Greetings GraceLife!  May your joy this Christmas be abundant, not based on fragile worldly trinkets and treasures that come and go, but on God’s gift of eternal life with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.  There’s no comparison, is there?

We offer the following reminders for you.

Dec 24th –Candlelight Service times on Christmas Eve, 4:30 and 6pm, at MB.  You are invited to bring cookies to share as we enjoy fellowship in the lobby between the two services.

Dec 25th – Merry Christmas!

Dec 27th – There will be no Men’s Bible Study this week at MB.

Dec 28th  – at MB

  • 9am worship service
  • 10:30am worship service
  • 10:15 – 11:30am -- Christian Education (CE) classes
  • 4-5pm – Monthly Prayer Meeting in the Auditorium/Sanctuary.

Looking ahead…

Jan 4th – First Sunday (bring-a-side-dish) Luncheon, 11:30am – 1pm, MB Gym!  Please bring a side dish to share if you can!

See below for more details!

Sunday mornings at Mount Beneva…

  • Please let us know of any parking issues you may have.
  • The Lobby is the place for:
    • Greeters to assist you and Connection Center for bulletins/programs, sign-ups, books, t-shirts,…).  Please ask if you don’t see what you’re looking for.
    • New name tag requests continue to be processed each week.
    • Coffee, snacks, plus some pastries are provided for your enjoyment.  They are refreshed throughout the morning by our Hospitality teams.  Please bring only lidded beverages into the Auditorium/Sanctuary. (We ask that you avoid taking food into the Auditorium/Sanctuary.)
    • There are two services in our Auditorium/Sanctuary – one at 9am and one at 10:30am; Christian Education classes are held from 10:15 – 11:30am.  Adult CE classes are held in the Gym; Youth CE classes are held in the Loft; Children’s classes are in the Children’s Wing.
    • During the worship services, you’ll find Connect Cards in the under seat bin of the chairs.  Please use these for most any information about yourself you want to provide (contact info, interests, prayer needs,…)

Our usual Wednesday evening activities at Mount Beneva will not be held this week.  Instead, please join us for a Christmas Eve candlelight service (offered at 4:30pm and at 6pm).  Between the two services, we will enjoy fellowship time in our lobby with cocoa, coffee, and cookies!  We invite you to bring holiday cookies to share if you like!

This Sunday, December 28th, we’ll offer two Adult Christian Education (CE) classes, from 10:15 – 11:30am, in the Gym, at Mount Beneva as class leader Mike Hamel continues a study of the Sermon on the Mount.   Class leader Jeff Lawson continues a study of Biblical Love with a secondary resource of Jonathan Edward’s book “Charity and Its Fruits”. 

As a reminder, we have a student ministry program for our Youth: Christian Education hour Sunday mornings from 10:30-11:30am; then 4-6pm Sunday evenings; and, mid-week Wednesday evenings from 7-8pm.  You can also join this GraceLife group by clicking this link. https://gracelife-sarasota.churchcenter.com/groups/unique/blaze-youth

Some will receive a Christmas card from GraceLife created by our own Brenda Castleyoung.  We hope you enjoy them.  She and Betty Tucker (with others to be added) create beautiful greeting cards for various occasions.  (I understand they are now working on Easter cards!).  If you’d like to participate in some card-making and fellowship, please call Brenda at 443-254-5422 for meeting times and days.  Also, if you have cards you’d like to donate for re-purposing, you may leave them at the Beneva office in a bag/container marked for Brenda.  Thank you!

We have begun an effort to pair up those in need of a ride on Sunday mornings with those who can provide a ride. There is a sign-up sheet in the  lobby of MB to collect information on those in need.  In terms of a near-term need, please give us a call.

Volunteers needed for Hospitality team!  Please respond to this email if you are interested in helping with the “food” side of fellowship!  Thank you!!!

Beyond this week, here are some upcoming events for your planning purposes.  Another great way to learn more about events is to visit our website gracelifesarasota.com and select EVENTS and choose Calendar or Featured Events.  Check it out!

January 4th – Our First Sunday Luncheon of the month AND year will be held in the MB Gym after the 10:30am worship service (from 11:30am – 1pm).  A sign-up sheet is available in the lobby.  Otherwise, you may sign up through our website.  Please plan to bring a side dish to share if you can!

February 1st – Our First Sunday Luncheon of the month will be held in the MB Gym after the 10:30am worship service (from 11:30am – 1pm).  In conjunction with this luncheon, our leadership will conduct a Congregational Meeting to provide a wrap-up of 2025 and to review our budget/plan for 2026!  Mark your calendars; you won’t want to miss this!