Culture can be a perplexing thing.  I have tried to connect with people of different “cultures” with varying degrees of success. I have done my best to associate with inner-city folks, Vietnamese refugees, people native to Africa and Central America, and even teenagers in youth groups throughout the years.  It’s a challenge to find common ground when others have different world-views and/or languages.  Sometimes we are just forced to make it work out the best way possible. (My best connection-point has always been food, because I like food from almost any culture!) 

If we have a desire and a reason, we can connect with people!  We try to understand them and learn about them.  We ask questions and get to know their likes and desires, belief-systems and family backgrounds.  We can come to appreciate others and love and care for them. 

Jesus came into a world that did not understand him very well.  He came with a message that everyone from every culture needed to understand.  And he was the one who made every effort to have a relationship with us.  He “knelt down” into our reality and became like one of us, fully taking on a culture that was so unlike himself, so that we could come to know him, who is to know eternal life. 

~~~

He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—  children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:11-14)

~~~

“Thank you, Father God, for sending your only begotten son, to enter our reality and show us the glory of your great love for us.  We humbly receive the gift that is Jesus.  Help us as we rearrange our lives to become a culture of people who love God first and seek to become brothers and sisters of Jesus in our world.”  

Pastor Rich

Our current giving platform (faithlife.com) will no longer work after March 31st. Our new online giving site is called Subsplash and is active now. Use the QR code above, click on the image or use the link in the text/email that was sent out this week to get to our new site.

https://secure.subsplash.com/ui/access/2GDPMW/

You will be able to do all the same things you could do with Faithlife by setting up an account (set up automatic/recurring gifts, give one time, give to multiple different funds, view your online giving history, give using a debit/credit card or a bank account, etc.)

Please note: if you will be giving by setting up your bank account and routing number (ACH), it will take a couple of days for the new system to verify your account using micro-deposits.

Let Corinne know if you need help with any part of this change. Call/text 517-899-3098 or email cedgecomb@glnaz.com.

Thank you!

Join us Sunday, April 9th from 9:30 - 10:30 am in the Fellowship Hall for a pancake breakfast provided by our teens! They will be serving pancakes, sausage and bacon fresh off the Blackstone grill. If you'd like to bring a side dish to pass (fresh fruit, egg or potato dish, etc.), feel free to bring something to share! The teens are raising money to go to Regional Celebrate Life at ONU in May so they will be accepting donations that morning as well.

Instead of separating for Sunday School Easter morning, we will come together for breakfast. Invite your friends, family and neighbors. We will head to the sanctuary after breakfast for morning worship at 10:45am.

We are excited to share a meal together and celebrate with you Easter morning!

HALF-MILLION MOBILIZATION 2023

“God does nothing but by prayer, and everything with it.”

- John Wesley

Praying The Spirit's Vision to Pentecost

Join your church family across Canada and the United States in a prayer journey from Easter Sunday, April 9, until Pentecost Sunday, May 28.

Be inspired by a special section within the Holiness Today Mar/Apr issue devoted to prayer. Participate in the journey of prayer following a daily prayer journal called From Mission to Vision to Mobilization.

Prayer journals will be available Easter Sunday

Kitchen Help:

We have an abundance of plastic silverware that we are looking for a few people who could help us wrap 'restaurant style' to keep in the pantry in preparation for future funeral dinners, potlucks, etc. If this is something you'd be able to help with, please let the Stewards know! (Richelle, Darlene, Amanda & Kara)

Transportation Help:

We are in need of help with getting Kevin Maxwell to and from church on Sunday mornings.

• Pick up at his house at 10:20am to get him to church for morning service
• Take him home after service

There are also appointments and other errands they need rides to. **A list and more details for the next few months are posted in our Helping Hands group found below.

If this is something you could do, please let Pastor Rich know.

NDI - To make Christlike Disciples in the Nations

See what the kids are up to!

• Check out the kids' wish list on Amazon by clicking the image above. Thank you for all the ways you help our kids!
• We are in need of kids volunteers for Sunday School and Children's Church. Can you spare a couple hours a month to serve on this team? See Kara Purves or John Harris for more info

RISE & SHINE: A 5-WEEK SERIES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT ON EASTER

SERIES OVERVIEW:

On a farm, life has a daily rhythm (for plants, animals, and people, too). “Life” is what this series is all about, because we’re talking about Easter and Jesus’ triumph over death! In this five-week series, kids will explore the stories leading up to and following Easter Sunday. Together, they’ll discover we can stick with Jesus even when our days are dark, and that because Jesus is alive, we can spend our days meeting with him, trusting he’s there for us, and sharing his love — not just today, but every day!

