Interim Grace Notes for June 30, 2023

Council Members Installed Sunday

The following persons were installed as Grace Congregation Council members last Sunday:

• Connie Amor - Secretary
• Sarah Auen
• Ceceila Boucher
• John Burmeister
• Dave Cooper - Vice-President
• Rae Ann Cooper
• Annette Fisher
• Ruthann House - Treasurer
• Greg Jess
• Jerry Moses - President
• Judy Overmyer
• Cornelia Star

From the installation service:

St. Paul writes: There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. There are different ways of serving, but the same Lord is served. There are different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives to everyone ability for particular service. The Spirit's presence is shown in some way in each person, for the good of all. (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)

You have been elected to positions of leadership and trust in this congregation. You are to see that the words and deeds of this household of faith reflect him in whose name we gather. You are to work together with other members to see that the worship and work of Christ are done in this congregation, and that God's will is done in this community and in the whole world. You are to be diligent in your specific area of serving, that the one Lord who empowers you is glorified. You are to be examples of faith active in love, to help maintain the life and harmony of this congregation.

On behalf of your sisters and brothers in Christ, I ask you: Are you ready to accept and faithfully to carry out the duties of the offices to which you have been elected?
Yes, by the help of God.

People of God, I ask you: Will you support these, your elected leaders, and will you share in the mutual ministry that Christ has given to all who are baptized?
Yes, by the help of God.

I now declare you installed as council members of Grace Lutheran Church. God bless you with his Holy Spirit, that you may prove faithful servants of Christ.
Amen.

Hearts, Hands and Voices LIFT Arts Academy

We had a fun week of music Monday through Thursday in our first (annual?) Hearts, Hands and Voices Arts Academy. Music Director Tom had the inspiration for this adventure, and working with Heather and a solid group of volunteers, put together a memorable week of singing, bells, crafts, recorders, rhythm, crafts and snacks. Pastor Paul led a devotion during the opening session each day, and then the group rotated through the various musical sections and activities. A program was held at 11:30 am on Thursday for the kids to showcase the skills they had learned. Here are the kids who participated:

• Anderson
• Avery
• Carter
• Grady
• Jackson
• Kathryn
• Lola
• Molly
• Pam
• PJ
• Riley

And a huge thank you for all the staff and volunteers that helped to make this possible:

• Pastor Paul Bailie- Devotions
• Pastor Mark Bogen- Opening & Closing
• Helen Biddinger- Choir
• Peggy Dorr- Recorders
• Bette Kaltenbach- Bells
• Sharon Mitchell- Snacks
• Peggy Rutherford- Choir
• Marcella Widmer- Snacks
• Julia Zucker- Drumming/Rhythm
• Tom Curry- Director
• Heather Hawn- Registration & Crafts

Pastor Paul put together a photo collage for Day 1,a photo collage for Day 2, and posted a a video of the closing worship service.

Park Tour Canceled

The Park Tour for Wednesday, June 28, at Birchard Park was cancelled due to the poor air quality. The Park Tour will resume onJuly 19 at Rodger Young Park.

Sympathy to Family of Paula Christensen

We extend our sympathy to the family of Paula Ann Christensen, who died Thursday, June 29 at Elmwood Assisted Living. Visitation will take place on Friday, July 7, 2023 from 10-12 P.M. at Herman-Karlovetz Funeral Home and Crematory, 900 North Street, Fremont, OH. Funeral services will begin at Noon at the funeral home. You can view the obituary for Paul HERE.

Grace Receives New Members

During Sunday 9:00 am worship this past Sunday, we received five new members in a hybrid service of baptism, affirmation of faith, and reception of members by transfer. Our new members are:

• by Baptism:
  • Ryan Chalfin
  • Liam Chalfin
• by Affirmation of Faith:
  • Amy Chalfin
• by Transfer from another Lutheran Congregation
  • Steve Ohms
  • Vi Ohms

The Ministry We Share with Our Companion Synods

In this week's synod email, Deacon Sherry Krieger from our NWOS staff provides a helpful description of our Companion Synod program: what it is and why and how it is important. A highlight for this year was a trip to one of our companion synods, the Dodoma Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, to participate in the installation of their new Presiding Bishop. You may remember that Grace's own Becky Seibert was a part of our synod's delegation. You can read the email HERE.

