Volume 92, Issue 1 January 26, 2016 community matters

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1 Volume 92, Issue 1 January 26, 2016 community matters Installation Service of Pastor JoAnna Patterson January 17, 2016 Thank you to everyone who was able to be a part of the service of installation on Sunday January 17, I was such a beautiful day! I was so thankful for the prayers and support offered, and the gift of the stole I will treasure for the rest of my ministry. It is an honor to be called to serve with you in this place, and I greatly look forward to our ministry to this community together! Thank you! Pastor JoAnna

2 P a g e 2 C o m m u n i t y M a t t e r s thank you s Thanks to all the ladies who made the December Cookie Walk a huge success. It was such a team effort that we don t have enough room to list everyone. Homemade cookies filed the tables and the gym people came and marveled at the display. $ was donated to the Rebuilding Grace Fund. The Ladies of Grace are always will to serve God with their many talents you deserve a standing ovation. We lift our spatulas high to you!!!! - Sandra Knorr Thank you for the lovely plant you sent to remember our Mom. A huge thanks to Pastor Park for all his visits with our Mom. She so enjoyed the talks. We also thank him for the beautiful service honoring our Mom. A wonderful send off for a wonderful lady! - from the family of Ruth Bohn Thank you so much for giving us the privilege to celebrate our 65th Wedding Anniversary in our wonderful church!! We also want to thank the wonderful ladies who so graciously took their time to serve at this very busy time of year we love all of you!! - Bev and Bill Beck Thank you so much Pastor JoAnna, Pastor Dahlseng, and Pastor Parks for your visits when I was recently hospitalized. The time you spend with me and my family in prayer and visiting was so appreciated. Thanks also to Jeanette Moore for the visit with my family and the flowers that you brought. They were so pretty, truly a ray of sunshine. - Cathy Arnold I want to thank all of the nice people that signed the Christmas card, sent to me. Thank you. Happy New Year. I am doing fine. - Bob Paulson Thank you to Pastor Dahlseng for his prayers and hospital visits to our son Mark. Thank you to Pastor Park for his hospital visits, prayers and for wonderful funeral service for Mark. Thank you to the ladies for serving the funeral coffee. Thank you to Jeanette Moore for the hospital visits. Thank you to Jane Hartmann and Karyn Martin-Bohl for the visits to our daughter Nancy. Thank you to our Grace Lutheran Family for all the cards and prayers. - George and Lavon Hiltl I deeply appreciate your kindness coming to see me in the hospital. Thanks for your prayers. I truly enjoyed. God Bless you and yours, God Bless Grace and all the kind people. Thanks to Grace for the flowers they were so pretty. - Dolly Gall Pastor Dahlseng I want to thank you for all you did for me while in the hospital and East Bank...Thank you for the flowers from Grace. Thanks to Pastor Parks for his visits at the hospital. Thanks to Jeannette Moore for her many visits and prayers...i appreciate all Grace s kindness done for me. God Bless all - Dolly Gall Thanks to the young lady that brought me the beautiful poinsettia plant. Also thanks to Sandy for giving me Communion all month. Blessing - Ina Johnson Sheri Cannell Thank you so much for bringing your group of saints from Grace Lutheran Church to the Mission to lead the Sunday Evening Chapel/Meal on December 13, We are so grateful for everyone that took part in this ministry of love and compassion. - Rus Howard, Director of Development, RRM Thank you to Linda Correnti for the beautiful stole that she made for Pastor JoAnna. You are so willing to share your gift that God has given you through your talent of sewing. We greatly enjoy and appreciate all that you do. Thank you to Ginny Smith for taking care of the Gluten intolerant people that came to the installation luncheon by providing a casserole, muffins and cupcakes for them. One of the outcomes from our Phase 2 committee was a commitment to keep the congregation informed on the progress in our campaign. With the generous gifts given at the end of 2015 together with matching funds we have a balance in Rebuilding Grace of $97,182. For a campaign that just started in September and ended on November 1 st with our commitment Sunday, we have sprinted out of the gate. As stated in our mailings and congregational meeting, we will begin renovating the West office wing as soon as we are able. There has been some urgency expressed about the need for renovation in the sanctuary and I want you to know that you have Rebuilding Grace Update been heard. As funds become available, this is a priority as well. We simply do not have all the funds we need to do all the remaining projects at once. The critical message that must be heard is THANK YOU. Because of many generous people we have done an amazing job in Phase 1 and are ready to move forward to begin projects in Phase 2. Thank you. If you have not had the chance to participate in our Rebuilding effort, simply know it is never too late to make a financial commitment beyond the mission support offering which enables our local and global ministry to function. Thank you!

