September 2019 Newsletter

Grace, mercy, and peace are yours in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Dear Family of God at Grace,

Nothing like starting September with a Hurricane! As I write to you Dorian is bearing down on Puerto Rico and will soon be heading toward Florida. Lord willing this hurricane will not be as destructive as those in the past. Pray that those in Its path will evacuate or be safe in their shelter! God keep us all!

Ironically as this hurricane approaches, we are still suffering the effects of Irma. Irma's damage included the need to replace broken windows, replacement of our signage, which we are still working on, getting new carpet in the fellowship hall, and the repair of numerous and continued leaks in our roof. We have been piecemealing the repairs due to the high cost of a total replacement and the large deductible for an insurance claim. The Church Council had a special meeting, where we discussed what our options are concerning the further repairs. It was decided to open a claim with our insurance company and explore the possible options for a new sign and complete roof replacement. We will be bringing our results and finds to future Voter Assembly meetings for your information and approval.

The new Constitution and By-Laws are complete and ready for your review and approval. Your committee has worked long and hard on revamping these two documents. There are major changes to both documents. We presented these documents in May and heard from many

of you about areas we need to polish. Over the summer we made that happen and now we will be releasing the Constitution and By-Laws via email and printed copy for your review. The Church Council will present these documents for a vote at the October Voter Assembly.

Our daughter congregation, The Pelican, continues to grow and flourish by God's grace. Pastor Eisold is doing wonderful work in the community. The partnership between Grace and The Pelican is in the middle of year number 4. February 28th, 2016, we installed Pastor Eisold as our Associate Pastor for Mission and Outreach. His focus was starting a mission congregation in what use to be the Messiah Lutheran facility. Today he has 70 plus people in worship on a regular basis.

Pastor Eisold and I, along with the Church Council at Grace, want to find new ways we can develop and strengthen the fellowship we have with our sisters and brothers at The Pelican. We will be looking at future joint fellowship activates, joint service projects, and worshiping together. My hope is that we can live out the Word of the Lord from St. Paul to the church in Ephesus: "I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call - one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (ESV Ephesians 4:1-6).      The Pelican was started as a partnership with the Florida / Georgia District of the LCMS. The District helped cover a large portion of the cost. Unfortunately, the District's financial commitment is about to run out. We have a committee working on a strategic business plan and ministry plan to keep the Pelican moving forward. At upcoming Voter Assembly meetings, we will be presenting our findings and our plan. Pray for God's guidance and wisdom!

With September comes a new season. Wednesday the 4th marks the beginning of many of our seasonal activities. We will have our first Wednesday evening dinner from 5:15-6:30 PM. This dinner is a "POT-LUCK." Following the dinner, we will have our family devotional worship from 6:30-7 PM.   Confirmation is 6:00-7:30 PM. Choir is from 7PM to whenever Johnathan lets the choir go home! If you have not been involved in these activities in the past but your like to sing or eat or worship or all three, come on out and join in the fun and fellowship.

With the beginning of season, we have the trickle of seasonal members making their return. It is always a great joy to see those we have missed

over the summer. Pray for safe travels and reunions over September and the following months.

God bless you all!

In His Service,

Pastor Lingsch             

UPCOMING EVENTS

Golf OutingSeptember 28th

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

Voter's MeetingOctober 6th

OktoberfestOctober 20th 

Trunk or TreatOctober 25th

WEEKLY EVENTS

Youth NewsKami Jo Mogelvang

September 6th-7th: High School Only Lock-In at St. Michael Lutheran, Ft. Myers. Join with other local youth groups for a night of fun, fellowship, food and worship. Cost is $10 PP, RSVP to DCE Kami Jo by September 3rd.

September 8th: Margie Feuser will be speaking to our Sunday school classes on our September Missionary of the Month.

September 15th: Youth Night, 5-7pm at Grace Lutheran Church

Golfing with Grace

Women's Bible StudyWill Resume in September Wednesday Afternoon/EveningPrograms 3:45 pm Cherubs Choir4:00 pm Kids Club4:15 pm Choristers5:15 pm Dinner6:00 pm Confirmation Class6:30 pm Evening Worship7:00 pm Grace Chorale

Handbell Choir6:00 pm Thursdays

 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 GRANTS2019

 

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.

 

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 Eisold

September 2019

New Mercies EVERY DAY! 

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore, I will wait for him." The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young."    Lamentations 3:22-27 Every week, I send out two to three devotions to the members and other Spanish-speaking contacts or "friends" of The Pelican Hispanic Mission. Usually, it is a short Scripture like the one above with a brief statement, which connects the Scripture directly to Jesus Christ as the source and reason WHY we are participants in such blessings. (WhatsApp is our primary tool for communication with the Hispanic community. I am always available by e-mail as well at pastormarknaples@gmail.com). The Scripture from Lamentations is the one I sent on Tuesday, September 2nd after it seemed that the Lord had completely spared us from the wrath of Hurricane Dorian. We continue to pray for the people of the Bahamas, who endured the wrath of the storm, but continue to have God's mercy, forgiveness and love in Jesus Christ.

