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WorshipThe lawn of Grace Baptist Church, 519 Ridge Road, Lansing is a restful shade of lush green. The property lines are edged with a wide variety of tall trees. A long and gracefully curving gravel drive leads to the parking lot behind the church, where a double wide building has been installed for use as the pastor's office, a library, conference rooms and social hall.

What appear to be botanical markers discretely placed among shrubs in the well-balanced landscape turn out to be notations telling in whose memory the plantings were made.

Stepping inside, fall colors and harvest decorations are on display. Pastor Matthew Burris waved his hand around the sun filled entryway, seeming to direct an unseen orchestra, as he noted that a talented parishioner always saw to it that the accessories change as the seasons come and go.
Pastor Burris also said that all the light streaming into the entryway through two sets of doors stood the church in good stead during a recent power outage during Sunday morning services: "We've got a good piano and I tried to speak loudly so everybody could hear me. It was bright enough to see well and we made out fine."

Since the church is placed further back on the lot than neighboring buildings and its mature trees make such a good sound barrier, road noise is never a problem. Even though the church is very near the busy intersection of State Highways 34 and 34B, where salt trucks are constantly on the go, the Pastor is glad that "We never hear the trucks".

Their piano, organ and keyboard are balanced by a new sound system, so that everyone in the red upholstered pews has a good seat. The curtains enclosing the Baptismal Fountain match the upholstery, and a comment about this prompts the telling of the Pastor having attended an inter-denominational seminary, where the students passed around good-natured teasing about the different methods of Baptism practiced by different faiths.

From the outside, one would never guess just how many classrooms, alcoves, nooks and crannies of useable space are contained in the basement. There's even a kitchen and dining area for their church suppers. Raised decking and handicapped walkways between the church and the doublewide building are as attractive as they are useful. The chair behind the pastor’s desk may afford the best view of the wooded neighborhood nearby, but surely the bright yellow visitor chairs in front of the desk are the best seats of all?

Grace Baptist was founded in the early 1960's by Lansing residents who wanted to have a church close to their homes. Its congregation has always been comparably small, with an extended family feel to the membership. The bulk of its members still live in Lansing, but several travel from Groton and Dryden to attend.

After only three months in the pulpit, Pastor Burris is unsure of just how many families hold memberships at Grace Baptist. The services draw an average of 60 Sunday worshippers. "It varies, because people are on vacation, some travel in their work and our retired members go visit family often." He smiled broadly and added, "They are enjoying their retirements."

Sunday evening worship is well attended and he is considering starting a Wednesday evening youth group, "just to give the kids more to do."

Enjoying the small membership is uppermost when Pastor Burris' stated priority is "Helping our parishioners 'Grow in their Faith' rather than grow the numbers of worshipers here at Grace Baptist." He also wants to reach out to the neighbors and help all be effective in faith.

He also feels it advantageous that the Junior and Senior youth groups, grades 7 through 12, are combined. "My wife and I are enjoying getting to know all the kids". And he reports that his own kids, boys aged five and three, feel particularly at home in a congregation of doting adults.

Though small, the congregation felt so moved to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina that it took up two special offerings which were sent to the 35 year old Boone, North Carolina organization "Samaritan's Purse" for its use in funding work crews to clean up debris in the hardest hit areas, and for taking in food, water and other emergency supplies for the short term. According to Samaritan's Purse news releases, volunteers will "In addition to meeting ... immediate, emergency needs, help... victims recover and get back on their feet."

Pastor Burris said it was "because of the longevity of a reliable organization" that Grace Baptist chose to send its hurricane disaster offering to Samaritan's Purse. These were in addition to the annual offering Grace Baptist has made to Samaritan's Purse for many years.

Samaritan's Purse was founded in 1970 by Bob Pierce, who had traveled throughout Asia as an evangelist and journalist with Youth for Christ after World War II. His mission for the organization was "to meet emergency needs in crisis areas through existing evangelical mission agencies and national churches." This small Lansing church is one of many that has responded to the national disasters of two hurricanes so close together that recovery from one was not possible before another hit.

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