Grace Notes Grace Notes THE NEWSLETTER OF GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH Dear Members and Friends, June 2013Now that the summer months have arrived people will be going away on vacaon. Some have camps and will be in the forest or at the lake most of the summer. We know from experience that when Sunday School is not in session a number of our families have summer commitments that will have them travel- ing.In other words, aendance is down on Sundays in the summer. We will try to ence everyone to be here anyway. For example, on June 9th as we close Sunday School for the summer, we will have a cook out aer church. On June 16th we will recognize our graduang seniors and there will be a recepon aer worship. Starng June 23rd and connuing through Labor Day weekend, September 1st, worship will be at 9:15. This will allow everyone to be at worship and sll have the rest of the day to engage in summer fun acvies with your friends and families. To top it o, the enre main level of the church is now air condioned.We nd that our summer months are the harder months for us to meet our budget expenses as people travel, camp, etc. If you nd that you will be away on a Sunday, we hope that you will help us with our cash ow problem by mailing or dropping oyour oerings. By the Grace of God,Pastor David Almleaf
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Grace NotesGrace Notes T H E N E W S L E T T E R O F G R A C E L U T H E R A N C H U R C H
Dear Members and Friends, June 2013
Now that the summer months have arrived people will be going away on vacaon. Some have camps and
will be in the forest or at the lake most of the summer. We know from experience that when Sunday
School is not in session a number of our families have summer commitments that will have them travel-
ing.
In other words, aendance is down on Sundays in the summer. We will try to ence everyone to be here
anyway. For example, on June 9th as we close Sunday School for the summer, we will have a cook out
aer church. On June 16th we will recognize our graduang seniors and there will be a recepon aerworship. Starng June 23rd and connuing through Labor Day weekend, September 1st, worship will be
at 9:15. This will allow everyone to be at worship and sll have the rest of the day to engage in summer
fun acvies with your friends and families. To top it o, the enre main level of the church is now air
condioned.
We nd that our summer months are the harder months for us to meet our budget expenses as people
travel, camp, etc. If you nd that you will be away on a Sunday, we hope that you will help us with our
cash ow problem by mailing or dropping o your oerings.
June 16 - Maryland Warner June 23 - Marlene & George Slingerland
June 30 - Larry & Carol Preston
July 7 - Dorian & Tabetha Angus
July 14 - Derrick McGuinness
July 21 - Maryland Warner
July 28 - Maryland Warner
Kathy VanValkenburgh
Altar flowers are $33.00 unless you share a Sunday then they
would be $16.50 each vase. If you wish to place a “special ar-
rangement” in the Sanctuary the cost would be whatever youwould like to spend. Nancy Blanchard (762-4234) and Linda
Bumpus (725-1927) are the Altar Flower coordinators.
Counters for June & July
06/02 - Darleen Gaugler, Charlotte Petersen, Bonnie
06/09 - Nancy Demarest, Ron & Jackie Hollenbeck
06/16 - Nancy Demarest, Ron & Jackie Hollenbeck
06/23 - Nancy Blanchard, Greta Davis, Bonnie
06/30 - Nancy Blanchard, Greta Davis, Bonnie
07/07 - Darleen Gaugler, Charlotte Petersen, Bonnie07/14 - Darleen Gaugler, Charlotte Peterson, Bonnie
07/21 - Nancy Demarest, Ron & Jackie Hollenbeck
07/28 - Nancy Demarest, Ron & Jackie Hollenbeck
Prayers of the Church
Please notify the church office when your prayers have been
answered so your prayer concern can be removed from the list
that Pastor raises up to God on Sunday morning. Thank you.
Bread Bakers June & July
June 2 - Carol HennesseyJune 30 - Helen Schreivogl
July 7 - Audrey Rulison
July 28 - Linda Morley
Please find someone to replace you if you cannot bake bread theSunday you are scheduled and whenever possible, tell the churchsecretary so the bulletin can reflect the change.
Please find someone to replace you if you cannot make the Sun-day you are scheduled and whenever possible, tell Bonnie so that
the bulletin can reflect the change.
Peg Niforos, Altar Guild Coordinator
Prayer Chain MinistryIf you know of anyone in need of daily prayers for the healing of
body, mind or soul, please call Bobbi Nigro (725-6781) or NancyDemarest (725-8704). If requesting in person, please submit thename(s) in writing and add your name at the bottom. To further assist, please reconnect with that member of the Prayer Chainwithin 2 weeks to verify the condition of the person(s) receiving
prayer. All requests are held in confidence unless otherwise desig-nated. Thank you.
Council Highlights from May 9th Meeting• Discussed the steeple project which is now scheduled for June.
• Council approved a bicycling group to use Grace as a place to stay
overnight.• Approved the use of the church every Monday evening 6:30 - 8:00 bymembers of the group formally known as the Bobcats. In return, theyagreed to do a concert here at Grace as a fund raiser for a church pro-
ject.
