Pastor's RemarksThere are good reasons for joining or staying at a church. At Lord of Love, by the mere fact that we are less then four years old, we all have recently been faced with this experience. Similarly, that fact that there are so many different kinds of churches shows that no one church can satisfy everyone.

Recently, there was a discussion concerning Lord of Love, what we do and do not have. Although some of the things mentioned were debatable there were some things pointed out that Lord of Love clearly do not have, namely a building, choir and Bible/Sunday School every Sunday. I made the statement, that this discussion, "Offer us opportunity to focus on something that perhaps has not been discussed enough at our meetings and tables in our church: Why do people come to Lord of Love? Certainly it could not be because of the church building, nor the church choir, nor our Sunday School, and just in the last two weeks have we started our Sunday Morning Daily Discipleship/Faith Practices class, so it could not be that either. Why do people come and how do we sustain that?"

Not really expecting any specific answers, I was surprised when I started receiving emails from those that did not leave this statement to be discussed just at our meetings or tables. They shared their thoughts, right away. Here are the first two emails I received:

"I do not attend Lord of Love because of the food and coffee afterward. I do not attend because it is a weekly fashion show or to hear all of the gossip that has happened in the past week. I attend LoL because I feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. I attend because I receive the Manna that has been provided me for that point in time. I attend because I am welcome just because I am who I am and the love and support that I receive from the pastor and the congregation are genuine. I attend because your sermons take me back to when I was a child and the Word was opening for me. The Word, as old as it is, is still new when presented with life, love and the fullness of God's spirit. If everyone should leave, I will still be there." Steve Morehead

"We came because it was fresh, because we felt energized, because from the beginning there was a sense of community. We need to avoid being so bogged down in the "politics of the church" that we let the people part of the worshiping community slip away. Yes, we need guidelines...yes, we need structure...yes, we need committees for formation, but if we loose the "expressing our faith in love to all" component, we loose more than people...we allow our core identity slip away.Love and Hugs," Linda (Kern-Gronewold)

Alan Hirsch, a South African-born missiologist, author, and a leader in the missional church move-ment, states this, “Dream of the church you want to live in. Dream out loud. Dream at high vol-ume.”

What is your dream for Lord of Love? How do you verbalize that dream and do you shout it from the roof tops?

Here is another tidbit from Hirsch, he gives this startling statistic: 60 percent of the population has

Expressing our Faith in Love to All“…the only thing that counts is faith working through love.” (Galatians 5:6b NRSV)

Lord of Love - In ActionSeptember 2013

no interest in identifying with the contemporary church that is represented by 95 percent of the churches. This means that most people are turned off by all the bad examples of church life. That only 40 percent of us are interested in most churches. It is this 40 percent that ends up going from church to church. It is the 60 percent that we need to reach, to let them experience Christ. In read-ing of the life of Christ, you will notice, he went places the usual church member did not go, and talked to people that many of the religious leaders did not want to talk to, and welcome people who many cast aside. It was a radical and imaginative approach to sharing the Kingdom of God.

Let us too, not wait till we are sitting around tables, but find creative ways, to share why we joined the church and why we stay.

Love and Hugs,Pastor Dennis Hill

Julie Faber September 1Adam Gronewold September 4Linda Lynn September 5Michael Kwon September 6Diane Beemster September 11Uriah Wilkins September 14Shauna Hastings September 18Abbie Kaiser September 24

Bobbie & Dale Freres September 7Gerald & Linda Gronewold September 18Catherine & Michael Kwon September 21

WELCA NewsContact Judy Cormack for more information.

Contact any member of the Lord of Love Stew-ardship Committee for more information.

Men in Mission Our next Men’s Gathering and Bible Study will be Thursday, September 5th, 6:30pm, at the Manger. Mi-lan Blaho President of Lord of Love, will share his story with us. We will be studying the “Mysteries of the Holy Spirit.” Come for fellowship, support and growth.

Nursing Home Sing Ministry*Join us for our monthly visit to the Galena Stauss Nursing Home. Ask Pastor Dennis Hill for details.

Simply SocialThe next Simply Social will be held at the home of Joyce Mandala, from 5-7 p.m. 7 Valley Road, in The Galena Territory (815-777-1133) Please bring an appetizer to share and your own drink.

Food Pantry SundayRemember on the first Sunday of every month we will be collecting donations for the Galena Food Pantry. Please help us support this important organization by bringing your donations of food to worship.

Youth NewsThe Eduction Committee is hoping to spread the fun this year. Please consider signing up to teach (We will help you as much or as little as you want.

Also, if you are high school age or younger please sign up for youth Sunday, September 29. We need readers, ushers, flowers, refresh-ments, and alter guild. Please Contact Cheryl Barr. Please take a minute to read the nice letter sent from Costa Rica. (see below)

Gracein theGarden

Grace in the Garden - Sept. 22Grace in the Garden worship service will be held at the home of Dee Dimon and Becky Gillespie at 28 Butternut Lane in The Galena Territory.

CalendarPlease submit calendar information 20 to Joyce Mandala by the 20th each month. (See below)

Christian TheatrePlease see Mary Hill, Cheryl Barr, Mary Grant, Tom Grant or Lavonne Ohms if you are interest-ed.

To Submit NewsPlease send In Action Newsletter information to Jane Holland by the 20th each month. holland-camp19@mac.com or call 815-238-6010.

