6. Say this prayer.

Lord you are a God

who makes all things new.

Make new in my life the

thoughts, feelings, and be-

haviors that get in the way

of being who you have cre-

ated me to be. Free me

from what haunts my rela-

tionship with __________

(for example, an eating hab-

it). Strengthen me, unbind

me from the messages that

try to control me. Walk

with me, help me to live

whole, and to care for your

gifts of body, mind, and

spirit. Amen.

7. When you feel ready,

unbind the cloth from

around your hand.

8. Keep the cloth during

Lent as a symbol of your

intention to live unbound.

May your changes bring you

newness of life.

Peace to you.

Pastor Cindy

The Lenten midweek ser-

vices will focus on change

by lifting up scripture for

us. Please be sure to read

the article on page 2.

Change can be difficult.

Memories, messages, and

patterns of behavior can

bind us — making us feel

unable to live the whole,

healthy life that God in-

tended for us.

As you enter into Lent

use this spiritual practice to

help you identify and con-

fess the personal barriers

that are binding you—those

things over which you have

felt powerless. This practice

may help you seek God’s

strength, guidance, love,

and grace as you engage in

a lasting change.

1. Begin with prayer.

2. Consider what causes

you to feel bound.

3. Write it on a strip of

cloth.

4. Wrap the cloth around

your hand.

5. Read the scripture of

how Jesus raised Lazarus to

life.

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” – John 11:38-44

Large enough

to serve,

Small enough

to care

March 2014 Volume 2, Issue 3

Mark your

calendar:

Ash Wednesday

Service

March 5th, 7 p.m.

Inside this issue:

Lenten Schedule 2

Adult Studies for

March

3

God’s Work.

Our Hands. Update

4

Council Reports 5

ELCA Updates 6

Prayer Concerns 7

Souper Bowl of

Caring Results

8

Prepare for Change

Lenten Devotional — “Let Us Hold Fast” This daily devotional was written by retired Luther Seminary professors. There are

short readings and a prayer for each day from Ash Wednesday through Easter Sunday.

Please download it from the home page at: www.graceline.org

LENT

Wednesday Lenten Series, 7 p.m. Change is hard. We long for the expected and familiar, but all too often find

ourselves in the midst of uncertainty and the unknown. We cannot predict how

things will turn out. The hymnwriter Joachim Neander proclaimed God's steadfast

love in the midst of life's inevitable changes: "All my hope on God is founded who

will all my trust renew, who through change and chance will guide me, only good

and only true. God unknown, God alone, call my heart to be thine own" (ELW 757).

Page 2

Save the Date:

Ash Wednesday, March 5

Worship Service at 7 p.m.

Join us for a special service to start the forty days

of Lent. Imposition of ashes will be offered.

March 12

Change of Season "For everything there is a

season." We hear those

familiar words telling us

that life is full of changes.

Jesus' parables are also filled

with images of life trans-

formed. Just as the mustard

seed grows into a tree or

yeast turns flour into bread,

we too are called to be

agents of change in the

kingdom of God. Christ did

not come to earth to main-

tain the status quo, but

rather to usher in a

change of season.

March 19 Change of Habit

Bad habits are hard to

break. The letter to the

Galatians urges us to

replace them with the

fruits of the Spirit. Love,

patience, generosity, and

self-control are just some

of the good habits prac-

ticed by those whose

foundation is built on

Christ.

March 26

Change of

Circumstances We move from elemen-

tary to middle school, or

from our hometown to

a new community. We

lose a job, or gain a

child, or accomplish a

goal, or relinquish a

dream. Through it all,

we learn to give thanks

to God in all circum-

stances.

Prayer Service You are invited to join Pastor Cindy in prayer. People from all faith communities in

Round Rock will come together for this contemplative service. It is a service of

silence together. Through grace we open our hearts to God in quite. This is the first

gathering and we hope to create a service at Grace to continue contemplative

prayer.

