Announcements
CLICK HERE FOR THE CHURCH CALENDAR
September 2025 Schedule
Communion Assistants
We need your help—we need a few more communion assistants for the 10:30 service . We would love to have at least three more folks sign up on a regular basis. If you have any questions please contact Angie Rabbe or Keith Miller.
Flowers and Candles
If you would like to honor/remember your loved one(s) on significant dates, such as birthdays, anniversaries, or date of passing, pay a nominal fee of $20 for flowers and/or $5 for candles helps defray the cost of the altar flowers & candles in our budget.
Please contact: Donna Weidman
dweidman52@gmail.com or 717-201-6180
AGO Hymn Sing
All are invited to the Lancaster Chapter of the American Guild of Organists annual
Community Hymn Sing on Sunday, September 21, 4:00 P.M. The event takes place at
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 200 West Orange Street, Lititz, PA
Join the Lancaster Chapter AGO for its first event of the season! Hymns are played by members of the Chapter; admission is free, but an offering is taken.
Learn more at https://www.lancasterago.org/
Outreach
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. Grocery
Christian Formation
Adult Christian Formation—Prayer
In a nutshell: We have had four very stimulating weeks learning about homelessness in our neighborhood. We have learned about its causes, nuances, and effects on our neighbors and neighborhood. We have understood recent effects of government policy changes and
overviewed the many efforts of churches,
government and non-profits to meet immediate needs as well as to help folks transition into care or housing.
. We have grappled with the spiritual
struggle of confronting human suffering that has no easy solution, and the strange mix of guilt and resentment and other feelings that we feel when we do this – the back and forth that
happens when we humanize and dehumanize people who are suffering and unable to maintain a normally ordered life.
This has caused a number of us to pray to God in different and deeper ways, so…
Let’s take up prayer next!
Pastor Steve will lead us on a study of prayer, in collaboration with the teaching of Philip
Yancey who has written a helpful exploration in six sessions that will guide us. Come to learn, share…yep, and pray!
—Pastor Steve
Our Grace Family
The Part Time Seminarian
Greetings from the North! It is hard to believe it has been more than a year since I began serving as Vicar. The past thirteen months have been filled with many meaningful opportunities to live and learn as part of the faith communities at Brickerville United and Jerusalem Evangelical Lutheran churches. Both congregations continue to respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit as we gain a deeper understanding of our faith and the work toward which God is calling us. Bible studies, Women of the ELCA, book clubs, visitation, community meals, street ministry, annual picnics, community day celebrations, Advent and Lenten series, lunch and learns, community concert series, yard sales, a Christmas bizarre, apple dumpling sales, spaghetti dinners, bake sales, auctions, and chicken pot pie dinners have been keeping us busy. During it all we have been intentional in sharing the gospel with anyone who has ears to listen or eyes to read.
In the past year we baptized one child while commending eleven faithful members into God’s eternal care.
This past summer I spent time supporting the outdoor ministry of the Lutheran Camping Corporation at Camp Kirchenwald. Although most of my time was spent in support of food preparation and service, I was able to lead Bible Study and provide spiritual and emotional care to many of the staff. God is at work in the younger generations. I’ve seen it time and time again this year. Let’s keep uplifting our young people in prayer as they discover who God created them to be and find their way in this
challenging world.
To-date I have finished eight of my fifteen seminary courses, and I am happy to report I earned an A in all of them. I was blessed to receive a scholarship from the ELCA’s Fund for Leaders which covered most of my seminary expenses for the past year. The rest has been covered through the generous support of Grace Lutheran’s Seminarian Fund. Your financial gifts to this fund are making a difference and know they are appreciated. I hope you will continue to support this fund, not just for me, but for those who have yet to respond to God’s call.
This year I will be taking five seminary courses while attending the Clinical Pastoral Education program at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health. CPE will run through April 2026, at which time I will be eligible to sit for endorsement by the Candidacy Committee of the Lower Susquehanna Synod in the ELCA. Once endorsed, my official internship year begins with the goal of being approved for ordination in spring 2027. I am most grateful for the support of our leader, Pastor Steve Verkouw, Pastor Kate Warn (Supervisor), Deacon Marsha Roscoe, Deacon Chelle Huth (Seminary Advisor), Pastor Keith Fair (Relator), Pastor James Goodyear (Conference Dean), Pastor Peter Rustico, and Pastor Rob Myallis, all who have been faithful in sharing their wisdom and knowledge while ensuring my well-being during this journey.
Know that I miss worshipping and serving with you. I promise to continue my visits on the Sundays I am off and on a few Saturday nights too. Your commitment to sharing the gospel and generosity toward mission has set the example for me in my ministry and is to be commended. Stay rooted in love and keep growing in grace! I look forward to seeing you soon.
Faith, love, grace, mercy, and peace be with you.
Vicar Philip J. Supeck
gracelutheranchurch.com 