Friday, December 29, 2023

Interim Grace Notes for December 29, 2023

Thanks To All Who Helped Make Our Christmas Celebration The Best!

Many thanks to many Grace membersthat worked together to ensure another memorable and beautiful Christmas Eve worship service. Don't have the exact attendance figures, but I'm guessing about 250 over the two services. Attendance at 5 was a bit more than at 9.

Reminder of Altered Worship Schedule This Weekend

Don't' forget that this weekend is a special LIFT observance of the First Sunday After Christmas using an order for Lessons and Carols. All LIFT congregation members are encouraged to attend one of two services:

Saturday, 4:00 pm at Grace
Sunday, 10:00 am at Emmanuel Lindsey Emmanuel is exactly 8.3 miles west of Grace on West State street and US 20. You can view Google driving directions HERE.

IRS Raises Mileage Rate for 2024

The Internal Revenue Service today issued the 2024 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2024, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be: 67 cents per mile driven for business use, up 1.5 cents from 2023. Your can read the IRS Web Page which provides more details HERE.

Our Learning Track for Stewardship for All Seasons: Please Read and Respond!

This is a repeat from last week!
Our participation in Stewardship for All Seasons gives us access to a learning track which can increase our effectiveness as a congregation. Registration open to anyone in the congregation. The Stewardship Team has chosen

Option 2: Volunteer Recruitment and Retention - Best Practices

Congregations have long battled the 80/20 rule: that 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people. Now it is even harder, as many congregations report that 80/20 rule is becoming a 90/10 rule.

In this volunteer track for SAS, we will focus on the recruitment, retention and stewardship of church volunteers, as well as growing leaders in your congregation and identifying successful stewardship team members.

All tracks will be on Thursday at noon. The session dates and content are as follows:

Jan 25: Overview--how do we recruit volunteers? We will consider the process of determining our volunteer needs, preparing recruitment materials, identifying prospective volunteers and how ministry team leaders go about inviting their service.

Feb 22: Writing job or service descriptions. You will bring a list of volunteer opportunities at your ministry to this meeting and we will walk through how we write a job or service description together.

March 28: How to retain volunteers. In this meeting we will talk about how to make your volunteers’ experiences worthwhile and fulfilling. We will review check ins, conflict resolution, continuing education and gratitude gatherings.

April 25: How to grow volunteer leadership in your congregation. One of our goals in refining our volunteer program is to raise up new leaders and maintain a leadership pipeline. We will discuss how to identify potential leaders, give them varied experiences throughout your ministry, and invite them into leadership roles.

To register for this track, click HERE and scroll down to Option 2, and enter your name and email address. You will receive an email confirming your registration, and an email reminder with the Zoom link within 24 hours of each session of the Track. Then enter the dates and time (12:00 noon) on your calendar.

2024 - The Year of Rest

Bishop Daniel and the NWOS Staff have developed a specific theme for each of the years of Bishop Daniel's tenure as bishop. Last was the year of Story. 2024 is the Year of Rest. You can read more about what that means HERE.

Links for You

2024 The Year of Rest

NWOS 2024: The Year of Rest

As we prepare for the new year, we invite you into 2024: The Year of Rest.

Time and time again God calls us into rest through scripture. We read stories of Jesus retreating into the hills, journeys being paused, and creation being celebrated with rest.

So what does it mean for God's people to engage in rest?

Throughout 2024 we will explore this question, not just through sleep or vacation time, but through little moments each day that nourish and renew us.

Instead of our traditional daily Bible reading guide we invite you to engage in daily rest practices, using the seven types of active rest. By grounding these practices in a weekly Bible verse, we pray this guide will help you discover moments of rest and peace.

Learn more about the7 Types of Active Rest (Video)

Learn more about the7 Types of Active Rest (Article)

Our grounding verses for January are brought to us by Shea McGrew, treasurer of the Synod Council.

Here's what he had to say when asked how he rests:

January 2024 Rest Calendar

I wish I had developed good habits for getting rest and renewing myself many years ago, but it didn’t happen. My career was consuming, involving extensive travel and many late nights and early mornings. When I was home, there was the press of family activities, church involvements, and a job that required me to be on top of things and available.

Today, while I have multiple jobs (two, both part-time) and some volunteer commitments, there is more time and no good excuse for not having habits for rest and renewal. I have a hard time slowing down, but two things force me into that mode: 1) prayer time and 2) exercise.

Prayer time is essential, and mine is in the evening. God, I suspect, doesn’t want me to enter into that time rushed and distracted, so I try to calm down and pray slowly and purposefully, and then just try to be silent for a while and open myself to what God might want to put on my mind or heart.

