August 2019 Newsletter

Grace and peace to you all in Jesus! Dear Family of God at Grace,

What happened to the summer? Here we are at the beginning of August and that means in just a few weeks we will start a new school year. New School year means that we are not far off from all the activities of a new season at Grace Lutheran. It is an exciting time!

I want to thank you all of you for a great July! The youth gathering was a wonderful 5 days of fun, learning, and growing together in Christ. Many of the young people on the trip to the youth gathering are high school graduates and they are heading off to college. I'm really going to miss them as they head off to a new chapter in their lives. All of you heading off to new chapters will be in my daily prayers! I'm here for you always and only a phone call away.

Thank you for supporting me in the service at the synod convention! What a great evening that was for me. To serve alongside President Harrison and President Walton and give God's people the Lord's Supper was wonderful! You can watch that service by going to LCMS.org, convention, and then the archived opening worship service. It was an honor to represent Grace at the convention.

Enjoy the last few days of summer! VBS was great! We had about 15 to 20 kids and about 10 helpers. Thanks to all the teachers and helpers and the snack crew: Bonnie Heidel and Judy Sadowski and to everyone who donated!

School starts for most on Tuesday the 13th. I would like to have teachers and students on Sunday the 11th come up at the end of each service and receive a blessing for this coming school year.

Let me close this letter with a look at the 4 Sunday Gospel lessons. On the 4th we have Luke 12:13-21. This is a great stewardship text. It is about possessions here that fade vs the possession of heavenly blessings which last for eternity. On the 11th we have Luke 12:22-34(35-40). Continues the possessions theme and is about not being anxious about the stuff of the world but to share what God has blessed you with. On the 18th we have Luke 12:49-53(54-56). This is Jesus telling his disciples about the baptism He must undergo. A shower is coming, and this shower divides us. Finally, on the 25th we have Luke 13:22-30. This text is about narrow doors and the struggle we face to enter eternal life! I pray these Sundays bring you forgiveness, life and salvation.God bless you and keep you in His grace!

In His Service,Pastor Lingsch

UPCOMING EVENTS

Back to School BreakfastAugust 11th - 9:15 am - 10:15 am

Back to School BlessingAugust 11th - Both services

Undy Sunday CampaignAugust 11th and August 18th - Drop off

First Day of School August 13thPreschool and Collier County

Habitat for HumanityAugust 17thPlace to be determined

Gift Card Bingo August 18th - 11:30 am Fellowship Hall

Rally SundayAugust 25th - Sunday School 

Oils of the BibleAugust 25th - 12:00 pmFellowship Hall

Golf OutingSeptember 28th

Next Church Council MeetingOctober 1st (More information to come)

WEEKLY EVENTS

Youth NewsKami Jo Mogelvang

August 17th: Habitat for Humanity 8am-12pm, location TBDAugust 18th: Youth night 5-7August 25th: Rally Day 9:30am-10:15amAugust 25th: Oil Presentation, 12pm in FHAugust 29th: (Kami mtg in Orlando for Youth Ministry Council)September 1st: Official Sunday school classes beginSeptember 4th: Confirmation Class starts: 6pm 

Golfing with Grace

Women's Bible StudyWill Resume in September Wednesday Afternoon/EveningPrograms Will Resume September 4th

Handbell ChoirWill Resume in September

 For all members and guests of the congregation come join us for fellowship and a round of golf. Outing will be at Arrowhead Golf Course in Naples on September  28th.It will be a 8:30 shotgun start in a scramble format.  Cost of golf is $60.00 per golfer which includes the following: 

 18 holes of golf and cart  Lunch at Arrowhead   Gift bag with golf goodies  PGA Store Tournament card valued at $20.00  Sleeve of golf balls.  30 minute use of golf bays at PGA store in Naples  Prizes for 1st 2nd and 3rd place teams, longest drive, closest to

the pin.  1,000 shopping spree at the PGA store in Naples for a hole in one

on specified hole.

 Please contact Rob White at 845-282-0744 or e-mail at whitey5734@yahoo.com with any questions or for sign up information.  Deadline for sign-up and payment is September 6th!  

ENDOWMENT GRANTS

2019 It's that time of year again for the Endowment Committee to solicit from the congregation members grant proposals for funds to be distributed from the general endowment fund.  Depending on the returns in the next few months, around $40,000 should be available for grants.  The past couple of years a number of missions, church projects and scholarships have been supported through use of these funds, and we look forward to having some excellent proposals again this year. Grant application forms are available in the church office and should be returned to the endowment committee box in the church office by October 21, 2019. The criteria the committee will use in evaluating the proposal follows: 

 Grant proposal must be submitted by a member of Grace Lutheran  Church.

 Grant should not cover yearly congregation budget items.  Grant should fit with congregation vision and mission statements;   with

primary emphasis on the spreading of the Gospel.  Priority will be given to the (1) congregation (2) circuit (3) district   and

(4) synod, in that order.  Scholarships should go to students going into full-time church work.

 

Back to School BreakfastAugust 11th 9:15-10:15. 

Join your college students and school age students as they prepare to head off to school. Breakfast menu will be pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon and breakfast cake. 

Blessing Our Students  August 11th, both services. Students are asked to come forward at the end of each service. Pastor will say a special blessing for our students who will be starting school and heading off to college. 