Links for You

• This week's Just Three Things
• This week's LIFT Notes
• Message from ELCA World Hunger

NWOS June 30, 2023 Email

 

Dear Friends in Christ,  The Northwestern Ohio Synod mission is: Sent by the crucified and risen Jesus to Make Disciples, Equip Leaders, Strengthen Parishes, and Nurture New Communities for the renewal of Northwest Ohio and the world.

Sent…we are a sent church, each one of us. We are sent into the communities in which we live, play, work, and worship to engage those whom God places in our lives each day. This is such an important perspective on how we live our lives…God’s calling us to “be church” right where we are and not wait for Sunday morning at 10am. Although most of us love our Sunday morning rituals and many of us find strength there, our mission and our scriptures remind us that “church” is that, but it is also sooooooo much more, sooooo much bigger. Church is not only about our own relationship with our creator and our savior, but also with the one who gifts us with each other and sends us out into the world – the Holy Spirit – as we witness in Pentecost when the Spirit was gifted to us and breathed on us through those disciples so long ago. With the gift of The Holy Spirit, we get to look up and out as a church together. Did you know there are 140 Lutheran member churches of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF)? Isn’t that amazing? We, the ELCA, are part of a Lutheran body that exists all over the world in 140 different iterations of Lutheran doctrine and perspective. As such, each of the 65 synods of the ELCA has at least one official international church relationship that we call a “companion synod.” These relationships are concrete expressions of the communion and fellowship we are called into as the Body of Christ. The Northwestern Ohio Synod actually has three official companion synods: the Slovak Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Serbia [Slovenská evanjelická augsburgského vyznania v Srbku], the Dodoma Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) [Kanisa la Kiinjili la Kilutheri Tanzania, KKKT]; and the Lutheran Church in Mexico (ILM) [Iglesia Luterana Mexicana]. Why are companion synod relationships important? The relationship with all of our companion synods are important because we learn so much about “accompaniment,” which promotes the values of mutuality, inclusivity, vulnerability, empowerment and sustainability. It is truly a give and take, total sharing relationship as we learn how God is at work throughout the church around the world. We learn from them and they learn from us as together we nurture and strengthen one another for life and ministry through prayer, study, communication, exchange of visitors and sharing of resources. What we learned on our most recent trip is that the NWOS relationship with the ELCT Dodoma Diocese is a big deal in many ways, not the least of which is because the ELCT is the second largest Lutheran body in the world with 7,000,000 members and growing. There is so much we learn when we engage with our brothers and sisters in Tanzania about evangelism and mission, the excitement of the Spirit in everyday life, building relationship with “the least of these” in a wide-variety of services and education, entrepreneurship that villages and churches are creating and living out, and culture shifts weaving tribal traditions into a new Spirit-filled, vibrant church that leans into living everyday with the purpose of sharing faith and bringing more disciples to faith.  It is also a big deal because the city of Dodoma is now the Capital of the country of Tanzania. We saw the President of Tanzania on the weekend of Bishop Christian Ndoza’s consecration, and the Vice President was in attendance and spoke at the Consecration as well. The city is growing by leaps and bounds: new housing, so much traffic, new businesses and restaurants, markets and commerce. It is a vibrant city and the Lutheran Church is right in the middle of it all, sharing the Good News and influencing how the city, the government and the church is growing and evolving.  Let us know if you would like to learn more about our Companion Synod relationships! You can talk to anyone in the delegation that went to Tanzania in May, or the Global Mission Board: 2023 Delegation to Tanzania                      Bishop Daniel Beaudoin Sherry Krieger Cassidy Krieger Pastor Sarah Schaaf Wellington Kamala Pastor Brenda Peconge Becky Seibert Terri Trobridge Pastor Ashley Rosa-Ruggieri Megan O’Brien Ron Hiatt Calla Gilson NWOS Global Mission Board Becky Seibert Wellington Kamala Carol Costello Cathy Martin Jim Martin Deborah Gundlach Roger Gundlach Fred Heaney Pastor Jacob Nekoranec Maggy Everett Pastor Bob Noble Pastor Nate Tuff Pastor Rob Johnson Pastor Matt Musteric Ron Hiatt Pastor Brenda Peconge Calla Gilson Pastor Sarah Schaaf Caroline Guy Please keep these relationships, our companion synods, and God’s sending of us into the world in your prayers!

