Grace Preschool Spaghetti Dinner Silent Auction
Friday, February 20
Gwen Cosgrove, Preschool Co-director
It’s that time of year again. Our 4th Annual Spaghetti Dinner and Silent Auction will be held Friday evening, February 20. Doors will open and the silent auction will begin at
5 PM. Dinner will be served from 5:30 to 6:30 PM and the silent auction will end at 6:45 PM. We will also have a live auction beginning at 6:45 PM. This is always a fun evening and Joey Nova’s will once again be donating their awesome spaghetti and meatballs.We will also have a gluten-free option available!
Every year our preschool is blessed by the kindness and generosity of so many people: our church members, our preschool families and our community. Please plan to attend this event! It is a fun evening and the benefits will go to help the preschool maintain affordable tuition and provide quality Christian early childhood education.
Studies show that children who get a good preschool education are more likely to graduate from high school and go on to higher education. We count ourselves blessed to have the opportunity to prepare these children for a lifetime of learning and to see the light of God’s love through them.
(Please see “Preschool”, p. 5)
Serving God Together
Church Council
At the 2015 Annual Congregational Meeting, the Congregation unanimously elected three new Council members. They and their incumbent colleagues are listed below in the new distribution of Council responsibilities.
- Worship & Music: Cindy Gustafson
- Fellowship: Marilyn Pitmon
- Family Ministry: Ted Knutson*
Includes:
Children’s Ministry
Student Ministry
Family Ministry
Adult Education
Schools Liaison
- Outreach: Lowell Anderson**
Includes:
Evangelism
Global Missions
(Please see “Together”, p. 5)
Let's Draw Circles!
Pastor Dan
Drawing circles is exactly what we will be doing this Lenten season. The Wednesday evening Lenten study and activity this year will center around a book entitled, Draw The Circle, A 40 Day Prayer Challenge by Mark Batterson. We will be taking a look at some of the concepts found in this book and read and study the Scripture passages that pertain to them.
Then we will get busy and draw circles—circles around the promises that God puts on our hearts. We will draw circles around Grace in Deephaven and around the community of Deephaven. We will draw circles around people that we care about and love. We will circle these prayer requests in prayer.
I encourage you to join us. Drawing circles is not a gimmick to twist God's arm. There is nothing magical about circling. But as Batterson says, “It honestly doesn't matter whether it's literal or figurative. And it can be a circle, oval, square, or hexagon. The shape isn’t the point. The point is this: if the Holy Spirit prompts us to pray, then we need to take a step of faith and mark God's territory”
(p. 214, Draw The Circle)
On January 5, I wrote in my prayer journal,“The goal is to glorify our Lord Jesus Christ by drawing circles around the promises, miracles, and dreams He wants for Grace in Deephaven.”
Remember: Lent begins with a worship service on Ash Wednesday, February 18. The following five Wednesdays we will have Soup Suppers at 5:30 PM, followed by the studies and a time for drawing our circles at 6:30 PM. We will finish at 7:20 PM, enough time for choir members to get to choir practice by 7:30 PM.
Please see “Circles”, p. 5
From the Music Department
Hymn Story
Dwight Williams
Director of Music Ministries
Lately I have been thinking about all the events surrounding us. I soon realized that it won’t be long before our Lord returns. How I thank my Lord that our future is secure because of knowing Christ.
This past week we lost one of the pioneers of contemporary Christian music. Andrae Crouch went home to be with our Lord. He left behind a rich legacy of songs lifting up our Lord—two of his most well known being, “Thru It All” and “My Tribute, to God Be the Glory”.
I want to share a story of another great song that Andrae wrote. I know it will bless you!
Andrae Crouch’s father was managing the family’s cleaning business in east Los Angeles when he received a call to become the full-time pastor of a small church. The church didn’t have too much to offer. In fact, it didn’t even have someone who could play the piano. But he accepted the call.
