Grace and Peace to you all!
It may still feel like winter, but Grace church is buzzing – thanks to you all!
A week ago following both worship services, you all were invited to gather and brainstorm about ideas to engage one another, make our building more accessible, support one another and those in our community, and more. A few days later, I met with the confirmation class to engage them around their interest in activities as well. The responses given are posted on the back wall of the lounge in the rear of the sanctuary. No decisions were made – yet. As always, if you have ideas, feedback, questions, etc., please see me. I’m always open to new ideas and conversation. I prefer you talk to me so I can ask questions and understand, otherwise a note should include your name so I can follow-up if I need clarification.
The rear storage area of the basement is cleaned out, organized, and ready for whatever is next. Committees are beginning to reach out to those interested through the time and talent forms. New ideas are being explored. See what ministries excite you and get involved! Bring a friend, neighbor, or family member – all are welcome! These ministries can only happen with your support of time, talent, and abilities.
As we prepare for lent (the 40 days before Easter – not counting Sundays), we will be engaging in two themes – Prayer and Risk. Each week will offer an opportunity to write down our prayers and pray for one another. And during Sunday worship, engage the text and consider what risk is happening then and now, including some dramatic readings (see me if you’d like be involved).
We are “the church” TOGETHER! Your presence, voice, and participation are important, needed and matter! Wherever you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here!
Blessings,
Pastor Beth
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Thank you to Linda and David Billmann for sponsoring Grace Notes this month and for sponsoring the March bulletins.
Thank you to our Altar Flower sponsors for March: David & Linda Billmann, Jerome & Peggy Mathes, and Tom & Judy Leonhardt
Thank you to the anonymous person who took home all the dirty dishcloths and towels from the Souper Bowl to wash them.
Thank you to our Souper Bowl coordinators, kitchen help, raffle donations, all who attended! It was a great success in many ways!
Thanks to Mike Rolloff for all his extra help in setting up/taking down for Souper Bowl and delivering extras to the Salvation Army. Chuck Ebert who coordinated the electrical for the event.
Dear Grace members and friends,
Heartfelt thanks for your thoughts and prayers while I been ill and now grateful to be on the road to recovery. I am Much blessed and appreciate your care.
Sincerely,
Sandy Rabe
There are a number of things that just ‘happen’ here at Grace. For those who give of their time and talent to make things happen – whether anonymously or whether I may have accidentally not included, please know that we are thankful for your generosity! Please let Pastor Beth know if there are any errors or omissions.
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Our Christian Sympathy is extended to the family and friends of Leland Musil. Leland entered eternal life on February 23rd. A celebration of life was held on February 27th.
Click here
to view the complete obituary.
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Please remember that if you admitted to the hospital and would like a visit from Pastor Beth, please contact her directly (cell 920-371-8018). Between HIPPA and the busyness of the hospital staff, oftentimes the hospital doesn’t call, therefore Pastor Beth would appreciate a direct call from you or your family to ensure timely visitation and pastoral care.
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Do you have a prayer request that you would like to share with Pastor Beth? Please reach out at any time
rev.beth.petzke@gmail.com
or
920-371-8018. All prayer requests will be kept confidential unless permission to share with the congregation is given.
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April 12
Join us for Easter Breakfast
Following 7:30 worship an Easter Breakfast will be served in fellowship hall until 9:30. The menu includes a breakfast bake, baked goods, fruit salad, and hard boiled eggs. Please sign up in the foyer if you plan to attend. All are welcome!
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Grace is now registered with Amazon Smile. To choose Grace as the charitable organization to benefit from your Amazon purchases go to smile.amazon.com. Here are the step by step. Sign in to
smile.amazon.com
on your desktop or mobile phone browser.
1.
From your desktop, go to Your Account from the navigation at the top of any page, and then select the option to Change your Charity. Or, from your mobile browser, select Change your Charity from the options at the bottom of the page.
2.
Select a Grace United Church of Christ as your organization to support.
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Sunday, March 8th
Time Change! Spring ahead.
Sunday, April 19th
Voices of Peace will enhance our worship at both 8 & 10 am services.
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Envelopes to order Easter flowers are available in the foyer. All orders are due on March 22nd. Orders can be placed in the offering plate or in the church office. Thank you for helping to enhance the sanctuary when we celebrate the resurrection. Plants may be taken home following 10am worship on Easter Sunday.
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Texas Roadhouse offers a Sunday bulletin program to support local churches
. On Sundays between 11am and 9:30pm, guests that come into the Sheboygan Texas Roadhouse location can have 10% of their total food purchases back to the church! Simply present a current copy of your church’s bulletin to your server. If you go out for lunch or dinner on Sundays, consider patronizing Texas Roadhouse.
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Shop with SCRIP!
Kwik Trip cards are available in the church office. With scrip, you’re paying face value and you’re getting face value. Make your giving go farther! Pick up SCRIP the next time you're at church!
