Beacon. The. From the Pastor s Desk. Let Us Look Forward. Inside this Issue. Shines with Grace Lutheran Church News.

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1 The Beacon Give a smile, Get one back, Give a hug And see the smile... Shines with Grace Lutheran Church News February, 2014 It s Happening at Grace Lutheran! From the Pastor s Desk Let Us Look Forward As the winter creeps on, it feels like it s time to start focusing on the future, rather than on what the next snow storm might bring. It is time to start looking for the sun, waiting for those tiny moments of feeling its warmth, and reveling in shedding some of winter s heavy layers. Sure, Punxsutawney Phil still hasn t come out of his hiding hole yet, but he soon will, and you will start to feel the anticipation for winter s end and spring s beginning. Each day it seems that more and more people are expressing their hopes for spring s coming, and so I find myself in a forward thinking mood, in the mood to get excited about things to come, excited for Grace to break into spring and be full of activity and fellowship. So without further ado, I give you, the things to get excited about at Grace this spring! SOUP-er Sunday, Sunday February 2, at noon (or after traditional worship): I realize that February isn t spring, but this is our first big event of the New Year and it s worth getting excited about. On Super Bowl Sunday, we will join together following the traditional worship service for an afternoon of fellowship, food, and thanksgiving in celebration of our receiving Thrivent s Matthew 25 grant. We hope many of you will bring your best soup recipe for the congregation to try, and we will all vote on which soup is the best. Voting will take place by placing quarters in the cup which represents the soup you liked best, so make sure to come with your pockets jingling with quarters! All donations will go towards the Food Bank, and we also ask that you bring a canned good to donate to the Food Bank as well. We will be joined by members of our local Thrivent chapter who will share with us information about Thrivent s ministry and how we can continue to work together. We will have activities for kids during this time as well. So wear your favorite football jersey to church and then join us for lunch as we celebrate this wonderful blessing we have received at Grace. Revelation & the Apocalypse in our Current Culture: From a Message of Destruction to a Message of Hope, Monday evenings March-May/June: Bible study will resume in early March (date to be announced in February), and we will be diving into one of the most mysterious books of the Bible: Revelation. Our study will not be a chapter by chapter analysis of the text, but rather will focus around the book: The Rapture Exposed by Lutheran pastor Barbara Rossing, who examines Revelation from a viewpoint of hope, and strikes back against the damaging rapture theology that has captivated our culture for decades. Our conversations will include study of key passages in Revelation, as well as a discussion of the notorious book Left Behind, the book which brought the rapture to the forefront of American culture. Along with Bible study, we will also be holding special movie events each month, where we will watch different movies which have been released recently which seek to capture a glimpse of Armageddon and the end of the world. Possibilities may include: Independence Day, Wall-E, The Day after Tomorrow, and clips from recent TV shows, Sleepy Hollow, Revolution, & Terra Nova. A Lenten Season of Change: Wednesday nights during Lent, 6:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Join us for a meal and a conversation! Instead of mid-week services during Lent this year, we will be trying something a bit different. We will be gathering to share a simple bread and soup dinner, and then gathering together for conversations focused around the different kinds of change we experience in life, and where the Bible speaks into these spaces to provide comfort, thought, and hope. Conversations will feature small group questions, large group discussion, and Biblical reflection, as well as a short time of singing and prayer. Look for more information coming in mid-february when we ll unveil our topics! Peace it Together, Pastor Tina Inside this Issue Council News...2 Getting to Know Your Council Officers...2 Just For Fun...2 Pastoral Acts...3 Strangers in Kenya...3 Upcoming Synod Events...3 Graceful Women Meeting in February...4 Healthy Living...4 Food Pantry Ministry...4 What s in the Displaycase?...4 Church Family News...5 Christian Classifieds...5 One of Our Own is Honored...5 TOGS News...6 Flower Sponsors for February & March...6 Birthdays & Anniversaries...6 Calendar...7

