Vacation Bible School 2017

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1 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: HUNGER takes no vacation but our Food Pantry volunteers do. If you would like to help out as a summer substitute, please contact Judy Joy or Vicki Quraishi or send an to the office. Pastor s Note 2 Music Notes 3 Pet Fest 3 Mental Health Program 4 Musings 5 Aug Happenings Birthdays 6 Men s Breakfast 7 Grace s Faces 8 VBS Pictures 10 Budget Update 12 Alpha Program 13 What Makes Grace Great 14 Thank You s 15 Condolences Corner 16 7 A U G U S T G R A C E L U T H E R A N C H U R C H Camp Discovery Vacation Bible School 2017 Seven children from Grace, including Evan Weber left, attended Vacation Bible School June 22, and 23, part of a joint event with First Presbyterian and First Christian Churches. Twenty-five children attended. Many thanks to the adults who helped to make the event See VBS, Page 10 for more pictures On July 30, at the combined service, Call Committee Chairman Harry Meyer announced that we would receive three names from Pastor Ben Moravitz (Assistant to the Bishop of the Southeastern Synod of the ELCA), next Sunday, August 6. Stay Tuned. Grace s Mission Statement: Love Jesus and Help Others Love Him, Too!

2 Have Patience, Waiting May be a Good Thing AUGUST CALENDAR Aug 2, 16 and 30 Pet Fest Planning Meeting 5 p.m. Aug 4, 11, 18, 25: Food Pantry 10 a.m. to noon Aug 5: Mental Health Program 10:30 a.m. Aug 12: Men s Group and Breakfast Aug 14: Grace Writers Novel Group 7 p.m. Aug 15: Prayer Meeting 7 p.m. Aug 21: Council Meeting 6:30 p.m. Aug 23: Choir rehearsals resume Aug 27: Grace Writers meet following 11:15 service Aug 28: Poetry Pie in Room 101 6:30 p.m. From Pastor Larry We are into the Dog Days of Summer and this congregation is eagerly (anxiously) awaiting word of candidates to become the next called pastor of Grace Lutheran Church. The delay has been annoying? Pastor Norma is still fine, but I m starting to run out of original material. I don t know how much longer I can keep up the pretense of intelligence. So, a story: Once upon a time, in a small Chinese village, there lived a man and his....trust the Council, trust son. He had one horse. the Call Committee, and One day that horse ran trust God.... away. All the villagers gathered around his home to commiserate with him. Oh, They said, how awful! You have lost your one horse. What a terrible thing! P A G E 2 No, the man replied, It could be a bad thing or it could be a good thing. We just don t know yet. But how could the loss of his horse be a good thing, the villagers wondered. The next day the man sent his son out to find his horse and the son not only found the horse but five wild horses also. He brought them back to his father. Ah, said the villagers, You were right. Having your horse run a way was a good thing. Now you have five horses. But the man said, No, finding the five horses may be a good thing or a bad thing, we just don t know yet. But how could finding five horses be a bad thing, the villagers wondered. The next day, the man s son was starting to train the wild horses and one threw him off and he broke his leg. Now the villagers gathered around and said, You were right, finding the five horses has led to your son s broken leg, it was a bad thing. No, the man said, It could be a bad thing or it could be a good thing, we just don t know yet. This time the villagers protested, Having your son break his leg could never be a good thing. He is in pain, you have lost his help, and he may not heal properly. This is definitely a bad thing! The next day, the Emperor s men came by the village and conscripted all the ablebodied young men to serve in the army, which was involved in a long and hopeless war. The congregation s long wait for the names of candidates could be a bad thing or it could be a good thing, we just don t know yet. I believe it will be a good thing. As we wait, trust the Council, trust the Call Committee, and trust God. Not necessarily in that order. Note: We received word that the Synod will provide the names of three candidates on August 6th. "This could be a good thing or it could be a bad thing, we just don't know yet." Trust God and trust each other. T H E L I G H T

