- The flower box by the office door is bright with beautiful geraniums!! Thank you, Connie Thomas!
- The Youth Rummage Sale was a wild success! Thanks to all who provided treasurers, bought treasurers and helped at the sale. The proceeds will be used for the Youth Mission Trip this summer!
- The Squirrels – oh my! Our family is very wise! This last week one even pounded on the door to let Cathy know she was late with brunch!
- Don’t forget to check out the Community Boards! New events and opportunities are posted on a regular basis as well as some member needs.
- SOS! We have a regularly scheduled bug zapper person (Orkin) come in to make sure we are not carried away by 6-8 plus legged creatures. However, there have been occasions when Cathy was not aware of the creatures to let the bug zapper know. So, if you notice an invasion, please fill out a form (located on desk next to office) or call or email her on the bug or bugs location(s) so they can be effectively zapped!
- Remember : Grace is not the squirrels or the building but the people of Grace carrying out God’s mission!
In the month of May we are asking for donations of coloring books and story books. They can be dropped off in the Giving Grace Room or to the office during the week.
Sunday Fellowship Time
May 14th – Muffins for Mom – If you would be able to donate a dozen muffins for Mother’s Day, please call Sue Wagner at 419 475-8972 or e-mail at suegrade@aol.com. The muffins can be any kind. The more varieties the better! They can be homemade or bought from a store. Thank you in advance for donating muffins on this special day.
On Sunday, May 21, Grace’s graduates will be honored at our 10:30 a.m. service. If you are graduating from high school or college or have a family member who is graduating, please contact the church office with the information.
By Vicar Dave
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” That sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? And I really think that Jesus meant for it to be simple. So, what does Jesus command us to do? He says the first and most important commandment is to love God. To love Him. We are to put God first in our lives. The second most important commandment is that we love one another as much as we love ourselves. Both of these commandments are easier said than done. In this world, we are told to “look out for number one”, meaning ourselves. But to love God is to make Him number one. And if he’s telling us to love others, it kinda looks like loving oneself is starting to move down the list substantially.
Jesus, of course, gives us the perfect example of how to love God and others. He loved God the Father enough that He humbled Himself by becoming one of us because that was what God wanted Him to do. God came to us in the human form of Jesus Christ yet retained His status as God. He spent several years with us, teaching us about how to live lives that are pleasing to Him. By keeping His commandments, by loving Him and loving others.
Loving others can also be kinda tricky, can’t it? In my job as a parole officer, I come across some folks that make it more than a bit difficult to love them. Some of these guys spend their lives doing what the world says they should do. Looking out for themselves, even if that means hurting others. They do things like selling drugs, which they know can cause someone to overdose and may cost the user their life. Or they may feel as though they have the right to take whatever they need or want, stealing from others. Then there are others who physically hurt people, including children. But I am confident that when Jesus was talking about loving our neighbors, He meant these folks too. If fact, when He took on human form out of love for us, He was doing it for them as well. And when He died on the cross for our sins, He was doing that for them as well as the rest of us.
I’m reminded of King David of ancient Israel. If you recall, David pulled some stunts were pretty horrible. Some would go so far as to call him a rapist and to say he was complicit in Murder. I’m referring to the incident with Bathsheba and how he arranged for Uriah to be killed at the war to cover up this crime. There’s obviously a lot more to this story than that, but the point I’m making is that God loved David. He didn’t love David because of what David had done or because of who David was. God loved David because of who God is, and the same is true for how He feels about all of His children, even the ones who have done some horrible things. If God can see them for who they are (and see us for who we are) and love them all the same, who are we to say that they are unworthy of our love?
Healthy People! Healthy Parish!
Special Event is just around the corner!
Yep – it is the Annual Interfaith Blood Drive!
This is the largest and oldest Interfaith Blood Drive in the US ! Which is pretty significant ! This will be the 34th annual drive!
It will be on Saturday June 24th from 8:30 – 2:30 in Brenner Hall.
Appointment times are already available! To schedule call 1-800-RED -CROSS or go to the web RedCrossBlood.org and enter Sponsor Code : INTERFAITH.
This Blood Drive is scheduled close to the 4th of July to cover not only the regular demand but the potential demand with injuries. A sobering thought that we do not ever want to see repeated but at a recent shooting in Kentucky 174 units of blood was used – this is a huge amount!
Donors do not need to be a member of Grace but can be family, friends or neighbors.
