Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all you lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness; come into God’s presence with a song.
~Psalm 100:1-2
Prayer Breakfast: Another Opportunity on 15 July!
Prayer is vital to who we are as followers of Jesus. It gives us a place to share our innermost thoughts with God, and a way to listen to what God is trying to tell us.
Lets’ gather again for a time of prayer and fellowship on Saturday, 15 July at 9:00 a.m. at Wildwood Metropark!
We will use this time to practice natura divina, in which we contemplate images in nature to assist us as we seek to connect with God in prayer. There will be an opportunity for a brief walk, as well as opportunities for those who do not wish to walk. We will spend some time in prayer, and then enjoy a light breakfast and conversation.
Details about where to gather will follow. For now, please plan to join us! If you would like to bring a light breakfast item to share, that would be wonderful.
A sign up sheet will be available in the back of the nave.
Contemporary Service Sunday June 25 at 10:30 a.m.
in the Sanctuary
Potluck to follow – bring a salad or dessert to share
Faith and Fellowship!
Sunday Fellowship Time
June 18th – Father’s Day – Donuts for Dads
If anyone is willing to donate a dozen donuts
Please contact Sue Wagner at suegrade@aol.com or 419- 475-8972.
Thank you in in advance!
Operation Christmas Child
In the month of June we are asking for donations of marbles and/or chalk. They can be dropped off in the Giving Grace Room or to the office during the week.
Have You Heard? Do You Not Know?
Grace Church has the opportunity to host and mentor Jana Jaroslav Marek from Serbia this summer. Grace is working with the International Relations Committee of the Slovak Zion Synod, ELCA here in the US, and the Slovak Lutheran Church in Serbia.
Jana is 20 years old and is currently working as a Sunday School Teacher and congregational administrator at her church. Her interests include youth ministry, youth education and community-focused ministries. She is looking forward to being able to spend time working with our Grace family and its ministries and is looking forward to being able to experience a new culture and discover new perceptions within the Lutheran Church and integrate these into her formative skill set.
Plans are moving forward, but before final plans can be made, we need to have an individual or family to offer to host Jana for the majority of her visit. These details are still being worked out, but the main responsibility of the host would be to provide comfortable sleeping arrangements, light breakfast if possible, maybe some dinners, and some light companionship during her visit. Pastor Brenda and others will take care of her coming and going, mentoring, activities, and most other meals. If anyone would like to consider offering a spare room in your home, please talk to Pastor Brenda. We would really like to strengthen and expand our Slovak Lutheran Church in Serbia relationship by hosting and learning from Jana, and we are praying someone will answer the call to host.
Pastor Brenda & Ron Hiatt – Outreach Ministry
Meditation on Matthew 9:35-10:8
By Vicar Dave
“Do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say”. I don’t know about you, but that sounds a whole lot easier said than done! Most folks who do any speaking in public tend to find comfort in having a pretty good idea of what they’re going to say before that deliver a speech. At least they like to have some idea of the topics they’re going to discuss. I can’t imagine a State of the Union address where the President just adlibbed the entire thing. I suspect his aides and speech writers all go nuts when he gets off the script that they’ve already prepared for him.
When I was a practicing defense attorney, I sometimes came close to delivering a speech right off the cuff. But even then, I had a little time to prepare before having to deliver a closing argument. There again, I had the entire trial I had just gone through, trying to show the jury my client’s take on any of the evidence presented. But even so, questioning witnesses can be a lesson in thinking on one’s feet. You never know how someone might respond to any given question. A rule we were taught in law school was to never ask a question unless we already knew what the answer would be. But that doesn’t always work.
My father has always been cautious about how he speaks and what he says. He used to tell us kids that it was “better to keep one’s mouth shut and be thought a fool, than to open it up and remove all doubt”. My Dad’s point, I think, is that we should think before we speak and if we don’t know what we’re talking about, perhaps we should let it be. He wanted us kids to be careful about what we said.
In Matthew 10:19, Jesus is telling us to do the exact opposite of being careful about our speech. Don’t worry about it. When the time comes, the Holy Spirit will give you the right words to say. I think that’s pretty difficult to actually do, when it comes right down to it. Especially when they are going in front of a somebody that has the authority to sit in judgment over them. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to have some prep time, especially if my freedom and/or my life are on the line. But these are the instructions that Jesus gives.
When you think about it though, who’s a better person to trust than God? When Moses went before Pharaoh, God gave him the words to say and essentially spoke through Moses. The same has been true with many of the other prophets, even with their lives on the line.
I remember when I was in High School, MANY years ago, I was part of a singing group that performed in many of the local churches. I don’t remember the song anymore, but I had to deliver an introduction for it and didn’t have much prepared. When it was my turn, I spoke about turning one’s life over to God instead of drugs and alcohol. I could feel that the words weren’t mine, but that the Holy Spirit had spoken through me. I don’t know why that happened that particular night. Maybe someone in that congregation needed to hear that message. But I was happy to be used by God in that fashion.
