Grace United Church of Christ
623 Cleveland St
Allentown, PA 18103

From The Pulpit

No Substitute

Major Cliff Hollman is a Salvation Army leader who has worked with many people facing all sorts of problems.  He’s seen firsthand how people’s lives change after accepting Christ as Lord.  They’re able to come to grips with their difficulties and to find help for the future.





It has been especially true when the new believers associate with other believers.

According to Major Hollman, “There is a support mechanism that comes, spiritually speaking, through attendance at a church where there is a network that is able to bring people into a fold and surround them with support.”


Whether we are new Christians, or life-long church goers, we still need the support of other Christians.  The Christian community plays an important role in the life of discipleship because this community is nothing less than the body of Christ in the world today.  It is among brothers
and sisters in faith that we:

  • experience the presence of Jesus Christ, living and incarnate;

  • come together for worship, confess our sins, hear the gospel and       receive Communion;

  • accept church discipline through the gentle guidance of others;

  • learn, through the successes and failures around us, what it means to live a life of discipleship

“There is no substitute for living around other Christians,” write Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon of Duke University Divinity School.  “A primary way of learning to be disciples is by being in contact with others who are disciples.  We grow in discipleship as we strive with others to hear God’s Word, feed the hungry, welcome strangers, and love one another.”

We are blessed at Grace UCC to be part of a caring community of disciples.  We come together to worship, to grow in our understanding of God’s Word, and to express the care and concern of Christ for all of God’s children.  There are many opportunities this fall to participate in the ministries of the church:  in Christian Education (Sunday School, Bible Study, special speakers); to reach out to others within our faith community (“Called to Care,” “Helping Hands/Healing Hearts,” “Feed Our Flock,” the Prayer Chain); to support wider church ministries to the needy (Food Bank, the Crop Walk); and to fellowship with other church members (Women of Grace).

You are an important part of the body of Christ.  There is room for everybody!  We need you - and you need the church.  There is no substitute for being with other Christians.  See you in church!

In Christian Love,
Rev. LaVerne W. Passman, Pastor