Grand Meadow Lutheran Church

Transcription

1 We are a community of faith called together to worship God and sent out to bring God s message to the world. Pastor Jim s Monthly Message There are two references to mustard seeds in the Gospel of Matthew. The most famous one is found in Matthew 17. In these verses Jesus tells his disciples if you have faith as small as a mustard seed you can say to this mountain move from here to there. The other reference to mustard seeds appears in Mathew 13 as a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus says, The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all seeds, June 2013 Newsletter Grand Meadow Lutheran 115 1st St. NE PO Box 1021 Grand Meadow, MN officegml@arvig.net grandmeadowlutheranchurch.org Secretary Hours Wednesday Evenings Pastor Jim Scaife but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, Home Phone: so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches. jtscaife@acegroup.cc (Matt. 13:31-32, NRSV) I suspect if Jesus were living here in Minnesota instead of using the mustard seed in his parable, he would use the corn seed. I know it has been a very difficult spring for our families who plant corn. But I think we would all admit, whether we enjoy it as sweet corn from the garden or grow thousands of acres, it is an amazing plant. The seed is about the diameter of a dime. By the first part of August the corn plant from that little seed is about seven feet tall! Amazing growth! Perhaps this can be compared to the Kingdom of Heaven in our own lives. God s Spirit touches us with a small, quiet sense of Christ s strength, love or forgiveness a seed of grace. Then, as we live in that strength, love or forgiveness, amazing growth happens. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, gentleness and self control (Gal 5:22-23) take root within us. And as our hearts are filled with this fruit of the Spirit, we find ourselves bearing fruit; sharing the grace we have received, strengthening others, working reconciliation, righteousness and justice. Depending on what resource you look at, they say the growing season in our area is about 125 days. Once the corn is planted, in less than 90 days it will be around 7 feet tall. May Christ s grace bring us amazing growth this summer that we may bear fruit that is a blessing to our families and neighbors. -Pastor Jim Pastor Jim s Office Hours TUESDAYS WEDNESDAYS If you need to reach Pastor Jim outside of office hours, please contact him at home. Worship Schedule 9 am Sunday, June 2 Contemporary Worship with Holy Communion Sunday, June 9 Service of Word and Prayer Sunday, June 16 -Old Time Religion Worship Sunday, June 23 Traditional Worship Sunday, June 30 Meadowfest Ecumenical Service

2 Page 2 Grand Meadow Women of the ELCA News The Grand Meadow Lutheran Women of the ELCA met Wednesday, May 8th, at 1:30 at the Meadows Assisted Living with 14 members and Pastor Jim present. Pastor Jim led the Bible Study "The Law and the New Covenant." Following the meeting the members joined the residents of The Meadows for coffee and cake. The Women of the ELCA are again sponsoring a "Bakeless Bake Sale" running now until July 15. Donations may be sent to Marilyn Calkins Elliot Dr. SE, Grand Meadow, MN Checks may be made payable to: GM Lutheran WELCA. Thank you in advance for your donation. Senior Recognition Sunday was May 19. Eleven graduates were honored during the Worship Service and following services chose a quilt as a gift from WELCA. Thanks to the dedicated "quilting ladies" for making the beautiful quilts. Thanks also to the "camera ladies", Lisa Nesbitt and Tracy Jacobson. WELCA will be serving the Grand Meadow Healthcare Center monthly birthday party on Friday, June 7. Wednesday, July 10, WELCA ladies will be taking a trip out of town. The plan is to leave Grand Meadow at 10:30 a.m. and carpool to Owatonna. We will visit Louis Sullivan's National Farmer's Bank building, now Wells Fargo, considered by many to be America's most famous small-town bank. We will go across the street for lunch and then go to the Orphanage Museum on the historic West Hills Complex. We will have a tour of one of the cottages and our guide will be a man who grew up at the orphanage. The cost of the tour is $7. We should arrive back in GM between 4:30-5:00 p.m. If you would like to go, please let one of the WELCA officers know. The next meeting of WELCA will be Wednesday, June 12, at 1:30 at the Meadows Assisted Living. Please attend and enjoy the fellowship and Bible study. Announcements Our Church Council has designated a collection for the victims of the Oklahoma tornado disaster. A basket has been set out at the back of the sanctuary for those wishing to donate. The church is still having troubles with the church phone message system. If you don t get Pastor Jim at the church, please call his home at Just a reminder for the summer months, we will be using the sign-up sheet for volunteers willing to host the after Sunday service coffee starting June 2. Thank you. Hearing devices are now available during the church service. If interested, see one of the church ushers. -- -Kathy and Denny Berge are looking for fill-in janitors to assist when they are away. If interested, please call them at Thank you. We need 6 people to do the 50/50 raffle ticket program at Deer Creek Speedway June 16. At least one person in each group must be 16 years or older. This is a great fundraiser. Sign up sheet is at the back of the church. WANTED: Ladies and gentlemen of all ages to form an Ecumenical Choir to sing at the MeadowFest Ecumenical service Sunday, June 30, at 10 a.m. in the school cafetorium. There will be only ONE practice to be held Wednesday, June 26, at 6:30 p.m. at Grand Meadow Lutheran Church. The song chosen to sing is "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." Please come and share your talent.

3 Page 3 June Grand Meadow Lutheran Volunteers DATE ACOLYTES USHERS LECTOR GREETERS JUNE 2 Makenzie Olson Allie Sloan Dick & Darlene Steinhorst Joann Nesbitt Pat Lester and Eleanor Riedemann JUNE 9 Ryan Nesbitt Trever Green Jim Blomgren Family Kate Nesbitt Dorothy Ferguson and Joyce Monty JUNE 16 Max Jech Rian Leichtnam Paul & Pam Persons Family Marilyn Calkins Stacy & Diane Jech Family JUNE 23 Makenzie Olson Allie Sloan Don & Marilyn Calkins Sara Lee Brad & Lisa Whelan JUNE 30 Einar & Margene Myhre (MEADOWFEST) Head Usher: Einar Myhre Altar Guild: Diane Jech and family Prayer Announcements PRAYER CONCERNS: Nik Bloomfield, Jim Thorsen (heart surgery), Pete Olson, Hank Kahl, Russell Anderson (Joanne Dimick s father), Millie Simes w/ms (Mother of Deb Lester), Amy Green, Jim (Mary Monty s father), Agnes Jensen, Maurcie Thorsen, Naomi Goodsell, Andrea Peterson, Kristin and Austin Eyre (daughter and grandson of Dennis Milburn), Carter Bessert (Grandson of Boone s), Chelsea Farnham, Leona Unverzagt, Lenora Jensen (Amy Green s sister (Alzheimers)), Helen Steinbring, Bev Edland, Jane Queensland, Agnes Olson, Louis Foster, Betty Rasmussen, Pastor Lydia Mittag, Joy Salverda (sister-in-law of Brooke Sloan), Jane Sievertsen, David Steinhorst (lung cancer), Arlene Olson (pancreatic and lung cancer), Sabrina Blair (Paul Person s great niece), Ray Monson (Diane Jech s father), Loraine Johnson, Magda Lilana (sponsored by Sunday School), victims of natural disasters, victims of domestic violence, and victims of oppression; Habitat for Humanity; our Community Food Shelf; A.A.; the Church, leaders of our country & world, the men and women who serve our country: Kaleb Bill (grandson of Julie Kahl), Bruce Williams, Hans Burtt, Katie Guy and those we mention in the silence of our hearts. If you are hospitalized please notify the church office or at officegml@arvig.net

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