Don’t forget about using the Birthday or Thinking about You cards by the office to have someone donate in your honor!
Any questions please see or call Gretchen Hiatt 419-944-5166 and thank you ahead of time!
Celebrate with Flo Nightingale !
Flo was the founder of modern nursing! She developed and implemented action plans to improve sanitary conditions and made handwashing, bathing, and other principles of controlling infection mandatory. During the Crimean War she and her team of nurses put these plans in place and reduced the hospital deaths by two-thirds! So, good handwashing is definitely not new and has a great track record!
The week of May 6- 12 is National Nurse’s week! So please let all the “Flo’s “ you encounter know that they are special, and you are happy they are here to take care of you and your family and friends!
Yikes -Hives !!! Oh NO !
Have you eaten something and ended up with hives, runny nose, nausea or something worse?
It may be a food allergy?
May is Food Allergy Month!
Food allergies affect approximately 32 million people in the US. This includes up to 6 million children and 1 in 10 adults! There has been a noticeable increase in food allergies in kids under the age of 18.
A food allergy is the immune system response of the body to a food that it mistakenly believes is harmful!
The big offenders are peanuts, tree nuts (walnuts, almonds pecans), milk, eggs, wheat, soy, fish, shellfish and sesame!
Sometimes just a small amount of the offender can cause a severe reaction!
If you have a food allergy:
- Read labels.
- If you go out to eat, question if food is prepared with one of your offenders.
- Follow good handwashing technique.
- Watch food preparation – wash utensils that come into contact with offenders.
- Do you carry an epinephrine pen? Do you check it regularly to make sure it has not expired?
- Are your family and friends aware that you have a significant reaction? Just in case it happens quickly, and you cannot tell them.
- Do you wear an allergy bracelet, necklace and have it in your vital information in billfold or purse?
Anaphylaxis is a serious allergic reaction that comes on quickly and can be life threatening. One of the most common anaphylactic reactions is to food.
Signs of anaphylaxis:
- Mouth – itching, tingling, swelling of the lips or tongue.
- Throat – hoarseness, tightening of throat, hacking cough, stridor – loud high-pitched sound when breathing in.
- Lungs – shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing, chest tightness.
- Stomach – stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.
- Brain – anxiety, panic, sense of doom.
- Eyes and Nose – runny nose, stuffy nose, sneezing, watery eyes, itchy or swollen eyes.
- Skin – hives, rash, redness or flushing, itching and swelling.
- Heart and circulation – chest pain, low blood pressure .weak pulse, pale blue color, dizziness or lightheadedness, lethargy ,shock.
When you or you see someone experiencing these symptoms call 911 ASAP!!!
We have some known and some unknown members of Grace with food allergies and we may also have visitors with food allergies.
We have a “What’s In It?” forms in each kitchen. Please complete and use these when you bring in food. If you brought treats in from a bakery, ask them what is in it and also check the labels and complete the form.
The easy job of filling out the form might not only save someone from miserable itching or going to the bathroom but MIGHT SAVE THEIR LIFE!!
Was up early this morning taking in the beautiful weather and heard some activity inside Iringa Road Church. I walked in to find a small morning worship in progress. I was invited to come in and join in. We sang and prayed and were offered a short devotion. After worship I was asked to come up to introduce myself and talk about our visit. So 30 minutes later after talking about Grace Church and Iringa Road history together, the consecrations we shared, the medical missions Dr Nassari envisioned, the exchange of visitors both ways, helping to fund the concrete floor in Mzogole, drilling the water well, and conducting the Tumaini III Medical Mission at Mzogole church for the area, a man jumps up, wearing one of the Grace Fremont hoodies from Saturday’s visit, saying…(here’s the God moment…) saying “I have these eyeglasses you gave me when you visited last time!”
So after I quit balling.., I realized he really meant it was ME who fitted him and gave him the glasses, as Pastor Ken Pollitz and I were running the “Mzogole Eye Clunic (Nov 2018) as part of the Tumaini III Medical Mission.
God only asks we plant good seeds. Often we never get the chance to see what becomes of them. But sometimes…. God pulls the curtain back to show what He has done with those seeds He asked us to plant long ago. Thank you God. (God Bless Mzogole) Mungu Abariki Mzogole!
(……thinking he already has, and continues to do so, and along the way each of us was also blessed beyond measure on that Saturday May 6, 2034) Bwana Asifiwe.
Ron Hiatt
This is the day the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
~Psalm 118:24
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