Page 1 of 8 GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH & SCHOOL May, 2016 Volume 15, Issue 5 Gracelines INSIDE GRACELINES From Our Pastor 1 From Our Pastor 2 Pastoral Visits Offering & Attendance School News 3 GLS Spring Fundraiser School News: 4 Music Concert Laptops/Computers Church News: Graduates Confirmation Vacation Bible School Facilities Help 5 LWML/Mary Martha News Crossfit 6 Abundance Sunday Upcoming Events Church Information 7 Close Communion From our Pastor Rev. Michael Mueller And they were continuing steadfastly in the doctrine of the apostles, and in fellowship, and in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. LITV Acts 2:42 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and giving thanks, He broke and said, Take, eat; this is My body which is broken on behalf of you; this do in remembrance of Me. In the same way the cup also, after supping, saying, This cup is the New Covenant in My blood; as often as you drink, do this in remembrance of Me. [see Luke 22:19, 20] For as often as you may eat this bread, and drink this cup, you solemnly proclaim the death of the Lord, until He shall come. LITV I Corinthians 11:23-26 TO OUR GUESTS AND VISITORS Because the true body and blood of Christ are received by all who commune regardless of their faith, and because communion at Christ's table is a public confession of faith, we are concerned for all who commune here at Grace. Out of Christian love and pastoral concern, we respectfully ask those who are not members of congregations in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod or who have any doubts about the Lord's Supper to refrain from communing today until they have first spoken with our Pastor. [GLCS Worship Bulletin] Why do we not just invite everyone in our Sunday service to the Lord s Table? To adequately explain and defend the practice would require much more space. Yet, it is a crucial part of what it means for us as Lutherans to come together to receive the Lord's Supper. Let s examine what the Scriptures teach about receiving the Lord's Supper. The text from Acts points out that the early Christians were steadfast in the apostle's doctrine and fellowship along with the breaking of bread. The breaking of bread is a reference to partaking of the Lord's Supper. Continues on page 2 Gracelines Calendar and Gracelines are monthly publications of Grace Lutheran Church & School 856 W. Newgrove Street, Lancaster, CA 93534-3092 Telephone 661.948.1018 Fax 661.948.2731
Gracelines Page 2 of 7 Close Communion (continued from page1) My mind belongs to Jesus. He redeemed it with His blood. When evil thoughts torment me, I choose to think on good. These people were joined in doctrine and fellowship along with the reception of the Lord's Supper. Further, the text from I Corinthians indicates that in receiving the Lord's Supper, we are proclaiming the Lord's death. In other words we make a statement about what we believe when we receive the Supper. We make a public confession of what we believe when we receive Holy Communion in this church or another church. Now, we must understand that being a member of a church indicates to other people that you agree with what that church teaches a public confession of what you believe. Paul said if there is a sincere dispute as to the interpretation of Scripture, we should let God judge at the end (I Corinthians 4:5). However, you cannot agree with two different teachings. And these differences are important, for we are commanded to guard the precious Gospel by remaining true to what Scripture teaches (I Timothy 1:3). Close communion, therefore, is a comforting practice, because we who believe what our church teaches to come together as one in fellowship at His Table to be blessed by the receiving of the very body and blood of Jesus Christ. Notice on Pastoral Visits Please call the pastor directly at 661-406-0659 or the church office at 661-948-1018 if you, a family member or church member would like to be visited or called by the pastor. Offering Collected the Month of March 2016 $33,022 Year-to-Date 99,948 Attendance Mar 20 Sun 140 Apr 3 Sun 139 Mar 23 Wed 4 Apr 6 Wed Mar 24 Thurs 80 Apr 10 Sun 153 Mar 25 Fri 104 Apr 13 Sat 8 Mar 27 Sun 289 Apr 17 Sun 110 Mar 30 Sun 4 Building Fund (BTBC) Collected 852,756 Available funds 288,746 Average Attendance March 2015 157 2016 2013 141 231 2014 137
Page 3 of 7 Gracelines School News OLE TIME Fun for all ages begins on the field at 11:30 AM FOOD, GAMES, FELLOWSHIP Look for more information in the Sunday Bulletin. At 2 PM the Auction begins in the Parish Hall! Besides all the great silent & live auction items, we would like to raise enough money with direct donations to purchase this great digital sign that can let our community know what is happening at Grace Lutheran! Contact Karen Markin for more information.