3 P A G E 3 MUSIC MEMO By Slade Trammel New Season of Music Brings a Lot to Celebrate The end of the month of August marks the beginning of a new season of music making for our wonderful ensembles. While New Creation and Youth Choir have continued through the summer months, Ringspiration and Chancel Choir have taken a bit of a break. We will be back rehearsing with each of those groups on Wednesday, August 23, and we welcome everyone to join us. We have many joyful musical events to prepare for in With our celebration of the 500th anniversary of Luther's work, Christmas cantata, Christmas programs, Easter, Flower Festival, and the glorious worship of each Sunday morning, there is no more exciting time than now to get involved in the musical activities of Grace! Drive Safely! School is Back in Session! Pet Fest will be on Saturday, October 7! Photo by Stan Long Our last planning meeting was on Wednesday, July 19. We will continue to have planning meetings throughout the Summer in preparation for the event. We had great support last year and were able to distribute $4,675 to 17 rescue groups! All those interested in helping/participating are invited to come to the planning meetings. Examples of topics/areas where planning/help will be needed will be a silent auction, art contest from Woodland School, children's activities, bake sale, rummage sale, rabies vaccinations, signage, music, Grace booth, donations, registration, photography and publicity. Future planning meeting dates/location will be posted in the bulletins. Meetings in August will be on August 2, 16 and 30 at 5:00 pm in Room 107. We welcome and need your participation and support. If you have questions, please contact Phil Stumbo at or Chris Parton at T H E L I G H T August Love Offering: Social Ministry Fund

4 P A G E 4 Mental Health Awareness Program Building Strong Brains Planned for August 5 Grace Mental Health Ministry will host a special program on Saturday, August 5, 10:30 a.m. in the fellowship hall, entitled Building Strong Brains TN s ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) Initiative. The presentation will be offered by Michael Yates of Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services. The program is free and open to the community. Everyone is welcome. of supportive families, caregivers, neighborhoods and communities. We hope you will join us for this important event, and encourage you to share this information with friends and neighbors who might benefit. If you have school age children, please share this information with your child s teachers and school counselors. We look forward to seeing you there. This training program aids in building a knowledge mobilization movement around early childhood brain development. This knowledge mobilization means developing a common understanding about early childhood through a shared, up-todate, clear storyline based on science: The architecture of a young child s brain is shaped by the interaction between genes and experiences, and this can have either a positive or negative result; Science makes it clear Adverse Childhood Experiences negatively impact the architecture of the developing brain; and Children thrive in a safe, stable, nurturing environment T H E L I G H T

5 SOLA SCRIPTURA: A PRINCIPLE WITH PERIL This year is the 500th anniversary of the posting of the 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany. Martin Luther posted them because he wanted to initiate a discussion within the church about the selling of indulgences and the role indulgences played in the spiritual life of Christians. He was concerned about abuses he observed in the way indulgences were marketed and the impact this was having on Christian practices related to confession of sin, absolution and penance. What should be part of spiritual formation and growth was being commercialized to the point that if people paid their money, there were no further demands or reasons to change attitudes or behavior. Moral monsters could buy into the system and claim to have done all that was needed to be right with God. This was troubling to Luther and not in line with his understanding of Scripture, so he wanted to discuss this with the theological leaders and teachers in the church. P A G E 5 Musings When Luther posted his theses for consideration, they resonated with other people who also by were troubled by the abuses and inconsistencies in logic of official church dogma. Copies of the theses were made, printed and distributed widely. This response caught the attention of the civil John Munro and religious authorities. They saw what Luther was calling for as a threat and confronted Luther with all the authoritative weight of the church. The Pope was Christ's vicar on earth and as such exercised life and death power over Christians. This was the ultimate authority which Luther should not dare to question. But question Luther did! By what authority? Scripture, the word of God. Luther laid claim to this as constituting a higher authority than any claims the Pope could make. This appears to have been a response on Luther's part to the arguments made by his accusers for the ultimate authority of the Pope. So was born the principle of sola scriptura (by Scripture alone), in addition to the theological understandings of sola fide (justification by faith alone) and sola gratia (salvation by grace alone). The Holy Spirit enlightens the mind to receive and understand the Scriptures, the word of God. Here is the basis for the priesthood of each believer and the role of an individual's conscience. How do we prevent someone from abusing such an understanding? Anyone can lay claim to being enlightened by the Holy Spirit (many have) as the basis for constructing a religious system full of heresy. Based on the "sola scriptura" position, who is to determine what is the correct understanding? It is somewhat like the issue of "fake news." How do we know who is right? Anyone can claim to have been enlightened by the Holy Spirit. The apostles recognized the problem of possible false claims to spiritual enlightenment and warned about it, urging believers to be alert and to test all such claims. This is why the early church leaders followed the "apostolic tradition" and why it was important. Both Arian and gnostic heresies were making significant inroads by the second century. In Luther's day unethical scoundrels could spend large sums of money to purchase an enormous collection of indulgences. Luther was bothered by this and included some theses putting priorities on assisting the needy and sick as being far more important than amassing indulgences. Experiencing God's grace through simple acts of kindness is far more important for our relationship to God than buying indulgences. The kind of discussion and critical examination of religious practice Luther wanted is always appropriate. A good way for us to remember what Luther did is to examine how our worship impacts our daily living, inspired by his example, with the Scriptures as our guide. Are we prepared to do this by coming to the Scriptures with an open mind? An example in our own day of the need for critical examination and reflection can be found with those in our society who still believe in six literal days of creation but are unwilling to welcome refugees, demand justice in treatment of prisoners, oppose unethical business practices or work to end racial discrimination. Too often the Scriptures are used to justify our actions, attitudes or financial decisions after the fact instead of the other way around where we build our lives around what the Scriptures teach. Sanctuary Guide: The Flower Guild compiled a handout describing features of the sanctuary, the banners, and other works of art, for use during the Flower Festival. This handout has been updated and will be given to visitors. Copies are available at the information table in the narthex if you would like to have one. T H E L I G H T

