GraceNotes A Monthly Publication of the Congregational Activities of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Newton, NC Volume 219, Number 4 ___ _ ___ ___ April 2016 April Events at Grace Learning Hour for all ages every Sunday at 9:30 Worship every Sunday at 10:30 First Sunday Lunch April 3rd Second Sunday Breakfast April 10th Men's Prayer Breakfast April 9th Clean Up Day April 30th 1 From the Pastor’s Pen… Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ at Grace, As we celebrated the end of the Lenten season and the beginning of Easter, I was awestruck by the overpowering reality of the celebration on Easter morning. As the congregation sang the hymn, "Now All the Vault of Heaven Resounds", I followed Jackie Jarrett down the center aisle as she carried the Holy Bible to the center of the congregation for the Processional Gospel to be read. I said to Jackie, "This is such a great day!" She immediately agreed. I admit I got teary-eyed as I listened to the congregational voices, took in the scent of the Easter lilies and allowed the excitement of the worship bathe over me. We cannot even begin to imagine what Mary Magdalene experienced on that first Easter morning. It came to me later that as important as that one day is - and as much as we might love all that happens on Easter Sunday, we forget that the Easter celebration is every Sunday - not just one day! We need to come to worship with the anticipated excitement of Easter and ready and eager to celebrate the Resurrection. That is the very foundation of the Christian faith! If you have somehow drifted away from worshiping regularly at Grace, I invite you to come and re-discover the joy and excitement of Sunday worship. If we truly are His Easter People, then we need to behave like His Easter People and dedicate ourselves to His Resurrection and Church. There are loving and thoughtful people at Grace who miss you when you are not present on Sunday. Make an Easter resolution that you will get into the habit of worshiping at Grace on Sundays. You will not regret it. I hope to greet you this Sunday! Easter Blessings! He Is Risen! Pastor Gil Gilbert PS: I am looking for the complete set of new DVDs of the ALPHA Course. If you borrowed them, please return them to the Church Office ASAP. We are planning on beginning another ALPHA Course in May and will need these. Also missing is the Tape Number 1 of the former ALPHA Course. Thanks! 2 WORSHIP ASSISTANTS FOR APRIL Communion Assistants - James Hall, Johnny Moss Ushers - Eric Martin, Brian Matthews, Joe and Lynette Momier Greeter - Violet Hatchett Altar Preparation - Jane Moss, Belinda Wilfong Children's Church - Carrie Setzer, Susan Setzer Nursery - Carrie Setzer, Susan Setzer FLOWER CHART FOR APRIL 4/3 - Nancy Leonard 4/10 - Lula Ingle 4/17- Carl & Glennie Beam 4/24 - Sherry Biggerstaff If you wish to give the flowers for a given Sunday, please list your name on the chart in the narthex. You are responsible for ordering the flowers from a florist of your choice; we do not have a standing order with any florist. The liturgical color of the day is listed to assist you in selecting flowers appropriate for that Sunday. You should contact the Church Office so that the correct information is placed in the bulleting for that Sunday. Please notify the Church Office the Thursday prior to your selected Sunday. You can call the Church Office between 9 AM and Noon each weekday, leave a note on the desk, or send an email to let us know the occasion or memoriam for this wonderful gift of beatification of the worship. ATTENDANCE AND GIVING TO OUR LORD’S WORK FOR FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 02/28/16 03/06/16 03/13/16 03/20/16 03/27/16 SCS 52 33 48 46 25 Worship 89 96 75 98 88 General Offering 2,166.00 6,014.00 1,849.00 1,441.00 2,164.00 Learning Hour 44.61 21.00 130.36 90.00 13.00 Building Fund 92.00 290.00 0.00 40.00 85.00 First Sunday Lunch 0.00 173.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Cookbooks 0.00 0.00 0.00 30.00 0.00 Memorial Fund - Danny Bolick 0.00 0.00 0.00 20.00 0.00 Easter Lilies 45.00 118.00 127.00 9.00 0.00 Local Outreach 40.