Grace Gazette Grace Lutheran Church is a Christian Family - Welcoming people to actively live God s Word & Strengthen their faith January 2018 A Vision for our Future The beginning of a new year often brings a time for reflection on the year just ending, and hopes and dreams for what the next year might hold. We think back on what went well and what we d like to change in the future, making promises to ourselves about what will be different. Often these promises involve setting some goals for ourselves, as we try to move in a new direction, to fulfill our purpose at work and home and school, in rest and play and relationships. Churches, too, have times of reflection and planning and dreaming for the future. From what I m seeing and hearing, Grace has been without a clear sense of direction for several years now. This isn t unusual for churches. However, it can hinder the ministry we re able to do. Churches without a clear purpose tend to either keep doing what they ve always done, or jump into every new opportunity that arises. One leads to declining energy and involvement, the other to being overextended and unable to fulfill commitments. Churches that have a clear sense of purpose know who they are and what God is asking them to do next. It s time to do some foundational work to thoughtfully and prayerfully reconsider who we are, and what God is calling us to do and be as the people of Grace Lutheran Church. You ve probably done this kind of work before. It s the kind of thing that needs to be reviewed and renewed regularly, as it s easy to slide into complacency and lose sight of our purpose and mission. This visioning process will include a leadership retreat (council, boards, committees), multiple opportunities for the people of Grace to gather in conversation around specific questions, and forming a short-term working group to coordinate the process. These are the key questions we ll be focusing on: What is the purpose of Grace Lutheran Church? What is our primary identity and mission? What are our core values? What is Grace s niche in this community? What are we known for? How are we unique from other churches? What is God calling us to do/be? Everyone will have an opportunity to participate in shaping our vision. Please begin praying for our visioning process, and engage in upcoming gatherings and conversations around who we are at Grace, and what God is calling us to do and be next. Blessings as we look toward our future together, Pastor Michelle
Communion at Home - If you or a loved one is unable to attend church, but would still like to receive communion, please contact Pastor Michelle at the church office or call Dorothy Freiman at (715) 424-1951. You may also email Dorothy at dfreiman@charter.net. Epiphany Open House at Pastor Michelle s Home Sunday January 7th from 2-5 pm Address: 1020 18th St. S., Wisconsin Rapids Pastor Michelle has a collection of nativity scenes, which will be on display throughout the house. All ages are welcome to come for the afternoon, or stop by for a few minutes for snacks and conversation. This is one way for Pastor Michelle to say thank you for our ministry together. Prayer Chain The Grace Prayer Chain is a group whose ministry is to pray for others in time of need, loss, illness, praise and thanksgiving. Prayer requests are received by phone or email, and then distributed via an email group or by phone through the chain. Members of the Prayer Chain then pray for those intentions. It s easy, there are no meetings to attend and you do not need to leave your home to pray. If you would like to join the Prayer Chain and pray for the needs and concerns of our church family, friends, the community and the world, you can send your email to the church office at glcwroffice@gmail.com and request to join or give us a call at 423-2330 to add your phone number to the calling tree. Please keep the following in mind when contacting the church office to share a prayer request for the Prayer Chain: Please be brief and to the point. Choose your wording carefully so that the need is clearly stated, but those reading are not overwhelmed by the details. It is not necessary to go into detail about relations, specific medical terminology and so on; the Lord knows all the details. The goal is to give enough information so we can pray faithfully. In order to respect the people s privacy, please be certain that you have their permission before making the request. First names or initials can be used for sensitive issues. We prefer to receive prayer requests as first-hand as possible. Pastor Michelle will be consulted if we have a concern about sharing information. If you have sent a request, when appropriate, please send updates so we can keep praying specifically for the need. Stewardship Commitments for 2018 Thank you, Thank You, Thank You, to everyone who returned financial stewardship commitments. Commitments are important, in that they cause you to consciously think about how you share of what God gives you to support the ministries of Grace. Thank you to those who took the time to go through this process of praying, contemplating and committing whether privately or submitted on the cards. We look forward to using what you will give this year to continue to deliver ministries serving the needs of our Grace members, our local community, state, and to the whole world through ELCA campaigns. Cont...
