Grace Notes

Grace Notes

THE NEWSLETTER OF GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH

December 2013 Dear Members and Friends, No one seems to know why, but many have been remarking on how fast the year seems to have gone. I hear things like how can it be time for Christmas already!. Be that as it may, it is indeed Christmastime. Perhaps by having it sneak up on us we can gain a sense of the world at the time of the first Christmas. People were waiting for God and all of a sudden, one night the Savior was born. Advent gives us a chance to prepare for helpful reflection upon Jesus birth. This season helps us to avoid rushing about barely having time to think, and then there it is, Christmas Eve. The next day we share Christmas with our families and then just like that its all over until next year. I love Advent. Its a different kind of preparation than shopping, wrapping and baking cookies. Its not as overtly happy but it is joyous nevertheless. Its a thoughtful time of preparation that goes deep into the soul of what Christmas is all about. The world waited for God to act, and that action eventually took place in a stable. Advent helps us to appreciate this. We also are waiting for God to act and Advent acknowledges that one day Christ will come again. In the meantime he comes to us in His word and in the Sacraments that he gave to the church.

I look forward to the year finally slowing down a bit and sharing Advent with you as we wait to celebrate together on Christmas Eve.
Waiting On the Lord, Pastor David Almleaf

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Altar Flowers December & January

Dec 1 - Dave & Christine Petersen Dec 8 - Karen Ryder Dec 15 - Karen Ryder Dec 22 - Mary Ann Hathaway Dec 24 - Marlene & George Slingerland Dec 29 - OPEN Jan 5 - OPEN Jan 12 - OPEN Jan 19 - Linda Bumpus Jan 26 - Maryland Warner Altar flowers are $33.00 unless you share a Sunday then they would be $16.50 each vase. If you wish to place a special arrangement in the Sanctuary the cost would be whatever you would like to spend. Nancy Blanchard (762-4234) and Linda Bumpus (725-1927) are the Altar Flower coordinators.

Bread Bakers December & January

Dec 1 - Helen Schreivogl Dec 24 - Peggy Niforos Dec 29 - Audrey Rulison Jan 5 - Cindy Walsh Jan 26 Please find someone to replace you if you cannot bake bread the Sunday you are scheduled and whenever possible, tell the church secretary so the bulletin can reflect the change. Thank you, Peggy Niforos

Counters for December & January

12/1 - Bonnie Olendorf, Ron & Jackie Hollenbeck 12/8 - Nancy Blanchard, Greta Davis, Bonnie 12/15 - Nancy Blanchard, Greta Davis, Bonnie 12/22 - Darleen Gaugler, Charlotte Petersen, Bonnie 12/29 - Darleen Gaugler, Charlotte Petersen, Bonnie 1/5 - Bonnie Olendorf, Ron & Jackie Hollenbeck 1/12 - Bonnie Olendorf, Ron & Jackie Hollenbeck 1/19 - Nancy Blanchard, Greta Davis, Bonnie 1/26 - Nancy Blanchard, Greta Davis, Bonnie

(I) - Intinction Sunday (R) - Rail Sunday Dec 1 (R) - Marion Pellegrino Dec 8 (I) - Peggy Niforos Dec 15 (I) - Joan Longfritz Dec 24 (R) - Joan Longfritz/Peggy Niforos (Christmas Eve) Dec 29 (R) - Bonnie Olendorf Jan 5 (R) - Don Phelps Jan 12 (I) Jan 19 (I) Jan 26 (R) Please find someone to replace you if you cannot make the Sunday you are scheduled and whenever possible, tell Bonnie so that the bulletin can reflect the change. Peg Niforos, Altar Guild Coordinator

Prayers of the Church

Please notify the church office when your prayers have been answered so your prayer concern can be removed from the list that Pastor raises up to God on Sunday morning. Thank you.

Prayer Chain Ministry

If you know of anyone in need of daily prayers for the healing of body, mind or soul, please call Bobbi Nigro (725-6781) or Nancy Demarest (725-8704). If requesting in person, please submit the name(s) in writing and add your name at the bottom. To further assist, please reconnect with that member of the Prayer Chain within 2 weeks to verify the condition of the person(s) receiving prayer. All requests are held in confidence unless otherwise designated. Thank you.

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Advent begins Sunday December 1st. Please plan to join us as we prepare for the coming of our Lord. Salvation Army Angel Tree Tag gifts are due back to the church by December 8th.

Join us for caroling on Friday December 6th. We will meet at the church at 5:30, travel to Pine View Commons and return to the church for pizza.

