Grace Abounding

Enjoy these glimpses of our church family taken during the historic snowfall that Alexandria experienced in January and February 2010.

One of the kids from GCA playing in the snow.

The entrance to Cameron Station, the community where our church meets in West End Alexandria.

Windshield wipers peeking out of the snow.

Several members met to build a snowman at Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School where our church meets on Sundays for worship and fellowship.

A veritable mountain of snow, an unusual sight in Alexandria

p.s. Thanks to Amanda Lee, Peter Beninate, and Christy Matías for the photos.

This Labor Day weekend, we’re going to be giving back to our community once again. We’re grateful for the reception Alexandria has given us as a new church in the community, and we want to say thank you!

• Free cold bottled water: In Cameron Station at Ben Brenman Park & Alexander Boothe Parks this Sunday from 12-3 pm.
• Free organic dog treats: If you’re at the dog parks at Ben Brenman Park & Cameron Station, we’re giving away free organic dog treats for your pets too! They’re all-natural organic treats baked by Buzz Bakery, an Alexandria favorite.

Look for us this Sunday from 12-3 pm in these West End Alexandria parks.

During the last week of July our church focused seven days on “Giving Back To Our Community.” We got our hands dirty by doing grounds keeping at Ben Brenman Park. Several teams weeded around trees & sidewalks while others picked up trash. Other volunteers roamed the park, giving out 300 free chilled water bottles to residents who were there. If you received a free water bottle, we warmly invite you to visit Grace Church of Alexandria. We meet Sundays at 10:30 am, just a few blocks away from the park, at the Samuel Tucker Elementary School in Cameron Station.

A hearty thank you goes to the 16 young adults from Heritage Bible Church in South Carolina who spent an entire week serving our church and helping us give back to Alexandria. They went from home to home of our members, doing yard work, delivering groceries, and babysitting to give parents’ a night out. They were a visible demonstration to us of the kind of self-giving love that God gives to us generously through Christ. They also put up over 300 posters inviting city residents to come worship with us at Grace Church of Alexandria. You can now spot our posters in Old Town Alexandria, Kingstowne, Springfield, Crystal City, and Pentagon City. Thank you, friends, for contributing to our church family and to our community!

Our church family recently had a fun night out in Del Ray, a peaceful main street community in Alexandria. We attended a special event at The Dairy Godmother, a delicious custard creamery. In honor of the Dairy Godmother’s German Wisconsin heritage, March 15th was “Brat Night” (that is, bratwurst, not as in “you little brat!”). They offer sauerkraut, bratwurst, and frozen custard to the community along with live accordion music.

The place was packed with hundreds of people inside the tiny shop and filling up the sidewalk outside. There’s nothing else quite so good as cherry cobbler with vanilla frozen custard from this wonderful Alexandria creamery. It provided our church family a fun night out of fellowship together in our community.

Open for Brat Night!

The accordion players really got into it.

Aah, what a great dinner, topped off with frozen custard. Thanks to The Dairy Godmother for providing our church a relaxing time where we could laugh and share life together.

Last Sunday, God granted our church a rich time of fellowship & unity with Engleside Baptist Church, another local church in Alexandria. We celebrated a joint baptism & worship service where two from our congregation and four from theirs were baptized, picturing the power of the Gospel! Garrett shared our church plant’s story. Garrett, Shayne, and I fielded questions about church planting. I then spoke from 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 on Treasuring the Gospel. This was the closing service of their missions conference, and we were honored to celebrate our first baptisms and our first joint worship service with another church. We can’t wait to worship jointly with them again!

As the Spirit forged genuine love and joy between our congregations, we experienced firsthand the truth of Psalm 133:1  – “How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” Thank you, Engleside Baptist, for your love for God and for the greater body of Christ!

Incidentally, a serious electrical fire broke out on Monday, the next day, in Engleside’s church & school building. Everyone was evacuated safely. We’re praying the building will be cleaned of chemical and smoke damage for them to worship there this Sunday. Please lift up the brothers & sisters of Engleside Baptist in your prayers.

Storytelling, Face Paint, and Balloon Art
Our church family and teens from Truth Baptist Church in East Hartford, CT, told stories in Alexandria parks and coffee shops on August 31, 2008. The teens made balloon art, painted faces, told interactive stories with props and costumes, and handed out popsicles. We had a great reception from kids and parents in Del Ray, Cameron Station, and Cameron Perks. Several families asked about our church and how they can visit.

Expecting The Unexpected
The teens from Connecticut intended to arrive Friday night at 9:30 pm. But their van broke down on the NJ Turnpike. Pastor Matt Harper went to the Philadelphia airport and picked up another rental van…after 1 AM! They arrived after 4 AM, quite exhausted. Jane Coates, Christy Matias, and my brother Nathan Matias all pitched in and led the first storytelling session the next morning while the teens caught some sleep.

Back On Track
By lunchtime the teens had taken over and kept many kids and parents captivated through their stories and activities! Thank you, brothers and sisters from Truth Baptist Church! You encouraged our congregation and served our community well.

Join us this Saturday, August 30st, 2008, for interactive storytelling, balloon art, and a surprise at local Alexandria parks and a coffee house! Kids ten and under are invited.

11 AM, Alexander Boothe Park – by Samuel Tucker Elementary School in Cameron Station

2 PM, Mt. Vernon Community School’s Playground – in Del Ray

4 PM, Cameron Perks Coffee House – in Cameron Station

Kids will hear and help tell classic children’s stories like “Casey at Bat” and “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.”

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