Announcements
Saturday Evening Service is this Saturday (9/30) at 6 p.m. in the St. Peter Chapel
October Schedule
Grocery Cards
Grocery cards are available at both services on Sunday mornings. You may order cards by calling Duane and Kitty Weiss. Remember all purchases of cards realizes 5% in cash back to Grace. These funds are used to support our many ministries.
Beethoven’s Ninth!
Our Director of Music, Dr. David McConnell, wears many other hats when he is not focused on plannng, preparing, and leading music for our worship. For over 10 years he has lead two groups in the Reading, PA area – Vox Philia and The Berks Sinfonietta. The two groups combine in just a few weeks for Ludwig von Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 – “Choral”. A number of Grace members and choristers are joining with “Vox” – over 70 singers together! – to give this “BIG” work its due!
The performance takes place Saturday, Oct. 14, at 7:30 p.m. at Immanuel United Church of Christ, located at 99 S. Waverly St., Shillington, PA 19607.
General admission for this concert is $18 when you buy online and $20 at the door. Student and children tickets are $5 each. We are encouraged to buy tickets online, as a full house is expected! You can do so here. A list of online ticket holders will be at the door – Simply tell us your name or show your receipt.
September Council Meeting Highlights
Our Congregation Council met for the first time with its newly-elected members (from our annual
meeting this spring) on Sept. 18. Some highlights of the meeting follow.
Finances – the official Treasurer’s report for July was approved (these official reports lag behind a bit due to statement reconciliations) reflecting strong giving in support of both our annual budget (the
General Fund) and our Capital Campaign Fund – thanks to all of you who offer gifts in support of our ministries here at Grace and through the Synod and ELCA! Our renovation loan balance has been paid down to $930K to date. Those who wish to receive an emailed copy of the Treasurer’s Report as they are approved each month can ask to be put on the email list (contact Phil at pmsupeck@gmail.com).
Pastor Verkouw offered reflections of gratitude for the strong spirit of grace at Grace, and for the health of the congregation in energy and ministry as well as its strong financial footing this year. Our average attendance (including views of the livestream) is now above our pre-pandemic levels, which is remarkable given the trends around the larger church.
Goals this year – Inspiring confident and committed new lay leaders is a goal that our President John Grave and Pastor V are lifting up for our Council work this year, as well as making sure that we are prepared to make a recommendation for a direction to go with our old Education Building (repair? renovate? replace?).
Council expressed its support for Phil Supeck our new treasurer as he continues the process of
application for seminary studies and candidacy for ordination as a Pastor! Please pray for Phil in this season of transition and discernment.
150th Anniversary and Capital Campaign – the Council heard from Rosalyn Ward, our campaign chair, about the plans being made for a Legacy Campaign “Giving with Gratitude for Grace” that will help us renew our efforts to support the campaign strongly over the coming three years, beginning with a special focus on carrying Grace’s legacy of ministry into the future in the upcoming anniversary year.
The outlines of our anniversary celebration are taking shape:
· Anniversary Organ Concert, April 21, 2024
· Publication of a history of Grace by Dr. Karl Moyer
· The Legacy Campaign
· A schedule of guest presenters and preachers
· A (perhaps several) celebration dinner and receptions
Are you interested in helping with the various aspects of the anniversary year? Let us know!
Thank you again for your continued support of our ministries with your gifts, your time spent in serving, your faithfulness in worship and your prayers!
In Christ,
John Grove, President (john.grove004@aol.com )
Pastor Steve Verkouw (pastor@gracelutheranchurch.com)
Outreach
LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF INGATHERING SUNDAY IS OCTOBER 1
Please bring completed school and health kits, as well as loose items by Sunday, October 1. Envelopes will be in the bulletin for donations to the shipping fund to help ship the items overseas. This is a Lower Susquehanna Synod appeal that happens each year on the first Sunday in October. Everything from the churches in Lancaster and North Lancaster Conferences is boxed and delivered to Bergstrasse Lutheran Church in Ephrata on Saturday, October 7, and is then on its way to a disaster center in New Windsor. From there it is packed in sea containers and shipped to its destination. We thank everyone for their donations, both items and monetary. These kits go to many countries around the world and provide aid during disasters and wars.
Gun Violence Harm Reduction
Since last January, a great group of people has been meeting monthly, working hard to understand the reasons for gun violence in our communities, and learning what we can do to help reduce the harm. There are three general areas to focus on that anyone can jump in and help with:
· Raising Awareness/Sharing Info/Education on the Issues
· Working with youth who are at risk for turning to violence to solve problems
· Political Advocacy – working with legislators and organizations that influence the laws in our communities, state and nation.
Now we are ready to take some action, and to invite others into this work. We are beginning with these three specific activities:
1. Helping to educate our church and the community about ways to increase gun safety (by writing articles like this, for example). Today’s tidbit: Not everyone has their guns stored safely, creating unnecessary risk. Our Lancaster City Police Department offers free gun locks, creating a barrier that can prevent others from using your gun and creating harm.
2. The Lancaster City Community Police Working Group Task Force has asked our group if we can help assemble “Goody Bags” with information and treats for kids that they can give out when they offer public outreach events for youth. More details are soon forthcoming – if you are interested in helping when we know more, email Hollis Butterworth: patransplant44@gmail.
3. “Moms Demand Action (For Gun Sense in America) or “MDA” is a national group with a new chapter meeting at Temple Shaarai Shomayim just down the block from Grace. Their next meeting is October 18 at 6:30 p.m. Learn more at the website, where there is an app you can use to rsvp for meetings and events.
4. MDA is hosting an Advocacy Day in Harrisburg on October 4th beginning at 10 a.m. Again, email Hollis if you are interested.
We will continue to share information with the congregation as this work evolves. May we at Grace Church work together to make a safer world for God’s children.
Peace, Kath Verkouw
Christian Formation
ADULT CHRISTIAN FORMATION – IT’S TIME FOR ST. PAUL!
After the past six weeks learning and discussion the rise of Christian Nationalism in this moment in history, it’s time to move out of current events category and shift into Bible gear! This past Sunday, Pastor began a season of focus on Paul the Evangelist, the author of many letters in the New Testament, and, some might even say, “the most influential single person on the religion of Christianity other than Jesus.” One way to describe this influence is simply to note: it was Paul who was inspired to take the teachings and early beliefs of Jesus’s first disciples and eyewitnesses, and think through the implications of this good news for the entire non-Jewish world. And Paul did not only think about it. He did it! His missionary journeys took him far and wide throughout the Roman Empire. His letters to various
churches provide the earliest written record of Christian belief and practice.
We will begin with six weeks of an introduction to Paul using my own learning to flesh out and respond to a series of videos by Pastor Adam Hamilton, entitled The Call: The Life and Message of the Apostle Paul. After that, we are going to plunge into Paul’s Letter to the Romans to get a sense of his faith and theology. Along the way we will try to understand Paul’s most important insights, as well as the many and various criticisms of Paul, from within the church and from the outside, beginning with the early church in Jerusalem.
Through this season of learning about and from St. Paul, I hope and pray that we will grow into deeper understanding of God’s call, not only to Paul, but to each one of us. We hope you’ll consider being here!
Our Grace Family
Happy Birthday!
Hello Grace family!
Mother’s 101st birthday on the 30th of this month. One of the few things she has retained with
Alzheimer’s is her ability to read and her love of music!
Her info is:
Helen Slaugh
Ware Presbyterian Village
Chapelwood, #112B
7 E. Locust St.
Oxford, PA 19363
Thank you and God Bless and Keep You!!
-Marylu
gracelutheranchurch.com 