The Scriptures for next week are:

2 Corinthians 4:7-12

Psalm 37:1-7, 17-19

James 1:2-27



Mission Giving for January

Our missional giving for December will be given to "My Neighbor to Love", a newer bridging partner to move people from homelessness to housing in the Lakes area. We will have a speaker later this month to explain more, but details can be found on their site. My Neighbor to Love Coalition – Guided by the love of God, our mission is to end homelessness and lift people out of extreme poverty in central Minnesota. (mntlc.org)

Please make a note on your gift if you want it designated to the monthly missions, thank you!

Calling all Singers.........

We will have a choir performance on Sunday, January 14, with a rehearsal at 4:30 on Wednesday, January 10, and before worship at 8am on the 14th. We hope you will join us! Please feel free to share this with anyone else you think might be interested!!!

Please join together in prayer twice daily--7:38am and 7:38pm

Psalm 65:11

We will be celebrating Communion during worship on January 7th. All who profess a belief in Jesus Christ are welcome at the table. If you worship online with us, please have bread and juice available so that you can join with us in spirit. If you are unable to attend worship and would like Pastor Jen to bring communion to your home, please contact the office and we will make this happen.

Upcoming Blood Drives



Our Saviors Lutheran Church, Pequot Lakes

January 12th, 12-6



Call 1-800-733-2767.

Adult Bible Study

The Adult Bible Study group is putting out an invitation to anyone interested in bible study to join us. We have just started a study of the 12 minor prophets in the Old Testament are they are saying to us today.

We meet every other week in Classroom F at 4:00pm and our discussions usually end no later than 6:00pm. We each bring our favorite study bible with commentary and compare translations and what they say to us today. There are no dumb questions nor any one right answer. There is little if any lecture as we begin by reading the scripture and go immediately into discussion sharing our views as feels comfortable to each of us. All know they can join the discussion or remain quiet, but each is given an opportunity to share one's views. We will go into quite a bit of detail on each prophet, who he is, when he wrote, his audience and the time and culture he/they lived in from reading the introductory commentaries in each of our study bibles, then delve into the message, often no more than two chapters at a time in a session. We are beginning with Hosea and going thru them in the order they are presented in our bibles. If any of you have felt a desire to learn more about the minor prophets and what they tell us, come join us at 4 pm on January 17th for our next session.

There is an upcoming 28-day study within our Conference with a focus on prayer. It will run from January 14th thru February 10th. This can be done individually or as a small group. I will be participating myself, but if others are interested, I would be willing to create a small group experience with the materials. Reach out to me, Pastor Jen if you want a book ordered and/or to do something together.

See details here on the MNAC website or on the flyers at church.

" Are you ready to see what God can do in your life, your congregation, and the Minnesota Annual Conference when we come together in prayer and ask God’s Spirit to unleash in us? Bishop Lanette Plambeck invites all Dakotas and Minnesota United Methodists to join our “Dynamite Prayer Initiative” (based on a book of the same name, written by Picardo and Kibbey) from Jan. 14-Feb. 10. The book will help you incorporate a surrendered prayer practice into your daily life following Christ, and help you cultivate your capacity to discern, to notice, to respond to God’s guidance, and to live by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Mark Your Calendars!

Sunday January 21st---BINGO and soup luncheon. After worship and a brief time of fellowship, we will play BINGO at 10:30, and then enjoy lunch together at 11:30.

There are so many ways to get involved and volunteer within the church!

We are still in need of help in the tech booth, this is NOT as difficult or technical as you might think! The camera moves with a joystick, and slides advance with the touch of a button. Huge thank-you to Marsha and Gary for their continued work with this critical ministry. Thank you also to Lauris for learning to run the cameras, and Shawna for running the slides for us. It would be great if we had some back-up for these roles.

While we do have two people who help with youth group, we are very open to having other adults that want to hang out and eat pizza with us! Speak with Pastor Jen if you are interested (a "Safe Gatherings" sign-off is required to regularly help with this group).

We are always looking for people willing to help serve communion, usher, and read scripture. If you have other gifts that don't seem to match with the needs mentioned here, take some time to meet with Pastor Jen to find your niche.

Holiday office hours.

Monday January 15th--closed for Martin Luther King Day



www.graceumcpequotlakes.org



How to view our worship service online



1-go to our website at www.graceumcpequotlakes.org

2-Along the top of the page, you will see a tab of options.

--on the right is a tab that says "Sundays"

--choose the "Grace Church Livestream" option

--this will take you to a collection of our services by date, where you can choose the most recent service, or others that you may have missed; when you have clicked the one that you want to view, you should see an arrow to click to make it play. It may be necessary to adjust your volume, based on your own computer system.

The church office is open Monday through Thursday, 9am until noon. The building and office are closed on Fridays and Saturdays.



Church office phone: 218-568-5755

· Church office (for all general inquiries and administrative/clerical duties)

[email protected]

·      Pastor Jen Matthees – [email protected]

·      Ann Hutchings-Congregational Care Assistant- [email protected]

If you have something that should be added to this newsletter from your group or mission, please speak with Pastor Jen or email the details to her at [email protected]. The E-Grace is generally completed by noon on Thursdays, so articles need to be received by Thursday 10am at the very latest.



If you wish to connect with me directly and it is not an emergency, please know that I will respond as needed during pretty regular office hours. I am generally in the church on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, from at least 10-1, call the office to be sure, as my weeks may vary. I check my emails frequently throughout the day, and this is the best way to contact me. Friday is my day off as needs allow.

-Pastor Jen

Important note

If you are mailing something to the church, you must use our P.O. Box for the address. We do not receive mail at the church, and if you use the physical church address it will get returned and could delay your notices to us or offerings.

P.O. Box 276

Pequot Lakes, MN 56472