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Grace Lutheran Church
Mission Statement

To ANSWER the CALL of our Savior.
To CONNECT with people in their everyday lives.
To ADVANCE the Gospel through God’s Word and fellowship.
To LEND ourselves in service, so that we may become instruments.
that LEAD others to salvation..

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OBITUARY
Susan Bolin

November 17, 2024

Susan Bolin, a cherished wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, passed away peacefully on Sunday, November 17, 2024. A devoted member of Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Susan’s life was a testament to faith, love, and service. She and her husband, Keith, celebrated over 47 beautiful years of marriage within the walls of the church that became a cornerstone of their life together.

Susan had a profound passion for education and community, dedicating her early years as a teacher’s aide in the Greater Clark County School System. She later continued her career with the United States Census Bureau. Through her work and presence, she touched the lives of many with her kindness, warmth, and selfless nature.

She is survived by Keith, the love of her life, whose partnership defined a lifetime of shared joy and unwavering support. Susan will also be deeply missed by her daughters, Susan Evans and Pam Bolin, and her beloved grandson, Karson, who brought her endless pride and happiness. She is preceded in death by her father, Albert Rice, whose memory she honored with grace and love throughout her life.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, November 21, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Grace Lutheran Church, 1787 Klerner Lane – New Albany, where funeral services will follow at 1 p.m. She will be laid to rest at Walnut Ridge Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hosparus or Grace Lutheran Preschool. Scott Funeral Home, 2515 Veterans Parkway – Jeffersonville, has been entrusted with arrangements.

LINKS TO THE FUNERAL SERVICE
YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Vn4JFP_IQP8JQ3f8QwADQ
Faceboook: https://www.facebook.com/GraceLutheranChurchNA

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OBITUARY
Sharon Gale Mater

December 30, 1928 — November 15, 2024
Jeffersonville, Indiana

Sharon Gale Mater, 95, passed away peacefully in her home on November 15, 2024, surrounded by her loving family. Sharon was a devoted mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother whose life was defined by her love for God, family, and community.

Born in Pikeville, Kentucky, Sharon graduated from Pikeville Academy College, where she met the love of her life, Bruce Hall Mater. The two shared 70 wonderful years of marriage before Bruce’s passing. Together, they built a home filled with love and faith, raising four children, and sharing countless cherished memories with their 7 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren -all of whom brought them immense pride and joy.

Sharon dedicated much of her life to nurturing her family. Her role as a homemaker was marked by boundless love, encouragement, and selflessness. She also served her community through her work with the Jeffersonville Planning and Zoning Commission and the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sharon was a long-time and devoted member of Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Indiana, where she joyfully volunteered her talents and built lasting friendships. Her faith was a guiding force in her life that inspired her family and all those around her.

As a talented artist and pianist, Sharon also found great joy in the outdoors, often camping and fishing with her grandchildren. The “Epic Patoka Lake Outdoor Adventures” were among some of her most treasured moments as “Nonnie, Pop and the kids” would often “disappear” for weeks at time.

Sharon is preceded in death by her beloved husband, Bruce and beautiful great-grand daughters Gwynn & Marion. She is survived by her four children and their spouses: Dr. Bruce Alan Mater (Betty), Lea Lynn Orberson (William), Susan Reed (Steve), Amy Rutledge and her grandchildren: Ben Mater (Lindsey), Katie Brewer (Scott), Maddie Morris (Chris), Allie Wiles (Jeff), Nic Reed (Abby), Kelsi Reed, Sam Rutledge (Rachel) and her great-grandchildren: Henley Mater, Gabriel Brewer, Michael Brewer, Raphael Brewer, David Rutledge, Noel Rutledge, Danielle Rutledge, Charlie Morris, and Beverly Reed.

Visitation and her funeral service with be held at Grace Lutheran Church (1787 Klerner Lane New Albany, Indiana) on Friday November 22, 2024. Visitation will be 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. followed by the funeral at 2:00 p.m.

Internment will follow at Abundant Life Memorial Gardens in New Albany, with a luncheon at the church afterward. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Sharon’s memory to Grace Lutheran Church, New Albany, or to Southern Indiana Care Hospice.

Her family and friends knew her as kind-hearted and will fondly remember that she left an indelible mark on everyone she met. Sharon is now at peace in her heavenly home, reunited with her beloved husband and embraced by God’s eternal love. Her legacy of faith, love, and service will live on through all who knew and loved her.
LINKS TO THE FUNERAL SERVICE
YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Vn4JFP_IQP8JQ3f8QwADQ
Faceboook: https://www.facebook.com/GraceLutheranChurchNA

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OBITUARY
Peggy Ruth Morris

JANUARY 25, 1941 – NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Peggy Ruth Morris, age 83, of Clarksville, Indiana passed away on Friday, November 15, 2024. Peggy was born in Shelbyville, Kentucky on January 25, 1941, to the late Sant and Roberta Moffett. She was a member of Grace Lutheran Church, loved to sing, loved sports and her family, especially her grandchildren. She was in multiple singing groups and love to sing with her husband.