2023: The Year of Story Memory Verse “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

The Story of Jesus Bible Study

2023 Daily Bible Reading Guide

NWOS Highlights

Grace Between the Lines

Bless you, Deacon Sherry Krieger

Interim Grace Notes for June 23, 2023

LIFT Congregations Volunteers Pack Food

On Friday, June 23, a score and more volunteers from LIFT congregations Gathered at Storage America, the Old K-Mart store, to pack food through the program Children's Hunger Alliance. Quoting from a Facebook post which reported on the project:

"So many awesome friends and LIFT Fremont church members joined together to pack meals to feed hungry children in Ohio!! Teamwork makes the Dream Work! Thank you to all of those who were able to get away on a Friday morning for a great cause!"

You can view the above mentioned Facebook post, which contains lots of photographic "evidence" HERE.

Hearts and Hands and Voices Academy Ready To Go

Leaders for a special week of music for LIFT kids met last week to plan for our week of choir, bells, chimes, drums and snacks June 26 - 29 from 9:00 am until 12:15 pm. It's coming together, and we're hoping to have a t least 20 kids participate. You can view the information post on the Grace Facebook page HERE. The page includes a link to a Google Form for registration. Share freely!

Pledges for 40 New ELW Hymnals Have Been Received

In last week's Grace Notes I included information about our plans to raise funds to replace the 1978 green Lutheran Book of Worship with Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW). I prepared an information page for the July Grace & Truth, which includes an invitation for members to purchase one or more ELW's, and a form at the bottom of the page to complete and return to the church office. I have also put this form into a Google Form, which you can view, complete and submit HERE. Linda has created a "New Hymnal" fund, which will also be an option for online giving through Vanco, our online giving portal, the link to which is included on the Google Form. So far we have received pledges for 40 hymnals towards our goal of 300.

Council Installation This Weekend

Council Members: Just a reminder that this weekend there will be a brief service of installation during the service both on Saturday 4pm and Sunday 10am. We will do this after the Prayer of the Day. Welcome 2023-2024 Council members:

• Connie Amor - Secretary
• Sarah Auen
• Ceceila Boucher
• John Burmeister
• Dave Cooper - Vice-President
• Rae Ann Cooper
• Annette Fisher
• Ruthann House - Treasurer
• Greg Jess
• Jerry Moses - President
• Judy Overmyer

We also extend our thanks and appreciation to our outgoing Council members: Ed Muffler, Beth Muffler and Tanya Schling. Well done good and faithiful servants!

Baptism and Reception of New Members

Sunday 9:00 am worship will feature a unique service of baptism, affirmation of faith, and reception of members by transfer. Ryan and Amy Chalfin and little tyke Liam will be received - Ryan and Liam by baptism, and Amy by affirmation of faith, as she was baptized and confirmed in another Christian congregation. Stev and Vi Ohms have transferred their membership from another Lutheran congregation, and will join the Chalfins at the front for a Baptism/Affirmation of Faith/Reception of Members from Other Lutheran Congregations service. There will be a brief reception in the courtyard following the service, so I hope that many of you will be able to welcome and introduce yourselves to them.

Park Tour Continues

On Wednesday I joined the Park Tour at Connor Park. Pastor Paul was there representing LIFT, and Sue Lawrence represented St. John's. There were three Grace families, and several other families and individuals in attendance at the playground at the back of the park. We debated whether to stay there, or move to the front where there were more people present for a ball game. The back location gave one family a chance to try out a new kite, and proximity to a path for a hike. Next week the tour makes a second stop at Birchard Park.

