T H E L I G H T

T H E L I G H T G R A C E L U T H E R A N C H U R C H J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0

New Date for

Semi-Annual

Congregational

Meeting-Jan. 19 The Semi-Annual Meet-ing of Grace congrega-tion will be held on Sun-day, January 19, 2020, at 12:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall, following the 11:15 Ser-

vice. The Council ap-proved a proposed 2020 budget, which will be voted on by the congre-gation plus other busi-ness matters to discuss. A light lunch will be available and we hope everyone can attend.

G R A C E L U T H E R A N C H U R C H J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0

“And this will be a sign for you: you will find a

baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in

a manger.” And suddenly there was with the

angel a multitude of the heavenly host prais-

ing God and saying, “Glory to God in the high-

est, and on earth peace among those with

whom he is pleased!” Luke 2:12-14 ESV

Below are the children and youth of Grace on

December 22 at the 9 a.m. service.

Photo by Laura Boudon See additional seasonal photos on

Pages 6, 7, 8, 12, 13

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Music Notes 2 Youth Plans 2 Pastor Larry 3 Vicar Sylvia 4 Men’s Group 5 Thank You 5 Thrivent 5 Seasonal Photos 6, 7, 8, 12, 13 Alpha Session 9 Stuffed Toys 9 Thank You 9 Sound Tech 9 Video Team 9 New Year’s Wishes 10 New Members 11 Gift of Yarn 11 Grace Writers 14 Happenings 15 Grace’s Faces 16 2020 Love Offerings 18 Musings 19 Invite to Tyson House19 Condolences 20 Birthdays 20 Find the Snowflakes 20

Mark your calendars for two youth events to start off 2020!

• January 26 at 5:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall: 2nd annual youth spaghetti dinner and Bible Trivial Pursuit! This event is open to all members of the congregation. We will share a spaghetti dinner and play Bible Trivial Pursuit after dinner! Should be fun! • Sunday February 9 at 2 p.m.: Anne of Green Gables at the Oak Ridge Play-house! We would like to buy a group of tickets for Grace youth and members. Please let Laura Boudon know if you would like to go to this play and how many tickets you will need by January 9.

J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 P A G E 2

NOTES from

Slade Trammel

It is hard to believe that another year is up-on us already! Thanks to all who have par-ticipated, and listened to, all of the glorious Advent and Christmas music made at Grace this past December. In particular, we thank Matthew Gurecki and his family for sharing a new composition of his, “Praise to the Lord,” at the 12/29 Lessons and Carols Service. The joyous musical offerings continue into the new year, including an 11:15 choral of-fertory on January 12 that will celebrate the

New Year is Perfect Time to Join Choir!

baptism of our Lord. The work is a setting of “Come to the Water” by the composer-arranger Jack Schrader, and we hope it helps everyone to reflect on the reality of Jesus’s journey on this earth. I leave you with a question: what better time to take part in our musical festivities than at the beginning of a new year? Happy New Year, and please join us!

Grace Youth Plans for New Year

J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 P A G E 3

See Pastor Larry, Page 4

If Thanksgiving is be-coming the forgotten national holiday, Epiphany might hold that dubious honor in the Christian church. On the first Sunday of Christmas, the lec-tionary gives us the story of the Holy Family’s flight to Egypt in order to avoid what has been called the “Slaughter of the Innocents,” King Herod’s failed

attempt to kill the infant Jesus. The gospel reading from Matthew begins: “Now after they had left…” The “they” is the three wise men, astrologers or magi, depending on how one translates the Greek. In Matthew’s ac-count of Jesus’ birth, three men come from “the East” in search of a child who has been born “king of the Jews.” They were following a star that led them first to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem, where they find Jesus and his mother Mary. According to Mat-thew’s gospel, “they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankin-cense, and myrrh.” It is this event that is cel-ebrated on January 6, known as Epiphany or Little Christmas. But because it rarely falls on a Sunday, the story is skipped in the weekly lectionary, leaving us wondering if we missed something by the time we get to Jan-uary 12 and the Baptism of Our Lord.

Epiphany, therefore, is almost completely ignored by the church, save for the occasion-al joint service held by certain Lutheran con-ferences. Even then, attendance at such a service is usually poor. It is unfortunate that Epiphany gets passed over, as the story of the three magi and their generous gifts is

Pastor Larry Boudon’s Page

It May Be the ‘Forgotten’ Christian Holiday,

but Epiphany will Not Be Ignored At Grace what gave rise to our nearly universal cele-bration of Christmas by means of gift giv-ing. Moreover, January 6 is the twelfth and final day of Christmas as a season in the church calendar, without which we scarcely could understand the origin of the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Finally, Epiphany marks the day after which many, if not most, Christians remove their holiday decorations, including the tree. Here at Grace that will take place on January 11.

