The Link

Conversations Game Night!

This Wednesday join us for a special edition of Conversations! The adults will be having a game night! We will have our normal prayer time at 5:30, meal at 6pm, and kids and students will be dismissed at 6:30pm for their Wednesday Night Ministries. At this time the adults will enjoy a board game night for fellowship and fun! So bring your favorite board game and a dessert or some post-dinner snacks to share! We will still conclude at our normal time of 7:45. So please bring a board game that can be complete in approximately an hour or less! Look forward to seeing you there!

Pastor Ritchey’s Movie Release | Showing Added!

For anyone not able to yet attend a showing, we have reserved a theater for a final showing. You can go to theauthormovie.com/kansas-city/ to buy tickets for this show on September 29th at 6:15 PM at Liberty B&B. If finances are a hindrance for you to see the film, please reach out to Ritchey at ritchey@gashland.org who can get you a ticket.

Around the Table Sign Ups | Today!

We are so blessed by our Lord. We just made our 13th principal payment of $1007.28 for a total of $249,365.96 in principal payments on our mortgage note balance. You will remember that we started at $354,578. We are at 70% of our goal. Our current balance on our note is $95,295.90. With current payments and anticipated receipts we are on track to pay off our note before our renewal date in August 2023. We are grateful to our Lord, His hand and all of His people.

Debt Free in ’23 Update

How is Gashland Doing Financially?

Long term, Gashland is financially strong. In the short term, we may have a little different story. At the end of August, Gashland had an adjusted net loss of about ($57,250). Now we should understand that having a net loss at the end of August is nothing new. Gashland had a net loss before, in fact the last four of five January > August YTD periods had losses. The net loss is a giving challenge and not an expense challenge. For the most part, our expenses are on target. The Finance Team does believe, with your help, we can make up this net loss by December 31 – our fiscal year end.

You can help. If you haven’t done so already, please bring your gifts up to date per your 2022 commitment or pledge. If you are in the fortunate position to be able to give a little extra, please consider doing so. We want you to know that the Lord has continued to bless Gashland and we know with His continued blessing on each one of us, we can have success. For many people, these are tough times.

Abide | A New Ministry for Young Adults & Young Families

We are excited to announce the start of a new ministry at Gashland EPC called “Abide.” This ministry is for youngish adults and adults with young families. Its design and purpose is to help us abide with one another (grow in community, encourage one another, share life) and abide in Jesus. Abide will meet weekly on Sunday Mornings starting October 30th during the Sunday School hour from 9:45-10:45am in the ministry center lobby. Coffee and pastries will be present! Our aim on Sunday mornings is to have some light teaching, discussion, prayer, and then a time for us to connect, fellowship, and share life. Besides meeting on Sunday mornings, Abide will host an event or two each month for us to connect with one another! If you have any questions, please reach out by email to Michael Morefield at michael@gashland.org.

Getting to Know Gashland | Starting October 9th

Interested in becoming a member at Gashland or simply want to know more about Gashland? We will be offering our new members class, “Getting to Know Gashland” starting on October 9th! We will meet during the Sunday school hour, 9:45 am-10:45 am. This 6 week class gives you an opportunity to discover what we believe and who we are, learn about our various ministries, and also meet and hear from our leadership and staff. It is led by Pastor Ritchey Cable. We look forward to seeing you there! Sign up on the back of the Communications Card if you are planning to attend!

Fall Fest | October 15th

Join us on Saturday, October 15 at 5pm on the Gashland Grounds for our Annual Fall Fest! We will be having a chili cookoff, fire pits, hot dogs, smores, and yard games! For those who can cook a mean pot of chili and want to enter the competition, just bring a crockpot of your famous chili to share at 5pm. The chili’s will then be judged, and the winner will receive a prize and some not so eternal glory! 🙂 Be sure to bring a lawn chair and get ready for a relaxing night of fun and fellowship! If you have lawn games for people to play, please bring them with you! And if you are willing to let us borrow a fire pit for the evening or have some firewood you are willing to donate, please send an email to relationships@gashland.org. Thanks so much! We can’t wait to see you there!

Trunk or Treat | October 29th

One of our biggest community outreach events each year is Trunk or Treat! We are officially starting our process to collect candy. Our goal is to collect 20,000 pieces of candy! You can drop off candy anytime at the church office. If you are interested, there are a lot of other ways you can help make Trunk or Treat possible as well. We need 20 people to help decorate their cars as trunks, serve as a greeter, run registration, and help set up/tear down tables and chairs! Sign ups for these other volunteer positions will be available in the lobby and on the back of the communication card starting October 2nd. Thanks for loving our community!

Service Opportunities & Donations

Outreach Collection | City Union Mission

Our Church and City Union Mission are partnering together for collecting Toilet Paper, Bottled Water and Canned Peaches and Pears. A mission truck will be located in our south parking lot on Saturday, September 24th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. As you might know, City Union Mission goes through 3,500 rolls of Toilet Paper and lots of bottled water in a month. To make things easier for you in case you can’t be there on the 24th, Joyce Grady will park her beige Sedona Van from 9:30 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. by the patio on the east side of church for dropping off your donation on the following Sundays: September 4th, 11th, and 18th. Donations can also be put in the Mission Box during the week located on the 2nd floor across from the Mission Board, by the Chapel. Hope you can come by on the 24th for your saying Hello to our Representative at the Mission, Dennis Ellis. Thank you and God Bless!

Eleos & City Union Mission Service Opportunity

GEPC folks that like to crochet and/or knit, how would you like to help the poor and homeless for winter again this year? We need homemade scarves, hats, and mittens/gloves for Eleos and City Union Mission to pass out to adults and kids who need them. We were VERY BLESSED last year by folks who provided these items. I would be happy to donate the yarn for you to use if you can donate the time and energy which would be a BIG BLESSING! November 6th will be the cutoff date. If interested please contact Joyce Grady, (816) 419-5625; jegrady1983@gmail.com

Operation Christmas Child

It is almost Shoebox time! Boxes, gift suggestions,, and labels will be available for pick-up in the lobby upstairs and by the ministry center beginning October 2, 2022. The cost for postage has gone up to $10 per box. To quote Franklin Graham, “Every shoebox gift is an opportunity to reach a child with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is about telling children around the world and their families that God loves them. He hasn’t forgotten them. We’re taking the Good News to the Ends of the Earth and doing it through a shoebox.” Pray about how you want to participate in this ministry in 2022.