Grace Lutheran Church & Preschool
Newsletter - April, 2021
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17880 E. Covina Blvd. | Covina, CA 91722
Church Office (626) 332-4536 | Preschool (626) 967-5855
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Note: We will not be holding online or in-person worship, or offering drive-through Holy Communion, on Sunday, April 11.
Full Sunday services are available on the Grace Lutheran, Covina YouTube channel. We also hold in-person, outdoor worship at 9:30 a.m. Sundays on the Grace, Covina campus, weather permitting.
Masks are required and social distancing is observed, and we ask that you bring your own chair, if possible. If you are medically compromised, have any of the symptoms of COVID-19, or have had contact with anyone with COVID-19, we ask that you worship safely with us online.
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Grace-Covina Good Friday Service |
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Dear Grace Family,
By the time you receive this month’s newsletter it will have been more than a year since suspended worship inside our sanctuary. Crazy, right? I don’t imagine anyone misses worshipping together inside our sanctuary more than I do. I love worshipping and I love leading worship! I am anxiously awaiting the time when we will once again gather together in worship and fellowship as we had been accustomed to. When will that happen? I wish I had an answer for that, but we still have a way to go before things get back to ‘normal’.
Thankfully, though, we have been worshipping together for several months. Sure, we are gathering in the patio, which is not the same as being inside the sanctuary, but it is still very much worship and life giving for me and those who attend. During the last year there have been so many challenges and having an opportunity to gather for worship, sing praises, here the Word proclaimed, receive communion, and pray have been the break I need from those challenges every week. So yes, it is different but also the same, if you know what I mean.
Over the last year I’ve had conversations with just about all of you, and the one thing that I hear more often than anything else is how much you miss Sunday mornings and the fellowship. That isn’t a surprise because fellowship is such an important part of our lives and of our faith. We truly do become like family to one another and just as you miss spending time with your biological family you feel the same way about your brothers and sisters in Christ. At least I hope you feel that way.
For much of the last year it seemed pretty risky to leave our homes for anything other than life’s necessities. But, over the last few weeks or more conditions have changed and it seems the risks of living life have lessened. And so, I would like to invite you back to worship. We are still being cautious and doing what we can to keep everyone safe. Is it different? Of course. But our life together and worship are not about being inside a specific building and we are pretty much doing almost everything we were doing inside the sanctuary. If it has been a year since you’ve been to worship there is a chance that you have forgotten what it was like and how it made you feel to worship and spend time with some of your brothers and sisters. Again, I invite you to come at least once to see what it is like in the beautiful outdoors (by the way, the weather has been great and it’s only getting better!) to worship our Lord and see, partially at least, the faces of people you love and who love you.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Steve
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Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary invites you to join its Easter Vigil Worship Watch Party on Saturday, April 3 at 7:00 p.m. PDT on the PLTS Facebook page. The worship service includes a liturgy of Word, music, readings, reflections, and prayers, led by PLTS students, pastors, and faculty with plenty of water and fire for all!
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We will not be holding online or in-person worship, or offering drive-through Holy Communion, on Sunday, April 11. Instead the Bishops of ELCA Region 2A, which we are a part of, will offer an online service. Look for a link in your email or the Grace-Covina Facebook and Website. |
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Congratulations to Pastor Ed McGee for receiving a Very Special Person Award from the Ben Lomond Elementary School Parent Teacher Association in recognition for his volunteer work at the school and his recent stint as Santa for Ben Lomond students in December. Thank you as well to Wendy Snyder for delivering to him directly due to COVID restrictions. |
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Join us Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. for Grace Lutheran Online Bible Study - our current topic is the 1st Book of Samuel.
Zoom information for Wednesday Bible Study is also made available on our Facebook page.
