Staying Connected
Happy Monday everyone. I hope you all found a way to have a great time celebrating the Fourth of July weekend. My family spent a lot of time sitting on our back patio playing yard games and even got to spend some time with some friends on Lake Washington... One of these years I'm going to learn the proper way to apply sunscreen. It was a nice relaxing weekend and I hope you all had a great one too.

Seems now summer is in full swing. It's hot and humid. It's hard to believe snow has ever blanketed the ground. Of course in the winter time when its so cold it's hard to believe the snow will ever go away. I really enjoyed Pastor John's message this past Sunday. He's right it truly is picnic season. We haven't done any picnics at the park yet but we have spent a lot of time eating out on our pack patio. We have gotten a black stone flat top grill this year and breakfast on the patio has been one of our go-to Saturday morning rituals. Pancakes, hash browns, omelets, whatever the family wants I enjoy whipping it it. We have our first camping trip coming up in a couple weekends too and we may just end up taking a watermelon along. Probably wont take any to the Boundary Waters thought with the youth at the end of the month.

I liked in the message too about how we are the branches and there good fruit is grown. Fruit that we bear through God can feed the kingdom of God. We can't do anything with out God the "Master Gardener." As I've thought about it I like to think about being rooted in God. I think that what a lot of it comes down to. If we are finely rooting in God and we follow Jesus and grow good fruit that is the true reflection of God. All good things grow through God.

I know we're already a few weeks into the summer series "In the Garden with Grace" but I really like the idea of it. I like how right now at Grace we're in such a growing period. Pastor John newly ordained last year. Me new to Grace in December and even though we've had many challenges that have caused us to grow in different ways these last few months I'm excited to see how we continue to grow. The storms my come and the rain may come but all that does is water us and help us grow.

Peace

-Ben
In-Person Worship Survey
As the council prepares to meet this week to discuss the possibilities of resuming in-person worship we ask you to please consider filling out this survey to share your thoughts to help council make an informed decision.

We have seen over 80 surveys responses already. Thank you so much to those that have filled out the survey already. We'll have the surveys available for a couple more days as the council will be meeting on July 7th to discuss the results.
Chicken Pack Event
Still have some open slots for volunteers to help pack chicken for the hungry.

We're looking to start packing chicken starting about 2:00 Tuesday July 7th in the fellowship hall. If you have any questions about the event feel free to give Ben a call. It should be pretty easy though, and a whole lot of fun to be able to see a few folks from Grace.

Please be sure to wear a mask while at Grace for this event.
Fundraising Opportunity Youth BWCA Trip
Grace Lutheran is sending twelve youth and five adults to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area this summer July 27th - August 1st. We are looking for the church for some support with the trip. First off I just want to ask for prayers. Pray that this trip will be a successful trip and that everyone will stay safe and that we all can see God in a new and exciting way. Pray that we will build solid relationships with each other and great friendships will come out of it. Another way we could use your support is if you'd like to make a donation to the trip we'd love it. We normally would have done an Easter Breakfast ran by the youth that would have brought in some funds be we lost that opportunity. What we're doing now is looking for people to help sponsor different parts of the trips.

There are many things that help make a successful trip. For a BWCA trip the main things are a Campsite, Canoes, Tents and Food. We're looking for people that want to donate towards those things. Below you can click on a link we're you can fill out a form if you'd like to make a sponsorship. A Campsite Sponsorship is $200, a Canoe Sponsorship is $100, a Tent Sponsorship is $75 and a Food Sponsorship is $50. Each of these will help cover expenses in the trip. And example of how this works is we're looking at getting 6-7 canoes on the trip from an outfitter. For the four day trip it cost about $100 a canoe. Your sponsorship will cover that canoe. What we'll do is we'll also take a picture of the kids in that canoe and I'll do a little photo shop once we get home and add your name to the side and you'll get a picture of it. I thought it could be a fun little thing. Same with with a campsite sponsorship. We'll do a group picture at the site and can photo shop a camp flag with your name on it. The other thing we will do is when it's safe to gather we will be hosting an all sponsor dinner where we'll invite all the sponsors for a dinner served by the students and we'll talk about our experiences from the trip. Don't worry the dinner won't consist of peanut butter wraps and mac and cheese cooked over the fire like on the trip.

So please consider helping out the trip and I thank you in advance for that.

The google form below can be filled out and a check can be sent in or dropped off at church(just note it's for the BWCA Fundraiser) otherwise you can also print the the form and include with money to the church.
Connecting with you at Home
***Bible Study***
We will be taking a week off from Bible Study this week. Bible study will resume Thursday July 16th
It has been great to see so many people joining in for bible study on a weekly basis. If you're interested, all are welcomed and I encourage you to join in. We've had great discussions and it's good to see each other and connect for a little while.

As a community of Christ we share in each others joys and pains as we share using the Rose Analogy.

