Grace News May 25, 2021

Announcements

Official Notice of the Congregation’s Annual Meeting

Grace Lutheran Church

Sunday June 6, 2021

9:00 on Zoom – Link to be sent

annual-report-2021 Download

finance-report-2021 Download

treasurers-addendum Download

Sunday May 30, 2021

8:00 a.m. ~ In-person worship

9:00 a.m. ~ online Sunday School

10:30 a.m. ~ In-person worship

AGO Recital

The Lancaster Chapter of the American Guild of Organists presents The LANCASTER SUMMER ORGAN RECITALThursday, June 10 | 7 PM Grace Lutheran Church517 North Queen Street Lancaster, PA

Featuring local organists playing compositions by Saint-Saëns, Vierne, Schumann, Oldrovd, Dubois, Bach, Benoit, Bolcom, Weaver, Bagley, and a live improvisation on a submitted theme.

Attend: In-person, masks optional
Livestream: View online from home
Give: In-person or online
For full details here LancasterAGO.org
All donations go to support the Lancaster Chapter’s scholarships for new and developing organists.

Memorial Day Event

Stevens Greenland Cemetery, located on South Duke Street, opened in 1906 under the leadership Edward Millen. At the time, Mr. Millen was a member of Bethel A.M.E Church in Lancaster City, and he was able to help meet the needs of developing a cemetery that is currently adjacent to the Church. This need existed because during those times, cemeteries in Lancaster County were mostly segregated. Once the cemetery at Bethel A.M.E reached its capacity in 1905, the new Stevens Greenland Cemetery was created paying homage to Thaddeus Stevens whom many African Americans revered due to his efforts to end slavery and expand the citizenship rights to African Americans.

The Stevens Greenland Cemetery was not just for Bethel A.M.E church members but for any African American with ties to Lancaster County with some coming as far as New York City to be buried at this site. This cemetery is full of history and has the largest number of African American Veterans in Lancaster County. These are men who served in the Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. Also, several Buffalo soldiers are buried at this site, and one veteran who served in the Navy. In addition to these veterans, there are also leaders and residents of the community whose names still blanket the City of Lancaster such as Polite, Wilson, Cooper, Stewart and so many more.

Sadly, the previous decades have taken their toll on this cemetery. Several headstones are in need of cleaning/restoration. Some have been kicked over, broken, and even vandalized to the degree of becoming illegible. Individuals have used the cemetery as a dumping site for trash and other debris. Tree stumps need removed, flags need replaced, lighting added to various areas and added in a manner that will prevent anyone from taking them in the future, along with several other needed projects and goals. Thankfully, there have been individuals from all different backgrounds and professions that have stepped in and started the process. There will be work crews cleaning headstones, removing debris, and doing general cleanup each Saturday until Memorial Day. Once restored, there will be a Memorial Day ceremony entitled “Honoring Our Forgotten Heroes” held on May 31, 2021 at 11:00 am in honor of these veterans.

Sincerely,

The Stevens Greenland Cemetery Project

memorial-day-ceremony-flyer Download

Christian Formation

Adult Sunday School

Join Pastor Steve and members of Grace for Sunday School at 9:00 a.m. for When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold S. Kushner. Check your weekly email for the Zoom link.

If you need the readings or need to be added to the weekly email list please contact Vicki at (717-397-2748 or vicki@gracelutheranchurch.com

Contemplating Logos

“Listen, O my son, to the precepts of thy master, and incline the ear of thy heart, and cheerfully receive and faithfully execute the admonitions of thy loving Father, that by the toil of obedience thou mayest return to Him from whom by the sloth of disobedience thou hast gone away.”
(Prologue to The Rule of St. Benedict, Trans. Rev. Boniface Verheyen OSB, 1949)

This week’s reading is John 5:9b-13

Zoom for Youth and Kids

Final Update on Sunday ZOOM Fun for kids!

We have been focusing over the last month on the book of Acts – so many inspiring stories of people, good and bad, being used by God to tell the story of Jesus to all the people, not just the Jews.

So this week we looked at one of the main characters in the book of Acts, Saul/Paul. He was a really bad guy who persecuted people of the “Way” (believers in Jesus). With an intervention from the Risen Jesus, Saul became one of the most effective disciples ever! With this new personality and mission God also gave Saul a new name, Paul.

We have learned so much this virtual year and had so much fun. Thanks be to God for these wonderful children! And, although it has been quite delightful, we pray that when September comes we will be learning and celebrating in person, together, face to face, in our beautiful new space, Nolt Auditorium. Alleluiah!

Mrs. Verkouw and Mrs. Hartman

Youth ZOOM on Sunday mornings! For youth, grades 6-12

Confirmation at 9:00 a.m. / High School at 9:45 a.m. Contact Meghan at mekelly10@gmail.com for more information

Trinity Sunday, May 30, 2021
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, “Here am I; send me.” –Isaiah 6:8

When were you first aware of God calling you to deeper faith and service? Was it through the voice and wisdom of a beloved elder or through the witness of a treasured ancestor? Steward these stories carefully and pass them on to the generations to come in the name of the Triune God.

Grace Going Green

We are still collecting caps for the Earth Savers Club at Central York High School. If you would like to help—drop off your clean/label free caps to the church office!

Thank you for helping to protect our planet!

Weekly Greeen Tip

Roughly 40 percent of the food we produce in the United States never gets eaten. All this food waste doesn’t just mean wasted dollars. It’s a huge burden to the environment. If global food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases – behind China and the United States – because growing, packaging, shipping and storing wasted food takes a lot of energy. Then it starts to rot, creating more gas. At the same time, one in eight Americans still doesn’t have a steady supply of food. This can change. Simply changing the size of your plate, using a smaller refrigerator and planning your meals can make a huge difference in changing your behavior when it comes to wasted food. That won’t only help the planet. It’ll help your pocketbook. Read more here