Nurture Ministries

Parish Nurse, Rose-Marie Lyman

My calling to GUMC as its first Parish Nurse happened November 1999. After completing early education classes at St. Joseph's Hospital, networking with other nurses there and in Harford County, learning the scope and standards of parish nurse practice from the Maryland Board of Nursing, obtaining a yearly RN license from them and keeping one in Vermont, and buying my own liability insurance, I was ready to start 24/7. I use the booklet written by Reverend Granger Westburg, a Lutheran minister, who started this ministry in the early 1970's. He believed "the presence of a parish nurse through all of life's stages offers an opportunity for intentional health." We are trained in holistic ministry. I began with an assessment of the ongoing health care already in motion by parishioners in this supportive and caring church. Open arms welcomed me into every group. My goals are to be an active listener of needs, to offer creative suggestions so that persons may maintain their own control over their health, to offer forums for learning, and to represent GUMC wherever I happen to find myself. I am prepared to minister to body and spirit. I will continue to upgrade new self-learning to keep effective.

Prayer Ministry

A Prayer Fellowship is held in the church Conference Room at 10:30 each Sunday morning and is open to all who wish to attend. It concludes in time to attend 11 am worship. A Prayer Chain is also available. There are prayer request slips in the sanctuary pew racks to write the name of someone to be added to the prayer list. During the early service the slips are collected or they may be placed, at any time, in the prayer boxes in the narthex and Gilbert Hall. You may contact Janet Jeanblanc to access the prayer chain.

Addiction  Resources

The Addiction Education Team was formed in response to an invitation from the Harford County Office on Drug Control Policy to partner with them to provide prevention, early intervention, referral assistance and recovery support to our faith community. The result of some training and planning has been the formation of a regular meeting held at Grace Church to provide support for recovering addicts.

Each Saturday evening at 7:00, we host AA and Al-Anon meetings here at the church. These meeting provide support for recovering alcoholics and for other family members. The meetings are open to the public.

Martha's Meal

Martha's Meal is a free meal served every Thursday from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM at Grove Presbyterian Church in Aberdeen. Ten churches in the Aberdeen area provide the meals. Grace Church serves every six weeks, with food provided by Klein's Supermarket, Grace Church and its members. Parish Nurse Rose-Marie Lyman is also available to monitor blood pressures.