The story of Epiphany appears only in Mat-thew’s gospel and is consistent with the au-thor’s repeated efforts to tie Jesus to the Jewish prophecies about the Messiah. In-deed, the magi (possibly astrologers from Persia), are familiar with the prophecies and remind King Herod of one of them: “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel” (Matthew 2:6). The main characters are the magi and King Herod. Jesus and Mary are mentioned but neither say nor do anything, and Jo-seph is absent (though he reappears imme-diately afterward, taking Mary and Jesus to Egypt and safety). The star that guides the magi to Jesus has no historical explanation but perhaps is based upon a prophecy in Numbers. Once the magi find Jesus and his mother, they worship him and present him with gifts, all of which can be associated with royalty. Gold is fairly obvious, due to its value. Frankincense is a type of incense still used in Roman Catholic and some Episcopal and Lutheran churches. Myrrh also was a fragrant substance that often was used in anointing oils. Since Jesus was said to be “The Anointed One,” or Christ, it was only fitting that he should receive myrrh as a gift. It also serves as a kind of

Godspeed and Farewell to Vicar Sylvia

On Sunday, December 22, Pastor

Larry led the ritual of farewell and Godspeed for Vicar Sylvia Coun-tess at the 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. services. Her internship ended December 31.

As a thank you for her work with

us, Grace gave Vicar Sylvia her first green stole; she will be able to wear it when she becomes an ordained pastor (pictured left).

Pastor Larry chose a stole made by African refugee women.

We are grateful for Vicar Sylvia's ministries with us these last 10 months and look forward to hear-ing further about her journey to become an ordained Pastor in the ELCA! Stay tuned!

Pastor Larry, Continued from Page 3

Blanket Workshop Resumes its Regular Schedule,

Thursday, January 16.

harbinger of his eventual death and burial. The entire story is meant to reinforce the fact that Jesus is, indeed, the long-awaited Messiah, one who will eventually bring salvation to the entire world. The story is an integral part of the overall Christmas narrative and should be heard during the Christmas season.

Epiphany did fall on Sunday in 2019, and Janu-ary 6 is a Monday in 2020. For Sunday, January 5, the lectionary gives us the opening verses of John’s gospel, which talk in almost cosmic terms about Jesus as God’s Word, who

“became flesh and lived among us.” (1:14) John gives us no actual birth narrative and provides no details about Jesus prior to his baptism by another John in the River Jordan. With that in mind, I have decided that we will celebrate Epiphany at Grace on January 5, using the readings assigned for January 6, including the story from Matthew’s gospel about the visit of the three magi. This way the Christmas season will have more of a feeling of finality and clo-sure, and Epiphany will not be ignored, at least for this year.

Photo by Laura Boudon

J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 P A G E 4

T H E L I G H T

No Men’s

Break-

fast in

January

The Men’s Corner… by Phil Stumbo There is no charge for break-fast, but dona-tions are request-ed/encouraged. All donations will go to CONTACT as in previous years. Finally, to better plan for the food, we will need to get a feel for how many folks will be coming. Please contact Phil Stumbo at 482-3048 or [email protected]. We look forward to having you join us.

We will not have a Men's Group meeting in January. Our next meeting will be our annual Valentine's Day meeting which will be on Feb-ruary 8, 2019. Coffee will be ready by 8:30 a.m. with break-fast at 9:00 a.m. All men and women of Grace are invited. The Men's Group will provide breakfast. Also, as a special treat, Joy Fournier will provide music. A signup sheet will be posted on the bulletin board outside the kitchen for the men to use to indicate what you will bring to the breakfast. A sign up sheet from 2019 will be attached for your information/reference. We will need hot dishes, coffee cakes, bagels, fruit and juice.

Did You Know You Can Get Seed Money? If you have any kind of financial product through Thrivent, you have two Thrivent Action Team requests per year. What is a Thrivent Action Team grant? It is $250 in seed money to be used for just about any church-related activity1, but Thrivent approves pretty much every-thing. The money comes in the form of a loaded debit card that is easily activated. When making a request, you also may order Thrivent t-shirts, banners, and invitation cards, all free of charge. The request is made online at Thrivent.com. The only stipulation is that the request must be made about a month prior to the event to which it is linked. Once the event is done (and purchases made), you then must fill out a report online. If you do not, you will not able to make your second request. These Thrivent Action Team grants are an excellent way to defray the costs of things we do here at Grace and I urge anyone as-sociated with Thrivent to make use of them2. Pastor Larry

1 Not to serve internal needs of the congregation, but mainly evangelism or serving outreach to the community.

2Please let Claudia Lever or Pastor Larry know if you own a Thrivent product.