Cont. While we are grateful for the commitments we have received we are concerned that the commitment only meets about 45% of our approved budget for 2018. For us to continue serving all the ministries we do here at Grace we do need those who didn't make commitments to give generously as well. Also of note is that the approved budget this year was built off realistic projections of trends over the past couple years and basically sustains our current ministries. For us to grow as a congregation and bring new ministries we will need to increase our giving, add new members, or find other sources of giving. Below are some numbers from the budget and commitments for your contemplation and prayers about future giving. Approved 2018 Budget $378,874 Total 2018 Annualized Commitment $172,352 Commitment as % of budget 45% Average Annualized Commitment $2,462 Total returned cards with financial commitment 63 Total returned cards without commitments 9 Also let s not forget about stewardship of our time. Thank you to everyone that gives generously of their time. There are many opportunities to participate in Grace s ministries, whether that is participating in the numerous worship roles, to supporting our community ministries such as Neighborhood Table, SWEPS and others, to participating in one of our boards to help shape the direction of ministries here at Grace. Our hope is that all members find one or more ministries in which they are passionately engaged and helps them grow in their Christian faith and life. Coffee House New Book! Coffee House is a book study group that meets on Mondays from noon to 1pm in the lobby of the youth center at Grace. The group will be starting a new book on Monday January 22 nd : They Like Jesus but Not the Church: Insights from Emerging Generations by Dan Kimball (Zondervan, 2007). Here s a brief description: Many people today, especially among emerging generations, don t resonate with the church and organized Christianity. Some are leaving the church and others were never part of the church in the first place. Sometimes it s because of misperceptions about the church. Yet often they are still spiritually open and fascinated with Jesus. This is a ministry resource book exploring six of the most common objections and misunderstandings emerging generations have about the church and Christianity. The objections come from conversations and interviews the church has had with unchurched twenty and thirty-somethings at coffee houses. Each chapter raises the objection using a conversational approach, provides the biblical answers to that objection, gives examples of how churches are addressing this objection, and concludes with follow-through projection suggestions, discussion questions, and resource listings. If you re interested in reading and discussing this book, and haven t been participating in Coffee House recently, please contact the church office (phone and email) by January 5 th so
Ministry of the Month Board of Evangelism The mission of the Board of Evangelism is to reach out to others with the good news of a Savior. This mission starts at the front door of Grace when our guests and members arrive and are welcomed by our silent greeters. This very important first step allows our guests to feel welcome as they enter our church. Our bread ministry team continues reaching out by delivering to first-time guests a gift of bread and church information. The board offers several Friendship Sundays throughout the year in order for our members to invite someone they know to join us for worship and fellowship. Discover Grace: A Time for Newcomers meetings are scheduled throughout the fall and winter months to give our guests the opportunity to learn more about Grace. Our new member sponsors will contact and get to know people joining our church and will introduce them to the congregation at a service of their choosing. Finally, our board continues to brainstorm ideas to try to make our guests visit to our church home a special and unique experience that only Grace can offer. The Board of Evangelism will continue its work of reaching out. All of these ministries help us fulfill our mission statement: Grace is a Christian family, welcoming people to actively live God s word and strengthen their faith. First Holy Communion On Sunday December 3, 2017 we welcomed these young people to the Lord s table, sharing with them the gifts of God s forgiveness, presence, and love for all: Halle Friday, Sydney Mazurek, Aidan Paulsen, Cecilia Paulsen, Kiana Sanger, Walker Schmitt, and Wyatt Schmitt. New Grace Facebook Page Grace s Facebook profile was set up as a personal profile, instead of an organization s page. It s now been converted to a Facebook page, which is better suited to an organization in how it functions, what information the administrators can access, and how Facebook users can see it and what is posted on the page. The new Facebook page is called Grace Lutheran Church WRapids and can be found at www.facebook.com/ gracelutheranchurchwrapids. If you previously friended the Facebook page for Grace Lutheran Church, that should be carried over, and now you like and follow the page to see its posts. Please check out the new Facebook page, and like and follow us! Feel free to share the page and its posts with your family and friends. The 6th Annual SWC Empty Bowls Event is coming Saturday, March 3, from 11am-2pm. We are partnering this year with First English Lutheran. This fundraiser supports agencies that provide direct food relief for vulnerable members of our community. You can help by volunteering on the day of the event or by donating a raffle basket or item to place in a raffle basket. Raffle items can be brought to Grace at any time by February 26. Contact us on our Facebook page or at our website at www.swcemptybowls.com for more information or to volunteer. Church in Society would like to thank the congregation for their generous support of the Rapids Family Backpack Program!! This is a very needed program in our school district & your support is appreciated by the children!! Thank You!!
