Grace Notes

Grace Notes

THE NEWSLETTER OF GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH

Dear Members and Friends,

May 2014

We are now in the Season of Easter which lasts for seven weeks. (A week of weeks). There are no Old Testament readings except for the Psalms. The first lessons on Sunday are all from Acts. In this season we proclaim unashamedly that Christ is risen! The ancient Christian response to this is He is risen indeed! Some may assume that Easter is a one day event and that it is now over. This is not true at all for we are an Easter people. We bring the Resurrection difference to all that we encounter because it continues to make a difference. We all have schedules and so does the rest of the world but we live out our lives touched by the Risen Christ. There will be a city wide yard sale on May 2nd - May 4th but the one the youth have in our parking lot will not include the 4th because we will be observing the Sabbath. Our proceeds will help our young people gather with 40,000 others from Lutheran churches around the country in Detroit in 2015. People will eat lunch almost every day but on Tuesday May 6th those who gather in the Fellowship Hall will precede theirs with Holy Communion. Some will include Bible Study in their weekly schedules on Tuesday mornings at 10 a.m. or the first and third Wednesdays at 6 p.m. Some will give up an evening in mid-spring to attend the church council meeting. Most of us will have their picture taken for our church directory so that we can better know each other and communicate more effectively with each other. While this is going on some will help clean the church yard. Or otherwise secular days such as Mothers Day and Memorial Day, we will see it as more than a reason to go to dinner or cook out and we may make a point to attend church and thank God for the sacrifices of others. We do what everyone else does, but as an Easter people we do it through the eyes of faith. Christ Is Risen He is Risen Indeed, Pastor David Almleaf

Grace Notes
Page 2

Altar Flowers May & June

May 4 - Barbara Frederick Special Arrangement-David Gaugler May 11 - Maryland Warner May 18 - Nancy Blanchard Special Arrangement-Debbie Woodruff May 25 - Clem & Carol Hennessey Special Arrangement-Dorian & Tabetha Angus June 8 - Dorian & Tabetha Angus June 15 - Maryland Warner Special Arrangement- Darleen Gaugler June 22 - Marlene & George Slingerland June 29 - Irmgard Getslaff Altar flowers are $33.00 unless you share a Sunday then they would be $16.50 each vase. If you wish to place a special arrangement in the Sanctuary the cost would be whatever you would like to spend. Nancy Blanchard (762-4234) and Linda Bumpus (725-1927) are the Altar Flower coordinators.

(I) - Intinction Sunday (R) - Rail Sunday May 4 (R) - Carol Hennessey May 11 (I) - Don Phelps May 18 (I) - Nancy Demarest May 25 (R) - Joan Longfritz June 1 (R) - Peg Niforos Please find someone to replace you if you cannot make the Sunday you are scheduled and whenever possible, tell Bonnie so that the bulletin can reflect the change. Peg Niforos, Altar Guild Coordinator

Counters for May & June

5/04 - Nancy Demarest, Ron & Jackie Hollenbeck 5/11 - Nancy Demarest, Ron & Jackie Hollenbeck 5/18 - Charlotte Petersen, Darleen Gaugler, Bonnie 5/25 - Charlotte Petersen, Darleen Gaugler, Bonnie 6/01 - Nancy Blanchard, Greta Davis, Bonnie 6/08 - Nancy Blanchard, Greta Davis, Bonnie 6/15 - Nancy Demarest, Ron & Jackie Hollenbeck 6/22 - Nancy Demarest, Ron & Jackie Hollenbeck 6/29 - Darleen Gaugler, Bonnie Olendorf

Prayer Chain Ministry

If you know of anyone in need of daily prayers for the healing of body, mind or soul, please call Bobbi Nigro (725-6781) or Nancy Demarest (725-8704). If requesting in person, please submit the name(s) in writing and add your name at the bottom. To further assist, please reconnect with that member of the Prayer Chain within 2 weeks to verify the condition of the person(s) receiving prayer. All requests are held in confidence unless otherwise designated. Thank you.
Kindness is like a window offering a view of all the warm and friendly things that caring people do.

Prayers of the Church

Please notify the church office when your prayers have been answered so your prayer concern can be removed from the list that Pastor raises up to God on Sunday morning. Just wanted to thank you, for sharing your special blend
of warmth and caring to help people in need.