Constitution Task Force Continues Work

The Grace constitution task force (John Avers, Linda Baumer, and I) met again this past Wednesday to continue our work on updating the Grace constitution. Since most of the chapters are required chapters which cannot be changed, we are working with the chapters which we can write to fit our own unique situation. We still have the ELCA Model Constitution which provides helpful wording as well as different options. Our work at this month's meeting was on Chapter 10, Congregation Meeting. Here is the wording for the first paragraph that we agreed upon:

C10.01. This congregation shall have at least one regular meeting per year. The regular meeting(s) of the congregation shall be held at the time(s) specified in the bylaws. Consistent with the laws of the State of Ohio, the bylaws shall designate one regular meeting per year as the annual meeting of this congregation.

C10.01.01. This congregation shall have two regular meetings per year, in November and April. The April meeting shall be the annual meeting of this congregation.

C10.01.02 The primary agenda for the November meeting shall be the adoption of the congregation budget for the coming fiscal year, beginning on January 1. The primary agenda for the April meeting will be the election of Congregation Council members and other elected positions called for by this constitution and bylaws, and to receive reports from congregation staff, committees and ministries.

A couple things to point out. First, the second and third paragraphs have three sets of numbers, indicating these are bylaws, which can be amended at any meeting of the congregation. Second, note that we are suggesting two regular meetings of the congregation - a budget meeting in November, and the annual meeting in April. We hope that the April meeting (post Easter) will make it easier for some of our snowbirds to attend in person rather than remotely via Zoom.

Our agenda for the July meeting on July 19 will be Chapter 10 - Officers.

Links for You

• ELCA Worship News
• ELCA Hunger Program News
• LIFT Notes for This Week
• Latest Issue of Just Three Things
• July issue of Grace and Truth
• This month's Issue of Grace Stories, featuring Tanya Schling
• Grace Facebook Page
• Grace Youth Group Facebook Page
• LIFT Facebook page

Interim Grace Notes for June 16, 2023

Council Approves Campaign for New Hymnals

One of the actions at Monday's Council meeting was the approval of a motion to purchase Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW) hymnals to replace the ageing green Lutheran Book of Worship that was published in 1978, and which Grace has used for likely more than 40 years. The cost for the hymnals is $25 each, and we will need to purchase 300 copies.

I have prepared an information page for the July Grace & Truth, which includes an invitation for members to purchase one or more ELW's, and a form at the bottom of the page to complete and return to the church office. I have also put this form into a Google Form, which you can view, complete and submit HERE. Linda has created a "New Hymnal" fund, which will also be an option for online giving through Vanco, our online giving portal, the link to which is included on the Google Form.

Members are given the option to honor or memorialize a loved one in a personalized bookplate that will be affixed on the inside front cover of sponsored books. I'm leading the way with a pledge of $250 which will purchase ten hymnals. As leaders at Grace, I encourage you to join me! I'm hoping we can complete this campaign by the end of the summer!

LIFT Outdoor Worship Planned for July 30

On Wednesday, LIFT Leaders met to plan an all LIFT service for July 30 at Birchard Park. The theme is "Christmas in July." The time is 10:00 fellowship, 10:30 service, and 11:30 a small service project of picking up any trash in the park. For St. Mark and St. John's, this will be their only Sunday service. I have expressed reservations about canceling our 9:00 to attend only this service -- if we do it would certainly depress Grace's participation in this All-LIFT service - on the other hand, the park is more difficult for our elderly members with less than ideal mobility. Also, it removes the worship opportunity for our Facebook Life worship attenders. Pastor Paul posted a nice flier, on the LIFT Facebook page, which I encourage you to share. You can view the view the Facebook page HERE. Share freely!

LIFT Congregations Will Host Serbian Visitor

Becky Seibert visited my office this week to inform me (and all of us) of the plans for the Northwestern Ohio Synod to host a visitor from one of our partner synods, the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church Of The Augsburg Confession In Serbia. Her name is Jana Jaroslav Marek, and she is a 20-year-old university and pre-seminary student. Her visit is being coordinated thorugh the Slovak Zion Synod, a non-geographic ethic-centered synod in our ELCA. She will be visiting in our Synod from June 20 - September 20, spending most of that time in the Toledo area. She will be hosted by Pr. Henry and Becky Seibert from August 20 - September 20, so that she also is exposed to ministry in a rural area. Jana's info includes this paragraph about her interests:

Jana's interests include youth ministry, youth education and community-focused ministries. She is looking forward to being able to spend this opportunity with your congregations and is excited to be able to experience a new culture and integrate her experiences into her formative skillset.