How Do We Tell The Greatest Story Ever Told?? The first Christians heard the story of Jesus, they didn t read it. The Rev. Dr. Phil Ruge- Jones is a nationally renowned Biblical storyteller. He takes the oral tradition of the Bible to another level learning Bible stories by heart, and telling them so that the Word becomes the living Word. Sunday, January 28th at 3 pm The Beginning of the Good News A Performance of Mark s Gospel Frame Presbyterian Church 1300 Main Street, Stevens Point, WI (Snow date: February 11) Hearing the entire Gospel of Mark in one afternoon is a riveting experience. With a short intermission, it takes about 2 hours and those who are interested may stay afterwards to discuss the experience with Phil. Phil Ruge-Jones was a theology professor at Texas Lutheran University for almost two decades. He was the keynote presenter at the 2017 Festival Gathering of the Network of Biblical Storytellers. Currently he is an associate pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He also lectures and storytells the Gospel of Mark from memory both nationally and internationally. He is the author of The Word of the Cross in a World of Glory and I Tell You, This is the Way It Is. saturday, january 27 th sunday, january 28 th Join us for a fantastic weekend of worship and praise music with dakota road music Saturday Concert at 6:30 p.m. Sunday Worship Service at 10:30 a.m. SATURDAY CONCERT TICKETS: ADULTS $10.00 KIDS/STUDENTS $5.00 (Tickets go on sale at Grace on Sunday, 1/7/18. Tickets can be purchased in person only on Sunday mornings or during regular office hours LIMITED SEATING AVAILABLE) Youth and Children's Bell Choir will be looking for bell ringers in grades K-12 on January 7th for the 10:30 a.m. service. This will be the first day back at Sunday school and confirmation classes in the new year. We will meet in the fellowship hall at 9:00 for a practice prior to the start of Sunday school and confirmation classes. Please confirm with Jennifer Smihal at jsmihal@gmail.com that your child is eager to play by Friday, January 5th so we can be sure we have enough ringers and choose a song. If you have any questions contact Jennifer or Marijo Zieroth.
Officers and Board Members for 2018 President Bob Zieroth (2019) Vice-President Jim Giese (2018) Board of Worship Mary Manley (2019) Co-Chair Ann Trzinski (2019) Co-Chair Sandy Schreier (2018) 2 nd term Debby Brown (2018) 2 nd term Laura Haugen (2019) Barry Trzinski (2019) Board of Evangelism Randy Oleson (2018) Chair 2 nd term Mike Schreier (2019)2 nd term Brenda Bambenek (2019) 2 nd term Pat Brott (2019) Patrick Barrett (2019) Linda Barrett (2019) Board of Property Jim Chase (2018) Chair Scott Howard (2019) 2 nd term Jim Kieper (2019) Jeff Daugherty (2019) Finance Team Bob Zieroth Co-Chair Tim Blokhuis Pam Huntington Kristi Holck Steve Grant Board of Stewardship Lisa Rowe-Peplinski (2019) Board of Education Lilli Storandt (2019) Board of Fellowship Sue Powers (2018) Co-Chair 2 nd term Amy Ewald (2018) Lynda Olson (2018) Andrea Kubisiak (2019) Board of Youth Amy McMillen (2018) Korey Jacob (2018) Samantha Krummel (2018) Joni Feidt (2018) Secretary Anne Lee (2019) 2 nd term Treasurer Steve Grant (2019) Payroll Lee Lindgren (2018) Board of Church-in-Society Dick Bartosh (2018) Noreen Bartosh (2018) Janet Giese (2018) Barb Allworden (2019) Diane Pichelman-Sutherland (2019) Stephen Ministry Dorothy Freiman Jim Giese John Harper Board of Personnel Jim Giese (2018) Chair Kristi Holck (2018) Kathy Hess (2019) John Harper (2018) Mary Manley (2019) Grace YouTube Channel Grace has our own channel on YouTube!! We post video of worship services and other events. Our current URL is hard to remember: https:// www.youtube.com/channel/ucqmh1-5fken-m4ikuxsixuw, as it s randomly chosen by YouTube. In order for us to create our own custom URL that includes our church name and is easier to remember, we need at least 100 subscribers to our channel (so far we have 29). So, please, go to our channel and subscribe, and ask your friends to do so as well. Subscribers receive an email when new content is posted to the channel. When to Contact the Pastor Please contact Pastor Michelle, or ask someone in your family to contact her, if you are in the hospital. Most hospitals don t have the staff available to let pastors and churches know when you are a patient, even if they ask you about your church. Pastor Michelle wants to visit and pray with you. If you are in the hospital but prefer not to have the pastor visit, please still let her know so she can add you to her prayers. There are other times you might want a visit from Pastor Michelle, or to be added to her and the congregation s prayers. Pastor Michelle can t read your mind and know when you would like a visit! Please let her know, by phone or email, that you would like to get together with her. Please don t assume that if you post news about a death in your family or hospitalization or other concerns on Facebook that the pastor will see it and respond. It s easy to miss things on social media, and some days Pastor Michelle doesn t check it. Call or email when you want the pastor to know about something happening in your life. Connecting with Grace Pastor Michelle Nickodemus Grace Lutheran Church Email: MLNick93@gmail.com 1531 Whitrock Ave. Joanne Wayne: Ministry Coordinator Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494 Email: talksonphone@yahoo.com (715) 423-2330 Kevin Cushman: Youth Ministries Email: glcwroffice@gmail.com Email: theeyouthguy@yahoo.com View Worship Services on River Cities Community Access Fridays 9:00 a.m. and Sundays 12:00 noon.