We are collecting wrapped candy donations to fill plastic eggs for our Community Easter Egg Hunt! You can drop bags of candy in the bin in the foyer or if you'd like to have us do the shopping for you, monetary donations are also welcomed. You can give online for this event as well by choosing the "Easter Egg Hunt" fund here: https://secure.subsplash.com/ui/access/2GDPMW/ute_mnSBbEQ18MjYg5SA6023C44I2XECyPtyS0sNjUvsHZG3lKWGYomoxbekxv5zXfyps6c37FhvBdizlt-Uy1goTaQ0ICSVcsxNFOC7JHNq1XZ2o6UB54Nl2SwUyfYUQpNkNfBVh7mHhLYy5LmFtWPV16aQ2FhDjOi6OxYDnQ

See what the teens are up to!

• Click the image above to view the teens Amazon wish list
• The teens are also in need of some helpers for Sunday School and Youth Group on Sunday nights. If you could spare a couple hours to help lead our teens, see John Harris or Stephanie Dewey

Hosted by the Church of the Nazarene, NYC is a powerful youth event that has been held in different locations over the past six decades. NYC takes place every four years and provides an opportunity for high school students from the USA and Canada to be united in a time of worship, teaching, and community service.

All meetings are held from 6:30-8:30 PM at Grand Ledge Church of

the Nazarene in the overflow room off of the sanctuary. Meetings

are on Thursday unless otherwise indicated.

Cost of 13 sessions are free.

Book is $15 (If this is a hardship, scholarships are available.)

1. Thursday, February 16

2. Thursday, February 23

3. Thursday, March 2

4. Thursday, March 9

5. *Friday, March 17

6. Thursday, March 23

7. Thursday, March 30

8. Thursday, April 6

9. Thursday, April 13

10.*Tuesday, April 18

11.Thursday, April 27

12.Thursday, May 4

13.Thursday, May 11

14.*Tuesday, May 16

* indicates a different day of the week than Thursday

See Richelle for more information or if you would like to join

Would you like to take control of your money? See John or Darlene Harris for a one-on-one FPU class or sign up for a group class with others. We have 8 spots available, so let us know before they are gone

Save the date to love our city with our Community Easter Egg Hunt!

We are looking forward to welcoming our neighbors into our building to learn about the meaning of Easter, have some fun and eat some food together! We can't do it without our amazing I Love My City Crew and volunteers.

There is a sign up sheet in the foyer for many different ways you can help.

Individually wrapped candy donations can be placed in the green bin in the foyer, or if you would like to donate funds to purchase items needed for the event, you can give here https://secure.subsplash.com/ui/access/2GDPMW/ute_mnSBbEQ18MjYg5SA6023C44I2XECyPtyS0sNjUvsHZG3lKWGYomoxbekxv5zXfyps6c37FhvBdizlt-Uy1goTaQ0ICSVcsxNFOC7JHNq1XZ2o6UB54Nl2SwUyfYUQpNkNfBVh7mHhLYy5LmFtWPV16aQ2FhDjOi6OxYDnQ

Thank you!

We are excited to continue our partnership with Shared Pregnancy Women's Center. There are many ways we can give, donate, volunteer and pray for this ministry.

See the list below of items they can use. You can bring them in and drop them in the toy box in the kids hallway.

If you wish to donate money, you can drop change or bills in the baby bottle outside the kids room or give online at https://secure.subsplash.com/ui/access/2GDPMW/ute_CZ6DhcGn0QtmJ5zirscH-ck4h4Aq8e3qEl0Us2cxB28rplvrMGKrKpEpRHw_h9ltxcq4HBgXXZghNKIN6xLHvXDeBvBY_3-0eHRtf8_Q4iCG0wK0y-hazgAFdjAoczkfNFUTuI_W4rp4l63wbFv3Lii6cBrMZLaWjvbZKVI

If you have any questions, see Kara Purves

Crisis Care Kits are a way we can help others in emergency situations. Receiving simple items like toothpaste, a comb, or band-aids become very helpful in a natural disaster, war or other crisis. Crisis Care Kits (CCKs) are designed to provide people with some of the essentials they may not have due to those scenarios.

Our NMI Council has set a goal for Grand Ledge to collect 12 boxes (72 CCK's) by July 2023. Each month or so, we will feature an item to collect. (Although you can always give any of the items at any time!)

See below for this month's featured item and the details on the specifics. Thank you for helping us work toward reaching our goal!

April - Shampoo (12 - 18 oz bottles)

We will be collecting these at the Missions corner in the foyer. Here is an idea of how many we will need by July 2023:

1 per CCK

6 per box

72 for all 12 boxes

NMI is sponsoring a  Run/Walk/Bike 5K to help raise money for the 2023 Mission Project.  Monies raised will go toward the District Work & Witness Trip to the Nazarene Church Plant in South Texas.

Join us on Saturday, May 27th at Indian Lake Nazarene Camp.  

Bike Ride begins at 10:00 AM

Race begins at 10:30 AM

Registration cost - $35 per person

Register by May 5th to assure you receive a T-shirt.

Box Lunch is available at Noon - please prepay when you register.

Lunch - $12 each

https://michigandistrict.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/134/responses/new

Get your kids registered today!

http://www.indianlake.camp/summercamp.html