Grace Church parishioners are active in giving time and talent, as well as financial support, to many community organizations. In addition, the church facilities are available to many worthy community activities. We encourage you to learn more about the ways you can get involved.
Grace Church has been serving the Community Food Pantry since 1977, making this the longest running outreach program of our church. Rotating with other churches, Grace serves by providing volunteers to staff the pantry and by collecting food to stock the shelves just prior to our assigned dates. Volunteers typically work in groups of four on Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. during our rotation dates. Please contact the parish office if you are interested in volunteering
The Community Food Pantry is located at 615 Oak Street. They are open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 12:00 – 1:30 PM.
Family Promise is a ministry in our community with a goal of helping low-income families achieve lasting independence. They provide case management, counseling, shelter, accountability, and advocacy to homeless families seeking independence. Grace provides financial and volunteer support to this outreach effort.
A dedicated and enthusiastic group of volunteers from Grace Church have been responsible for preparing and serving the noon meal at Good News at Noon mission every Tuesday since 1987.
The Outreach Committee organizes a school supply drive each fall prior to the start of school. Supplies typically requested are: #2 pencils with erasers, spiral notebooks, glue sticks, blunt tip metal scissors, 16 or 24 ct. Crayola crayons, washable markers, wide rule filler paper, pocket folders with brads, Crayola colored pencils, cap erasers, highlighters, pencil boxes, zip lock bags (sandwich, quart or gallon), hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, index cards, and boxes of facial tissue. Grace Church donates the supplies to a different school in our community each year.
Grace Church parishioners supports the annual Salvation Army Thanksgiving food drive by donating bags of groceries. Grace Church, through the Outreach budget, provides turkeys to accompany the groceries. Watch for information in late October or early November.
There are many other opportunities for outreach throughout the year, such as sending a team to the Gainesville-Hall County Alliance for Literacy Spelling Bee, painting pottery bowls for the Georgia Mountain Food Bank’s “Empty Bowl Lunch,” and collecting money in Mite Boxes each Easter for Episcopal Relief and Development. Our children’s and youth programs are also involved in outreach projects.
The outreach committee coordinates our compassion ministries to the community and the wider world and is entrusted with allocating outreach funding. The committee commits funds to agencies and programs at the beginning of the year and also funds agencies, programs or individuals on an emergency basis throughout the year. For more information, please contact the office at 770-536-0126.