JUNE The Church Family

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1 1000 West Wilson Street Banning, California GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH WORDS FROM PASTOR The Church Family What a gift and blessing to be part of a church that we can call home and family. As Christians we have been made children of our heavenly Father by His grace. We are brothers and sisters; one family bound together in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior. We gather together to worship God and to build each other up. We rejoice together, we cry together, we help and serve one another in the love God has poured out upon us. This is what we do as a Christian family and what a blessing that is! The servant leaders of our Boards and Ministries exist to love and glorify God and to love and serve one another. They are representatives of each ministry, working together with one another and with the entire congregation to further the Kingdom work of our Lord. Please note that the key phrase here is that we work together with the entire congregation in service to God and one another. It s not 10-20% of the people doing 80% of the work, but every single person participating in one form or another to build up and be built up within our church family. In Scripture Jesus tells us He came not to be served but to serve. Jesus life was a life of loving service and He calls us to follow His example. We have various ministries in church to live out that calling. One that we are trying to implement is the visitation ministry. If you are able to make a visit once a month, or if you would appreciate a visit, please fill out the visitation form found in this newsletter and return it to the church. You will spend time talking, playing dominoes or cards, sharing and growing in Christian love together. I hope you feel Grace Lutheran is your church home and faith family. I hope you feel loved, supported, and encouraged here. I hope you will prayerfully consider how you can also love, support and encourage your fellow brothers and sisters more and more. Love is not meant to be kept hidden away in our hearts and thoughts. No, love is meant to be put forth in action and given away. Remember, the more love you give the more it grows! And the more it grows, the more joy you will find in Christ and in your church family! Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. because God is love.if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us (1John 4:7,8,12). Serving with you in Christ s love, Pastor Jason

2 PAGE 2 WORSHIP SERVICES Traditional Service 9 am Note: June 17th Worship at the Park 10am Sunday School & Adult Bible Study at 10:15 am Holy Communion June 10 & 24 BOARD OF DIRECTORS SUMMARY FOR MAY A regular meeting of the Grace Lutheran Church Board of Directors was held May 15, Items were finalized for the Special Voter s Assembly to take place May 20, An updated Supervision of our Youth Policy was approved. Special thanks and appreciation was given to Dennis Barnett for his years of service and leadership participating as a member of the Board of Directors. A BIG THANK YOU! Having elected new officers to our Boards, we want to express our sincere appreciation to those who have served our congregation and have now stepped down from their positions. Board of Directors: Dennis Barnett Board of Elders: Milt Reed Board of Trustees: Russ Bailey, Darryl Craft, Ben Gray Thank you for your faithful service, leadership, and the giving of your time and talents to God and His church here at Grace, Banning. May God honor the work you ve done and continue to bless you as you have so richly blessed us! Thank you! THANK YOU! Thanks and appreciation to this year's members of the Nominating Committee consisting of Linda Anderson, Roger Ballinger and Mike Cummings for their time and effort. They were diligent in requesting members of the church to serve in various capacities. Chair, Jeannette Bailey CHURCH AT SENECA SPRINGS PARK JUNE 17 AT 10AM The annual Sunday School sponsored church picnic will be held on Father s Day at 10am, Sunday, June 17th at Seneca Springs Park (aka: DeForge Park in Beaumont, located between East 1st St. and Potrero Blvd same location as the past several years). Please contact the church office for maps and directions if needed. There will be no service at church that Sunday. The Sunday School will provide bratwursts, hotdogs and hamburgers. We need you to sign up in the entryway if you will be attending so we prepare enough food. If you are able to bring dishes, sides (especially fruit salads), and desserts, that would be great! It s also a wonderful opportunity to invite your friends and neighbors who don t attend church for a great time of food and fun! NO Pop-ups and canopies are needed. PLEASE BRING your own drinks, beach towels or lawn chairs for seating, and appropriate attire. Just in case it gets cold again like last year, we will have propane heaters available. Contact Pastor Jason if you have any questions.

