First published in 2006, the "Evangelical Lutheran Worship" hymnal (ELW) was designed to replace the familiar green "Lutheran Book of Worship" which came out in 1978. Most ELCA congregations now use the ELW or "cranberry hymnal" as it is sometimes called. Grace's worship leaders had been talking for some time about replacing our worn LBWs with the ELW and had been looking at ways to pay for them. Thanks to a very generous gift from a family at Grace, a family who wishes to remain anonymous, we have been able to purchase all the copies of the ELW we need! They will be in the pews starting on September 13. If you love the LBW don't think you are having something special taken away. Almost everything that is in the LBW is also in the ELW. The ELW also features a larger number of liturgical settings than the LBW, settings with different styles of music. It also has many more hymns and songs used by Christians in other parts of the world. We are going to keep the blue "With One Voice" hymnals in the pews. We have used parts of the ELW in worship the past several years, especially over the summer months, and the small worship booklets in our pews contain songs from the ELW, so you are already familiar with some of what is in it. If you would like to have a copy of the green LBW you are welcome to take one home with you. We will have them available on September 13. Once again, we are very thankful to the members who have made this possible and we look forward to many years of giving God praise using the ELW! This September the people of Grace will participate in our second annual day of service to our community. Over 140 people were involved last year. We'd love to have even more out in service this year. "God's Work Our Hands" is the designated national day of service for our Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The people of Grace will join our fellow Lutherans all around the country giving our time to help others. Our Schedule for the Day Worship at 10:00 a.m. - We will have one service that day. The theme of the service will be "God's Work Our Hands". Come dressed for work. Meal at 11:00 a.m. - Our volunteers are invited to eat at church before leaving for their work projects. There are a couple of groups that will need to leave right after worship, so bag lunches will be provided for them. Off to Work around Noon - We'll head out after lunch for an afternoon of service. Some activities will take longer than others. Get Involved!! - This is a great opportunity for individuals and families to get out in our community and help others. "God's Work Our Hands" is a good tool for parents to help teach their children about serving others in God's name. Our Projects for the Day We have a number of work projects all ready to go and are working on a some additional projects. This year they include:
We are working with the Grafton Habitat For Humanity project to see if we can send a work crew to the new building site behind Sendik's and we are looking to set up some small painting jobs at the homes of local senior citizens. You can sign up now for any of these projects. The sign-up sheets are located on a table in the gathering area at church. Aaron Rodgers will Understand Yes, it's a Packers Sunday, but you can record the game and watch it later. This is Why God Invented DVRs! There are lots of Packers' games. This is our annual day of service. So help others and make Vince Lombardi proud! Let's have a great day of helping others and serving our Lord Jesus Christ in our own community. It's God's Work that uses Our Hands. Just a reminder that this Sunday, June 28 after the 10:00 a.m. outdoor worship service will be our annual church picnic.
IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO SIGN UP! There is a signup sheet in the Gathering Space for you to sign up your family or you can call the church office to let us know you are coming. Following lunch, there will be games for both adults & children to play. If you have any questions, please contact Laurie Gosselin at lagosselin@aol.com or 262-365-9355. If you missed any of the Holy Week events, don't fret.