3 V o l u m e 9 2, I s s u e 1 P a g e 3 Living Christian in a Secular World In this election year when politicians talk about faith and Christianity, it could seem as if we still live in a nation where the vast majority of people practice the Christian faith. The fact is that is not true. While the number of Americans who identify as Christian have dropped in the last seven years from 78% to 70% only 17-18% of the population participates in worship on any given weekend. A good Lutheran question would be to ask: What does this mean? pastor dahlseng It is not surprising that the less often a person worships the less often they practice faith like meditating on Scripture or prayer. Among the 17-18% of Americans who worship weekly: 84% pray daily and 12% pray weekly. Among the 30-35% who seldom if ever worship, 27% pray daily, 13% weekly, 7% monthly and 53% never pray. Research confirms what we already know that it is extremely hard to hold on to faith when we do not practice it in community (aka: worship, pray, Bible study). We learn and are encouraged by others in our life of faith when we participate in worship. To be Christian means that we are following Jesus. To follow Jesus requires us to listen to his teaching (the Scriptures) and practice what he does (worship God, pray, invest in relationships with other Christians, serve others etc.). The challenge is this: we live in a busy world with many choices that pull and tug at us and many of these choices are good and fun! But here is the deal, it s a slippery slope and before you know it, you find yourself committed to other good things and the habit of worship is gone. What are some tell-tale signs of our society becoming more secular? We now have many parents of school-age children who have little knowledge of the story of God and/or Jesus. We have a much larger group of school-age children who have no clue who Jesus is. But more than that knowledge, the peace and hope that comes from knowing Christ and practicing the Christian faith is evaporating not only among our neighbors but our own children and grandchildren. The shadow of secularism is lengthening and extending to the doors of our own family. It is not all doom and gloom as light pushes back the shadows of darkness. The call is now for us as participants of the Grace community to let the light of Jesus shine through us as we love, serve and share our faith with our family and neighbors. Pray together with your family when you gather at your meal table. If your grandkids are spending the night, do devotions together. We have devotional books available at the church with prayers in the back to pray. We must fight the temptation of Lord Mattress and his trust tempter Soft Pillow who work hard to convince us to stay in bed on Sunday mornings whispering into our sweet little ear: Y ou deserve this and it is your only morning that you get to sleep in! Martin Luther knew that the devil was a sly dog! It all begins with God who loves you and me. It s all about relationships and this is why our church community matters so much we need the encouragement of each other. Life can be hard but it is better when we have Christian friends we can trust and count on to support us on lots of levels. God works through people: you and me for good and for God in this world. For all those of you at Grace who are already doing this, keep it up! I am urging the rest of us to engage in the work of God now. New Member Orientation If you are interested in making Grace Lutheran Church the faith community to which you belong, here is a pre-super Bowl, 90 minutes that you will not want to miss: February 7, 2016 from 2:45 4:15 p.m. (kick off is set for 5:30 pm CST). the office of your interest: kbergeron@gracelovespark.org or call