Exercise (usually running), while not rest in the normal sense, actually produces a slow-down in me. When finished, I have worked out some physical anxiety and I am more alert for the rest of the day. This is all about habits and discipline, I know, and those two things renew me in a way nothing else does.

~ Shea McGrew

January 2024 Rest Calendar

Friday, December 22, 2023

Interim Grace Notes for December 22, 2023

Evangelical Lutheran Worship Books Installed

Grace has officially moved on from the Lutheran Book of Worship (LBW, green books), published in 1978, to Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW, red or cranberry books) as of last Sunday. Orders for new ELW's were taken earlier in the year, with members purchasing 240 hymnals. Most had bookplates installed on the inside front cover noting those who are remembered or honored by the sponsoring members. The new hymnals were supplemented with hymnals from congregations in several locations that had closed, and donated to Grace. The new and donated hymnals were available in the sanctuary after worship, and many members stayed after worship to complete the switch from the green to the red. Thanks to all who sponsored new hymnals, and all who helped with this project!

ELW's To Be Dedicated This Weekend

Our new placed ELW's will be dedicated with a brief prayer of dedication at the beginning of worship this weekend on Saturday and Sunday. Some differences to note: Psalms are included in the front of ELW, as they are in LBW, but ELW numbers the Psalms as hymns. So the first numbered hymn in ELW is 151 (after 150 Psalm "hymns." ELW has ten settings, LWB has three. ELW settings 3 and 4 are the same as LBW settings 1 and 2. That provides continuity and familiarity between the two books. ELW includes Martin Luther's Small Catechism, beginning on page 1160 at the back of the book.

Ushers Needed for Christmas Eve

Volunteers for Christmas Eve worship were recruited through several weeks of bulletin inserts. The inserts generated sufficient volunteers except for ushers. We have no ushers scheduled for either the 5pm or 9pm service. If you'd be willing to help out, let me know with a text at 419-239-8444 or an email at mark@bogen.org.

Care Center Visits Made

This past week I have tried to get up to date with visits to Grace members in Fremont care centers, including Bethesda, Valley View, Elmwood, and Courtyard. Still to get to: Alpine House and Trustwell at Clyde Gardens - hope to get there on Sunday afternoon -- have some time between morning worship and 5pm Christmas Eve.

External and Internal Locks To Be Updated

This week, a new lock was installed in the Clover Street Office outside door, along with the new double doors on Baker Street. This will create the need for only one key to open all the doors facing Clover and Baker. These doors will be re-keyed next week, so if you have a current key for Baker Street and Clover double doors, you will need to get the new key from the church office. We will let you know when the new key becomes operational. Also, indoor locks to the church office will be changed.

Our Learning Track for Stewardship for All Seasons: Please Read and Respond!

Option 2: Volunteer Recruitment and Retention - Best Practices

Congregations have long battled the 80/20 rule: that 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people. Now it is even harder, as many congregations report that 80/20 rule is becoming a 90/10 rule.

In this volunteer track for SAS, we will focus on the recruitment, retention and stewardship of church volunteers, as well as growing leaders in your congregation and identifying successful stewardship team members.

All tracks will be on Thursday at noon. The session dates and content are as follows:

Jan 25: Overview--how do we recruit volunteers? We will consider the process of determining our volunteer needs, preparing recruitment materials, identifying prospective volunteers and how ministry team leaders go about inviting their service.

Feb 22: Writing job or service descriptions. You will bring a list of volunteer opportunities at your ministry to this meeting and we will walk through how we write a job or service description together.

March 28: How to retain volunteers. In this meeting we will talk about how to make your volunteers’ experiences worthwhile and fulfilling. We will review check ins, conflict resolution, continuing education and gratitude gatherings.

April 25: How to grow volunteer leadership in your congregation. One of our goals in refining our volunteer program is to raise up new leaders and maintain a leadership pipeline. We will discuss how to identify potential leaders, give them varied experiences throughout your ministry, and invite them into leadership roles.

Links for You

Friday, December 15, 2023

Interim Grace Notew for December 15, 2023

Sunday School Christmas Program On Deck

The Grace Sunday School children have been working real hard for a number of weeks preparing for the Sunday School Christmas Program, which will be presented during worship this Sunday, December 17. The theme this year is "The ABC's of Christmas," which have the children working their way through the alphabet to tell the story and meaning of Christmas. The service will contain most of the elements of Sunday worship, including Holy Communion, but the children will be the ones who will lead us. Saturday worship at 4pm will be a traditional Third Sunday of Advent service.

