June 9, Third Sunday after Pentecost

Readings and Psalm

Genesis 3:8-15: God confronts Adam and Eve in the garden

Psalm 130: Wait for the Lord, for with the Lord there is steadfast love. (Ps. 130:7)

2 Corinthians 4:13—5:1: Renewed in the inner nature

Mark 3:20-35: Doing the work of God as brothers and sisters of Christ

A house divided against itself cannot stand. Jesus makes this observation in light of charges that he is possessed. He is possessed, not by a demon, but by the Holy Spirit. We who have received the Holy Spirit through baptism have been joined to Christ’s death and resurrection and knit together in the body of Christ. Those with whom we sing and pray this day are Jesus’ family. With them we go forth in peace to do the will of God.

Worship Support

Assisting Minister: Claire Vail

Reader: Eileen Herrstrom

Deacon: Jim Anderson

Greeters: George and Bev Kieffer

Ushers: Jeff and Tina Fehrenbacher

Livestreamer: Jim Anderson

Sound: Kevin Vail

For the upcoming Worship Support schedule, see the spreadsheet found here on Google Drive.

Remembering Bill

The Schoedel family invite all our Grace Lutheran Friends to join us on Sunday, June 16, in person or virtually, to remember Bill Schoedel who died on April 1, 2024. Bill wished to have no funeral, just a party…so we will have a party, but it will be preceded by a hymn-sing (because we know Bill loved to sing hymns.) Please feel free to attend either the hymn-sing or the party or stay for both if you wish. There will be no ceremony or eulogy as Bill directed us. Attire is to be casual, as Bill himself would have dressed!

Hymn sing: 2 p.m.

Party: 3 p.m.

*For those who are unable to attend, the hymn-sing will be livestreamed on the church YouTube channel or Facebook page. 

Grace Book Club on June 18: Love Your Mother by Mallory McDuff

The next book has been selected for the Grace Book Club: Love Your Mother: 50 States, 50 Stories, 50 Women United for Climate Justice, published by Broadleaf Books. This book is a collection of stories about spectacularly diverse women who are tackling the everyday task of living while protecting the planet and their communities.

The good news is that we have received a stack of books through a Thrivent Financial Action Team Grant. For those who are interested in a book at no cost, look for Janet at church on Sunday, or you may reserve a copy by sending a text or email to her.

Our plan is to meet on Tuesday, June 18, at 6 p.m. to discuss the book. For this gathering we invite you to bring your own ‘sack supper.’ Beverages will be provided. Please join us for supper to discuss this intriguing book. Maybe the book will provide us with hopeful pathways as we ponder what it means for us to be stewards of God’s amazing and interconnected creation!

Hope you can join us on June 18,

Jo Fleming and Janet Lepp 

Fifth Feast Fellowship

On Sunday, June 30, at 5 p.m., we’ll be gathering at Maize Mexican Grille at the Station in downtown Champaign for our next Fifth Feast Fellowship dinner. If interested in joining us, please sign up in the narthex. Deadline for signup is June 23. Hope to see you there! If you have questions, please contact Claire Vail or Linda Laugges. 

Reconciling in Christ Congregational Assessment

Back in January at our congregational meeting we approved a resolution to explore affiliation with Reconciling Works as a Reconciling in Christ (RIC) congregation. That means that we would be explicit in our welcome of LGBTQIA+ people in all areas of congregational life. Pastor Repp recently attended an RIC training and gained clarity on how exactly we do that exploring. The first recommended step is an assessment of where we are as a congregation. We would like everyone in the congregation to complete this assessment. Please note that this is your assessment of the congregation, and not of yourself. The results will help us as a congregation with discerning the pace of our exploration.

The assessment is available at the link below. Please answer the questions on the first four pages, add up your numbers for each question, and report your number to our office assistant Alex at office@glccu.org. She will track the numbers and report the results to the council. Printed copies of the assessment are also available in the narthex.

If you missed our introduction of the process, you can watch the video we watched here. If you want to learn more about the recommended process, check out this document. If you want to learn more about LGBTQIA+ people (including what that acronym means) this link will help. Thanks for your participation in the assessment and in our exploring!

Open House with the Herrstroms

Eileen and Dale Herrstrom invite you to an open house on Saturday June 29, between 2 and 4 p.m. This party reflects our appreciation for all your support over the past year since our fire and gives you an opportunity to see our new home. Your presence will be our presents - no other gifts please. Come and celebrate with us!

Pastor's Discretionary Fund

The Pastor's Discretionary Fund allows the church to offer financial assistance to people in our community. The office receives requests for help with rent, utilities, and other needs, and your donations make this important work possible!

To donate to this fund, you can give online at https://glccu.org/donate/ or by mailing a check to the church office with "Pastor's Discretionary Fund" in the memo line.

Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACA)

ACA meets at Grace every Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. at Grace in the Chapel.

From the ACA website: "Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACA)/Dysfunctional Families is a Twelve Step, Twelve Tradition program of people who grew up in dysfunctional homes.

We meet to share our experience of growing up in an environment where abuse, neglect and trauma infected us. This affects us today and influences how we deal with all aspects of our lives. ACA provides a safe, nonjudgmental environment that allows us to grieve our childhoods and conduct an honest inventory of ourselves and our family—so we may (i) identify and heal core trauma, (ii) experience freedom from shame and abandonment, and (iii) become our own loving parents."

June 9 to 16

Sunday, June 9

9:30 a.m.: Guitar Worship Service (in-person/livestream)

11 a.m.: Adult Sunday School (Hoffmeister Room)

12 p.m.: Women's AA (Hoffmeister Room)

Monday, June 10

10 a.m.: Food for Seniors (Fellowship Hall)

6:30 p.m.: Finance Committee Meeting (Hoffmeister Room)

6:30 p.m.: Wood Carving Group (Kitchenette)

Tuesday, June 11

6 a.m.: Food for Seniors (Fellowship Hall)

6 p.m.: Adult Children of Alcoholics (Chapel)

6:30 p.m.: Sweet Adelines (Fellowship Hall)

7 p.m.: Council (Hoffmeister Room)

Thursday, June 13

10 a.m.: Food Pantry (Fellowship Hall)

Setup for Bill Schoedel party (Fellowship Hall)

Friday, June 14

7 p.m.: Stitch and Craft (Narthex)

Setup for Bill Schoedel party (Fellowship Hall)

Saturday, June 15

Setup for Bill Schoedel party (Fellowship Hall)

Sunday, June 16

9:30 a.m.: Worship Service (in-person/livestream)

11 a.m.: Adult Sunday School

12 p.m.: Women's AA (Hoffmeister Room)

2 p.m.: Hymn-sing for Bill Schoedel (Sanctuary)

3 p.m.: Party following hymn-sing (Fellowship Hall)

Prayer Requests



We have two formal ways of praying for one another at Grace. One is in the Sunday morning worship service, where we pray for people by name in the Prayers of Intercession. They will also be listed in the emailed and printed versions of GraceNotes, but not in the web version. Please send prayer requests for the Sunday-morning prayers to office@glccu.org. You may also submit prayer requests on our website at https://glccu.org/prayer-requests/.

Using GLC Facilities



Our facilities are available for use by members and by outside groups. If you would like to use any part of the facility, please fill out a Facilities Use Request, found on the web site, and contact Alex in the office to ensure that it is on the calendar, so that the space is ready for you and that you are aware of how to adjust the appropriate thermostat.