Prelude
Welcome and Announcements
Call to Worship
Opening Songs:
"Awesome in this Place"
"Amazing Love"
Unison Prayer
Scripture readings:
Titus 3:1-8,14
Psalm 34:1-3,11-16
Luke 6:27-36
Word in Song: "Breathe"
Message: "Do Good"--Pastor Jen Matthees
Praise Song: "Amazing Grace My Chains are Gone"
Offering
Doxology/Offertory Prayer
Prayers of the People
Lord's Prayer
Closing Song: "Morning Has Broken"
Benediction
Postlude
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This Week at Grace:
Monday: "Good Enough" small group 6pm
Tuesday: Bible Study 9am
Wednesday: Youth Group 6pm
Thursday: Men's Fellowship and Bible Study 730 am
If you are planning to meet at Grace UMC, you MUST call ahead of time to reserve space and get your meeting on the church calendar. As our building is used more, we must communicate even more!
Church Office Phone:
218-568-5755
Grace Office Hours
Monday - Friday
9 a.m. to noon
Worship
Online-anytime
In-Person--Sunday mornings at Grace
9am
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TItus 3:1-8
Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good,
to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,
he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior,
so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
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Prayer
Dear Lord,
Thank you for teaching us the right thing to do.
Remind us daily that doing good to others creates a chain reaction of good.
If we do the right thing and pass it on to the next person, good things and good hearts will prevail over darkness.
By your loving example and with the power of the Spirit,
may we strive to be sources of good in the world.
Amen
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Call to Worship:
L: We come to you, O God,
P: to thank you for what is good.
L: We come to you, O God,
P: to cry out for what is wrong.
L: We come to you, O God,
P: to ask for help and restoration.
L: We come to you, O God,
P: with aching hearts and glad souls.
All: Let us worship God.
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Do Good
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, summarized God’s directives to His people in what he called “Three Simple Rules.” Wesley said that if we could “Do No Harm, Do Good, and Attend to the Ordinances of God (or, more simply, Stay in Love with God)” that we would be following God’s plan for our lives. While these are much easier stated than actually followed, I do think that these three instructions can give us a great starting point for more closely walking the path that God has for us. These will be our focus for the next three Sundays during worship.
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Our representative to Annual Conference is Lauris Prinsen. Lauris and Pastor Jen will be attending this gathering soon. Please pray for this gathering and all who attend. May the business of the church be handled in a holy and civil manner and may His love and grace be our guide.
Grace UMC has focused on the support of our local food shelf, and the Love Offering received at the conference is being used to aid those who experience food insecurity in our state as well. You can find details about this offering within our May Missions information below.
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May Missions
Our missional giving for May will go towards our church gift to the "Love Offering" to be received at the Annual Conference, held later this month. Please note on your offering if tt should go towards this special offering.
Each year, churches in the Minnesota Annual Conference take a Love Offering for missions in conjunction with our Annual Conference Session. The theme of the 2022 Annual Conference—which will take place May 24-25—is “Jesus: Healer.”
Bishop David Bard invites congregations to pray about and participate in the Love Offering as a generous expression of God’s wild and extravagant love.
“Even in difficult times, Minnesota United Methodists have shown themselves to be generous in sharing the healing love of Jesus,” he said. “Our world confronts countless challenges, and though one offering cannot meet or overcome them all, it can do good and bring healing in the name and spirit of Jesus.”
Our Love Offering this year will address food insecurity by supporting three Minnesota United Methodist food ministries. Funds will also assist those in need in our nation and world by supporting Red Bird Missionary Conference in Appalachia and Volunteers in Mission trips.
The funds from this year’s offering will to go to:
- The Red Bird Missionary Conference in Appalachia (40 percent)
- Food insecurity across Minnesota (50 percent, divided among the three ministries)
- Holy Grounds at Centenary UMC, Mankato (17 percent)
- Simpson Food Pantry, Minneapolis (17 percent)
- West African Family and Community Food Shelf, Brooklyn Center (17 percent)
- Volunteers in Mission scholarships (10 percent)
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Spring Clean-Up
Thank you to all that came to help clean up the grounds around our church on Wednesday, May 6th. We are grateful too for the students who came as part of the annual "Day of Caring" from the high school to lend a hand.
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Rummage Sale?
At the recent meeting of the Grace Administrative Council, the subject of the Annual Rummage Sale was discussed. The sale has been a long-standing tradition, community outreach, and fundraiser for Grace Church.
Everyone agreed that it was a great plan to hold a sale again this year.
However, before anything can be put into motion, someone needs to come forward to provide the leadership necessary for a successful sale. If this is something that YOU might be interested in doing, please talk to Don Catchpool, Laurie Prinsen, or Larry Johnson (past leadership) for more information.
On Sunday, May 22, Don will be talking in church during the announcement time. Give this volunteer opportunity some thought and prayer and be ready to say YES to "being in charge" of the sale this year.
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We will be recognizing all of our 2022 graduates during the worship service on May 29th. Please join us as we offer prayers and enjoy cake after the service.
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Men's study and fellowship opportunity
Is it time for you to join a men's study group? Our Thursday 7:30 AM meetings have been moved back into church. We have coffee and great conversation. Recently we studied The 40 Parables of Jesus Christ and are just beginning discussions on Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life.
I have to admit the social time is great fun. Call me if you have any questions. Dean Fitch @612-743-0809. Look forward to seeing you on Thursday.
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If you have an idea for a study, please speak to me (Pastor Jen). I would love to support another group!
Other groups currently meeting include:
--Women's book study, "Good Enough", Monday nights at 6
--Adult Bible Study--every other Wednesday at 6pm. They are currently finishing up a study of the Ten Commandments. All are welcome, and the study is not built upon the studies of the previous session.
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Youth Group and
Confirmation Notes
Youth Group meets every other Wednesday night from 6pm-7pm. Confirmation meets every other week, alternating with Youth Group.
Confirmation--Last meeting for the year June 1st-6pm
Youth Group--May 18th-6pm--Invite a friend to our end of the year party!
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School and Community News
Nisswa Lions awarded scholarships recently to some area students, including Jessica Fabian and Sonja Palmer. Scholarships
Last week our UMW enjoyed a program form the Happy Dancing Turtle, there was an interesting article in this week's paper from them. Turtle
Wednesday May 18th is the last event in the "Old Age is Not for Sissies" series at Pine RIver UMC. 1-3pm. The topic is "Feeling Your Best Self".
Services and deaths of note. VB Vern Buss celebration of life July 2nd.
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Good news!
The issues with our live stream have been resolved. You can watch our Sunday worship service in real time by going to our website. You can still watch it any time after this by viewing the recorded service through the website as well, or with the link provided on our Facebook page on Sunday mornings.
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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 10-1. Ann has my detailed schedule and can find me if needed.
-Pastor Jen
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Important note
If you are mailing something to the church, you must use our P.O. Box for the address. We do not receive mail at the church, and if you use the physical church address it will get returned and could delay your notices to us or offerings.
P.O. Box 276
Pequot Lakes, MN 56472
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Grace United Methodist Church
29318 Patriot Ave - P.O. Box 276
Pequot Lakes, MN 56472
Phone: 218-568-5755
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