The Living Nativity will take place on Friday December 13th at 7pm with a dress rehearsal on Wednesday December 11th at 5:30pm. There is a sign-up sheet in the narthex if you would like to participate. Please sign up or see Alison Martin if you would like to help with this fun event.
Our 2014 budget total is $138,375.00. To date we have received $44,364.00 in pledges. If you havent filled out a time and talent sheet

or your pledge card, please continue doing so

by the end of December. Thanks, Bonnie

Candlelight Services with Holy Communion will be held at 3:00pm 5:30pm 10:00pm Please plan to join us in the celebration of our Saviors birth

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Council Meeting Highlights for November 12, 2013

A final check ($800.00) has been received from the insurance company for the steeple removal Council is continuing to review and update policies Council had decided to look at a five year plan for Grace First step will be to approach the committees to form a list of attainable goals in their areas. Focus will be on moving forward with the mission of Grace Lutheran Church kept in mind.

September 2014 council meeting - ideas will be presented

September-October 2014 Plan will be discussed and organized October 2014 Congregational Meeting - Plan will be presented for any other input. May be adopted at this time or postponed until January for final presentation.

Future dates of activities reviewed Committee Night - December 3, 2013 Council Meeting - December 12, 2013 Respectfully submitted,

Kathy VanValkenburgh
Council President

Dear Friends at Grace, To All My Church Family, Thank you for coming to my surprise 60 birthday party. It was such a pleasure to see you all there. Thank you for the cards, gifts, and warm wishes. You all make me feel so welcome as part of your family. In Christ, Nancy Thank you for all the cards, flowers, and prayers over the past several months. Because of your kind prayers I have felt Gods love and strength and comfort. I have had some healing, experienced physical strength and more mobility. I still face surgery at an unknown future time. It is wonderful to feel Gods love and strength. I pray that you will also feel Gods love and strength as Gods gift for your prayers for others. Gods blessings be with you for caring about others. Thank you again for everything. With love in Christ, Joyce Haldeman

Our Youth Group would like to thank our Veterans and Boy Scouts for participating in the Flag Disposal Ceremony. They would also like to thank everyone who made chili and corn bread for the luncheon after the ceremony. Everyones support is greatly appreciated.

DO YOU HAVE RETURNABLE BOTTLES AND CANS that are clogging up space in your home? Do you hate the thought of taking them to the store to return? If so, just bring them to church and leave them in the box next to the side entrance. Someone from the Youth Group will return them to help defray the cost of their trip to Detroit in July 2015. Thanks for supporting them!

Last, but certainly not least, our youth want to thank all of you who baked goodies for the bake sale held As a further note, the Youth Group is continuing to on Election Day. Thanks to you they made $145.00!! collect old and used cell phones. There is a box in the YEAH!!!!!! narthex where you can leave them.

As you may know our Youth Group will be traveling to Detroit for the ELCA Youth Gathering July 2015.
The approximate cost will be $13,000.00. They have about $3500.00 in their account of which $350.00 will go to other ministries. Registration for the gathering will be in September of 2014 and the fee is $375.00 per person. We have 16 youth and several leaders planning to attend the gathering. They will start actively fund-raising in January of 2014, your support will again be greatly appreciated. The Pie baking overnight was a great success! They collected $643.00 thanks to all of you. Thank you to the parents for supplying the cheap labor, ingredients for the pies and the snacks!! Special thanks go out to Pat Carter and Clyde Smith for supervising the kids. Have a great Thanksgiving, Barb

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Remember Our Shut-Ins

At Home:
Eleanor Achzet Eileen Spawn Florence Sandner Ruth Seiler Helene Keach

Nathan Littauer Nursing Home:

Donna Mae Batty Ruth Brownell Shirley Snyder

Wells House:
Geraldine Moldt

Pineview Commons:

Willing Helpers:
Lorraine Muller Dona Frey

Prayer Concerns
Marianne Jones Sue McGrattan Rick Hennessey Anna & Ron Butez Grandstaff Family The Marshall Family Phyllis Lane The Gleeman Family Pricilla Mitchell Sean Armstrong David Fisher Pastor Rees-Rhorbacher Hunter Lindsay Donald Wright Ron Bell Ella Congdon Kyle Fonda Marion Pellegrino Robert Porter Esther Bienick Eleanor Fallis Barbara Insognia Ginny Cameron Morgan Sandmeier Pastor John Calaphano & his Father Crystal Evans

All those who have served and for all those who are now serving in the armed forces, especially:
Scott Bumpus Brandon Caldwell Tony Clemente Brad Coody John Ferrara Kevin Funk Zachary Goot Jordan Keeling Denise & Jacob Lockwood Thomas Szumowski And for our enemies

Please pray for NOAH, the food pantries of Johnstown & Gloversville and for those in need of them.

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To Dear Friends at Grace, Friday, November 22, 2013 The Holiday Season is upon us and I hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving and will enjoy a very Merry Christmas! One day, this past week, I took William and Leah to the Newport, Kentucky Levee on the Ohio River, about 5 miles from Cincinnati Children's Hospital (CCH). We went to the Aquarium there, out to eat, and did some window shopping. The city was decked out in Holiday splendor and as the sun came down, the twinkling lights came on. It was very impressive!

