Gracelines. From our Pastor. Page 1 of 10. The Bread of Life GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH & SCHOOL INSIDE GRACELINES. Rev.

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1 Page 1 of 10 GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH & SCHOOL June, 2016 Volume 15, Issue 6 Gracelines INSIDE GRACELINES From Our Pastor 1 From Our Pastor 2 Offering & Attendance School News 3 Summer Camp Open Enrollment PTL Thank You 4 Thank You 5 Church News 6 Graduates Mary Martha/LWML 7 Sew In Saturday Mite Sunday Stewardship 8 VBS 9 Father s Day BBQ Voter s Meeting Abundance Sunday Upcoming Events Church Information 10 The Bread of Life From our Pastor Rev. Michael Mueller Jesus told them, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never become hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never become thirsty. (John 6:35) In His next sentence, Jesus tells those who He has just fed by the miracle multiplying a few loaves of bread and dried fish not to follow Him just because He filled their bellies. He was and is no mere earthly bread king. That would have made Him a man after the peoples own hearts, but Jesus was a Man after God s own heart. Instead of giving them earthly bread that would only satisfy temporarily, He gave them Himself as the King of breads to save the world from its sin. At His baptism Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit and marked with His Father s seal of approval This is My Son, Whom I love and with Whom I am well pleased. That seal of the Father s approval distinguished Him as the food of eternal life, even as His body and blood are the life-giving elixir of immortality the anti-venom from death s sharp poison injected into mankind by the ancient serpent, Satan. When you were baptized, a seal was also placed upon your forehead and breast a cross to mark you as belonging also to the Father. It made you adopted children of God and a sibling to Christ co-inheritors of all that the Father has to give. You see Christianity is not a religion where you must do something to try to gain some benefit. Christianity is rather a state of being a status, if you will for it is God s efforts that has saved you, given you faith and made you His own. And it is that work of God that has made you His child for nobody ever chose to be adopted, it was the choice of your parents. Jesus says of us, Everyone whom the Father gives Me will come to Me.I will never turn away anyone who comes to Me. (v 37). Having been Continues on page 2 Gracelines Calendar and Gracelines are monthly publications of Grace Lutheran Church & School 856 W. Newgrove Street, Lancaster, CA Telephone Fax

2 Gracelines Page 2 of 10 My mind belongs to Jesus. He redeemed it with His blood. When evil thoughts torment me, I choose to think on good. The Bread of Life (continued from page1) found and saved by Him, tucked safely in the vault of our graves until the last day until the wrath is safely past we will be raised at the resurrection of all flesh. And this, in His own words, is His Father s will, and His last will and testament, The One who sent Me doesn t want Me to lose any of those He gave Me. He wants Me to bring them back to life on the last day. My Father wants all those who see the Son and believe in Him to have eternal life. He wants me to bring them back to life on the last day. (vv 39-40). For what is it to look to Him and believe on Him but to be stamped with His signature, signed, sealed and delivered, identifying us as belonging to Him, bearing the mark of authenticity, distinguished from counterfeits and confirmed as the real thing, the genuine article. We shall take Jesus up on His advice. Don t work for food that spoils. Instead, work for the food that lasts into eternal life. (v 27a). We shall be about our Savior s business busy not busy bodies. We shall taste and see that the Lord is good. After all, the Father has placed His seal of approval on Him. (v 27c). We bear His stamp and we re most approving and most improved! Marked with His freshness label we have no expiration date and no product warning tag, safe and sound in Him, the Bread of Life. Offering Collected the Month of April 2016 $30,109 Year -to- Date $130,056 Building Fund (BTBC) Collected 852,756 Available funds 288,918 Attendance Apr 20 Wed 5 May 8 Sun 152 Apr 24 Sun 174 May 11 Wed 8 Apr 27 Wed 2 May 15 Sun 135 May 1 Sun 112 May 18 Sat 6 May 4 Wed 8 Average Attendance April