3 PAGE 3 CONGRATULATIONS! Congratulations to our own Douglas Rakow, Jr., son of Doug & Liz Rakow, who will be graduating from Beaumont High School on June 1 st! Below are words from Doug s parents. We are very pleased to announce Douglas Rakow Jr. will be graduating from Beaumont High School on June 1st, We are very proud of the man our son has become and look forward to what the future holds for him. Douglas has decided to hold off on his acceptance from Northern Arizona University for the Fall semester and plans to enlist in the Marine Corp Reserve. They say it takes a village to raise kids and we can say with certainty and gratitude we have that village here at Grace Lutheran Church. We would like to express our sincere appreciation for Pastor Jason and the congregation for all the love, support, kindness and thoughtfulness all of you share with Douglas and Joseph throughout the years. Sincerely, Doug and Liz Rakow HEALTH MINISTRY FOCUS Ultraviolet Awareness from Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Pacific Southwest District Source: Friends for Sight Most people are aware that the sun can cause skin cancer, but how many are aware that it can damage the eyes? Cataracts, cancer, corneal sunburn - these are just some of the damaging effects that the sun can have on the health status of your eyes. Sunscreen is essential to protect your skin, but a good pair of sunglasses is critical to help protect your eyes, says Kate Edwards, Friends for Sight s Executive Director. Be aware of some of the risk factors and possible consequences of UV damage and some ways that you can keep your eyes healthy. UV - related eye damage can occur with: Working long hours out doors particularly during the greatest risk hours between 10:00 a.m.-3 p.m. during summer months Family history of eye cancer Having light-colored eyes Spending time at the beach without sunglasses Not wearing sunglasses and hats outside, even on cloudy days Being around water, sand, snow, and ice without eye protection Possible consequences of UV exposure: Skin cancer around eyelids (UV-A and UV-B radiation) Cataracts (cloudy lens in your eye a leading cause of blindness) Photokeratitis (corneal sunburn that can result in temporary vision loss) Pterygium (abnormal pink tissue on the white of the eye) Age Related Macular Degeneration [AMD] (results in gradual vision loss over time) Friends for Sight urges you to take control of your vision and protect your eyes from UV radiation by taking some proactive steps: Wear sunglasses that block % UV radiation Wear a brim hat that shields the face outdoors Get regular eye exams with an eye doctor every 2 years if you are younger than 60 (go every year if over 60) Do not smoke (smoking can cause UV radiation damage to progress quicker than with non-smokers) And don t forget your children! Choosing unbreakable, well-fitted sunglasses and a hat that shades the face is the best way to provide protection for your young ones.

4 Page 4 June BIRTHDAYS 6 John Wright 15 Colleen Gutting 18 Jo Sturm 19 Manny Martinez 20 Mike Cummings 22 Gene Bell 23 Russ Bailey 24 Carl Moore 28 Doug Rakow 29 Linda Mohr 30 Sue Pottle Installation of Officers The installation of officers elected at our May Voters Assembly will take place during Sunday service on June 3 rd. Those who have been elected to various positions are asked to be present for the installation. Psalm 103:13 Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him JUNE ANNIVERSARIES 1 Don & Pat McCage 2 Jim & Corky Evans 19 Stan & Mary Bass 25 Harold & Lanita Buck 26 George & Trudie Konrad 26 Pax & Connie Reinecker III 28 John & Gail Wright 30 Roger & Glenn Ballinger LADIES OF GRACE Thank you for signing up for the luncheon at Grace on June 23rd at noon. If you didn t get a chance to sign up but would like to attend, you are still welcome. Just contact Carolyn Moddelmog by June 3rd and you will be added to the list. The ladies in our zone 19 churches, headed by Carolyn Williams of Prince of Peace in Hemet, will bring in the luncheon and present an informative program about what the LWML (Lutheran Women s Missionary League) is all about. We have been participating in the LWML Mite Box program that provides funds for mission projects in our Pacific Southwest District and around the world for several years. Don t forget to mark your calendars!