Sunday, March 16 from 4-5 p.m.

Texas Baptist Children’s Home Chapel, 1101 N. Mays, Round Rock

Lenten Soup Suppers: Sign-up to Bring Soup Soup Suppers will be held each Wednesday: March 12, 19, and 26 at 6 p.m. A sign-up sheet is posted in the Narthex. We want four soups for each night.

Set-up and clean-up help is also needed. We look forward to seeing you there.

Our Lenten Worship Service will follow each week at 7:00pm.

In the past Somalia had connections to the Soviet

Union and to America. Over the past 20 years, the

country has had 17 different governments. Things

have fallen into chaos. Local gangs are the local law,

no matter how cruel or treacherous.

There isn’t much water, there isn’t much food.

There aren’t many jobs. Most people barely subsist.

Anything must be better than this, so families head

over the border and end up in refugee camps. Food

is still scarce, and you have to walk miles every day

to get water. Some people die of thirst, others die

of dysentery from drinking dirty water. It is hard to

see much hope for the future. Unfortunately, this is

the reality of life for thousands upon thousands of

Somalian refugees in camps in Kenya and Ethiopia.

In today’s world, there is no excuse for anyone

to die for lack of clean water. Teams are in place.

Wells are being dug. Large scale filtration systems

are planned. But in the meantime, people are dy-

ing…. At the rate of 4 every minute.

You and I can save lives today. Together we can

provide 100,000 LifeStraws to the men, women, and

children in the refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia,

but it is going to take all of us working together to

save as many lives as we can while there is still time.

Water for Africa is set up through the Greater

Round Rock Community Foundation.

Project partners include Lutheran World Relief,

because they are in place and ready to go and have

the lowest overhead of any international aid agency

– so there is more bang for the buck. Another part-

ner is Catholic Charities, because they also have peo-

ple in place.

Our Lenten offerings will be used to support

Water for Africa for the purchase of LifeStraws.

Page 3

Adult Studies in March Grace House, Blue Room 9:25-10:10 a.m.

March 2 & 9 Bible Fluency

Every Christian agrees that the Bible is the primary source for learning about God and knowing how to live as children of

God. Yet many—perhaps most—don’t know the Bible as well as they should, or even how to take what they do know

and apply it in their daily life. Biblical fluency may help make the Bible more relevant and accessible to God’s people.

“Is the word returning empty?” (The Lutheran, December 2013, p. 20)

March 16 & 23 Biblical Accounts of the Crucifixion

A cross is the primary Christian symbol of how God is made known to humanity through Jesus’ death and surprising res-

urrection. The New Testament books describe and reflect upon the crucifixion in a wide variety of ways, reminding us

that no single viewpoint can convey the full significance of this event. How do they help us understand what the death of

Jesus means for us, for the world, and for God?

March 30 Water for Africa

Our guest speaker is Steven King. Mr. King will bring stories of how the life straws are making all the difference. The Len-

ten offerings this year will support this life giving project. Our synod has designated Water for Africa as the Annual Assembly’s

offering. Come to hear about this great project.

Go to the Christian Education page at www.graceline.org to read study guides.

STEWARDSHIP NEWS: God’s Work, Our Hands. The Stewardship Committee began its planning for God’s Work, Our Hands in December 2013 and ended the first phase on Consecration Sunday, February 23rd. February was an exciting month as Temple Talks were given each Sunday to share what a generous and caring congregation we are, and how we hope to con-tinue our many ministries within our church, community, and worldwide. Consecration Sunday was fun for all — adults and children alike. Children en-joyed making treats for the Deep Wood firemen, delivering them, and getting on the equipment! Reading books were put together for first graders at Deep Wood Elementary. 25 fleece blankets were made and inside each was a stuffed animal. These will be donated to the Round Rock Volunteer Center so some children will have a snuggly blanket and stuffed animal to love when times are hurting for them. Funds for this project were donated by Thrivent Financial. A group of sing-ers brought smiles to the faces of residents at Trinity Care Center as they sang familiar songs to, and with, the residents. A group of hardworking members did landscaping at Hope Alliance Shelter. They returned hot, but smiling! Lunch was served and everyone enjoyed gathering back together for fellowship. Thanks to all members who have returned your commitment cards. If you haven't, please do so as soon as possible by placing it in the offering plate on Sun-day. God’s Work, Our Hands is continuing at Grace everyday!! Blessings to all, The Stewardship Committee