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March Worship Participants
Ushers
3/1 8am Rick Weeden
10am Anneke & Tom Teaters and Don Montgomery
3/8 8am Ann Ebert
10am Betty Musil, Karen Groth, Molly Montgomery
3/15 8am Mike Wandschneider
10am Lisa, Mike, & Lorriane Rolloff
3/22 8am Tom Widder
10am Wendy Opitz, Ben & Laura Waterman
3/29 8am Mike & Carol Skeris
10am Tom & Anneke Teaters and Aaron Radder
4/5 8am Ann Ebert
10am Dan Montgomery and Deb & Larry Ter Maat
Acolytes
3/1 (10am) Matthew Leonhard
3/8 (10am) Janna Fenger
3/15 (10am) Brooklyn Ter Maat
3/22 (10am) Allie Finney
3/29 (10am) Anna Becker
4/5 (10am) Janna Fenger
Liturgists
3/1 (10am) Molly Montgomery
3/8 (10am) David Rabe
3/15 (8am) Susie Wandschneider
(10am) Sarah Montgomery
3/22 (10am) Pat Forkner
3/29 (10am) Pat Forkner
4/5 (10am) Marge Horneckl headline
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A little about the group: Over the past 2 decades, God has blessed us with a medley of opportunities to share the gospel through music at numerous church denominations, concerts and Gospel Fests throughout the Midwest as well as a mission outreach in Alaska, local nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and County Fairs.
Please take the time to get to know us on our "about the group" page and meet our extended group, check out our schedule page and see if there is an open date for us to come and minister at your church or special event. We would love to hear from you. Your continued prayers and support for Voices of Peace are an integral part in bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to a needy world. To God Be The Glory!
We look forward to having them share their music ministry at both 8 & 10 am worship. A freewill offering to support their music ministry will be received.
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Luke 5:15-16
Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
We see throughout the Gospels that Jesus would often withdraw and pray. The Gospels do not go into much detail as to what went on during those times, but we know he would take times of solitude to commune with God. At the time of this verse, Jesus was gaining a large following. There were crowds to minister to and the crowds were growing daily. This had become a very large operation to maintain.
We too can become overwhelmed with life. Those times of retreat are our lifelines to our relationship with God and our own sanity. Life, in general, can take a lot out of us. Keeping up with work, family, and other events can be overwhelming at times. Add to that a life event crisis, we can become quickly drained. Creating times of solitude are critical. In yoga and Tai Chi, we are taught to block out moments during the day that we can retreat to meditation. In fact, they provide a method to doing so.
Yoga and Tai Chi is often mistaken as just a physical activity. While there are many physical benefits to doing either, there is much more. The goal of both is to engage the body, mind, and spirit. The physical activities (called asanas in yoga, forms in Tai Chi), are designed to prepare the body and mind for meditation. Going through the various poses, requires you to move the body, focus the mind, and control the breath. Doing so prepares you for the meditation time. In fact, one can consider the practices themselves to be a form of meditation.
These are just two examples of ways we can withdraw into solitude. There are many others such as a walk in the woods or sitting quietly for a moment. The key is that you can engage the body, mind, and spirit bringing them together into focus. Set a goal for how long you want to spend. Determine how you want to spend that time. Begin by blocking out a small amount of time during the day. Make that your time of solitude. As you make it a habit, begin to extend the time until you reach your goal. Celebrate your successes. Meditation should not be a chore but a gift to yourself. Create those gifts for yourself and enjoy the time.
Join us for Tai Chi on Monday mornings at 11am
Yin Yoga on Monday evenings at 5:30pm at Grace.
All are welcome!
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Sponsorship is another way to support the ministries and outreach of the church. Through sponsorship of Grace Notes, worship bulletins, altar flowers, or Bridgeway meals you help the church fulfill its mission. Donations made to sponsorship can be sent to the church office or placed in the offering plate with a notation of what you're sponsoring. Each sponsorship is $40.
Thank you for your generosity. We couldn't do it without you!
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Join us for simple lenten suppers beginning on March 4 at 5:30pm (and the Wednesdays following through April 1) as we gather around the table together, share in worship and participate in faith formation around the practice of prayer. Volunteers will be needed to host (prepare and serve) the meals. The meals are intended to be simple, Pastor Beth will serve a baked potato bar to start things off on March 4th. There is a signup sheet in the foyer to sign up to host. We hope you will join us for this meaningful time of reflection in the life of the church.
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The March Mission of the Month is Safe Harbor.
Safe Harbor is in great need right now of bottled water, cold remedies (cough syrup, cough drops) baby aspirin, Pedialyte, etc., and garbage bags both large and smaller-sized bags. These specially needed items can be made now and will be delivered in Mid-March. Thank you for your generosity. Another mission focus for March and April is volunteering. The Mission Committee is hoping to get volunteers to help fill food bags for the “Feed My Starving Children Mobile Pack” in April. A group of us did this in the fall last year in Sheboygan Falls and it’s a fun, non-strenuous and worthwhile project which requires about 2 hours of your time. More details to follow.
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Founders’ Day Lecture:
Tues., Mar. 31 , 2020 11 a.m.
Presenter will be Rev. Starsky Wilson, President and CEO of Deaconess Foundation, a faith-based, grant-making organization devoted to advancing child well-being in St. Louis.
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