Dear Friends at Grace, Thank you so much for all your prayers and notes, emails, kind thoughts, and expressions of sympathy on

the death of my mother, and also your prayers for my eye surgery (which occurred the morning following mother’s death). My eye did well. When I ran out of eyedrops, I found that mother had used the same kind and had some brand new bottles in her linen closet. When I thought I didn’t have the energy to keep going, I found extra strength and quiet places to sleep. I stayed ahead of the snow storms on the trip and I was able to bring back some of mother’s things. I felt your love riding with me. And even some Christmas music in the middle of the prairie. I am so grateful for all of you and grateful to God who answers our prayers. Thank you so much!

Love in Jesus, Annie Long

J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 P A G E 5

See more photos on Pages 7, 8, 12, 13

Christmas Bells

Are Ringing

Grace Photographer Stan Long cap-

tured the beauty of our sanctuary

and the Chrismon Tree from the un-

usual angle of the bell choir. Ring-

spiration, pictured below, plays a

beautiful hymn every month for our

listening pleasure.

J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 P A G E 6

Above, Kevin and Lorelei Frey, light the third Ad-

vent candle, while at right First Harmony sing the

prelude of the 11:15 service on

December 8.

Photos by Stan Long

See more photos on Pages 6, 8, 12, 13

Sharing Christmas-at-Grace Scenes

J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 P A G E 7

J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 P A G E 8

SAVE THE DATE!!! April 23-26, 2020 is the next Via de Cristo weekend!

Happy New Year from The Boudons — Pastor Larry, Laura, and Lucas Pastor Larry has the following prayer for 2020. A prayer for 2020! Let us pray for all the members of Grace and our families and friends! Let us pray for our leaders, Council members, musicians, singers, parents, youth, confirmands, confirmand mentors, and children. May God guide all our ministries at Grace, help us to love God and love our neighbor. May we be a loving presence in Oak Ridge in 2020 and beyond. Amen.

Did you know that the second Sunday of each month both our worship services include a healing liturgy? Ask for your-

self and others. This is an opportunity for individual special prayers and anointing with oil.

A Psalm and a Prayer meets at 7:00 p.m. on the first Tuesday of every month. We explore different types of prayer that

focus on being open to what God is saying to us. Each session begins with a brief study of Luther’s commentary on the

Psalms, offers some time for reflection, and ends with a period of prayer. The sessions last about 45 minutes. The next

session will be Tuesday, January 7, in the narthex.

Prayer Chain Coordinators: If you have a prayer chain request or would like to be added to the list of those who pro-

vide prayer, please email or text Donna Gurecki (865-599-1238, [email protected]).

A Gift for Grace! Come share the gift! God’s Work, our hands! Knitters and crocheters here at Grace create prayer shawls, hats, mittens, scarves, baby clothes, and pet sweaters for our community. It appears that God is pleased with the work of our hands here at Grace. Through His grace, we have received a generous gift of between three and four hundred pounds of beautiful yarns of every color, fiber, and weight to be divided among those who wish to create items for distribution through our prayer shawl ministry, food baskets, scarves for the homeless, and Pet Fest and Blessing. These beautiful materials were delivered to Merry Ann Hansen recently, but she is unable to store all of them at her home, and there is insufficient room for them in the entryway where the prayer shawls are currently displayed.

Merry Ann invites anyone who wishes to participate in the ministries described above to come and select yarns to use for ministry projects. She will make the yarns available on Thursday, January 9th between 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall at Grace. Once you have selected materials, please consider staying to knit or crochet over a cup of coffee or tea, or even bring a sack lunch and make a day of using your hands for God's Work. If you are reading this and have never knitted or crocheted, or if perhaps, you have knitted or crocheted in the past, but have forgotten what you learned, come to choose some yarn and acquaint yourself with the basics. You will soon know the joy of cre-ating an item that will be a blessing to another member of our community! Questions? Contact Merry Ann Hansen 865-483-7473 or [email protected]

J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 P A G E 9

Schmitt Family Welcomed Into Grace Fellowship

On Sunday, December 15, Grace welcomed three generations of the Schmitt family to Grace, including Eric, Tina and

Caitlin, pictured left, and Eric’s parents—Jeff and Barbara (Barbie). The Schmitts have already shown their musical tal-

ents during the Christmas Eve services and the four adults sing in the Chancel Choir and Caitlin is in First Harmony. In

addition, Jeff and Barbie ring bells with Ringspiration. Katherine Ajmeri and her son Pravin, not pictured, joined at the 9

a.m. service.