One Sunday in church, as Andrae recalls it, ”Dad called me up in front of the surprised congregation and asked me publicly that, if God would give me the gift of music, would I use it for the rest of my life to His glory?” When young Andrae said yes, his father prayed for him, and that’s when his music ministry began. A woman donated a piano to the church and Andrae began playing some old hymns by ear.
The church had no hymnals and no money to buy them, so Andrae started writing some easy-to-learn and easy-to-sing tunes. One of his earliest was “Bless the Lord, O My Soul,” which is a paraphrase of Psalm 103.
Text:
Bless the Lord O my soul
and all that is within me
Bless His holy Name
He has done great things
He has done great things
He has done great things
Bless His holy Name
Bless the Lord O my soul
and all that is within me
Bless His holy Name
Play and Pray Together
to Stay Together
Sledding Parties at Thorpe Park and More!
By Chris Adams, Family Ministry Director
At Grace Church in Deephaven we’re looking for ways to meet and connect families to encourage them to play and pray together. Our goal is to strengthen our relationships with God and each other.
One beautiful January morning a soft dusting of snow christened the ground as I pulled up to Grace. I loaded sleds in the car and drove two blocks south to Thorpe Park. When I arrived two moms already had their kids racing down the hill.“Watch this,” Olivia cried as she slid down towards me on her speedy sled. About a dozen families joined in the fun. Dads and moms trickled in with kids excited, as they watched others screaming down the hill.
Pastor Dan came out to greet the families. He watched as kids piled on top of sleds lined across the hilltop,each one holding the sled next to him to stay together.“Everyone ready,” I called, “here we go!” Whoosh! With yells, laughter and bodies dropping off along the way, the kids hung on for dear life! “Can we do the train again?” Muli Kelling asked excitedly as we got up from the pile of bodies and sleds at the bottom. “Yeah, let’s do it!” the kids cried.
After some sweet rides, laughs and socializing, most of us headed back to Grace for hot chocolate, pizza, corn dogs and more fun. We gave a round of applause to the food gatherers and cookers (Jeanne, Judy and Catherine) and sang a mid-meal prayer, called Johnny Appleseed.After lunch we watched a Bible story video and then played freeze tag and hide and seek with about twenty kids while the moms got to socialize.
Besides planning regular community events like sledding parties, we offer Parent’s Night Out at church, and keep the Good News Club going at Deephaven Elementary to share God’s love and connect more families. We also hold Community Dinners during the school year and Potlucks and Playtime at Thorpe in the summer. We want to give people opportunities to learn God’s bigger story, and know that Jesus likes sledding too.
We hope you can join us on future adventures with God and each other!
Chris’ note: This is a shorter version of the article that will appear in the March edition of “Deephaven Life Magazine”, along with some great pictures.
Preparing for the Resurrection
Judy Severson, Altar Guild Director
Ash Wednesday is Wednesday, February 18, and is a Holy Communion service here at Grace. This is the first day of Lent, the season of preparation for the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday.
Ash Wednesday occurs forty-six days before Easter. According to the Gospels, Jesus spent forty days fasting in the desert. Of the forty-six days until Easter, Sundays are not included in the fasting period.
Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the forehead, a sign of mourning and repentance to God. Purple is the liturgical color for Lent. It symbolizes pain, suffering, and penitence, and is used until the Thursday before Good Friday. On Good Friday the Altar is bare and a black veil hangs from the cross. “And I turn my face unto the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplication with fasting and sackcloth and ashes” (Daniel 9:3).
On duty for March are Betty Helseth and Jeanne Ness.
Our next meeting is Monday, February 16 at 1 PM in the fellowship hall.
Family Ministry Corner
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 so grateful to everyone who helped bring these families and events together!
