This morning, Jesus commands the disciples a surgery of sorts, a removal of what afflicts them, a radical cutting off and a plucking out of whatever causes their distress.
Suggested Bible Readings for September 30
September 30 (Lectionary 26)
Read from the Revised Common Lectionary
First Reading: Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29
Psalm: Psalm 19:7-14
Gospel: Mark 9:38-50
New office hours
Respite care event
In response to a request from Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest (LSSW), Grace is gearing up to provide a respite care event on Saturday morning, November 3, 2018. A maximum of 24 children will be pre-registered by LSSW for this event. This is an amazing service opportunity for a very underserved community and will hopefully grow into a realized ministry here at Grace.
Sermon: 9/16/18
The cross is an ubiquitous Christian symbol. We wear it around our necks and on our tee shirts. We hang the cross on the walls of our homes, over our rearview mirrors, and on our car bumpers. We create cross crafts at church events and purchase greeting cards with cross-themed art. The cross appears everywhere in churches: on steeples, in chancels, in paintings, on and above altars, on paraments, on hymnal covers, embroidered on stoles, outlined by our own hands after we dip our fingers in the water of the baptismal font. We deeply associate the cross with Christianity.
International Day of Peace
The International Day of Peace ("Peace Day") is observed around the world each year on 21 September. Established in 1981 by unanimous United Nations resolution, Peace Day provides a globally shared date for all humanity to commit to Peace above all differences and to contribute to building a Culture of Peace.
Join Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest to celebrate International Peace Day at this multi-generation event and create a culture of peace in our community. Click here for more info.
Ministry Night Revamp!
September Wilbur funds: GLOW
During September, our Wilbur emphasis is GLOW (Grace Lutheran on Wednesdays). Begun in 2001, GLOW is a meal and study program that runs on Wednesdays, 5:15-7:15 pm. All are welcome to participate in and/or volunteer with this ministry! We can always use help preparing the meal during the day on Wednesdays, help serving the meal at about 5:30 pm, or help with the programming.
Suggested Bible Readings for September 23
September 23 (Lectionary 25)
Read from the Revised Common Lectionary
First Reading: Jeremiah 11:18-20
Psalm: Psalm 54
Gospel: Mark 9:30-37
Pastor Sarah on vacation
Pastor Sarah's Pen: Love the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself
For three years, Jean Vanier has echoed in my head. Vanier founded l’Arche, a global network of homes shared by people with developmental disabilities and people without developmental disabilities. While many adults with developmental disabilities live in group homes where staff work an eight-hour shift and then go home, in l’Arche homes, the resident assistants work their shift but then live in that same home. L’Arche stands out as a unique vision of community where people truly share the joys and sorrows, idiosyncrasies and pains of everyone in the community.
Grace Time Bible Study: No Experience Necessary
Grace Annual Prayer Retreat: October 5-7
September Community Building Goal
The church as we know it, including Grace, is changing. With a focus less on the institution of church and more on Christian community, our community building goal for September is to see how people help us and thank them every time—whether here at church or in other aspects of our lives. This intentional practice of gratitude may reshape how we see the world.
Sermon: 9/9/18
Sermon: 9/2/18
I had always imagined these passages where Jesus and the Pharisees spar as similar to what I imagine the WWF is. “And here comes Jesus, wise rabbi, God’s son, coolest kid in town. He’s so wise the Pharisees won’t know what hit them!” Screaming crowds, fancy outfits, and consummate professionals almost dancing through an exploration of God’s law, complete with swagger and showboating. Silly me.
Grace Vine: September 2018
Sermon: 8/26/18
It’s not your imagination. We really have been reading through John chapter six for the last six weeks, a passage in scripture dubbed The Bread of Life Discourse. In these six weeks, we have heard the story of the feeding of the 5,000 followed by four weeks of Jesus teaching: I am the bread of life. I am the living bread. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day. This final week, we hear the disciples, and they’re complaining. “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” Indeed, Jesus’ teaching is difficult. He teaches the people to eat his flesh and drink his blood. He teaches the people that he came down from heaven. He teaches the people that, if they eat of this bread and believe in him, they will never be hungry or thirsty again.
You can still help at Heat Respite!
We are in the final phase of Heat Respite 2018, but we are still going strong! Nothing, not even the heat or monsoon, can stop us or our volunteers or ministry partners! Our ministry partners supplied us with so much water, we are overstocked. That enables us to provide water for other hydration stations in the valley. We already donated 4 pallets to Saint Mary’s Food Bank, 1 pallet to Bible Baptist Church, and 2 pallets to House of Hope. Thank you!
On August 17 we had 32 foreign exchange students from all over the world helping in the kitchen, the Grace Room, and in Hope Hall. They are studying at the Scottsdale Community College and are part of a state funded exchange program. Thanks for helping and good luck with your studies.
Raffle
We are planning to have another raffle for our participants on August 31, the last day of Heat Respite. We still need more prizes. We have Starbucks gift cards and are looking for giftcards for stores in our neighborhood, like Safeway, Circle K, McDonalds, etc. They should be maximum $10. If you have an extra backpack or duffel bag that you don’t use, please consider donating it for the raffle (it would be our grand prize!).
Volunteer & Donor Appreciation
On September 2 we will have our Volunteer & Donor Appreciation. If you volunteered with or donated towards the Heat Respite this year, you are invited to the Volunteer & Donor Appreciation event.
If you have any questions about the raffle and when/where to drop items off, or to RSVP for the Appreciation event, please contact Sven at (602) 551-9234 or email at outreach@graceinthecity.com.