2 News Scott Hildebrand thanked the retiring council members Doris Jones, Cindy Christenberry, and Jerry Heiss for their service. Welcome to the new officers of Grace Lutheran Church Council for 2014: Beth Kollosch, president Joe Turek, vice president Larissa Schell, secretary George McCallum, treasurer The Human Resources Committee reported that they expect to finalize the Music Director position at their next meeting. The Youth Group planned another lock-in for January 25 to prepare baked goods to sell as a fundraiser. The proceeds will be used to purchase supplies for blankets, which will be donated to local shelters. Mission & Discipleship Committee members will begin making calls to congregation members to update member information. A leadership workshop, sponsored by the South York Conference, will be held on Saturday, February 1, 2014 starting at 8:00 a.m. This event is open to anyone. Please contact Pastor Tina if interested in attending. You Might Be A Lutheran If... (from many different sources, and adapted for space)...when someone mentions red and green (in terms of Christmas), you immediately think of a battle over hymnals....during the entire service you hold your hymnal open but never look down at it....rather than introducing yourself to a visitor at church, you check their name out in the guestbook....you forget to put water in the baptismal font but never forget to put water in the coffee pot....in response to someone jumping up and shouting "Praise the Lord!", you politely remind him or her that we don't do that around here....you think a meeting isn't legitimate unless it's at least three hours long....when you were little you actually thought the Reverend's first name was "Pastor."...cookies are in the official church budget. Just For Fun...you doodle on the back of communion cards....you can say the meal prayer all in one breath....you hesitate to clap for the church choir or special music because "it just wasn't done that way in the old days." getting to know your council officers It s that time of year again. A new slate of officers has been elected and The Beacon will run series of interviews. Beth Kollosch was promoted from Vice President to President. The Beacon interviewed her last year. Here is the result: Beth joined the Church Council because she believes that Grace has some great opportunities as we continue to grow and serve as a congregation. She wanted to have an active part in the church as we transitioned to a new pastor. Beth also heads up the newly revived Stewardship Committee. Beth enjoys gardening, sewing, and reading in her free time. She works at Topflight Corporation, which manufactures adhesive labels for cosmetics, medical, and electronic customers. She is an account coordinator for the medical accounts. Beth has been a member of Grace for 30 years. She and her husband, Brian, have three daughters: Hope, 37; Laura, 32; and Heather, 24; and a 6 year old grandson, Quintin....at the close of a memo it states "Peace be with you" and you respond "and also with you."...you notice the Kool Aid stock shoots up during the Vacation Bible School season....you sing "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus" while sitting down....it's 110 degrees outside and you still have coffee during services....commandment #11--If it's never been done that way before, don't do it....you make your hotdishes with cream of mushroom soup and your salads with Jell-O....you feel guilty about not feeling guilty....change means wearing your brown suit instead of your blue suit to church....the most mail you receive all year is from the Stewardship Committee....your biggest fund-raisers are bake sales instead of bingo. -Submitted by Jessie Fishel, who is healing with laughter! Get well soon! 2

3 Pastoral Acts Funeral January 12- Primrose McCallum passed away on January 8. She was 74. The service was held at Grace Lutheran with Pastor Tina officiating. Primrose was interred at Dallastown Union Cemetery. Upcoming Synod Events There are some interesting opportunities by our Synod to gather and learn more about our faith. The talk in February is called, Forgiveness and Faith: Social Justice/ Criminal Justice Issues in Lower Susquehanna. It will be held on February 22, from 8:30-11:30 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Camp Hill. This event will feature keynote speaker, Terri Roberts, mother of the Nickel Mines Schoolhouse perpetrator, who shot 20 Amish school children. This event is sponsored by the Criminal Justice System Ministry of the Lower Susquehanna Synod. It will be an opportunity to hear what our Synod is doing to address criminal justice issues and how we are living into our call to love our brothers and sisters. Join keynote speaker Terri Roberts for this morning of exploration about issues of faith, forgiveness and the criminal justice system. Registration opens at 8:30 a.m. with light breakfast refreshments followed by welcome and devotions at 9:00 