Heavenly Father, help me not to look away from the many opportunities you place before me to do for others. Help me to let go of the many treasures you have given me—whether my time, money, or talents—to seek first your purposes. Thank you, too, that I can learn your will, not only through scripture but through the faith and example of others. All blessings flow from you. Amen.

L: For the beauty of the summer day,

You are invited to join us ten minutes before our Sunday service for a time of centering prayer. We are taking these few minutes before the service begins to prepare our hearts and minds for worship.

We will meet in the Amaryllis Room. All are welcome.

Staying Safe

In an effort to hold back Covid in our church, we made the difficult decision to not worship together last week. Pastor Jen tested positive very late in the week, so alternate plans could not be made.

At this time, there are still many people within our congregation who are sick with Covid. Yes, Covid will probably always be with us, but we can still make the best decisions that we can to avoid it. If you are not feeling well, please do not come to church. If you have been part of a large gathering or have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid, it is a good idea to also test to be sure that you are not spreading illness unknowingly.

Masks will not be required at this time but are definitely recommended.

Please be in prayer for all of those who are sick, that cases be mild, and recovery be quick.

In July, our missional giving has gone to:

Lakes Area Habitat for Humanity

*If you are giving a special "missional gift", please make a note on your offering.

This week you may have received an odd email that appeared to come from Pastor Jen. It included a request for "help" in the form of Amazon gift cards. Please know that this was a phishing scam. It did not come from Pastor Jen. The office, Pastor Jen, or the Bishop, will NEVER ask for favors or funds in this way. Scammers love to use emails from trusted figures, hoping they will trick you into giving up your information.

Community News Click link in red to read more

In August the Lakes Area Rotary Club is sponsoring an event to promote awareness about human-trafficking on our area. REHT

See details and musical groups to be included in the article.

Want to experience summer fun and fellowship?

Learn how to ring handbells!

Call Ardie Morris at 218-330-8565

Sunday mornings we have returned to live streaming our Sunday services, but we realize that there are still some issues popping up some Sundays. On our website you can usually watch the recorded service after 10:30am or so. There is a link to our site at the end of this newsletter.

We continue to work on making the online experience better and appreciate both your grace and feedback as we make improvements. Soon, we will be updating our internet capabilities and are hopeful that this will fix some of the issues.

We are grateful to be able to offer our services online and appreciate any gifts received to help this ministry grow and continue.

A couple people have expressed an interest in joining the church. I am trying to determine if there is a need for a class. Please reach out to me (Pastor Jen), if you want to join the church and we can make a plan for what that looks like for you!

If you have something that should be added to this newsletter from your group or mission, please speak with Pastor Jen or email the details to her at pastorjen@tds.net. The E-Grace is generally completed by noon on Thursdays, so articles need to be given to me by Thursday morning at the very latest.

If you wish to connect with me directly and it is not an emergency, please know that I will respond as needed during pretty regular office hours. I am in the church most weekdays from at least 10-12, call ahead to be sure, as my weeks vary. Ann has my detailed schedule and can find me if needed.

-Pastor Jen