This SundayA Day of Celebration and Service “God’s Work. Our Hands.” Sunday September 8, 2013 The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2013 under the theme, “Always being made new.” Sunday, September 8 has been designated nationally as “God’s Work. Our hands. Sunday”. To celebrate the ELCA’s anniversary and our commitment to sharing God’s love with our neighbors, Lord of Love is taking part in this dedicated day of ser-vice.

We will gather at the Galena Stauss, 215 Summit StreetGalena, IL 61036, at 2pm and have worship service at 4pm with the residents. Come dress for what ever work you plan to do. Bring what ever tools

The activities that members will be able to participate include but are not limited to:1. Painting nails, polish will be supplied. (The ladies LOVE that!)2. Reading books to some of the residents3. Visiting, talking, and hearing their stories (This is always great and some of the residents stories are amazing!)4. Work in the courtyard tending to the flower gardens.5. Around the building clearing the rock gardens.6. Helping out with arts and crafts.7. Or, help with games.   If you have your Lord of Love T-shirt or you r “God’s work. Our hands,” T-shirt, please wear it.

Prayer of the DaySovereign God, you have created us to live in loving community with one another. Form us for life that is faithful and steadfast, and teach us to trust like little children, that we may reflect the image of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Rally Sunday is September 15

Lord of Love Christain Education Committee is inviting the congregation to stay after church Sunday, September 15

for burgers and hot dogs to celebrate the start of a new school year with our kids and parents and the continuing of Christian Education at our

church.

Tell us what you hope to see in the coming year. Find out about volunteer opportunities and more! And think about signing up for one of our age groups as a teacher for a three-week

commitment. We all have something to share.

Hear about...• Daily Discipleship and adult Bible Study• The Zone for High School age young adults (9th-12th)• Explorers for upper elementary and middle schoolers (5th-8th)• Kids Club for pre and primary kids (4th and younger)

Welcome our kids and parents back to Faith and Fun Night starting on Wednesday, September 18 at 6 PM at Midwest Medical Center.

Contact Becky Gillespie, Cheryl Barr, Diane Siese, Linda Gronewold, Lavonne Ohms or Jane Holland.

Prayer ListJohn Morehead, Allysha & Reece Meyer, Marisa Kate Sprungman, Mike & Tammy Jarvis, Valerie & Tom Kehr, John & Lynn Grant, Gerie Schulte, Sara Nelson, Whitney Barnhart, Dana Wehrspann, Calvin Wilkens, the Klingen family, Dennis Albrecht, Patricia Cross, Christopher Freres, Terry Ahlbrandt, Matt Carlson, Jim & Donna Barnhart, Leon “Mike” Einsweiler, Jennifer Pecino, George Martin, Larry Kugi, Peter Thomas, Linda Kern Grone-wold, Joanne Fassbinder, Stan & Kim Schwartz, Carol Bender, Terry Lampton, Mary Ann Thorson, Brad Parrack, Mary Sue Klimstra, Carrie Menard, Renee North, Janel Geisert, Queen Brown, Bill Golden, Tom Golden & family, Marty & Kimberley Savino, Kristina & Tim Langston, Nancy Califf, The Kinzers, Rich & Linda Litt, Alvin Cromer, Joan Pecina, Craig Ahern, Kent Neider and leaders of our country and our world.

Contact Dianne Lorento at dlorento@gmail.com for changes in the prayer list.

Save 100%Admission is totally free! With this coupon you are admitted to our church, Lord of Love. We are a welcoming church, we truly believe the words of our Lord, Jesus Christ, in Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all...” All means All; single, divorced, widowed, parents, children, addicted, recovering, white, black, red, short, tall, old, young, employed, unemployed, Sox fans, Cubs fans, alternate lifestyle, Democrats, Republicans, believers, non-believers, homeless, pro-life, pro-choice, bald, long haired, rich, poor, breathing, and you can bring anybody!

Lord of Love Lutheran ChurchPastor Dennis Hill

Worship: Sunday, 10 am at Ramada Galena

P.O. Box 6483, Galena, Illinois 61036 815-291-9195dennisrevdh@msn.com www.lordoflovegalena.org

A Congregation of the ELCA

Congregational Council: Milan Blaho, President, Donna Barnhart, Vice President Mike Barr, Treasurer Dianne Lorento, Secretary Becky Gillespie Will Hastings Dave Huszar Diane Siese

macho

O-ILCO-0148-13

San José Costa Rica, august 24 th, 2013

Dear sisters and Brothers

The Costa Rican Lutheran Church wishes you peace, wellness and sends our deepest

gratitude to all the members of the Mission Trip, Grace Lutheran from Glen Ellyn and

Lord of Love, Galena 2013; sisters and brothers, who make a difference through

practices of Solidarity and Caring.

Thank you for your contribution, which made it possible to continue improving the

Chilamates Church facilities, like the new patio, walls painted and the installation of

the new water pump, which now offer to the congregation a safer and comfortable

haven to gather.

Your visit is a fresh breeze with Joy and Encouragement that not only makes it

possible to finish the hard and humid Work Project, but also connects our Lives of

Faith with Social Justice and together face up to situations such as discrimination and

poverty.

For us, hosting you is an important opportunity to share how the Lord is guiding our

Missions, in which Faith and Companion relationships remain stronger in response to

God’s Grace.

God bless you all

Melvin Jiménez Marín, Bishop Melvin Jiménez