3 Page 3 of 10 Gracelines School News ARE YOU READY FOR SUMMER CAMP? 'CREATIVITY' Is the theme for 2016! Each week, June 6 through August 5, Students in Grades K-8 can come to learn CODING* and more computer skills in the mornings! Ms. Tiphani Thomas promises to challenge you! Mrs. Pam and Ms. Ellie will lead you through space, water, games, experiments...hunt pirates, go on a scavenger hunt, hold our own summer Olympics, and more! RESERVE YOUR SPOT - SIGN UP NOW! Do you wonder what CODING is? *Simply put, coding applies math and science to the creation of something tangible and useful. It empowers students to move from passive recipients and consumers of learning to true producers of content. Coding puts students in control of their devices. COME TO AM SUMMER CAMP AT GLS AND LEARN CODING! Teaching your children coding at an early age can give them several advantages later on in the future. Here are some of the many benefits they can get from learning how to code through coding games for kids: Learning how to code improves some of the traits that they will need in the future. Teaching kids to code is a great way to develop several positive traits: quick-thinking, creativity, and many others. These traits will greatly improve their chances of getting a high-paying job on well-known companies in the future. Learning to code at an early age can help improve their problem-solving skills. Not only does it foster positive traits, learning to code also improves their analytical skills when facing problems. They will be able to think more logically, which can be a boon for them when facing stressful situations. Learning to code using coding games is fun and exciting, which may spark their interest in coding. - See more at: / Check out more information on our website and Facebook pages! OPEN ENROLLMENT CONTINUES DURING THE SUMMER Be sure and call ahead of time ( ) to make sure someone is available to help you! Great news to report from the GLS PTL. Over $30,000 was raised, including the $15,000 for the digital sign that will help our AV community to SEE Grace Lutheran Church and School events

4 Page 4 of THANK YOU is not enough to truly express the gratitude that Grace Lutheran School has for all the people that volunteered in big and small ways. You are so appreciated. If your name has been missed, forgive us. As you can see it has taken quite a large village to raise our GLS family! Absolute Bail Bonds George Andrews Nick Angelucci Karina Arceo Marge Barckholtz Claudia Baker Sarah Bellay Terrie Bench Lisa Bippert Matt Bootz William & Sabrina Bower Brian & Mavis Boyer Craig & Esther Boyer Erica Boyer Dorothy Bromaghim Jim & Lisa Brown David & Sharon Calvert Ellie Calvert Erlan Calvert John & Chris Calvert Jeff & Tina Carlon Chris & Tonda Cole Tanzi Cole Jeff Corbets Don Crane David & Heidi Cross Pat Culleton Jerry Davis II Mike & Kelly Davis Warren & Candy Doerfler Theresa Dorff Al & Nickci Escamilla Tony Escamilla Brittney Escamilla Mark & Debbie Feickert Anna Felten John & Barbara Foltin Daniel & Suzanne Foulkes Ashley Ford Kathy & Brianna Franer Icelind Gallardo Sandy Garland Dave & Marlene Gasper Linda Gater Jeremey Glenn Stefan Goossens Martha Gregory Diane & Larry Grooms Patti Gutierrez Rhiannon Harrison Trevor & Michelle Haupt Emma Heddle Laura Henry Katinka Hensen Doris Hoeppner Annie Holden Angela Houlet Maurice Howard Douwe Huizinga Lee Jackson Aimee Johnston Brent & April Jnofinn Birgitte Karstoft Dennis & Arlene Klein Ian & Giselyn Knight Kirsten Larson

