The Gallery

Position for Hire

The Gallery Covenant Church is seeking to hire a part-time Director for their new ministry The Masterpiece Project. Job description can be viewed here. Resumes will be received through Friday, Jan. 13th and can be emailed to Pastor Brad Kindall at bradkindall@gallerycovenant.org. 

 

Reminder, Gallery, we will not be meeting Sunday morning, Jan. 1.

A merry Christmas from Pastor Brad

Gallery,

As I begin to write this I find my self flooded with emotion. I am so thankful for you. I am thankful for your faithfulness to the call God has placed upon us. Planting a church is not for the faint of heart. Church plants are born out of a community of people committed to moving beyond simple Sunday morning attendance; churches who make servanthood part of the very DNA of being the church. 

I see this faithfulness in action every week in you. Here are some recent highlights:

• One of you chose not to eat your lunch after already ordering it and being served last Monday because you remembered our call to fast and pray for those far from God.
• One of you gave me a simple and quick "yes" when I asked you to bring a meal to a family in our community who is losing a loved one.
• One of you brought a cake last Sunday after church simply to bless the community.
• Two of you showed up to pray alongside me for an hour before the service last Sunday. 
• 3 of you show up every Saturday to walk arond our neighborhood and pray for the kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.
• Over 20 of us showed up at Urban Ventures last Tuesday to cook and serve and smile for the Latino families of the Learning Lab. AND we gave away $1250 in Target gift cards to families in need this Christmas!

And, of course, that's not to mention all of you who show up weekly to serve in the nursery, children's ministry, set up and take down our equipment, serve our children and youth, play and sing in our music ministry, visit people in the hospital...I could go on and on and on.

 

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! 

Your giving helps put me in the Christmas spirit.

 

If you're in town, I hope you'll be joining us Saturday morning for our Christmas Eve breakfast and worship service.We'll gather downstairs at Steppingstone at 9:30 AM. Please bring a dish to share. After breakfast we'll sing and pray and celebrate the birth of the Christ child. It will be beautiful. 

 

Reminder: We will not be meeting for Sunday morning worship Dec. 25 or Jan. 1.

 

Also, if you have not given to support The Gallery this month, please remember your year-end giving. Financial gifts to The Gallery can be counted toward this year's giving as long as they are received or post-marked by Dec. 31st. Here are 3 ways to give:

• Bring your gift Saturday morning to the service.
• Give online here.
• Send a check to The Gallery Covenant Church, PO BOX 305, St. Paul Park, MN 55071.

May the birth of our Lord and Savior remind you of the immense love God has for you!

 

 

Merry Christmas!

Pastor Brad

 

A Gallery Christmas

SUNDAY MORNING--Hunger:
Gallery, it's been very encouraging to discover how many of you are joining me in this season of prayer and fasting for the major poverties of the human condition--physical, relational, and spiritual hunger. This week we will explore how the Christ-child fulfills our spiritual hunger. It'll be a great day of Christmas carols, prayer, Word, and communion. Also, a big thank you to Julie Capel who has been creating the wonderful daily devotionals for this season. You can find them here.

CHRISTMAS EVE MORNING AT THE GALLERY:
With Christmas Eve falling on a weekend this year, we know many of you will be travelling. So, we have prepared a wonderful, intimate, beautiful Christmas Eve breakfast and worship service to get you on the road that day! Come celebrate the reason for the season at Steppingstone Theatre Christmas Eve morning at 9:30 AM. 
Bring a breakfast treat to share. 
We'll provide paper products and beverages.

THE GALLERY GIVES THIS TUESDAY:
The Gallery has been asked to help support Urban Ventures with an event on Tuesday, Dec 20th. This event is a semester showcase for one of their inner city ministries that encourages the arts in students grades 1-8. Students will have the opportunity to creatively express themselves through drama, photography, videography, art and theater through an evening showcase for their families and peers. This is a unique opportunity for our community to do something special and unique this holiday season as well as give us glimpse of an event that The Gallery could very well be hosting for families in St. Paul in the very near future!

Ways you can help:

Cook: Join a team of Gallery folk to prepare and serve dinner for students and their families (approximately 120 people, kitchen facility provided). 

Bake: Holiday Cookies/Bars for the event. Bring your baked goods to Gallery on Sunday, Dec. 18th or make arrangements to deliver them to Rita Lindstedt by noon on Dec. 20th. 

Purchase: a $25 Target gift cards - and bring to the Gallery by Dec. 18th. (We need one gift card for each of the 50 families that will be present) Thus far to date we have received 13 of the 50 gift cards needed.

Celebrate: Help celebrate what the students have done by sitting with families and students through out the evening’s meal and program. There has been a request for anyone with Spanish speaking skills to help out with the event!

Options to Serve:
Dinner Prep: 3-5:00
Serve Dinner 5:15 - 6:15
Program 6:30-7:30

Please sign up for a shift, bake some cookies, purchase a $25 Target gift card(s) and of course show up to help celebrate!  Please contact Ministry Director Rita Lindstedt (ritalindstedt@gallerycovenant.org) if you have any questions or to sign up to help with this event.

 

Plan Ahead [note changes from last week's email]:

• Dec. 25th - No Gallery Service
• Jan. 1 - No Gallery Service
• Jan.  8 - Gallery Church Potluck after Service
• Jan. 15 - Mission Partner Class, pt. 1 after church (last chance to take the MP class before Congregational Meeting on Jan. 29)
• Jan. 22 - Mission Partner Class, pt. 2 after church
• Jan. 29th - Masterpiece Sunday and our first Congregational Meeting after church
• Feb. 12 - Listening to God potluck after church

 

End of Year Financial Giving:
If you call The Gallery home, please take a moment to give your offering this month. We would love to end 2011 with a great month of giving to help us meet budget. You can give online by clicking here.