  • We look for the Rose in our lives - A highlight, success, small win or something positive that's happening.

  • We look for a Thorn in our lives - A challenge you are experiencing or something you can use more support with.

  • And we look for the Bud in our lives - A new Idea that has bloomed or something you are looking forward to knowing more about or experiencing

We then jump into the bible where we get to study the word together.

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Thursday Bible Study

Zoom Meeting ID 857 5766 8823

Time 8:00 pm Thursday
Every week will have the same meeting ID
Education & Fellowship Opportunities for Youth
VBS Update Aug 9th - 14th 2020

More information about our VBS will be coming out soon.
While we will be having our own Virtual VBS in August through Grace there is still an opportunity for youth to get involved in summer camp in a neat way. Good Earth Village will be releasing a series of videos weekly that will help kids get engaged with not only with God but with the outdoors. Good Earth Village made the tough decision to not do summer programming this year. Instead they are doing Virtual Village. We here at Grace will be doing a similar program in August(more information will be coming out about this very soon). In fact one of the summer staff that helped create these videos for GEV will be helping us out at Grace. If you want more information about Virtual Village you can check it out on their website or click the link below.


Below is a bit about what to expect from Virtual Village

Below you can access Week 1 of Virtual Village. Week one is about Faith.

You're Invited!
A few of our 2020 Graduates are having graduation parties in these coming weeks and wanted to be sure to invite folks in their Grace family.

Below are their Graduation Party invites.
Josh Spellacy Saturday July 11 from 2pm - 8pm
223 Harbor Hill Dr Mankato, MN 56001

Kari Stephas Ssaturday July 18 from 1pm - 4pm
2216 Fairbanks Drive North Mankato 56003
Connect with us
Zoom can seem like it might be tricky to use but it's really not that bad. If you have a Smart Phone or Tablet you can download the Zoom app for free. If you have a laptop with a camera you can easily join in too by going to the Zoom website. On the website there is a spot towards the top where you can click "join a meeting." That takes you to a spot where you can enter a meeting ID number. If you are using the App there is a there is a spot where you can Join too and then asked for the Meeting ID number.

To access the conversation by phone only call 1-312-626-6799 and enter the Meeting ID followed by # you will then need to hit # again to enter the meeting.

If you have any questions about getting connected with Zoom you can contact Ben at 507-524-3254.
Worshiping Together
I hope all have been able to continue to worship with us at Grace. It has been great to see people join into the Facebook Watch Parties Sunday mornings at 9:55am. Our goal is to ways make worship enjoyable and accessibly to everyone in their homes whether it be though Facebook, YouTube, Radio or KTV. There are many ways you can join in and we hope that you're able to find the way that best fits for you right now until we all can once again meet together for worship at Grace. If you are having troubles getting connected to any of that please reach out and we'd love to help you out getting connected.

Every Sunday we will be hosting a Facebook Watch Party Sunday mornings starting at 9:55am so we can all participate in worship together at the same time if you have Facebook

If you don't have Facebook the worships will still be available on KTOE Sunday mornings at 10:00 and the rebroadcast on KTV. We will also continue to share the link to where they can be found on YouTube. Our goal is that everyone will still have an opportunity to worship with Grace.
July 5th, 2020 Worship
Zoom Coffee Hour
Every Sunday after the worship is done on Facebook (approx 10:50) we will be having a Zoom Coffee Hour. It's been fantastic to be able to see some familiar faces from Grace and chat a bit. Even if you weren't able to be with everyone while worship was streamed on Facebook you are more than welcomed to join for the coffee hour.

SUNDAY COFFEE HOUR
MEETING ID 886 4204 9605
There is a new and easy way to continue to give to Grace. You can now text the amount you want to give to 507-607-7337. After a few very easy steps you can submit giving right from your phone. We thank you for your support to the mission and ministry of Grace Lutheran Church.
Christ in our Home
Devotional
Many of you may be unable to get a copy of Christ In Our Home from the church as you normally would.

During this time we are making it available to you digitally, paper copies are still available at Grace and can be picked up. If you stop to pick one up please do wear a mask while in the church building.
Pray Together
Lord God,

You work in so many awesome and unbelievable ways. Ways that we may not understand but we know you are at work through it all. Although things can be tough we know that throw those things it can help us grow closer to you.

AMEN
Check out this Video!
This is one of my favorite songs. I've had the chance to play this song for worship in the past different places and it's not only a fun one to play but the words are amazing. In the album I bought with it years ago it came with a devotional book that had a devotion to go with every song. It's been a while since I have used a CD to play it and not sure where it is to track down the exact words but I do remember it talks about the first line of the song "I'm not skilled to understand, what God has willed what God has planned" It talks about how despite all that we have a God that loves us and wants to be with us. I thought I'd share this song today as I think it's a good one for this time as we all go through so many things. We can be reminded that our Savior love and lives and is always there for us.
My Savior, My God - Aaron Shust