Grace Lutheran Church is in the process of calling a new permanent pastor to serve our congregation.
Our call committee consists of eight members of Grace (Carol Boldt, Dawn Bergmann, Kathy Fink, Floyd Fowlkes, Jim Rathe, Rachel Page, Tarrissa Ollendieck, and Elise Mowatt). The call committee and church council have met with a representative from the NE Iowa Synod office, who has instructed members on the steps involved in the overall process.
We worshipped at the church where the Reformation officially began 501 years ago this past week. I was expecting a much more humble birthplace for the Reformation. That comes from the legends I have heard of Luther’s father being unhappy with his decision to take Holy Orders as opposed to the more financially lucrative career in law that was planned for him, and with the seemingly obvious thought that the vow of poverty would mean that the church was meant more for the work of the Gospel than for a place to be adorned.
Our Wednesday evening schedule with supper, worship, and small group instruction and interaction (Confirmation and adult) resumes on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019. We eat at 5:30 pm and have an informal worship service from 6:30 to 7, with small group instruction following from 7 to 7:30. The hope is that folks will find it easier to come and eat supper together at church instead of staying home and wondering what to cook!
The worship services are 30 minutes long and are very interactive.
We are in the midst of changing how we do Christian education at Grace.
Last year we attempted to encourage families to attend Sunday School together as an alternative worship service called Growing in Faith Together (GIFT). This was only marginally successful, but there were many good things about the program that we hope to incorporate in this year’s plans.
Beginning on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019, Sunday School for children 3 years old through 6th grade will take place in the Grace Fellowship Hall.
About this time last year, Grace was in the midst of making the rather painful decision to dissolve the long standing Ministry Sharing Agreement that we had with a local congregation for 30 years. In its essence, that decision came from an acknowledgement that significant changes needed to be made in how ministry happened at Grace for it to thrive as a congregation.
In the past 35 years, worship attendance has declined from an average of more than 300,