat solid food by mouth, he thought they were trying to poison him. His friends were other patients, children who sometimes went home, and sometimes died in the hospital. His father was a truck driver and away much of the time; his instruction and nurturing came from his caregivers at the hospital and eventually at Gorman School across the street from the hospital. Myrna Miller was his primary nurse after he left the nursery. He can't remember a time without Myrna in his life. He touched her, and she in turn touched him. She brought him to events at Grace Church when he was a child. Even when his father changed jobs so that he could care for Ed at home, even when he moved to Columbus, even when he was near death, Myrna remained close. And Ed was near death, at least twelve times that they can count, beginning with an episode of sepsis from an infected central line when he was an infant. Because of his nutritional status, Ed experienced liver failure in 1992. On May 14, 1993, as he was dying of end-stage liver disease, there was a car accident and a girl died. Her liver was given to Ed, and he lived. Again, in only a few years, that liver began to fail. This time, on April 2, 1997, Ed received another liver, as well as a new small bowel. The new organs allowed him to eat normally, his nutrition improved, and so far his new liver has not failed. However, his doctors remain vigilant, and he must always and forever take anti-rejection medications which suppress his immune system and make him susceptible to many illnesses the rest of us can ignore.

What kind of life is this, anyway? Not normal, certainly. Not fun, certainly. Not easy, certainly. But Ed will tell you of the friends he has made who have stayed with him through all his trials; of his family, who supported him; of his doctors and nurses who cared for his spiritual well-being as well as his physical health. He will tell you of how he visits children awaiting transplants, sharing with them his remarkable journey. He will tell you of the gifts he has received -- of loving family and friends, of a youth group that provided him with a sense of family that was new to him, of the two people who died so that he could live, of the three chances at life that he has been given. When you ask him how he came to be able to stay with Myrna and work toward completing his high school education, he will answer simply, "Grace."

"Every day is a gift. You don't know what's going to come tomorrow. The people who died didn't know that was going to happen to them. Today is all we have. That's everything I know."

That's a lot to know. How Ed lives his life now is a response to that gift, and his experiences with death and illness have taught him how precious that gift is. We, too, have been given that marvelous gift. We are living in the light of grace, just as surely as Ed is. Let us be grateful, and let our lives and our gifts demonstrate our gratitude.

our thanks to Susan Bennett for sharing this story

Prayer Group Testimony -- June 24, 2004

It is difficult to tell you what this group means to me personally. I have grown as a Christian by my association with this wonderful group of individuals. My mother Polly Sharp was afflicted with ALS. I felt the love and care of our Grace Prayer Group supporting me throughout that period. I knew that they were praying for my mother and my family. I was lifted up by their prayers, at a time when I needed it most.

I am now able to pray for others in their time of need. I count myself blessed to be part of the Grace United Methodist Church Prayer Group. We meet every Monday morning at 10:00am for one hour of intentional prayer. We pray for individuals who have requested prayer through our church communication system. We pray for all the individuals and situations that we know of personally through our relationships in our church family and our other relationships. We then pray through reading scripture and making verbal affirmations as a group. We pray for our church, and all churches, our city, neighborhoods, government officials, the President and all leaders of all nations.

We all pray daily for the names we have gathered on Monday mornings. This group of committed Christian followers believes in the power of prayer. We meet for the sole purpose of prayer, and we do not quit or ever give up.

We pray for everyone who makes a request. Please do not hesitate to call the church office (278-4731) and request our Prayer Group pray for you.

We close our prayers with the following prayer.

May the Light of God Surround You,
May the Love of God Enfold You,
May the Power of God Protect You,
And the Wisdom of God Direct You.
Amen

May God Bless You All, Sonia Zennie

Some of the prayer group members, left to right: Marian Bowles, Margaret Ebersbach, Sonia Zennie, Bill Kuntz, Carolyn Reveal, Marjorie Kuntz, Marion Muse, Alice Jones. Not pictured are faithful members Donna Sprague and Elsie Filer. Photograph courtesy of Sonia Zennie

Jim Hardy at Grace Church

Divine Relationships -- April, 2004

If one would state the meaning of "ministry" at Grace Church, one could easily state that it is defined as "divine relationships." Out of love for us, God comes to us in Christ. With God coming to us in a vertical way, we respond to the divine initiative with positive love on a horizontal plane to our brothers and sisters.

The above-depicted model of relationships was encompassed in the lives of our family when Ann was caught in a three-year period of a horrific health trauma. Three back surgeries, diabetic gastroporisis that rendered her unable to retain food and a combination of factors, which demanded that she regain the ability to walk during her recovery. The Grace family came to our family with aids of warm meals, provision of transportation and countless hours of prayer.

When I reflect on Ann's and our total family experience, truly our need intersected with the dynamically spiritual presence of God. Staff, friends, both known and unknown, doctors, nurses and family, all provided a spiritual symphony of relationships in which God in Christ worked in unison.

Countless times countless people lift the healing gift of Christ to our fellows in need, to share the joy of positive relationships. In the days ahead of us at Grace, we will be traveling roads of ministry which we will clearly define our role both internally and in our neighborhood. Times may at intervals cause us to grow anxious. At such times, I remember a keen insight expressed by the late King George of England, in his Christmas broadcast of 1940. Cast in the shadow of a morale-crushing invasion, yet with the power of an insurmountable faith, he shared these words of assurance with his people: "I said to a man who stood at the gate of the year 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown' and he replied: 'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than a light, and safer than a known way."

In Christ's love, Jim Hardy

Pfc. David Schwarz in Iraq

Faith of Mother and Son -- January 28, 2004

Dear Grace Church,

I just wanted to thank you for all your tremendous support during this difficult time of our son's deployment to Iraq.

I have always been very proud of the fact that David was a willing and active part of Grace Youth. He went on mission trips and attended Sunday School and youth activities.

One particular precious memory I have is David's participation in Youth Sunday. Our wonderful youth presented "Where Jesus Is." To see the love for our Lord shining from the faces our youth was such a blessing. I truly believe that David's involvement with Grace Church helped mold him into the amazing young man that he is.

I would like to share a scripture that David sent to me. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust." -- Psalm 91: 2

Love and prayers, Candy Schwarz