Point of Grace Press March, 2017 · show you how it is done. Letter from the President continued...

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Point of Grace Press Reaching the Community, Teaching the Word of God, and Proclaiming the Good News of Jesus! Point of Grace is a Christian congregation within the Southeastern District of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. (www.lcms.org) Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. Point of Grace Press March, 2017 From the Pastor Thanks for all the hard work from the Pancake Supper crew. It was yummy and a good time was had by all. It's just fun to get together and work together! Spud Sunday is coming soon; (March 19th) baked potatos with all the fixin's only $10.00! Can't beat that. This is a take home lunch. But on April 23rd, we'll have an in-house luncheon of 3-F's...Favorite Finger Foods. I hope you know by now that we have moved the Yard Sale to Septem- ber 16. This gives us more time to get ready and collect items. We are working on a storage trailer so keep getting items you wish to donate, to us. And we hope everyone will join us in this effort; we will have jobs for everyone. Remember, Lent is a time of added reflection and prayer. In Lent, we contemplate what Jesus has done for us in His suffering and death. As a person like us, He died a human death. And as God, He can identify with you and me in life's ups and downs and challenges. We are eternal- ly grateful for what Jesus has done for us. Lent asks us to reflect deeply upon this mystery. All blessings, Fred From the President When you receive this Newsletter, Ash Wednesday (March 1), will be behind us and we will have begun the penitential season of Lent. During this season, we recall to mind, our sinful nature and acknowledge what Christ has done for us. Lent lasts about six weeks (actually, 40 days, not counting Sundays, which are considered festival days). On April 9, we will celebrate Palm Sunday. The following week, the church will reflect upon the Passion of the Christ during Holy Week, when Point of Grace will have services on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday (April 16), the day we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. What a good and glorious God we have, who sent His one and only Son to die for our sins, in order to allow all who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and follow Him, to have eternal life with Him in heaven!!! There will also be special services of prayer, praise, and teachings - - along with Holy Communion - - on Wednes- day evenings during Lent. I encourage all of you to join others from our congregation as we participate in these services. You will be blessed and others in attendance will also receive a blessing by your presence. The Board of Trustees met on Sunday, February 12, for their regular monthly meeting. We received from the Treasurer, a very encouraging month of January Financial Report. Offerings exceeded the budget ($8,529 vs. $7,000 budgeted), while total income was $11,704, vs. $7,500 budgeted. However, budgeted expenses were also considerably higher than planned ($8,506 vs. $8,063 budgeted); total expenses were Please turn to Page 2. Dates to Note Monday Evenings 7:30 pm - Culture Shock Series Wednesday Evenings 7 pm - Lenten Services March 4 & 18 9:30 am - Fight Back with Joy Women’s Bible Study March 12 9:30 am - Voter’s Meeting March 19 after Worship - Spud Take-out Lunch April 9 after Worship - Board of Trustees Meet April 9 - Palm Sunday, Holy Week April 16 - Easter Sunday April 23 - Finger Food Lunch Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 Pancakes and sausages remaining after Fat Tuesday Pancake Supper were taken to Angels and Sparrows Soup Kitchen. See more photos inside.

Transcript of Point of Grace Press March, 2017 · show you how it is done. Letter from the President continued...

Page 1: Point of Grace Press March, 2017 · show you how it is done. Letter from the President continued $9,637, with only $8,063 budgeted. Nevertheless, there was an overall surplus of $2,067

Point of Grace Press

Reaching the Community, Teaching the Word of God, and

Proclaiming the Good News of Jesus!

Point of Grace is a Christian congregation within the Southeastern District of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. (www.lcms.org) Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.

Point of Grace Press

March, 2017

From the Pastor

Thanks for all the hard work from the Pancake Supper crew. It was yummy and a good time was had by all. It's just fun to get together and work together!

Spud Sunday is coming soon; (March 19th) baked potatos with all the fixin's only $10.00! Can't beat that. This is a take home lunch.

But on April 23rd, we'll have an in-house luncheon of 3-F's...Favorite Finger Foods.

I hope you know by now that we have moved the Yard Sale to Septem-ber 16. This gives us more time to get ready and collect items. We are working on a storage trailer so keep getting items you wish to donate, to us. And we hope everyone will join us in this effort; we will have jobs for everyone.

Remember, Lent is a time of added reflection and prayer. In Lent, we contemplate what Jesus has done for us in His suffering and death. As a person like us, He died a human death. And as God, He can identify with you and me in life's ups and downs and challenges. We are eternal-ly grateful for what Jesus has done for us. Lent asks us to reflect deeply upon this mystery.