4 P a g e 4 C o m m u n i t y M a t t e r s pastor JoAnna There are many vocations that I have had before becoming a pastor. Some fairly mundane, some a little more intriguing. My first job in high school was working with my mom at the pediatric neurology practice filing charts at the end of the day. I loved looking at all of the different names that parents chose for their children. Then I moved on to work at the local library as a page, returning books to the shelves, in the proper order of course! Every 2 or 3 months I was tested to see how quickly I could organize a cart of books. In college I worked at the auditorium, running lights and sound for different shows and events that would come in. When the big Christmas show with the flying angels accidentally tore the main curtain during the Sunday matinee, I was the one called in to stitch and patch it closed before the 7pm show began! I waited tables the year before seminary, and bartended during the Monday lunch shift because as one of my regulars used to say, it was peaceful to watch me work not exactly a compliment! I worked for a few weeks at a train yard for a Thomas The Tank Engine event. It was my job to make sure every kid that wanted a temporary tattoo of Thomas had one. I really enjoyed the train ride at the end of the day. While in seminary I worked in admissions providing hospitality to prospective students who came to visit. I would give them a tour, or preferably, I would take them out to dinner and talk with them about their lives, and answer their questions about the journey they were thinking about beginning. While in seminary I became very close with three other women in my class. We made the decision to move off of campus together and found a cute row house to rent on the main drag just down the street from the seminary. People at seminary used to call us the fearsome 4some. We had a great time together and I learned more from them then I thought possible. The house we rented was directly next door to a cigar shop. As we got to know our neighbors, I found out that their main clerk was going to take a leave of absence in the summer to hike the Appalachian Trail. And all of a sudden I had another job! I filled in at the cigar shop off and on, and my husband was working there all of last year until we moved to Illinois! My favorite vocation in my life thus far is being your pastor. I have the honor of getting to know you all, sharing with you in celebrating your joys, praying through the sorrows and hard times. I get to do something new each and every day. Relationships are funny that way. You meet new people and all of a sudden you are doing things you never expected. Every vocation has come through a relationship, and because of those relationships I ended up in restaurants, cigar shops, train yards, libraries, auditoriums and churches. And every place I have been I have grown as a person and met people who have become very important to my life and my faith. I look forward to our time together, how I will grow and change because of who you are. Thank you

5 V o l u m e 9 2, I s s u e 1 P a g e 5 At Grace Preschool, we are beginning to plan for the school year. Registration for church families and current families will begin on March 1st, with an informational meeting from 5-6:30pm. If you or someone you know has a 3 or 4 year old ready for preschool, Please give us a call at for more information. Our classes this year have been busy playing, learning, and thinking. Our weekly Bible Verse continues to be a big hit- recently we learned "Keep Your Tongue From Evil", which was a good lesson for all of us. We all practiced using kind words and being good friends, as Jesus wants us to do. The four year olds have a field trip to Burpee museum, and we are very excited for our first family night with Hoo Haven, featuring Marshmellow the Pelican. Thank-you for being a part of Grace Preschool! Children & Youth News Children s Programs for Lent Join us to hike through the wilderness and prepare for Easter. Children (pre-k through 6th grade) will meet during Lent on Wednesday evenings from 5:45 p.m. until 6:45 p.m. Submerge and Emerge will meet also on Wednesday nights during Lent from 6:15 p.m. until 6:45 p.m. We will then join for the 7 p.m. Service. FIRST COMMUNION CLASS Saturday, February 6 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. Founder s Hall. This class is for anyone who is in 2nd grade or whose parents feel that they are ready to take communion. Lunch will be provided. Family Feud Game Night Join us for our second Grace Family Feud Game Night! It is a fun, free evening out with your family, taking place on Saturday, February 20th from 6-8pm in the gym! There will be food, Family Feud, other fun games and activities and lots of time to be with friends! Please bring your favorite snack to pass! We hope to see you then!

