The Gloria Dei GUIDE June 2016 Vacation Bible School June 20-23 2016 Registration is now full Please pray for our safe and joy filled adventure! Program Information Each day at Cave Quest VBS children will explore four different stations: Imagination Station, Games, KidVid Cinema and Deep Bible Quests. Each station deepens the understanding of the daily Bible point. In addition, the children gather together for the fun-filled Sing & Play Rock. Here are this year s daily Bible point and stories. Day 1: Jesus Gives Us Hope-Follow Him! Prophets foretell the light of the world (John 1:1-34; Isaiah 9:2). Day 2: Jesus Gives Us Courage-Follow Him! Jesus and Peter walk on water (Matthew 14:22-36). Day 3: Jesus Gives Us Direction-Follow Him! Jesus sheds light on how to live (Matthew 5-7). Day 4: Jesus Gives Us His Power-Follow Him! Jesus ascends and empowers his followers (Acts1:1-11). Meet The Bible Buddies RADAR MAWTHA SAL
Gloria Dei Reads Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving What if the whole congregation read the same book at the same time? Would we deepen our connections to one another? Would we learn about each other s perspectives? Would we have a better sense about what was important to each of us? Would we develop a shared language for things that were hard to discuss? Throughout the country, communities are reading and discussing a book together as a way to build connections and share perspectives. In our hopes to continue to find ways to deepen our relationships across the congregation, we are launching Gloria Dei Reads for the summer of 2016. Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race explores white privilege from the perspective of a woman who grew up in an upper class suburban neighborhood and rarely gave race any thought. As an adult, author Debby Irving took a class on race and cultural identity which challenged her presuppositions and encouraged her to start to identify her place in society. In this book she writes about what it meant to discover herself to be white, and she invites her readers to begin their own self-discovery. Throughout the summer, we invite you to read Irving s book and enter into a communal discussion with others from the congregation. We hope you ll take the time to respond to the frequent prompts the author provides at the end of each section. As you reflect we hope you ll form your own conclusions about how you have been affected by race and how your identity was developed. Join one of the discussion gatherings listed on our website, (http://www.gloriadeistpaul.org/ gloria-dei-reads-summer-2016/) or gather with your own acquaintances to discuss the book on a schedule that works for you. Or read the book on your own if that s more comfortable for you. In the fall, we ll host congregation-wide opportunities to discuss our learnings and insights with each other. Need more information? Want to get started? See our website or talk with Pastor Lois Pallmeyer. 222222 22222222222
Blessing God s House -June 26th We re almost finished with our building restoration project! On Sunday, June 26th, as part of the second service, we ll make a procession around the property, stopping at different spots to bless our building as a place for God s work. We ll also bless and pray for the earth at new rain gardens. The procession will end on our new plaza on the northwest corner for refreshments and fellowship. As part of our celebration we will also give thanks for our capital improvements task force that has worked many hours of the last four years to bring this project to completion. Upcoming Sunday Forums Shout Out and Thanks to our Funeral Team Many may not realize that we have a team of volunteers who are ready with short notice to help families grieve at a time of loss. When there s a funeral at Gloria Dei and a family, whether they are long-time members or a member of our community with no church home, wants a reception, we go to work to help plan and staff it. Martha Wegner is our funeral coordinator, and she works with a large team of volunteers who set up, provide hospitality, and clean up after funeral receptions. They often have only a few days notice, and they spend hours here at church to provide a loving and caring experience for families. Their work goes unnoticed by most of us. Thank you so much to all the volunteers that help with funeral receptions. YOU help us achieve our mission of being a caring and healing congregation! We have another team that follows up with people after a loss. It s often after the funeral when grief deepens. Our team sends cards, makes calls, and checks in those members of our church family who are grieving. We offer our thanks to them, as well. 3
Fundraising Results-Mission Trips A huge THANK-YOU to our friends and family for all of the donations towards the two Teen Summer Mission Trips. In total, we ve collected over 70 individual contributions (not including the car wash donations) for a total of nearly $15,000. Our two car washes in April and May raised over $2,600. Donations from the Wall of Money envelope fundraiser were just over $7,000 and we had two large anonymous contributions for a total of $5,500. All of these contributions helped us not only meet our goal, but supported families who would have otherwise not been able to afford to send a teen on these trips. Most importantly, over 50 of us as teens and adults are prayerfully going forward with the good news of Jesus to both Knoxville and Niagara Falls this summer. We expect to be humbled, changed, and freed to serve Christ even further in our world. We feel well supported and encouraged by you, the church members. Please pray for us as we leave this summer: Knoxville June 25-July 3 (Wow Urban Ministry) Niagara Falls July 30-Aug. 6 (Youthworks) In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. Colossians 1:3-8 444444 44444444444
Gloria Dei Auction Update The numbers are in for this year s Gloria Dei Auction! A Cheesy Affair! More than $28, 000 was raised to support Gloria Dei s mission and operating budget Over 100 Gloria Dei members and local businesses donated gift certificates, items and are hosting special events such as Win Tastings, Italian Dinners, and Sculpture and Steeple Tours 160 Gloria Dei members participated in the Very Cheesy Affair held on April 16, the Silent Auction on April 17 and the online auction the following week Thank you for all who participated in the fun and helped to make this year s auction one of the most successful events ever! 5
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Our Construction Project http://www.gloriadeistpaul.org/giving/capital-improvement Financial Update By Jeanne Hanson, Administrator Gloria Dei Lutheran Church 700 Snelling Avenue South St. Paul, MN 55116 651-699-1378 By God s grace, we are called to be a caring, healing and welcoming community who proclaim and celebrate the love of Jesus Christ, live as God s servants and seek justice for all people. Capital Fund Information Contributions Year to Date $ 136,757 Monthly mortgage payments Interest Only Capital Improvement Costs Year-to-Date $ 537,671 Balance in Capital Accounts April 30, 2016 $ 451,084 Mortgage Balance April 30, 2016 $2,250,475 FINANCIAL UPDATE Operating Information April 30, 2016 Total offerings $ 90,341 Ahead (Behind) ($ 1,168) Total Income $ 133,064 Total Expenses $ 108,775 Net for Month $ 24,289 Total YTD Offerings $ 379,600 Ahead (Behind) ($ 2,535) Total YTD Income $ 463,916 Total YTD Expenses $ 433,150 Net for Current Year $ 30,766 7