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.
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