For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.
Matthew 25:35-36
Our congregation works hard to support and advocate for mission, peace & justice. The Mission, Peace and Justice Committee coordinates a diverse outreach program that is called to feed the hungry while supporting and serving as an advocate for justice and equal rights for all of God’s creation.
Grace’s mission, peace, and justice work is guided by the following areas of focus:
- Food insecurity
- Peacemaking and human rights advocacy
- Social, health, and economic justice
- Racial justice
- LGBTQAI+ rights advocacy
- Criminal justice reform
- Community outreach
Our community partners
- More Light Presbyterians
- People’s Loan Program
- Alabama Arise
- Equal Justice Initiative
- West Alabama Food Bank
- Habitat for Humanity
- Temporary Emergency Services
- Community Services
- Turning Point
- Caring Days
- Home in Place
- 5 Horizons Health Services
- Hospice of West Alabama
- Presbyterian Children’s Home
- Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
- Living River
- Arts N Autism
- Druid City Pride Festival
- Martin Luther King Jr. Unity March
- Death Penalty Action Execution Vigils
- The House Tuscaloosa
A Matthew 25 Church
The Matthew 25 movement began in 2016 as a challenge to Presbyterian churches and councils to live out the principles of Matthew 25, verses 31-46, the parable of the sheep and the goats: “as you did it to the least of these you have done it unto me.” Matthew 25 has three goals: building congregational vitality, dismantling structural racism, and eradicating systemic poverty. In 2018, Grace officially became a Matthew 25 church and part of our Matthew 25 work is a fund that assists people in Tuscaloosa who need help paying their utility bills.
Need help? Call the church office at 205-758-1193 and ask to file an assistance request form.
Letter Writing
Each month, the Mission, Peace and Justice Committee identifies an issue around which we can raise our voices together to advocate for change. We believe that a life of faith requires us to stand up for justice. We invite you to join your voice with ours.
Past letter writing campaigns have included:
- Fixing Racially Gerrymandered Redistricting Maps
- Untaxing Groceries
- Call for Stronger Gun Laws
- Medicaid Expansion
- Alabama Department of Public Health Birth Center Regulations
- Staying the Execution of Alan Eugene Miller
- Abolishing the Death Penalty
More Light Presbyterians
Following the risen Christ, and seeking to make the Church a true community of hospitality, the mission of More Light Presbyterians is to work for the full participation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) people in the life, ministry and witness of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and in society.
More Light Presbyterians Mission Statement
More Light Presbyterians are individual members and congregations of the Presbyterian Church (USA) who are faithful to God’s call and believe that God continues to open new understandings of scripture and the Word in the life of Christ. As a Christian community, we believe that the church must seek to live out those understandings in our life together through the full acceptance of and participation by LGBTQIA+ people in our church, community, and society.
Grace Presbyterian Church is the first More Light Presbyterian church in the state of Alabama. From its founding, through the merger of University Presbyterian and Covenant Presbyterian in 2017, Grace Presbyterian Church has been a More Light congregation that fully accepts and celebrates LGBTQIA+ people in our congregation and community. We also celebrate More Light Sunday each year in October, corresponding with the Druid City Pride Festival.
Meals on Wheels
Meals on Wheels is a service of Community Programs of West Alabama. Grace Presbyterian partners with Meals on Wheels to deliver a hot breakfast the 3rd Sunday morning of each month. These meals are distributed at no charge to low income people throughout Tuscaloosa.
Our group of volunteers is chaired by Rush Watson. More volunteers are always needed and deeply appreciated.
3rd Sunday of Each Month
7:30 Volunteers arrive to enjoy a hot breakfast and assist with packing meals
8:30 Volunteers are given a list of names with addresses with boxed breakfasts for delivery
Volunteers are also needed with cooking and clean-up. To learn more email: office@gracetuscaloosa.org
Peoples’ Loan Program
People’s Loan Program provides no-interest loans to residents of the West Alabama community, offering hope and dignity to those in financial distress.
Peoples’ Loan Program Mission Statement
The People’s Loan Program makes no interest loans available to eligible citizens for housing and utility needs, including money for emergency rent, mortgage and utility bills; for minor house repairs; for appliance, plumbing and power repairs, additions, or replacements; and any other living expenses.
This ministry offers an alternative to the injurious payday loan process. Payday loans allow borrowers with a bank account to use a check dated in the future as collateral for a cash loan. Each $100 borrowed through a payday loan in Alabama carries a “loan origination fee” of up to $17.50. Those charges occur with every renewal of the loan. With a typical 14-day loan period, this is an annual percentage rate (APR) of 456 percent.
Payday lenders are notorious for targeting older Americans, military service personnel, and communities of color. Their practices also harm the larger community – a recent study concluded that for every dollar paid in interest to payday lenders, $1.94 leaves the community.
We invite you to join us in this innovative project that will offer our community and neighbors relief from the negative effects of the loan-debt cycle.
First Peoples Acknowledgement
We, Grace Presbyterian Church, by residing in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, hereby acknowledge that our church campus is located on land that is within the traditional territory of the Istichata (referred to today as Creek) People, and, earlier the Tuskaluza Chiefdom. The incursions, forced removal of Indigenous people, and distribution of their land to settlers (including for religious purposes) were unjust actions. We acknowledge this injustice, honor their original stewardship of the land, and celebrate the valuable contributions that Indigenous People continue to make to Alabama and to the United States.
This land acknowledgement was drafted by the Grace Presbyterian Church Worship Committee in consultation with Darrell Fielder and Barry Cole and presented to and approved by the GPC Session June 2021.