See more photos on 6, 7, 12, 13

Grace members

fill narthex with

presents for the

Angel Tree

Photo by Pat Hope

Our beautiful altar decorated for advent.

Photo by Pat Hope

J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 P A G E 1 0

Fourth Grace Alpha Course to Start Jan. 12 Come Join the Interesting Faith Discussion! Grace will offer an Alpha course for the fourth time starting January 12, assum-ing we have enough participants. What is Alpha and why are we doing it? Alpha is an overview of the faith that is engaging, non-coercive, thought-provoking, re-lational, and enjoyable. It is something special! In the last 40 years, Alpha has spread from a single church in London, England, into 169+ countries and into many settings including youth groups, prisons, retir-

ees’ groups, and others. Host congregations have found that Alpha has deepened the faith of the participants, and has also led to an expansion of ministries both within and reaching outside the congregation. In order to carry out Jesus’ Great Commission, Grace has set out to share the Good News of Jesus with unchurched or formerly churched folks as effectively as we can. After looking at several possi-bilities, Alpha looked like the best approach to try. We had been advised to find ways to share the faith through developing relationships, not to engage in “hit and run” evangelism. Alpha is eminently relational. Alpha also is not high pressure or coercive. There are no strings attached; if the Alpha guests are unsure about committing to the faith, that’s OK, they’ll come away with a better understanding of it. If guests who are not already attending Grace choose afterwards to get involved at Grace that’s great, but there is no pressure to do so. We also find it’s a great way for folks relatively new to Grace to get acquainted with more people and find a niche where they can get involved. Those who have attend-ed our previous courses have been very positive about the experience. Your prayers are needed! Alpha needs to be supported by all of us with prayer. Please pray for God’s blessings on this upcoming course and for courses starting all over the USA and the world this January. Please pray about attending if you haven’t already, and about whom you might invite, especially someone not already at Grace. Signup sheets are posted in both the front and back entrances. You can ask questions or indicate your interest to anyone on the team for this upcoming Alpha. They include Laura Boudon, Margaret Cumberland, Christy Gipson, the Gurecki’s, Judy Joy, Nancy Munro, Paula Pope, Alicia Rudat, and Diane Weaver.

Stuffed Toys for the YWCA Spouse Abuse Program: Would you like to bring a bit of comfort

to a child who has left home with nothing but the clothes on his or her back? The YWCA at Oak

Ridge welcomes clean, gently used or new stuffed animals/toys for children of women they serve

in their spouse abuse program. Grace is reviving this ministry that we provided via Joy Circle in

years past. Bring marked for YWCA/Nancy Munro to either entrance. Thank you!

Thank you! Many thanks to those who helped prepare invitations to the neighborhood for our Christmas ser-

vices and who helped distribute them during our Caroling party. We had several people from the neighbor-

hood come to the later Christmas Eve service!

Sound Tech Opportunity: Would you be willing to be one of three or four folks to serve as backup sound

techs for services held in the sanctuary? Please let Stan Long or Ingrid Busch know of your interest and you

will be trained.

Video Team Opportunity: We need volunteers to expand a team to videotape Pastor’s sermons at either

service. Training and equipment will be provided. If interested, please contact Stan Long ([email protected];

865-356-2871

J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 P A G E 1 1

Candlelight Service on Christmas Eve

Choir member Laura

Boudon caught these

unusual photos of the

9 p.m. Candlelight Ser-

vice on Christmas Eve.

Above, the congrega-

tion by candlelight; at

left her choir self-

portrait, and the two

images below that cap-

ture the communion

service and the altar,

Pastor, Lector, and

acolyte as viewed from

the choir loft.

J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 P A G E 1 2

See more photos on 6, 7, 8, 13

Family

Christmas

Eve

Service

These photos represent the four o’clock Christmas Eve Family Service like Dan and David Joy playing the

piano during the prelude and the New Creation below who sang a couple of songs during the preludes. This

service is a great representation of our Grace talent, when all musical groups and talented individuals sing,

play and perform.

