Announcements
OFFICIAL NOTICE — Annual Budget Meeting
Sunday, December 8 at 9 AM Nolt Auditorium
CLICK HERE FOR THE CHURCH CALENDAR
December Schedule
Please download the file for the December worship assistant schedule and the Birthday/Anniversary list.
150 Year Legacy Campaign Update
Dear Members and Friends of Grace Church,
With deep gratitude I am pleased to report that our Million Dollar Legacy Campaign in this 150th Anniversary year has received gifts and pledges totaling over $650,000 as of November 18, 2024.
Grace members and friends have been very generous in their commitment to pay down the mortgage on the renovations to our historic building. With your gifts made this year, we have not only continued making our monthly payments ($5,545), but we have also paid down an additional $230,000 of the principal! We expect that our loan balance will fall below $600,000 by the end of 2024.
As we come to the close of the year, we are hopeful that those of you who have not yet made a pledge to the campaign would consider making a pledge at this time. We ask that pledges to this Legacy Campaign be fulfilled by April, 2027 in any manner or schedule that seems best (monthly, annually, one-time gift, IRA charitable transfer, etc…) If you would like to know more about this, or would like a pledge form sent to you, please contact me.
Finally, Christmas is a time for grateful gift-giving to the folks and causes that are important to us. I feel confident that Grace Church falls into that category for you! If you have already made a pledge but can consider adding a Christmas bonus gift to the campaign before the end of the year, we will direct all those payments toward reducing the principal.
Thank you so much for your generous support of the campaign and of Grace Church’s ministry in Jesus’ name.
Rosalyn Ward, Campaign Chair
Rosalyn.r.ward@gmail.com
(717) 917-8801
2025 Proposed Budet
Please download the 2025 proposed budget and review it prior to the meeting on December 8.
Notes on the 2024 Budget
The income side of the budget is more like a request – IF we are going to spend this much money, this is what we will have to raise, one way or another, and the rest will come from savings. Since we have no way of knowing just how much we will take in from your pledges and offerings, or earn from our investments, or receive from bequests, we make an educated guess. Our income numbers are based on our experience over the past few years, which shows a rising level of generosity at Grace. In 2023, our total income from all sources was $953,175. In 2024 to date, we have received $1,012,504
Join With Others To Make the Advent Wreath
Think you’re not a wreath-maker? You may be surprised to see how this breaks down into just a few easy tasks. We will meet Saturday, Nov. 30 at 9:00 am at front of the nave. Bring pruning shears, gloves if you like. We usually finish in a few hours, creating the gorgeous wreath that hangs over the lectern for Advent. If you’d like to participate, let Murray Foreman know. About a dozen folks have done this previously, but just 6 – 8 is a good size crew.
murrayforeman@gracelutheranchurch.com or 717-203-9061.
Thanksgiving Eve Community Service
Emmanuel Lutheran Church
540 West Walnut Street
Lancaster PA 17603
Wednesday, November 27th at 7 pm.All Are Welcome
Christian Formation
Advent Fair Fun
Outreach
Toys For Tots
Join Grace Lutheran, Holy Trinity Lutheran, and the Lancaster Police Department to wrap gifts for Toys For Tots on Saturday, December 7th at Holy Trinity in the Parish House at noon (lunch will be served)I’d love for Grace to join us and Trinity will provide wrapping supplies. All you need to do is come over! Then we’ll wrap toys to Christmas music! If you have any questions please contact Rachel Kramer at rachel@trinitylancaster.org
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.
Cards will not be available during Thanksgiving week or Sunday, December 1. If you have special orders for cards to be used as gifts for the holiday season, please order them no later than Sunday, December 8.
Your purchase of shopping cards has enabled Grace to donate $500.00 to the Schreiber Center for Pediatric Development. Jay Graver is organizing a musical group of Schreiber clients and some of the funds will support it. The remainder will support the summer camp which Jay also leads. THANK YOU!
PRC Baby Kits
Through PRC’s work with Nurse Family Partnership and case workers from Union Community Care, we have received many referrals of low-income expectant and new mothers who are struggling to purchase the many items needed for a new baby, such as diapers, wipes, clothing, formula, cribs, and safety equipment.
Although Lancaster is home to many pregnancy centers, the requirements for receiving supplies like diapers often leave gaps of access for many families who desperately need this service. In hopes of
creating a support system with the lowest possible barrier to access, PRC partnered with Union
Community Care to plan and provide baby kits to new mothers, as well as ongoing supplies as-available.
PRC volunteers and donors assemble kits, which Union social workers store in their office and hand out. When a new mother and baby are released from the hospital, they can be sent home with a diaper bag full of basics to get them started. Kits include diapers, wipes, onesies, pacifiers, and a swaddling blanket. Additional supplies are also provided so social workers can continue to hand out diapers and wipes as needed during subsequent appointments. Items can be dropped off at the Grace Lutheran Church office, the drop off area in the Nolt Auditorium, or at the PRC.
BABY KITS INCLUDE:
New Items
· Pacifier
· Wipes
· Size 1 diapers (disposable, no cloth)
· NoseFrida nasal aspirator plus pack of replacement filters
Gently Used or New
· Foldable changing pad
· 1 sleep sack or warm footed pjs (0-3M)
· 2 onesies (0-3M)
· Swaddling blanket
· Diaper bag or backpack
You can order items directly from the Amazon wish list.
If you have any questions please contact Angie Rabbe
gracelutheranchurch.com 