6 AUGUST Happenings P A G E 6 For the next few weeks, the Adult Sunday School class will be studying Christianity: the first 1000 years as part of our series on the Reformation. How did the Christian church go from the small group of believers in Jerusalem after Jesus's ascension into Heaven to become the most powerful organization in the world, as it was in 1517 when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses? What events brought about this amazing transformation? Come join our discussion. Everyone is welcome! Sunday School for children resumes on Sunday, August 20, Monday Morning Bible Study has begun a study of the Gospel according to Matthew. Class meets from 10-11:00 a.m. in Room 101. Friends are welcome! The 10:00 Adult Sunday School class is doing a sixweek study of Heaven and Earth: Studies in Matthew. This series follows the lectionary for the third through the eighth Sundays in Epiphany. The class meets in Room 101. All are welcome! Thursday Evening Bible Study Invites You! We are using Ray Vander Laan's video series Faith Lessons: On the Prophets and Kings of Israel. This video series presents the events and characters of the Bible in their original setting to better understand the cultural context of the Scriptures. The group meets in Room 101 at 7:00 p.m. Each video stands alone, so feel free to join as you can! Chinese class has started and meets Fridays from 9:30-11:00 a.m., in Room 101. All are welcome! The class is being taught by an ESOL student who is a native Chinese (mandarin) speaker and is free and open to anyone, Grace member or not. Prayer meeting is held on the third Tuesday of each month. The informal format includes scripture, time for meditation, music, and corporate and individual prayer opportunities. The next meeting is Tuesday, August 15, at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary. All are welcome bring a friend! Hospitality and Invitations. Let s continue to keep Grace welcoming! Let s share the warmth of God s love by reaching out to friends, acquaintances, and the community with invitations to activities and worship services. Nurturing Commission is looking for people to teach children's Sunday school. We also need someone who enjoys working with youth and would be willing to assist with our youth group. If you would enjoy working with these ministries, please call Candy Yugo, (865) It's time to register for 2018 Wild Women s week-end at Lutheridge in Arden, NC. The theme is "Superwoman - expectations and image, guilt and the call/power of God to find/be ourselves. Several of us would like to go March 9-11, Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church is a veteran-friendly congregation. We welcome all veterans, and appreciate your service and sacrifice. 500 Years! Ways to Commemorate the Reformation Please mark your calendar for these upcoming Reformation events. We will be celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Katie Luther Tea for women of the congregation on Sunday Sept. 17 at 2:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall. We will learn about Katie Luther and her part in the reformation. If you would like to help with the tea, please see Donna Gurecki. On Sunday October 29 (Reformation Sunday), we will have one service at 10 a.m. with a celebration dinner following the service. We are looking for members to help provide German dishes for this dinner. We all know we have some great cooks among us!! If you can help with the dinner, please see Donna Gurecki. If you want to help in other ways, please see Betty Anne Domm. There will be education classes for children, youth and adults discussing and learning about the Reformation and the impact it had. T H E L I G H T

