Order of Worship: Sunday January 2nd
Prelude
Welcome and Announcements
Call to Worship
Opening Songs: "Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise"
"Shine, Jesus Shine"
Common Prayer: O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the Peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Scripture readings:
Isaiah 60:1-6
Psalm 72:1-11
Matthew 2:1-12
Praise Song: "We Three Kings"
Message: "Determination" Pastor Jen Matthees
Song of Reflection: "Blessed Assurance"
Communion
Prayers of the People
Lord's Prayer
Closing Song: "Go Tell it on the Mountain"
Benediction
Postlude
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This Week at Grace:
If you are planning to meet at Grace please call ahead of time to reserve space and get your meeting on the church calendar.
Church Office Phone:
218-568-5755
Grace Office Hours
Monday - Friday
9 a.m. to noon
Monday: SPRC 630pm
Tuesday: Bible Study 9am
Wednesday: Youth Group 6pm
Worship
Online-anytime
In-Person--Sunday mornings at Grace
9am
Masks required indoors at Grace currently
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This weekend is predicted to be bitterly cold with dangerous windchills. Please make the safest decision for yourself as to whether or not to attend church in-person this week.
--Pastor Jen
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We will be celebrating Communion during our service on January 2nd. If you worship with us at home, please join us using your own elements. |
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Check this link for the phased plan details from the MN
Recent Updates from the Conference office
re: COVID Numbers
"You will notice the COVID numbers are increasing to an all -time high in Minnesota. We are keeping our phasing in Yellow, mostly because so many folks are vaccinated so the risks are different than they were a year ago. But we do strongly urge, if you are not already, masking indoors and limiting congregational singing until the positivity rate drops below 5%. If the positive case number is over 5% we should follow all of the yellow protocols."
At this time (12/30), Crow Wing county is at 11.3%, Cass county is at 10.7%. If you are following along, the numbers change daily, but have not dropped below 10% in months. As the numbers continue to rise and fall, please prayerfully consider how to keep yourself and those around you safe.
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Masking is the easiest thing that we can do. Everyone is still expected to wear a mask within the building please. We are monitoring the county numbers closely and changes may happen rapidly.
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As the new year begins, many of us are searching for a devotional to guide us through the year. The Upper Room is a wonderful resource for daily use. The new copy for January/February is available to pick up in the Narthex at church. |
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Stewardship 2022
Note from the Finance Team:
The finance committee would like to thank those who have turned in their financial pledge cards for 2022; to those that have not done this yet, please do so, it will help us to make decisions for the coming year, as the budget for 2022 is finalized.
Thanks, for your support,
Tim Perrine,
Chair- Finance Committee
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January Mission Focus
Our Missional giving for the month of January is The Lakes Area Restorative Justice Project.
On Christmas Eve, took a special offering for Tornado relief through UMCOR, to help those affected by recent storms. Thank you for supporting this cause. We collected $500.
January 16th, the missional offering is directed towards Human Relations Sunday.
Please note on your offering to direct your gift for January missions, if it is not for the general fund.
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Lakes Area Restorative Justice Project (LARJP) is a community directed, operated and supported non-profit organization which was established in 2004 by the collective efforts of Roger Lynn, a retired Methodist Minister and Stephanie Haider, a retired Dakota County probation officer.
LARJP is currently the only Restorative Justice Program in all of Crow Wing County and surrounding counties. Our staff, trainers and consultants have a combined history of more than 70 years’ experience in restorative justice practices and LARJP has provided services to juveniles in Crow Wing County for 16 years. The success of our programs is directly related to the qualified staff and volunteers of the organization.
The core program of LARJP is Restorative Group Conferencing (RGC). RGC provides a forum for juvenile wrongdoers and their families, those victimized by the harm, and their supporters to meet in a safe and respectful environment to discuss the incident. LARJP gets case referrals from the County Attorney’s office and 6 county Police Departments as well as the schools in Crow Wing County. Our program currently serves on average 40-50 cases per year. The RGC process enables those victimized to express their feelings about the impact of the harmful behavior and to get answers to their questions. It helps offenders understand the true impact of their actions on the victim, their family, and the community as well as hold them accountable for the harm they have caused by completing a contract designed by themselves and the victim on how the harm will be repaired. By completing the contract the offender’s record is cleared which allows and empowers them to have a greater educational and employment opportunity as an adult.
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Links to articles in red/underlined.
The Patriot Perspective column was from District Superintendent Kurt Stumpf on "the power of listening" is a good reminder for all of us, and a good read. DS perspective
Upcoming Red Cross Blood Drives- Thursday, January 13, 2022,
12 p.m.-6 p.m.,
Our Savior's Lutheran Church, call 1-800-733-2767
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Sunday School, Confirmation, Youth Group
Sunday School has been offered for the last 10 weeks leading up to Advent. We will resume some sort of programming after the holidays.
Youth Group and Confirmation will be taking a brief break for Christmas and New Year's. We hope to plan some special activities in January. Movie night? Bowling?
Youth Group meets every other Wednesday night from 6pm-7pm. The next gathering will be on January 5th.
Confirmation meets every other week, alternating with Youth Group. The next class will be January 12th.
Pic--YG posing in their "Ugly Christmas Hats", 12/22
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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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