Announcements
Save the Date For the Advent Fair
Join us after the second service on December 4th for our annual Advent Fair! There will be lunch and crafts for all ages!
We are currently looking for volunteers to help with set-up, clean-up, and crafts. If you are interested in volunteering with the crafts please contact Angie Rabbe (graceelcaapd@gmail.com).
If you are interested in helping with set-up and clean-up please contact Molly Rowen (yoohoomollysue@yahoo.com).
We will be taking a free will offering to help offset the cost of craft supplies.
Watch the Grace News for more information in the coming weeks!
Outreach
World Food Day
Join ELCA World Hunger for a celebration of World Food Day, hosted by Rick Steves and special guest Mark Jansen, CEO of Blue Diamond Almonds. This special event will be streamed online so you can celebrate with ELCA World Hunger wherever you are!
Winter Outerwear Items For Community Meal
We are collecting winter outerwear items for our community meal. This ministry has taken many different forms over the years. This year we will be putting together bags filled with winter outerwear and winter necessities for our community meal participants.
We would like to fill the bags with hats, scarves, gloves or mittens, socks, granola bars, lotion, lip balm, and hand sanitizer. Our goal is to create 100 bags. We will also be collecting feminine hygiene products to make bags for the folks who need them.
You are now able to take a card from the giving tree which is located on the bulletin board across from the donation station in the Nolt Auditorium. All items need to be donated by Sunday, October 30. We will pack the bags the week of November 7. The bags will be distributed at Community Meal on November 16. We will need volunteers to help organize donations, pack the bags, and distribute the bags.
If you are interested in volunteering or have any questions please email Angie Rabbe at graceelcaapd@gmail.com.
Grace’s “World Cup of Sharing” Kicks Off November 13th
The goal of $10,000 has been set for our 2022 “God’s Work, Our Hands” ingathering to benefit L-HANDS and LIRS (Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services), with your gifts being shared equally between the two.
Lead abatement is a critical need for the L-HANDS properties, and our gifts will help with this process. Monies sent to LIRS will help in its ministry to migrants and refugees, a ministry, which for 80 years has resettled refugees and reunited parents and children. Our ingathering will touch lives here in Lancaster and globally and will officially begin November 13th.
Information on how you can donate will be coming soon.
The November 13th Kickoff Event will have a flavor all its own. More precisely, it will have a variety of flavors to be savored! A group of wonderful guest chefs will prepare a delicious array of foods from their countries of origin: Cameroon, Cuba, Mexico, and the US!
Save the date now and plan to sample the cuisines of these four countries in the Fellowship Hall following the second service. L-HANDS residents and current students in Grace’s ELL (English Language Learners) program are being invited to the gathering. It promises to be a festive time that you will not want to miss. If you cannot stay very long, takeout containers will be available. Event tickets will be available beginning Sunday, October 23rd following each worship service at a cost of $10. There is no charge for children under twelve. Ticket money will go toward defraying the food cost and the meals of our guests.
Lutheran World Relief Ingathering
Thank you for your donations to fill our Lutheran World Relief kits. We made 131 Personal Care Kits; and 62 School Kits.
A bulk of the money to purchase the items came from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Janet Neumar applied and got a $250 Visa card to purchase items for the School Kits, and I got one for the Personal Care Kits.
Thanks to Brenda Hayasaka, Donna Linton, and Janet Neumar, the team for the School Kits; and Linda Fackler, Dianne Sherr, Cindy Labezius, and myself, the team for the Personal Care Kits.
Pastor Steve took them to the truck parked in Ephrata which was loaded with items from the North Lancaster and Lancaster Conferences of the Lower Susquehanna Synod.
The truck delivers the quilts and kits from many churches to New Windsor, Maryland, where they are processed and then go overseas to people in great need around the world.
We are still collecting funds for the LWR Shipping Fund. Please use the envelope given to you on Sunday or earmark your check or envelope: LWR Shipping Fund.
–Barbara Slotter
Lutheran Disaster Relief
“Trust in [God] at all times, O people; pour out your heart before [God]; God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:8).
Dear friend,
Recently, several disasters made the news. Here are some of the biggest ones:
In Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, Hurricane Fiona brought torrential rainfall and devastating flooding to the islands. Almost exactly five years after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico is again experiencing an island-wide blackout and damaged buildings and infrastructure. Lutheran Disaster Response is working with the Caribbean Synod to develop an immediate response in impacted communities.
In Alaska, the remnants of Typhoon Merbok have caused widespread flooding along the state’s western coast. This was one of the worst storms in recent decades in Alaska, with strong waves and heavy rainfall damaging homes, seawalls, roads and other infrastructure. Officials are planning a quick relief period before the water freezes. Lutheran Disaster Response is working with the Alaska Synod to address the needs of those impacted by the storm.
In Japan, Typhoon Nanmadol hit Kyushu, the country’s southernmost main island. At least two people were killed and dozens more injured in the storm, which moved northward over Honshu. Wind gusts of over 145 mph and heavy rainfall caused at least one landslide and damaged homes and businesses. We have been in touch with the ELCA’s global personnel in Japan.
In Papua New Guinea, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit on Sep. 11, with ensuing aftershocks. At least three people died, and many buildings and roads were impacted. There is a strong Lutheran presence in the impacted area, including a Lutheran nursing school connected to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea (ELCPNG) that was damaged in the earthquake. We have been in contact with the ELCPNG to discuss a possible response.
In Pakistan, the summer monsoon flooding is causing a widespread humanitarian crisis. The flooding has killed 1,500 people and up to 7 million people may be displaced. Lutheran Disaster Response is contributing to an ACT Alliance appeal that addresses the needs of flooded communities. Through the appeal, local partners will provide food, temporary shelter and bedding, rebuilding materials and psychosocial support.
These are just the disasters that made the biggest headlines. There are countless smaller disasters that don’t make the news. With your gifts to the Lutheran Disaster Response general fund, we can respond to as many as possible – whenever and wherever they strike.
Again and again, you show up for our neighbors impacted by disasters in the United States and around the world. Thank you. Please join me in prayer and partnership to support all those impacted.
In Christ’s service,
The Rev. Daniel Rift
Director, ELCA World Hunger and Lutheran Disaster Response Fund Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Christian Formation
Youth Retreat / Fall Foliage at Camp Kirchenwald
Saturday October 22 – Sunday October 23 Youth Retreat – Be Still and Know That I Am God – Saturday October 22
Food, Fun, Games, Mindfulness Activities, Star Gazing
(We will meet in the church parking lot on at 1:00 p.m. and drive to camp in the church bus!)
RSVP by October 9th by calling the church office 397-2748
Sunday October 23 – Fall Foliage Day 1:00—6:00 p.m. Dinner included! Cost $15.00 per person
Pumpkin Painting, Canoeing / Kayaking, Mountain Biking, Hiking, And more! (We will return to church on Sunday October 23 at 7:30 p.m.)
Register here
Creation Care
The composting process speeds up when the materials are well mixed. Add just a few handfuls of leaves at a time to the compost bin; if you add too many leaves they will mat together into a soggy mass and slow down the process. Read more here
Cap Collection
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! (Dirty caps will be discarded—please wash caps before donating) Thank you for helping to protect our planet!
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