7 Photos by Sharon Boudreaux The Men s Corner by Phil Stumbo The next Men's Group meeting will be on Saturday, August 12. Coffee will be ready by 7:30 a.m. with breakfast at 8 a.m. Our speaker will be Nancy Munro who will be telling us "How to Keep Your Marbles" which should be very interesting and informative. She will present a brief overview of the latest and greatest info on how to prevent, halt, and even reverse cognitive decline from the early Alzheimer's stage. All men of Grace are invited to attend. We look forward to having you join us. If you have questions or need information, please contact Phil Stumbo at or pstumbo@comcast.net. AUGUST Birthdays Cleva Marrow 8/01 Chuck Thompson 8/04 Nate Stewart 8/07 Marvel Burtis 8/15 April Fritts 8/20 Glenna Koenig 8/21 David Olsen 8/22 Patricia Hope 8/23 Joe Kitts 8/28 Leon Klatt 8/28 Judy Joy 8/30 Ruth Kerchner 8/31 Rhonda Ashburn 8/31 P A G E 7

8 G RACE S FACES THE WEBER FAMILY STORY AND PHOTO BY STAN LONG P A G E 8 Weber Family, L to R: Marla, Gabriel, Shenodoah, Evan, Zander (front), Kennedy, Brianna, Don (Not Pictured: Alexandria and Jacob) T H E L I G H T The Weber family joined Grace on January 29, They were previously members of Calvary Lutheran Church in Chillicothe, Ohio. Chillicothe was their residence for 26 years, 23 of which they lived in an 1894 Queen Anne home that they purchased and renovated after it had been vacant for 7 years. Don and Marla met and dated in high school and were married at North Georgetown Emmanuel Lutheran Church (ELCA) in 1988, in Northern Ohio. Marla grew up in New Alexander, about 10 miles continued on page 9

9 The Webers, Continued from Page 8 from the church where they were married. Don grew up in a rural area near Salem, Ohio. He was baptized a Methodist, but later joined the Lutheran Church in Chillicothe. They finished college at Youngstown State University as a married couple, Don earning a Mechanical Engineering degree and Marla a Bachelor s degree in Biology. They will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary next year. Don s first position out of college was at Martin Marietta in Piketon, Ohio (Southern Ohio). He later worked for Centrus Energy in Piketon as an engineering manager and in April, 2016 accepted a job transfer to Centrus Oak Ridge facility where he is a project manager. Early in his career Don worked in stress analysis, but for the last 20 years he has been a manager in the technology of uranium enrichment for commercial applications. Don is also something of a home maintenance specialist, as he accomplished the renovation of the 1894-built home in Chillicothe as a do-ityourself (DIY) project. Marla had a successful career in Chillicothe. She was able to continue her studies at Ohio State University Hospital and became a registered echocardiographer (heart ultrasound). She then obtained a position at the local health system in Chillicothe and was able to expand into other areas including vascular testing, pediatric echocardiography, stress lab, cardiac and pulmonary rehab, respiratory, sleep, and cardiac catherization. She holds a master s degree in Health Care Management along with multiple healthcare technical registries and certifications, and has 15 years of management experience. Marla retired in April 2016 with 25 years of service and is grateful to have the opportunity to do more with her children, church and community. Don and Marla have eight children ranging from 5 to 24 years of age. All but Alexandria and Jacob are shown in the above photo, taken when they joined Grace. The children are introduced by their parents in the following paragraphs. Alexandria (Allie) Weber: Age 24. Allie is a recent Duke University graduate with a Master s degree in P A G E 9 Chemistry. Allie was involved in many activities during high school, including being the goal keeper for her soccer team and orchestra violin concert master. She played violin with the Columbus Youth Symphony in high school and during undergraduate school at Otterbein College in Westerville (Columbus), Ohio. She is currently looking for employment more specific to her degree. She is residing in the Chapel Hill, North Carolina area with her 16 th Birthday Present, Ramona, a standard poodle. [Breaking news: At this writing, Alexandria announced her engagement to James Alexander Brackbill.] Jacob Weber: Age 21. Jacob will graduate in December from Ohio State with a degree in Political Science. Jacob had many successes during his high school years, including Class Salutatorian, Class President, District Soccer Player of the Year, State Soccer Team, and kicker on the football team. He worked on weekends at K- Mart as a lead person for the garden center. He is currently working at the Ohio Consumers Council and for Chillicothe Family and Drug Court. Jacob plans to enter law school, and is looking at colleges in Tennessee and Georgia. Brianna Ann Weber: Age 12, 6 th grade. Brianna came into our family when she was 2 ½ years old. She likes soccer and ran a 5K twice this past year. She has worked hard to make progress on setbacks she had as an infant and early toddler. Brianna attended Girl Scout Camp this summer and likes fishing. Kennedy Marie Weber: Age 11, 5 th grade. Kennedy came into our family when she was 1 ½ years old. Kennedy loves gymnastics and is a level 6 gymnast. Last gymnastic season, she scored a personal and meet high of 9.6 on Balance Beam at a meet in Knoxville. She also likes soccer and loves dogs. Gabriel (Gabe) Mason Weber: Age 11, 6 th grade. Gabriel was our family s surprise birth blessing from God. Gabriel is a huge fan of soccer and has played since he was 3. He likes al- See Weber Family, Page 11

