A Christmas Gift of Your Time
December 2022 | By Mike Cotter
But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving. (2 Corinthians 8:7)
When my wife Irene and I volunteered a few weeks ago to help out at Safe Harbor for the Grace Church Vestry night, it occurred to me how fortunate I have been to serve on the Grace Vestry for the last four years. With humor and comradery, we helped those in our Traverse City community who needed a warm meal and a place to sleep on a very cold night. Since this is my last month of serving my tenure on the Vestry, I would like to express to all my fellow Grace Church parishioners, that it has been a true honor to be one of this group of twelve Vestry friends who genuinely care about the health and well-being of Grace Church, our community and each other. Not only does serving on the Vestry serve a vital role as the backstop of ensuring the financial and spiritual health of the parish, but the Vestry Members also act as liaisons to all the ministries of Grace. We lend a listening ear to the needs of all those who volunteer their time on these ministries. We then present those needs at Vestry meetings to discern how we may help. For my four years on the Vestry, I have acted as Vestry liaison for all the Jubilee ministries at Grace. These ministries are Jubilee House, The Grace Food Pantry and The Grace Friday Community Meal. All of our parishioners who volunteer their time to keep all our vital ministries running at Grace deserve our sincere thanks for selflessly giving of themselves.
This holy season of Christmas, please give some thought to how you could give the gift of a portion of your time to one of the ministries at Grace Church. Giving your time to any of our ministries is not a full-time job. If you are not able to volunteer for a Grace ministry on a regular basis, many of the ministries, such as Jubilee House, the Sunday children’s program, being a lector or usher, working in the office or helping to keep our beautiful
buildings and grounds in good shape could really benefit from your time when the workload calls for the need of an extra hand, or as a substitute when a regular volunteer is temporarily unable to do so.
When you have decided that you would like to volunteer your time on a regular or part time basis for one of the Grace ministries, or if you have any questions about doing so, please let Father Jim, Father Derek, or a Vestry Member know. You may also call the Church office at 231-947-2330 to make it known you would like to give your Christmas gift of your time to Grace. Thank you and may God bless you this Christmas and in the New Year.