Photos On Pages 12-13 By Laura Boudon

J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 P A G E 1 3

See more photos on 6, 7, 8, 12

Grace Writers’ News — Second Annual Contest Kicks Off January 1 Last year, Grace Writers established a writing contest to be held annually in memory of two of its members -- Carol Oen and Cleva Marrow. The contest consists of three awards, including the Carol Oen Memorial Fiction Prize, The Cleva Marrow Memorial Non-Fiction Prize and a Grace Writers Excel-lence in Poetry Prize. The contest opens January 1 and ends February 29. Entrants will receive a plaque and $125 for first place, $50 for second and $25 for third. Honorable Mention certificates will be awarded at the judges’ discretion. All entries will be blind-judged by an independent person not as-sociated with the contest or with Grace Writers. Decisions of the judges will be final. A writer may submit unlimited entries but a $5 fee will be assessed per entry.

The Carol Oen Memorial Fiction Prize will be awarded to an UNPUBLISHED* short story, novel excerpt, or children’s fiction story (2,000-word limit). The Cleva Marrow Memorial Non-Fiction Prize (1,000-word limit) will be awarded for an UN-PUBLISHED* column, article, essay, or blog post. The Grace Writers Excellence in Poetry Prize will be awarded for one UNPUBLISHED* poem, any form, limit two pages or 40 lines in length. First Place winners may not enter the same category two years in a row. Deadline will be February 29. Winners will be noti-fied by phone or email and publicly announced at an Award luncheon held in conjunction with Grace’s Annual Flower Festival April 25. All rights to publication will remain with the owner of the entry. *UNPUBLISHED entries include print and online publications. Entries may have won other contest prizes but if they win first in one of this contest categories, they cannot enter that category the next year. Also, past winning entries can’t be submitted to a different category unless completely re-written. Contest rules include:

• Prefer email entries with Word document attached to [email protected], but locals can deliver their en-tries to the church office or mail entries to church. State in your email or cover letter how many entries you are sending and the amount of the check or money order you are mailing to Grace Lutheran Church, 131 W. Gettysburg Ave., Oak Ridge, TN 37830

• Entries should be in a 12-point readable font such as Times New Roman or Arial, double-spaced (poetry single-spaced).

• No name or identifier on manuscript except title. A separate cover page should be attached to each entry with the name, address, phone number and email address of the author.

• No manuscripts returned, so keep a copy.

• Entries are $5 each and you can enter as many times as you want. Make checks payable to Grace Lutheran Church and state the monies are for the contest.

• Everyone is welcome to submit entries and you do not have to be a member of Grace Writers to enter. However, we would welcome you to attend our meetings held the first Monday of the month at Grace Lutheran Church, 6-8 p.m.

Last Year’s

Contest

Winners

Photo by

Stan Long

J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 P A G E 1 4

JANUARY Happenings

Christmas decorations will come down Saturday, January 11, starting at 10:00 a.m. Please come help! Scholarships: Applications are now being accepted for both the Raaen and Becky Ball Scholarships. Appli-cation forms may be obtained in the church office. Ap-plications must be returned to the office no later than January 26 to be considered. The Administering Com-mission will review the applications and recommend those eligible for financial aid to Council for approval. If you have any questions, please contact a member of the Administering Commission. Make a joyful noise with us! Musical ensemble re-hearsals are held on Wednesdays. First Harmony (for age 6 and up) meets at 4:00 p.m., Ringspiration hand-bell choir at 5:45 p.m., and Chancel Choir at 7:00 p.m. New Creation continues to rehearse on Sunday morn-ings at 8:15. All are welcome—please join us. Sunday school for all children begins in Jacob’s Lad-der room at 10:00 a.m. After a time of music, the chil-dren go upstairs to their classrooms. Children ages 4 years -grade 6 meet at the end of the upstairs hallway. Youth Sunday school is also upstairs and is for stu-dents in grades 9-12. Come join Adult Sunday School. Following the book, 3:16 Bible Texts Illuminated, written by Stanford Uni-versity Professor of Computer Science, Donald E. Knuth, we will look at verse 3:16 in every book of the Bible, one book a week. The verse will be examined in detail, and will be related to the book as a whole. The class meets at 10:00 a.m. in Room 101. All are wel-come. Monday Morning Bible Study meets from 10:00-11:30 a.m. in Room 101. The class has begun to en-gage the essential Luther in a study of The Freedom of a Christian, 1520, by Timothy J. Wengert. Everyone is welcome; we hope you will join us — and bring a friend! There will be no class on January 6. Thursday Night Bible Study is studying different de-nominations—Come if you want to learn more about the divisions (or lack of divisions) that make the Chris-tian Church so colorful! The class meets at 7:00 p.m. in Room 101. What Is OLSE? Other Languages for Speakers of English, is an outgrowth of our ESOL program. Cur-rently, we have three active classes. Russian class meets Friday mornings from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. in Room 101. Beginning Spanish meets Thursdays at 6:00 p.m. in Room 101. French class meets Mondays at 1:00 p.m. in Room 101. (This class is full, but you may ask to be added to the waiting list.) All OLSE clas-ses are free and open to anyone, Grace member or not. Spanish and Russian classes will resume on Jan-uary 10.

