I will bless the Lord at all times;
The praise of God shall ever be in my mouth.
~Psalm 34:1
There was much joy at the Ragtime Rick Outdoor Service on Sunday August 1, 2021. Thank you to Rick and band and to all those here at Grace who put this together. It took many helping hands. And thank you, God, for the absolutely gorgeous day of cool weather and sunshine!
THANKS to Mary Schneider and Beth Charvat for making the delicious breakfast this last Sunday after the Rag Time Rick Service!!!
Food for Toledo Update
In a one-week period 150 pounds of food was donated to the Food for Toledo program. Thank you to everyone who donates to this program. With the moratorium on evictions ending, it is expected that more people will be needing food for themselves and their families. As was mentioned last week, peanut butter and macaroni and cheese is no longer needed as Aldersgate is getting these free at a food bank. The immediate need is for jelly or jam, pasta and pasta sauce, canned fruits and vegetables and Minute Rice. Families receive a jar of pasta sauce and pasta at every food distribution so there is always a need for these items. If you would have any questions regarding the Food for Toledo program, please call me at 419.262.0730.
As of August 15 services will no longer be transmitted to the Grace parking lot. Since vaccinations among members have occurred and we are streaming our services live on Facebook, members have not been utilizing the parking lot to attend the 9:30 a.m. service. If you still want services to be transmitted to the parking lot, please contact a member of the Worship and Music committee. Committee members are Bob Haaf, Fritz Gooch, Dave Pettijean, Cindy Matthews, Cindy Wood, Mary Schneider. And a great big thank you to Rick Sharp for making the transmission of our 9:30 a.m. service possible at a time when people were putting their health at risk by attending church but still wanted to hear the service.
Whatever dream seed you plant, don’t forget to fertilize it with hope, patience, and perseverance.
(Mary Jane)
Comparisons
Thoughts from Pastor Howard
Jesus talked a lot about money. He talked about a man who was forgiven a debt of 10,000 talents but refused to forgive the debt of 100 denarii another man owed him. He talked about a landowner who hired workers for a denarius a day. He talked about a woman who put “two small copper coins, which are worth a penny” into the temple treasury. How much was a talent worth in dollars? Or a denarius? And was the penny the widow gave like one of our pennies, the next best thing to worthless, or was she maybe giving away enough to buy a meal, or even more?
Different translators deal with the problem in one of three different ways: giving the amount in the currency of their own place and time, giving the literal number, or stating a roughly equivalent non-monetary value. In Mark 6, Jesus is facing a hungry crowd, and tells his disciples to give them something to eat. They respond that they don’t have the money to buy enough. In the King James Version, they object in early 17th Century English money: “And they say unto him, shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?” The NRSV is more literal, and has them answer in their own money: “They said to him, ‘Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?’” In the New International Version, they don’t talk about how much money it would take, but how long it would take to earn enough money: “They said to him, ‘That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?’”
One of the things I do sometimes at the Cabin is look at the old Popular Science magazines my father brought here instead of throwing them away. It’s a little startling to compare what things used to cost with what they cost today. In 1961 you could buy a new car for $1,595: a VW Beetle. If you could even find a 1961 Beetle today in like-new condition, with new tires, new brake shoes, new muffler and shocks, unfaded paint, and an engine with only two or three miles on it, I think it would cost a LOT more than that. How does a 1961 dollar compare to a 2021 dollar? How about a 1969 dollar? What could you buy in 1969 with one of those? With 30 of them, you could buy a Sears DieHard battery. It would take 595 of them, though, to buy a microwave oven. Comparisons can get very tricky very quickly when we’re talking about one country’s money over half a century or so. How much trickier will they be when we’re trying to compare the value of two countries’ currencies a couple of thousand years apart?
It can be fascinating to try to figure out the value in today’s dollars of the debt that first man was forgiven, and the value of the debt he refused to forgive. It can be distracting, too. I think it might be a better use of brain cells to try to figure out what debts we are refusing to forgive, and what to do about it.
What do you think?