We had to return to the hospital afterwards as they had been admitted on the 13th after their follow up visit. With a pass to go out, we were real glad to add the experiences we had to our joyful memories list. Last week the docs decided they needed to stay for about a week for an IV cleanout which happens about 2-3x's a year. William and Leah had already packed their bags before the appointment saying they thought they would have to stay because of feeling some upper respiratory distress. Once settled in their hospital rooms, they told us parents that they could stay there by themselves. So Steven and I headed home in the evening by ourselves. I came back Monday the 18th anticipating a possible discharge that Wednesday. They are doing much better as I sit in the hospital room writing to you. The doctors had decided after evaluation that 10 days would be better than 7. We three are now looking forward to going home tomorrow, Saturday, the 23rd in time for a nice Thanksgiving at home, praise God. Their rooms are close-by one another in the Boomer Esiason Foundation Cystic Fibrosis Unit of the hospital. Boomer, a famous football player, has a son Gunnar who has CF and has funded the cause for CF research at the hospital generously. The children receive the best of care here and we are thankful for the friendly, professional staff and user friendly environment. The rooms are fairly comfortable for a hospital and I'm mostly staying in Leah's room and I sleep ok on the pull out bed. But we certainly are looking forward to heading home and being back together as a family.
At home, Steven has been working hard on some fence repairing jobs for Donald Tarter who raises cattle on his thousands of acres and the founder of Tarter Gates, a national and international gate manufacturing company with its home base in our farming community. Steven also has some home improvement jobs for others and us as well. I have worked at some substitute teaching jobs (about 15 days so far) and continue to organize and accompany the music at Thomas Ridge Christian Church where we, as a family, attend worship services, Bible teaching and fellowship events. I also enjoy being a homemaker and really enjoy cooking, baking, canning this time of year.

Saturday-Sunday, November 24th: Praise God, the kids and I finally headed home Saturday evening and home by 10pm. It was a smooth ride as there was not a lot of traffic. Went to church the next day and very thankful for the prayers. The music I chose was expressed Thanksgiving and for the Father giving Jesus, His only begotten son to save us from our sins. We are so blessed! I pray for all of you for a very Blessed Christmas Season!
Best wishes in God's love, Susan and family 1825 Riffe Creek Rd. Dunnville, KY 42528, 606-787-6045

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December Birthdays

1 - Megan Brown 2 - Carter Petersen Amber Sky Pellegrino 3 - Ashlee Dale Baker 4 - Hillary Calhoun Angela Holliday Ronald Hollenbeck 6 - Katie (Craig) Alkinburgh Abbie Chamberlaine 7 - Elizabeth Brookins 10 - Amber Brooker Jamie Lamphear 11 - Tyler Cinelli Kelly Walthur 12 - John Snyder Patricia Turnbull Haylee Van Valkenburgh 13 - Holli (MCLain) Tucker Timothy Lake 14 - Patti (Hurd) Young 15 - Malik Thompson 16 - Ivan Hinkle Ronald Johnson II 17 - Amanda Gattie 19 - Mary Ann Hathaway Petrina Frederick Michael Fancher 20 - Karen Stemmler Alexandria Brooker

21 - Jessica Daniels Andrew Fiedler Janice Kelly 22 - Coreena Snell 23 - David Haskins Christie Brothers Mayumi Feinour Joan Longfritz 24 - Lynne Miller 25 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS! Charles Goebel II 26 Matthew Darling Brad Jones Rosemary Lesser 27 - Kelly Marie DiScoscia Eileen Spawn 28 - Andrew Bornt Pastor David Almleaf Dale Chase 29 - Kevin Frasier Susan MCGrattan 30 - John Schreivogl Sr. 31 - Laurie Cramer Carrie Locatelli Mark Van Valkenburgh

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January Birthdays
1NEW YEARS DAY Peter Mitchell Greg Parillo 2Shane Ippolito 20 Martin Luther King Jr Day Brian Albrecht James Hynd III Sarah Slingerland

Matthew Starin
5679Karsyn Pianelli Epiphany Colton Bobowski John Haberacker Linus Vosburgh 13 14 15 Victor Ralbovsky Donovan Smith Irmgard Getzlaff Caitlin Lawton Kay Leggett 16 Caitlin Lawton Gary Fiorillo 18 Heidi Ropeter Olivia Ramsey

21 23 24 25

Cassandra Hynd
Lynn Shea Amy Daniels Douglas Achzet Thaddeus Coody

28 29 -

Ruth Welle Rosalind Acquilla Adrian Rubilotta Rodger Smith, Jr. Shirley Smith Shirley Snyder

31 -

Katie Hohler