This Sunday, eleven young people will affirm their baptism and participate in the rite of confirmation. Their names are printed below. Please keep them in your prayers as they take this next step in their life journey and their faith journey.

You are also invited to celebrate with them and with their families. They will be introduced during a coffee hour reception in the Fellowship Hall, beginning at 9:15 a.m. The service and rite of affirmation will be at our usual 10:00 a.m. worship hour.

This is a day for our entire family of faith to celebrate, so please bring your prayers and your presence.

Also, we celebrate Reformation Sunday this week, so please consider wearing red.



When we changed the candle in our sanctuary’s eternal light last week, we noticed something beautiful: the melted wax had formed the outline of a heart, with the candlelight glowing through it. A simple, lovely reminder that God is light and God is love – and that God’s love shines among us.

The third annual Empty Bowls fundraiser will be held Saturday, November 7, from 5:30-8 p.m. at Collegiate United Methodist Church in Ames. Enjoy soup served in a handmade bowl created by a local artist, along with bread and homemade desserts. The bowl is yours to keep – a reminder of neighbors in our community and beyond who face hunger.

GLC’s Backpack Buddy program will benefit from the funds raised, so please consider coming for supper and supporting this work. Tickets are $30 each (cash or check only) at the church office, the Octagon Center for the Arts in Ames and Collegiate United Methodist Church. You can also purchase tickets online for $35 by scanning the QR code or at the door on November 7 for $40.

October is Mental Health Awareness Month. During these weeks, our Extending Grace group has been sharing brief reminders about mental health and the struggles that often go unseen or unspoken. Mental health challenges are more common than we may realize, and they are not a sign of weakness or a character flaw. There is help, there is hope and no one needs to struggle alone.

Our two latest Extending Grace spotlights focus on finding help and offering care. One reminder is about finding help – calling or texting 988 connects you with trained support during a mental health or emotional crisis, 24 hours a day. The other is about offering care – listening without judgment and welcoming honest conversation can help others feel safe with us. We don’t have to understand everything to respond with love.

To learn more, follow the link below, you’ll find two resource pages that have been shared with our Sunday bulletins the past two weeks.

Denise Henderson shared this photo of Colorado’s San Luis Valley, where her brother is working on a job near Alamosa. This vast high-desert valley was shaped by volcanic eruption and formed as the earth’s crust stretched and the valley floor sank between mountain ranges. Much of it once lay beneath Lake Alamosa, an enormous prehistoric lake that began draining roughly 400,000 years ago. As lake beds dried, winds carried exposed sand toward the mountains, helping create the Great Sand Dunes.

Denise’s words are perfect: “If this isn’t one of God’s masterpieces, I don’t know what is.”

Beginning November 5, a new Alcoholics Anonymous group will meet Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. here at GLC.

With no regular meetings in north Ames, this gathering will offer a nearby opportunity for connection and support in recovery. We’re glad to open our doors and welcome this group to GLC.

If you’re seeking support or looking for a meeting closer to home, you’re invited to come. Please share this invitation with anyone who might benefit. For more information, call (515) 480-8118.

The quilts are folded, the school kits are packed, and now over 484 of them are on their way to do God’s work and share God’s love. A gift of $4 covers the cost of shipping one quilt or school kit. If you’d like to help send them on their way, please bring or send your gift to the church office. If you write a check, please note “LWR Quilts & School Kits” on the memo line.

We received this thank you along with a donation to Backpack Buddies.

. . . God, music, games, youth, ways to serve, etc.

The ELCA National Youth Gathering is next summer! Sunday, June 27, 2027 through Friday, July 2, 2027.

Registration opens soon! So parents of 8th through 12th graders please be on the look out for an email from Bre with more information on the gathering and how to get registered soon!

SUNDAY SCHOOL!

Our kiddos have been Choosing Their Own Adventure and learning how important it is to choose our words wisely, choose to do good and help others, and to choose God. Our next series will take us through the book of Job.

CONFIRMATION!

IN OUR PRAYERS, WE REMEMBER . . .

Deb Barron (friend of Cindy & Jim Clark); Sharon Berryhill; Jean Bruner; Jim Clark; Peggy Drennan; Laurie Gommel (sister-in-law of Sharon Popp); Donelle Gull (sister of Denise Henderson); Jef Hadaway; Loleta Hansen (cousin of Barb Licklider); Kyra Harbacheck; Gina Hendrickson (mother of Hillary Eckert); Kathy Henryson; LaDona Jergenson (friend of Tammy Tinder); Jacob Keller (grandson of Charlotte Keller); Nathan Kerns; Barb Licklider; Larry McHone; David Nissen; Reed Pattee (cousin of Barb Licklider); Shirley Pattee (aunt of Barb Licklider); Debbie Petersen (cousin of Barb Licklider); Mark Peterson (brother-in-law of Robin Fletcher); Scott Raymond; Deb Smith (friend of Tammy Tinder); Connie Terrones; Randy Thompson; Don Twedt; Dan Van Arendonk (father of Staci Sniezek); Anne Walden; Monica Wilson (granddaughter of Ellen Wilson); Iola Zimbeck (mother of Peggy Drennan); Helen Zimmerman (mother of Shelley Taylor).

WE OFFER NEW PRAYERS OF . . .

+ healing for Jean Bruner. Jean, a friend of our congregation, had cornea transplant surgery last Tuesday and is recovering well.

+ healing for Nathan Kerns. Nathan had surgery October 9 to remove cancerous tissue from his mouth and tonsil areas. Pathology results are expected this week as he and his care team meet to discuss next treatment steps. Nathan, Katherine, Abram and Annie remain hopeful and optimistic about the road ahead.

+ healing for Larry McHone. Larry has been experiencing fatigue, shortness of breath and weakness. He had been scheduled to have stents placed, but learned they were not needed. Further testing is planned to determine the cause of his symptoms.

+ healing for Dan Van Arendonk. Dan, the father of Staci Sniezek, has been hospitalized with complications related to digestive failure and is receiving palliative care.

THE TLC COORDINATORS for the next weeks are Peggy Jobe (Oct. 16-31) and Deb Anderson (Nov. 1-15).