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Lenten Worship 30.00 120.00 132.50 89.00 37.00 Maundy Thursday 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 209.00 Good Friday 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 282.00 Son Rise 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 253.00 Son Rise Breakfast (Safe Harbor) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 155.00 General Fund Checking Account Balance as of 2/29/16 is $ (22,914.70). (Brackets indicate a negative balance). NOTE: The financial report will be in the newsletter each month and will be not be published in the weekly worship bulletin. Because the newsletter is distributed the last Sunday of each month, the attendance and giving figures for the last Sunday will be carried over to the next month’s newsletter. 3 THE FRED T. FOARD SENIORS will meet at Noon on Wednesday, April 6th, at Ebenezer United Methodist. FIRST SUNDAY LUNCH will be provided by the Christian Education/Learning Ministry Team on Sunday, April 3rd. The menu will be spaghetti, salad, bread, and desserts. THE WOMEN OF GRACE will meet Sunday, April 3rd, following the First Sunday Lunch. MEN OF GRACE PRAYER BREAKFAST will be held on Saturday, April 9th, at 9:00 AM at the Blue Moon. THE SECOND SUNDAY BREAKFAST will be held Sunday, April 10th, at 9:00 AM and will be provided by Pastor Gil and Karen Gilbert. THE GRACE SENIOR/ADULT GROUP will meet in the Fellowship Hall on Wednesday, April 20th, from noon until 2:00 PM. Please invite a friend and come join the fun and fellowship! CHRISTIAN SYMPATHY, love and prayers are extended by the People of God at Grace to Ann Campbell on the death of her son, Danny Bolick. Danny entered the Church Triumphant on Thursday, March 17, 2016. May God comfort all who mourn. CORRECTIONS TO CHURCH DIRECTORY: New address: Dr. Gary Barger, 3613 Laurel Bluff Circle, High Point, NC 27265 A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE about Essie Reinhardt celebrating her 104th birthday is posted on the bulletin board in the hallway outside the Pastor's Office. (KH) ATTENTION THRIVENT MEMBERS! You can help provide funds for events held at the church, rather than using money from offerings. Any Thrivent member can now apply at Thrivent.com for a Thrivent Action Team along with other volunteer helpers to do a helping project for others or the church. Upon acceptance, they will receive a $250 Visa gift card to use as seed money, tee shirts for up to 25 volunteers and a Thrivent Live Generously banner. These funds can be used for fellowship events, worship events, educational events, and service projects. If you have a Thrivent policy of any kind, please look into using this resource to help with events at Grace. Also you had until March 31st to direct your Choice Dollars to a charity/organization of your choice. Hope you put those funds to good use. It can be done on-line or by calling Thrivent. (KH) A SPECIAL REQUEST FROM SAFE HARBOR: There is a need for groups/individuals to come to Safe Harbor for a few days or a week to present a VBS type program for the children staying at Safe Harbor. The programs are offered during June and July, and mornings from 9:00 - 12:00 are preferred. They have been given some resource material or you can use your own. Because the clients change daily, it is hard to plan exactly how many or what age groups may be there. It would be great to get a group from Grace together to go and share the love of Jesus with those children. If interested, please make a note on your Worship Today Form. If you have more specific questions you can contact Jessica Haynes at Safe Harbor at 828-639-4460. (KH) 4 NALC NEWS FOR MARCH is available in the narthex. The article from Bishop Bradosky is entitled "How Easy It Is to Be Distracted". This issue also includes an article on Pastor Didi Panzo's work in Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2016 NALC Convocation theme of "Holy God, Holy Lives", and many other articles about the life of The Church. Please take, read, and educate yourself. (KH) THANK YOU FROM SAFE HARBOR RESCUE MISSION: Thank you SO much for the items you donated. It is greatly appreciate. Thank you for allowing God to use you to help us. Remember they always need all types of school supplies (pencils, colored pencils, markers, notebook paper, spiral notebooks, scissors, glue sticks, crayons, pencil boxes, etc.). There is a plastic tub in the basement which has the blue label, "SAFE HARBOR", for your donations. (KH) DONATIONS FOR ECCCM should be placed in the plastic tub in the basement which has the yellow label, "ECCCM". Be sure you place your donations in the intended organizations receptacle. ECCCM needs your continuous help to keep the Food Pantry and Homeless Shelter supplied. They are asking for items for children (toys, blankets, and clothing), food, toiletry items (shampoo, tooth paste, tooth brushes, combs, brushes, etc.) and grocery bags.