Grace Matters at the Global Mission Event in Baltimore

Kati Kluckman-Ault, Diaconal Minister, Amazing Grace Lutheran Church in Balto, Maryland says "God’s grace is that God continues to walk with us over and over, doesn’t give up on us, is always present with us and continues to teach us, hold us, and support us, not based on anything that I would do, but that it is God’s entirely free gift to each and every one of us, no matter what."

Hanne K Grisham from Dumfries, Virginia says "It means eternal life in God’s arms. Grace means a lot of love from others. I have just seen God’s grace in so many different ways in what he has given me, my family, my community, and in the church. I just feel his love every day in my life, in my heart, and when I see other people I just want to share it."

Moses Penumaka from Newark, California says "Grace is something that is given to you – most priceless, most precious, but comes to you without price because Christ already paid the price on the cross."

Maryn Olson, an Africa Missionary from Oshakati, Namibia, says "Grace is a concept that is giving when you don’t need to; and to be able to receive that with gratitude and openness. It’s what I experience in my work in Namibia with volunteers who are examples of grace, who do it literally out of the goodness of their hearts understanding that we are called to be Christ’s hands and feet in the world, and people who have no reason to talk to me who would welcome me into their home, and give me the best chair, and treat me as an honored guest. That’s grace. Grace is an ongoing experience that happens when you least expect it – that is part of the gift."

Pastor Bob Lowden, an interim pastor from Pasadena, Maryland says "Grace means someone who remains firm in her belief and her understanding of God’s love for her, and attempts to show it, and makes no excuses for her failure, but recognizes that her job is not to convert me but to simply show me God’s grace by her life; and so that sense of mercy, and welcome, and acceptance, all combine to me to get that image of grace in my mind."

Ed Whetstone, Pastor, Salem Lutheran Church in Catonsville, Maryland says "Well, it surely has meant an understanding that God, and people who are filled with the presence of God accept me, welcome me, affirm me very much as I am, but I think also see in me the possibilities and potentials for the person God meant me to be."
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