Page 4

Backpack Coalition Car, Truck, and Bike Show

On Saturday March 8th at the Dell Diamond parking lot in Round Rock, there will be a Car,

Truck and Bike Show to raise money for the Backpack Coalition. The event is presented by Red-

mon Rockin Rides and will also offer concessions, door prize drawings, raffles and other fun activi-

ties. The Backpack Coalition is a collaboration of various churches (including Grace), civic and

business organizations designed to meet the needs of hungry children in the RRISD by providing

them with nutritious and easy to prepare food to take home on weekends.

Got a cool vehicle to enter in the show? Pre-register at www.backpackcoalition.com

As a partner Grace has been invited to volunteer our time to help with concession and drink

sales, baked good sales, giving out information at the show, and car show assistance. Grace will

be leading the concessions and drink sales station. Volunteers are asked to sign up for a 2-hour

timeslot between 9 a.m.-6:30.p.m. You may sign-up directly at www.backpackcoalition.com or

sign-up on the bulletin board in the Narthex.

Grace's involvement will result in the Deep Wood Backpack Program receiving $$'s raised, so

more children have the food they need on the weekends. With additional funds, we can increase

the # of food bags that are distributed at Deep Wood, as this is a need that continues to

grow. Questions? Contact Vicki Wall.

Mark your

Calendar:

Sat. March 8th

at Dell Diamond

Photo: Caylin Campbell

Photos: Robert Simon

Here are the numbers for January 2014

Income: $13,794.11

Expenses: $14,522.85 Net (loss): $ -728.74

— Hanna Hooper, Congregational Treasurer

Page 5 Volume 2, Issue 3

Council Members 2014

David Warner, President — president@graceline.org Ed Lippe, Vice President, Evangelism — webminister@graceline.org Shirley Shay, Secretary, Stewardship — stewardship@graceline.org Hanna Hooper, Treasurer — treasurer@graceline.org Carrie Brink, Property — property@graceline.org Bill Pfaff, Christian Education — christianed@graceline.org (not pictured) Gretchen Davenport, Nurture & Fellowship — fellowship@graceline.org Kirtus Kolar, Worship & Music — worship@graceline.org Cindy Wolf, Pastor — pastor@graceline.org

Council Corner

At the Meeting on February 20 the Church Council approved the following motion: Grace will purchase a projector for multi-purpose uses, including Council

Meetings, Sunday School, and committee meetings, with funds from Thrivent.

New business focused on the following items: Promotion of Friends Sunday on March 23 Backpack Coalition Fund Raiser on March 8 Southwestern Texas Synod Assembly May 2-4 Grace's responsibilities at this Assembly—details to follow

— Shirley Shay, Council Secretary

Council Meetings are open to all congregational members

Save the Date

Next Council Meeting

March 20th 7:00 p.m. in the TEC

Photo: Dawn Warner

It’s tough out there: The

Lutheran’s March issue takes

a look at maneuvering in

today’s “rocky vocational

road.” Find out how Luther-

ans, strengthened by their

faith and understanding of

vocation, cope with the

challenges in today’s job

market.

