The Church that Sings and Serves
What's Happening At Grace
Worship Service is at 10:30 am
Since we are not worshiping in person currently, we are live streaming on Sunday mornings at 10:30 am. Please join Pastor John and Loretta Cetkovic for prayers and music.
Saturday, March 14, 2020
Dear Members and Friends of Grace,
Responding to a joint request on Thursday from the Lutheran and Episcopalian bishops of Michigan, your Congregation Council together with Loretta, our music director, and Karla, our treasurer, met by conference call last evening to consider how we would respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Our priority was the safety of our members and friends who worship with us. We hope to keep the church open during office hours during the week for those who wish to come for individual silent prayer.
This is all new territory for us and in our time for nearly everyone in the human family. With you we are rightly concerned about the spread of Covid19. As a council we did not want to risk even one person contracting this virus by doing all we can to prevent its transmission. At the same time we wanted the members and friends of Grace to stay connected with one another and to do all we can to support, calm, and reassure our families, friends, and neighbors. We want to be church, the caring and compassionate limbs of Jesus in an anxious, frightened world.
To that end, you’ll likely get a phone call from a council member, regular emails or snail mail, and with Loretta’s help (who wears a second hat as our virtual/social media director) some live streaming (perhaps as soon as tomorrow morning at 10:30) and enhanced use of Facebook. Members of the council have offered to assist those who may need help with shopping or other errands. Please call the church office, 372-5830, or me, 214-6483, if you need any such help or just some moral support in the days ahead.
We ask you to keep in mind our congregation’s financial responsibilities which continue even though we are not gathering in person. Please mail your contributions or drop them off at the church office which we plan to keep open during the usual weekday hours. Many of you are participating in our Lenten “40 Days of Giving” for ELCA World Hunger, a special offering to be brought to worship on Easter. Don’t abandon that commitment, nor any other Lenten disciplines of praying, fasting, or doing extraordinary acts of generosity and kindness you’ve adopted which you can still practice without undue risk to yourself or to others!
Our earnest hope is that we will be able to safely gather (though still taking hygienic precautions) for worship on Palm Sunday, April 5, for the Holy Week services on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, and for the celebration on the 12th of our Lord’s victory over death.
During our conference call, Linda, our council president, cited Romans 8:39, that nothing [not even this virus!] can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Surely words to hold on to.
Pastor John
and those on the conference call: Linda Flanagan, Robin Bosgraaf, Jacob Horner, Bob Myers, Karla Chamberlain, Bruce Callen, Loretta Cetkovic, Charlene Crebo, Cindi Rue, Meredith Hines, Judy Peterson, and Kay Rahl
Each week we share with you a hymn and a prayer reflective of the scriptures from our Sunday morning worship. Our service is at 10:30. We look forward to seeing and/or hearing from you soon.
John Schleicher
johndschleicher@gmail.com
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heav'n to earth come down:
fix in us thy humble dwelling,
all thy faithful mercies crown:
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation,
enter ev'ry trembling heart.
Come, Almighty to deliver,
let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return, and never,
nevermore thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray and praise thee without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.
ELW 631
Text: Charles Wesley, 1707-1788
Music: Rowland H. Prichard, 1811-1887
Prayer for the week:
Lord God, our strength, the struggle between good and evil rages within and around us, and the devil and all the forces that defy you tempt us with empty promises. Keep us steadfast in your word, and when we fall, raise us again and restore us through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen (Celebrate March 1, 2020)
Vision Statement
Our vision is to be faithful servants, living by God's Word and supporting others to do so while extending to all the teachings of Jesus Christ by reaching out to neighbors and strangers, seeking justice while constantly striving for and supporting diversity in our congregation.
American and Swedish church leaders sign joint climate justice pledge Church leaders and ecumenical organizations join tens of thousands in marching through the streets of New York City in a Climate Strike on 20 September, demanding climate justice now. Photo: Simon Chambers/ACT 26 September 2019 The Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Church of Sweden have signed a joint pledge related to climate justice. The message urges action on the unprecedented negative effects of climate change. “As we observe the Season of Creation, we renew the call for our churches to work together for the sake of Earth and to build collaborations wherever possible, both with other communities of faith and with diverse agents in our civil society,” the text reads. “Now is the time for science, politics, business, culture and religion - everything that is an expression of human dignity - to address together this critical issue for our time.” The church leaders acknowledged they have been slow to recognize the urgency of this crisis. “We have turned away from our own roles in environmental degradation, clinging as we could to lifestyles of unsustainable waste and overuse even as others suffer from lack of necessities,” continues the message. “Moreover, majority cultures have ignored the insights of indigenous siblings among us who are too often deeply affected by climate change, even as they bear spiritual practices and wisdom that can help the people of God to walk a more sustainable - and more loving - course.” The church leaders pledged to advocate for national and international policies and regulations that enable transitions to carbon neutral, resilient societies. “We will pursue education and advocacy efforts that attend to the most vulnerable, whose needs must be put ahead of the more privileged,” concludes the message. “We will raise awareness in our churches by promoting the use of education, worship and action resources available locally, regionally, nationally and globally.”
Getting to Grace
Location
528 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Lansing, Michigan 48915
(517) 372-5830
Church Office Hours - 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. - Monday through Friday
gracelut@sbcglobal.net
Sunday Worship at 10:30 a.m.
Our fully accessible building is located on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., one block south of West Saginaw, just northwest of the State Capitol, Museum, and Library.
528 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Lansing, Michigan 48915
(517) 372-5830
Church Office Hours - 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. - Monday through Friday
gracelut@sbcglobal.net
Sunday Worship at 10:30 a.m.
Our fully accessible building is located on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., one block south of West Saginaw, just northwest of the State Capitol, Museum, and Library.
