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GRACE PRESS Reflect ion from the Pastor

“The watchman reported, “He reached them, but he is not coming back.

And the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi,

for he drives like a madman.”

(2 Kings 9:20)

Sprouts is sprouting! The opening day of the new market next door is October 16th. Dunkin’ Donuts is

under construction and McDonald’s is going to build across the street. There’s a new stop light for

the Sprouts parking lot less than a block south of us. The urbanization of our location is rapidly devel-

oping all around us. We’re not the little country church on the edge of town anymore. The urbanization

is increasing traffic! We are seeing more cars and people!

With this change in our community be very careful of driving in and out of our own parking lot. Please

don’t be like “Jehu the son of Nimshi” who “drives like a madman!” Traffic patterns are changing and

becoming more congested along East Vista Way so please be careful. When northbound to the church,

you might make your left turns into our park-

ing lot at the north entrance by the Sanctu-

ary. Drivers can see down the road clearer

and over the hill and pick up on-coming

traffic better. Please enter and exit Grace

Church carefully and watch for pedestrians.

More traffic means more people! When a

community becomes denser in population

like ours it’s a good thing!! Please pray that

we can all connect with these new people

in our community and invite them to worship and partner with us in mission and ministry. Please pray

that the new homes being built will bring people that our Lord has predestined to join our congregation

and work for the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There are hundreds of broken people all

around us who need Jesus to transform their lives. Grace is a great church for them to hear the gospel,

get help, and become new creations.

Speaking of new creations, God has been working on each of us for so long we might not feel very

new. But know this, we can always learn new ways to love people into the church. It’s important to

drive ourselves into ministry opportunities when God gives them to us. We might drive like “madmen”

with enthusiasm for our God and His kingdom, but God wants us all to look at this urbanization as full of

possibilities! Pray for wisdom, opportunities and connection with our new neighbors who need Jesus!

Peace,

Pastor Mike

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OCTOBER 2019

God’s Word: Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3)

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be call sons of God. (Matthew 5:9)

Generation G: Leaving a Spiritual Legacy (or Hot Topics on Grandparenting)

-by Gramma Pat Whisler

This month’s GP Hot Topic: P E A C E M A K E R S

• Prayer: Father, may we as grandparents be peacemakers in our family, our relationships and our world. May we put down our pride and seek your loving guidance when dealing with conflict. Help us rise above ‘keeping the peace’ so we may ‘make the peace.’

• Action: First steps in peacemaking are to listen carefully and compassionately. If you are part of the

problem, ask for forgiveness. Ask for resolution ideas from all involved. Don’t dig up the past. Focus on

what is needed to move forward, the good things that build each other up. • A thought: To be a peace maker you must know the peace giver. ----Billy Graham

Join our Grandparents@Prayer meeting on Oct 27 in Room 10 a half hour before the traditional service begins.

Do you watch the news much on TV? A lot of what is telecasted is disheartening. When our grandchildren are young, it’s fairly easy to keep them from the news but as they get older they will have to deal with what they see and hear. What they see and hear begins where they spend most of their time: in their own and their grandparents’ homes. Sibling rivalry often begins at an early age. Teenagers vs authority will soon take over. How does God want us to handle this?

What is the difference between a Peacekeeper and a Peacemaker? Peacekeepers are interested in eliminating the appearance of conflict. They will settle for some measure of peace regardless of the consequences. They can’t stand the conflict and just want peace. Do you know someone who just wants things (or kids) to settle down and be peaceful?

Then there are peacemakers. It is the goal of the peacemakers to resolve the conflict. They honor every person involved in the conflict. They are not so much concerned with their own comfort as they are with building a foundation where God’s grace will transform hearts. They have confidence that the peace that passes understanding will dissolve the conflict and restore families. Peacemakers look for what is beneficial for all, not just an end to conflict.

2 Corinthians 5:18 says Christ gave us the ministry of reconciliation. It is a ministry to be a peacemaker… to reach an understanding, to resolve, to compromise, to bring together.

Grandparents@Prayer

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GRACE PRESS Local Missions: Parkside Español

Dear Grace Presbyterian Church,

I thank my God every time I remember you. It has been several months since we left your facili-

ties but I always carry you all in my thoughts and prayers.

I wanted to tell you that God has always been faithful to us and has allowed us to see great things

happen in the past 8 months. We are now affiliated with the North American Mission Board (NAMB),

whom supports us with growth groups for pastors, support groups for pastoral marriages, confer-

ences for the pastor's wife, leadership conferences and much more. Thank God all of these services

have been at no cost and with very high quality

speakers.

As a church we have been able to maintain a

group between 60 and 70 people. We contin-

ue in our call to be multi-culturally minded, so

much that now we even have a new language in

our church, Portuguese. Thanks to a family from

Brazil who has been accompanying us for sever-

al months, now we speak Spanish, Portuguese,

and English.

There have been several Sundays where the program for children has had, with the combination of

both English and Spanish churches, up to 80 children in a single weekend. We continue to have good

relationships with other churches in the Vista and Oceanside area. One of those churches, Pastor

Chase from Anthem Church, donated brand new shoes to our children and young people for the

new school year. During our services on Sundays we continue to have our time for children and now

every Tuesday night we have programs for all ages, from kindergarten to youth.

We are also supporting several schools in Vista Unified District with programs that help children and

their parents have tools to improve in reading.

