ELCA Youth Gathering Meeting Sunday
Heather will be leading a meeting this Sunday at St. John's beginning at noon for LIFT youth who are interested in attending the 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering which is scheduled for July 16 - 20 in New Orleans. The Youth Gathering is open for those in 8th - 12th grades. The Young Adult Gathering, to be held at the same time, is open to 18 to 35 year olds, and partially geared toward those who did not have an opportunity to attend the 2021 Gathering because it was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Registration for the Gathering begins next month.
Construction Dust Necessitates Organ Service Call
The first stage of our restroom project, destruction of the existing facilities on the ground floor, created more than expected destruction dust. It was necessary to jackhammer a thick concrete wall in the women's room to facilitate the new plan. Although the contractor did everything they could to seal off the area and minimize the dust, the dust found a way to escape, and created quite a cloud in the choir/organ part of the sanctuary. Too much dust can wreak havoc with an organ, so Glenn Tallar, our organ maintenance specialist was called to check it out. I just so happened that he was in the neighborhood servicing the organ at Zion Sandusky, and so was able to check out the Grace instrument. Thankfully, the dust levels did not indicate a thorough cleaning. But Glenn noted that two of the air boxes that are integral to the organ's operation are in need of repair. This box has a leather bellows that allows for expansion and contration to provide a steady supply of air for the pipes. According to a sharpie note on the box, this leather was replaced in 1974. It has reached the end of its useful life. We will be waiting to hear from Glenn what the repair cost will be.
Preview of New Grace Story
The next Grace Story will feature John Avers, and will go out via Mailchimp next Tuesday, and will appear in the September issue of Grace and Truth. You can read the final draft of the story HERE. When I interviewed John at his house last Sunday, I forgot to take a photo. So I will need to do that Sunday. John, help me remember!
LIFT Leaders Meet
LIFT Leaders met on Wednesday, and there were three main topics of discussion:
- Confirmation for 2023-2024 Program Year - We are struggling with a schedule that will work for everyone. If Grace stays with the 9:00 am service time, there would be a 3 hour gap between the end of worship and the beginning of Confirmation at noon, a schedule that we used in 2021-22. Leaders will meet again after the Youth Gathering meeting on Sunday to work out a plan.
- God's Work Our Hands - For the past ten years, the ELCA has promoted the Sunday after Labor Day as "God's Work Our Hands" Sunday, a day that congregations plan and execute a service project in the community. A tentative plan will be to serve a lunch, and then have several options for a several hour service, some out in the community, and some that can be done at the church. We are hoping to have more specific details ready by the September Grace and Truth deadline.
- LIFT Worship on the Sunday after Christmas - The Sunday after Christmas will be New Year's Eve, so we are planning a LIFT service for that day with two services -- one at Grace on Saturday at 4pm, and another, probably at Emmanuel. One option for that service would be Lessons and Carols, and other options are being considered.
Evangelical Lutheran Worship Hymnal Campaign Update
Linda reports that to date the church office has received funding and pledges for 193 hymnals, towards our goal of 275. If you haven't pledged your support yet, won't you help us reach our goal? Sponsorship forms can be found on the tables at both entrances, or online HERE.
No comments:
Post a Comment