Celebrating Our 54th Year

Transcription

1 Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church Celebrating Our 54th Year We are in the middle of our Lenten Journey as we anticipate our celebration of Jesus resurrection on Easter morning. This year we celebrate Easter on March 27. There is one question that I seem to get each year. Why does the date of Easter change from year to year? This year we celebrate Easter in March. Next year we will celebrate Easter in April. Why is it in March some years and April in other years? Christmas is celebrated on the same day each year. Why isn t Easter celebrated on the same date each year? The answer may surprise you. It is both easy and difficult (at the same time) to explain. The dating of Easter was set centuries ago. To understand how Easter is dated, I have to give you a short lesson in astronomy. The date for Easter changes from year to year, because it is determined by both a solar (sun) event and a lunar (moon) event. The solar event is the March Equinox (a.k.a. first day of Spring) or the moment the sun crosses the equator from the south to the north. On the equinox the sun shines directly on the equator and the length of day and night is nearly equal. The lunar event is the first full moon after the March Equinox. This year the equinox will take place on Sunday, March 20 at 12:30 pm. The first full moon after the equinox will take place on Wednesday, March 23. Therefore, Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the March Equinox March 27 th. Whew! Now, the next question is, instead of moving the date from year to year, why don t we make Easter a fixed date on the calendar? We could do that, but that would involve sacrificing some of the significant meaning and our self- (continued on page 3) 338 Ocean Shore Blvd. Ormond Beach, FL Phone Fax

2 Office Telephone Mailing Address Office Fax Number Office Pastoral Emergency Noah s Ark Preschool Pastor Cantor Bookkeeper Noah s Ark Preschool Administrator Treasurer Church Contacts Ocean Shore Blvd. Ormond Beach, FL GLC50@cfl.rr.com CHURCH STAFF The Rev. Dennis W. Koch Glenda Cunard Sue Underwood Sue Underwood COUNCIL MEMBERS President Vice President Secretary Council Members Ellie Kryzkowski Bob Hedges Ann Jacoby Fred Boettcher Spencer Earnhardt Sandy Hostettler Bill Kohlman Paul Pankau CHURCH FINANCIALS JANUARY 2016 INCOME MONTH-Actual MONTH-Budget YEAR to Date-Actual Regular Giving $ 12,485 $ 10,199 $ 12, 485 Loose Offering $ 1,861 $ 1,000 $ 1, 861 Other Income $ 8,585 $ 8,131 $ 8,585 TOTAL INCOME $ 22,931 $ 19,330 $ 22,931 EXPENSES $ 15,409 $ 19,330 $ 15,409 NET INCOME / LOSS $ 7,522 $ 0 $ 7,522 Grace Lutheran Church (ELCA) Like us on Facebook! 2

3 Continued from page 1 understanding as Christians. First of all, the Jewish festival of Passover is dated in a similar fashion to how we date Easter. This is important because the Gospels tell us that Jesus death and resurrection occurred at the time of the Jewish Passover, so it is reasonable that Christians would remember these events at the time of Passover. The connection to our Jewish roots and the Passover are so important that at the end of the 2nd century, some churches celebrated Easter on the day of the Passover, while others celebrated it on the following Sunday. So making it convenient for ourselves by setting it at a specific time according to the calendar we normally use, would sacrifice some of the significant meaning at the very center of our faith. The other question that is asked is, Why do other Christian traditions celebrate Easter on a different date? The short answer is that we use a different calendar. The long answer goes like this we run our day to-day lives using what is known as the Gregorian calendar, but that is not the only calendar we humans use. The Christian Liturgical Calendar is both solar and lunar. So what you might note here is that these religious calendars take into account the moon, but the secular calendars, including the old Julian and the modern Gregorian calendars, are only solar based. The Christian Liturgical Calendar in western Christian churches (Catholic and Protestant) is based on the current phases of the moon and the Gregorian calendar. In some of the Eastern Orthodox churches (Coptic, Greek, Russian, and Syrian) the calendar is based on the old Julian calendar. That is why we end up with different dates. Is this important to know? For me the answer is No. But if this helps you out, I am glad I could help. In the meantime join us on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings for worship this Lent. And, let s live Lent as the people of the Resurrection regardless of what day it is celebrated. Pastor Dennis We would like to extend our sincere sympathies to the family of Howard Myer, husband of Betty Myer, who passed away Sunday, February 7. A Memorial Service was held at Grace on Friday, February 12 at 5:00pm. Men s Breakfast Saturday, March 26th at 8:00am at Alfie s Restaurant 1666 Ocean Shore Blvd. Ormond Beach For more information talk to Pastor Dennis Come and join us! 3

