Annual Information / Vision Sharing and Congregational Meetings are Scheduled
January 15, 2017
Information/Vision Sharing Meeting in the fellowship hall. Annual Reports for 2016 will be available.
January 22, 2017
Congregational Meeting in the sanctuary.
Both meetings will be held immediately following the worship service.
At the Congregational Meeting, voting members* of GELC will be:
- Ratifying the candidates for the 2017 Council.
- Ratifying candidates for the 2017 Nominating Committee/Team.
- Approving the year 2017 Budget.
- Voting on TAALC Referendum “Deletion of B10.08 Licensed Lay Pastor”. Detailed information will be available at the Information/Vision Sharing meeting.
*Voting member: a member of GELC that “shall have received Holy Communion consistently and have made a regular contribution of record to the church within the preceding one year” (cf. GELC Constitution, IV. 4.1.).
Reformation
Library Books
In November, a group of us from Grace went to see an exhibition of Reformation artifacts at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. This display is to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and will be on display until January 15. As we walked through the exhibition we experienced a close-up of Luther’s life through his personal possessions, plus recent archaeological finds from his childhood and adult homes.
(Please see “Books” p. 6)
Congregational Verse
Pastor Dan
The Council has assembled what we see as our core values. A core value is aprinciplethat guides an organization's internalconductas well as itsrelationshipwith the external world. Here is a list of the core values that we see here at Grace:
Grounded in God's Word.
Centered in Jesus Christ.
Dependent on the Holy Spirit.
Spiritually being formed.
Concerned about people around us.
Valued by one another.
To this I want to add a “congregational verse”. When I graduated from The Lutheran Bible Institute we were ask to chose a “life verse”. I chose 1 Corinthians 15:58. I believe a good congregational verse for Grace in Deephaven is 2 Corinthians 8:9. In it the Apostle Paul sums up the word grace (after all that is the name of our congregation): “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” We are ordinary people who have been touched and saved by God’s grace and are in the process of growing in Him, learning to love Him with our heart, soul, mind and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves.
How do We Grow?
Chris Adams, Family Ministry Director
This is the question churches around the world are asking. We know that only God causes our growth, but we can still do the seed planting and watering (1 Corinthians 3:6 – 7). As a church we need the mindset of growing individually and as a family. We can’t help each other grow until we can answer,“who are we growing with?” Who’s your “family” (actual family or small group) within Grace church that you’re meeting with regularly to talk about your relationship with the Lord and how He is speaking to you? Who are you studying God’s Word with?
If you don’t have a “family”, who are you willing to walk with for a committed season to grow together in Jesus?
Through our commitment to Jesus and each other, we will create a Faith at Home culture.
As we all commit to grow together with the Lord, not just individually, we can continue to develop the mindset that we’re partnering with parents, grandparents and individuals to disciple (teach, train, mentor) them how to live and talk like Jesus to our kids, grandkids, friends and family. As we continue to walk in the wisdom and speak the words of Jesus, the Holy Spirit will teach us how to lead one or two other families or individuals into the kingdom of God in the coming seasons (Ephesians 1:15 – 19). Please ask the Lord, “Lord, who are the one or two families or individuals you want me or my family to sacrificially love and serve into the kingdom?”
This is the goal of our “Faith @ Home” culture—to build up and strengthen our families to reach out and build up other families into the kingdom.
“I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Ephesians 1:15 – 19 ).
Turning the Corner
To a New Year
Gwen Cosgrove, Preschool Director
As I write this, everyone is preparing for Christmas—to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and come together with family and friends to share this season.
Today was the preschool’s Christmas party and we had so much fun! The kids made ornaments, decorated cookies, sang songs, played and watched a dear little movie of a little boy telling his dog about the Christmas story. Children from 20 months old through 5 years sat quietly to hear this sweet story. It is rare that it is quiet in the mornings at the preschool, but at that time they were. I pray that that story takes hold in their hearts and minds.
We are fortunate to be celebrating our 60th year of being able to not just prepare children to enter kindergarten, but to prepare them for a lifetime of learning while instilling a love for Jesus Christ and teaching them to love their neighbors as themselves—and to love and nurture them as God created each one to be!
So now we turn the corner to a new year. We look forward to seeing our families return from Christmas break, and to see the kids bloom and grow for the rest of the school year as we prepare for our 60th graduating class of Grace Preschool. I am grateful to Bea Melby for starting this sweet school and to Judy Severson for her many years of leadership and for mentoring me as I lead. It is a gift each day to come to this preschool to love and nurture children and families. We have a wonderful staff who comes each day to work together to execute what God has called us to do.
Thank you to everyone: our families and children, our church and congregation, and our community—for your love, support, encouragement and prayers—and for putting these little ones in our care each day. We love what we do and look forward to continuing that work as we begin a new year.
Praying for the evidence of God’s love and blessings each day. Happy New Year!
Thank You
From Grace Preschool
Gwen Cosgrove, Preschool Director
The preschool is in its 60th year of teaching young children about the love of God and preparing them for a lifetime of learning. The support of our church and congregation matters! We are so richly blessed by your prayers, encouragement and contributions and for letting these little ones be present each day in our church! We want you to know how much we appreciate it. Thank you!
the Staff of Grace Preschool
SPECIAL EVENTS*
for Our Grace Family
and Friends
January 2017
Loving Our Kids on Purpose DVD
- Wednesdays
6:30 – 7:30 PM
fellowship hall
Information/Vision Sharing
- Sunday, January 15
10:30 AM, fellowship hall
Annual Meeting
- Sunday, January 22
10:30 AM, sanctuary
Couples Retreat(details on p. 5)
Sledding at Thorpe (details on p. 5)
Good News Clubs (details on p.5)
* “Standing” activities are shown on the reverse side.