a.m. An overview of the Criminal Justice System Ministry of the Lower Susquehanna Synod follows and the keynote presentation starts at 9:30 a.m. The event is free of charge, but registration is required. If you are interested please contact Pastor Tina and we can get our group registered. Coming up in March is the topic, Congregations Together in Mission: Radically Authentic, Everyday Disciples More details on the presentation will be in the March issue of The Beacon. This event will take place on March 15 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in Hanover. The keynote speaker is Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber. There is a registration fee of $25, which includes lunch. This event will focus on the question of what it means to be an 'everyday disciple.' It will feature two sessions with Pastor Bolz-Weber, who has been featured on NPR and released a new book Pastrix this year. Her ministry at the House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver, Colorado has brought her national recognition. You can register on the Synod website for this event at: Strangers in Kenya With many uber-powerful men, their devoted and silent partners languish in the shadows, away from the notoriety and celebrity of their uber-powerful spouses. You know how it goes. Try to tell me who s married to Brad Pitt. Probably can t do it, right? Who s ever heard of ex-president Bill Clinton s wife? Or world-famous music producer Ike Turner s? And so it is with famous bloggers. It s time to change that. My wife has cowered in my enormous shadow long enough. Pretty much everyone in the hemisphere has heard of Ryan Murphy ; it s time they knew of Heather. My wife is pretty awesome. Besides being a great wife to me, she s an awesome and creative mom. Need photo proof? Here s one of her protégés in a momentous life event this week potty training. Heather handcrafted princess stickers and created a castle mural which is populated by a new princess every time our princess pollutes our pot. Heather s also doing everything she can to stay connected to our family in the U.S. It s not easy. Years away at a time make it difficult to stay close, and it s especially hard to connect our kids (who only have spent a fraction of their lives with relatives and best friends across the ocean). That said, I downright love this project she created the last few months. It s a family tree in the stairwell leading up to our bedrooms. On one side of the tags is a picture of our ancestors and relatives. On the other side lie names and dates of birth and deaths. Not only is it visually beyond pleasing, it s also a great way to keep our family and our heritage in front of us all literally as we live out this semi-disconnected life from our roots. I will admit that she got this idea from Pinterest, which if you ve never heard of it is basically the Internet s invention to help other wives be as awesome and creative as mine. I m glad for them. And those other husbands should thank Pinterest for giving them a taste for how fortunate I am naturally. Ryan for the Murphy 5 3

4 - Every 2 seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood, which translates into 41,000 blood donations needed every day. - The average red blood cell transfusion is approximately three pints. - A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 pints of blood. -More than 1.6 million people were diagnosed with cancer last year. Many of them will need blood, sometimes daily, during their chemotherapy treatment. -Although an estimated 38% of the population is eligible to donate, less than 10% actually do each year. -Blood cannot be manufactured it can only come from generous donors. -If you have Type O blood, remember that it is the most requested type by hospitals. Type O-negative blood (red cells) can be transfused to patients of all blood types. It is always in great demand and often in short supply. -Donating blood is a safe process. A sterile needle is used only once for each donor and then discarded. -The actual blood donation typically takes less than minutes. The entire process, from the time you arrive to the time you leave, takes about an hour and 15 minutes. *Statistics from the American Red Cross ( Graceful Women The Women of Grace will meet on Thursday, February 6 at 7:00 p.m. in the Welcome Center. Matt Miller, from the Central Pennsylvania Blood Bank will be our guest. Mr. Miller will be helping us to organize a blood drive to be held at Grace Lutheran in April. In addition, a report of volunteer hours, donations and proceeds of the craft show, and Thrivent supplemental funds (in the amount of $400) will be given. All women are invited to come. What s In the Display case? This month, we honor Ian McCleary s memory during this, his birth month. Keith McCleary has offered to display his late son s butterfly