Seasonal reading: In the

March issue of The Lutheran,

reflect on Ash Wednesday

by reading “We are dust—

even the children” …

discover the importance of

St. Patrick’s Day for Luther-

ans … or

try to make sense of the

Transfiguration with ELCA

Presiding Bishop Elizabeth

A. Eaton.

Think on this: Join col-

umnist Peter Marty in a

challenging conversation on

“Who gets saved?” Ponder

“Freedom just another

word for not following Je-

sus,” a tough narrow path

to travel in a me-focused

culture. Join two ELCA

teaching theologians in ask-

ing, “How will the church of

the future look?” Travel to

the Elmina Slave Dungeons

in Ghana and think about

racial justice. Discover a

Lutheran appreciation for

the pope.

Study time. The Lutheran is

a resource for study groups

and adult forums. A free

study guide accompanies

these articles at

www.thelutheran.org

Click on “study guides” on

the left side.

Read all about it:

visit South Dakota with

ELCA Presiding Bishop Eliza-

beth A. Eaton as she meets

with ranchers who lost cattle

following an October storm

…

get an update on the ELCA

Malaria Campaign …

learn about “Always Being

Made New: The Campaign

for the ELCA” …

travel to Tanzania, where

Lutherans provide telescopes

to remote villages … and

meet a funny Lutheran.

Every member receives The Lutheran at home.

Extra copies are available!

Page 6

The Lutheran — March Issue

April

Cover Story: What is the role

of tradition in the church?

News from Cub Scout Pack 155

At Pack 155's November Pack meeting, we col-lected toys for Blue Santa and in December, two groups of scouts went to help sort and wrap the toys for distribution. In December, we also held our annual Christmas Sing-A-Long at the Round Rock West Park and passed out the Pine Wood Derby car kits to all of our scouts. On January 25th, we held our Pine Wood Derby at the Deep Wood Elementary Cafeteria with the overall first place trophy going to Dylan Lewis with his car, Razor. On February 1st we participated in the Report to State Parade in downtown Austin, and celebrated the "birthday" of scouting in America with our annual Blue and Gold Banquet on February 21st at Grace. Coming soon, we will take advantage of the "Live Aboard" overnight camping program on the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi.

Pack 155 completed the re-charter process and now has 23 registered Scouts and 12 reg-istered Adult Leaders. We are thankful for the support we have received from Grace Luther-an Church and its members, and look forward to many more years to come.

Attention all Thrivent Members who participate in the Thrivent Choice Dollars Program March 31, 2014 is the deadline to designate your 2013 choice dollars. Remember that you can select Grace Lutheran Church as the recipient of your choice dollars. These funds support our ministries at Grace. If you have questions, please see Vicki Wall.

Williamson County Chapter Ranking for 2013 In 2013 the Williamson County Chapter of Thrivent ranked #1 in the state for Total Dollars Raised (over $38,000) and #1 in Total Volunteer Hours (over 25,000) Congratulations!

We celebrate the birth of daughter Kalayjah Ja’Gayle Huffman on Saturday,

February 22 at 11:20 a.m. to Toni Green (mom) and Katerrain Huffman

(dad). Mom & baby (6lb. 7oz.) are both doing well.

Thanksgiving for Jackson Crippen — cast removed in mid-February and able

to run and jump around once more.

Thanksgiving for Velma Rothe (Pastor Cindy’s mom) — returned home from

rehab hospital and oing well

Thanksgiving for Gabe Williams (Saccone’s friend) — he has completed

chemo and will have scans in the future to make sure cancer is gone

Kristy Munch (Pastor Cindy’s sister) — recovering from surgery Sue Curry (Sandy Seifert’s aunt) — recovering from knee surgery

Beva Lippe (Member of Grace) — great test results: NO signs of leukemia, and

a new drug designed to inhibit further bone marrow scarring.

