Grace Notes - January, 2012
Epiphany and Mission
Epiphany and the Season of the Sundays after Epiphany close out the Christmas cycle which began with Advent. Traditionally, the feast of Epiphany celebrates the Magi’s visit to the child Jesus.
The central symbol is the star which shone, attracting the attention of gentile peoples throughout the world. An epiphany is a showing, a manifestation. The star shines not just in Palestine, but outside as well. The Messiah comes not only for the people of Israel, but for all the peoples of the world.
For this reason, the season of the Sundays after Epiphany focuses on outreach. In January we will gather items for Lutheran World Relief (LWR) Personal Care Kits, display the quilts made for LWR’s disaster relief work, and examine our global mission efforts through the ELCA. In February we will focus on our efforts at local outreach.
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Christmas Tree Takedown!
Saturday January 7, 8:00 a.m.
Your are invited to a Christmas Tree Takedown Party at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 7th. All helpers, including kids, welcomed! All kinds of help is needed, from packing up ornaments to climbing ladders to disassemble decorations. If you are a ladder-climber, please wear sturdy shoes!
Poinsettias - - Please feel free to take home your poinsettias. Our expert gardener, Stan, will retire those left in the Worship Center by January 8th.
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Mark Your Calendars!
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Church Council Meeting
Sunday January 9, 10:30 a.m.
in the Fellowship Hall
Open to All!
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Congregational Meeting
Sunday January 22, 10:30 a.m.
in the Worship Center
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Lutheran World Relief Personal Care Kits
Clean hands, good grooming, bright and shining smiles - you can help bring them about through the gift of health kits.
It's time to start putting together Lutheran World Relief Personal Care Kits. Each Personal Care Kit should contain the following:
- • One light-weight bath-size towel (maximum 52" X 27"), dark color recommended
- • Two bath-size bars (4 to 5 oz.) of soap, any brand, in original wrapping
- • One adult-size toothbrush in its original packaging*
- • One sturdy comb, remove packaging
- • One metal nail clippers (attached file optional), remove packaging
*Toothbrush multi-packs may be used by sealing an individual toothbrush in a business-size envelope; no plastic bags or wrap
Do not add other items or leave out any of the items listed. All items should be new and in good condition. Wrap all the items in the towel and tie securely with ribbons or yarn. Do not enclose the Kit or any of its contents in plastic bags.
Place the items in the designated box in the entrance way of the church. The deadline for delivering the personal care kits is February 14th. We don't have a lot of time to do this, so please get your kits together as soon as possible.
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A Message from the Congregation President
As we begin 2012, there are many reasons to be thankful to God, and to be optimistic about the future of our Grace family. We have seen our congregation come together over the last few months, with some notable accomplishments in a wonderful celebration of Christmas, in stabilizing our financial position, in contributing to our community, and in enjoying the fellowship of our members.
We thank Pastor Heagy and Pastor Green for their inspirational messages over the last two months. The Fall Fest, Christmas Brunch, and the cookie sale were wonderful examples of the family of Grace coming together to do good things.
The Council is considering some significant opportunities to hopefully make us stronger. Among those considerations is refinancing our mortgage. A reduced mortgage might reduce our monthly expenses to allow us to call an Interim Pastor. The stability and consistency provided by an Interim would be a great advantage in providing the leadership that our congregation badly needs. While I personally do not like the idea of extending the life of our mortgage, I believe that the advantages of stability or a degree of permanency in our ministerial leadership would outweigh the negatives. We will keep you advised of this opportunity and bring this subject to a congregational meeting when appropriate. We are also considering, with the help of Pastor Dick Knapp, beginning a six-week seminar on the “Vision of Grace”. In other words, we want to develop a plan for the future of our church. We will need the participation of as many members as possible.
Our thanks to Council members, and especially to the Evangelism, Worship, Property, Congregational Life Committees, the Choir, and to the Preschool Staff. Christmas services were inspirational, the decorations beautiful, our property looking great, and the preschool programs were really fun occasions. Special thanks to Betsy Stansifer, Beth Oakley, Fran Philp, Georgia VanHoesen, Nell Mussler, Georgia Van Ornam, the Pratt family, and Janice Sims. With the blessing of God, and the help of all members and friends of Grace, the year 2012 will be a great year in the service of our Lord, and our community. Thanks to all of you.
Cliff Peterson
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Thank You!
Thank you to the family of Grace for your Christmas gift on Christmas Eve. I am grateful for your thoughtfulness and support in so many ways and your kindness has truly touched me.
~ Betsy Stansifer
What Can I say? I was dumbfounded and amazed at my Christmas gift from the congregation. It could not have come at a better time. It has been my privelege to serve at Grace for many years. I truly love this church and its members. Let's all pull together this new year and we'll make it. If I can help in any way please call me at home at 773-3148. This 2012 will be a challenge but with our Lord's help we will grow and succeed. Many, Many, Many thanks and God's blessings to all.
