One of the consistent comments I hear from people is a cry for us to not talk about politics at church. I understand this, because our politics are so divisive. Instead, people have asked that we stick to the bible and teaching about Jesus. Yes, certainly! This is who we are as a church: people of faith. But in order to do that, to authentically teach about Jesus we cannot separate our faith from politics. Jesus was a religious leader for sure and he was political. In fact, he pushes us to recognize that our faith influences every aspect of our lives from our home and family to our relationship with our neighbors, our politics and even foreign affairs.

Last week, when the United States Capital was under attack, people held a flag that said: “Jesus saves.” In that moment, religion and politics were once again put on display. The Christian Flag has been waved, as people have gone to war in the past, and it was waved again last week. As a leader in the Christian church, it both angered me and hurt my heart to see the word’s “Jesus saves” as anger and hatred led the march into the capital and resulted in people being killed. I wondered, “Jesus saves who?”

Our church is not one made up of one political party but many. We have diverse opinions about President Trump and President-elect Biden and that is okay. In fact, that is the way, I think it should be. God did not create us to be of one mind or spirit, but uniquely created in God’s image with differing opinions and experiences. But God did give us instructions about how to live and how to treat one another. What we saw last week, was not the way of Jesus. Jesus blessed the peacemakers and reminded us that that they will be called Children of God (Matthew 5:9). God told us to stand up for the oppressed, to care for the widow and the orphan. Jesus told us the meek would inherit the earth. Jesus did not stand passively by and watch oppression take place but stood up to it and against it, not with violence but with faithfulness and truth-telling.  Jesus did not live in fear of others, but in love, compassion and mercy. He was a man of humility, a man of forgiveness, a man who gave away his power in order to lift up the lowly, and invites us to do the same.  In the end, Jesus was crucified by both religious and political leaders of his day and God raised him to new life to show us another way.

As followers of Christ we might wonder, so then what are we to do? This was the question the people asked John the Baptist in our lesson from Sunday; a question that Pastor Maria asked us as well in her sermon.  I hope you will keep asking that question. It is a good one. I believe that one thing that we do is live out our faith by praying, reading scripture, and acting.  We are invited to follow the example of Jesus. Pray for peace, love, humility to guide our actions. Please join me in reading the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew (Chapters 5-7). Pay particular attention to how Jesus invites us to look at ourselves instead of judging our neighbors. Consider how you might be a peacemaker, how you might help people to see God through your actions, how you might live a life humility. What does humility look like as we speak to people who think differently than we do? How might we as a community be an example of confession and reconciliation? Being a peacemaker is not a call to passivity and silence. It is an invitation to walk courageously and boldly following Christ.

As we move toward the inauguration, we know that this next week has potential to be a week of violence and discord. Threats have been made and people are on high alert. There are members of our own congregation who will be serving as part of the police/security detail in Washington D.C., I hope you will join me in praying for their safety.  I hope you will join me in allowing our faith to guide us forward in love.

Blessings,

Pastor Joanna Mitchell

Pastor Hahn is appreciative of all of your kind thoughts and prayers. He has had several difficult days and is working at trying to get stronger. If you would like to reach out to him by sending a card or note, his address is:

2889 377th Ave NW

Stanchfield, MN 55080

Small Groups will also be invited to start up again, in person, beginning on January 24^th. Each group will be able to make a decision about this based on their own comfort level and needs.

Thank you to all of you who attended Monday's discussion. We had over 30 participants over zoom and others who are joining the discussion by meeting together at a time that better fits their schedules. It is wonderful so many are taking part in this crucial conversation. It is not to late for others to join in and add to the conversation. This next week, our theme is confession. You can find the resources we will be using below.

We will be serving a Family Table Meal this coming Sunday, January 17th from 12:30-1:30. We're still in need of several more people to help at church - some to pack meals and others to bring them out to our guests in the parking lot. (This can be a great opportunity for a family with teenagers!) We also need food items. Please take a look at the needs yet to be fulfilled using the link below and sign up if you can. If you have questions, please contact Debbie Jorgens. Your help would be greatly appreciated!!

The Women’s Retreat Team is excited to be hosting “Social Devotions” – a monthly virtual Zoom gathering for ALL Grace Women. Because of COVID-19, there will not be an overnight GLC Women’s Retreat this year in February – but the Women’s Retreat Team still wants to connect and encourage every woman at Grace Lutheran Church during these trying times.

So feel free to virtually swing by to get a “spiritual nugget” and socialize with the women at Grace on a monthly Zoom Call. Each month’s call will have a different theme and is meant to uplift and provide a few spiritual truths for you to apply to your daily lives.

Our first Social Devotion will be on Sunday evening January 17, 2021 from 7pm-7:45pm. The Zoom link will be available for you on the GLC website under Church online – Zoom meetings. There is no need to RSVP – just pop in each month and enjoy seeing our Grace Women and hearing how God can impact our lives!

