The
installation of the Administrative Board was held on 4th January
1981.
Boy Scouts of America Sunday was held on 8th February. On 22nd
February,
a deputation team from the Wesley Foundation led the morning service.
In preparation for the Lenten
season, an Ash
Wednesday service was held. An opportunity for sacrificial
commitment
was given to everyone. It consisted of a program of attendance at
church, giving, service, and daily devotionals for a six week
period.
On 15th March 1981, the Covenant Players presented a Lenten drama,
"Transient
Gloria," at the morning service.
The three year building
campaign started in
1978 came to an end with $105,000 received out of $152,000
pledged.
The fund remained open, and church members were encouraged to continue
to give to the fund.
On Palm Sunday, the Chancel
Choir presented
the Cantata, "No Greater Love" at the morning service. A special
Maundy Thursday communion service and Ritual of Darkness was held on
16th
April 1981. Rev. Ron Ball was the evangelist for an Easter
revival.
His wife, Amy, led the "Kids Krusade."
The Administrative Board called
a Church Conference
on 11th May 1981 to respond to an offer by Louisiana Tech to purchase
the
church building and to evaluate a proposed building program. The
Church Conference voted to support the proposal of the building
committee.
The church building and property would be sold to Tech for
$258,000.
The trustees were authorized to secure a building loan of up to
$325,000.
The building committee would proceed with design of a facility to be
built
on the new church property of not less than 10,000 square feet.
Bob Jones was the general
manager of the Pony
Express Run for the pledging of the 1982 budget which also included a
two
year building fund program.
The sanctuary was full when
approximately 275
persons attended the Ruston Public High School Choir Christmas
presentation
at the evening service on 6th December 1981. The Chancel Choir
presented
"Love, Joy, and Peace" on 13th December 1981. The Christmas Eve
candlelight
communion service and ritual of lights closed out the Christmas
festivities.
On 26th December 1981, Bob
Jones and Jack Moran
left Shreveport with a work group headed for Roatan for a two week
mission
trip. The work at Camp Bay included building of a new church,
dispensing
medical care, and conducting a Vacation Bible School. Grace
Church
and Wesley Chapel raised over $3,500 for this mission project.
Personal note from the
series editor:
These histories have relied
heavily on the
work of Heinrich Kruse who painstakingly wrote a history of Grace
Church
from 1950 through 1981. In addition to the facts, Mr. Kruse, as I
knew him, interspersed his history with Scripture. I am in debt
to
his dedication. Reading his work has brought back fond
memories.
My job of presenting to you a yearly countdown will be much more
difficult
without him. I will close this, his last history, with his own
opening
words.
"Some of the most
outstanding events in the
life of Grace Church are recorded in the following pages.
Starting
with its founding and organization and going through its further
development
the happenings are recorded, as objective as possible, in chronological
order. The reader will only find a description and enumeration of
some important and known facts as they occurred. These pages
therefore
can not be anything but a handy reference, because the real history of
Grace Church, that is the impact it has made and is still making, far
and
wide, is being written daily by each of its members."
|
|