collection. Collecting butterflies has been a time honored hobby for centuries and especially popular during Victorian times. The usual method of display is in a glass-covered box, with the insects mounted on specially made noncorrosive insect pins stuck into foam board (typically Plastazote) or paper-covered cork at the bottom of the box. Common pins are not used. Very small insects are either pinned on "minuten" (very tiny pins) into a block of plastazote borne by a standard insect pin or glued to a small piece of card on the pin. There are specific procedures for proper mounting that are used to show off the insects' unique characteristics. If Ian s collection whets your appetite for looking at these beautiful creatures, there are many large collections in museums, especially natural history museums. This writer recommends the North Museum of Natural History and Science, located at 400 College Avenue, Lancaster, PA, which is on the campus of Franklin and Marshall College. They have a very nice collection of butterflies and other insects in specially built cabinets. Why Should You Donate Blood? 4 We Care Cuz We Have Grace Okay everyone, the time is coming on April 7 for the Food Bank to have another distribution, and we don't want any of these individuals to not have some toiletry items. We Care Cuz We Have Grace Kits are going to be a little different this time. We are not going to go big like we did at Christmas, because that was different and meant to be special. This time we are asking for a limited number of items to be placed in slider-type gallon size Ziploc bags and contain the following items: Razors (male or female) Hint - we have more females receiving food kits than males. Toothpaste Toothbrush Shower Gel (unisex or non-flowery scent) Hand Sanitizer or Hand Wipes or Wash Cloth All these items can be obtained at the Dollar Tree so the total cost per bag is about $5.00. There will be gallon size slider Ziploc-type bags with lists displayed near the elevator and the back table of the contemporary service area. Look for additional updates on We Care Kits that may be developed for the children in the coming months. So everyone step up and donate at least a bag a month (that would be 2-3 per family). We have over 250 food pantry visitors, and we'd really like to give each one a kit this time. Also keep in mind that if you want to donate individual items you may but they will not be made into kits unless there are sufficient items to do so. There will be a box for donated items and a box for the filled Ziploc bags at both places beginning the week of February 16. We don t want to forget our shut-ins. We have approximately of our church that could really use our help, thoughts and prayers. We're looking for volunteers to sponsor a shut-in and donate items from a larger list similar to the Christmas list for delivery with their food after April 7. These individuals rarely get out of their residences. Please contact me for further details. Sharon Phillips (443) or (717)

5 Christian Classifieds Help Wanted-We need Sunday School teachers and helpers for the 4 to 6 year old class. We do all the planning, you only need to bring your love of children to help them learn about the Bible. Can you give some time to helping the next generation know Jesus? If you are interested or have questions, call or speak with Kendra Shaffer. You can also call the church office for further information. Volunteers needed-we are looking for those who are interested in being assisting ministers for traditional worship. Assisting ministers lead the prayers, assist with communion, and co-lead worship to make it as fulfilling and meaningful as possible. If you are interested in serving, please contact Pastor Tina. Can you help?-we are looking for greeters to man the office entrance prior to the traditional worship service. It s an easy job, but really makes a difference. You pass out bulletins, give directions to visitors and say hello. Greeters need to be in place by 10:30 a.m. on Sundays. Contact Andrea Sprenkle if you are interested in serving. DO YOU HAVE A CLASSIFIED AD YOU WOULD LIKE TO RUN? IT IS FREE TO ALL. IF YOU NEED SOMETHING OR A SERVICE OR YOU WOULD LIKE TO GIVE SOMETHING OR VOLUNTEER YOUR TALENTS, ADVERTISE! Happenings in Our Church Family was greatly appreciated. Colleen Grove thanks everyone-i would like to thank you for concerns, prayers, cards, flowers and visits during my stay at York Hospital and at Manor Care South. Thanks to Pastor Tina for her visits and prayers. All your kindness The Red Lion School District sends thanks-dear members of Grace Lutheran, You helped to make Christmas more special for many children by sponsoring them through our holiday gift-giving project. As a result of the generosity demonstrated by so many community and Red Lion staff members, we were able to provide gifts for