10 P A G E 10 VBS, continued from Page 1 happen!! The theme this year was Camp Discovery, Jesus at Work Through Us. The children learned stories about Deborah, the judge (God gives us wisdom); Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (God saves us); Bartimaeus and his healing (Jesus gives me faith); God sending Ananias to Saul (Jesus gives me His love to share). The children enjoyed story time, bible challenge, crafts, games, music, snacks, fellowship and fun! Vacation Bible School Photos by Donna Gurecki T H E L I G H T

11 P A G E 11 Weber Family, continued from Page 9 most any sport involving a ball. Ball was his first word. Big brother Jacob is suspected of training him to say that. Gabriel is very good at math and wants to be an engineer like his dad. Gabe is a member of Grace s Boy Scout troop 224. Evan James Weber: Age 10, 4 th grade. Evan came into our family straight from the hospital. Evan loves to sing and to learn about insects. He is a member of Grace s Youth Choir and Children s Choir of Oak Ridge, called Sound Company. Evan performed with Sound Company at Carnegie Hall in June this Preventing Suicide Community health practitioner Danielle Roach, through association with the Tennessee Suicide Photo by Stan Long Prevention Network, presented suicide prevention training on Saturday, July 15 at Grace. The course, hosted by the Mental Health Ministry, was free and open to the public. The training, known as QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) is a program designed to teach lay people and professionals alike how to prevent suicide. About 30 people attended and received certificates. year. He also likes soccer. Shenodoah (Sheni) Isabella Weber: Age 8, 3 rd grade. Sheni came into our family at age 3. Sheni loves horses, school, Bible Stories and dance. She does dance competitions and is getting pretty good at knowing her Children s Bible. She went to soccer camp and hopes to find a team to play on. Zander Liam Weber: Age 5, rising Kindergarten. Zander came into our family as a frail infant, and is striving to overcome the effects of his earlier childhood. He loves construction equipment and playing outside. He made progress this summer controlling his emotions and made it through a whole week of Sound Company s morning Show Camp, and completed the Camp s group performance on stage for families. This was a huge milestone for Zander. He is excited to be a kindergartener and we are hopeful for more good things to come his way. The Webers had a unique baptismal history at Calvary Lutheran Church in Chillicothe. Alexandria s baptism at Calvary was the first time that the Pastor had baptized a mother as an infant and then her child. Later, Jacob s baptism was the first for a new Pastor at Calvary. Gabriel s baptism, 11 years later, was the first for another new Pastor at Calvary. Marla enjoys being a member of Grace s Flower guild, assisting with youth choir, gardening and making double flannel infant blankets. Her most favorite thing in life is her children, helping them to grow and to be able to do things and be successful. Marla especially likes Grace s culture of serving others so many ministries for helping others. Don is an avid runner and at one point qualified for the Boston Marathon. He enjoys soccer, reading adventure-fiction and history books, and coin collecting. He became interested in coin collecting as a boy when his grandparents gave him a small starter set of coins. He is now working on a collection of coins from different nations, with the goal of assembling a set of world coins, all issued the year of his birth. Don says the friendliness is the thing he likes best about Grace. New directories are now available in the church Prayer list: Please use the Prayer Concerns Request form for adding names of church members, family, and friends to this Special Concerns List. Request forms are available in the narthex, the back entry, and the church office. Requests may also be made via . The Family and Friends section is updated weekly; names will be removed after 6 weeks, unless the request is renewed.

