Staying Connected

Upcoming Events

Grace Work Day Wednesday September 8th 2021

Build your own Bouquet Sunday September 12th 2021

We are doing an event for families to come together and create their own flower bouquets. We'll meet at Grace Lutheran Church caravan out together to Valley Veggies where we'll get to create flower bouquets.   Date: Sunday September 12, 2021 Grab some lunch following worship then meet in the Grace parking lot  we will travel out together to Valley Veggies leaving by noon. Cost: $8.00 to pay to Valley Veggies for the Bouquet. There are also many fresh veggies for sale. Valley Veggies is located at 52727 State Highway 68 Lake Crystal, MN 56055. Located on left side of Hwy 68 as you drive towards New Ulm from Mankato. You can learn more about Valley Veggies by Checking out their Website valleyveggiesmn.com

Sign Up Here

A few of our bouquets from last years event.

Faith Night is returning September 15th. We will once again be holding programing for all ages this year. We are exciting to be having everyone return Wednesday nights at Grace as we gather together for a meal, education opportunities and worship. We are looking for folks that are willing to help with the evening. If you are interested in being a leader for our youth in the classroom our help prepare meals Wednesday night please reach out to Ben. Wednesday Evening Schedule Dinner - 5:15 Education - 6:00 Worship - 6:45 We will also be starting Sunday morning education time during our Sunday morning worship service following the Children's Message until the end of the service. This will be starting in September also. If you are interested in being a leader for this and leading a lesson and craft every few weeks please let Ben know and we can get you on the rotation.

Sign Up Here

Confirmation Sunday Sunday September 26th 2021

Join us in celebration Sunday September 26th as our 9th graders have the opportunity to affirm their faith during our worship service.

Adopt a Highway Cleanup Saturday October 2nd 2021 1:00pm Meet in the Grace Parking Lot

Sunday Morning Coffee and Doughnuts

Sunday please join us for coffee, doughnuts and fellowship in the narthex following worship. We are excited to gather in fellowship following the service each week. Stick around for some conversation or grab some coffee and doughnut holes.

We are looking for volunteers to help set up coffee and doughnuts as well as clean up afterwards. Please contact Sally Ann Smith if you'd like to help out.

Thursday Night Zoom Bible Study

Thursday September 2nd 2021 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

************************************** Upcoming Studies Mark your Calendar September 2nd Doers of the Word James 1:17-27 September 9th A Living Faith James 2:1-17 September 16th Taming our Tongue James 3:1-12 September 23rd Make Peace James 3:13 - 4:3; 7-8 September 30th Pray for One Another James 5:13-20  Clicking on the Study will take you to a PDF copy Clicking on the scripture will take you to the reading for the study ************************************** Thursday Bible Study Zoom Meeting ID 857 5766 8823 Meeting Passcode: grace or use this link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85757668823  Time 7:00 pm Thursday Every week will have the same meeting ID and Passcode

Click Here to Sign up for text and email reminders

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 GRACEMANKATO.ORG/PASTWORSHIP

August 29th , 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

Have you tried something from the Fair trade cart lately? The cart in the narthex has all kinds of great things as part of our congregations involvement in the Mankato Area Fair Trade Town Inititative. MAFTTI was born in June 2009 with the objective of promoting the Fair Trade Town idea in the area. For 12 years many of the churches have helped provide easy access to items that are Fair-Trade certified. The cart is located just outside of the Narthex upstairs, between the sanctuary and the offices. On it, you will find Coffee, Tea, Chocolate, Olive Oil, Spices, and more. All Fair Trade Coffee is just $7.00 a bag. Large Chocolate bars are only $2.50. Tea is just $3.00. Other prices are on the cart. You can pay with Cash or check left in the payment slot right on the cart. Thanks for supporting Fair Trade at Grace!

Find more information about Mankato Fair Trade Products and their Mission by clicking the link below www.maftti.org

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. CADA House August Newsletter Mark your Calendar Chili Feed for Habitat for Humanity - October 24th 2021 ELCA National Youth Gathering - July 24th - 28th 2021 Watch for more information on all events listed above in future Staying Connected Newsletters Check out this Video! Counting Every Blessing by Rend Collective

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 Ben Geer - dsg@gracemankato.org Interim Organist and Music Director Chuck Hoogland - music@gracemankato.org Worship and Media Technology Coordinator Jason Glaser - worshiptech@gracemankato.org Maintenance and Grounds Jordin Johnson - grounds@gracemankato.org

Visit our Facebook Page

Visit our website

Grace Lutheran Church Office Hours Monday - Thursday 9:00a.m - 12:00p.m and 1:00p.m - 4:00p.m Friday 9:00a.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.

‌ ‌