Grace Lutheran Church

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Sunday 9:30am

Monday 7:00pm

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Grace Lutheran Church ELCA
1730 Old Hudson Road - St. Paul, Minnesota
Phone: 651-774-9617
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Council President’s Report

Since the last article I wrote to the Congregation was in June, I will try to bring you all up to date as to what's going on at Grace. We should begin by thanking God that we have been so blessed. We should also celebrate the accomplishments and affirmations of commitment by God's people at Grace.

Vacation Bible School was held August 1^st -5^th and was a smashing success. 37 children attended. Special thanks to Karen Nikula, Lana Alleman, Alicia Runquist, Jessica McCoy, Cassie and Justin Pray and many others for all the planning and implementation of the program. They made VBS a wonderful experience.

Project Home was being housed as a third site for the month of August. This was done as an emergency measure as people were being turned away nightly through July (for the first week of Project Home we are providing safe housing for 20 guests). Thank you to Sig Johnson and Barb Kinney for overseeing the recruitment of volunteers. A giant thank you to the 50 plus volunteers who helped in one way or another to see the project through to completion.

Grace has once again come through big for the students in Sierra Leone. Thanks to the generous support of many of our members, 57 children will be going to school whom, without this money, would not have a future filled with hope and opportunity. On behalf of those students please accept our humble and heartfelt thanks.

Pastor William Siong has chosen Grace to begin the new ELCA Mission church, Good Samaritan Lutheran Church. The national ELCA will be supporting this effort for the next five years by committing to paying Pastor Siong's salary and the Saint Paul Area Synod will provide $5,000.00 per year for the next three years to support this endeavor and additional financial support is being sought from many of the east side area Lutheran churches. To begin with, Pastor William will be occupying the office that formerly housed the youth director, and his Congregation of four families will hold weekly Bible study. They will also hold a once a month worship and communion service in the Sanctuary. The details of times, space etc., are being worked out between both churches as to avoid any misunderstanding of space usage. We are delighted that Good Samaritan will strive to reach out in Christian love to the many Hmong who live within the area of Grace and we should all support this Congregation with our prayers.

The lower entryway, the Good Shepherd Lounge, the tower rooms, and several of the offices at Grace received a new look thanks to generous gifts from the Endowment Fund and Special Gifts and the work of Property and Decorating Committees. A special thanks to Florence Tjornholm who put in countless hours picking colors, negotiating a painting contract and overseeing the painting project (removing items from walls etc.). This is phase one of a three-phase facelift for Grace. Phase two will be new carpet (see the suggestion on the poster located in the South Tower room). Phase 3 will be new furniture for the Good Shepherd Lounge and lower entryway. The Council has firmly stated that no major purchase or improvement can be made at this time without first procuring all necessary funds to complete the project.

As is typical for summer months, worship attendance and giving is down at Grace. We Minnesotans appreciate the beautiful weather and world that God has provided for us and we should all be encouraged to spend time traveling, visiting, and relaxing. However, the expenses of running a church do not take a vacation so please continue to support Grace as best as you are able. For many members of our Congregation, times are tough but there are many of us that have been abundantly blessed and we should all continue to support Grace proportionately.

Life at Grace continues under the able leadership of Pastors Pat and Paul. There have been baptisms, weddings and funerals as well as meaningful worship since the retiring of Pastor Craig. A Transition Task Force team has been formed and they have already begun laying the groundwork for the transition process at Grace. To provide us with an accurate picture of whom we need to call as Pastor to lead Grace in the future, we need to revisit who we were, who we are now and where we see ourselves in the future. We have a flexible timetable of the process that we are undertaking to reach our goal of calling the best possible candidate to serve the congregation of Grace into the future. Our hope and plan is to vote on the call committee at the January Annual meeting. The Nominating Committee will be putting together the Call Committee which the Council will need to approve prior to the Annual meeting. I would strongly encourage every member of Grace to participate and cooperate with the transition team as they set about their tasks of information gathering. This is a time for each of us to have our voices heard. Let me assure the congregation of Grace that we continue to function and are working hard to meet the needs of the congregation and continue to provide meaningful worship experiences for everyone. We are moving forward in the process of finding a new called Pastor at Grace. The Council and leaders have taken on additional responsibilities and we ask for your prayers and support as we listen to each of the members of Grace because you are all equally valued and important on this journey as we move forward to proclaim and to celebrate the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this place and to open ourselves up to the direction in which the Holy Spirit is leading Grace into the future.

- Sue Atneosen

Church Council meets the third Tuesday of every month. All members of Grace are welcome to attend. Agenda items should be submitted to the president two weeks prior to be included on the agenda.