In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by a daughter, Susan Whitaker Decker; a brother, James Crawford; and brothers in law, Alfred Headen and James Baker.

Peggy is survived by her husband and best friend of 34 years, Kenneth M. Morris; a daughter, Sandra Muncy (Tony); a son, Bobby Lee (Barbara); two stepsons, Keith Morris (Pam) and Kevin Morris (Amanda); siblings, Janice Buechele (Gary), Mary Headen and Sharon Baker; sister-in-law, Glenda Calvert; grandchildren, Peggy Elaine, Cassandra, Andrea Lee, William Sant, Anna, Evan, Jeron and Madison; great grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Visitation for Peggy will be held Tuesday, November 26, 2024, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at Grace Lutheran Church, 1787 Klerner Lane, New Albany, Indiana 47150.

Funeral service will be Tuesday, November 26, 2024, at 2:00 PM, at her church with burial to follow in Kraft Graceland Memorial Park.
LINKS TO THE FUNERAL SERVICE
YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Vn4JFP_IQP8JQ3f8QwADQ
Faceboook: https://www.facebook.com/GraceLutheranChurchNA

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WEEKLY DEVOTION NOV 19

Tuesday, NOV 19, 2024

Pastor Bruce Kischnick, Grace Lutheran Church, New Albany, IN

“Shorted and Cheated”

READING: Isaiah 30:8-11-13, 15 – Go now, write it on a tablet for them, inscribe it on a scroll, that for the days to come it may be an everlasting witness. These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction. They say to the seers, “See no more visions!” and to the prophets, “Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!” Therefore, this is what the Holy One of Israel says: “Because you have rejected this message, relied on oppression and depended on deceit, this sin will become for you like a high wall, cracked and bulging, that collapses suddenly, in an instant.” This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and thrust is your strength, but you would have none of it.”

Back in October, Becky and I spent a week in Appleton, Wisconsin, visiting our eldest son Andy and his family. We had a wonderful time, and we had wonderful weather: warm sunshine, a high blue sky, and cool breezes. It was so nice; I decided one day to go fishing in the Fox River at a lock and dam I had discovered last year. I bought a one-day fishing license and I went to a Kwik-Trip gas station to buy some bait. They have a cooler there with live nightcrawlers and other worms and grubs. I bought a Styrofoam container that contained a dozen nightcrawlers, or so it said.

I drove to the lock and dam and went to work. I set up one rod with a bobber and a sinker, put on a nice fat nightcrawler, and tossed it out into the river. Then I took my other rod and went along the embankment casting a jig and crawler. I had several bites that robbed me of a ‘crawler, and I caught one lone freshwater drum. When I rebaited my hook, I had to dig around quite a bit in the container to find what I knew to be my fifth nightcrawler. After I baited up and tossed it back into the water, I thought to myself, “Boy, I sure had to hunt for that last one. Where are the other seven ‘crawlers?” I dug around in the container without success. Then I started to shake out the dirt. By the time the container was empty of dirt I had already come to the realization that I had been cheated! Instead of a dozen nightcrawlers, I had received only five! They had shorted me by more than half! It angered me. I thought, “I’ll have to go back there and make complaint!”

In the entire book of Isaiah, Yahweh makes complaint through his prophet of how Israel is shorting and cheating him. Our text is just one example of his lament and his charges. Israel had fallen into a pattern. They offered up the appropriate sacrifices, paid lip service to Yahweh in worship and prayer, but then failed to live lives in obedience to his law. They cheated, abused, and mistreated the poorer people of the land. They committed adultery, stole, lied, defamed, betrayed, and falsely accused one another. They practiced idolatry with the gods of their enemies and the cultures around them. They acted uprightly in public, but in secret they practiced divination and all manner of vices. And when the Lord sent his prophets to them, they dismissed them, turned away from them, or even did violence to them. They were shorting God of what they owed him for all he had done for Israel. They were cheating him of the praise, the trust, and the love that should have been his. They were giving those things away to false gods or just spending it all on their own luxuries and pleasure. They were ignoring Yahweh and treating him with disrespect.

Is it any less so in our day? Lots of people live their lives without much thought about God. Oh, they may use his name in vain. They may send a quick prayer his way when danger or trouble overtakes them. But on a day-to-day basis they live as though he does not exist. They have nothing in their hearts for him. They live for their own leisure, their own pleasures. They break his commandments as it suits them. They pursue all manner of false gods, most especially the false god of “self”.

And even those who label themselves “Christians” do not much pay attention to what his Word says. They are swayed by the culture around them. They try to “keep up with the Joneses.” They do what “feels” right, no matter what God’s word has to say. They short God of the obedience due him. They cheat him of the thanks and praise that are rightfully his.