6 P a g e 6 C o m m u n i t y M a t t e r s more news... Custodial Changes at Grace After Chuck Kuppe moved to Florida near Thanksgiving 2015, Micah Young came back and filled in temporarily. Connie Schonberg has been trained and officially began doing the custodial job at Grace in mid-january. Connie is from the neighborhood and is a regular worshiper at Grace for many years. Chris Patterson has taken over the maintenance portion of this job beginning in mid-january as well. Chris is Pastor JoAnna s husband and Michael s dad! Welcome Connie and Chris. Thank you Micah for seeing us through the interim. A big thank you to all who helped with the luncheon for Pastor JoAnna's installation. Many hands make light work and everyone gave their time and energy with a joyful heart. The confirmation crew also did a wonderful job. Several asked for the recipe for the chicken salad so here it is: Chicken Artichoke Salad 1 cup artichoke hearts, sliced 2 cups celery, diced small 1 cup green pepper, diced small 1 bottle Olive Garden Italian Dressing ( start with one cup for marinade) 2-6 ox pkg. long grain and wild rice (Uncle Ben's) 4 whole boneless chicken breasts, baked and diced 1 cup mayonnaise (may need more) 1 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced romaine lettuce Marinate artichokes, celery and green pepper in Italian Dressing overnight. Cook the rice as directed on the package. Combine the rice, chicken and mayonnaise. Add the mushrooms and marinated mixture. May need more Italian Dressing at this time if it looks like it is dry. Serve on a lettuce cup.

7 V o l u m e 9 2, I s s u e 1 monthly business PASTORAL ACTS December 2015 Funeral Ruth Bohn General Fund (Mission and Ministry) as of January 20, 2016 Total Income 2016: $26, Total Expense for 2016: $27, Rebuilding Grace Fund Total Income 2016: $16, Total Expense for 2016: $0 Thank you for your giving hearts. Mary Frykman Check out electronic giving and make a contribution. We are also accepting Credit Card donations We extended our Sympathy: To Janis Little and family on the death of her sister FEBRUARY & MARCH BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS 3-Ronald Granath Deloris Olson 80 8-Corinne Bartels Jane Carlson Lavonne Schutt Beverly Beck Mary Galler Joyce Schoenfield Joan Christopherson Edith Bevan - 96 STAFF 15-Rachel Hall, Wedding Coordinator FEBRUARY ANNIVERSARIES 9-Shawn & Cynthia Johnson 25th 11-Hugh & Dianne Bourkland 62nd 13-Dennis & Linda Merwin 40th 27-Gary & Janice Gullikson 51st MARCH BIRTHDAYS 1-Ina Johnson Edward Weiss Barb Simler Darlene Hanna Karen Holte Patricia Baker Charles Ridlbauer Betty Torsrud Sandra Weir 76 STAFF 1-Rev. Brent Dahlseng, Pastor 4-Linda Dunphey, Preschool Aide 9-Jeanine Fadness, Preschool Teacher 20-Kathy Bergeron, Parish Secretary P a g e 7 MARCH ANNIVERSARIES 3-Elmer & Janis Little 54th 14- Robert & Marion Newcomb 52nd 24-Charles & Joyce Ridlbauer 65th 31-Gerald & Judi Anderson 54th Birthdays that are published are 75 and older. Anniversaries that are published are 25th, 40th, 50th, and any Anniversary after the 50th. If you wish not to have it published please call the office ( ). The next newsletter will be published on Friday, February 19, 2016 and mailed out Tuesday, February 23, 2016 Items for that issue (March s Calendar) are due in the church office by NOON, Friday, February 12, PLEASE NOTIFY THE CHURCH OFFICE...when members of your family are hospitalized so the pastors may visit them. (Also let the hospital know you are with Grace Lutheran Church)...when a member of your family has passed away so the pastors and members of the congregation may express their sympathy and include you in their prayers.

8 Grace Loves Park Church and Preschool 343 Grand Avenue Loves Park, IL CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Rockford, IL Permit No Phone: Fax: Mission Trip 2016 MISSION ST. LOUIS! July 24-29, 2016 Our youth will be going on a mission trip this summer to St. Louis, Missouri. If you are a current 8 th grader-12 th grader, please join us as we go and serve the community of St. Louis. The cost is $450 and we will be having fundraisers to help with the cost! Spots still available. We have registration forms at the Information Desk. A $50 deposit is needed with your registration. If interested please see Pastor JoAnna Patterson. Worship Opportunities at Grace Every Sunday 7:30 a.m. Weekly Communion Worship 9:00 a.m. Traditional Worship 10:30 a.m. Contemporary Worship 1st & 3rd Sunday, Holy Communion at 9 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.