All blessings,

Fred

From the President

When you receive this Newsletter, Ash Wednesday (March 1), will be behind us and we will have begun the penitential season of Lent. During this season, we recall to mind, our sinful nature and acknowledge what Christ has done for us. Lent lasts about six weeks (actually, 40 days, not counting Sundays, which are considered festival days). On April 9, we will celebrate Palm Sunday. The following week, the church will reflect upon the Passion of the Christ during Holy Week, when Point of Grace will have services on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday (April 16), the day we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. What a good and glorious God we have, who sent His one and only Son to die for our sins, in order to allow all who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and follow Him, to have eternal life with Him in heaven!!! There will also be special services of prayer, praise, and teachings - - along with Holy Communion - - on Wednes-day evenings during Lent. I encourage all of you to join others from our congregation as we participate in these services. You will be blessed and others in attendance will also receive a blessing by your presence.

The Board of Trustees met on Sunday, February 12, for their regular monthly meeting. We received from the Treasurer, a very encouraging month of January Financial Report. Offerings exceeded the budget ($8,529 vs. $7,000 budgeted), while total income was $11,704, vs. $7,500 budgeted. However, budgeted expenses were also considerably higher than planned ($8,506 vs. $8,063 budgeted); total expenses were Please turn to Page 2.

Dates to Note

Monday Evenings 7:30 pm - Culture Shock Series Wednesday Evenings 7 pm - Lenten Services March 4 & 18 9:30 am - Fight Back with Joy Women’s Bible Study March 12 9:30 am - Voter’s Meeting March 19 after Worship - Spud Take-out Lunch April 9 after Worship - Board of Trustees Meet April 9 - Palm Sunday, Holy Week April 16 - Easter Sunday April 23 - Finger Food Lunch

Create in me a pure

heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast

spirit within me.

Psalm 51:10

Pancakes and sausages remaining after Fat Tuesday Pancake Supper were taken to Angels and Sparrows Soup Kitchen.

See more photos inside.

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Point of Grace Press

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Point of Grace Press March, 2017

Altar Guild

Each Sunday the altar is prepared with the Bread and Wine for our 11 am Worship Service. If you are interested in helping with this part of our worship, please see Dotsi or email her at [email protected]. No experience is necessary! She will show you how it is done.

Letter from the President continued

$9,637, with only $8,063 budgeted. Nevertheless, there was an overall surplus of $2,067 for the month. Two points need to be emphasized; there were five Sundays in January, allowing for an extra week of offerings (and expenses), and secondly, this was just one month into 2017. In any event, we need to be thankful that the trend is positive.

Also at the February meeting, the Deacons reported that during January, the carpet in Suite 102 was shampooed. Since then, the carpet in Suite 104 has also been sham-pooed, as has most of the carpeting in Suite 109. Thanks to Jon Ponivas for his hard work. He was ably assisted by Em-ma for part of the project. In the future, please try your best to place the donuts, cookies, and other “goodies” in your mouth, and not on the floor. In addition to helping to keep the carpets clean, it will assist in preventing the pres-ence of ants; they love and are drawn to those crumbs!!! Considering that we are now living in very different times than just a few years ago, Pastor Hoffman and I met on Jan-uary 24, with two officers from the Cornelius Police De-partment to discuss security measures they might recom-mend for our congregation. The Board of Trustees had pre-viously met with Mr. Patrick McHale, Congregational Chair-man at Resurrection Lutheran in Charlotte, to discuss their security policies and procedures. We received some excel-lent information from both sources. Please understand that in no way do we want to create unnecessary anxiety. But with many recent threats against Jewish Centers (including three at the Levine Center in Charlotte) and a number of “unusual activities” at some Christian churches across America, it behooves us to be vigilant and to prepare and implement a security plan. You may observe some common-sense precautions we will be taking in the near future.

The next meeting of the Voters Assembly will be held at 9:30 am on Sunday, March 12. Your Vice President, Rick Stapula, will chair that meeting. All members of the Voters Assembly are encouraged to attend. If you are a Communi-cant Member of Point of Grace and desire to participate in the governing of the church, consider coming to the meet-ing to see what it is all about. Once a member, according to the Bylaws, it is both your privilege and duty to regularly attend the meetings - - if you wish to continue as a Voting Member.

The next meeting of the Board of Trustees is planned for Sunday, April 9, following the worship service. If you have questions or concerns, please seek out a member of the Board of Trustees (names and phone numbers are in the Bulletin) and share your thoughts or concerns with a Trus-tee.