Behind the scenes at Grace…..
by Gretchen
- It was wonderful to drive into the parking lot and not have to go into a pothole this week! Dodging orange cones for one Sunday made the smooth pavement worth it. Thanks to Connie Thomas for lining up the asphalt folks!
- School is just a few short weeks away – don’t forget about our school supply drive! There is a container across from the church office for your donations.
- Cathy was able to witness our big (really big) red tail hawk come and sit on the sidewalk near to office and eat bird seed. He must really be hard up for food, but we have not noticed any new mole hills so maybe he has eaten his fill of mole delight?
- With school being just around the bend so is Rally Day and the return of Sunday School! Watch for information on it coming up!
- What a great day on Sunday! The weather was perfect, Ragtime Rick and his band brought wonderful music, David O’Brien gave a wonderful homily, Bob Haaf was a great assisting minister. A scrumptious breakfast and a chance to have fellowship was just great!! Thanks to Dale for coming in early and helping with the setup for sound and Rick Wood and David Charvat for helping with setting up the altar and chairs.
- Don’t forget if you have a change of address, phone or email to let the office know. The office is updating church records on a regular basis and typically printing an updated directory every 3 months. The most current directory will be coming out this next month.
- If we stay on track, we hope to have Fellowship resume in Brenner in September. Sue Wagner is the Chairperson of this very important Ministry. She is contacting people but if you would like to volunteer, please let her know. Getting together after service for coffee and treats and fellowship is great. Gentlemen can even volunteer! Treats do not have to be complicated and can be purchased.
- Remember: Grace is not the building but the people of Grace !
KETCHUP Group!
It has been fun to get together and see people we have not seen in a while. We have had 4 very interesting programs! Of interest is that 2 of our speakers who are not members of Grace have had a connection to family or grandparents who are members of Grace!
Our Next Ketchup is Monday August 9th. Our speaker that day must be back downtown by 11:30 so we are asking people to come at 10:30 that day only so the speaker has plenty of time to speak! We will still have a devotion and of course we have snacks as Lutherans hardly ever get together without food!
August 8th is National Lazy Day so go ahead after church be lazy.
August 10th is National Smores Day so why not on the 8th celebrate early and have a Smore!
I would like to thank EVERYONE who helped in anyway with our two outdoor services this summer! This includes Grace’s office staff, Gretchen for her help and advice, Pastor Abts, Dave O’Brien, Fritz Gooch, Bob Haaf, Ron Hiatt, those that helped prepare and serve food and clean-up, those that helped set-up and take down speakers and music stands and chairs, ushers, the musicians, and those that provided positive feedback about the services. Your help and encouragement was very much appreciated!
Mary Schneider
Facilitator, Worship and Music Committee
A Happening at Grace!
What? Who? When?
Friday October 15th from 2:00 -7:30 pm is our next Blood Drive! If you donated at the last Blood Drive in June, you may donate again in October. If you did a Power Red (a double unit) in April, you may donate again in October.
The need for blood is still critical! Each unit of blood donated can help 3 people and is a great way to give back.
You may sign up now on the Red Cross website.
Would it be great if Grace filled all its time slots! We have 43 slots and with each unit helping 3 people that would be 129 people helped! WOW!
Any questions please call or contact Gretchen Hiatt 419-944-5166 or gretchensue1205@gmail.com
The Other Bug!
Have you checked with your family MD about receiving the Flu Shot? The Flu season is fast approaching, and it is even more important to receive it this year.
August is National Immunization Awareness month
so check on that Flu vaccination!
Altar Flowers
If anyone is interested in providing flowers for the altar at Grace, arrangements have been made with Meadows Florist to provide them. The member would call Meadows Florist at 419.473.3123 and order the flowers. Arrangements cost the same as those provided by Ansted-Schuster Florist which we used prior to their closing. The member would pay for the flowers by credit card or could ask Meadows Florist if they could be billed for the flowers. The member would then call the Church Office so Cathy can place the information regarding the flowers in the announcements. The flowers will be picked up at Meadows Florist on the Saturday morning by someone on Altar Guild and placed on the altar for Sunday.
This is the day the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
~Psalm 118:24
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