SCHOOL MUSIC CONCERT! MONDAY, MAY 16 6:30 PM PARISH HALL Gracelines Page 4 of 7 Featuring the 3 Bands under the direction of Lee Matalon, the 5th & 6th Grade Chimes under the direction of Stephanee Putnam, and the GLS music classes under the direction of Marco Nicol. Did you know our Kindergarten students can play the bells? Come and see! The School is looking for any Windows Vista (or newer) laptops or computers. These computers will be wiped clean and a new operating system will be installed on them. Please contact Prisca Norris at 661-948-1018 before bringing anything to the school. Church News Attention All Graduates! (High School, College, Proud Parents!) Please share with Teri in the church office information concerning you or your son/daughter s graduation and future plans. We would like to share and pray for their success and future. Confirmation will take place on Sunday, May 15 th, in the 10:00 a.m. service. Making confirmation of their baptismal faith will be: Amoreena, Cheyenne, Zachery, Magnus, Gary. Save the Date for Vacation Bible School June 13-17 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 (661-948-1018) or Prisca Norris (661-992-9633).
Page 5 of 7 Gracelines Physical Facilities is looking for any and all available persons to help mow and edge the lawns and maintain our grounds each Thursday starting at 3:30. If you have any questions please call the church or school office. MARY MARTHA/LWML MAKES DONATIONS TO SEVERAL CHARITIES Since the beginning of the year Mary Martha Bible Study/LWML has had several successful events and raised funds that were recently distributed by the ladies. These funds are above and beyond the $861 sent to the LWML Mites in support of projects on both the district and national level of the Lutheran Women s Missionary League. The ladies chose to give to several local charities outside of our Grace Lutheran Church here in the greater Antelope Valley. The charities selected each received $150 and were: The YMCA Youth Program The Salvation Army Campership Program Relay for Life in honor of Roger Lehman They also designated $150.00 to two groups outside the Antelope Valley, namely Sage & Sand Zone Ingathering benefiting Orphan Grain Train Shipping Fund and St. James Lutheran Church in Northrup, Minnesota which recently lost their church structure to a fire. Thank you to all who supported the Chili Cook-Off & Spaghetti Feed with generous donations. LCMS Global Seminary Initiative International Student Scholarships $10,000 This grant is to provide scholarships for pastors from emerging and partner church bodies to obtain advanced degrees at the two Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) seminaries. It also will fund sending LCMS professors and qualified pastors to teach at regional seminaries around the world. Scholarships for students attending in-country seminaries as well as funding for seminars and educational conferences will be provided. The Global Seminary Initiative is a program that provides Lutheran theological education by bringing the best students worldwide to The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) seminaries to study at the graduate level so that they can return to their home countries and provide advanced theological leadership. Also provided is support for local regional seminaries both infra-structure and scholarships for students to
Gracelines Page 6 of 7 attend regional seminaries. Another offering of the program is continuing education seminars, conferences and visits by qualified LCMS pastors and professors to teach in the local region. LWML grant money will provide scholarships for the international students. For more information and pictures go to lwml.org and click on missions. Please pray for this grant. Crossfit (5 th -8 th Grades) Will meet this month on Friday, May 6 th and 20 th from 3:15-4:30 PM If you have any question please contact Pastor Mueller or Teri in the church office at 661-948-1018. May Abundance Sunday Collection for Grace Resource Center is baby food (jars) and baby diapers May 3 May 6 May 7 May 14 May 15 May 16 May 17 May 20 May 30 May 31 June 2 June 2 June 13-17 Contemporary Worship Meeting Crossfit Mother s Day Luncheon GLS Annual Spring Fundraiser- Ole Time Country Fair & Auction Confirmation School Music Concert Contemporary Worship Meeting Crossfit Memorial Day -Offices Closed Preschool Graduation 8 th Grade Graduation GLS Last Day of School Vacation Bible School Please watch for more information in the coming weeks/months on each of these events.
GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH & SCHOOL 856 W. Newgrove Street Lancaster, CA 93534-3092 NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION PAID LANCASTER, CA PERMIT No. 200 We re on the Web! See us at: www.gracelancaster.org 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 Principal Karen Markin School Secretary Christine Calvert Recording Secretary Member at Large Council of Elders Pastor Mueller Church Office Marge Barckholtz Owen McCallister Donald Crane pastor@gracelancaster.org church@gracelancaster.org