One-time rescheduling includes:
January “Admin.” Meeting
- Tuesday, January 24
6:30 PM, learning center N
January Council Meeting
- Tuesday, January 24
7:00 PM, learning center N
January Staff Meeting
- Wednesday, January 25
9:30 AM, church lounge
Altar Guild January meeting
Canceled
Looking Back and Forward
Chris Adams, Family Ministry Director
Looking Back
We’ve had some fantastic events to bring families together and strengthen them this fall and winter. We’re grateful to everyone who helped bring these families and events together and participated.
Fall Festival/Rally Sunday (September)
Purgatory Bike Trip (September)
Salad Sampler—Ministry Opportunities (September)
Clean-up Day (October)
Hallelujah Costume Party (October)
Scandinavian Dinner (November)
Preschool Holiday Bazaar (November)
One Big Party-Youth Event at Grace in Eden Prairie with many churches (November)
Christian Community Night
Packing Operation Christmas Child Boxes (November)
Giving Bibles to kids and youth without (10 families; 16 kids)
Planet Wisdom- Youth retreat (December)
Parents Night Out (December)
Preschool Christmas Concert (December)
Family Worship Celebrations—Kids and Youth Christmas Musical
As one body, it’s important to pray, strategize and talk together as staff, Council, Elders, Women Of LIFE, Men of Grace, and all the teams at Grace so that all of the events and activities we do support our mission—To know Christ and make Him known. More specifically, we pray that every family or individual at Grace will lead another family or individual into the kingdom of God over the next couple years. How do we do that together? We need your help to create a “Faith @ Home” culture. How can you help? Come to the events, join a small group, ask each other for help or prayer when you need it, and/or invite another family/person over to get to know them. We may need to share an area of weakness with each other, and our account of overcoming our weaknesses with God’s strength. Then we will grow in confidence in sharing how God has changed us with those one or two other individuals or families!
Looking Forward
We’re excited to continue building a “Faith @ Home” culture with you all. Please consider joining us for Wednesday dinners at 5:30 PM, watching the “Loving Our Kids on Purpose” DVDs, or joining another small group. You can also join and invite others to:
Sledding at Thorpe and Family Fun Days at Grace (when school is off Jan 2, 16, 23, February 20 , and spring break)
“Loving Our Kids on Purpose” DVD (6:30 – 7:30 PM Wednesdays after 5:30 PMsupper—eight weeks)
“Walking as Jesus Walked” Youth Group
Good News Clubs continuing at Deephaven Elementary (Mondays, January30 – March 13) and Groveland Elementary(Thursdays, February2 – March 8)
Couples Retreat (Friday
6:30 PM throughSaturday noon January27 – 28) with Ridgewood
Marriage is Hard,
Is It Worth It?
Love is more than a feeling,
it is a decision.
This 2017 couples retreat is offered by Ridgewood Church on Friday and Saturday, January 27 – 28. Speaker will be Rev. Susan Thompson.
Friday schedule:
2 PM check-in
6:30 PM: Meet for dinner (not included)
8:15 PM: Session
9 PM: Games/Couple time
Saturday schedule:
6 – 10 AM: breakfast
10:30 AM: Session/worship, prayer
Noon: Check out
Location: Spring Hill Suites, 2870 Metro Drive, Bloomington, MN 55425.
Cost: $130 per couple
Deadline: January 1, 2017
Includes: Lodging, gift bags, morning breakfast.
For a registration form, go to
Library Books (continued from p. 1)
Pastor Dan especially enjoyed viewing clothing worn by preachers from that era, the pulpit from which Martin Luther preached, a good size box known as the box of indulgences which triggered Luther's writing of the 95 Thesis, and Luther’s own Bible with notes he wrote in the margin.
While we were there, a two volume work on the Reformation was purchased: Martin Luther and the Reformation and Martin Luther Treasures of the Reformation. These volumes consist of essays, timelines, maps, historical data as well as historical documents, and much more. These volumes are for church use and are in our library! You are welcome to come and browse through and read and study and enjoy these volumes. However, we ask that they not be taken out. The library and lounge are good places to come and sit and enjoy these volumes.
Way to Go, Grace Church
Operation Christmas Child
Chris Adams, Family Ministry Director
If you haven't seen the kids opening their shoeboxes, this link has some great stories and video from Zambia:
We received $201 toward the eighty-five shoeboxes we packed ($7 per box to ship). The extra shoeboxes were from John Bogle's ministry, Building Disciples, when they packed for CRU. Thanks for everyone's time and generosity!
Kathryn Von Edeskuty sent us this message (below) last night after she and two brothers picked up the boxes here on Thursday and brought them to sort and ship last night with their youth group:
112 shoeboxes from your church are processed and headed to Zambia.
Way to go Grace Church!
Epiphany
“the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi” in Matthew 2:1 – 12
Judy Severson, Altar Guild Director
Epiphany is the climax of the Advent/Christmas season and the twelve days of Christmas, which is counted from December 25 to January 6. The wise men, or Magi, who brought gifts to the child Jesus, were the first Gentiles to acknowledge Jesus as “king” and to reveal Jesus to a wider world as the incarnate Christ. This act of worship by the Magi corresponded to Simeon’s blessing that this child would be a “light for revelation to the Gentiles”(Luke 2:32). It shows that Jesus came for all people, of all nations, of all races and that the work of God in the world was not limited to only a few.
On duty for January are Mary Sonderup and Judy Severson.
There will be NO altar guild meeting in January. Our next meeting will be Monday, February 20 at 1 PM in the fellowship hall.
Grace Good News / 1 / January 2017