Grace recycles! The bin is in the kitchen and labeled. We also compost coffee grounds and discarded greens from the Flower Guild. (Please don’t put trash in this bin!) This is all a part of making Grace green and being good stewards of the earth. Ushers for the 11:15 a.m. service. If you are not on the usher roster and would like to serve, email Mack Bailey ([email protected]). Greeters for the 11:15 service. Contact Gayla Cutler (865-376-3514; [email protected]) if you would like to serve. Stephen Ministers Needed—Are you a caring Christian friend who can listen, pray for, support and encourage another who may be going through a difficult time? Please prayerfully consider becoming a Stephen Minster. The next training course starts January 21 and goes through May 12, 2020. This 50-hour course is a joint ef-fort with First United Methodist Church which equips lay people to provide confidential, one-toone Christian care to people in our congregation who are struggling. It meets Tuesday evenings from 6:00-8:30 p.m. Men are especial-ly needed. Please see Betty Anne Domm, Donna or Paul Gurecki, or Selma Harris if you are interested in becom-ing a Stephen Minister or if you need more information. Ecumenical Storehouse is out of twin mattresses, box springs, and frames. If you have any to spare, please call the Storehouse at 865-481-0274. Stewardship: Please turn in your pledge form and “Time and Talents” sheet during worship or at the office. Pledg-es will be helpful in planning for next year. Flower Calendar for 2020 is now posted in the hallway outside the sacristy. Sign up now to have your choice of a Sunday to honor a special person, remember a loved one, or celebrate a special occasion. You may keep a bouquet or the Flower Guild will take them to someone who could use some cheer. The cost is still $25 to pro-vide flowers for both services. Thanks to all who have donated flowers this year! Shoes and socks for the homeless community—Jeremy Riley has recently returned from an addiction recovery program in Baltimore, MD, where he noticed the need for shoes and socks in the homeless community. He has made it his mission to send shoes and socks and, he hopes, bring a little warmth and peace of mind to men and women who could use a little charity in their lives. New or gently used shoes and socks will be gratefully received. There are collection bins in both front and back entryways. Please help keep Grace clean: If you don’t drink all the coffee in your cup, please empty it in either the kitchen

Happenings, Continued on Page 18

J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 P A G E 1 5

Continued on Page 17

A popular song written nearly 92 years ago by

Mitchell Parish says, “A pair of eyes, That are

brighter than the summer sky, When you see

them, you'll realize, Why I love my sweet Lor-

raine.” Those words could have been written

today about “our” sweet Lorraine, because

she has a variety of talents she shares with

the Grace congregation and because her

eyes are as beautiful as the song describes.

A retired claims analyst for insurance giant

Cariten, Lorraine began making quilts and es-

timates she has now made about 50, since

retiring in 2011. A cradle Lutheran, Lorraine

says she was born in Westchester County,

NY and baptized in the same church where

her dad was baptized. She came to Grace in

1994 from southern California. “The first thing

I did was look for an ELCA church,” she told

me.

When she was about six her family moved to

Maryland where she grew up, although later

she went to live with an aunt and uncle in

Northridge in the San Fernando Valley. She

was there 25 years and her only child, Linda, was born there. Linda and her family, which includes

Lorraine’s three grandchildren, still live in northern California. Lorraine visits them once or twice a

year.

Here at Grace, Lorraine has been the Lead Nursery Worker since 2017. She used to sing in the

Chancel Choir. “l taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, too,” she said. Now she plays

the bells in Ringspiration and serves on Worshipping Commission and chairs the Altar Guild. It

turns out she has a variety of music abilities, haven taken accordion lessons in second grade, play-

ing bells with her church in California and buying a mandolin she has not yet learned but says she

will. She used to sing solos and helped lead evening prayer with pastor Damos in the past.

GRACE’S FACES Sweet Grandmother Lorraine Adds

Quilting to Her Many Talents!

By Patricia Hope

J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 P A G E 1 6

continued from Page 16

Lorraine graduated high school, then went back to

college after Linda was born. She dropped out just

before getting her degree to become a medical

secretary.

