GRACE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH
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Welcome to ​
​Grace Lutheran Church

500 South Wayne Avenue ​Waynesboro, VA 22980
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What's Happening at Grace

Refugee Family to Waynesboro 

​Our family and Welcome Team are continuing to integrate with our community. The mom is enrolled in an online English class. Health checkups and COVID vaccinations are completed. Adult DMV ID cards are in process, toured the Brite bus, and the children are learning to ride bikes. Financial education is being provided, and the children play and learn daily with volunteers and their families, to prepare for school next month.
Monday, May 1st, Westminster Presbyterian and Grace Lutheran moved in a family of eight, who had travelled 48 hours straight to fly from their refugee camp in Tanzania, through Qatar, all the way to Washington D.C., then to Harrisonburg on April 27th.  

A crew from both congregations did a lot of work to provide a welcoming home for the family.  Thanks to all who donated items, and helped to arrange and clean the house, getting it ready for their arrival. Check out the photos below.

 Prayer Vigil for
racial justice and equity   

The Third Saturday at 11:00

​Every third Saturday at 11:00AM, 
either at North Park (odd months) or
​Constitution Park (even months). 
Collaborating ​ with Christ Tabernacle Church of God in Christ


  1. We will continue our current methods of:
    1. Holy Communion – receiving the bread and the front, then picking up a communion cup, and after placing the used cup in the tray, returning to one’s pew via the side aisle (use of masks follows the CDC guidelines, above).  Pastor and Assisting Minister will continue to mask as they offer the body of Christ.
    2. Offering – placing our offerings in the plate in the narthex, which will then be brought up front by the ushers during the Offertory.
    3. Masking for the Children’s Sermon.
    4. We will continue to distance and use every other pew as a standard seating procedure.  In the event of attendance of greater than 80 during worship (Easter, Festival Sundays, Funerals, Weddings are examples), we will remove our distancing tape to accommodate all who come to worship starting from the back of the nave.
  2. Meetings, adult choir, classes, etc., as well as those who use our building – Bridge Club, Newcomers, Valley Music Academy, Yoga, etc. will be subject to the same policy.
  3. Funeral luncheons and other events where food is served will be permitted in the Fellowship Hall, given a “yellow” or “green” CDC status. 
  4. Specific to Easter:
    1. We will no longer require a sign-up for 8:30 and 11:00am worship services as long as the CDC guidelines indicate we are in a “yellow” or “green” ranking.
    2. Given an uncertainty of the future, Council elected to wait another year to resume Easter Breakfast.
ELCA Disaster Relief for Tornadoe Victums
Click here to donate
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church 2021 Annual Report
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Sunday Worship Service
10:00 AM
Click Here to Go to the YouTube Service
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2022 Grant Process for
Mission Endowment Fund
Morning Prayer service Wednesdays at 
10am in the Grace chapel
Youth from Grace, St. John Roman Catholic and Westminster Presbyterian churches spent an afternoon at Waynesboro Area Refuge Ministry, sorting donated clothing for the Cold Weather Shelter, cleaning up fallen branches from the WARM House yard, and learning about the reality of homelessness in our area, including some fellow students at school.
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Grace Youth participate in a "Green Hanger Project" - Grace youth with youth from four other downtown-area congregations for the second Youth Service Group event, that kicked off November of last year.  This time, the Youth met at Embrace Community Center, located in the building of the former Wayne Hills United Methodist Church.  

The Youth sorted through clothes donated primarily for High School youth, to have good clothes for school and the seasons of the year, which is the focus of Embrace's "Green Hanger Project."  In addition to sorting clothes male/female, and warm/cold weather, the youth were also entrusted to sort clothes for wear and tear, and for "wearability" - clothes would be the type that youth would want to wear without being made fun of - with the usable clothes not selected to be donated to local senior facilities with populations who do not have resources to buy their own clothing.  Some of our Youth also prepared "orders" of clothing placed by Youth in need, based on the gender and clothing sizes, picking from sorted clothing and shoes from the Green Hanger Project.  

Pastor Jenelle Watson, who serves as Embrace's director, as well as serving at Calvary UMC in Stuart's Draft, gave a wonderful history of Wayne Hills UMC and Embrace, and shared with the Youth the importance of providing these clothes to local youth.  She began this clothing ministry to youth after noticing children in the local school she was volunteering at wearing summer clothing in winter, and the same clothing each day.  Further investigation revealed the need was far beyond just a family or two. The ministry now serves hundreds in our area, and the idea has spread to other areas of the country.  
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Waynesboro Youth 
​prepared a dinner meal for over 40 Afghan refugees who are staying at Massanetta Springs conference just outside of Harrisonburg.  These refugees helped the American mission in Afghanistan, and could not stay in their own country because of fears for the safety and/or life.

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A group of 32 from Grace (six from Grace) Westminster Pres, First Baptist, St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic, and St. John Episcopal churches assembled a meal of chicken, flavored rice, fruits, vegetables and dessert.  The group also prepared cards and made a video of greeting and well wishes for the refugees.  

The Refugees are staying at Massanetta into the New Year;  Church World Service is working to establish the refugees in the area in the New Year, and will be working with churches to provide housing, supplies, and perhaps most importantly, friendship to these families.  

Work Day At Grace Lutheran

 
We are a congregation with a rich history and a bright future. At Grace Church, we proclaim God’s amazing grace and all-inclusive love by welcoming people from all walks of life and different faiths.

Following our Lord’s teachings and example of embracing hospitality, we truly embrace our purpose statement:

“A Community of Servants Sharing in the Word and Work of Jesus.”
We are simply glad you are with us.
​


Pastor Pingel's News Virginian
​Article
December 2021
Pingel: Pandemic seems to be speeding time up

January 2022!

We will be coming upon a new year once again. Many have pondered how time flies by. Oddly, the pandemic seems to be speeding things up, rather than slowing things down.



Continue reading
​Tithe.ly Donate to Grace Lutheran
Tithe.ly User Guide 
COVID-19 Resources
​
Virginia Synod Resources

ELCA Resources

Bishop Eaton Talks about the
​COVID-19 Pandemic
A group of thirteen Grace members and friends came together on Monday, December 21st to construct the stage that will be used for the Christmas Eve Worship Service at 4pm.  Special thanks to Jack Eckstrom for designing the stage and leading the construction team!

Working on The Advent Wreath


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.GRACE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH
500 South Wayne Avenue, Waynesboro, VA 22980
(540) 949-6171

​Grace.lc@comcast.net
Office Hours:  Monday - Thursday: 8:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.; 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
                          Friday: CLOSED

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We Would Love to Have You Visit Soon!

  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • Mission Statement
    • Staff
    • Opportunities >
      • Ways to Help
      • Worship Opportunities
      • Music Opportunities
      • Education Opportunities
      • Youth Opportunities
  • Weekly Bulletin
  • Grace Notes (Newsletter)
  • Calendar
  • Tithely Donation
  • Outreach
    • Local Outreach
    • Global Outreach
    • Special Events in the Wider Church
  • Grace's History
    • 125 YEAR TIME LINE
    • Short History
    • FORMER PASTORS
    • 125th Anniversary
    • Trinity Lutheran History
  • Sermons (audio)
  • Worship Service (Video)
  • Stewardship
  • Annual Meeting Reports
  • Pastor Pingel's News Virginian Articles
  • Antiracism
    • Books on Racism
    • Movies
    • More resources
  • What's happening at Grace
  • 2022 Grant Process for Mission Endowment Fund