Bread Bakers May & June

May 4 - Cindy Walsh May 25 - Linda Morley June 1 - Helen Schreivogl Please find someone to replace you if you cannot bake bread the Sunday you are scheduled and whenever possible, tell the church secretary so the bulletin can reflect the change. Thank you, Peggy Niforos

Your generous donation, will help to buy food for the families that need help. Were serving about two hundred clients a month. We really appreciate your help. Thank you, from the Council of churches Johnstown Food pantry. Thank you, for the food that you give to us, it really helps everyone. Sincerely, Tom & Kathy Mickel Food Pantry Coordinators

Grace Notes
Page 3

Received a request from Vanderkamps Spring Appeal for donation to support campers. Voted to send them $75.00 from 10% wider church fund. New computer for Pastors office has arrived and will be installed soon. Voted to move closing of Sunday School, church picnic and Pastors ordination anniversary celebration from June 15th to June 22nd. High School graduates: Breanna VanValkenburgh, Hope Cerasuolo, and Haley Claes will be honored on June 15th. New sensor lighting for the side door was approved. Clean-up day is May 17th 9am-12pm Discussed possibility of hosting another Chicken BBQ early this fall. Next Committee Night will be May 6, 2014 Next Council meeting will be May 15, 2014 Respectfully Submitted, Alison Martin, Council Secretary

Council Highlights from April 10th

At its April meeting, the church council accepted the resignation of our sexton, Howie Paxton, effective May 15th. The Mutual Ministry and Property committees will be accepting applications for anyone within our congregation who might be interested in this position. Mutual Ministry & Property Committees
On May 4th at 12:00 we will be holding a Madison Handbag Fundraiser for Relay For Life. Tabetha Angus will be here to help you design your own custom handbag. If you have any questions or would like more information please see Tabetha.

As you may know, our Youth Group has started their fund raising for their trip to the Youth Gathering in Detroit in 2015. They would like to thank all of you who enjoyed dinner at the Gloversville McDonalds on Wednesday April 9th. Because of your participation (and a lot of eating!) They received 20% of the proceeds earning $292.00! The Easter breakfast was well attended and enjoyed by all. Thanks to your donations, and their hard work, they received $137.00.

Weve had 4 responses so far to our Easter balloon send off. Two landed in Western Mass., one between Amsterdam and Rotterdam and one on a lawn here in Johnstown on Pine Street. All sent messages to remind us to keep up the good work!

Coming up on May 2nd and 3rd is the annual city wide garage sale in Johnstown. Our youth will be in the church parking lot working hard to sell the items you brought. There will also be baked goods and hot dogs for sale. June 14th there will be the car wash at the Gloversville McDonalds. Again, we would like to thank you for all that you do to support them.

Relay for Life 2014

June 6th @ 6pm to June 7th @ 7am Park Terrace School in Gloversville

Graces Team is Prayin For A Cure

To Join our Team please see Alison Martin or register online

We are very excited about our church family album and are hoping for 100% participation. It is the most important way that we have to meet those of our church family that we have not had the opportunity to meet. Our album is as important to our church family as your family photo album is to you in your home. You will also find the family roster very useful for phone numbers and addresses. Just like your family portrait, our Family Church album will become a very important keepsake in the years to come. The album/directory will be put together by Lifetouch Directories and Portraits

Photography Dates at our Church Friday May 16th - 2 - 9 p.m. Saturday May 17th - 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Someone will be in the narthex for sign-ups beginning Sunday April 6th. If you are unable to come to church and would like to be in the directory, please call the church office Tuesday -Friday 9am-1pm and well set you up with an appointment. The picture for the directory is of no cost to you, but if you choose to purchase more pictures, bring a food item for the food pantry and you will receive a $5.00 off certificate.
DO YOU HAVE RETURNABLE BOTTLES AND CANS that are clogging up space in your home? Do you hate the thought of taking them to the store to return? If so, just bring them to church and leave them in the box next to the side entrance. SomeMay 2nd & 3rd - Johnstowns city wide garage sale one from the Youth Group will return them to help will take place. Our Youth Group will be setting defray the cost of their trip to Detroit in July 2015. up tables in the church parking lot. Now is the Thanks for supporting them! time to clean out those attics and cellars. Clean As a further note, the Youth Group is continuing to usable items are welcomed. Thursday May 1st will collect old and used cell phones. There is a box in

be set-up day so you may bring your items to the the narthex where you can leave them. church anytime the week before. There will also be a bake sale so any baked goods are certainly appreciated. Saturday June 14th (10 a.m. - 2 p.m.) Car wash at McDonalds As a further note, the Youth Group is continuing to collect old and used cellphones. There is a box in the narthex where you can leave them.

Grace Notes
Page 5

Remember Our Shut-Ins

At Home:
Eleanor Achzet Eileen Spawn Florence Sandner Ruth Seiler Helene Keach

Nathan Littauer Nursing Home:

Donna Mae Batty Ruth Brownell Shirley Snyder

Wells House:
Geraldine Moldt

Pineview Commons:

Willing Helpers:
Lorraine Muller Dona Frey

Prayer Concerns
Marianne Jones Rick Hennessey The Grandstaff Family The Marshall Family The Gleeman Family Ron Bell Ella Congdon Kyle Fonda Marion Pellegrino Esther Bienick Eleanor Fallis Ginny Cameron Morgan Sandmeier Raymond Rulison Crystal Evans Pastor Rees-Rohrbacher Karen Ryder Marlene Slingerland Carol Cromer Donna Frederick Ethel Lincoln Garth Hillier Faith Sparks

All those who have served and for all those who are now serving in the armed forces, especially:
Scott Bumpus Brandon Caldwell Tony Clemente Brad Coody John Ferrara Kevin Funk Zachary Goot Jordan Keeling Denise & Jacob Lockwood Thomas Szumowski

Please pray for NOAH, Fridays Table, the food pantries of Johnstown & Gloversville and for those in need of them. Please pray for those who are out of work and searching for jobs.