As for her sewing, she says she has always sewn,

even doll clothes when she was seven or eight, a

skill she acquired from her mother. She was inter-

ested in quilting for a long time but had to retire to

have the time and space.

She loves to read, crochet, and knit, and she was

part of the original prayer shawl group at Grace.

She serves on the Blanket Workshop, as well.

Lorraine says she knows, “that family is important

because she has lost so much of hers.” Her only

sibling died at 53 and her dad died at 64. Her

mother, who lived with her the last ten years of her

life, died in 2009 at the age of 82.

These days when she is not quilting, Lorraine spends time with family and friends. She likes going

to lunch, to the Oak Ridge Playhouse and traveling. She has visited 42 states and her favorite place

is Ocracoke Island, NC, where her great-grandmother, the last of her direct ancestors, was born.

Lorraine found tombstones there of direct ancestors from the 1700s.

She relocated to Oak Ridge because she “couldn’t afford to live in California any longer,” and since

Tennessee doesn’t have an income tax. She visited a friend

who lived here and liked it and since it put her closer to her

mom in North Carolina, she moved. “I love my Grace family,”

she says. “I’m not sure I’d still be here if not for them.”

The work of award-winning writer Patricia Hope has

appeared in numerous publications including Visual

Verse, Artemis, Living Lutheran, Southern Writers,

Mature Living, The Writer, Blue Ridge Country,

Ford Times, The Tennessee Conservationist, Upper

Room, Home Life, and many newspapers and anthol-

ogies. She has designed and helped publish two poetry

anthologies (Remember September - 2010 and In

God’s Hand - 2017). Her novel A Place for Lovers,

was published in 2015 and Lonely Way Back Home was published in 2017.

She received the Arts Council of Oak Ridge, “Tribute to the Arts Award” in

2013 for her contributions to the Oak Ridge writing community.

Photo credit - Emilie Damos

J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 P A G E 1 7

sink or the narthex coffee closet sink. Emptying in drinking fountains or restroom sinks causes stains and extra work for Kim. And trying to get a drink of water from a coffee-laden drinking fountain is yucky! From Pastor Larry: In an effort to get to know all the members of Grace, I would be happy to visit with anyone, at home, at the church, or in a public place such as Starbucks or Panera Bread. I know that many of you have sto-ries to share and I would enjoy hearing them, as well as sharing my own with you. If you are so inclined, let me know by email ([email protected], [email protected]), phone or text (786-3838087). I look forward to spending some time together. Do you enjoy knitting, crocheting, or other handwork? Is one of these something you’ve wanted to learn? Please let Dore Busch or the church office know if you're interested in getting together once a week to visit while doing handwork you enjoy. Work on a personal project if you like, make a prayer shawl or stitch part of a needle-point kneeler. Schedule is TBD, depending on who is interested. Grace’s Greatest: Come enjoy coffee and conversation on the second Tuesday of each month at 10:30 a.m. Our next meeting is Tuesday, February 11. Come as you are; bring a friend, and get to know others at Grace a little better. Young Adult Group: Anyone out of high school and under 50 is welcome to come join us every other month as we get together, share a meal, and have fun. If you would like to be put on the email list to know when and where the next gathering is, please contact Margaret Cumberland ([email protected]; 919-339-0072).

Love Offerings for 2020

(Third Sunday of the month) January - YWCA Knoxville & the Tennessee Valley February - Easter Baskets March - Missionary (David Brando) April - Hospitality House May - Blanket Workshop June - Alpha July - Woodland Schools/ADFAC August - Social Ministry September - Thanksgiving Baskets October - Christmas Baskets November - Angel Tree December - Open

Information about January’s Love Offering: The YWCA Knoxville and the Tennessee Valley began offering domestic violence services in Oak Ridge and Anderson County in 2015. In early 2017, the YWCA Knoxville and the Tennessee Valley acquired the former YWCA of Oak Ridge building, and building renovations commenced shortly thereafter. In fall 2017, the Safer and Stronger Transitional Housing Program began. It offers scattered-site transitional housing to victims of domestic violence and their families. This program is specifically for residents of Anderson County who are fleeing a domestic violence situation. The program offers financial education, parenting education, and trauma informed care, including support groups and classes specifically for victims of do-mestic violence. An innovative GameChangers program encourages boys and men to prevent violence against women. Contact the YWCA at 865-523-6126 to schedule an intake with the Anderson County Transitional Housing Coordinator. Maggie McNally oversees the Women’s Transitional Housing Program. The YWCA is on a mission to eliminate racism and empower women. Join in!