This will be a unique opportunity to connect with someone from our partner synod in Serbia.

Emmanuel and St. Mark Negotiate Shared Ministry

Last Sunday evening, Pastor Paul sent the following email LIFT Board members, but is information we should all be aware of:

In a June 11 shared congregational meeting, LIFT congregations Emmanuel Lutheran Church and St. Mark Lutheran Church agreed to change Sunday worship times starting in September in order to facilitate worship leadership in both congregations by the Rev. Paul Bailie, the LIFT pastor, upon the retirement of Emmanuel’s pastor, the Rev. Dennis Wansitler. Emmanuel will shift from 10 AM to 8:15 AM, and St. Mark will move from 9:45 AM to 10 AM. We pray for all our LIFT congregations during these upcoming months of transition.

This is very good news for LIFT. We wish Pr. Dennis well on his upcoming retirement, even as we hold him in prayer and sympathy on the recent death of his wife, Maryann.

Park Tour Continues

On Wednesday I joined the Park Tour at Biggs Kettner Park. Brought back memories of when my Marcy and I brought our kids to the summer swim tournament at the pool at that location. Heather does an excellent job of coordinating this program and gathering the necessary supplies. Next week the tour moves to Conner Park

Hearts and Hands and Voices Academy Coming Together

Leaders for a special week of music for LIFT kids met on Wednesday to plan for our week of choir, bells, chimes, drums and snacks June 26 - 29 from 9:00 am until 12:15 pm. It's coming together, and we're hoping to have a t least 20 kids participate. You can view the information post on the Grace Facebook page HERE. The page includes a link to a Google Form for registration. Share freely!

Sympathy to Family of Nancy Roddy

We entend our sympathy to the family of Nancy Roddy, who died on Sunday, June11. She was a long time member of Grace, and a founding and member of the Grace Bell Choir in 1975 and active through 2021. A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, July 15 at 11:00 am at Grace, with visitation beginning at 9:30 am until the time of the service. You can read the obituary for Nancy HERE.

LIFT Notes

You can read the latest issue of LIFT Notes HERE.

Mary Carmen - LIFT Leaders

LIFT Leaders met on Wednesday at 2:00, a meeting that meshed with our Outdoor worship planning meeting at 1:00. Pastor Mary Carmen was present, and shared some bad news that her and Leo's visas have changed. Where they had previously been assured of a a visa to stay and work as religious workers until 2029, they now have been informed that their visa will end in November 2025. She and Leo will be traveling home to Monterrey later this summer to visit Leo's brother who has a terminal illness. Also, Mary Carmen't mother is 88 and concerned when her daughter lives so far away. They will drive to the border and take a bus to Monterrey, as their car now has US plates, and it costs hundreds and hundreds of dollars to drive it into and back out of Mexico. This is all very sad, and is a reminder that our immigration system is broken.

YAGM Announcement

Our ELCA has an excellent program for young adults to participate in short-term missionary assignments through our Global Ministry Division. You can read the latest updates on the program from the director HERE.

Interim Grace Notes for June 9, 2023

Last Sunday Worship was Inspiring!

I heard many positive comments on last weekend's worship, particularly Sunday, which was our first joint 9:00 am service. The attendance was good, with graduation recognition,having children and youth participate, and the choir/instrumental ensemble all adding to our numbers as well as overall inspiration.

Liberty Center Cleanup

On Tuesday, members of Grace Missions/Outreach descended on the Liberty Center with and array of garden tools combined with enthusiasm and a desire to serve to trim and cleaned up landscaping and playground at the Liberty Center of Sandusky County. You can view a Facebook post of the crew HERE.