5 Page 5 of 10 Bob Long Cathy Lopez Mary Loucks Owen & Wendy McCallister Lauri McCallister-Vining Kyle & Shawna McGaughey Jerry & Karen Markin Mary Martha Bible Study Henry Marvin Stephen B. Marvin Insurance Stephen Marvin Chris & Carla Mettrick John Minneci Laura Morby-Jones Teri Morgan Michael Mueller Dawn Neeley Jesse & Carolyn Neil Marco Nicol Todd & Sarah Niebling Brad & Prisca Norris Jerome Perkins Shannon & Nicole Perkins Bob & Karen Petersen Arjen & Jaqueline Pietersma Cheyenne O Dell William & Cynthia Poole Prayers and Squares Stephanee Putnam Amanda Rodriguez Theresa Rodriguez Elfriede Rottman Larry & Kathy Rottman Rottman Drilling Edith Schüler Drew Seddon Pascal & Pernille Smaal Wei Shen Chris & Paula Smith Josephine, Keenan & Lauryn Smith Gracelines Scott Smith Andrew & Andrea Spidell John Spooner Pam Steiner Icelind Sterling Rich Stocking Andrew Stuart Ken & Marla Stuart Ken & Mary Szalai Leo & Joann Thibault Melissa Thomas Thrivent Connie Turner Chase Uribe Martin & Marlies Vandepol Wanda Vandrey Larry & Robin Van Horn Chi Verrett Ryan Wagoner Reid & Ginny Wagoner

6 Page 6 of 10 Church News Congratulation! To All Our Graduates! We rejoice with all youth, young adults, adults who achieved special educational degrees and promotions. Congratulations on your accomplishments and God s blessings on all of your future endeavors! Here are a few names of those that have graduated or will be graduating. Middle School Graduates: David Aguirre will graduate from Grace Lutheran and attend Quartz Hill in the fall Julia Bower will graduate from Grace Lutheran and be moving to Georgia Brandon Boyer will graduate from Grace Lutheran and attend Quartz Hill in the fall Zachery Boyer will graduate from Grace Lutheran and attend Quartz Hill in the fall Magnus Carlon will graduate from Grace Lutheran and attend Paraclete High School in the fall Gary Cole will graduate from Grace Lutheran and attend Paraclete High School in the fall Jerry Davis will graduate from Grace Lutheran and attend Tehachapi High School in the fall Thomas Spooner will graduate from Grace Lutheran and attend Quartz Hill High in the fall High School Graduates: Brad Morgan- He will graduate from Quartz Hill High School and attend Antelope Valley College in the fall Nolan Cox- He will graduate from Quartz Hill High School and attend Moorpark College in the fall College Graduates: Owen McCallister- graduated from the University of Phoenix with a BS in Business Management. He graduated with a 3.89 and was accepted in the Delta Mu Delta Honor Society. Jorydn Kleinberg- graduated from Concordia University Irvine with a BA in Liberal Studies Kevin Young- graduated from Cal Lutheran University with a BS in Administrative Justice Tyler Snedigar graduated from Cal State University San Marcos with a BS in Computer Science and Software Engineering Aryn Feickert graduated from Dixie State University with a Major degree in Human Communication and Minor degree in Psychology Christian Wishka graduated from Medical School and will be completing his residency in Radiology at UC Irvine Medical Center Robert Grooms graduated from Brandman University with his Masters in Severe Special Education

7 Page 7 of 10 Gracelines A Grace Lutheran Mary Martha LWML Invites you to join them for this prayer service. Thurs ~ June 9 ~ 10 AM Bring your MITE BOX for a MITE dedication. Salad Luncheon will follow in the Parish Hall. Bring a favorite salad to share SEW IN SATURDAY ~ June 11 ~ 9 AM Come and help us make SCHOOL BACKPACKS for Lutheran World Relief. There s a job for all. We ll have the supplies. Bring your sewing machine and heavy duty (#16 or higher) needles for your machine. GOAL: 75 BAGS We can do it! Bring a sack lunch and something to share MITE SUNDAY JUNE 26 The fourth Sunday of each month will be MITE SUNDAY. The large MITE BOX will be brought to the altar for a prayer of dedication. Mite Boxes may be brought any Sunday, but a special effort is being made to have a MITE SUNDAY each month.