Happenings, Continued from Page 15

J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 P A G E 1 8

From the birth of a child in a stable and his presentation in the temple, events take a dan-gerous turn requiring an unexpected change in plans. Matthew's gospel presents the most extensive account of the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt and their sojourn there. Here we have a Bible story with a strong connection to our own time: the Holy Family, refugees from a political leader who perceived the Christ child to be an existential threat. King Herod took harsh measures against innocent children, ordering them to be slaughtered. Harsh treatment of innocent refugee children continues to play out in many places around the world, including in our own country. Christ became truly human, experiencing treatment that is all too common for people whose lives are in imminent danger. We dress up the Christmas event to play out like a fairy tale and ignore the realities of having to endure the pri-vations of crude quarters and living conditions only too familiar to people living on the margins of our society. Christians and other faith communities do in-deed reach out to those in need at special times like Christmas to provide food, clothing and shelter. We are moved at this time of the year to show special acts of kindness and love.

At the same time we are often bitterly divided to the point that organizations that promote family values will support harsh treatment of refugee children at our borders and separation of children from their parents. We who call ourselves Chris-tians are caught up in the parti-san divide over what to do about immigration, attitudes about racial minorities and changes in religious expression and values. Our children are watching and learning things from our behavior and the events reported in the news. Our children are very important; how we treat them matters. It matters for the church and for our relationship to Christ. In Mark's gospel (10:13-15) we find: "And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and for-bid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.”

Musings

by

John Munro

Christ as Refugee — Strong Ties to Present Day

Hello friends, We at Tyson House are proud to announce that we are hosting "An Evening with Nadia Bolz-Weber" at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension (800 S. Northshore Dr.) at 7:00 on Thursday, March 26, with the help of Ascension, Messiah Lutheran, St. John's Lutheran, Good Samaritan, and Westmin-ster Presbyterian Churches. Tickets are available now at https://nadiainknoxville.brownpapertickets.com/ Please share the link to those who are in-terested or make it available via your web-site, email notices, or social media. We ex-

pect the event to sell out, so we wanted to make sure that some VIP and general seats were availa-ble for the super fans out there. Thanks to our sponsors, student tickets will be FREE; they just need to sign up and get a ticket. This is a pre-sale, so click soon. Regular tickets will go on sale in Jan-uary. Thanks for spreading the word, thanks for all you do, and a blessed Advent/Hanukkuh/Kwanza/Christmas to all. We have much to celebrate.

Peace, Misty Anderson-Tirro

Tyson House Faculty Advisor

Invitation to Tyson House Event

J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 P A G E 1 9

131 West Gettysburg Avenue

Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830

Phone: 865-483-3787

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.graceoakridge.org

Grace Lutheran Church

CONDOLENCES CORNER

December

Marcia Baranyi, Dec. 13

January BIRTHDAYS

If you have a name you would like to add to the birthday list or a correction, please call the church office at 483-3787.

Priscilla Lingle 01/05

Holly Niehaus 01/05

Shenodoah Weber 01/07

Crista Froeling 01/08

David Joy 01/08

Rachel Lorenz 01/12

Heidi Moehl 01/12

Edward Bailey 01/15

Donna Gurecki 01/21

Christy Gipson 01/22

Vicky Marrow 01/27

Phil Stumbo 01/29

Barbara Walker 01/31

Want to win a gift card? Find the three Snowflakes. Winter’s cold winds are surely lurking nearby, even if the end of December was more like

March or April. As a believer that all seasons will have their turn, it is not inconceivable to think we might yet see a snow-flake or two. If January is gloomy for you, enter our little con-test and you could win a $10 giftcard. Find the three snow-flakes and you could win. Please send the page numbers where you find them to Pat Hope ([email protected]) by Jan. 31. Only email or text messages (865-310-0722) accepted. Prize to be awarded in Feb. If you read every story in The Light, you’ll see them. The one pictured here doesn’t count, and remember the cov-er page is Page 1.

Thanks. Pat Hope-Editor

Congratulations to past winners: Janet Rawl — February Hearts Lucas Boudon — March Daffodils Anne Douglas–April Eggs Vicki Quraishi—May Carnations Judy Rosenberg — June Wedding Bells Lorraine Huynh— July Sunflowers Debra Stewart — August School Buses Pastor Larry — September Leaves Carl/Sigrid Ludemann—October Spiders Ruth Smiley —November Turkeys Alicia Rudat—December Ornaments