Readings and Psalm

Amos 5:6-7, 10-15

Psalm 90:12-17

Hebrews 4:12-16

Mark 10:17-31

The rich man who comes to ask Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life is a good man, sincere in his asking. Mark’s gospel is alone in saying that Jesus looked on him and loved him. Out of love, not as judgment, Jesus offers him an open door to life: sell all you own and give it to the poor. Our culture bombards us with the message that we will find life by consuming. Our assemblies counter this message with the invitation to find life by divesting for the sake of the other.

Worship Support

Presiding Minister: Pastor Chris Repp

Assisting Minister: Claire Vail

Reader: Russ Dankert

Deacon: Gail Hug

Ushers: Bruce & Alicia Winter

Greeters: Jeff & Tina Fehrenbacher 

Sound: Kevin Vail

Music Director: Nicholas Pierle

Organist: Dana Robinson

For the upcoming Worship Support schedule, see the spreadsheet found here on Google Drive.

WORSHIP VOLUNTEERS

Worship volunteers are always welcome. Here is a list of some worship activities and the name of the person who schedules them. Feel free to email that person for more detailed information.

              Music opportunities: Nick Pierle (music@glccu.org)

              Ushers: Dave Larson (dlarson907@aol.com)

              Readers: Carolyn Pater (pater@illinois.edu)

              Greeters: Julie Johnson (jgj83056@aol.com)

              Deacons: Karen Maher (office@glccu.org)

Usher Request for Upcoming Sunday Services

Over the past few months, the group of people who hand out bulletins for the worship service has become a little smaller. Having ushers who do this adds a personal touch for those attending worship. If you would like to participate in this ministry, please contact Dave Larson, or visit with him on Sunday morning. 

Hops ‘n Hymns

Sunday, October 27th

Hops n’ Hymns October gathering! Please join members of Grace Lutheran Church, Good Shepherd and St. Matthew’s for an evening of singing and fellowship.

We will meet at Riggs Brewery on Sunday, October 27th, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Bring the whole family and a friend! 

LUTHERAN DISASTER RESPONSE

for Hurricane Helene

ELCA.org/hurricanes

In late September, Hurricane Helene hit the coast of Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, ravaging communities in the southeast, from Florida to Virginia. As the floodwaters have started to recede, the extreme devastation — especially in North Carolina and Tennessee — has become clearer. Entire towns, roads and bridges have been washed away, and millions are without power and cell service.

Whatever unfolds because of this storm, Lutheran Disaster Response will be there. Lutheran Disaster Response has strong relationships in the region and is already at work on the ground. Working alongside synods and other partners, Lutheran Disaster Response is prepared to provide support throughout the impacted region. We anticipate that our greatest impact will be reaching those in underserved and rural areas.

Gifts to Lutheran Disaster Response equip us to respond to those affected by hurricanes and related disasters, such as mudslides, severe storms and flooding. These gifts also empower us to respond to disasters whenever and wherever they strike. Gifts to “Hurricane Response” will be used in full (100%) to assist those affected by hurricanes, until the response is complete.

Give through your congregation or make your check out to

Lutheran Disaster Response and send to:

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,

ELCA Gift Processing Center, P.O. Box 1809, Merrifield, VA 22116-8009

and write “Where needed most” or “Hurricane Response” on your check’s memo line.

The following QR code will also connect you to the information and donation page:

Help Move the Yard Waste Bags at Grace Lutheran Church

Please help move the yard waste bags at Grace Lutheran Church to the Union Street curb so that they are ready for City pick-up. Stop by any time this weekend (11/12-11/13) and move whatever you can. We would like to invite volunteers to help move the remaining bags after Worship Service on Sunday (11/13).

Thanks in advance, many hands will make us ready!

Upcoming Seminar at the Good Shephard Lutheran Church

on Estrangement Between Parents and Their Adult Children

Click the flyer below for more information or scan the QR code to register for the event.

Church Women United - Illinois East Area Fall Institute

"What does God require CW-you?

Saturday, October 19, 2024 - 10:00 a.m.

at the Bethel AME Church, 401 East Park Street, Champaign, IL 61821

Come let us explore "what God requires of CW-you? Be involved in CWU updates, discussions and information gathering. Onsite regisration 8:45-10:00 a.m. with a $10 fee (morning refreshments served). Registration forms can be found in the Narthex at Grace Lutheran Church or by request. Please make checks payable to CWU-IL.

The program begins at 10:00 a.m. - Host Unit: Champaign/Urbana, Host President: Mary Haywood-Benson; Area Coordinator: Delores Singleton Stewart

"Agreed to Differ, Resolved to Love, United to Serve"

For more information on the Church Women United organization please visit:

https://www.churchwomenunitedillinois.org/ (Illinois Chapter)

https://www.churchwomenunited.net/ (National Organization)

Upcoming BACH Concert at Grace Lutheran

Come for an afternoon of music by composers who turned limitation into inspiration, performed by the Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana (BACH) choir at Grace Lutheran Church on Sunday, November 3, at 4 pm.

First, feel the fiery mood of Handel’s Dixit Dominus, with strings and soloists. Faced with the church’s ban on opera, young Handel smartly pivoted, putting the same passion into sacred works like this one. Next, listen for echoes of the convent in a double-choir version by Benedictine nun Chiara Margarita Cozzolani, who also fought efforts by the church to limit her talents.

