For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

~Jeremiah 29:11

 

Easter Flower Sale!

 

There are forms in the back of the sanctuary, the back of the chapel and outside the church office. Lilies, tulips or daffodils – $10 each. These will be used to decorate the Sanctuary for Easter. You may either take them home with you after the Easter service, or donate them to be planted in the church garden. The sale is sponsored by the Christian Education Committee.

 

Lent at Grace

by the Worship and Music Committee

The theme for Lent at Grace is hands, how God’s hands and Jesus’ hands were used in the Bible.

Services on Wednesdays will be held in the Chapel at both 12 noon and 7 p.m. At the 7 p.m. service the Holden Evening Prayer will be sung – this is such a  beautiful service.

On Ash Wednesday we learned how God’s hands are writing: “Behold, I have graven you on the palms of my hands”, Isaiah 49:16. The word graven here means etched, written.

The topics for the remainder of Lent through Maundy Thursday include:

March 16:  Giving hands
March 23:  Lifting hands
March 30: Washing hands
April 6:  Saving hands

April 14, Maundy Thursday:  Taking, Breaking, Giving hands

Please consider attending one or both Lenten services to prepare for the celebration of Easter!

 

Fellowship Time

Hope to see you between services on Sunday in

Fellowship Hall!

March 20 – Grace Peterson, Debbie Downs

March 27 – Wendy McCall, Debbie Fallon

April 3 – Brenda Holderman, Joyce O’Brien, Janet Moore

 

Council Highlights from Meeting 3/8/22

  1. Accepted resignation of Chris Csurgo as Treasurer due to family concerns. Chris will continue to work in office and provide support.
  2. Brief discussion on hiring of cleaning service and work in progress on replacement Custodian.
  3. Approved policies for: Fire Safety, Severe Weather and Evacuation Plan, Winter Weather, and Building Access.
  4. Community Garden Program presented and proposal for Grace participation. Kathleen Hunter is contact person if interested in more information.
  5. License Agreement with Children’s Resource Center (CRC) reviewed by Rick Sharp and approval given to proceed with agreement.
  6. Approved hiring of David O’Brien as Synodically Authorized Minister effective April 1,2022.
  7. Update provided on Call Committee Progress and current candidate.

Next Council Meeting is Tuesday April 12 ,2022 at 6:30 PM

Meetings are open to Grace Members.

Copies of Minutes are kept in Church Library

 

Have You Seen This Picture?

Many have been inspired by this picture, widely shared on the internet.

It is identified as a still from a video showing a young Ukrainian girl confronting a Russian soldier during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  According to the caption, she is demanding that he go back to Russia.

 

Do you admire her courage?  Do you agree with her that the invasion of her country is not justifiable?

What if you learned that the girl’s name is Ahed Tamimi, that the picture was taken in 2012, and that she is a Palestinian confronting an Israeli soldier?  Do you still admire her courage?  Do you still agree that the invasion of her country cannot be justified?  Why, or why not?

Whether a picture is really worth a thousand words, and to whom it is worth so much, might depend on how accurately it is identified.

(Is there still a word from Mt. Sinai about bearing false witness against our neighbor?  If I remember correctly, God tells us not to do it.)

~Submitted by Pastor Howard

 

2022 Easter Egg Hunt

The Grace Easter Egg Hunt was started almost 25 years ago as a small activity for the children that was held in Fellowship Hall. It quickly grew to the point where it was moved to Brenner Hall. As attendance grew, new activities were added.

 

This ministry became a function of Worship & Music Ministry with the main volunteer base coming from choir support.  As the Easter Egg Hunt became more and more popular, involvement expanded to the congregation in general. In 2020 Covid caused us to give this ministry a pause.

Given the event really isn’t the ministry of Worship & Music, the recent loss of several key organizers, the magnitude of effort required, the number of volunteers needed to run the Egg Hunt; it has been decided to cancel this year’s event.

Many feel the Easter Egg Hunt Ministry is important to Grace and the Community, but for it to continue in 2023 and beyond, the congregation will need to increase its support as planners and volunteers. Provided the necessary volunteer base becomes available, Christian Education and the Outreach Ministries, will work  together to make it happen.

Planning for the 2023 event will need to begin soon. If you have a heart for the Easter Egg Hunt, please call the office so we can start to develop a volunteer list specifically to help with this event.

 

Thanks in advance for your consideration,

Connie Thomas – Christian Education

Ron Hiatt – Outreach

 

Morning has broken like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the world

 

Food for Toledo Update
by Mary Schneider

During the past two weeks, 166 pounds of food was collected for Aldersgate  United Methodist Church’s food pantry for a total of 788 pounds for the year!  Thank you to everyone who has donated to this ministry. All food is gratefully   accepted, however especially needed are the items that Aldersgate puts in clients bags every two weeks. These items include pasta sauce, pasta, canned meat, canned vegetables and fruit, jelly, cereal, and soup.  Though I am here Mondays from 9 – noon, I will not be at church on Monday, March 28. All food can be left in the Giving Room on Sundays or anytime that the church office is open.

