Stewardship Appeal Update
Our "Blessed to Be a Blessing" Stewardship Campaign/Appeal Ingathering Sunday was this past weekend, when a total of 54 Intent Cards were brought forward or otherwise received.
Those 54 Intents, which represent 25% of 211 giving units which received the appeal mailing, totaled weekly intended giving of $3,396 in 2024, which represents 45% of our goal of $8,625. This amount represents a 15% increase over the previous year of actual weekly giving of $7,602.
Our hope is that the remaining 75% of giving units will cover the remaining 55% of our goal. The history at Grace is that Intent cards trickle in during the weeks following the campain. If you haven't returned your Intent Card, this weekend would be an excellent time! Intent Cards can be placed in the offering plate, brought to the church office, or emailed to LInda at gracefremont@yahoo.com Grace is certainly a very generous congregation. Thank you!! And keep up the excellent work!!
Stewardship Appeal Celebration This Sunday
The final Sunday of our six-week campaign will be a celebration of generosity at Grace. Refreshments will be served from the chapel seating area -- hope to see you there!
The Search Begins...
The Search Begins for the person or persons who will carry on the tradition of music excellence at Grace. A number of calls have been made to possible candidates, and ads have been placed in such places as American Guild of Organists Toledo chapter, Heidelberg College, Synod Website, and Terra Community College. So far, my friend Paul Lieber from St. John's Bellevue will play next Saturday, and another person who is not available on Sunday mornings has expressed an interest in the Saturday service beginning in January.
... and For the Time Being We Will Go Digital
Our (hopefully) short-time solution for music to support our worship will be digital. Pr. Paul has shared hymn mp4's that he has used at St. Mark, and I have also found some good resources on Youtube. This and following weekends I will be controlling the music from my phone or an iPad, which will be plugged into the Grace sound system which actually "sounds" pretty good. An advertisement flyer for a company called Church Music Solutions came across Linda's desk last week, which she brought with her to exec on Monday evening. One of their products is called S.O.S., or Substitute Organist Service. It works like this: You choose your hymnal(s) and service setting, and then drag and drop specific elements like hymns and liturgical numbers into a play list that is then downloaded to an iPad. These "tracks" are then played through your sound system to support the congregation's singing. I have signed up for this service, and will use it for the first time a week from Sunday. There is a cost of $45 per service, which can be used for both Saturday and Sunday.
The S.O.S. system can also be connected to an organ that has a MIDI interface, so that the service actually plays your own organ, like a player piano. The Grace organ does not currently have a MIDI interface, but one could possibly be installed. I have contacted Glenn Tallar, our organ service professional and asked him about this. Here is what he said: "I will look into the spec and see what manufacturers are out there and get some estimates."
LIRS Update on Crisis in the Holy Land
Lutherans have for a long time been committed to meeting the needs of refugees around the world, as especially in the Holy Land through LIRS, or Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Service. You can read an LIRS upate on the latest tragic Holy Land war HERE.
Seeds Monthly
Seeds Monthly has helpful stories and ideas for congregation leaders. You can read the latest issue HERE.
Writers for LIFT Advent Devotional Still Needed
Still thinking about writing about your favorite Christmas Carol for our Advent devotional resource? Pr. Paul has extended the deadline until this Sunday, November 19. Here are some prompts to get you started thinking about what to write.
Fireside News
You can read the latest news from Hopewood Outdoors HERE.
Grace and Truth
Read the December issue HERE.
Just Three Things
You can read the latest issue HERE.
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