Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,

always giving thanks to God the Father for everything,

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

~Ephesians 5:19-20

 

Come, now is the time to worship.
Come, now is the time to give your heart.
Come, just as you are, to worship.
Come, just as you are, before your God.
Come.

 

Blood Donation On The Move

 

By Ron Hiatt

 

I just got a note from the Red Cross!  My October 15, 2021, Blood Donation was sent to Mount Carmel East in Columbus, OH, and my January 12th Red Cross Blood Donation is being used in Charlotte NC.

After first ensuring that local needs were met, my recent blood donation was sent to Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center in Charlotte, NC to help a patient in need.  My donation is on its way to change lives!

Sooooo Cool.

Grace Church would like to develop a list of where our blood donations are sent, please forward your Red Cross notices of your “blood on the move” to Gretchen Hiatt at Gretchensue1205@gmail.com She will keep track of the locations where Grace Blood Donations are sent, let’s see whose blood travels the furthest by the end of 2022. Maybe even a prize for the longest distance!  All are welcome to send in Red Cross blood destination, as long as you donated at Grace Church.

The next chance to find out, happens at Grace Church on April 1. No foolin’!  I’ll be there, will you?

 

What’s in a Name???

A  scurry of squirrels.

Loveliness of ladybugs.

Mischief of mice.

Behind the scenes at Grace…. By Gretchen

  1. Yahoo! the snow mountains are getting smaller. The sidewalk and parking lot is salted. However, with the sun warming the parking lot during the day and getting cold at night please watch for that darn black ice!
  2. The big refrigerator in the storage room off Brenner Hall has been diagnosed, repaired and back in working order. So, the doors are now closed to keep it cold.
  3. If you find a plugged sink, burned out light bulbs, leaky faucet or things that need repair please let the office know. The sooner we know that faster it can be checked out and repaired.
  4. Fellowship Hour is resuming this Sunday. Come down to Fellowship Hall and enjoy some wonderful treats and conversation!
  5. Our “Wrap Hearts with a Blanket “collection continues through February. The blankets collected will go to Tent City this October. However, if there is a need within the parish or another need, we will donate sooner. New or gently used clean blankets can be put in the blanket trunk outside the office.
  6. Mark your calendars for the last weekend in April! It is the hugeamongous Youth Group Rummage Sale! More information to follow.
  7. Have you checked out the display cabinet next to Brenner? There are pictures of the steeple being placed with a giant crane. There are some very old bulletins that are beautiful. We hope to have a moving display with it changing every 2 weeks.
  8. Remember: Grace is not the building but the people of Grace carrying out God’s mission!

 

April Fool’s Day

Many of us love to play jokes on others this day and some of us are pretty creative too.

This year April Fool’s Day has an additional importance. It is a Blood Donor Day at Grace!

There is still an ongoing severe shortage of blood. A traumatic event like a car accident or an extensive gun wound require as many as 10 – 12 plus units for one person alone.

If you donated January 12th you are able to donate on April Fool’s.

You do not need to be a member of Grace to donate – so remind friends, neighbors, kids and grandkids.

You may sign up on the Red Cross website or

contact Gretchen Hiatt 419.944.5166.

Watch for the Red Blood Drop at Grace ????!!!! 

 

Healthy People! Healthy Parish!

 

February is Heart Month

 

Did you know that sleep can affect the heart?

Getting a good night’s sleep is one very healthy habit to incorporate into your life.

Some reasons why shut eye is so important:

  1. Mood. There has been research that states lack of sleep leads to irritability, negative moods and increased risk for mental health problems like depression. People who do not get enough sleep focus more on the negative and struggle to cope with changes.
  2. Eyes. Ongoing issues with eyestrain and eye fatigue can be related to poor sleep.
  3. Heart. Night after night of not getting enough sleep can be hard on the heart and cause problems like high blood pressure. Research has found that consistently getting less than 6 hours of sleep a night has led to high blood pressure!
  4. Productivity. If you did not sleep well, it is harder to get things done. So, we drink caffeine drinks which wakes us up but then for many people it is a vicious circle as the caffeine now keeps you awake. Good sleep has been shown to increase a person’s ability to concentrate.
  5. Exercise. A good night’s sleep gives the body a chance to recover so that activities like exercise are improved and even hand to eye coordination, reaction time and stamina are improved.
  6. Immune system. Sleep is so important to keep the immune system healthy. While sleeping the body produces cytokines, hormones that ultimately help immune system fight off infections. When we are sleep deprived we are more likely to catch a cold or the flu .

Take care of your heart and get a good night’s sleep!

 

Fellowship time is back!

Hope to see you between services on Sunday in Fellowship Hall!

