Staying Connected
Hey there Folks
 
As many of you know Pastor John and myself got the pleasure of spending some time with some fine folks this last week in the Boundary waters canoe area(BWCA). You can see some pictures a little further down in this newsletter. Long story short of it though is we had a great time. Weather was perfect. Fish was all right and we got to spend a lot of quality time with some great people in one of the most amazing places in the world. During this time, we had plenty of time for fellowship and we even did some devotions while there. Over the next few weeks, I want to share with you all some of what we talked about.
 
While in the BWCA, it is easy to get away from the busyness of what life is like in the "real world." It is easy to get away and just disconnect from pretty much everything. It gives us time to Pause, Ponder, Reflect and Refresh. Those were the four main themes of my devotions for the days we were there.
 
Saturday we talked about taking time to Pause. For me taking time to pause is a hard thing. I sometimes feel like sitting and doing nothing can be such a waste of time, so too often when I have down time I feel I need to spend it doing something. I am trying to learn that it is all right just so sit and do nothing. As the picture up above shows just sitting there, watching a "live stream" may be the way to go. While in the BWCA being able to just sit by the water and listen to the sounds around you is beneficial.
 
We looked at Psalm 1. Verse 2-3 say "but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither whatever they do prospers." I think to truly yield our fruit we need to sometime firmly plant ourselves and pause. Take that moment to pause and just be.
 
Next week I am getting that chance with my family as we are taking off for a week in Colorado. We will have a busy time taking in some sights but we hope to be able to pause and relax as a family. To recharge a bit before the school year starts and we get back into the full swing of great events planned here at Grace.



Peace,
 
Ben
Thank You Rich Krause
Our Parish Administrator Rich Krause is retiring. Be sure to take a moment and thank him for his time and dedication to Grace. Stop by the office to say thank you or you can drop him an email at parish@gracemankato.org. We'll also be holding a send off for him Sunday July 25th following our worship service.

Thank you Rich for everything you have done for Grace over the years.
2021 Adult Boundary Waters Trip
July 9th -13th
Last week Pastor John and Ben led a group of 10 adults to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area(BWCA). We started our adventure paddling into the BWCA from East Bearskin Lake. We made our way into the wilderness where we spent four days camping and exploring around Caribou Lake. We're were greeted by momma moose and her baby on the way in, got to chase bear out of our camps, had some great time fishing, but most importantly we spent some wonderful time in fellowship with others in God's beautiful creation. We are very thankful for the time spent together in the BWCA.
Basement Update
Work is currently underway in the basement.

Bellissimo Paint and Coating have completed the painting. Thank you to everyone that came in and helped move everything away from the walls and helped remove the floor trim. Carpet will be being installed in the coming weeks and the hope is to have it completed by mid August.

We look forward to the upgrade of space in the basement as it continues to be a warm and inviting place for the community to be able to use.
Hunger Grants
Many of you have heard of and help with the South Central Minnesota Food Recovery Program. Through the hard work of members at grace we've helped make and distribute over 2 tons of food over the last year and a half. Within that there's been over 800 meals prepared for families in need in the Mankato area.

It's been fun and exciting to see this ministry grow at Grace. The way people have stepped up in huge ways to help expand the way we are able to get food out has been amazing and inspiring.

The work has not go unnoticed by others either. Because of this hard work from you all we have been awarded some grants to help expand our ability to do this ministry.

One grant is for $500 and is from our synod. The Synod has put together a hunger task force that is committed to doing what they can to put an end to hunger and supporting those you are putting efforts in to do so as well.

The second grant we have received is from Open Your Heart to the Hungry and Homeless. This grant is for the amount of $2,500. This is going to allow us to purchase items that will help us with storage and distribution of meals.

We are very excited about the future of our feeding ministries here at Grace and the way the will continue to be able to expand over time. It's also a very exciting time to get involved in the ministry here at Grace as we continue to explore and see what we are able to do with it. If you want to know more about this ministry please reach out to Ben.
Thursday Night Zoom
Bible Study
Thursday July 22nd
7:00 pm

All Are Welcome!
We continue to meet every Thursday evening at 7:00 over zoom for our weekly bible study. We're always looking for more people to join. Most weeks will be lead by Ben but other weeks the study will be lead by another Grace member. The study is on Daily Faith Practices and the Bible Study material is provided by the ELCA. Each week we'll spend some time chatting and sharing some highlights and lowlights from our week as we fellowship. Following that we will spend time diving into a study each week. All the studies can be viewed ahead of time and can be found by clicking HERE. We will also have a few weeks of the studies shared in this weekly newsletter. So you can look ahead to help guide discussion. Each week we'll gather over zoom for about an hour.

We hope you will consider joining us for this time of bible study and fellowship. All are Welcome whether you've joined us in the past or not.

