Grace Lutheran Church

And now ... We Prepare to Say Goodbye and Thank You Last Sunday, Grace had a wonderful experience together with our new pastor, elected her and she said yes! Thanks be to God! As soon as she has notified her congregation, we'll have more to share publicly. That means that the interim time is finally drawing to a close: Yippee! Except that we have to say goodbye to Pastor Peterman. This is her calling, to help congregations through transitions. We knew from the start that it ...would not be an option for her to stay at Grace. And it is time for us to move into our future! But we shall miss her! Pastor Janet Peterman has agreed to stay through June 6th to help cover the gap until our new pastor can begin her ministry on July 11th. She'll be present on Sundays to lead worship and preach this week (Mothers' Day), on May 30th (Memorial Day) and on June 6th, her last day at Grace. Her last day in the office will be Thursday, June 3rd. She'll be out for vacation May 16-23. During the weeks between now and June 6th, she'll be finishing up work she's already begun: trying to touch base with each homebound member, as possible; making last visits with those she's been visiting in pastoral care; finishing training Grace's new Office Admin; conducting reviews of Grace's staff; filing Grace's 2020 annual report; working with Stewardship on the outlines of the fall campaign; and having her own work and the work of the transition time at Grace evaluated. If you would like to have time with her before she leaves, please contact the church office before the end of May to schedule a visit or call.

Get you tickets to see North Penn High School Spring VIRTUAL show. Recorded live and brought to you in the comfort of your own home. Two of our members Andrea R. and Micah S. have been very involved in this project so show them you support Link to ticket purchase https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/51495

Sunday School families and teachers should check their emails for a different zoom link for this week. Ms. Jaime is filling if for Mrs. Slugg and doing a virtual craft and story time. Please reach out to her if you will not be attending so she knows who to drop craft supplies off to.

Minister of Music Update I always can sense when summer is around the corner. My family opens our house windows, the grass, flowers and trees are blooming and our dog wants to go outdoors frequently! Does summer come and go sooner than you'd like? For me it can but I'm planning to enjoy each and every day. From morning sunrise to the calm at dusk. It might be that summer is just what I need because, as some of you can probably relate, I have felt cooped up inside way too much.... Whatever you feel about summer, I hope it's something you're looking forward to. There's a lot Grace has to look forward to and I think good things are around the corner. The Call Committee's announcement of a Pastoral candidate is definitely good news. That means a lot to me because I know Grace has been praying and working so hard to move forward and during COVID! I offer kudos for the Call Committee’s time and energy to find a great candidate for Grace's Pastoral leadership. I have good vibes and I hope all of you do, too. My heart is sad though to say goodbye to Pastor Peterman. She has grown on me and given me much support and always leads with her heart. Grace is blessed for her hard work and perseverance through many challenges. Musically all my thoughts are on organizing and making a fresh start in planning over the summer. I really hope we find ourselves free from COVID soon, as I know our singers are itching to be able to sing as a group in worship and we can all sing hymns. I cant wait! But patience is needed as our safety and health concerns are still a priority. Working together, our community is helping in ways we might not see everyday, but support and care is being given in ways that will enable us to move forward. Musicians all over the world are supporting each other and we've found ways to cope and complete tasks that seemed impossible a year ago Technology has brought us together, common goals have brought us closer, sharing and caring has helped us and supported us. All good things. A favorite hymn text.. All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all. The purple-headed mountain, The river running by, The sunset and the morning, That brightens up the sky. The cold wind in the winter, The pleasant summer sun, The ripe fruits in the garden, He made them every one. The tall trees in the greenwood, The meadows for our play, The rushes by the water, To gather every day. He gave us eyes to see them, And lips that we might tell How great is God Almighty, Who has made all things well. All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all... Peace and sunshine, Kevin