~ Beth Ann Oakley
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Follow-up on Christmas Brunch and Cookie Sale
The congregation deserves a special thanks for the wonderful Christmas Brunch which we enjoyed on December 11. The food was superb, and the camaraderie even better. Thanks to all of you who cooked, set up, served, and cleaned up. It is a pleasure announcing that our cookie sale was really a success! Preschool staff baked dozens and dozens of cookies, and then wrapped them and put them in Christmas cups. Our members brought in more dozens, with cups and tins filled to the brim and decorated festively. Thanks to Pat Ferris, Becky Lemstrom, Nancy Camp, and Dolly Pelletier, who handled selling duty at church, preschool events, and at the Melbourne Beach Supermarket. Thanks also to Diane and Janice of our preschool staff who coordinated their efforts. And the best news: we made $467.00. (That should be enough to buy a great lawnmower, Steve!!)
~ Jeanette Peterson
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Women of Grace
Wednesday, January 18, 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Please join us for an informative and fun gathering. We have a great speaker from Vitas to speak and answer many questions. Members and friends are all invited.
Many thanks to the gals who helped clean our kitchen and conference room. Let's all try to help to keep it clean and organized.
~ Beth Ann Oakley
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Stewardship Matters
If you are already using your bank's bill-pay feature to pay your monthly bills, why not use it also to send a monthly donation to Grace? You can set this up online yourself or, on future Sundays in January, we will have a session after church with laptops and helpers available to enable you to set it up.
- Grace's address and phone:
- 1805 Oak St.
- Melbourne Beach, FL 32951
- 321-727-1724
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Message from Betsy
It was suggested that I pass along the casual thoughts I sent to a number of council members about our Christmas services this year. It has been a challenging year for me, taking on bulletin preparation and worship planning in addition to Grace Notes, and choir and organ. Planning for two very different services within an 18-hour period and preparing all the materials was more than I had anticipated. Still, it turned out to be memorable for me ...
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I found it to be a beautiful Christmas, both on the 24th and the 25th. I started out the 25th morning tired, but as the service went on, I caught its light and quiet joy. Our choir, its ranks depleted by absence and illness, was a determined group, never once suggesting that we forgo singing because of small numbers. I appreciated their enthusiasm, which kept me going when I was tired. Many others throughout the church added to our gatherings on those two days, and all contributions enhanced our services with the flavors of the diversity of our members. I know a lot happened that I was not aware of, but a couple things that come to mind are Calvin's moving rendition of "Silent Night" before the 7:30 service, Beth's children's sermon at the early service, and Steve, who showed up on short notice with Will on the 24th to improve the lighting in the sanctuary before the evening services. And I'd really be remiss not to mention Dieter, who was furnished with far too many opportunities to pull us out of the fire and did so, especially during the early service. He and Deb also turned up on the 23rd to run off the 175 bulletins for Christmas Eve and 45 bulletins for Christmas Day, doing so even though running out of legal-size paper and having to replace the ink on the duplicator. That was a lifesaver, to have them taking care of that and making it all work. It is a real joy to be part of a community like this, where everyone contributes for the betterment of all.
Betsy Stansifer
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Treasurer's Report
The first eleven months of this year have turned out better than I originally projected with general giving at 90 percent of last year’s rate. As you can see, our November income was $862.00 more than last year's because of a single $1000.00 gift honoring Pastor's retirement. I want to thank everyone for their continued financial support
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General Giving: January-November 2010 and 2011
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2010
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2011
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$15,242
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January
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$11,016
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$6,394
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February
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$11,255
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$6,224
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March
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$7,011
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$10,154
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April
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$5,776
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$6,359
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May
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$5,007
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$4,860
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June
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$5,082
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$5,136
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July
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$4,442
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$5,990
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August
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$4,127
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$5,216
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September
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$4,681
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$6,430
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October
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$5,103
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$5,582
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November
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$6,444
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$77,587
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Total
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$69,944
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Glenn S. Fezie
Treasurer
Grace Lutheran Church
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Birthdays and Anniversaries
- Happy Birthday to:
- Betsy Stansifer - January 1
- Jim Greathouse - January 3
- Michael Ballard - January 4
- Kate Elstun - January 7
- Kim Maidhof - January 13
- Roy Moore - January 14
- Susan Wenninger - January 31
- Happy Anniversary to:
- Gordy and Nancy Anderson - January 23
- Pam and Michael Ballard - January 29
If you would like to have your celebrations listed too, please give the information to Betsy Stansifer
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Worship Assistants for January
The following people have volunteered to assist with our Sunday morning worship.
If you can help out this month, please call Beth at 773-3148.
- January 1
- Ushers - Glenn & Sue Fezie
- Reader - Ruth Benson
- Greeters - Alec & Anne Marshall
- Counters -
- January 8
- Ushers - Gary & Esther Roverud
- Reader - Anne Marshall
- Greeters - The Lemstroms
- Counters - The Dickinsons
- January 15
- Ushers - Gary & Esther Roverud
- Reader - Linda Calise
- Greeters - Ruth Benson
- Counters - Linda Calise
- January 22
- Ushers - Cliff & Jeanette Peterson
- Reader - Pat Ferris
- Greeters - Alec & Anne Marshall
- Counters - Delayne Wells
- January 29
- Ushers - Cliff & Jeanette Peterson
- Reader - Lynn Newman
- Greeters - Delayne Wells
- Counters - The Heinrichers
If you would like to volunteer, contact Beth Ann
or send a note to Dieter via the website.
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