At a glance
• Grace Presbyterian is at Hwys. 9 and 53 in downtown Dawsonville.
• Sunday morning services are at 11 a.m., with Sunday school at 9:30 a.m.
• Grace Café offers a free meal to all from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays.
• The Good Shepherd Clinic, which is inside the church, is open at 3 p.m. on Thursdays.
• More information about the grant can be found online at www.pcusa.org.
Dana Hughes says Grace Presbyterian is about to get some much-needed renovations thanks to a grant that just five churches nationwide received.
The church at Hwys. 9 and 53 in downtown Dawsonville was selected earlier this month for the 2011 Walton Award, which brings $50,000 for capital improvements.
“It’s a huge blessing for us,” said Hughes, the church’s interim pastor. “It’s going to mean that we are a stronger church with a stronger foundation, literally.”
Hughes said the funding will likely be used to fix “window issues, painting and interior and exterior changes that we’ll need to address.”
In December 1991, Sam and Helen Walton, founders of Walmart, made a gift through the Presbyterian Church (USA) that included an endowment in the amount of $3 million.
The earned interest was set aside to be used by new church developments that have placed emphasis on building acquisition and improvement.
Grace Presbyterian was founded in fall 2005 by organizing pastor the late Mark Weaver. The church received its charter on Nov. 11, 2010.
According to the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Web site, the General Assembly Mission Council awards new church developments “that are working in creative ways to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to their local communities, nurture members in discipleship and exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the world consistent with the highest ideals of the Presbyterian heritage.”
Hughes said the grant was a godsend.
“We’re really, really blessed,” she said.