A LETTER FROM THE PASTOR (MAY2021) Dear Friends at Grace, The funny thing about a turn in the road is that you can’t see beyond the bend, even if you have carefully planned your trip.... We’ve been on this road before, but not exactly in this way. We’ve been planning for this moment, yet as we arrive, there’s such a tangle of emotions: joy; eagerness to get going; yet also grief at the parting after such a surprisingly hard and good pandemic year and too-long interim time. The Christian mystic from the middle ages reminds us to turn to prayer at a time like this. He says, If the only prayer we ever prayed was ‘Thank you,’ that would be enough. Let me start there today. Thank you for being an embodiment of Grace for Kent and me and Nate this year, especially after Kent’s accident. You would always have had a special place in my heart, but the ways you stood by us after his accident have marked you on my heart forever. I’m so grateful, also, for the work we did together to bring Grace to this moment, looking forward. For Transition Leadership Team, Council and Call Committee. For the new team, still unnamed, but hopping with excitement about building relationships with the new people in and around Grace, to get to know them, to pay attention to the kinds of ministries they seek, and to invite them into the wider ministries of Grace, including worship. For the families bringing their children to the scouts and school and for baptism. Your staff is finally whole and settled to work with and support both a new pastor and the ministries of the congregation. Thanks to all who have worked with me defining positions, interviewing, reviewing employees. Grace is ready to face the future. There will be more in next month’s Parish News about what happens to an Interim Pastor when she leaves... I’ll give you a clue: she does not turn into a pumpkin, but there are professional guidelines we agree to and sign off on with the Bishop to allow the new pastor and your ministry to flourish without our getting in the way. More on that next month. For now, may God bless all of our goings and comings, and keep each of us in the palm of his hand. Yours in Christ, Pastor Janet S. Peterman Interim Pastor

Minister of Music Hello Grace members, The strife is o’er, the battle done; The victory of life is won;... The song of triumph has begun: Alleluia! Easter Alleluias will surround us on Easter Day and the days and weeks following. Familiar musical themes and words accompany the joy of Easter and ring out and sing! I want to thank all of our choir members and fellow members of the church who helped our music ministry make a wonderfully collaborative experience, once again, during COVID19. I found a simple song, whose verse made me smile so I'll share with you. Kevin "A song is a wonderful kind of thing, So lift up your voice and sing! Just start a glad song, let it float, let it ring, And lift up your voice and sing! We shall make music to brighten the day; Music will help us to lighten the way. Lift up your voice! Lift up your voice! Lift up your voice and sing!"

A LETTER FROM PASTOR - April So those who welcomed [Peter’s] message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Acts 10:41-42 Dear Grace Family,...Continue reading

During worship yesterday, our congregation unanimously voted to call our next Pastor. We will miss Pastor Peterman who has done a wonderful job assisting us through the transition process. More info to come as we are able to share publicly, but we look forward to the next decade of working toward fulfilling our mission statement: To Glorify God To Grow in Faith To Give in Service... Together in Christ See more

A blessed Good Friday to you all! Worship tonight in person at Grace at 7:30 pm: you're invited. Here's our last Lenten prayer pause for the season: The Spiritual Gifts of Waiting: God gives us time to forgive... Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’ Luke 23:34 Forgiveness is at the heart of Christian faith Jesus taught about it often, spoke it in the most basic prayer that he taught us, and prayed for it for people unaware of needing it in these haunting words from the cross. Yet most of us, I think, carry around within us some things we believe we cannot forgive, whether in ourselves or in someone else. Some of us have given up trying. The writer C. S. Lewis once noted in his journal: Last week, while at prayer, I suddenly discovered or felt as if I did that I had really forgiven someone I have been trying to forgive for over thirty years. Trying, and praying that I might. This Holy Week, as we ponder the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, I invite you to find time in silence with what seems impossible to forgive not with the assumption that it can be magically moved, even by God but with the hope that you yourself might somehow be moved toward God as you stand with him. Let us pray: Thy will be done, O LORD, on earth, as it is in heaven. Amen. Detail, Grace’s Crucifixion banner Created by Joan Amundsen C.S. Lewis quoted in Forgiveness by L. Gregory Jones in Practicing our Faith by Dorothy C. Bass. (San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1997), page 146.

Holy Week Services: Palm/Passion Sunday (3/28) and Easter Day (4/4), in person at 8:00 am and 10:30 am, special music with communion Maundy Thursday (4/1) in person at 7:30 pm, communion with a stripping of the altar... Good Friday (4/2) in person at 7:30 pm, readings, reflection time on isolation, suffering and death, at the foot of the cross of Jesus We invite you. We invite you to bring a friend, to share these worship times with others who might be looking for a place to worship. Masks and social distancing are still in place. No reservations required. We walk these holy days together to live together the redemption won for us in Christ Jesus.