• Approved having the grand piano tuned twice a year.
Christian Ed/Youth
The youth will lead us in worship on June 9th. It will also be the last day ofSunday School. A picnic will follow worship. Hot dogs, rolls and drinks will
be provided. We are asking the congregation to bring a dish to pass.
On June 16th we will honor our high school graduates.
Joshua BrownMatthew (MJ) VanValkenburgh
Lauren Kearney
Kaylee Fiorillo
Those receiving Acolyte Scholarships for their many dedicated years of
serving as acolytes are Lauren Kearney and MJ VanValkenburgh.
Outreach - Evangelism
Will be taking part in the Relay for Life being held at Park Terrace School
May 31st - June 1st.
Will also take part in the Gloversville Rail Fest August 3rd.
Inreach - Evangelism
May 19th after worship the committee will hold an Ice Cream Social at
which they will also sell hot dogs and water.
Finance
See special report on the air conditioning project.
Twin Cities Council of Churches
May 19th - Grace at NOAH
May 19th - 4:00 p.m. - Youth Gathering with a Christian Rock Band held at
Glove City Theater. Admission - bring a friend.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy VanValkenburgh, Council President
Air Conditioner
Update Due to added expenses for electrical work in order toget the air conditioning in, the total cost for the ACand electric was $36,174.00. The breakdown is as follows: In 2012 - $8113.00 Memorials given and designatedfor the AC and electric $1581.85 was designated for the AC through fundraising and donations
In 2013 - $2725.00 Memorials given and designatedfor the AC $1595.00 was designated for the ACthrough fundraising and donations
That left a balance of $22,159.15
Realizing the difficulty of raising such a large amountthe finance committee recommended to council thatwe use $5,000.00 from The Zea Account and$10,000.00 from a Thrivent CD which had matured.Council approved.
After all is said and done, the congregation onlyneeds to raise the balance of $7,159.15. If you wish to contribute to this project you mayplace your donation in the offering plate or drop it off in the church office. Be sure to mark the envelopethat it’s for the air conditioning.
Our 9:15am
Worship Services
begin on
Sunday June 23rd
The April 28th dish to pass dinner with the rae of lots
of beauful baskets to benet the air condioning was
very successful. A total of $518.00 was given. Thanks to
all of you who aended.
Thank you to everyone who donated geraniums to
grace our sanctuary on Pentecost. They will be put into
the gardens and planters soon for all to enjoy.
Thank you to Nancy Demarest and the Inreach Com-
miee for hosng the “Sundaes on Sunday” Ice cream
Sundays with lots of dierent toppings, hot dogs & wa-
ter were oered. The Gloversville Jazz Band entertained
We need your help......... On Tuesday August 6th a bicycling group will be staying
here at Grace over night. Last summer they traveled
from Seale to Minneapolis and are connuing their
trip this summer from St. Paul, MN to Boston. They
started doing these trips in the 1980's with church
youth sponsored by the Conneccut Conference, UCC.
Now it is mostly rered adults who make the trip. On
the day they stay here they will be biking from Uca
(about 55 miles) arriving here between 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
There are about 20 -25 people. We would like to be
hospitable and oer a covered dish supper for them.
This is where you come in!!!
We need -
Dishes to pass-
- People to help set-up -
- Serve -
- Clean-up -
to just be who we are, friendly, caring Chrisans!
Please let Kathy VanValkenburgh or Bonnie Olendorf
know if you are able to help in any or all of these areas.
From Gloversville High School...
Kaylee Fiorillo
Lauren Kearney
From Johnstown High School...
Joshua Brown
Matthew (MJ) VanValkenburgh
Receiving Acolyte Scholarships will be:
Lauren Kearney and
Matthew (MJ) VanValkenburgh
Congratulations to:
Emily Bradt and Victoria Clo who graduated
from FMCC
We pray for God’s blessings upon each of you as
you begin the next chapter of your lives.
Sunday June 9th Youth Led Worship
This will also be the last day of
Sunday School. A picnic will follow
the worship service.
Sunday June 16th we will recognize
our graduates and our graduating
acolytes.
DO YOU HAVE RETURNABLE BOTTLES AND CANS that are clogging upspace in your home? Do you hate the thought of taking them to the storeto return? If so, just bring them to church and leave them in the box nextto the side entrance. Someone from the Youth Group will return them tohelp defray the cost of their trip to Detroit in July 2015. Thanks for support-ing them!
As a further note, the Youth Group is continuing to collect old and usedcell phones. There is a box in the narthex where you can leave them.
The Silent Prayer A member of the church, who previously had been aending services regularly, stopped going. Aer a
few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at homealone, sing before a blazing re. Guessing the reason for his pastor’s visit, the man welcomed him, led
him to a comfortable chair near the replace and waited.
