Upcoming Events

A Place of Grace 2023 Calendar
Non-Contracted Retreats

*RSVP to any of the events listed below in the form to the right. Be sure to include the event title and your email, so you are added to the appropriate roster.

Online Faithbooking: Beginning Monday, June 5th, A Place of Grace will offer a space of scrapbookers and paper-crafters to scrapbook their faith as a means to evangelism. Faith-booking Layouts, cards, and Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) offers opportunities to share your faith with others in real time and also to leave a legacy after you're gone. APOG Pastor, Julie Gvillo, will offer weekly prompts related to the Revised Common Lectionary for the coming Sunday, challenges participants can choose to participate in or not, and occasional games for community building and entertainment. Participants can create one LO (single or double-page), three cards, or twelve ATCs, posting photos in a private Facebook group, to fulfill the month's faith-booking goals. Register via the form to the right to participate.

9/21 September Prayer Art Retreat at Von Dell Gallery & Studios, 102 E Ferguson Ave., Wood River, IL, 6:00 p.m.

9/27 Mission Madness Retreat with Riverbend Family Ministries 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Register via the Event RSVP form on this page by the end of the day on 9/25 to reserve your spot.

10/1 through 10/31 Inktober   I will record daily YouTube videos for my followers with a different tangle each day. You can subscribe by filling out the RSVP form to the right of this column. You can ALSO help choose the tangles! Once you register, you'll receive an email with photos of the tangle options, and you can choose one tangle for me to highlight in a YouTube video. Just note the number of the tangle you wish to learn in a reply.

10/3 through 11/7 Artful Expressions of Grief. This series will begin at Von Dell Gallery & Studios on Tuesday, October 3rd and continuing through November 7th from 5 to 7 p.m. (*October 10th will start 30 minutes early because I have a 7:00 meeting.) Registration fees for this event will be $10/person which only covers materials. As part of our weekly worship, the offering box will be present to support the work of A Place of Grace and Von Dell Gallery & Studios. 
Artful Expressions of Grief will offer opportunities for participants to work through their grief, tell their stories, and participate in worshipful work while creating a completely original piece to honor the release of the grief they are experiencing. This grief can be related to the loss of a person, a pet, a job, or an expectation. Space is limited to eight people in order to make sure each person has the space they need to share, so please register via the RSVP form on the upcoming events page on the APOG web site by 9/23 , and send your registration fee to secure your spot. Fees may be made electronically via Venmo (@Julie_Gvillo) or PayPal.me/JulieGvillo or you can send a check to A Place of Grace, 348 Snake Road, Dorsey, IL 62021.

10/19 October Prayer Art Retreat at Von Dell Gallery & Studios, 102 E Ferguson Ave., Wood River, IL, 6:00 p.m.

10/25 Mission Madness Retreat with Operation Blessing, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Register via the Event RSVP form on this page by the end of the day on 10/23 to reserve your spot.

11/8 Mission Madness Retreat with Community Hope Center, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Register via the Event RSVP form on this page by the end of the day on 11/6 to reserve your spot.

11/20 November Prayer Art Retreat at Von Dell Gallery & Studios, 102 E Ferguson Ave., Wood River, IL, 6:00 p.m.

12/3 Walk to Bethlehem with A Place of Grace! Twenty minutes of intentional movement equals one mile. Join the APOG community to "walk" the 6415.6 miles from Dorsey, IL to Bethlehem, Israel between the first Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve. Participants can log into a private Facebook group or their email inbox for a daily prayer prompt and log their mileage in the same place. Last year, we did not get there. The goal this year is to arrive in Bethlehem by 11 p.m. in Bethlehem. 

12/6 Mission Madness Retreat with Hoyleton Youth & Family Services from 9 a.m. to noon. Register via the Event RSVP form on this page by the end of the day on 11/24 to reserve your spot.

12/13 Mission Madness Retreat with Uni-Pres Kindercottage, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Register via the Event RSVP form on this page by the end of the day on 12/10 to reserve your spot.

12/14 December Prayer Art Retreat at Von Dell Gallery & Studios, 102 E Ferguson Ave., Wood River, IL, 6:00 p.m.
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Non-contracted retreats are hosted by A Place of Grace. They are designed around the monthly theme, and are always open to the public.

Please RSVP to events on the Facebook event listings or by completing the RSVP on this page. If an event needs to be canceled due to weather, illness, or emergency, I will need to know how to contact you with that information. You can also check this page and the APOG Facebook page the day of the event to be sure no cancellation is posted.


Contracted Retreats

Group Digital/Remote Retreats require a three month lead time for planning and preparation. Plan now for your fall and winter retreats!

Call, email, or message me through the "Contact Us" form on this site if you are interested in scheduling a retreat.

*Contracted retreats are public or private retreats hosted in partnership with A Place of Grace. These retreats may offer the same monthly theme or may be custom-designed for your group’s particular needs. They can be held in a home, a church, a community center, or a place of business, and the partnering host issues invitations to guests. Hosts may choose to invite guests to bring offerings or may make an offering to cover the cost of the retreat for everyone. Call 618-410-5060 to schedule a retreat with Julie!

A Place of Grace has a new Internet service and the difference is significant! The connection is more stable. The upload and download speeds are faster. This is an answered prayer! While I look forward to returning to in-person events in good time, in-person events can’t connect friends from both coasts of the continental US or family members flung around the world like Zoom can for retreats. I am SO EXCITED to be able to offer this to the APOG community with confidence! Schedule a retreat with me today and see for yourself how well it works! 😊



GRACE GRAMS Newsletter

Subscribe to the free​ monthly e-newsletter for first-looks on upcoming events by sending your email and the word "subscribe" via the Contact page here. Grace Grams subscribers get a first look at the calendar and newsletter-only features and Healing Focus articles.



Mission Madness!

As Founder and Creative Executive Director of A Place of Grace, I am committed to supporting area ministries and agencies. One of the ways I believe that gets accomplished is by showing up to be the hands and feet and heart of Christ at work in the world. We work with each of seven local agencies once each quarter. 

Mark your calendar for these Mission Madness events and email or PM Julie to RSVP. Those who wish to volunteer should contact Julie at least a couple of days ahead for a porch-drop of supplies.

Contact Julie through the form on this page to get more information. We would LOVE to have you participate with us in making gifts for local agencies!
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You are invited to participate with us! Mark your calendar for the Mission Madness events and email or PM Julie to RSVP. Those who wish to volunteer should contact Julie at least a couple of days ahead to get departure details since we often try to carpool to Mission Madness events.
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Please plan to wear an APOG shirt, which you can purchase at exactly the cost I pay for them. Shirts need to be ordered in advance in order to have them to wear. We look forward to working alongside you in a spirit of community!  Come be part of this transformative, wonder-filled, healing work.​


A Place of Grace T-SHIRTS!!!!!

​We have t-shirts!!!!! A Place of Grace’s super soft, USA-made, Bella and Canvas t-shirts are athletic heather in color with light purple writing. The A Place of Grace logo is on the left front pocket position. The A Place of Grace tagline (“transformative. wonder-filled. healing.”) is stacked on the back with #APLACEOFGRACE underneath. The cost is as follows:

​Adult Small through Adult X Large = $10.62
Adult XXL = $12.89
Adult XXXL = $14.96

Sales tax is included in the price. Additional sizes may be available. Call to inquire. Logo and tagline were designed by Keely Rust. Shirts are screen printed by Keith Bartels of Bigfoot Prints Screen Printing in Bethalto, IL. The next order will be placed when I have orders for thirteen shirts. Email Julie to make payment arrangements.

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