Volunteers Needed for Block Party
Our LIFT Block Party is just around the corner, and one of the main concerns/needs right now is volunteers. An online sign-up sheet has been created listing the various needs and numbers needed for each area. Sign up for just an hour or for multiple hours. I signed up last week. If you haven't yet, take a few minutes now and sign up, too! Just click or tap HERE.
Plans Continue for Spirit and Confirmation
Heather, Tom, Maureen and I are continuing our plans for Wednesday night Spirit. Heather has scheduled a Confirmation leaders planning meeting for Thursday, August 5 at 1pm at grace.
Do We Need to Put Our Masks Back On?
With the coronavirus variant delta taking off around the U.S., the federal government Tuesday updated its masking guidelines for fully vaccinated people. The new advice is to mask up indoors if you live in a place with "substantial" or "high" coronavirus transmission. (The guidance for people who are unvaccinated remains the same: Always mask up indoors.) So, what's the level of transmission where we live? Here's what CDC says is the level for Sandusky and surrounding counties for the time period Friday, Jul 23 - Thursday, July 29 , on a scale of low, moderate, substantial, high:
- Sandusky - Substantial
- Wood - Moderate
- Ottawa - Substantial
- Erie - Substantial
- Huron - Substantial
- Seneca - Moderate
To view the CDC map, go HERE and enter Ohio and Sandusky into the state and county fields to display a color coded map.
I'm not suggesting that we return to masks during worship, but I think this basic metric is something we should at least monitor, and discuss if local levels move from substatial to high.
A Place to Go for Covid-19 Information
One of the challenges during the pandemic has been getting reliable scientific "balls and strikes" information about the coronovirus and its spread to base our decisions on - whether it's when we should go back to church, school, resume our family and social gatherings, or whether we should wear a mask and when it's safe to go without. Last July, I began listening to a weekly podcast - The Osterholm Update: COVID-19, published by The University of MInnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), and narrated by infectious disease expert and founder/director of CIDRAP, Dr. Michael Osterholm. With declining cases due to increasing vaccination rates, the podcast scaled back to every other week for the months of June and early July, but now, with the delta variant surge, has returned to every week programming. This week's episidode is entitled "Untangling the Data." In this episode, Dr. Osterholm and host Chris Dall discuss the Delta variant and the surge in cases in the US, the new CDC recommendation for masking among vaccinated people, and answer a COVID query on breakthrough cases. You can stream or download this episode HERE.
Planning for Stewardship Program
I've been doing some planning for a fall stewardship program, and considering using resources from GSB, a charitable fundraising firm that many of our Lutheran synods and congregations have partnered with. I used GSB last year to assist my Stewaradship team at St. John's to complete the fall stewardship campaign. The program is called "Building a Culture of Generosity" and includes a number of Zoom meetings with a GSB consultant, as well as prepared content for the campaign. You can view more information about this program in a two-page flyer that you can view HERE. I would be looking for members to serve on the Stewardship Committee along with Council member Tanya. Ed provided the names of those who had helped with a previous Consecration Sunday campaign, so that would be a good place to start.
Assistant Janitor Hire
An assistant janitor has been hired to work afternoons (including post pre-school day and Spirit Wednesday nights) and Sunday morning opening, relieving Jean and George. Welcome aboard Michaelle Goodman!
2021 VBS a Success!
We blasted off to Mars, and learned about how God invites us to go beyoond with faith, kindness and hope. We had 56 kids registered, and they were joined by 30 volunteers who led activities of openings, Bible story, crafts, science projects, and games. We collected offering for Bridge of Hope food bank, which yielded $70 and 70 food bank items. Many thanks to Heather who took the lead on this, along with Pastor Paul, Sue from St. John's and Tricia from Hayes UMC. Heather had this to add: "a huge thank you to all the volunteers that were there to make it possible."
Worship meeting scheduled
A worship committee meeting has been scheduled for next Tuesday, August 3, at 2:00 pm. If you have concerns about worship or have an item you'd like us to consider or discus, just let one of us know: Maureen or me, Tom, Becky Seibert, Cindy Scranton, or Judy Overmyer.
Funeral for Pr. Jody's mom on Tuesday
Funeral services for Pastor Jody's mother, Lorraine Crawford, will be held next Tuesday, August 3, beginning at 10:00 am at St. John's in Fremont. Pastor Matt will officiate. There will be an hour of visitation, also at the church, beginning at 9:00 am until the time of service. Keep Pastor Jody and all of Lorrainse family and loved ones in your prayers. You can read the published obituary HERE.
Grace Between the Lines
Synod staff member, Sherry Krieger, Director of Leadership Development for Congregational Care, publishes a regular devotional reflection which we receive by email entitled "Grace Between the Lines." In her posts she describes her experiences of grace, and ecourages us to recognize God grace in our lives. You can read her most recent post HERE.
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