May the Lord bless you in your vocation and avocation; may He also send His Holy Spirit to you to instruct you and to comfort you. And finally, may the Great Healer keep you in good health and give you peace of mind as you travel down the road of life with Him. As many wise pilots have been known to say: “If Jesus is your co-pilot; you might want to consider changing seats with Him.”

In Christ’s Service,

Bill Boyd

Point of Grace Yard Sale

Start saving household items and clothing for a Yard Sale scheduled for September 16th. Begin cleaning out your closets and watch for details in coming months.

Point of Grace members enjoyed fellowship and a variety of home

made soup and cornbread after worship on February 19th.

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Point of Grace Press

Sunday School News

Point of Grace Press March, 2017

Adult Sunday School Classes—9:30 am

Bill Everett is leading a class on the book of Romans. Please join us at 9:30 am. Nursery is provided and coffee is available!

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Happy Birthday!

William Gittner March 11

Jonathan Ponivas March 17

Linda Stapula March 22

John Lang March25

Alex Mauldin March 30

(If we missed your birthday, please let Pastor know.)

Prayer Teams Each Sunday following the 11 am Worship Service, a Prayer Team is waiting at the back of the worship area to pray with you about any concerns, afflictions, or any other needs you may have. As a caring community, this is one of the ways we serve as the body of Christ. Feel welcome to bring your prayer needs before God during that time. If you are aware of a visitor who needs prayer, invite him or her for prayer after the service.

Men’s Saturday Bible Study

Pastor Gittner is leading a men’s Bible Study on the second and fourth Saturday mornings from 8 to 9:30 am at Point of Grace Church. We are studying the book of Revelation. Coffee is pro-vided. All men are welcome. For more information, contact Pas-

tor Gittner at 704-365-1418.

Anniversaries

No anniversaries this month.

Children’s Chapel

We now have Children’s Chapel during our 11 am Worship Service. The children will attend worship until after the readings and then be dismissed until prior to Communion. The leaders tell a Bible story, share a verse, and conduct Bible activities during this time. Volunteers are listed on the Service Schedule.

Fight Back with Joy

Women’s Bible Study Series

"Fight Back With Joy" is a Bible Study by Mar-garet Feinberg written about how she discov-ered that since "Joy" is from God, it can be found even amidst darkness and agony. Each of our six weeks gatherings include a video (20 minutes), a small group discussion of the homework (45 minutes) and a fun craft (20 minutes) If you are interested in this study, please contact Paula Boyd at [email protected]. There is a book which accompanies the series. The dates are: March 4 & 18, and April 1, from 9:30 to 11:30 am. All women and welcome and encouraged to bring a friend.

Culture Shock Series Monday Nights

If there ever were a time for Christians to understand and communicate God’s truth about controversial and polarizing issues, it is now. Believers must develop convictions based on research, reason, and Biblical truth. It is important to be able and willing to communicate these convictions with a love and respect that reflects God’s own heart. This series will help you learn how to respond with love, even in the face of controver-sy. In the process, you will discover the power of bringing light to the core issues at the heart of society today. This series meets Monday nights at 7:30 pm at Point of Grace. All are welcome to attend. Above: Enjoying pancakes and sausages on Fat Tuesday, Feb. 28th.

Below: The crew is ready to receive guests.

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Point of Grace Press

www.PoGChurch.net

This is the website for Point of Grace. Find news about up-coming events, links to sermons, the newsletter, and LCMS articles, as well as photos and our serving schedule. You can refer friends, family and neighbors to the website to get more information about Point of Grace.

March, 2017 Page 4

The Quilt- Tie session on February 11th put the finishing steps on

several quilts for the homeless.

Scraps of Love Quilting Ministry

It's as easy as tying your shoes! Scraps of Love is a won-derful way to be God's hands to spread the love of Christ through a quilt. Join us Saturday mornings from 9 - 12. It is fun and you will be blessed! You can even help from home. Have a sewing machine and like to sew? Have we got some squares for you! Come Saturday morning, we will be there. Will you? Yours in Christ, Linda Stapula, Sue Tarnovich, Lois Reynolds. See photos at right.

Pastor Hoffman advertised our Pancake Supper on Fat Tues-

day, February 28th.(Right)

Packing to-go boxes.(Left)

Spud Sunday March 19

Have an easy take-home lunch after worship on March 19th. My Momma’s Lap ministry will benefit when you order a large potato with all the toppings. See the order form on Page 7 . Please turn in your order by March 12th. Thanks.