4 Grace Notes from Glenda Worship infused with music is a communal experience of the body of Christ. Gordon Lathrop When we sing together in our worship service we are one body of Christ singing as one voice. The body of Christ in song knits us together as a community in Christ. Hymns often bring back many experiences and memories. Favorite hymns change from generation to generation. Here at Grace we tend to love the old, old songs. And that is a good thing. These hymns have depth and history. Lately we have been singing more contemporary hymns and hymns from other countries. And that is a good thing. This gives us an opportunity to stretch our brain a little. And that is a good thing. Once in a great while I have someone ask me if we can sing their favorite hymn. So, I am asking you, the congregation, what is your favorite hymn? (besides Amazing Grace) Excluding Alleluia hymns in this Lenten season write down one of your favorite hymns on the card in the pew rack. If you have a favorite hymn that has an Alleluia in it we will sing it after Easter. Many people say, I like to sing the familiar hymns. What are they? As always I invite all who like to sing and be part of our music ministry here at Grace, to join us on Sunday mornings at 9:00am in the music room. And that will be a good thing. The church choir has begun rehearsing music for Easter and as always invite you to sing with us. We meet at 9am on Sunday morning to prepare our music for worship. It is a blessing to have our snowbirds singing with us and hope more of you will feel free to join us even for a short time. Thank God for the volunteer choirs! Glenda Cunard, Cantor Easter Sunday Bell Ringers Needed!! I need several people to be part of our Easter procession of bell ringers. We need bell ringers for both services, 8:00am and 10:00am. No practice required you don t even need to read music. Anyone, of any age, is welcome to join us. Please see Glenda Cunard if you can help us out. Those who sing, pray twice. Glenda Cunard, Cantor 4

5 Our Lenten theme: Living Lent As People of the Resurrection Each Lenten service will focus on a word to consider while living Lent as Easter People. Hopefully each passion narrative of Christ will take on a more significant meaning when you see them through the lens of the empty tomb. Please join us! SOUP CHEFS NEEDED FOR LENTEN SOUP SUPPERS! We need a minimum of 5 soups for each supper, so prepare to make your favorite soup and bring it to share with others. Please sign-up in the entry way or call the church office at Thanks! Mid-week Lenten Soup/Suppers 6:00pm Worship Service 7:00pm Please join us! Order your Easter Flowers $10.00 each Watch for envelopes in your bulletin. PRINT CLEARLY and turn the envelope in by March 21 st to be included in the Easter Flower List. Checks may be made payable to Grace Lutheran Church (or) GLC. Dates & Times of Services: Palm Sunday: March :00am Maundy Thursday: March :00pm Good Friday: March Noon & 7:00pm Easter Sunday: March :00am & 10:00am 5

6 Thank you to all members of the congregation that attended the Congregational Meeting on February 7, These meetings are very important. Meetings give members a chance to voice their concerns and learn more about the functioning of the church. While everyone is invited to attend a meeting, only registered church members are allowed to vote on issues or are considered in the count for a quorum. If you were unable to attend and wish further information about what was discussed, please let us know. The Council held their regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, February 17, As always, the Council reviewed committee reports and discussed the financial well-being of the church. I am pleased to report that expenses are down and that we have a stable income. Council members were asked to serve as liaisons to various church committees. The liaison will attend committee meetings (when possible), gather concerns of the committee, assist when necessary and provide a brief report to the Council. The Council was advised that Riley Crabb s Eagle Scout project was approved so we will be getting a new shed at Grace Lutheran; all of the details will be given to the Council at the March meeting. We also discussed the need to finalize plans for an updated church directory. We will review bids from Life Touch Studios and Scott Burdick, who did our previous directory in 2012, at the March Council meeting. Approval was granted to purchase some portable coat racks to be used during inclement weather for coats, etc. The council was also asked to approve the annual fundraiser for Noah s Ark preschool; a pasta dinner and silent auction on Saturday on April 9. This was unanimously approved. Monies raised from the dinner will be used to purchase new rugs for the preschool classrooms and some much needed playground equipment. We are now in the Lenten Season and are preparing for Easter. Please join us on Wednesday evenings for the soup suppers and Lenten devotions, and for services during Holy Week. On behalf of the Church Council, and myself, we wish you and your families a blessed Easter. Ellie Krzykowski, Council President TASTE OF ITALY NOAH S ARK FUNDRAISER/SILENT AUCTION SATURDAY, APRIL 9TH. 4:30PM 7:00PM 6

