This is a quick weekly reminder of what is happening at Grace
in worship and in ways to connect and serve.
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Dear Grace Friends,
As a look at the forecast for Easter morning I am filled with delight and thanksgiving. I also am proceeding with caution. I have learned over this past year to not take things like a sunny and 75 degree holiday for granted AND how quickly things can change. But I am hopeful. Hope is after all what this week is about. On this Holy Week of the church year, we will once again remember the great love God has for us. How Jesus could have turned around at any minute during his time in Jerusalem, but instead continued to stand up in the face of oppression. He refused to back down against injustice and he continued to walk a way of peace. In doing so, we are reminded that in our suffering and in our struggles, we are not alone. God is there. God knows physical, mental and spiritual pain because God experienced it first-hand in the person of Jesus.
I hope that you will join us for worship this week, either from your own home watching our live-stream worship or that you will join us in-person as we are once again fed at the Lord’s table on Maundy Thursday, remember the persecution and death of Jesus on Good Friday and then reunite on Saturday evening or Sunday morning to hear the announcement of the angels that "he is risen!"
Last year, we worshipped from our own homes. We were separated physically and yet still united in faith. This year there will be opportunities to worship in person. Because the weather looks good for Sunday, I hope many of you will join us outside at our 11am worship. Please feel free to bring your lawn chairs. You can get out of your cars and sit outside during worship. If you are signed up for inside worship, please know that we will do our best to manage the flow of people. Our sign-up has been limited to 60 people, but we anticipate more people will show up. We will have our worship live-streamed in our fellowship hall, and also seats in our narthex. We are still following distancing rules and want to make worship as safe as possible for everyone attending. I recognize for some of you this might be your first time coming into the church in a long time. Please know that we are delighted to welcome you back home. I have heard people say, “how wonderful it is to finally sit in the sanctuary again.” I pray that God’s peace and joy will fill you on Easter morning no matter where you are.
I want you to know that just because you are registered to attend worship in-person, this does not guarantee you a spot in the sanctuary. I invite you to come early and get a seat as you would on any other Easter morning. There will be a place for you in either the sanctuary, narthex or fellowship hall. I also hope that God’s spirit of hospitality will lead us forward as well. There is a good chance that we will have visitors who did not sign up. This is a blessing! It is part of our mission to share God’s love with our community especially those who have not yet heard and experienced the love of God. I hope we will do whatever we can to extend hospitality and welcome people. I don’t know what this will look like for you. It might mean giving up your own seat in the sanctuary and moving to the fellowship hall; or maybe it is greeting someone and telling them why you enjoy the community at Grace; or inviting them to participate in one of our service events.
Thank you for all of the ways you continue to make Grace Lutheran a place of hope, hospitality and love. I look forward to walking this journey with you this week and celebrating God’s promise of eternal love with you this weekend!
Blessings,
Pastor Joanna Mitchell
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***Please Note for Easter Sunday Indoor Worship***
When signing up for Easter Sunday indoor worship, please note that when you sign-up for inside worship, we will do our best to manage the flow of people. Our sign-ups are limited to 60 people. We anticipate more people will come to worship than have signed up. We will have our worship live-streamed in our fellowship hall, and also seats in our narthex. Due to COVID-19 protocols, we will be following social distancing rules and want to make worship as safe as possible for everyone attending.
We want you to know that just because you are signed up to attend worship in-person, this does not guarantee you a spot in the sanctuary. We invite you to come early and get a seat as you would on any other Easter morning. There will be a place for you in either the sanctuary, narthex or fellowship hall. Thank you for your understanding.
**Easter Sunday 9:30 am Worship is full, please feel free to sign up for 7:00 am or 8:15 am. You can also join us at 11:00 am in the parking lot for worship without signing up.**
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***Please Note for Easter Sunday Outdoor Worship***
Because the weather looks good for Sunday, we hope many of you will join us outside in the parking lot for our 11am worship. Please feel free to bring your lawn chairs. You can get out of your cars and sit outside during worship.
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Easter Worship Help Needed
We are needing help (Ushers, Communion Servers and Alter Guild) for Easter Sunday Worship. If you would like to volunteer please call Kris Miller at 763-421-6520.
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OK@PLAY is proud to present via ZOOM:
SUNday FUNday On A THURSDAY!!!!!
Thursday, April 8th 6:30-8:00 pm
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Zoom on in for 90 minutes of laughter, tears, and fountains of fun!
COMEDY CLUB will include jokes, riddles, funny stories, a glance at gag gifts, and a super attempt at playing Scattegories as a group! (COMEDY CLUB during COVID-19 would be more fun without the COVID-19, but we aren’t in charge of that!)
Please bring riddles, jokes (even those with a bit of Dad humor), hilarious stories (fact or fiction), funny gifts, etc. to the event. Everyone will have a chance to be a COMEDY CLUB comedian for a few minutes! See you in April!
Questions? Contact Vickie Mead 763.712.0496 or Deb Stang 763.427.3252
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Grace's Opportunities for Giving |
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Become a Voting Member of Grace at the Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly
Are you interested in learning about the larger church and the ways in which we as the Minneapolis Area Synod learn and work together? Consider being one of the voting members from Grace at the Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly. The synod assembly will take place on Zoom Friday, April 23rd from 6-9pm and Saturday April 24th, from 9am -1pm.
If you are interested please contact Pastor Joanna Mitchell or Pastor Maria Markman.
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Volunteer Mowers Needed!
The snow is melting and spring is almost here. With spring comes lawn mowing. Grace has been blessed over the years to have teams who mow the church lawn each week. We are in need of several teams to volunteer to help with the lawn mowing at Grace this spring through fall. If you are willing to help, please contact Kris Miller krism@graceandover.org or call the Church Office at 763-421-6520. Hopefully we will get enough interest so that each team only has to mow a couple of times this mowing season.
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Noisy Offerings
For the month of April, Noisy Offerings will be used to support Hope 4 Youth and scholarships for our Golden Rule Daycare families who are having financial difficulties. We are grateful, as always, for your compassion and generosity in caring for our neighbors!
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Give Electronically through GraceRealm |
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Consider electronic giving on GraceRealm. It’s a convenient way to give consistently throughout the year. If you have any questions, contact Frances or Marie in the Church Office or Click on the GraceRealm link below.
If you are wondering where your giving is for the year, please log in to GraceRealm. Find Giving on the tool bar. Then select My Giving History.
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Prayers of the Church
We pray that those who suffer with illness might experience your healing especially Tom Boshart, Tara Kunshire, Gladys Heys, Pat Scheuer, Carroll Potter, Eric & Candace Mahowald and their soon to be born twins, John Malecha, Christopher Sluis, Julie Swedberg, LaDonna Lilyquist, Charlotte Montei, Lynn Zirkle, Elsie Weisenberger, Linda Christiansen, Judi Wold and Colleen Wernimont.
We celebrate with Brock & Chelsea DeVries (and Great Grandma, Joan Hackleman) the birth of Emmett Todd DeVries.
For those with broken hearts and tear-filled faces, today we pray especially for Chris Pace and the DeVries family as they mourn the death of Chris’ mother, Barb DeVries; the family of our previous long time custodian, Marv Camerer upon his death, and all who are grieving and continue to grieve.
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Office Closed
Grace Lutheran Church Office will be closed on Monday, April 5, 2021 to observe Easter Monday.
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Virtual Connections
During this time of high COVID-19 cases, we encourage you to connect with Grace and others! If you are looking for ministries and groups to connect with please visit our web site at www.graceandover.org and click on Church Online to see opportunities to connect.
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