5 PAGE 5 VISITATION MINISTRY As part of our continued growth and outreach in Christian love, the Evangelism Committee and Board of Elders have been working to implement a visitation ministry for the church at large. We ve found that there are members of the church who would appreciate being visited, and members who would enjoy making visits. If you would appreciate being visited once a month for an hour or two, or if you are able to make visits once a month, please fill out the form below and return to Pastor Jason or the office. May the Lord continue to bless Grace Lutheran in the building up of His kingdom! Pastor Jason VISITATION MINISTRY FORM Name: Phone: Check one: I would like to receive visits I am available to make visits If receiving visits: What day(s) and time(s) are you available to be visited? Would you like to have someone visit with a meal? Yes No Please list interests you have (ie: sports, quilting, games) and any dietary restrictions/needs/concerns: If available to make visits: What day(s) and time(s) are you available to make a visit? Are you comfortable making visits by yourself? Yes No Are you able to provide a meal when making a visit? Yes No Please list interests you have (ie: sports, quilting, games) and any needs/concerns:

6 Mekane Yesus ( Place of Jesus ) University Under-formation Project Newsletter (MY-UUFPN) Haragewen.kinde@missionofchrist.org April 2018 Newsletter Merit based and need based scholarship Fifty-Two Meknae Yesus Management and leadership College students were recognized for their exceptional academic performance! That is, forty -six undergraduate students with the top three high cumulative GPA in their year group were awarded merit-based scholarship to cover their tuition! rewarding to be able to provide educational support to our needy students! The Rev. Matthew Heise, Executive Director of Lutheran Heritage Foundation(LHF) toured the Bishoftu campus and exchanged ideas about future student related partnership opportunities. In addition, on behalf of LHF, Rev. Heise donated books and special pens to our Mekane Yesus Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (MY-STEM) Academy students! tangible gifts, they were surprised and very happy to be recognized! May the Lord bless you as you blessed our students! The Bishoftu campus leadership is working hard for an accreditation site visit! For the graduate program, Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership, six students who earned a cumulative GPA of 4.0 were awarded a special book Emmanuel Abraham - Reminiscences of My Life to enrich their leadership knowledge and experiences! Dr. Emmanuel Abraham had over fifty years of exemplary leadership experience both for the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus and the Ethiopian government. All Merit based scholarship recipients were asked to respond to some questions that will help us learn about their, educational goal, economic background and level of involvement in their church and/or community. It was very interesting to read about their responses. The common themes around educational goal was that they are looking forward to further their education by pursuing a higher degree! As far as, economic background, excluding the extremes on both sides of the scale, the average income amounts to 3,900 birr ($143) per month. The most interesting part was reading about their level of involvement in their church and/or community! Although most are involved in their community, when it comes to the church they are all contributors to the Lord s work in different ways! What a blessing to learn about our youth and their responsibly taking role in supporting activities of the church. We are proud of them and it is a privilege to serve them! Need based scholarship was awarded to ten undergraduate program students! It was The MY-STEM Academy an instructional support program for grades 9 11, on the Bishoftu campus concluded with great success for this academic year! We will begin similar summer program in July. However, to celebrate our students progress and encourage them for end of the year exams, students received school supply related gifts donated by Mission of Christ Network, Lutheran Heritage Foundation and Mesa Verde Community! It was amazing to see the excitement filled faces of our students as they were picking up their gifts. A great big THANK YOU to all who contributed to help our students attain great educational experiences and perks Since these students did not expect to receive We praise The Lord for what has been achieved so far. There are many activities on campus including providing service to the community. Please keep us in your prayers as we are expecting the visit any day! Please pray for - -> Accreditation Process for the Bishoftu campus -> Reliable vehicle transportation between Addis Ababa and Bishoftu To provide tax deductible gift to support this mission work, please go to Or send your gift to the address below and specify the support is for: Haragewen Abraham Kinde Mission Partner in Ethiopia work. Mission of Christ Network P.O. Box 533 Concordia MO 64020