Grace United Church of Christ Allentown, PA

09/13/2026

Today at Grace! Join us at 10:30, in person or online!

This week at Grace UCC, we begin the new Narrative Lectionary year ...

09/09/2026

Hello Grace Church and friends!

We hope your September is off to a great start!

We’ll be moving back to our church-year schedule starting this Sunday, September 13 which is also Rally Day!

Our Rally Day worship service starts at 10:30AM. Please join us for a joyful liturgy, a message about beginning again, and a blessing of the backpacks!

Before the service, we will celebrate the new church year with our free Pancake Breakfast! Details have been shared in church, in our newsletter, and through our email list, but we wanted to mention it here as well. If you are planning to attend, please let us know by emailing or calling the office so we know how many to prepare for.

Other September Celebrations:

Confirmation: September 20

Join us at 9AM for the first week of the new Sunday School season with opportunities for children and adults.

Our Confirmation service (10:30) will celebrate our three wonderful young Confirmands, and we’ll be joined by friends from our partner churches UCC Greenawalds and St. John’s UCC Fullerton with cake and fellowship afterwards. Please join us!

Harvest Home: September 27

Sunday School continues at 9AM, and at 10:30 we’ll be reviving our Harvest Home traditions. Please bring a non-perishible food item if able to share during our offering. All donations will be used to establish a small pantry here at the church to help bless those in our immediate community who may be facing periodic or acute needs.

Looking Ahead:

We have much to celebrate in September, and October will bring the return of our Grace Basket Social (Oct 2), World Communion Sunday (Oct 4) and a new opportunity for fellowship and outreach with Trunk or Treat (Oct 30). We’re looking forward to joining together in worship, service, and fellowship here at Grace and in the wider world, and we are blessed by all who are on this journey of faith, hope, and love.

See you soon!

09/06/2026

Join us this morning!

Join us for worship at Grace United Church of Christ in Allentown, ...

09/01/2026

Hello, friends! This past Sunday at Grace, we continued our journey through the Ten Commandments and what they look like considered through the lens of Jesus' famous words in Matthew 22 about what the greatest commandment really is.

This Sunday, we'll look at the last of the Ten Commandments "do not covet" a little more closely and consider what it means to live lives believing that God is enough. We hope you can join us!

08/30/2026

Good morning! Join us today!

What does it actually mean to love our neighbor?This Sunday, we c...

08/24/2026

Dear Friends,

Yesterday, we continued our journey through the Ten Commandments with the first commandments God gives to Israel: “You shall have no other gods before me,” the command not to make idols, the call to honor God’s name, and the command to remember the Sabbath. We read these words alongside Jesus’ Great Commandment in Matthew 22:34–40: to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

The setting of the Ten Commandments is important. God begins by saying, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” God does not tell Israel to obey in order to earn freedom. God has already set them free before ever giving them the law. God frees them, reminds them of the covenent God has with with them to bless all people, and then gives them the commandments as a way to live that blessing.

The commandment about Sabbath makes this especially clear. Sabbath means stopping and recognizing that our lives cannot be measured only by what we accomplish or produce. Israel had known life under Pharaoh, where their worth was measured in bricks and their labor never seemed to be enough. Now God tells them that there must be a time to stop.

I love that that rest is not only for the powerful. The commandment specifically includes children, servants, foreigners, and even animals. Everyone is given rest. The freedom God gives us is meant to shape the way we treat one another.

That connects beautifully with Jesus’ words in Matthew: Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself. Our devotion to God, and indeed, the fruits of the Spirit that the Holy Spirit is building in us...in short, our Christlikeness... is reflected in the patience, mercy, care, and dignity we extend to the people around us.

For those who are unable to be physically present with us on Sunday mornings, Sabbath can have another meaning as well. Our connection as the church is not measured simply by where we are able to go or what we are able to do. We remain part of one community, joined together in faith and prayer.

This week, whatever you are facing, may God give you times of genuine rest, the assurance of God’s presence, and the peace that comes from knowing that we belong to God and to one another.

Blessings!

Pastor Chris

08/23/2026

Join us today!

08/16/2026

Join us today at 10, in person or online!

The Ten Commandments: First Things First | Sunday Worship – August ...

08/12/2026

Hello! Over the past few weeks, we have noticed far fewer vehicles being parked in our lot when they're not supposed to be. Thank you for respecting the needs of our members and the Grace Church community. We also want to continue to invite all of our neighbors to get to know Grace Church better, either through our upcoming events or through worshipping with us sometime soon. All are welcome! Todos son bienvenidos!