Interim Grace Notes for August 5, 2022

Vacation Week

I had a good week of vacation. Went kayaking on Tuesday morning at Old Woman Creek, which is protected as a State Nature Preserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) because it is one of Ohio's best remaining examples of a natural estuary. Feel privileged to live so close to such a unique and beautiful kayak venue, and also to our Lake Erie and its islands. On Thursday we went on a morning trip to Middle Bass Island. The restored Lonz Winery is very scenic and interesting, with its giant wine barrels on display. One of Marcy's teaching colleagues is a part owner in the coffee shop behind the winery building, so we enjoyed a cup of joe with our packed lunch before getting on the 12:15 pm ferry back to Catawba.

Funerals This Week

Today I conducted the funeral for Donald E. Butscher. His family were members of Emmanuel, which is where he and his twin brother were baptized on Palm Sunday, April 10, 1949. Then, I understand, the family moved to Fremont and became members of Grace, which is where he, his twin brother, and Jim, his surviving younger brother were confirmed. For whatever reason, he had not been active at Grace in recent memory. You can read the obituary HERE. Brother Jim was very appreciative.

On Saturday Maureen will conduct the funeral for Gary Jackson at Grace. Visitation will begin at 9:30 a.m. until the time of the service at 11:00 a.m.

Sympathy to Family of Evelyn White

We extend our sympathy to the family of Evelyn White, who died yesterday (Thursday). We received word from Evelyn's daughter that she was not doing well and had been assigned hospice care at Valley View where Evelyn has been residing. I visited on Wednesday afternoon, and "Evie" was awake enough to receive words of scripture and prayer. The funeral for Evie has been scheduled for next Friday, August 12, 11:00 am at the church. Visitation will also be at the church, beginning at 9:30 am, and continuing until the time of service.

Email from Pastor Mary Carmen

We have received the following email from Pastor Mary Camenet regarding the new Bridge of Hope Coordinator, along with a request for donated items:

Hello everyone,

As you may know, we do have a new coordinator at the Bridge of Hope food pantry. Her name is Anne Garcia. During the migrant season (May to November) she is visiting the camps with welcoming baskets. For that purpose and in order to have enough to serve the community, Anne needs some items to be donated.

In the attached Excel document, you will find a list of the required items. Each church and pastor is requested, a list of 15 items, 10 are the same for all, as these are required more and 5 different for each one. As you will see, there is a label with the name of the church. Would you please print it, and include it in your sunday’s bulletin. If pick up is needed for donated items, you may contact Anne Garcia, 419-371-0463, her email address is: fremontag57@yahoo.com

Thank you in advance, may God continue to bless you all.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Mary Carmen Padilla
Bridge of Hope supervisor and Camino de Vida’s Church Planter Pastor

List from attached Excel file:

1. small bag of grain rice
2. canned meat (spam, tuna, chicken, etc.)
3. green beans
4. canned soups (chicken noodles, vegetables)
5. tomato sauce
6. paper towels
7. shampoo
8. conditioner
9. laundry detergent
10. toilet paper
11. deodorant
12. bath soap
13. dish soap
14. tooth paste
15. adult diapers

LIFT Student/School Personnel Blessing Next Weekend

Pastor Paul has provided LIFT congregations with an order and prayers for blessing our school kids, teachers and all school personnel on Sunday, August 14. You can find a flyer with more info HERE.

Stewardship Begins Fall Campaign Planning

Stewardship met at 11 am on Wednesday. We welcomed a new addition to our team -- Bill Auxter, recently elected to a three-year term on Council. He has graciously accepted an invitation to join the Stewardship Team. Our main order of business is to begin planning for the fall stewardship campaign. We will be using the theme "Live Simply," a bit of a follow up from our last year's theme "Live Generously." As part of our campaign, we will be looking for Grace members to write persons who could write a brief paragraph or two which would be a response to one or more of these prompts:

• What was the most generous thing you ever witnessed?
• Who taught you generosity?
• Describe generosity as a component in your faith journey.

Our campaign will be very similar to last year: a combination of direct mail letters which will include brief outcome stories, inspirational pieces, and an Intent Card (Plan for Giving). The campaign will be carried out over six Sundays from October 16 through November 20. One of the possibilities we are considering is a single service in November to receive intent cards, followed by a simple lunch of "Stewardship Stew."

Worship Committee

Worship met at 1 pm on Wednesday. One of our main items of discussion was our holiday schedule. Christmas and New Year's both fall on Sunday this year, with Christmas Eve on Saturday. Our plan will be to offer one service at 9:00 am on both Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Worship on New Year's Eve will be at the regular Saturday time of 4:00 pm.

Osterholm Update

Dr. Michael Osterholm, founder and Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, continues to deliver solid scientific analysis of the Covid-19 pandemic in his weekly podcasts. In the episode intitled "A COVID Marathon," uploaded on Thursday, August 4, Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall discuss Paxlovid rebound cases, vaccines for children under 5, and the impact of the BA.5 variant in the U.S. and around the world. Dr. Osterholm also provides an update on the monkeypox outbreak and shares a Celebration of Life from one of our listeners. You can listen to or download this episode HERE.