ADMINISTRATIVE MINISTRY TEAM

The Administrative Ministry Team, consisting of Grace Church's Consistory, with guidance provided by the pastor, is responsible for all functions relative to the operation of the church. The Consistory is elected by the Congregation to maintain a fresh and relevant vision for Grace Church and to administer the finances, properties, programs of the church, consistent with the vision. The 2011 Consistory members are:

Nancy Bracht, President	Janet VonGunten
Ruth Kaser, Treasurer	Rhonda McGuire
John Seever	Lynn Reynolds
Joyce Halter	Von Over
Ray Morgan	Rick Thome
Nancy Kirby	Ruth Pieger
Don Cammel	David Evans
Lori Oliver	Wayne Pressler
Cindy Cammel	Jeff Johansen
Kathy Spence	Dan Young, Pastor

SPECIAL EVENTS MINISTRY TEAM

The historic Grace Sanctuary Guild has transformed into the new Special Events Ministry Team continues to carry out the functions of the Guild. The Special Events Ministry Team plans and coordinates churchwide events and fundraisers. They plan a wide range of events for the year, including, The Swiss Steak Dinner, a summer Ice Cream Social with our neighbors Trinity Lutheran, a Christmas Dance with the Swingin' 78s, and several Bake Sales.  This team welcomes creative ideas about how to reach out into the community with special events, as well as creating exciting events for the GLO church family.

EVANGELISM MINISTRY TEAM

The Grace Evangelism Ministry Team, led by Rick Thome, is responsible for creating increased visibility of Grace Church in our community, and helping people who are unchurched or "de"churched understand that the church of Jesus Christ has a Social Gospel message different than they may have understood in the past. The Evangelism Team's goal is to take the relevant Good News of the Social Gospel...i.e., God's radical saving grace for all, peace and non-violence, social justice, honoring and protecting all of God's wonderful creation...to all who have not heard it, and to invite and welcome them into our warm, accepting, affirming, and loving family of faith. We believe that is how lives are transformed by God, through Christ.

Examples of the work of our Evangelism Ministry Team include creative marketing of Grace Church in conjunction with our national office's "God Is Still Speaking" Campaign. We call ourselves "Team Grace" as we wear out burgandy golf shirts with our logo. The team offers a monthly coffee hour fellowship in Fellowship Hall following the last worship service of the month. This Team also manages the Grace UCC Website, which has had 1,000 visitors over the past year! Several new folks attending GLO report they found our church via this website.

WORSHIP ARTS MINISTRY TEAM

The Grace Worship Arts Ministry Team, chaired by liturgical dancer Kim Gravis, is responsible for helping the pastor and the music director, Don Kaser, design and lead the worship services of the church. We believe God is our "audience" during worship, and we, God's people, are responsible to worship God with sincerity, passion, and excellence. The Worship Arts Ministry Team is dedicated to offer the best worship possible, and accepts the responsibility to lead our congregation in quality worship that includes instrumental music, hymnody, choral anthems and responses, reading of Scripture, the written and spoken word, preaching, prayers, and visual liturgical arts. In addition to weekly Sunday morning worship services, the Team also plans and prepares for special seasonal services, including Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. Periodically, Grace's gifted choir, directed by Don Kaser, presents seasonal cantatas or other special music beyond their Sunday morning anthems.
Lifelong member Nancy Mackin and Beverly Murgatroyd serve as coordinators of our monthly service of Holy Communion (First Sunday of each month), setting the Table, recruiting servers, and cleaning and storing the Communion Ware.

Our pianist David Kunkleman and organist Shirely Angiulo (who has partially retired) provide their unique stylings on Sunday morning.

Rev. Daniel Young, GLO’s pastor, offers messages each week which are centered in Scripture, and provide fresh Social Gospel perspectives and understanding to Biblical texts that all too often have been used to "tear down" rather than "build up" God's people.

PROPERTIES MINISTRY TEAM

Under the able leadership Von Over, and her assistant, husband David, the Properties Ministry Team manages and maintains all of the Grace Church properties, including the Sanctuary, Offices, Education building, Fellowship Hall, and a rental home that was built as a parsonage. Their challenging task includes maintaining all of the grounds and parking lot associated with the church.

SOCIAL ACTION MINISTRY TEAM

Our Social Action Ministry Team now consists of several social justice advocates in the congregation, chaired by Donna Heeke, who keeps the congregation aware of several key issues to keep us informed. We rely heavily on our United Church of Christ national office to keep us informed and follow their lead on a broad array of social justice issues in our attempts to remain consistent with United Church of Christ General Synod positions. Currently we are following Health Care Reform, Human Trafficing, and Haiti Relief.

The new GLO Green Team is chaired by Rhonda McGuire, and is helping our church and our members become greener and greener as we become better stewards of God’s creation, and become sensitive to environmental issues.

LOCAL MINISTRIES MINISTRY TEAM

GLO has become a host site for the Interfaith Hospitality Network. IHN provides temporary shelter to families without homes. Our education wing has been renovated to be a family room and bedrooms for up to 14 people, including children, for an entire week, every nine weeks, rotating with eight other churches throughout the year. The program at GLO is run and staffed entirely by volunteers of the our church, with meal and supply assistance from other churches in the area.

Grace UCC is a covenant member of Barberton Area Community Ministries, which is a community church-based organization that helps low-income families in Barberton and Norton with food, housing, and utilities assistance, offers budget counseling and problem-solving advice, and refers any caller to appropriate community services.
Grace UCC hosts the Wadsworth-Norton-Barberton Peace Studies Group which meets monthly to discuss issues of peace and non-violence, and is active in community events that promote peace and non-violence. Several of our members are active members of this group which has been working for peace and non-violence in this area for many years.
Grace Church's Hearts and Hands Ministry has assisted individuals and non-profit organizations in the area by providing cash assistance. Examples include:

Barberton Area Community Ministries

Interfaith Hospitality Network

Battered Women's Shelter

Open M (Meal Center)

Esther Ryan Shoe Fund

Society for the Blind

Habitat For Humanity

Individuals needing one time assistance

SPIRITUAL FORMATION MINISTRY TEAM

The Spiritual Formation Ministry Team, chaired by Joyce Halter, has under its purview Children and Adult Education, and other programs and events that are designed to further the spiritual growth and discipleship of all who make up the family of faith at Grace UCC of Loyal Oak. With the recent arrival a several new families to GLO, our Children's Church School continues to evolve…to meet the needs of the families. Sunday School is offered for elementary children during the worship service.

Teachers include Linda Beaty and Joyce Halter.

Mary Ann Schumacher, Donna Heeke, Jane Ruckman, Bev Murgatroyd, and Janet VonGunter staff our nursery during worship. An Adult/Teen Class meets each week at 9:30 a.m., using the Lectionary as curriculum, and opportunities also take place through seasonal Spiritual Formation Classes conducted during the year facilitated by Pastor Dan Young and other volunteer teachers. Past studies include The Book of Jeremiah, The Book of Mark, a study on Images of God and Prayer, and The God of Jesus, by Stephen Patterson, and The Transforming God, by Tyron Inbody. These classes are held on Wednesday Evenings, and are announced in GraceNews and Grace's Calendar of Events on this website.