New Evangelical Lutheran Worship Books To Be Placed Sunday

On Tuesday, a group of volunteers installed memorial and honorary bookplates into the new Evangelical Lutheran Worship hymnals that were ordered by Grace members. These two hundred plus books were moved to the sanctuary on Wednesday evening. Still to be moved to the sanctuary from a Sunday School room are the 120 hymnals donated by Antioch Lutheran Church in Farmington Hills, Tom's former congregation which closed, and about 40 hymnals shipped from the ELCA Arkansas-Oklahoma Synod, donated by congregations in that synod which had closed.

At the end of worship on Sunday, worshipers will be invited to remove the green Lutheran Book of Worship and stack them at the end of the pew, and those wish to stay a bit longer will help install the new ELW's into the pew racks. The goal has been to get them in the pews in time for Christmas Eve, and it looks like that goal will be met. Thanks to all who donated toward this project!

Christmas Eve Worship Ready to Go

The deadline for ordering digital music from SOS (Substitute Organist Service) was Wednesday. The order included 15 minutes of pre-service Christmas music, which will begin a half hour before the 5:00 and 9:00 pm services. At the 45 minute mark, there will be 15 minutes of carol singing in which those who have gathered by then will be welcome to join in. The remainder of the service will be filled with the singing of traditional Christmas carols, including the singing of Silent Night during the lighting of candles near the end of the service.

Our Learning Track for Stewardship for All Seasons: Please Read and Respond!

Option 2: Volunteer Recruitment and Retention - Best Practices

Congregations have long battled the 80/20 rule: that 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people. Now it is even harder, as many congregations report that 80/20 rule is becoming a 90/10 rule.

In this volunteer track for SAS, we will focus on the recruitment, retention and stewardship of church volunteers, as well as growing leaders in your congregation and identifying successful stewardship team members.

All tracks will be on Thursday at noon. The session dates and content are as follows:

Jan 25: Overview--how do we recruit volunteers? We will consider the process of determining our volunteer needs, preparing recruitment materials, identifying prospective volunteers and how ministry team leaders go about inviting their service.

Feb 22: Writing job or service descriptions. You will bring a list of volunteer opportunities at your ministry to this meeting and we will walk through how we write a job or service description together.

March 28: How to retain volunteers. In this meeting we will talk about how to make your volunteers’ experiences worthwhile and fulfilling. We will review check ins, conflict resolution, continuing education and gratitude gatherings.

April 25: How to grow volunteer leadership in your congregation. One of our goals in refining our volunteer program is to raise up new leaders and maintain a leadership pipeline. We will discuss how to identify potential leaders, give them varied experiences throughout your ministry, and invite them into leadership roles.

One More Advent Midweek Worship

The third and final Advent Midweek Worship service will be this Wednesday at 6:30 pm in the Grace Sanctuary. Pastor Matt will bring this message this week, and our worship music is Holden Evening Prayer. Spirit Supper will begin serving at 5:00 pm.

Links for You

Friday, December 8, 2023

Interim Grace Notes for December 8, 2023

LIFT Notes

Be sure to check out this week's LIFT Notes for information on LIFT sponsored events including

LIFT Advent Wednesdays - our Advent worship series this year at 6:30 at Grace for the next two Wednesdays, December 13 and 20. We are singing Holden Evening Prayer again for these services.
Breakfast in Bethlehem at St. John's. Heather spearheaded this program last year, and it was a great success, so we're doing it again. 9-11 am. Breakfast included. A Shepherd will be wandering around talking about the night the angels sang. Hmmm.... wonder who that might be??
Blue Christmas, this Sunday at 4:00 pm at St John's, designed to bring hope and comfort to those experiencing grief, and for whom the holiday season is additional reminder of their loss.

LIFT Budget Meeting on Sunday

There was not a quorum to pass the LIFT 2024 budget at the November 19 Board Meeting, so a budget meeting via Zoom has been scheduled for this Sunday, December 10 at 12:30 pm.

Update on Blessed to Be a Blessing Appeal

Here are some results from the Stewardship Appeal. 76 intents received, and a total of $390,000 of expected giving in 2024. This is roughly equal to last year. So while we're not moving backwards, we're not making leaps forward either. The Stewardship Team gathered on Wednesday for our monthly meeting and signed thank-you letters for those who had returned Intent Cards. We also reviewed the several options for Winter Learning Tracks. We choose one Track and then register individually for the track which is attended via Zoom. Tracks are recorded so can be watched later. These tracks are included in the fee that we pay to participate in Stewardship for All Seasons. The track and directions for subscribing are in the next paragraph.

Our Learning Track for Stewardship for All Seasons: Please Read and Respond!

Our participation in Stewardship for All Seasons gives us access to a learning track which can increase our effectiveness as a congregation. Registration open to anyone in the congregation. The Stewardship Team has chosen

Option 2: Volunteer Recruitment and Retention - How To - With Paul Marsh

Congregations have long battled the 80/20 rule: that 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people. Now it is even harder, as many congregations report that 80/20 rule is becoming a 90/10 rule.