Grace Notes
Page 6

Dearest Friends at Grace Lutheran Church, April 27, 2014: I hope this letter finds you all well and that the milder weather along with the Easter season has blessed you with the promise of new birth in God's resurrected son, our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. We have enjoyed some nice weather in south central Kentucky, but we hear of some storms coming through the next couple of days. Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri got hit by tornados, hail and thunderstorms. We pray for them to fare the storms well there and elsewhere. We'll probably get more wind, rain, thunder and lightening here as today we had some and more predicted tomorrow. Things are really greening up nice for grazing cattle and horses and we've been picking some salad greens and radishes. Daffodils, dandelions and crocuses have come and gone and redbuds, dogwoods, lilacs, fruit trees and violets are in full bloom amongst other wildflowers. I'm loving getting right into the gardening. The Lord's been good to us. William and Leah have been doing pretty well this month and we'll have another appointment at Cincinnati Children's Hospital on May 7th. I understand some Great Strides walks to help raise awareness and support for cystic fibrosis are coming up. Please support the one at the Fonda School on May 4th run by some friends such as The Eggelston Family and others. Flame usually plays there (ask Nancy Blanchard about Carl's schedule). There are other walks in the surrounding areas during the month of May. Please go to www.cff.org/great_strides/ for more information. Meanwhile, we keep busy with the kids and our social life, their daily treatment regime, yard and garden work, and church functions. I still am finding more great new southern gospel music to accompany the singing. I also enjoy the substitute teaching. Steven's still fixing fences for the Donald Tarter. We're up to 22 sheep. We are truly blessed. To all you fellow Moms-Have a Happy Mother's Day! Love in Christ Jesus to y'all, Susan

Grace Notes
Page 7

May Birthdays
1Richard Van Slyke Ed Congdon Garrett Bobowski John Darling Jr. Ada Mrazz Emily Frasier Carisa Miller James Hing Rebecca Pianelli Nicholas Ligon Katherine Van Alstyne Jennifer Wainwright Esther Weaver Robert Spawn Thomas Fraker Jr. Rodney Nielsen Lauryn Pianelli Stacey Morley Heather Wolenik Cheryl Van Alstyne Happy Mothers Day Cynthia Clo Linda Bumpus Phyllis Wright Stephanie Haskin Allison Claire Gregory Allison Claire Gregory Margaret Hastings Erik Johnson Paul Stemmler Sarah Mraz Kathlena Rose Berecka Don Phelps Rebecca Ferry Kristie Sammons Shirley Frederick Audrey Rulison 18 19 Mary Phelps Barry Schuyler, Sr. Charlene Brothers Carol Preston Carol Paxton Spencer Lord Trisha Bobowski Karl Blanchard Larry Preston Tabetha Angus Betty Harrington James Wallace Charlotte Petersen Jeannine Schwartz Cheryl Walsh Joshua Brown Archie Baird Lawrence Snyder Jennifer Edick Herringshaw Taz Taylor Ronald McClain Michael Russo Dean Spiry Carly Brown Daniel Miller Barbara Cline Bonnie Flint Frederick John Harrington Linda Amberger Monica DiScioscia Carlee Fiorillo Mary Winne Matthew Van Slyke Joshua Harvey Fountain Caitlin Taylor Dingman

23567-

20 21 -

22 -

89 10 -

23 -

11 -

24 -

12 13 -

25 26 27 -

14 -

28 -

15 -

16 17 -

29 30 31 -

Grace Notes
Page 8

June Birthdays
124Karly Vdoviak Joseph Miller Hannah Catherine Fountain Donald Robbins Carol Travis-Hennessey Christopher Bryan Betty Hauser 56911 Beth Claes Lisa Clo McLellan Andrea Hemmerich Douglas Darling Lynn Marie Glode Koreen Vainauskas Michael Frederick 27 23 22 21 20 Patricia Calhoun Kay Joslyn Vanessa Warner Saltis Jarred Brown Andrew Lakata Tara Ann Fisher Austin Davis Alyssa Davis Dona Frey James Snyder John Mclellan Evelyn Grace Clo John Peck Deanna Frasier

Barto Brown II
12 Vincent Christman Jack Szumowski Caitlyn Spring 13 15 William Goebel Jack Joslyn Robert Morley II Jared Goderie Happy Fathers Day 16 Thomas Frederick

28 29 30 -

Cindy Cromer
Dorian Angus Arlene Merrick Ella Congdon Melissa Hohler Dennis Hubley

James Robert Pianelli

Cynthia Ermie 17 James Mitchell Eleanor Achzet Christine Ermie Breanna VanValkenburgh 19 Jeffrey M. Smith Deb Haberacher