Sledding Party (December 4)
Preschool Christmas Concert (December 11)
Parents Night Out (December 13)
Family Worship Celebrations—Kids Christmas Drama and Baptisms (December 21, 24, 28)
Sledding Party (January 19 with lunch, movies, and games)
Parents Workshop (Saturday morning January 24 at Ridgewood)
Looking Forward
We’re about continuing to build a Faith @ Home culture with all of you.If you can’t come to anything else, please consider committing for two more Wednesdays: dinner at 5:30 PM, watching the Faith @ Home videos and discussing how to implement this culture in our church so everyone can know what it’s about. Please join in,and invite others to:
Faith @ Home Intro (2 sessions—Wednesdays after dinner February 4, 11, 6:15 – 7:30 PM)
Sledding @ Thorpe and hot chocolate @ Grace (Mondays after school, bi-weekly)
Good News Club @ Deephaven Elementary (Thursdays, began January 22, 2:45 – 4 PM for 12 weeks)
Couples Valentine Retreat (Friday eveningand Saturday morningFebruary 13-14)
Art of Marriage small group (please let Chris know if you’re interested; Fridays, bi-weekly)
Preschool Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser (Friday, February 20)
Parents Night Out—double date with a preschool or church family (TBD)
How can you help us grow?
Besides showing up at the Faith @ Home sessions, please pray about helping make hot chocolate for sledding and socializing with the other moms on Mondays. Or you could invite your adult kids (or whoever God puts on your heart) to Wednesday dinner and to hear about Faith @ Home. Invite them to the Parents Workshop, to the Couples Valentine Retreat, or to Parents Night Out. Better yet, pay their way and go with them so you can have opportunities to dialogue about your life lessons and how God has been transforming you.
To encourage the growth of our church, we need to look at how the early church grew together and see how we can follow and teach the ways of Jesus through creating our Faith @ Home culture: “The community continually committed themselves to:
learning what the apostles taught them,
gathering for fellowship,
breaking bread, and
praying.
Everyone felt a sense of awe because ... Day after day the Lord added to their number everyone who was experiencing freedom” (Acts 2:42 – 47, the Voice).
Let’s be that community of believers here at Grace!
“Together” continued from p. 1)
- Property & Finance: Jim Cosgrove
Includes:
Property
Finance
Stewardship
- Committee on Administration (abbreviated“Admin.”): Karen Jensen
This Committee consists only of the Council President (Karen Jensen), Vice President (Ted Knutson), and Treasurer (Jim Cosgrove), plus the Pastor.
**Lowell Anderson has been elected to serve as Council Secretary.
To volunteer, contact the councilperson who heads the Standing Committee/Team in which you are interested. He/she will be delighted to hear from you!
Nominating Committee
The 2015 Committee includes Shery Lindstrom, Jerry Heinzen, and Kevin Olsen.
* Ted Knutson will represent the church Council on the 2015 Nominating Committee.
A representative from the Elder Board for the 2015 Nominating Committee is yet to be designated.
“Circles” continued from p. 2
You can find the afore-mentioned book on Amazon.com. The “Circle Maker Prayer Journal” is also available for those who would want a prayer journal to go along with this challenge. Neither book is required for the study, since we will have notes to distribute. However, if you want to keep up on the reading for each of the forty days, I highly recommend that you get a copy of Draw The Circle, A 40 Day Prayer Challenge. This book will be very beneficial as we launch out on this 40 Day Prayer Challenge!
“Preschool” continued from p. 1
We are accepting donations for the auction now so if you would like to make a donation for the auction, they can be brought to the preschool during the week or given to Gwen on Sundays or Wednesdays. We also need your help in the morning of the event with setup, or in the evening to assist in the dining room or with the auction. Contact Gwen Cosgrove at 612-991-6677 if you would like to help, donate or have questions.
Last but not least, tickets are ready to be sold. This year you can order your tickets can pick them up at the preschool or church, or at will call the evening of the event. We will also be selling tickets in the narthex on Sundays and Wednesdays in February. If you would like to order tickets, please fill out the order form and return it with your payment to the preschool or church office. Tickets are $7 for adults and $3 for children. If needed, please indicate how many servings of gluten-free pasta you require.
Join us for another fun and successful evening!
Grace Good News / 1 / February 2015