Gift Card BingoAugust 18 in the Fellowship Hall beginning at 11:30.Multi aged event. Prizes will be in the form of gift cards.

Bring a snack to share with the group.Pizza and drink provided.  

Coming Soon to Grace Lutheran Church

Serving Others in Christ .... Coming soon to the members of Grace(Multi-generational)

Do you want to serve God and your community but do not know how or what to do?   Think of joining us as we do just that. We will make hats for our sister congregations in the cold, make cards for military, care baskets for our college students, decorate kindness stones for our Narthex, make knot blankets for the homeless, decorate bags for foster children, book marks for evangelism and much more.   All events will be led with prayer and with a heart for Jesus. If you have an idea that we could do and would be of service to our church family, community or world please put it in the we serve box located in the fellowship hall. 

Do you need someone to talk to? To walk with you through a difficult time? Deaconess Linda Nobili will be available for Spiritual counseling again beginning Oct 15th. Please feel free to contact her anytime at (248) 892-7405 or by email at dcslinda1492@gmail.com.

Did You Know We Have a Facebook Page?Please 'Like' us on Facebook!  Grace of Naples Lutheran Church and Preschool.  

 

Amazon SmileDo you make purchases from Amazon?  Here is an easy way to earn money for our church and preschool without spending any extra money.  Instead of going to Amazon, search for Amazon Smiles.  this page will allow you to put in an organization that will then get a small portion of the money of the things you purchase. Under organizations, search for Grace Lutheran Church, Naples, FL.  Each time you purchase using Amazon Smiles, a small percentage will be donated to Grace.  Amazon Smiles will also remember that you want Grace as a beneficiary.  It won't cost you anything extra but our church benefits with a check from Amazon.  Any questions, call the church office.   

The Pelican Lutheran ChurchRev. Mark EisoldAugust 2019

In It to WIN IT! 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."                              MATTHEW 16:15-18** The "rock" upon which Christ builds His church is always the testimony or confession that Jesus is the promised Messiah(Christ - Greek), who came to take away the sin of the world and justify us by His sacrifice. Depending upon your goals or perspective you could call the same experience "great" or "terrible". Consider basic training or any type of rugged training, which day-after-day takes your body and your mind beyond their limits. One person may think, "I hate this. This doesn't make any sense for me.", while another person realizes, "This is really rough, but this is going to make stronger, better, and prepare me for the future."   Different goals; different perspectives. Sometimes different seasons of life can do the same, but God's word always keeps His Children steadfast and GROWING. The same could be said of The Pelican this summer. Worship attendance has ranged from 50-71; of three families who purchased homes, two have not been around for 6 weeks; three other families have "dropped-out" at a time when schedules are more open; we are preparing four children for First Communion (of seven who I hoped to prepare); a very dear family, whose father/husband died unexpectedly in January, very suddenly

decided to live & work with family in Miami; I made ten home visits so far with 4 more to go; I added two more men to our weekly pastors-in-training group; I am counseling five families/individuals with major issues; I am working with three families for a total of 5 upcoming baptisms; three new individuals, one couple, and three new families have begun worshiping faithfully since June; we are preparing to see our incredible 'summer intern' head off to FSU for his masters studies; we will soon be moving the Haitian church to a different area of our campus due to ministry "growth issues"; and everything gets "crazy" again with the start of school in just seven days! There is a lot happening! All of it is normal; and most of it is extraordinarily GOOD!! Even the losses, turbulence, and sad things are good for keeping the pastor and congregation humble, united, and growing spiritually. Challenge and hardship provide opportunity for us to show Christ's love and to learn how to care for one another as a family of faith. Still ahead this month, and beyond:New invitations will be ready during August to invite friends, neighbors, and "familiar faces" to come & receive God's blessings at Grace. (Clerks, cashiers, waiters/waitresses, staff, etc. are included in the "familiar faces" to whom we may share a heartfelt invitation.)In mid-August, we take Annalise to Florida Southern College in Lakeland to begin her studies there. In late-August, we fly to Tennessee to lead a family retreat for Grace Lutheran Church, Knoxville, TN at a retreat center in NC. [Following Hurricane Irma, the business manager from Grace, Knoxville (Dave Larsen) arrived in Naples on Thursday following the storm with 55 gallons of pure gasoline, four chainsaws, food, water, and my son, Erik - who he gathered in Gainesville "on his way down".]The Haitian Church "SILOE" will have their "Grand Opening" or Inauguracion on September 1 at 3:00 p.m.By October we will offer another Adult Confirmation Class, and another series of First Communion classes for the children who could not come over the summer.We will also send off a letter to supporters offering an opportunity to support the Lord's amazing work at The Pelican. This is the most challenging and rewarding work I have ever done in ministry; and I know that it is making the biggest difference of anything that I have been part of! I could not have done this ten years ago, but the Lord equipped me, put all of together in this, and continues to grow, stretch, equip, and mature us in ways, which we never thought were necessary - much less possible!

Just like with training or discipline, I don't rejoice in each new problem or challenge; but I do rejoice in the service to Christ's people as I know that this is HIS WORK to grow you, me, the people of His flock, and His Kingdom!!

Your Brother in Christ,  Pastor Mark (1 Peter 1:24-25)