I can't explain the world's brokenness (unexplained hardship, failure or suffering), nor can I explain the Lord's mercy - apart from the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Yet, by God's grace we know not just the brokenness of the world and of ourselves, but also the love, forgiveness, newness and living hope in Jesus Christ and His Resurrection. In fact, because of Jesus and the way that he transformed the world and its people, we are recipients of daily, visible, physical blessings due to the work of those around us now and those who have gone before us, living, giving, and sacrificing as Children of God in Jesus Christ in spite of the challenges, hardships, and losses they faced from our same broken world.

Many things we have received and benefited from due to the sacrifice, payment, and work of those who have gone before us. Solid examples of excellence, safe communities, highways, churches, educational institutions, values, daily supplies and more! What an honor and privilege it is to be a voluntary giver, supporter, and partner in the mission of Christ so that we may share in His joy to give, support, supply, and assist!!

I praise God for your unwavering support as we experience the power of God over and against the difficulties of starting a new church in SW Florida amongst a different culture and in a different language. The Lord Jesus has blessed ALL OF US with tremendous success and great momentum going into the fall!   Here are some details for you: AUGUSTSpanish Mission:The Lord continues to affirm The Pelican congregation and me as their pastor. August served as a reminder of things not fully realized over the summer, as we had hoped; yet also revealed the maturity that the Lord has given us as we transitioned more smoothly than ever into the school year - and back to a volunteer-led ESL program.

In August we were blessed to see new faces in worship and the return of some folks who had been on vacations. Attendance rose from 60 to the mid-70's even though I missed another Sunday to bring Annalise to Florida Southern College. The weekend of my 50th birthday, the congregation prepared a big party and 130 people were in attendance!! I was very humbled by their love and their words and actions of appreciation. Even with 30 members not in attendance that day, what a blessing!!! This caused GREAT PRAISE to our God of Victory who is still actively saving souls!   It also serves a strong reminder to keep planning for the future of this growing congregation.  At the end of August, I flew to Knoxville, TN to meet with a partner congregation and ask for an official partnership with significant support. I also went to NC to lead a Family Retreat over the weekend with over 70 adults and 25 children. My three-hour time slot FLEW with the presentation, "How to be a 'Heretic' in a Pagan World" (How to shine Christ's light as a Christian). I also led worship on Sunday before returning to Knoxville to return home on Monday.It seemed that as soon as I left Naples early on Wednesday morning, Dorian became a threat to our area. It was really tough for me to be away from Naples and the many new believers entrusted to my care. Through this experience, I learned to trust in the Lord on a whole new level; and I saw how well Maximo communicated with and led our new congregation in my absence. I could not have better Ministerial Assistant, and I praise God for Maximo Maldonado!! Haitian Mission:Pastor Saint Luc Charelus and our Haitian Mission, "SILOE" celebrated their one year anniversary and coupled that with their INAUGURACION, which is like a Grand Opening. Even with the threat of the hurricane, the choir from Miami came, and a total of 145 people attended this special

service at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday September 1, 2019 at The Pelican Lutheran Church.

The congregation, guests, and visitors enjoyed a special dinner following the service and everyone arrived home safely - in spite of the ongoing uncertainty of Hurricane Dorian, just two hundred miles from Miami.

In recent weeks, Pastor Saint Luc experienced a surge in attendance of his three weekly services. He says that Haitian churches are considered more "permanent" - and thus worthy of attending - once they have celebrated their "Inauguracion". One thing I have learned about working with international mission partners is that you TRUST the people who have the experience and the understanding from being part of the culture!

Keep Pastor Saint Luc, his wife, son, and congregation in your prayers. He is a great servant of Christ, and I am blessed to have him as a mission partner with both The Pelican and GRACE of Naples! SEPTEMBERThis month we begin a new semester of ESL for the community. Since entrusting this ministry in the capable hands of volunteers, I have been blessed to do many home visits and enjoy some family time. I still like to visit the group between 6:00 -6:45 to meet new volunteers and students, and to encourage everyone in the love of the Lord. With our new structure, we begin each ESL level in a separate area of our campus - utilizing every space possible. Without the ability to share "Why we do this...” with the entire group, I have decided to make a video of this short presentation, which shares our transformation by Jesus and our faith in Him.

MOST new folks to our church now come through invitations by friends. Two years ago, all newcomers came via ESL classes. Last year about eighty percent came via ESL classes. While I am excited to see our folks inviting friends, family, and neighbors, I want to keep our proclamation of who we are in Jesus Christ out front for everyone to see & HEAR. With modern technology, any volunteer with a laptop, tablet, or even a cell phone may present this at the beginning of class!

Even for a "missionary", sometimes we have to be reminded of the value of what we 'used to do', and figure out how to get back to that so that the all-powerful word of God can do its work.

Having seen the 130 people in our August 25th service, we want to encourage folks to grow in their faith by coming to worship more...

faithfully. We also want to begin a new monthly family event at The Pelican and involve our youth in Sunday youth activities too. This means equipping and entrusting people to take on new opportunities to serve the Lord. Keep us in your prayers with this!

Finally, we will begin to plan a 9:30 a.m. worship service in English by October or November. We will also resume our Monday night service at 6:30 p.m. (Spanish) during October when people's Sunday mornings get absorbed by their busier winter work schedules.  Your Brother in Christ,  Pastor Mark (1 Peter 1:24-25) 

New Member Welcome September 1st