Doors open 30 minutes early. Tickets available at the door or at baroqueartists.org/events

Adult Sunday School: Clunky Questions

As part of our ongoing exploration considering Reconciling in Christ affiliation, join us this Sunday in the Hoffmeister Room from 11:00-12:00 as we consider a set of questions that are often asked on this topic - good questions in search of good answers. We'll tackle the second session found on the RIC website at this link. You might want to review some of the videos from the first session that we have watched in previous discussions.

Brown Bag Bible Study

No meeting this week. Join us in the narthex for the next Brown Bag Bible Study on Thursday, October 31st, from 12:30-1:30 for a discussion of chapter 3. We’re reading Paul’s letter to the Galatians. There is no preparation necessary, but if you want an introduction and overview of Galatians, have a look at this video. The remainder of the fall schedule looks like this:

~October: 31

~November: 14

~December: 12

Bring your own lunch. (There is a microwave in the kitchenette if you need to heat anything up.)

On The Way

No meetings for the next two Thursdays.

On The Way is a faith-formation opportunity at Grace that connects new and potential members with established members of our faith community. If you’re reading this, you’re a candidate for participating in On The Way. Each 90-minute session is divided roughly into three parts – conversation on a topic of faith, spending time with a biblical text, and then in directed prayer.

We’ll meet in the chapel, down the main hall just past the pastor’s office, from 7:00-8:30 p.m. The fall sessions will focus the first 30 minutes on the questions our new people might have. But new people ask good questions that “old” people can also learn from, so y’all come!



Online Book Discussion



Sunday, October 27, 7:00-8:15pm (CDT): Online book discussion

You are invited to join people across the ELCA's Truth & Healing Movement in reading Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto, by Vine Deloria Jr., an Indigenous author, scholar, leader, and theologian. 

A Discussion Guide is available for you to use as you read (https://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Custer_Died_for_Your_Sins-Discussion_Guide.pdf). You will be struck often by Deloria's ironic sense of humor as he calls out how white people have stereotyped and treated Native people in this country.

The Zoom link will be https://us06web.zoom.us/j/4756726153?pwd=N0dtMmlrcVBjc1JYU1hPZjh3aXI4Zz09.

Notification of your interest can be made by emailing lizandress312@gmail.com.

You can find the text at: http://www.riversimulator.org/Resources/Books/CusterDiedForYourSinsAnIndianManifesto1969Deloria.pdf

ELCA Truth & Healing Movement Webinars

See https://elca.org/truthandhealing for more details and to join sessions (no registration required). Attend live sessions or watch recordings later. 

Oct. 24 - Class: Indigenous Thought & Theology

Nov. 10 - Webinar: Toward Truth and Healing: How Churches Face Accountability for their

Indian Boarding Schools - hear from representatives of several Christian denominations about what each is doing

Nov. 18-19 - Vine Deloria Jr. Theological Symposium - focus will be on the book "Custer Died for Your Sins", a great follow-on to our Oct. 27 discussion

Reminder - Meal Train for St. Andrew's Campus Ministry

“No matter how you support St. Andrew's, I am grateful for your support as we care for students and young adults at the University of Illinois!”

-Grace + Peace, Pastor Jon Fry

You can view the Meal Train page at https://mealtrain.com/4wmkg5 or by clicking here.

October 13 to October 20

Sunday, October 13

Grace Food Pantry Sunday

9:30 a.m.: (Guitar) Worship Service (in-person/livestream)

11 a.m.: Adult Sunday School (Hoffmeister Room)

12 p.m.: Women's AA (Hoffmeister Room)

Monday, October 14

10 a.m.: Food for Seniors (Fellowship Hall)

6:30 p.m.: Finance Committee Meeting (Hoffmeister Room)

6:30 p.m.: Wood Carving Group (Kitchenette)

7 p.m.: Bell Choir Rehearsal (Choir Room)

Tuesday, October 15

6 p.m.: Adult Children of Alcoholics (Chapel)

6:30 p.m.: Sweet Adelines (Fellowship Hall)

Wednesday, October 16

7:00 a.m.: Food Pantry Truck Delivery (Fellowship Hall)

10:00 a.m.: Comrades of Art (Narthex)

7 p.m.: Choir Rehearsal (Choir Room)

Thursday, October 17

10 a.m.: Food Pantry (Fellowship Hall)

There is no Brown Bag Bible Study this week

There is no On the Way this week

Friday, October 18

Saturday, October 19

12 p.m.: Dada Bhagwan Vignan Institute

Sunday, October 20

Newsletter Copy Deadline

9:30 a.m.: Worship Service (in-person/livestream)

11 a.m.: Adult Sunday School (Hoffmeister Room)

12 p.m.: Women's AA (Hoffmeister Room)

Prayer Requests



We have two formal ways of praying for one another at Grace. One is in the Sunday morning worship service, where we pray for people by name in the Prayers of Intercession. They will also be listed in the emailed and printed versions of GraceNotes, but not in the web version. Please send prayer requests for the Sunday-morning prayers to office@glccu.org. You may also submit prayer requests on our website at https://glccu.org/prayer-requests/.

Using GLC Facilities



Our facilities are available for use by members and by outside groups. If you would like to use any part of the facility, please fill out a Facilities Use Request, found on the web site, and contact Karen in the office to ensure that it is on the calendar, so that the space is ready for you and that you are aware of how to adjust the appropriate thermostat.

Pastor's Discretionary Fund

The Pastor's Discretionary Fund allows the church to offer financial assistance to people in our community. The office receives requests for help with rent, utilities, and other needs, and your donations make this important work possible!

To donate to this fund, you can give online at https://glccu.org/donate/ or by mailing a check to the church office with "Pastor's Discretionary Fund" in the memo line.