From the Pastors:

God’s Blessings and Peace as we journey through this time together. As our government leadership walks us through “Phases” of re-opening and the guidelines that accompany each step; we to are deliberately, mindfully and prayerfully considering our own “Safe Start” of how we gather together again.

We continue to be the Church, the Body of Christ together – apart. We continue our work of proclaiming the Gospel in new and creative ways and in all we do. We are looking to continue these new ways of sharing the Gospel Good News even as we slowly transition back to more familiar ways of worshiping and working in God’s Kingdom.

As our community has entered Phase 2 we begin to open our facility as well to very limited, monitored and carefully controlled appointments and activities (please see the latest guidelines from our Safe Start Task Force below). Our number one commitment is to the safety and care of all God’s people. Please keep the Safe Start Task Force, your elected officials and all God’s children in your prayers!

Thank you again for being a part of the important mission and ministry of God’s Growing Family we call Gloria Dei. Stay safe, healthy and well. God’s Peace!

Pastors Molly and Doug

From the Safe Start Task Force

We are proceeding with caution during Phase 3. Worship services remain online since large group gatherings are still discouraged. Some Bible Study, fellowship, and youth groups are meeting in person, while others remain on-line. If your group is interested in meeting in person, there is an application process. Please contact the church office to get started.

When you come to the church building, you’ll see an important new entry process: (1) masks are required when in the building, (2) health screening questions must be answered, (3) a voluntary contact tracing log is being maintained, and (4) please use hand sanitizer. These basic steps must be followed each time you come to the church building. Thank you for helping to keep the community safe and healthy!

Vacation Bible School:

VBS will be home-based this year with online support over three weeks in July.  There will be one short VBS Video Lesson each week accompanied by a menu of non-screen activities to choose from to follow up with at home.  VBS can be done on your own time, to fit your own schedule — however VBS works best for you!  There will also be Zooms people can plug into to connect and to support learning.  We are asking people to register for VBS so we can organize enough supplies. 

REGISTER for VBS here:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1QxwAVw8FKYQek8U2eGeRZ__4EIYGR_OLDLP9_Em1cx4/edit

More information about VBS maybe found here:  www.gloriadeikids.org

YOUTH SUMMER BOOK CLUB 

During July and August, rising 6th graders through 12th grade graduates are invited to read together while we’re apart. We’ll discuss how themes in popular books relate to our faith and every day lives. Do you have friends who don’t attend Gloria Dei but love to read? Invite them! EVERYONE IS WELCOME.

The plan is to meet weekly via Zoom (in person if we can!) to read works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and graphic novels together. The list of books will be provided ahead of time, so you can plan to attend the sessions that sound most interesting to you.  Authors will include people of color.  The book club will be facilitated by Michelle Dinkins, Leia Johnson, and Hilary Seidel. Depending on how many people are interested in joining, we may create multiple groups to leave room for good conversation. For more information and to let us know you’re interested, please let Beth Tobin know at childrensministry@gloriadeiolympia.org.