We hope yo see you soon
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Upcoming Studies
Mark your Calendar


July 29th

August 5th

August 12th

August 19th



Clicking on the Study will take you to a PDF copy
Clicking on the scripture will take you to the reading for the study
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Thursday Bible Study


Zoom Meeting ID 857 5766 8823
Meeting Passcode: grace


Time 7:00 pm Thursday
Every week will have the same meeting ID and Passcode
Join us in wishing Mary Pegram a Happy Birthday. May celebrated her birthday on the 16th and on the 31st will be having a Birthday Zumbathon Fundraiser.
You can join her.
All information about the event can be found above.
Worshiping Together
Our Facebook live stream is a great way to gather with others(although virtually)as we are all part of this assembly as we gather as the one body of Christ to chat, share a greeting of peace and worship together. A live stream of our worship is broadcasted every Sunday morning at 10:00 and is 50-60 minutes long.

If you do not have Facebook worship is will still be available on KTOE Sunday mornings at 10:00 and the rebroadcast on KTV Tuesday at 1:00 pm and again Wednesday at 7:15 pm. Past worships can also be found on YouTube and our Website. Our goal is that everyone will still have an opportunity to worship with us at Grace.

All the past worship services can be found by going to
July 18th, 2021 Worship
In-Person Worship
We acknowledge that the risks of this pandemic are not over, and if you are unsure about being in the building, we encourage you to stay home and worship with us from a distance. If you enjoy worshipping from home, we encourage you to continue to do just that. We have opened our doors again but we encourage people to do what is best for your family right now. We want to offer the opportunity for everyone to connect with their faith in ways that are meaningful and meet you where you are. For now, we are glad you can be here with us, whether you are watching live on Facebook, listening on KTOE radio, following along on YouTube or KTV in Mankato. Even as we have returned to holding worship in our building, we will continue to provide these means of participating with us from a distance including a livestream on Facebook. 

However you participate, now and in the future, we believe you are a part of this assembly, gathered as the one body of Christ to worship and celebrate our life of faith together.
Christ in our Home
Devotional
Christ In Our Home are still available here at Grace. You can stop in and pick on up anytime during church office hours.

You can access a digital copy by clicking HERE
Fair Trade Coffee
New Fair Trade merchandise is now on the cart.

All items are prices as marked

Sister's Blend Ground Coffee and Toffee Caramel Flavored Coffee are back!!!

Items are located near the narthex and can be bought during church office hours and Sunday mornings.
Find more information about Mankato Fair Trade Products and their Mission by clicking the link below
Serving the Community

Echo Food Shelf - Echo is still looking for volunteers to commit to one 2-4 hour shift/week. You can email echofoodshelf@yahoo.com to get involved.

CADA House - Committee Against Domestic Abuse, Inc. (CADA) is a nonprofit victim advocacy and emergency shelter organization based in Mankato, Minnesota. CADA’s mission is to provide safety and support to victims of domestic and sexual violence through education, advocacy, and shelter.


Be on the lookout for more information about Wednesday Faith Night at Grace.
We are hopeful to be back to normal again next school year.
Pray Together
Lord God

During the busyness of life help us to take time to pause. To stop and just be in the presence of you. Through this rest we are able to help spread your message of love and kindness to the rest of the world.
Amen
Check out this Video!
You Got This by Love and the Outcome
Amazon Smile
Many of us has been spending more time shopping online. When shopping with amazon there is an easy way to help raise a donation go to Grace. When shopping through a web browser you can follow the link below and it's easy to set up. It's also super easy to get set up on a mobile device through the Amazon App. When signed into your account in the app in settings there is a section called "Programs and Features" in that sections you can click on AmazonSmile. I that section you can select your charity. You can search Grace Lutheran Church Mankato or type 41-6006451.

When you #StartWithaSmile, Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price to Grace Lutheran Church. Bookmark the link   http://smile.amazon.com/ch/41-6006451  and support us every time you shop.

You still get the same prices and you can still use your Prime account, but when you start by using this link above, Amazon will donate a portion of the price back to Grace.

Thanks for supporting Grace.
Contact Us
Pastor
Rev. John Odegard - pastor@gracemankato.org

Director of Spiritual Growth

Parish Administrator
Rich Krause - parish@gracemankato.org

Office Specialist
Joan Hertel - office@gracemankato.org

Interim Organist and Music Director
Chuck Hoogland - music@gracemankato.org

Worship and Media Technology Coordinator

Maintenance and Grounds
Jordin Johnson - grounds@gracemankato.org
Grace Lutheran Church Office Hours

Monday - Thursday 10:00a.m - 5:00p.m
Friday 10:00a.m - noon
Is there news you're wanting to have included in future staying connected newsletters? Reach out to Ben with the details and he'll be sure to included in an upcoming newsletter. New newsletters are emailed out every Monday and can also be found on Facebook or the Webpage under the At Home Resources tab.