Stewardship Team Attends SAS Kickoff

The Stewardship Team was busy this week, as we had our Stewardship for All Seasons (SAS) Introductory Zoom meeting on Monday evening, and our monthly first Wednesday meeting. There were about a hundred persons in attendance in the Monday Zoom meeting, representing all the congregations across the US who are enrolled in the current season of SAS. Our next Zoom meeting will be on Monday, August 21, and will be involve only those congregations in our "cohort," which, besides Grace include (all ELCA):

• Berkeley Hills, Pittsburgh, PA
• First, Britt, IA
• Christ, Valparaiso, IN
• Grace, Rochester, PA
• St. John, Louisville, KY

Our cohort leader is GSB Fundraising partner Jennie Wolf Smith, whom some of you met when she visited Grace in February to provide advice regarding our bequest.

After a biblical/theological message on stewardship led by GSB partner Mike Ward, we reviewed some of the basic concepts and procedures for the program using the Stewardship for All Seasons Handbook, of which all of our Grace team members will receive a copy. We were oriented to an online tool called Basecamp, a common website for our cohort which will enable us to access resources, including videos of our Zoom meetings, and brochures that we will design for our fall campaign that we will upload to the site.

This program is both inspiring and challenging, and will seek to include engage you as leaders and eventually the entire congregation, with the goal of increasing our giving to fund our visions for ministry at Grace.

VBS Planning Meeting

On Wednesday afternoon I joined a LIFT VBS Planning meeting at St. Mark, where VBS will be held this year. Our theme is God’s New Creation, and is offered at no cost by the ELCA Hunger Program. In the sessions and activities, your group will have the chance to learn about an important part of our work: animals! By helping farmers access animals and learn new ways to care for them, we can take an effective, sustainable step toward ending hunger. Each day of “God’s Good Creation” will offer large- and small-group activities, crafts, games, snacks and more. A special feature of our VBS will be live animals! You can view the Facebook flier HERE, which I encourage you to share freely on your own Facebook or send to your friends with kids.

ELCA Hunger Go and Do News

Our ELCA does amazing work through its World Hunger program. Leaders interpret the work of this program through a quarterly newsletter called Go and Do News, recalling Jesus' words to follow the example of the Good Samaritan. You can view and read the latest issue HERE.

Sympathy to Family of Jim Streeter

We extend our sympathy to Susan Streeter on the death of her husband Jim, to son Geoffrey and his family, and to daughter Tina and her family, Jerry, Megan and Anne Marie Moses. Visitation will be Sunday from 2-4 at Wonderly Horvath, and the funeral will be on Monday at 10:00 am. Pr. Chris Young, a close friend of the family, will preside. You can read the obituary HERE.

SAMs Focus of Transitional Leaders Zoom

On Thursday I joined the monthly Zoom meeting for synod transitional leaders. The focus of our discussion was on the ministry of SAMs, as several SAMs serve as interim pastors in our synod. Synod Staff person Sherry Krieger shared the ELCA Constitution paragraph on SAMs, along with the ELCA Council of Bishops' (COB) elaboration on the purpose of SAMS, as well as the guidelines for identifying, training and supporting these leaders in our ELCA I was able to share how Maureen functions as a SAM in our LIFT Parish. You can view the ELCA Constitution paragraph and its interpretation by COB HERE. We noted that there is a discrepancy in the names for this program. Here in Northwestern Ohio Synod this ministry program is called "Synodically Authorized Ministry." In the ELCA Constitution, the moniker is "Synod-authorized Ministry." Either way, we are grateful and thankful the the ministry these persons provide in our synod, including here at Grace.

Bishop Daniel on Sabbatical

Bishop Daniel announced in his most recent email that he is on Sabbatical leave until September 5. Here is his message:

I am grateful that the Northwestern Ohio Synod Council has granted me a Summer Sabbatical that will begin on June 5 and end on September 3.

