Get mindful during lunch. Grace is proud to open its doors to the community for prayer and meditation. Doors are open Monday through Wednesday, noon to 1 pm, through May.
Sanctuary open during First Friday
Sermon: Maundy Thursday, 2016
About nine months ago, someone in our community sat in my office, and we talked about life. This was not an unusual situation.… I spend a lot of time talking with you who are part of the Grace community about life, about illness and death, about unemployment and vocation, about school and relationships, about questions you have about God and the world. So, when I sat with this particular person in my office to discuss life, it was not unusual. What was unusual was that, after talking about her own life, this person turned to me and asked me questions about me and about my life, the kind of questions I would normally ask other people, questions that revealed she really had been listening to me.
Sermon: March 20, 2016
These days, we can’t get away from politics.
I don’t own a TV, but even I can’t get away from the political ads and political news...Facebook and other social media, NPR, the front page of the paper. Everywhere, we hear about Donald Trump and Ted Cruz and John Kasich, Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Everywhere, we hear about issues like health care and foreign policy, education and climate change. Everywhere, we hear about political math, the changing demographics of voters, and superdelegates. These days, we can’t get away from politics so much so that even today’s gospel is political…but in a way far removed from—and I do apologize if I offend—the absolute ridiculousness of current US politics.
Easter & Holy Week at Grace Lutheran Church
Holy Week is upon us, and this year we are excited to be celebrating the Easter Vigil worship service, the oldest of the worship services that persist to this day.
While the Easter Vigil was traditionally the service where Christians read 12 of the foundational stories of faith from the Bible and celebrated with a bonfire, Holy Baptism, and Holy Communion, the service we will share with St. John’s Lutheran in Glendale will be far simpler.
Sermon: March 13, 2016
Sermon: March 6, 2016
In Luke chapter 15, Jesus shares a series of lost and found parables. Sheep are lost and found. Coins are lost and found. Sons are lost and found. Jesus shares these parables because 1) tax collectors and sinners gathered around him and 2) the scribes and Pharisees were grumbling. What they were grumbling amongst themselves was: This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.
We Journey Together: Pete Pero from the Classroom Seat
As I walked into the classroom two things were clear to me – I had a marginal idea of what this class was about, and I wasn’t doing it out of some kind of theological curiosity. I signed up for a class on “The Theology of Martin Luther King, Jr.” mainly because someone I liked was in that class.
As you can see, I would never claim to be a paragon of virtue.
Youth Events
Sunday School News: March
By Linda Schwall
Welcome back from another wonderful Christmas season! Sunday School is in full swing at 9:45 am in the basement of the sanctuary.
We have plans for another great Vacation Bible School that will run from Monday, June 6 through Friday, June 10. All are welcome to participate in “Surf Shack” activities. Grab your surfboard and get ready for some wonderful sum-mer happenings. Sing-alongs with Pastor Sarah, great food from our hospitality ladies as well as great summer arts and crafts. Volunteers are needed as always, so look for announcements for planning meetings in the very near future.
Sound Board Techs Wanted
Wanted! Sound Board Techs.
For 11:00 am Traditional Worship. You will be trained! Contact Stephanie in the Grace office.
March Community Building Goal: Eat Pancakes!
Pastor's Pen: March 2016
March Gracevine, 2016
Sermon: February 28, 2016
You know, more often than not, it’s really hard to deal with bad news, sometimes, a lot of times, we’re just left wondering “Why?”
“Why did this horrible thing happened?” “Why is the world so broken?” “How can people be so messed up?”
In this week’s gospel, Jesus is faced with one of these situations.
4th Annual Art D’Core Gala at Hance Park
You are invited to celebrate with us on March 10th! Please save the date and register now for complimentary tickets to the 4th Annual Art D’Core Gala at Hance Park, just across the street from Grace Lutheran!
Held under–and among–the stars in Hance Park, the Art d'Core Gala spotlights the significant contribution our arts and culture in creating a dynamic urban core.
Maps and more info is on our event page.
This fourth annual celebration is hosted by Artlink Inc., the City of Phoenix, AZ Government, Downtown Phoenix, AZ, and the Hance Park Conservancy.
The festivities will include an arts showcase; a special toast by Mayor Greg Stanton; and an eye-popping virtual tour of the Hance Park Master Plan.
- 5 p.m. Arts in the Park Reception
- 7 p.m. Hance Park Design Team Master Plan Update
- Followed by Mayor Greg Stanton's Annual Toast to Downtown and an After Party in the Park!
Tickets
Sermon: February 14, 2016
Evil is real.
We, of course, know this to be true because we have seen evil touch our lives—in the form of apathy, in the form of hatred, in the form of violence and abuse, in the form of greed, in the form of systems that cement racism, sexism, poverty. Evil is real. I think we need to be careful when we talk about evil, though.
CANCELLED: An Evening with Alberto Ríos, Poet Laureate of Arizona
Grace Lutheran Church is pleased to host one of the country's preeminent writers, Alberto Ríos, Poet Laureate of Arizona, for an evening of poetry and conversation. On Friday, March 4 in a unique open forum, Alberto Ríos will read selections from his many published works and share stories of his Chicano heritage, reflections of a life that began in Nogales, Arizona.
Sermon: Ash Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Photo: Ashes to Go!
Pastor Sarah and Interno Abel at Taylor Place, downtown Phoenix, as part of our Ashes to Go event.