over 300 children in Red Lion Area School District. How to submit to the Newsletter We welcome all submissions to the newsletter. The newsletter is a great place to ask for help, publicize an event you are planning in the church, tell people about something you or your family is doing, thank members, celebrate a victory. The possibilities are endless! The vision for the newsletter is to communicate between members in a clear and interesting format. If you would like to submit to the newsletter or help in any way, here is what you can do: *If you are comfortable with computers, you may Jennifer Rudolf at: swimmerjenusa@yahoo. com. Please make sure your document is either a.doc or.pdf file. If you are including digital artwork, make sure it is at least 300KB in size. *If you prefer paper, just drop off your submission in the mailbox marked newsletter outside the office door. The mailboxes are located on a table across the hall. Please keep in mind that the deadline for submission is the 20th of each month for the following month s newsletter. If you have pictures or graphics that complement your submission, include them along with directions or suggestions on their use. Please include your contact information in every submission so the editor can get in touch to clarify or fact-check. If you are interested in a monthly submission or article, we welcome that as well. Church Member Receives Award Grace Lutheran member, Jim Bucher was presented with the Wood Badge Award by the Boy Scouts of America at a special ceremony on Monday January 6 of this year. Jim is an Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 35 at St. John s UCC in Red Lion. The Wood Badge is a comprehensive leadership program for adult leaders in the Boy Scouts of America. Wood Badge courses aim to make Scouts better leaders by teaching advanced leadership skills, and by creating a bond and commitment to the scout movement. A Wood Badge course, which extends over a period of many months, consists of classroom work, a series of self-study modules, outdoor training, and a Wood Badge project. Wood Badge is the Boy Scout s premier adult education program. It is truly an honor and a distinction to be awarded the Wood Badge insignia. Congratulations Jim! Everything went extremely smooth. Your cooperation, your support, and your genuine concern for our children are much appreciated. Thank you for what you did. Thank you for caring. With sincere gratitude, Tammy Grove. 5

6 The Christmas tree in the Nave was beautiful and decorated to perfection. Thank you to the Ken and Karen Turner family for providing the tree. t.o.g.s. News After a winter shut-out of events, we're ready to get back to the excitement of youth group events and service projects. Weekend of February 7: Date TBD, Winter escape to Heritage Hills. We will be joining together for an afternoon of snowtubing and ice skating. More details will follow, as we are still discussing what date would best serve the group. Sunday, February 16: TOGS Blanket Day, this is the day we will be getting together to purchase materials for fleece blankets, then coming back to the church to put them together and decide where we want to send them. Sunday, March 2: Hershey Bears Faith & Family Night, Game Time 4:00 p.m. Look for a sign-up sheet the first week of February. We need a group of 15 or more for discount tickets, so invite friends and family to join us. With the group discount, tickets will be $ February Celebrations Happy Birthday 01-Tyler Schell 03-Maggie Stauffer 04-Stephen Germick 04-Beth Kollosch 05-Kelsey Shaffer 08-Abby Kuhn 09-Jeremy Heiss 10-Pat Gohn 10-Charles Murphy 13-Camden Manahan 14-Cohen Manahan 14-Madison Shaffer 14-Barbara Slavinski 15-Madison Webster 16-Alana Haag 17-Ferne Arnold 17-Olivia Kicas 18-Marie Martin 18-Elaina Levengood 21-Barbara Hartman 24-Donald Anderson 25-Natalie Rudolf 26-Pat Mummert More details on all of these events will be forthcoming as we get closer to the date. Each month, The Beacon reports who is sponsoring the flowers in the Sanctuary. February s flowers are sponsored by: 02-Richard Jacobs (altar) 09-The McCleary Family (pedestal) 16-Erma Grim (altar) 23-Shirley Pfefferle (altar), Dennis Walters (pedestal), Jay Keener (pedestal) March s flowers are sponsored by: 02-Richard Rhine (altar) 05-Grace Lutheran Church (Ash Wednesday) 09-Cindy Strobeck (altar) 16-Doris Douglas (altar) 23-George McCallum (altar), Dennis Walters (pedestal) 30-Richard Rhine (altar) Wedding Anniversaries 06-Peggy and Leif Ericson 15-Malissa and Wesley Smith 18-Sandra and John Fishel 25-Barbara and Tom Taute 27-Carolyn and Michael Noll The Beacon is brought to you by: Jennifer Rudolf, Editor/Staff Writer Jaime Koons, Staff Writer Ottilie Grim, Copy Proofreader Richard Rhine, Proofreader Germar Rudolf, Webmaster 6

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