The pastor made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of
the ames around the burning logs. Aer some minutes, the pastor took the re tongs, carefully picked
up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone then he sat back in his chair,
sll silent. The host watched all this in quiet contemplaon. As the one lone ember’s ame ickered and
diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its re was no more. Soon it was cold and dead.
Not a word had been spoken since the inial greeng. The pastor glanced at his watch and realized it wasme to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the
re. Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.
As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running down his cheek, ‘Thank you so
much for your visit and especially for the ery sermon. I will be back on church next Sunday.’
We live in a world today, which tries to say too much with too lile. Consequently, few listen. Some-
mes the best sermons are the ones le unspoken.
The Lord is my Shepherd-----
that’s a Relaonship! I shall not want----
that’s Supply! He maketh me to liedown in green pastures----that’s Rest! He leadeth me beside the sll waters----that’s Refreshment! He
restoreth my soul----that’s healing! He leadeth me in the patch of righteousness----that’s Guidance! For
His name sake----that’s Purpose! Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death----
that’s Tesng! I will fear no evil----that’s Protecon! For Thou art with me----that’s Faithfulness! Thy rod
and Thy sta comfort me----that’s Discipline! Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine
enemies----that’s Hope! Thou annointest my head with oil----that’s Consecraon! My cup runneth over---
-that’s Abundance! Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life----that’s Blessing!
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord----that’s Security! Forever----that’s Eternity!
Face it, God loves you!
What is most valuable is not what we have in our lives, but WHO we have in our lives. Submied by Linda Bumpus
We're being blessed with some good planting weather. We got a slow start because of a colder and wetter
season than last year, but we're not complaining. Some cold weather veggies were in by April (lettuce, onions, peas,
radishes, greens, potatoes) and now the warm weather's setting in for tomatoes, peppers, okra, beans, corn, cukes, andsquash. The kids are off from school so there's no pressure in the morn to beat the clock. We're glad for church activi-
ties where we've met some great people. Since there is alot of farming around here, we like to learn how the local
people raise their crops. Generously, some neighbors have shared some thornless raspberry plants which are starting
to put out foliage and a couple from church gave us 7 gallons of strawberries saying they'd take a couple of jars of
jam when I process them. I put up 7 pints for now, gave them some, shared some fresh berries with others and then
cleaned, cut, and froze the rest for future use so I wouldn't have to process them right away. We've been eating salads
every day and sharing some green onions, lettuce, and asparagus with neighbors too. Also, Steve's farmer friends
have helped with the use of farm equipment and a field is going to be seeded with corn. Meanwhile, we found out
that this same field is where some Native Americans had pitched their tents years before the Civil War and we've
found about a handful of arrowheads so far. There is a spring on the property that they had used for their water sup- ply and another one we use for ours. We've caught, cleaned and cooked fish in the ponds here too. We're feel very
blessed and loving the farming life. William and Leah have been in fairly good health, with monthly doctor's visits to
Cincinnati and have enjoyed socializing with friends. We're hoping the children are positively influenced by our
"back to basics lifestyle". Their interests as well as friends their age seem to be more materialistic and electronically
motivated. I guess that's the way of the world with kids these days. Maybe they will grow to appreciate country living
someday as much as Steven and I do.
Today we witnessed a genuine, river Baptism. Brother Hershel asked if I had a song and "Shall We Gather
At the River" came to mind. I didn't know all of it - just the chorus, but it went o.k. when everybody joined in. Thomas
Ridge Christian Church has become our current church family and we, along with others in the community, are lifted
up in prayer. Prayer has always really helped our family and we need to ask for it quite often because of William and
Leah's health challenges. The church has always helped us grow in our spiritual walk and we are learning so much
how the Bible applies to our lives. Meeting people at church has also led to plumbing/handyman work for Steve and
I'm loving leading in song the new southern gospel hymns. People come up to help lead the hymns, but a formal SAB
choir has not been set up yet. Maybe in time it will and I'm also thinking a concert series may do well here as the
church seems to be growing and the fellowship hall can now accommodate the public with the new bathrooms Steve
has installed. There's also talk about using funds for a basketball and skateboard court for the youth and equipment
that may entice more youngsters to spend time at church. This is important as too many young people need a safe
haven with adult supervision rather than wandering around town with some getting into trouble. There are plenty of
broken, dysfunctional home lives that need the Lord and many people are hard at work trying to evangelize peopletowards salvation. This is true of churches all over the nation who are also of the same mindset regarding this issue.
In light of current events, I've been inspired to write a song which I've attached the lyrics to. I hope you enjoy it.
Best Wishes and God Bless you all from all the Gleemans.
With love,
Susan Gleeman, 1825 Riffe Creek Road, Dunnville, KY 42568, (606) 787-6045