This is a quick weekly reminder of what is happening at Grace

in worship and in ways to connect and serve.

O Come All Ye Faithful

We have a cassette tape recording of my Grandpa Albert singing O Come all ye Faithful with my sister when she was 4 years old. My sister is getting the words wrong, and my grandpa is singing in a deep vibrato. He is just being silly. I am a baby on the tape and you can hear me squealing along with them. I don't know if I can even speak. I haven't actually heard the recording in years, but it plays in my head every Christmas Eve as I walk into church for our processional hymn. As I sing along with the congregation, I feel the presence of my grandpa who died when I was 13 and my sister who lives across the country. It warms my heart and makes me smile.

We sang O Come All Ye Faithful a few weeks ago, during the Advent Cantata. As I sang, my mind moved in a new direction. I could still hear my grandpa's voice in my head, but suddenly the image of my mom, young and as she was when I was a little girl flooded my brain. The heavenly chorus has expanded this year, and my mom is singing with them. Yesterday was the Longest Night of the year. Unfortunately because of the weather we had to cancel our Blue Christmas service. I felt my grief more acutely yesterday. I wanted to curl up in the arms of my mom and have her hold me as she once did when I was a child.

We are just a few days away from Christmas. Just a few days away from our Christmas eve worship. The candles are ready, the bulletins printed, the altar is decorated. We continue to wait and yet we are ready. Ready to welcome you all, ready to sing, ready to rejoice, ready to allow our chorus of alleluias to join the heavenly chorus. So come all ye faithful, I can't wait to worship with you and all the other saints!

Pastor Joanna Mitchell

Year End Giving

As you are reviewing and planning your year end giving, we hope that you will prayerfully consider supporting the many ministries of Grace. There are several ways to implement your year end giving. By mail, please have them post marked by 12/31, on line through REALM, or at the church office, hours are Mon.-Thurs. 8:30am-4:00pm; Friday 8:30am-12:00pm. Thank you for your support!

There will be no Wednesday Evening Worship or programing on Dec. 28th.

New Year's Day Worship

Sunday, Jan. 1st

10am

Funding Proposal Request Form

Grace Lutheran Church is driven by its mission to assist and serve those who have unmet needs so that they too may experience grace. With that in mind, we are reaching out to our members and asking them to submit requests for funding the various ministries supported by our members. The available funding resources come from the Transforming Inside & Out three-year capital campaign tithe. Please click on this link for the FUNDING PROPOSAL REQUEST FORM. Please complete form and return to the church office no later than December 31^st 2022.

Requests will be reviewed in prayer to allow for resources to be maximized and help as many people as possible in the communities we serve. Thanks be to God!



Grace Vision Board 

Whirly Ball

December 28th 2-4pm

We will be going to Whirly Ball in Maple Grove for a game of Whirly Ball. Whirly Ball is a fast-paced game combining basketball, hockey, and lacrosse played while in bumper cars. Join us for fun and a new experience. Please arrive 15 minutes early. All participants must fill out waiver and if participant is under 18, a guardian must sign. We will carpool from Grace, or you can meet us there. Please sign up on Realm by clicking the button below.

Wild Mountain

Ski/Snowboard Day!

Let’s kick off the new year with an outing to Wild Mountain! Anoka-Hennepin is still on winter break Monday, January 2nd. Let’s have a ski/snowboard day! We are inviting all adults, families, children, youth and friends. New skiers/boarders and old pros are invited to sign up. Students under 6th grade must have an adult join them. We will carpool from church at 9:00am. Youth without adult supervision will be supervised and driven by an adult leader. Cost is: $30 and anyone needing ski or snowboard rental will be additional $24.  Please sign up by December 21st.

Grace Lutheran VARIETY SHOW!

We are celebrating our progress with Transforming Inside & Out by hosting an evening of fellowship which will include a Variety show. Tuesday January 31, 2023 at 6:30pm in the fellowship hall. Please RSVP by clicking the button below.

Who can be a part of this variety show, you ask? YOU can! We know many in our congregation have talents and abilities, and we want to showcase that! Anyone and Everyone is welcome to participate. As many different types of acts as we can get!

If you would like to be a part of the show, fill out the form linked below. We are asking those interested to sign up BEFORE December 31^st.

If you have any questions, please contact Pastor Maria Markman, or David Phelps.

Cost includes three meals, two nights lodging, fellowship and connection! 

Early Bird discount until Dec. 31st!

High School Christikon Back Packing Trip

July 14th - July 22nd

A week at Christikon Lutheran Bible Camp in the beautiful Montana mountains for all current 9th -12th grade students (students must have completed 9th grade by July 2023.)

You spend your first and last nights at the main camp. The rest of the time you are hiking through our mountain wilderness. And you find a special life together: worship and Bible study are woven together with the exhilaration of high country camping. Two trained counselors will lead our group as guides and program leaders. Christikon provides you with backpacks, tents, cooking gear, and food. You supply your own sleeping bag, hiking boots, rain gear, and clothing. 

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Financial assistance is available. We will also be looking for adult volunteers to drive. If you have any questions please contact Pastor Maria at mariam@graceandover.org. Click on the button below to register.

Appalachia Service Project

July 28th - August 6th

High School Youth- 9th-12th Grades (entering 9th graders) are invited to join Grace youth on a service project trip from July 28th-August 6th. We will be receiving our location assignment in February. The four states that the Appalachia Service Project (ASP) serve are Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Appalachia Service Project provides one of the most rewarding structured service opportunities in the nation — bringing thousands of volunteers from around the country to Central Appalachia to repair and replace homes for low-income families. Since 1969, we’ve made homes warmer, safer, and drier for families and provided transformational service experiences for volunteers.ASP repairs roofs, walls, floors, foundations, and bathrooms, in addition to making homes accessible through porch and ramp repairs or additions.

We will also be looking for adult volunteers to drive. If you have questions, please Contact Pastor Joanna at joannam@graceandover.org. Register on Realm by clicking the button below.

Noisy Offerings gathered in December will go to Gifts of Grace and Family Table.

Prayers of the Church 

Pray especially for: Blair Wilson, Kelly & Jacob Oberg, Marion Cameron, Roger, Barbara Hannamann, Roger Anderson, Sean & Kelly Daugherty, Chris Lisy, Avery Mattke, Leah Hadler, John Ketz, Gloria Kroeger, Kristi Riley and those in need of long-term prayer: Shirley Jacobson, Marty Lukaszewski, Clint Trousil, Lois Vadner, Diane Rosky, Shannan Gautschi, Harland Johnson, Shirley Fystrom, Kathy Beckman, Jason Beckman, Alison Husak, Juleen Klawiter, Carroll Potter, John Malecha, Stephanie and Samantha Fernandez, Julie Swedberg, Linda Christiansen, Judi Wold, and Ralph & Colleen Wernimont.

Comfort the grieving, especially Ed Beckman & Family mourning the death of Ed’s wife, Kathy; Stacy Surratt & family grieving the death of Stacy’s aunt, Jennifer Koch; Don & Peg Brown & Family mourning the death of Don’s mother, Elaine Brown.

The Church Office will be closed on

Monday, December 26th and Monday, January 2nd

in observance of Christmas and New Year's.

Grace Notes for January/February

Please have your articles in word format to Marie Kolar at mariek@graceandover.org by Monday, January 9th at 5pm. (Please note this is a date change.) We plan on having Grace Notes in the mail by January 20th. This edition will cover Ash Wednesday (2/23/23).