7 Noah s Ark Preschool Think left, think right, think low, and think high. Oh the things you can think of if only you try! Dr. Suess Visit our website: noahsarkormond.com The month of February our children celebrated Valentine s Day with hearts of love for their parents, friends and classmates, and of course, a party. They learned the importance of good dental hygiene. They also had a lot of fun learning who the President s are on the different denominations of paper money and coins. Last, but certainly not least, they had super heroes week, and there were lots of Ninja Turtles, Captain Americas, Batmen & Spidermen roaming the hallways. We also collaborated with Daytona State College and the Early Learning coalition to give FREE hearing and vision tests to any and all students at our school. We tested over 60 children, and when the testing was completed, the Head Nurse came over to our teachers and told them that of all the daycares and preschools we have gone to, your children were the most well-behaved. That remark certainly speaks well of the school and our teachers. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish,... Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!! We are using a variety of reading programs to encourage our young learners to be future readers. It is our firm belief that the earlier a child learns to read, the less chance they will have of falling behind in school and hopefully they will always be excited about reading. Every VPK student has to read their books independently to the teacher and to Ms. Sue. If successful, they will be awarded stickers to put on the chart on the door and prizes will be awarded for every twelve stickers. They have been studying sight words and developing a phonetic alphabet collection since they returned to school in January. Our graduates still come back to school to look at their book chart on Ms. Sue s wall. We also get a visit from the Leprechaun in March. He creates a mess in the classroom, but he leaves gold coins everywhere. We always look for him, but just never find him!! Easter is in March this year. We will be having our annual Easter egg hunt out on the playground, as well as a special party on Friday, the 18th. The children always look forward to this event. On Saturday, April 9, Noah s Ark will be hosting a Fundraiser to support the school. It will be an Italian Dinner/Silent Auction venue. We hope to entice you with great food, and our wonderful and interesting baskets, which will be made available to the highest bidder. We would like to invite all family members, friends and church members to come and support this worthy cause. Yours in Christ, Barbra Sparber-Barnes, MA, PhD Chairperson, Noah s Ark Pre School 7

8 An alternative high school for girls which works towards improving the quality of life for girls at risk. PACE promotes and enables young women ages 12 to 18 to develop self-esteem, further their education, and to develop personal, social and family relationship skills, thereby becoming productive citizens. The program provides small classrooms with individualized curriculum, individual, group and family counseling at no cost to the student or family and also provides a 3 year transition services component to insure continued success after completion. PACE is in need of: Toiletries shampoo, conditioners, combs, hair brushes, tooth brushes, toothpaste, etc. School Supplies paper, pens, pencils, rulers, notebooks, folders, etc. Make-up lip gloss, eye shadow, eye liner, etc. Social Club Luncheon Friday, March 4 11:30am 1320 W. Granada Blvd - Ormond Beach Located on Granada, next to Lowes Sign up in the Fellowship Hall and come and join us for good food and fellowship! Everyone is invited to attend! Social Club News!! Special Event On April 1st we are meeting for lunch at the Daytona State College Café 101. We have limited reserved seating of 16 places. So please sign up as soon as you know if you will be able to attend. The sign up sheet for this lunch will be out right after our March 4th lunch. If you sign up and then are not able to come, please call the church office at or Ann Jacoby at

9 Congratulations and God s Blessings to Ashlee Dowd and Colby Blum who were married here at Grace on Friday, February 26 th at 4:30pm. Colby is the son of Nancy Flaherty and the grandson of George and the late Nancy Paul. CPR Class Saturday March 26 10:30am Grace Lutheran Church Our CPR class will be taught by Lori Becker, retired Daytona Beach Fire Lieutenant and owner of Second Wind CPR. She will be teaching a combo class of CPR/AED and First Aid Adult, Child and Infant CPR and AED (Defibrillator). She will teach you about the signs of a heart attack and/or stroke in men and women and how to help a choking victim. The class will begin at 10:30am and will last approximately 3 hours. The cost will be $38 and you will receive a 2-year certification. Questions?? Call Sue: THE POWER OF A QUARTER! Quarters make a great sound in the collection plate! We are collecting quarters to pay for more curbing to be done in the Garden of Resurrection and around our landscaped areas on Neptune and A1A. There are two landscaped areas in the Garden of Resurrection that do not have curbing. They are located on the north and south sides of the landscaped area. We wish to create uniformity and make it easier to care for the green portion of the Garden of Resurrection. The second area concerns the two small landscaped areas facing Neptune. One of them is the corner landscaping which is currently outlined by bricks. The other area is where the cactus has been planted and we need to create a definitive outline for better maintenance and appearance. We are currently getting bids for this work and will be able to announce the cost in the next newsletter. Bring your quarters to church and donate to the Quarterstone Fund. For those of you who are out of town and wish to contribute just send a check to Grace. We have received $60.00 so far in