It’s doubtful that any of us will ever be put on trial for our beliefs, but it’s more likely that we may be asked to speak with someone about our faith. Maybe a friend, maybe a group of friends. Maybe we’ll know in advance, maybe we won’t. But if we trust God to send us the Holy Spirit, I’m certain He will, and that the Holy Spirit will guide us and give us the words to say so that we can be effective in reaching the person that God wants us to.
Behind the scenes at Grace …..by Gretchen
- The rain has come, and things are becoming green again. However, our flowers are always beautiful thanks to Connie Thomas and her vigilant watering and “magic Juice”!
- Summer is supposed to be coming next week with the humidity like it should in June. So, if you are staying inside with the air conditioning and the cleaning mood might hit – don’t forget we collect blankets for Tent City all year long! We even have coats, hats and mittens in the collection for this October. There are about 2 feet to go before the boxes hit Gretchen’s office ceiling – it would be wonderful to hit that mark and start another stack.
- Have you noticed? We have not seen any mole tunnels so far this spring/summer – did the red tail hawk have an hors d ‘oeuvre????
- Remember: Grace is not the building but the people of Grace carrying out God’s Mission!
Healthy People! Healthy Parish!
RED!
A person who loves red is passionate, dynamic and a creative person! We all know these people and we might even be one of those people who love this color!
Do you know that red can be a sign of danger – think fires in Canada.
It can be a sign to slow down – stop sign, railroad crossing lights.
It can be a sign of emergency help – fire truck, EMS vehicle, fir extinguisher.
It can be a sign of something good – apple ,strawberries, candy canes.
It can also be a sign of life and help!
One unit of blood provides help and continued life to as many as 3 people!
Please consider helping 3 people enjoy life and give blood at the Interfaith Blood Drive on Saturday June 24th 8:30 – 2:30!
You can sign up on the Red Cross website or call Gretchen to schedule an appointment .
A conversation between two learners in Grace Sunday School class was overheard. One learner was talking about his graduation and “inviting”. This was misunderstood as “biting”. “If you are going to bite, I’m going to growl, ” the second learner returned.
Captured from room 1O, June 11, 2023
All conversation delivered with smiling faces.
Burrito Blessings 419!
Do you Know how to Build a Burrito?
Are you passionate about helping others?
Put these 2 together and you have ….
Burrito Blessings 419!
Grace Lutheran Church is partnering with the Jewish Federation and Foundation of Greater Toledo, and Memorial Lutheran Church to provide food assistance to those in need in our community.
Starting Saturday July 29th and on the last Saturday of every month ,warm homemade vegetarian burritos will be handed out at Grace between 11:00 and noon.
A bag of food will also be provided with the burritos for the families.
If you would like to learn how to build the best burrito in town and are passionate about helping others – join the Burrito Build Construction Crew on Saturday July 29th at 10:00 in Brenner Hall Kitchen.
Let us know if you have questions or want to be a construction crew member – contact Gretchen 419-944-5166 or Pastor Brenda.
Enjoy life – this is not a dress rehearsal.
(Unknown)
Love is a present you can give every single day you live!
(Unknown)
Pastor’s Thoughts:
“God provides rain for the earth; God sends water on the countryside.” –Job 5:10
I love summer. I love the sunny days. I love the heat. I even love the humidity! Nothing makes my day better than a long bike ride on a hot summer day.
But recently, the dryness of the weather has been quite evident on rides. The grass looks brown already. The fields seem parched. Even the flowers along the roadside and in peoples’ yards have been hanging their heads for lack of some deep moisture.
Last night, we were blessed with the first rain we have had in 22 days. It was lovely. The sound and the smell were refreshing, and I could almost hear the plants, flowers, and grass sighing with relief. I was reminded of how I feel when I have a cold drink at the end of a long, hot ride. Every cell in my body feels invigorated and refreshed in a way that only a long drink can make possible.
Even as water can make our bodies and the earth around us perk up, our spirits also need refreshment to grow and to thrive. Hearing the Word together, sharing the Supper, praying, and sharing our gifts with others in the world all have a wonderful way of giving us what we need to be about our mission as the people of God. When we are away from these things—even for a short time—we can feel parched and depleted. And we may even start to hang our heads for want of a long cool drink. And just like when our bodies are thirsty, this feeling can fool us into thinking we want something else (another activity on the schedule, another “thing,”etc.); when what we really need is to be watered by the grace and love of God. There are some pieces of who we are that can only be reached by the Living Water Jesus offers. There are some thirsts which only Jesus can quench.
The summer will be busy. There will be family activities, trips, community activities. There will be long, hot days when a cold beverage will hit the spot. But when your spirit feels parched, remember to come and drink from the Living Water. This is the water that reaches the deepest places inside of us, reminding us who we are, how much we are loved, and what our mission as God’s children is to be –to give a cold cup of Water to those who are also thirsty.
“ … but those who drink of the water that I will give will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” –John 4: 14
In Christ,
Pastor Brenda
This is the day the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
~Psalm 118:24
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