8 Gracelines Page 8 of 10 Stewardship Newsletter Do we Christians really have to tithe? Are we really under a compulsion to give? Aren't we free? Don't we have a freedom from the law that was purchased for us by Jesus Christ s death and resurrection? The problem is that our sinful flesh uses our freedom for selfishness. Christ did not die and rise so that we could give less and do less good work in the world. He died and rose to free us from the compulsion of the Law, to free us from a burden we could not bear. We are missing the point completely if we use the freedom from the Law that Christ won by His passion, crucifixion, and resurrection to give less, or to do less of any good work. Christ set us free to live in His image of faithfulness, generosity, and kindness. We are free from the Law's condemnation so that we can walk in the good works the Lord has prepared for us. Our freedom is not given to indulge our sinful and selfish flesh. Our freedom was purchased and won by Christ so that we could serve our neighbors our family, our society, our church. As a result, much of your freedom is not a freedom from, but a freedom to and for. You are not free from serving your neighbor. You are free for service toward your neighbor willingly and without compulsion. You are not free from giving to your church; you are freed to give to your local congregation in joy, willingly, and without compulsion. The reason you are free to serve, the reason you are free to give is because of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sin He won for you on the cross, which He delivers to you in the Gospel and the sacraments. That is our motivation. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). And since God loves us in this way, by giving us His only-begotten Son so that we do not perish, we also love one another in this way, by giving what we have so that our neighbor does not perish. If the God who has provided the sacrifice for your eternal salvation, the God who delivers that salvation to you in Holy Baptism, the God who continues to forgive you and show you His faithfulness, if that same God is the one who also promises to give you daily bread and take care of your earthly life, you can trust in Him, even in giving. After all, Jesus Christ is proof that God loves you and will take care of you. In His Service, Lee T. Jackson Stewardship

9 Page 9 of 10 Gracelines Vacation Bible School will be June from 9:30am-11:30am. We will be learning about the parables of Jesus and having a great time playing games, doing crafts, and singing songs. All kids preschool (potty-trained) through 6 grade are invited to attend. If you would like to help in any way, please call the church office ( ) or Prisca Norris ( ). Please see the green registration form on the information center in the Narthex. celebrate with us. Save the date all Grandpas, Dads, Sons and Grandsons - June 18 we will celebrate Father s Day with all of you. We will have a Bar-B-Q Tri-Tip Lunch and some door prizes. No speakers, No Games just good eats. Remember we all had Fathers so come and join us. Tickets will be Adults $8.00 and Children (12 and under) $5.00. Tickets will be available June 5 thru June 17 from Sandy Garland ( ) or the Church office. Bring your friends and their sons to Regular Voters Meeting ~ Sunday ~ June 26 Following Worship Service Agenda to include: Election of President, Treasurer & Member-at-Large (Candidates needed. If you are interested please speak to one of the nominating committee members: Tina Carlon, Fredric Hermann and Joann Thibault.) Revised Budget for July thru Dec New voters accepted at end of meeting. June and July Abundance Sunday Collection for Grace Resource Center is shampoo, hand lotion, chap stick, sunscreen and deodorant. Bring them to the narthex any time during the month of June. June 2 8 th Grade Graduation June 2 GLS Last Day of School June 4 Thrivent Game Night at the Jethawks June 9 LWML Prayer Service June 11 Sew in Saturday June Vacation Bible School June 26 Voters Meeting Please watch for more information in the coming weeks/months on each of these events.

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11 GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH & SCHOOL 856 W. Newgrove Street Lancaster, CA NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION PAID LANCASTER, CA PERMIT No. 200 We re on the Web! See us at: CHURCH STAFF CHURCH BOARD OF DIRECTORS Pastor Rev. Michael Mueller President Scott Smith Church Secretary Teri Morgan Vice President Brad Norris Treasurer Bob Petersen SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION Recording Secretary Marge Barckholtz Principal Karen Markin Member at Large Owen McCallister School Secretary Christine Calvert Council of Elders Donald Crane Pastor Mueller Church Office