We are looking forward to seeing every GLC woman’s beautiful face starting on January 17 at 7pm. Please look for an email and a card in the mail that will remind you of this fun and encouraging event! If you have any questions – contact Stacy Surratt at 317-506-6362 or stacysurratt@yahoo.com

Another Family Promise family is preparing to move into their new home! They are in need of the items listed in the link below. Please note that while items do not have to be brand new, they should be gently used, in good condition, with no stains. The information in Sign-up Genius states that items need to be delivered directly to the family. But you can drop off items at Grace, and they will be delivered for you! Just be sure to note that they are for Tonya Lee’s family. Thank you for helping to welcome this family into their new home! Contact Alden Riley or Debbie Jorgens with questions.

– an inspiring virtual experience featuring Kat Perkins

Friday, January 29^th – 7:00-8:00 PM

Please join us for an inspirational evening with Minnesota’s very own Kat Perkins, NBC’s The Voice Top 4 finalist, for this Mental Health Connect fundraiser. Kat will speak about making fearless choices, becoming the most successful person you can be, and how attitude is crucial to overcoming obstacles. She knows a thing or two about rising above one’s circumstances, as surgery on her vocal chords resulted in a three-year hiatus from her singing career. To learn more about Kat Perkins and to register for this event, click on the link below.

Grace Lutheran is a member of Mental Health Connect, a nonprofit organization that works to provide community-based resources, support and education to improve access to mental health services and to connect individuals and families with the services they need. 

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED at ACBC Food Shelf

We’ve been asked to spread the word: ACBC Food Shelf is in great need of volunteers! A wide variety of jobs and shifts are available. Please call ACBC at 763-422-0046, ext. 1 or email naomi@acbcfoodshelf.org if you can help. If you’re interested in volunteering with others from Grace, please email Debbie Jorgens at debbiej@graceandover.org. Thank you for considering this opportunity!

Every year, Grace takes a day to review what we've done in the last year and discuss what we will do in the next. This year, the annual meeting for Grace Lutheran Church will be held on Sunday, January 31, 2021, at 9:45 a.m. A Zoom link and additional dial in information will be made available soon. We will review the 2020 Annual Report, and the 2021 Budget as approved by your Vision Board. Hope to see you all soon!

Many of you might have received e-mails from Grace/Realm to update your password or letting you know that your privacy settings were changed. These are legitimate e-mails. The Realm system wants to make sure your privacy and security is protected when moving from one platform to another. If you haven’t replied to the e-mail link to update your password, please do so. It’s a safe e-mail. On Tuesday we began updating the Realm Directory. GraceLink had “open access” directory so you could find other members of the congregation, however, when we switched over to Realm, the default settings were to not have the access. With the only default “directory” being any group you belong to. Hence, you might have received an e-mail from GraceRealm stating that I had changed your privacy settings for e-mail and phone, this was done in order to allow your name, e-mail and phone to pop up on the directory. If you do NOT want to be in the Grace Directory, you can change the setting on Realm or call us and we’ll be happy to update that for you. Settings can be updated any time. Please do not update your profile on GraceLink as these changes do not transfer over. GraceLink will no longer be supported as of Friday 1/15/20. Small groups are currently being updated on Realm and group leaders will be getting notification once they are as well as information on how to navigate communication with group members. Get the App! The Church App is no longer being supported. Get the RealmConnect App (GraceAndover) for your smart phone where you can access Realm on the go! You can view everything you can view on a computer screen, access your groups, chats, etc. I want to thank you all for your patience through this transition. We’ve started to receive great comments from you - excited with the capabilities this new platform has for effective communication, scheduling, and managing our ministries! Please let us know if you encounter any difficulties in accessing or need to make any changes.

Today we pray especially for Pat Haggerty, Pastor Maria Markman, Lana Howel, Brett Froslee, Bev Tkachenko, Arden Kirkendall, Claire Haggerty, Pastor Delwayne Hahn, Deb Corey, LaDonna Lilyquist, Lynda Wilde, Deb Stang, BJ Scott, Charlotte Montei, Elsie Weisenberger, Linda Christiansen, Carroll Potter, Julie Swedberg, Judi Wold, and Colleen Wernimont. We pray for all those suffering from COVID-19 throughout the world, and we pray that the end of COVID-19 would be near. Lord, hear our prayer.

God of promise, grant comfort, peace, and the hope of Christ’s resurrection to all who grieve. We pray especially today for Sharon Bailey & Family upon the death of Sharon’s husband, Joe Bailey; Mike & Michelle Healy & family and Mike & Michelle Bangert & family upon the death of Michelle and Mike’s beloved sister, Laurie Cichos; Jan Quick and family upon the death of her sister, Marlene. Lord, hear our prayers.

If you would like to put an article in the February Grace Notes. We will be mailing out to homes on January 29th to be in homes by February 1st. Please have your article in Word format and emailed to Marie Kolar (mariek@graceandover.org) by Friday, January 22nd at 5:00 pm.