 

A note for the congregation from the Facilities Use Ministry:

 We’ll have some new people in the building!

You may have heard talk about some new people in our Grace building…well here are the details.

Later this Spring Grace will welcome the Children’s Rights Collaborative of Northwest Ohio to our building.  The CRC is a 501- (c) (3)  non profit that works to facilitate meetings between non-custodial parents and their children. Some of these meetings will be monitored by CRC staff, and some will not but they will be  in our Sunday School classrooms. The times are Monday-Wednesday-Fridays, 5pm to 8:30pm and Sundays 2:30pm to 8pm. Now if you read those days/times correctly you immediately understand that our classrooms are sitting empty at those times.

Your Council has approved the details of the understanding between us and CRC because they agree, as do I, that nothing but good can come from helping non-custodial parents and children develop better relationships with each other.  Many of these non-custodial arrangements are ordered by the Lucas County Family Court for a variety of reasons, including parents that just couldn’t get along.

You may not even notice CRC is in the building because their usage days and times don’t conflict with any church activities and they not allowed to change anything in our classrooms. They won’t be leaving doors unlocked and they do have a specific procedure to have the children and non-custodial parents enter the building that has been perfected by CRC over more than two decades of existence.

About the only change you may see is that room number 6, the room with the bright purple floor, will be used by CRC as their full-time office. We will lose use of the “purple room” but currently that room has not been used for anything but storage for over two years. CRC comes to us because their current office is in a ProMedica building that will be torn down, and they are meeting clients in a different location.

Hosting CRC helps Grace continue to have a positive impact on our community and it will earn us a little money every month from CRC.  Of course, if you have questions or concerns please talk to me.  Oh, CRC would love to have more volunteers to help.  If you’re interested, I can put you in contact with Mark Lloyd, the Executive Director.

The current timeline calls for CRC to be using our Grace Facilities beginning mid-April.

Rick Sharp

Grace Facilities Use Ministry

 

To allow families and Sunday School teachers to attend service

 on Easter Sunday, April 17,

there will be no Sunday School classes on that day.

HAPPY EASTER!!

 

Behind the scenes at Grace …..by Gretchen

  1. Our cleaning crew is making headway catching up and working on establishing a daily routine. Thank you to all showing patience for some meeting interruptions as we get a pattern down. We have heard many positive comments including the that “church smells good”.  Any questions, comments (good and not so good) let Gretchen, or Cathy know.
  2. Thanks to Connie Thomas for all the attention to detail and leg work with the recent lighting issues, door problems, and snow removal stuff. Thanks to Connie for being one of the key members in keeping the church running smoothly!
  3. Congratulations to David O’Brien for being accepted into Seminary.
  4. What smells wonderful in the Nave(s) on Easter Sunday?? If you guessed Easter Lilies, you are correct! Watch for forms to fill out for Easter Lilies.
  5. Our questionable tipsy robins have been replaced by robins checking out the garden for worms and looking for nesting sites.
  6. The Mole “Castle” is still out front. We must have a mole with a concussion as it looks like it ran headfirst into the sidewalk outside the office and left a mound of dirt on the sidewalk. So please be careful when walking across the grassy areas around church as we do not want anyone to fall by stepping into their tunnels.
  7. We have all noticed the increase in not only gas prices but food. If you are able, and are shopping, please don’t forget our Food Pantry Ministry. Mary Schneider is here from 9:00 am -12 noon on Mondays to collect non-perishable food. If you are not able to come on Monday food can be dropped off in the Grace Giving Room.
  8. Hold the date! The hugeamongous rummage sale is the last weekend of April. Come and see what treasures are calling your name! Watch for times! The money raised will help with the Mission Trip this year.
  9. Oh, the palms and beach are so beautiful – and the flowers are shades of red and pink and the grass is so green. Oops this is not Toledo but Carolina – it is coming – the green grass and flowers – hopefully but no beach by Grace.
  10. Remember: Grace is not the building but the people of Grace carrying out God’s mission.

 

Do you remember all the episodes of Grace Anatomy?

Test your knowledge! The post season quiz is available outside the office on the credenza. Your completed quiz can be put in the office mailbox or Gretchen’s mailbox in the sacristy. Of course, no cheating allowed by conversation with the Grace Anatomy Master Bob Haaf.

The winner will be announced on April 1 and prize awarded.

 

What is very valuable to many people and does not involve money???

If you guessed blood, you are on the money!

Our Blood Drive is just around the corner – April 1 from 1:00 – 6:00 pm. Please consider donating and helping at least 3 people!  We have open appointment times. You may schedule on the Red Cross website or call Gretchen to schedule (I am out of town but will catch up with my phone and am still  scheduling people )

We had 26 donors in January and would love to exceed that number on April 1.

 

 

This is the day the Lord has made.

Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

~Psalm 118:24