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Greetings GraceLife!  We hope that, as 2026 approaches, you find a renewed sense of gratitude and joy for who our Lord is and all that He provides.  As we look back at 2025, we are in awe of His Love and Grace as He has led us on this “better together” journey and we are excited to anticipate what He has in store for us in this next year!  Praise God! 

We offer the following reminders for you. 

Dec 31st – New Year’s Ever – there will be none of our usual Wednesday night activities at MB.

Jan 1st – Happy New Year! The Thursday night Deep End Dinner and Bible Study will meet at ML at 7pm.

Jan 3rd – Our Saturday Men’s Bible Study will meet at MB, 8-9am.

Jan 4th – at MB

  • 9am worship service
  • 10:30am worship service
  • 10:15 – 11:30am -- Christian Education (CE) classes.
  • 11:30am – 1pm – First Sunday (of the month AND year!) Luncheon.  Please bring a dish to share if you can.
  • 1pm – Un-decorating our church at MB.  

Looking ahead…

Feb 1st – 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, December 31st, New Year’s Eve.

This Sunday, January 4th, 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”.

Also this Sunday, January 4th, after the 10:30am worship service, we’ll be gathering in the Gym for our First Sunday of the Month Fellowship Luncheon.  Our planned entrée is spaghetti and meat balls with garlic bread.  Please bring a side dish to share if you can.

And finally for this Sunday, January 4th, AFTER the luncheon we’ll be “un-decorating” our MB church (Auditorium/Sanctuary and Lobby).  So, if you can stay after the luncheon for just a little while to help, that would be great.  Thank you!

As a reminder, we have a student ministry program for our Youth: Christian Education time Sunday mornings from 10:15-11:30am; 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

Note:  We’re trying to locate the owner of a blue cell phone that was on the lobby floor (near the refreshments) a couple of Sundays ago.  Please let us know (by replying to this email) if this applies to you. 

Brenda Castleyoung and Betty Tucker (with others to be added) create beautiful greeting cards for various occasions.  If you’d like to participate in some card-making and fellowship, please call Brenda at 443-254-5422.  She and Betty will meet for card-making on January 6th, at 11am in Room 105 at MB.  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 continue efforts 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 respond directly to this email.

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!

Jan 6th – Card-making with Brenda and Betty, 11am at MB in Room 105.

Jan 6th – Our mid-week Adult Bible Study at MB will be meeting Tuesday night, from 7-8pm in Room 105.  Please note this is a new day-of-the-week for this study.  Jeff Lawson will continue to lead us in a study of the book of Judges.  A second resource is “Judges for You” by Tim Keller.

Jan 7th – Our Wednesday night Sisters in Prayer and Youth activities will meet at 7pm at MB.

Jan 8th – Our Thursday evening Deep End will meet for dinner and study at ML, 7pm.

Jan 10th – Men’s Saturday Bible Study at MB, 8am, Room 105.

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!

As a reminder:  As of January 1st, please make monetary offerings payable to GraceLife Sarasota.  If you have questions, please contact Randy Coryell or Dan Deems.