Invitation Eggs Available Palm Sunday

Large plastic eggs containing symbols of the true meaning of Easter will be given out Palm Sunday, April 9. Give one to a friend, neighbor, co-worker, family member, or anyone you want to invite to our Easter Sunday service. This is a tangi-ble way to witness to others the new life available by God’s power and Jesus’ death and resurrection.

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Point of Grace Press

Pastors, Elders, Deacons, and Staff

Pastor: Fred Hoffman (704) 305-0930 [email protected]

Pastor Emeritus: Bill Gittner (704) 365-1418 [email protected]

Pastoral Assistant: Bill Everett (845) 264-4363 [email protected]

Elder: Bill Everett (845) 264-4363 [email protected]

Elder: John Lang (704) 765-9200 [email protected]

Elder: Matt Holquist (704) 393-1555 [email protected]

Deacon: Dan Nelson (704) 746-9420 [email protected]

Deacon: Jon Ponivas (704) 723-6937 [email protected]

President: Bill Boyd (704) 784-9389 [email protected]

Vice President: Rick Stapula (704) 933-5194 [email protected]

Secretary: Gwen Faggart (704) 490-1834 [email protected]

Financial Secretary: Linda Stapula (704) 933-5194 [email protected]

Music Director: Alex Mauldin (704) 839-3903 [email protected]

Altar Guild: Dotsi Hoffman (704) 723-6688 [email protected]

Hospitality: Ann Satterfield (704) 792-9571 [email protected]

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28

30 31

March, 2017

Service 7 pm

Ash Wednesday

Service 7 pm

Service 7 pm

Sunday School 9:30 am

Worship 11 am

Voters Meeting

9:30 am

Worship 11 am

Sunday School

9:30 am

Worship 11 am

Men’s Bible

Study 8 am

Quilters 9 am Advance Clocks

by one hour.

Scraps of Love Quilters 9 am Joy Bible Study 9:30 am

Scraps of Love Quilters 9am Joy Bible Study 9:30 am

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Sunday School

9:30 am

Worship 11 am

Spud Lunch

Scraps of Love

Quilters 9 am

Service 7 pm

Men’s Bible

Study 8 am

Culture Shock 7:30 pm

Spring begins Culture Shock 7:30 pm

Culture Shock 7:30 pm

Culture Shock 7:30 pm

Though hast suffered great affliction

And hast borne it patiently.

Even death by crucifixion,

Fully to atone for me;

Though didst choose to be tormented

That my doom should be prevented.

Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,

Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

From Christ, the Life of All the Living,

LSB 420

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Point of Grace Press

Point of Grace Service Schedule

March, 2017

Point of Grace Lutheran Church

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1505, Huntersville, NC 28070

Physical Address: 20700 N Main, Suite 104, Cornelius, NC 28031

Email Address: [email protected]

Website: www.pogchurch.net

Website for The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod

www.lcms.org

Our Corporate Worship:

Sundays

9:30 am Bible Study

Children’s Sunday School

10:30 am Coffee and Fellowship

11:00 am Divine Worship Service Holy Communion

Lutheran Liturgical Blended

Wednesdays 7:00 pm - Holy Communion,

Bible teaching, singing, and praying.

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Date Offering

Usher

Prayer

Team Hospitality Reader Altar

Nursery

9:30 am

Children’s

Chapel

5 Dan Nelson Hoffmans Paula Boyd Rick Stapula Linda

LynnEllen

Linda

Linda

12

Rick Stapula Langs Sue Tarnovich Ainslee Sue Tarnovich

Melanie H.

Dotsi

LynnEllen

Emma

19 John Lang Boyds Linda Stapula John Lang Linda Stapula Gwen

Sandy

Nancy Smith

Emma

26 Bill Boyd Hoffmans Sandra English Matt Holmquist Dotsi Nancy Smith

Sue Tarnovich

Dotsi

Emma

The Annunciation of our Lord. (Luke 1:26-38)

Observed March 25th.

Praying over Scraps of Love quilts on February 12.

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Point of Grace Press

Spud Sunday, March 19th

Place your order for a Fresh, Hot Loaded Baked Potato and pick it up following worship.

Cost is $10.00 each and includes the following toppings: Sour Cream, Butter, Cheese & Bacon

Name: ______________________________________

How many: _______________

Place order form in the offering plate by Sunday, March 12th.

Proceeds to benefit My Momma’s Lap Reading Center.

Please make checks payable to Point of Grace

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