12 AUGUST 2017 PAGE 12 Mid-Year Budget Report Grace doing better than expected This is a Mid-Year condensed Budget Report as of the end of June It shows our actual giving and expenses versus the projected/budgeted for the first 6 months. Our total giving is $700 less than projected. Our actual spending is $5,247 less than budgeted, however the SE Synod Benevolence of $2,500 for June was paid in July so our spending is closer to $2,747 less than budgeted. Our Net Income is -$3, (adjusted with SE Synod Benevolence -$6,316.71) and it was expected to be -$11, So we are doing better than expected at this point. For those of you who like all the details they are included in the monthly Council Packet. If you have any questions please contact Claudia Lever, Treasurer or Janet Rawl, Financial Secretary at finance@graceor.org Thank you Janet Rawl THE LIGHT

13 We ll Invite the Neighborhood to Pet Fest You ve likely heard that we invited the neighborhood kids to VBS; we are delighted to report that we had three children participate as a result of that canvass. Next we ll do a canvass to invite the neighborhood to our Pet Fest and Blessing (and advertise Sunday School). If you could take an hour or two to participate on a September Saturday morning, please let any member of Proclaiming know. It s enjoyable and easy! Pet Fest Grace Booth Volunteers Needed Calling all friendly folks willing to be the face of Grace for a hour or two on Saturday, October 7! Grace will feature not only information about emergency preparation for pets, but flash drives personalized on the spot that can be loaded with your pet s health needs and medical history by your veterinarian s office. We need some computer-capable folks to help with the data entry (personalizing info) and others to hand out information and treats. And we need a team to take charge of planning and preparing the booth to be as eye-catching and welcoming as possible. Please let any member of Proclaiming know if you re willing to lend a hand. Pet Fest Rummage Sale Hope you are squirreling away items for our Pet Fest Rummage Sale! It s one of the most significant ways we raise funds for the participating rescue groups. Please note that we do not take clothing, large furniture, or Christmas decorations. Children s toys, equipment, and sports items are especially in demand, but any household items, appliances, electronics, linens, jewelry, small furniture, books, shoes and handbags, and the like are welcome. Items should be brought to the church no sooner than the Sunday before Pet Fest (Oct.1). P A G E 13 Alpha Program Being Considered Alpha Program: Proclaiming is interested in starting an Alpha program as a basis for an intentional effort to reach out to the unchurched and minimally or formerly churched. This is a program that started in London, England, and has spread around the globe to introduce people to the basic tenets of the Christian faith. It is not a Bible study or an effort to convince people to convert to Christ, but to reach out to the unchurched to form relationships and be able to present and discuss the faith in a gentle way. Proclaiming invited Josh Williamson to share his experiences with Alpha as he was involved with three cycles of it at St. Paul in Maryville. It served as an excellent introduction to Christianity for Josh who had become a Christian only four months before he first experienced Alpha. St. Paul s did not offer such an intro and intended Alpha to serve as such. Each session explores one of ten fundamental aspects of Christianity that all faiths agree on. Alpha requires three teams: a cook team (1-2 persons), facilitators (5 people), and an advertising team (this could be Proclaiming). Most materials are free and available online. We would also need a coordinator. If you are interested in supporting or being involved in helping Grace start an Alpha program, or want more information about it, please contact any member of Proclaiming: Gayla Cutler, Christy Gipson, Pat Hope, Nancy Munro, or Stan Long. And, you can go online to alphausa.org to get much more information and even watch the videos that provide the basis for discussions at the sessions. Grace partners with Knox Area Rescue Ministries (KARM) through a program called Corners of Your Field. At KARM stores, your donations are redeemed for dollars that are used to help the poor and homeless. KARM provides food, shelter, and other services for those in need, as well as gift cards to help us help those we know. Your donation contributes to KARM s mission of Restoring Lives in Jesus Name. KARM accepts clothing, appliances, furniture, children s items, toys and games, and electronics. Go to karmstores.com or call to schedule a drop-off or request a pick up. See the latest Corners of Your Field newsletter in the hallway, near the kitchen. The office at Grace frequently has gift cards and discount coupons that can be redeemed at the KARM stores for clothing and household items.

