Habitat for Humanity Dinner

Sunday October 18th is our Habitat for Humanity Fundraiser at TLC from 11:00 to 2:30 pm. The price is $8 for a BBQ chicken dinner, homemade noodles, vegetable, coleslaw, roll, drink and homemade pie for dessert. There will also be a silent auction that day. We have items such as Christmas quilts, Norman Rockwell collector plates, handcrafted items, gift certificates and more! Do your Christmas shopping! Come on over and have some great food and fellowship while supporting a great cause! All funds go directly to Firelands Habitat for Humanity!

Nikolai Grundtvig

Today, September 2nd, the church remembers Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig (1783-1871). Nikolai was born in Denmark, his father a pastor there. While in seminary he was introduced to "New Theology" which he said was too secular and diverted from the holy Word of God. He got himself in trouble for saying these things which held up his ordination by a couple of years. Over the course of his life he wrote over 1,000 hymns. (www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com) One of his most famous hymns is in our ELW number 509. We will be singing this song as our gospel acclamation for the next couple of months.

God's Word Is Our Great Heritage

God's word is our great heritage and shall be ours forever;
to spread its light from age to age shall be our chief endeavor.
Through life it guides our way; in death it is our stay.
Lord, grant while time shall last your church may hold it fast
through-out all generations.

New Orleans Report: August 23rd

Greetings everyone! Join us on Sunday, August 23rd as we tell stories about our trip to the ELCA National Youth Gathering in New Orleans, LA. We will tell you about our days and evenings there, about mass gatherings in the Superdome with 36,992 other Lutherans from across the country. We will tell you about people we met like Barbara who worked in the Superdome while we were there. She received the quilts made by the ladies of the church and will distribute them via her church. We met a world famous napkin folder! We met people who fled the storm, who lived through the brunt of the storm and we heard their stories. We are changed! We have so much to tell you! Come between services at 9:45 am and we will serve you some Beignets- French donuts that we will be making fresh in the kitchen.
We want to say thank you to everyone who made this trip possible and to everyone who prayed for us, thought about us while we were gone, gave us rides and helped raise money for this life changing trip. We don't want to stop! We want to do more and we want you to get involved with us! What will be next???
God's blessings! See on the 23rd!

I found a computer!

Greetings all from New Orleans!
I finally found a computer! They do have them in a room in the Convention Center just for adults, how about that?
The kids are having a great time.
We went on our service project yesterday, along with 13,000 others! We went to the ninth ward where Hurricane Katrina did most of her damage. We saw houses that are still uninhabited, roofs torn off, abandoned-- next to some of them are newly rebuilt homes. It is a stark contrast indeed! We saw one area where Brad Pitt made new eco friendly houses. They are rather interesting to look at and have solar panels on the roofs for energy conservation. Not sure what the people of New Orleans think about them though- some of the natives wear T-shirts that say, "Brad Pitt for Mayor." I'm thinking that is joke for them, that they aren't serious about it. . . but they do appreciate what we are trying to do here.
We've heard many stories! Most of the folks we talk to say that it was the Lutherans who came first and the Lutherans who remain (though we did see two vans of Southern Baptists doing work also) but the Lutheran church has made a big impression on these people. They are so warm and welcoming! While we were doing our service project, which was picking up litter and really old, old trash (we assume left there for years) cars driving by would toot their horns in appreciation for the orange T-shirt clad volunteers. You 've never seen so many Orange T-shirts in your life! Our kids are doing great- they seem to be learning a lot and are hearing from the evening speakers that God loves them, that they have a great opportunity to make a difference with their lives, and that each person can do something! These messages are so powerful, it is my prayer that they will hear and absorb the message of God's love for their own lives.
They are making friends and seeing that they are not the only Lutheran youth in the world! What a concept!
You can tune into elca.org for a live video cast starting at 7:30 pm your time. (Check it out and see the sea of colored T-shirts that everyone wears from their own group.)
We saw Bishop Lohrmann today and he asked the kids all sorts of questions and they interacted with him quite nicely, talking about their experiences and impressions. Very cool!
We miss you all and are so thankful to you that you worked so hard so that we could all be here! They really do appreciate it, and so do Chris and I as well as the kid's families!
Have a blessed day! I may not make it back here to this computer lab so stay tuned to the website to see what's going on.
May God be with you, as he is with us right now in the Big Easy!
Pr. Amy

We are ready to go!!

Tuesday morning, bright and early, we will head to Cleveland airport for our journey to New Orleans!! Check here daily to see what we are up to!!
The kids will post messages here and you can respond to them if you like!!
Remember us in your prayers as well as the people of New Orleans!!

Vacation Bible School is coming!

Next week we will be having a great time learning about Moses and the plagues, the burning bush, the parting of the Red Sea and more at Crocodile Dock at St. Joseph's Catholic Church (July 6-19 from 6-8:30pm).

Also next Friday, June 10th, we have been asked to pray for our upcoming ELCA Churchwide Convention that will be held in Minneapolis in August. Please join me in praying as I requested you do in the newsletter, but specifically let's pray on July 10th. Here's a little help...
Gracious Father, we pray for your holy catholic church. Fill it with all truth and peace.
Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in anything it is amiss,
reform it; where it is right, strengthen it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of
Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.

Reflect on these lessons: Micah 6: 1-8; Psalm 15; Luke 4: 16-21

* What does it mean for you and your life, as well as for the life of this church corporately, to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with God? What are the challenges in this?
* After reading from the scroll, Jesus declares that the word of God has been fulfilled in its hearing. Where do you see the fulfillment of this word of God living and active in your life, the ELCA and the world?

Prayer: Blessed Lord God, you have caused the holy scriptures to be written for the nourishment of your people. Grant that we may hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that, comforted by your promises, we may embrace and forever hold fast to the hope of eternal life, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hymn: Just a Closer Walk with Thee ELW 697

God's blessings to you and yours this week and always!

Thanks everyone

Greetings Friends in Christ,
Thanks to all who helped with the spaghetti dinner and fundraiser for Lutheran Homes Society in Northwestern Ohio. We raised over $1300 for LHS! Awesome. What a great day!
Blessings to all!