Val & Irving Brown (Karen Choate’s friends) — Val's sister Sylvia died from

cancer recently at age 54

Travis Campbell (Mary Ellen’s father-in-law) — at home with family

Campbell family — as they travel to & from Spring, TX

Lane Layer (Bruce Baker’s niece’s husband) — at home in his final days

following a cancer diagnosis

Harold Rayburn (Carrie Brink’s father) — at home recovering from a fall

Carol Ideker (Karen Choate’s friend) — upon the death of her mother

Lynn Jennings (Jan Czenkusch’s friend) — infection after surgery

Genelle Kalmbach (Karen Choate’s mom) — receiving in-home physical

therapy for a torn rotator cuff

Cathy Donovan (Dick Dahlke’s niece) — recovering from a stroke

Darlene Richards (Member of Grace) — at home

Lunch Bunch — If you’re in the area & hungry — Come join us!

The 11:30 Lunch Bunch is meeting and eating at local restaurants. Watch for

monthly locations and join this great social group. This month’s meeting will be:

March 17th (3rd Monday)

11:30 a.m. at The Egg and I Restaurant (near Barnes & Noble) 2701 D. Parker Rd. Ste. 300, Round Rock, TX 78681

See you there!

Page 7 Volume 2, Issue 3

Prayer Concerns & Updates

Prayer requests for family and friends of Grace will be included for a month.

Updates and requests may be added for the next month.

THANK YOU to Shirley Bowman and Vicki Wall for leading the Children's

Sermons in February.

THANK YOU to Mayra Hernandez, Caroline Meadows and Olivia Simon

for collecting donations for the Souper Bowl of Caring.

To the special people at Grace Lutheran Church:

Thank you for your caring, love and prayers! Thank you for the very,

very beautiful card for us. God’s blessings and our love, Don & Darlene

Serving Center

Food of the Month

for March is

Cereal

THANK YOU for showing your support for both Super Bowl

teams. The team who raised the most money was the Denver

Broncos with $200.74 followed by the Seattle Seahawks with

$84.96.

The REAL WINNERS are the people in our community

who will benefit from your generosity. In total we collected

$285.70 and 96 cans of soup for the Round Rock Serving Cen-

ter.

Thank you for participating in the Souper Bowl of Caring,

one of the nation's largest celebrations of giving and serving.

God bless you, Mayra Hernandez, Caroline Meadows, Olivia Simon

Grace Lutheran Church 708 Bluff Drive

Round Rock, TX 78681

Phone: 512-255-6001 Fax: 512-255-1024

office@graceline.org

Mission Statement

Grace Lutheran Church of Round Rock, Texas

As a called community of Christ,

empowered by the Holy Spirit,

we boldly witness the Gospel to each other,

our neighbors and the world.

At Grace we are united as a Family of Believers

who minister to the needs of the community

through worship, prayer, study,

fellowship and stewardship.

GRACE LUTHERAN

CHURCH

Large enough to serve, small enough to care

www.graceline.org

Upcoming Major Congregational Activities

Ash Wednesday Service March 5, 7 p.m.

Lenten Soup Supper March 12, 6 p.m. Lenten Wednesday Service March 12, 7 p.m. Lenten Soup Supper March 19, 6 p.m.

Lenten Wednesday Service March 19, 7 p.m. Lenten Soup Supper March 26, 6 p.m. Lenten Wednesday Service March 26, 7 p.m.

Results of 2014 National Souper Bowl of Caring Photo: Vicki Wall

Mark your calendars for VBS 2014 which will take place July 7–10

(Monday – Thursday). The program for this year is WOW (Workshop of

Wonders) - Imagine & Build with God. We will discover how the ordinary

becomes extraordinary with God as we Imagine with God, Build with

God, Grow with God, Work with God, and Walk with God.

Stay tuned… Vicki

SAVE THE DATE!

VBS: July 7–10

Free Health Insurance Help & Tax Preparation Services

Insure Central Texas is a free community service from Foundation Communities. Trained volunteers are ready to help you find health insurance answers and get covered. No appointment needed!

Round Rock Public Library: Mon–Thu 4:30 – 8:00 p.m. Sat. 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Sun. 1:30 – 5:00 p.m.