14 What Makes Grace Great? P A G E 14 The artistic hands of Vicki Kitts working on flowers for a church function. She is part of the Grace Flower Guild, just one component that makes Grace a special place to worship! Photos By Pat Hope If you have a suggestion for what makes Grace great, send it to me at thetwohopes@aol.com or by text Thanks. T H E L I G H T

15 AUGUST 2017 PAGE 15 Congratulations to David Dixon David Dixon was recently nominated for an Emmy by The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Nashville/Midsouth Chapter for a television special he worked on called "Count down to the Airshow," which was done for last year s Smoky Mountain Air Show. Above left, David is shown filming an interview at the air show. David won two Associated Press Awards, one for TV Editing and the other for Long Light Feature for the same show and above right, he, Ryan O Donnell and Sarah Self are accepting the editing awards. The three of them work for Knoxville-based Channel 6, WATE-TV, where David is a Creative Services Producer. Seminarian Partners Visit Grace, Share in Service and Brunch Ashton and Jennifer Roberts visited Grace Sunday, July 30. They have completed their first year as students at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (LTSS). At left, they answer questions from the congregation during a brunch following the Fifth Sunday combined service, where Jennifer preached and Ashton led. Photo by Pat Hope Office Hours: Office secretary, Victoria Medaglia, is here from 9-1, Monday and Tuesday, 9-4 on Wednesday, and 9-2 on Thursday. Contact Victoria at or office@graceor.org.

16 Grace Lutheran Church 131 West Gettysburg Avenue Oak Ridge, Tennessee Phone: Website: Grace Makes a World of Difference THANK YOU! Dear Grace Church, Thank you all so much for your generosity! Donations like yours help ensure that our patients and families have the things that they need during their stay with us. We could not do what we do without the support of people like you all. Your donations have and will continue to make a difference for our patients. We here at Methodist Medical as well as those we serve deeply appreciate your generosity. Take Care. Kim Maes Methodist Medical Center Manager To my Grace family, Once again I find myself in a position to extend my thank you s to my family at Grace. It seems I just am having a hard time shaking some of these physical issues that plague me. My immune system is highly compromised, leaving me vulnerable to infections and having to take antibiotics. I m so overwhelmed by the support and prayers that have been lifted up in my name. I constantly seek God s guidance and help in keeping my faith strong and positive. Rhonda Ashburn CONDOLENCES CORNER Our condolences to the families of those who have passed on to life eternal: JULY Anna Burns 7/1 Want to win a gift card? Find the Backpacks Find three of the backpacks like the one shown here, hidden in this issue. Please send the page numbers where you find them to Pat Hope by August 31. Only or text messages ( ) accepted. Prize to be awarded in early Sept. If you read every story in The Light, you ll see them. The one pictured here doesn t count, and remember the cover page is Page 1. Thanks. Pat Hope-Editor Congratulation to past winners: Lorraine Huynh July Bibles Audrey Elam August Fishes Katherine Smith September Lilies Carol Donath October Lambs Crista Duncan November Doves Ruth Smiley December Chrismons Nancy Munro January Snowflakes Sigrid Ludemann February Heart Balloons Vicki Quraishi March Shamrock Hats Susan Gunning April Eggs Claudia Lever May Lilies Alicia Rudat June silhouette