We are encouraging all brothers to multiply extraordinary prayers. Therefore, each brother has been

arranging an hour of his day to be in prayer with God and during the week as a church we have two

times of prayer together, on Tuesdays at night and Sundays at night through Facebook. We have seen

God opening doors and showing us His will through this prayer movement.

On Sunday, September 15, we celebrated the fifth anniversary of Parkside Church (the church that

adopted us). During that celebration I had the privilege of baptizing a girl who has been with us for

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OCTOBER 2019

Finance Committee Report:

four years, and arrived at our church thanks to the After

School Program that Grace offers. It was an unforget-

table and special moment, full of the presence of God

and the support of many brothers and sisters, and as it

took place we thought of the way that the Grace com-

munity contributed to the spiritual life of this young

lady.

We continue to disciple every Wednesday in my house

and every second Saturday of the months of September, October, and November. The participation has been

good and the brothers continue to show the fruits of the Holy Spirit inside and outside the church.

Thanks again to Grace's family for their support during the

planting of this new church in Spanish. There have been

years of learning and growth thanks to the movement of the

Holy Spirit in our lives. Please continue to pray with us for a

movement to reach our Vista community.

In Christ,

Pastor Eliecer Barrantes

Spanish Parkside Church

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GRACE PRESS

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30 31

If you have a birthday or anniversary in October and your name does not appear above,

please contact the church office at 760-724-0077 to update our records. Thank you!

SUN MON TUE WED THUR FRI SAT

8am Earnest

6:30pm Worship Committee.

6:15pm Fellow. Committee6:30pm Deacons

11am Communi-cations Meeting6:30pm Missions Committee

1pm Finance

Committee

6:30pm Session

9:30am Grand.@Prayer

10am Kirkin’ of the Tartans Service

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

S U N D A Y S

9 & 10:30am: Worship Services

9 & 10:30am: Adult Studies

10am One Service (10/27)

10:30am: Sunday School

M O N D A Y S

10am Needleworks

7pm: AA meeting

T U E S D A Y S

10am Women’s Bible Study

5:15pm: Soup Kitchen

W E D N E S D A Y S

9:30am: Staff Meeting

2pm ASP Tutoring

7pm Deep & Wide

7:30pm: Worship Band Rehearsal

T H U R S D A Y S

10am: Bible Study

2pm ASP Tutoring

6pm Hand Bell Choir Rehearsal

7:30pm Choir Rehearsal

FRIDAYS

3pm Personnel Committee

8am Men’s Breakfast

8:30am PEO

16 Mike & Jan Erickson (48 years)

20 Norm & Peg Long (47 years)

3 Bob Wilson

7 Carol Eldridge

10 Arlene Cratsa

Frances Hummel

13 Conner Hamnquist

14 Janet Arris

16 Christie Elliott

19 Terry Breen

22 Milka Romero

29 Elaine Corley

8:30am PEO

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OCTOBER 2019

Alice Nolf

Apollo Bostian

Bill Sinatra

Bob Wilson

Chris Nolf Family

Cleta Corum

Dick Woolsey

Dickson Family

Elizabeth Johnson

Greenway Family

Grigorii Kirillov

Jacob Sparkman

Jan Patterson

John Earnest

Judy Ambrose

Judy D. Kirkland

Judy Woolsey

Larry Parker

Mike Cooley

Neil Kirkland

Paul Schwichtenberg

Paulina Cooley

Rex Bassett

Rita Sinatra

Scott Brady

Terry Breen

Terry-Jeanne Sawyer

Trisha Roest-Sinatra

Valerie Allen

PLEASE PRAY FOR:

Punch/Coffee Flowers

October 6 Fellowship Jayne Parker

October 13 Fellowship Available

October 20 Fellowship Ken & Sue Bouchard

October 27 Fellowship Available

Punch/Coffee Service and Flowers for October

(Bill Sinatra’s sister in law)

(Bill Sinatra’s brother in law)

(Elizabeth Bostian’s son)

Food Pantry Needs: Our Food Pantry is in constant need to keep our shelves stocked with nutritious staple

foods to fill the bags. Did you know that we can buy food for $0.19 a pound at the San

Diego Food Bank?!? Would you consider making a donation so we can shop for what

is needed? If so, please mark NRC: Food Pantry on the envelope or in the check memo

line. Thank you for your continued generosity.

Church Staff

G R A C E P R E S B Y T E R I A NC H U R C H

1450 E. Vista WayVista, CA 92084

Phone: 760-724-0077

Fax: 760-724-2534

E-mail: info@gpcvista.org

www.gpcvista.org

Address Service Requested

W H E R E G O D ’ S F A M I L Y G R O W S

facebook.com/GPCVista

Interim Pastor/Head of Staff Rev. Dr. Michael Wallman

Director of Church Operations Christie Elliott

Front Office & Communications Manager Shawn Homan

Bookkeeper Albina Lumetta

After School Program Director Maria Haigh

Resource Center Coordinator Pablo Valdez Acosta

Chancel Choir Director Jayne Parker

Organist Frances Hummel

Hand Bell Choir Director Pat Sexton

Facilities Jim Aliaga

GRACE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IS A CONFESSING CHURCH, and we believe:

That Jesus Christ alone is Lord of all and the way of salvation.

That Holy Scripture is the triune God’s revealed Word,

the Church’s only infallible rule of faith and life.

That God’s people are called to holiness in all aspects of life.