 

February 20 –  Gretchen Hiatt , Nancy Lockard

February 27 – Sue Melchert,  Sue Wagner

March 6 – Jan Dustman, Karlene Jaquillard

March 13 – Contemporary Team

Thank you, Sue, for organizing this for us!

 

Grace Anatomy continued …..

H.E.L.P. Closet

Located down the hall near the entrance to Brenner Hall and outside entrance to Brenner Hall. The closet contains all sorts of items – from wheelchairs, transport chairs to commodes and even hospital bed sheets, walkers and canes with special ice grabbers. An Open House is held in July and January after first service – a reminder of the Open House will be posted but feel free to contact Gretchen at any time to take a look.

If you or family member are in need of a walker, commode, shower chairs and even gauze bandages, etc. please call and check with Gretchen. Thanks to many members of Grace and others we typically have quite the selection of medical equipment.

If you or friend or family member have medical equipment that you do not know what to do with, please give Gretchen or the church office a call. We keep the closet stocked and if we have an oversupply, we connect with another organization that provides equipment to Veterans in need.

Any questions about the closet call Gretchen Hiatt 419.944.5166.

Brenner Hall (Alias the Gym)

This is the huge room at the most southern aspect of the church next to the expressway. It is the site of Pastor’s Volleyball League, American Red Cross Blood Drives, Youth Pasta Dinners, Vacation Bible School and many other activities that require a huge space. There are 2 basketball nets and a slew of   tables and chairs for events. It has also been secretly used by a few parents in the middle of winter to let their kids run and let off steam with the hope that a nap for them and the parents is sure to follow!

We have two more episodes of Grace Anatomy.  After the last episode there will be a quiz available for those who are brave and have a memory like a steel trap, or for those who just want to see what they remember. The quiz will be available outside the church office on the credenza. There will be a prize for the one with the greatest memory and word of warning – no cheating (by asking Mr. Bob Haaf) .

 

Stay tuned for next week’s announcements for the details about the March 1 Shrove Pancake Dinner!
 Plans are underway!!!!

 

Food for Toledo Update
by Mary Schneider

Since the beginning of 2022 447 pounds of food have been collected for the Aldersgate United Methodist Church food pantry. Clients from both Lott Industries and Race for Recovery continue to assist Aldersgate in stocking their shelves and with shopping. When I dropped off food on February 10 the director of the Food Pantry, who also happens to be the church’s part-time secretary, told me that people outside of the Aldersgate neighborhood have also been using their pantry lately as some pantries closed during the recent COVID surge. I continue to be at church on Monday mornings from 9:00 am – noon however food can be dropped off in the Giving Grace Room (across from Room 3) anytime the building is open. Suggestions for items include pasta, pasta sauce, jelly, cereal, canned fruit and vegetables, soup, canned meat, and juice however all food is gratefully accepted.  Thank you Grace Members for your continued support of this program.

 

Are you anything like me?  Do you ever say to yourself something like, “Yes, as a matter of fact, I do have a favorite Bible story that has to do with hands. I’ll contact Mary or Fritz or Pr. Howard soon, and tell about it,” and then get distracted and not follow through?

Our mid-week Lenten services are not yet completely planned. (We’re likely to begin planning any day now.)  There is still time for you to help steer our consideration of God’s hands, and our hands.

Please contact Fritz Gooch (fritzgooch@gmail.com), or Mary Schneider (msschneider353@gmail.com), or Pr. Howard (howardabts@yahoo.com).

Pretty soon.

 

Council Highlights 2/8/2022

  1. Voted and approved: People who are vaccinated and have had boosters do not have to wear masks within the church. Although masks may be worn at their discretion /personnel choice. People who are not vaccinated are asked to wear a mask inside the church. This will be the honor system – we will not be checking for vaccination cards. Fellowship Hour will resume when arrangements have been made.
  1. Approval of roster changes due to passing of Jon Darnell and Pastor Dennis Lauman.
  2. Call Committee appointments reviewed and updated. Due to a passing of a call committee member and the resignation of another member the positions required replacement. Wendy McCall and David O’Brien have agreed to be members of the Call Committee.
  3. Bob Haaf and Fritz Gooch have completed Council Members assignment to Committees.
  4. Committee Reports:
  5. Mary Schneider reported on Worship/Music activities and Mission Out reach
  6. Gretchen Hiatt reported on Youth activities
  7. Personnel Committee will be meeting within the next week to start reviewing and updating position descriptions and evaluation forms.
  1. David O’Brien will be providing the sermon once a month as part of his

Synodical Program and Pastor Abts will be providing the weekly meditation on those Sundays. David will provide the sermon on Sunday February 27.

Minutes are available in the notebook in the Library

Next Council Meeting is Tuesday March 8, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. in Classroom 3.

The meeting is open to all Grace Members.

 

 

This is the day the Lord has made.

Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

~Psalm 118:24