This Summer Sabbatical will be a time for rest, renewal, and retreat. I'll begin with the Trappists in Kentucky and end with the Benedictines in southern Indiana. In between, I'll spend time in Quebec on a geographic pilgrimage tracing the path of my French-Canadian ancestors who landed in Quebec in 1658. I will also spend some time camping in the backyard (on July 4) with the grandkids, taking a class at the Lilly School of Philanthropy, engaging in intentional reading and planning for the future of our Synod, and hiking / camping in the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan with Rachel. I am not afraid of bears.

Please know that I am grateful for the dedication of the Synod Staff and for the gift of your prayers as I take this time of rest, renewal, and retreat. If you need assistance during this time, please call the Synod Office at 419-423-3664.

Interim Grace Notes for June 2, 2023

Don't Forget -- One Service at 9:00 am!

Our new Sunday worship schedule begins this Sunday, June 4, with one service at 9:00 am. The day is special with many of our children and youth participating in various worship tasks such as greeter, ushers, acolyte, lector, and communion assistants. We will also do recognition for our graduates, both high school and college. Here's a list of our grads, also published in June G&T:

• GIBSONBURG HIGH SCHOOL
  • Harley Seem - attending Youngstown State University - Mechanical Engineering
• FREMONT ROSS HIGH SCHOOL
  • Lainie Tullis
  • Will Stotz
  • Gabrielle Wiersma - Vanguard Tech Center, Certified Medical Assistant - attending Kent State - Nursing
• OUR COLLEGE GRADS
  • Elijah Mendez - Terra State Community College - System Networking Support & Computer Information Systems
  • Rilee Overmyer - University of Cincinnati, she has accepted a position with the Hershey Company
  • Cornelia Star - Bowling Green State University, Bachelor’s of Science in Technology Quality Systems
  • Karina Seem - Youngstown State University - Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing -she has accepted a position at AkronChildren’s Hospital

New Liturgy Setting and Favorite Hymns

Beginning Sunday, we will be using With One Voice hymnal setting 4 for the liturgical elements of worship this summer. We have been practicing the setting pieces during the prelude for the past three weeks, so hopefully we'll hit the ground running, ah, I mean -- singing! Another way that we'll be doing more singing these summer weeks is that we will sing a couple of verses of your favorite hymns, and we will do this as the prelude beginning at 8:50 beginning on June 10-11. We started taking congregation favorites by having worshipers write down their favorites on the back of the Welcome Cards and dropping in the offering plate.

Work on Constitution Continues

Our work on revising and updating the Constitution continues, with our next meeting scheduled for June 21 at 1:00 pm. Linda, John Avers and I have been working on this, and the progress is slow because the details are many. We are also reviewing suggestions from Scott Farrell who is offering his constitutional expertise as a member of a hospital accreditation team. Some of the issues we will be addressing:'

• Moving Treasurer from elected to appointed position
• The role of a SAM in the absence of a called pastor
• Remote meetings with voting via Zoom
• election of congregation officers
• changing from one annual meeting to two - budget meeting in the fall
• many other changes and updates too numerous to mentin

Directory Final Draft Submitted

This week we received a sample printed directory. We made a few changes and got in a couple last minute new families and photos, and have sent the revised pdf to the printer for final production.

Noah's Ark Graduation

I attended the graduation ceremony Wednesday evening for Noah's Ark preschool. All 16 children in the program were present, and most will be going on to kindergarten in the fall. The children sang a number of songs led and accompanied by Tom, and I was impressed at how well the kids sang. Heard lots of positive comments about the school at the reception afterward in the Dining Room. Thanks and kudos to our Director and Teacher, Andrea and Susan. You can view a photo from the ceremony HERE.

Tom at Summer Music Conference Next Week

Tom will be attending the Indiana University Bloomington Jacobs School of Music Sacred Music Intensive next week, from Monday, June 5 through Friday, June 9. Here's a description of the week from the course director:

This special summer course, now in its tenth year, supplies continuing education enrichment to church musicians, ages 18-years and older, who seek a supportive and stimulating environment in which to sharpen skills and engage new concepts and repertoire. Attendees have the option of tailoring their week’s course of study from a variety of offerings of interest to organists and choral conductors, working with faculty whose sole interest is to help you leave energized by new skills, knowledge, and insights.

Safe travels, Tom, and have an inspiring week!