In this volunteer track for SAS, we will focus on the recruitment, retention and stewardship of church volunteers, as well as growing leaders in your congregation and identifying successful stewardship team members.

All tracks will be at 9am pacific, 10am mountain, 11am central and noon eastern time. The session dates and content are as follows:

Jan 25: Overview--how do we recruit volunteers? We will consider the process of determining our volunteer needs, preparing recruitment materials, identifying prospective volunteers and how ministry team leaders go about inviting their service.

Feb 22: Writing job or service descriptions. You will bring a list of volunteer opportunities at your ministry to this meeting and we will walk through how we write a job or service description together.

March 28: How to retain volunteers. In this meeting we will talk about how to make your volunteers’ experiences worthwhile and fulfilling. We will review check ins, conflict resolution, continuing education and gratitude gatherings.

April 25: How to grow volunteer leadership in your congregation. One of our goals in refining our volunteer program is to raise up new leaders and maintain a leadership pipeline. We will discuss how to identify potential leaders, give them varied experiences throughout your ministry, and invite them into leadership roles.

To register for this track, click HERE and scroll down to Option 2, and enter your name and email address.

SOS Growing Pains

We have used our Substitute Organist Service (SOS) for two weekends, and so far it's been effective - we've had a few glitches - for example, the volume was too low this last Sunday, and when picking up and moving the iPad which controls the digital organ tracks at the end of the service, I accidentally touched the "stop" button in the app, but the congregation continued singing acapella. I'm hoping for a more flawless use this weekend, and yes, we will turn up the volume so it sounds more like a real organ. We continue to follow up leads for resources to inquire of availability/interest.

Links for You

Grace and Truth Pastor's Message

I turned in my January Pastor's message to Tricia for publication in the January issue of Grace and Truth. Deadlines are earlier this month because of the holidays. It's a New Year's message, but if you want to preview it, you can do so HERE.

Don't forget Annual Report Deadline

Deadline for Annual Reports is Friday, December 22 at 8:00 am.

Friday, December 1, 2023

Interim Grace Notes for December 1, 2023

Toledo Symphony Concert Ready To Go

Tickets for the Toledo Symphony have been sold out for about a week. Thanks to the members of the Concert Committee and everyone else who is helping to again make this event an overwhelming success! Post concert note: It was fantastic!!

Update on Stewardship Program

As of December 1, 72 Intent Cards have been received, totaling intended giving of $4,229 per week, or $219,895 annually. There are still intent cards yet to be tallied, but if giving from those units continues at last year's level, giving should total $7,480, or $388,960. Thanks to everyone for their amazing generosity!

Advent Services

On Wednesday, Pr. Paul and I met to discuss and plan details for our three LIFT Sponsored Midweek Advent Services on Wednesday Evenings, December 6, 13 and 20 at 6:30 in the sanctuary at Grace. We will be using Holden Evening Prayer as the musical setting and our theme will be "Ways We Encounter God," a resource prepared by the ELCA World Hunger Program. Here's a brief description from the program booklet that will form the message for each of the three Advent Services. The author is Ryan D. Cumming, Director of the Education and Networks unit of the Hunger Program:

Where and how do you encounter God? God, through the prophet Isaiah, urges us to take comfort, trusting that the “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all people shall see it together” (Isaiah 40:5). At a time when our world bears the wounds of conflict, hunger and disaster, it can be challenging to uncover where and how God is at work. Yet we know in faith that God is actively working in the world, transforming, reconciling, sustaining and inciting us to ever-greater acts of justice and mercy.

Through reflection on the stories of our biblical past and the stories of ministries responding to hunger and poverty today, we will explore together the many ways “the glory of the Lord” is revealed in communities that have come together to confront deep challenges with strength, hope and longing for a just world where all are fed. Each session of this study will explore one way we encounter God, from revelation to proclamation.

Pastor Paul, Pastor Matt, and I will lead one of the three reflections based on this resource. A reminder that Spirit supper in the Dining Room will precede the service in the sanctuary. Supper will be served from 5:00 until the time of the service.

Update on Memorials and Bequests

I hope that everyone has seen and read the Message from the Executive Board that was printed on pages 11 and 12 of the December issue of Grace & Truth, and included as a bulletin insert this past Sunday. The message gives a thorough update on the recently received bequest of $1.2M, which has been deposited in an interest bearing, FDIC insured account at Croghan Colonial Bank, earning monthly interest ranging from $4,700 to $7,000 per month. The message explains that your thoughts, ideas and input will gladly be received. Please review this document and share your thoughts and drop in the offering plate or bring/mail to church office. You can view that message HERE.