Palm Sunday (March 29) - Prepare your hearts and minds for Holy Week, by listening to the special music "The Power of the Cross", performed by Eryn Durlam, Zack Durlam, and Kelly Oslon. Maundy Thursday (April 2) - We remember the last night of Jesus' life and the Last Supper he shared with his disciples. Listen to Pastor Heidi's message here. Good Friday (April 3) - "Echoes of the Passion" Service. The story of Good Friday is filled with sounds, sounds that bring home the power & importance of this day. Our Good Friday worship service will center on a series of dramatic readings & those sounds; the crow of the rooster, the splash of the water Pontius Pilate used to wash his hands, the crack of the Roman whip that tore into Jesus' back, the metallic clink of the nails, the tumbling noise of the dice the soldiers played with, the ripping of the curtain in the temple & finally the silence of the tomb. The readings will be surrounded by hymns, special music and prayer. This is a powerful & moving service that helps Christians focus on all Jesus suffered for our salvation. Easter Sunday (April 5) - The greatest day of our Christian year celebrates the Good News of Jesus' resurrection and victory over death. Pastor Paul's sermon will center in on the power & truth of our proclamation of Jesus' resurrection. Please visit this page, or use the links above, to listen to the different messages of this important week of our faith. The special congregational meeting information is online! If you were not here on March 22 for the special congregational meeting where the plans for our building project were shared we have put the meeting information on a special page of the Grace Lutheran website (video, audio, and presentation. Also, the March 29th meeting presentation and audio are also posted. If you have any questions please talk to John Walch, the president of the Church Council, Janet Sladky from the Building Committee, Jim Mulholland, our Property Committee chair or one of the pastors. As we move forward please remember that short prayer that was at the heart of our "Grow in Grace" campaign last year: Dear Lord, what would you do through me to accomplish your vision for Grace Lutheran Church? The Quest for the Lost Treasure of the Heart
Sunday, March 8th at 8:00 and 10:30 a.m. Join us for a fun, light-hearted and enlightening play that uses Jesus’ teachings from the Sermon on the Mount (The Gospel of Matthew chapters 5-7) as the “map” to find the Lost Treasure of the Heart. Follow our hero, Wisconsin Smith and his trusty sidekick, Monterey Jack on their adventures to find the Lost Treasure. They have many adventures on their journey as they do battle with their enemies, the evil Professor Provolone and Herr Muenster, visit the town of Wenedowitheawabef (Say what??) and face the Two-Faced Phonies, Judgmental Monsters, Fears…not to mention those Bees. You’ll have a good time and you may also learn something about Jesus’ teachings on what’s really important in life. Grace Lutheran Church 715 Sixth Avenue, Grafton Call 262-377-4770 for more information “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Jesus, Matthew 6:21) Ash Wednesday, February 18th, marks the beginning of Lent and once again, our Lenten meals at Grace. Come join us for food and fellowship at 6 p.m. in Fellowship Hall before the Lenten Service each Wednesday. The menu is different every week (with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches available as well) and the delicious, home-cooked meals are sponsored and served by different groups within the church. These groups use this as a fundraising opportunity to help support their work and activities. Please contribute what you are able to in the donation jars that will be set up at the meals.
Look for the poster with weekly sign-up sheets on the bulletin board to mark your attendance and if you will be bringing a gallon of milk or dessert to share. February 18th - Ash Wednesday
February 25th
March 4th
March 11th
March 18th
March 25th
Our annual Christmas caroling party at the Lasata Care Center is this Saturday afternoon. We need lots of smiling faces and cheerful voices as we sing to the residents there.
This is a great family activity and a fun way to bring Christmas joy to others. Please plan to join us. We're meeting at church at 1:00 p.m. A lot of work has been going on behind the scenes as we move forward with our building program at Grace. Here is a summary of some of what's been done.
Meetings with Groth Design - Two weeks ago architects from Groth Design, the firm we have hired to work with us on our building program, met with our church staff and leaders from many different groups at Grace to hear from us about our thoughts, needs and wants for the building program. They will use the input they received to guide them as they begin to work on possible designs for our building. St. Luke in Slinger - Last Tuesday the pastors, along Aimee Lempke, our church council treasurer and Mike Cibulka and Ralph Jeletz from our Finance Committee, met with Pastor Matthew Short from St. Luke Lutheran Church in Slinger. St. Luke, which is a bit smaller than Grace, recently completed a capital fund campaign and a building program. They raised about $750,000 in pledges for a $1.9 million project. We have pledges of just under one million dollars for our "Grow In Grace" program. Pastor Short gave us helpful advice from working with the architect (they used Groth Design as well) to ideas on how to fund our project. We are deeply appreciative to him for his insights and guidance. Mission Investment Fund- Last week a member of our Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Mission Investment Fund met with the church council. As a ministry of the ELCA the fund helps churches finance projects using money invested by fellow members of the ELCA. We are looking at the Mission Investment Fund as a possible source for financing our building program. You can read more about the Mission Investment Fund here: ELCA Mission Investment Fund Please keep our building program in your prayers as we work hard to be good stewards of our financial gifts and build our ministry at Grace. If you were not in worship on Oct. 12th to hear the second of our stewardship messages, please take the time to listen to the podcast of the sermon.
Pastor Paul preached on the importance of living out Jesus' words, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35) and Church Council President Mara Schwartz shared some of the central aspects and goals of this year's stewardship program with the congregation. We made the commitment packages for 2015 available after the worship services. If you were not here you can stop in and get yours during the week or this weekend. Thank You! |
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