10 Eagle Scout Service Project We are happy to announce that Riley Crabb s Eagle Scout Project has been approved by the Eagle Scout Board. His project will be building a new shed for Grace Lutheran Church. He is required to entirely take charge of this project from supplies, to workers, and all things in-between. The church council has been working with Riley for the past year trying to get this project approved and we now have received the go ahead from the Eagle Scout Board. The proposed site has been staked out west of the old shed and just off the parking lot. The size of the shed will be 16 by 24 and it will rest on a concrete pad. Grace Lutheran Church has committed to paying for the site preparation and the concrete pad. We will be using some of the Verna Hauser bequest to pay for it. Riley s grandfather, Al Kaeding, has prepared the drawings which will be submitted to the City of Ormond for final approval and appropriate permits. Riley is busy securing donated supplies from various merchants and is also looking to receive donations towards the purchase of these supplies. If you are interested in donating toward these supplies or you would be willing to help construct the shed later this spring, please contact Riley at This project is the most ambitious Eagle Scout project done in this area and we will be pitching in to help him with time and talent. If you donate towards this project you will also receive credit for a contribution to Grace Lutheran Church during the fiscal year Please make your check payable to Grace Lutheran Church and memo, Eagle Project. Riley is the last of the Crabb family boys to become an Eagle Scout. His brothers, Casey and Jordon, have already been awarded their Eagle Scout and we hope that everyone will help Riley achieve his. It is a win win for Grace Lutheran and Riley as we will finally get the much needed storage space we desperately need and Riley will become an Eagle Scout. We are looking forward to the shed raising later this spring. Building times will be announced at a later date. 10

11 Birthdays March Birthdays 3 Bud Gerard 3 Carol Mahaffey 8 Carl Wince 10 Mary Buckwalter 13 Marsha Leftwich 13 Bob Mabry 16 Nicole Spicer 16 Hayden Good 19 Ellie Krzykowski 25 Sue Tyson 26 Alan Burton 27 Diane Skelley 30 Mark Crabb April Birthdays 1 John Stratton 6 Nicholas Schulze 7 Calle Rose Secunda 8 Barbara McCormick 9 James Crowley 10 Larry Isom 12 Melanie Nagel 14 Karlene Gray 14 Tim Tanos 16 Joyce Northridge 18 Bill Kohlman 22 Norma Weaver 27 Norris Ruff Anniversaries March Anniversaries 3 Bob & Marsha Leftwich 20 Wilfred & Kathy Kahn 29 Ken & Marianne Wenzel April Anniversaries 3 Phil & Laraine Isom 4 Fred & Marlitt Boettcher 16 Richard & Barbara McCormick 17 Bill & Sandy Lort 20 Al & Jan Kaeding Join our Bible Study Series We have begun a series of studies based on the Old Testament book of Job. If you are interested in the message of Job, join us Thursday mornings at 10:00am in the conference room. The Graceful Gifts Gift Shoppe is open on Sunday mornings 30 minutes before the Worship Service and 15 minutes after the Worship Service Come on in and see the new additions to our collection of treasures. Proceeds go to the Quarterstone Fund Please come and shop! 11

12 Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church 338 Ocean Shore Blvd. Ormond Beach, FL NON-PROFIT STANDARD U.S. Postage Paid Daytona Beach, FL Permit N CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED CURRENT RESIDENT OR Activity Schedule WEEKLY WORSHIP SERVICE Sunday School Coffee Fellowship Choir Rehearsal Gift Shop Quilters Church Council Bible Study Social Club Luncheon Men s Prayer Breakfast Sundays at 10:00 am Sundays at 9:00am Sundays at 9:00am Sundays at 9:00am Sundays before & after worship Tuesdays at 9:00am Second Wednesday at 1:00pm Thursdays at 10:00am First Friday of each month 4th Saturday of the month