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April 4, 2021
Easter Sunday
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Acts 10:34-43
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Mark 16:1-8
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April 11, 2021
2nd Sunday of Easter
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Acts 4:32-35
Psalm 133
1 John 1:1--2:2
John 20:19-31
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April 18, 2021
3rd Sunday of Easter
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Acts 3:12-19
Psalm 4
1 John 3:1-7
Luke 24:36b-48
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April 25, 2021
4th Sunday of Easter
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Acts 4:5-12
Psalm 23
1 John 3:16-24
John 10:11-18
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Glenda Marshall | April 3
Marty Spradley | April 8
Milo McCabe | April 13
Suzanne Banks | April 17
Wendy Snyder | April 19
Lauren Noriega | April 23
Duke Turner | April 24
Tara Cotton | April 26
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Sam & Suzanne Kamler
April 14
Dierk & Adrianna Biggs
April 17
Dave & Jenny Brown
April 17
Donald & Vicki Jacobs
April 25
Bill & Carolyn Wengel
April 27
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- If we don’t have your birthday or anniversary listed
- If you have a special announcement
- If someone in your family is sick or in the hospital
- If you move or change your telephone number
- If you feel the church can assist you in any way
- If you would like a paper copy of the newsletter mailed to you
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The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry – Psalm 34:15
Please pray for those with medical needs, including: Annalisa Morgan, Hailey, Lorraine Thorne, Trina Clay, Walter Hoke, Charlene Bergerson, the Davidson Family, Jaxon Turner, Sarah Encabo, Shiloh Truman Charles, Mickie Spangler, Kevin Ardery, Sylvia Gilmour, Harper, Ed McGee, Suzanna Auckland, Dakota Gorske, Aria Labrum, Kari Watson, Peggy Salcido, John Carlin, Jason Foutch, Addie, Susan Atkison, Joyce Sutera, Jan Sieber, Ofelia Rodriguez, Dave Diaz, Lee and Joan Juneau, Meade Stemple, Rhonda Kloster, Marie Cole, John Brown and Casey Broccini, Marie and Tom McCarthy, Penelope Ross, Russ Mohrmann, Amrie and Denis, Robin Kreitzer, Nikki Intravia, Connie Brown, Jeremiah Reese, Ken Gillingham, Sheila, Marie Dabbs, Tony Key and family, Cody, Adrian Burden, Jennie Walters, Emma, Pat Bergeson, Cheryl Miller, Esperanza Avalos, Pam Elparia, Myrna Ott, Ron Ott, Marilyn Heyne, Cindy Skolaski, Doug Ginesi, Mamasan Ajito, Brian Akey, Deanna Kellogg, Taylor Rae, Robert Larsen, Ray Varela, Deanna Kellogg, Janis Lovullo, Deneice Hadley, Sonny Smith, and victims of COVID-19.
Please pray for others in need of prayer, including: the family of Deanna Kellogg, Deborah and Mark Roberts, the family of Robert Henderson, the family of Lorraine Thorne, the family of Summer Scott, the family of Sylvia Gilmouir, Rick Morgan and family, and our Grace neighbors.
Please pray for the men and women who are currently serving in the military who are bravely protecting us and our country, including Andrew Ranabarger and Cole Elliot (Marine Corps) and Nathaniel Morgan (Army).
Please pray for all victims of natural disasters.
Please pray for those who are being faced with grief, and all who know violence and hate.
Please pray for our Grace Lutheran Church Congregation and partners in ministry.
Please pray for the teachers and children of our preschool and infant care program, and for the teachers and students of Ben Lomond Elementary School, our school districts, and all schools, that they and their families will be safe.
Please pray for hospital staff, all medical personnel and first responders, those in essential services, and the leaders of our world, state, country, and local governments.
Please pray for the ACTION Food Pantry, the clients that they serve, and all those in need.
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President | Judy McGee | (323) 376-1226
Secretary | Brenda Noriega | (626) 914-1664
Treasurer | Robert Ordonez | (626) 388-6930
Members-at-Large
Diana Alley | (626) 475-7583 Cindy Skolaski | (626) 332-0209
Dave Brown | (909) 772-3500 Johna Stienstra | (626) 840-3167
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STAY CONNECTED TO GRACE-COVINA |
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