Let that not be said about us. As Thanksgiving Day comes ever closer, let us be the people who rightly give him our thanks and praise. Let us do our best to walk in his ways and to seek his will. Let us never cheat him of what is rightfully his, nor short him of our devotion. May he be our great Treasure and our great Light through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

PRAYER:

P.S. When my last worm was gone, I put all my tackle into my car. Then I walked across the street to the “Down the Hill Tavern” and enjoyed a “Lutheran lemonade.” That helped take away the sting of being shorted and cheated!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1) VOTERS ASSEMBLY – Sunday, November 24, after late service, we will have a Congregational Assembly with the principle work of looking at, amending, and approving the Work Plan for 2025. Changes are coming in that year, so careful and thoughtful planning for various contingencies are called for. Please make an effort to attend. Lunch will be provided.

2) SEMINARIAN JOSH BIERI will be here the weekend of November 23-24. He will be the preacher at all three weekend services. Josh and his family have been the recipients of our financial assistance these past two years as he prepares for vicarage next year and ordination beyond. We can look forward to his message and to seeing his wife and at least their little son who will be a year older than when we last saw him.

3) THANKSGIVING SERVICE – 7:00 PM on Wednesday, November 27. My last Thanksgiving sermon at Grace (probably).

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/bTr0YXLPpE8

PRINTABLE PDF: WDNov19.PDF

[email protected] — (502) 797-7407

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WEEKLY DEVOTION NOVEMBER 18

Monday, NOVEMBER 18, 2024

Pastor Matthew Woods from Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Indiana

“Rejoice in the Lord”

We use filters for everything it seems these days. On our cars we have fuel filters, oil filters, air filters, and the ones most never change—the cabin filter which filters the air inside the car. In our homes we use water filters, furnace filters, and HEPA filters in our vacuums. We even use filters on our computers to keep out viruses. We all know how they work: When water passes through a filter dirt is trapped in the filter while the water passes through. When air passes through a filter dirt is trapped in the filter while the clean air passes through. The whole idea is to remove the dirt and the harmful stuff that spoils our fuel, our air, our oil or our water. The filter ends up with the dirt and then is sacrificed to purify whatever passes through it.

Jesus is our filter. In order to enter into heaven Jesus invites us to come to the Father through Him as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Upon the cross our sins were laid upon Jesus. Our dirt stuck to Him so that we can receive the pure righteousness of God. 1 Peter 2:24: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” Jesus is our filter for salvation, and our filter for living in joy.

Philippians 4:4 calls us to “Rejoice…. I will say it again rejoice.” In verse 6 he goes on to say, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all human understanding, will guard your hearts in minds.” As I read this, did you notice what I left out? Wait for it…Philippians doesn’t just say rejoice, but “Rejoice in the Lord…” The Peace of God doesn’t just happen, it happens through the filter that is Jesus. The Peace of God which transcends all understanding, guards our hearts and minds…in Christ Jesus.” “In Christ Jesus…” is the key to thanksgiving and the center of our attention this Thanksgiving season. Genuine joy is an outgrowth of thanksgiving and gratitude is found in the Lord.

The Apostle Paul made it his practice to be in the Lord even though he wrote to the Philippians while in prison in Rome. This was during Paul’s Roman imprisonment in about 62AD. Acts 28:16 tells us that Paul was “allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him” (house arrest). Ironically, Paul was once thrown in prison in Philippi, along with Silas (Acts 16:19ff.). As a result, we know that the Philippian jailor and his entire family were saved. But now, from his house arrest in Rome, Paul is giving thanks and expressing joy. Philippians is often called Paul’s joy letter. He is thankful and joyful because of the Gospel. Philippians 1:12-15 we learn that Paul’s imprisonment has advanced the Gospel, and it is well known to the whole Palace Guard that he is imprisoned for Christ. Paul is thankful and joyful for his fellowship in Christ with the Philippians and for their support.

Perhaps you have something similar happening in your life right now. Perhaps you are in a place you didn’t expect to be. Perhaps you are mourning a loved one and this is the first Thanksgiving without them. Perhaps your job has been cut and Christmas looks like very intimidating rather than like a blessing. Perhaps you are caring for a loved one where every day presents new challenges. Or perhaps your children are simply far from home and you are just feeling a little lonely for them. Like Paul you may be in circumstances that were not planned and developed completely outside of your control. Giving thanks and rejoicing would naturally under difficult circumstances be a lot harder. It was hard for Paul.

And yet somehow, we see Paul choosing to look for the good of his circumstances. He didn’t miss an opportunity to talk about the Gospel. He didn’t let his thinking dwell too far on things he couldn’t change but instead chose to focus on what he could do within each moment of each day. He made it a priority in fact to find reasons to rejoice and give thanks for what he does have rather than what he didn’t. Paul was as human as any of us. He had thorns in the flesh and asked to have them removed. Paul endured a lot of things that left him hungry, hurt, or miserable. I am sure being stoned by his enemies and left for dead was not a pleasant experience. And yet, Paul was defiantly focused on giving thanks and rejoicing in the Lord.

Being in the Lord doesn’t necessarily make things pleasant. It doesn’t make things fair. For Paul being in the Lord gave Him purpose. Whatever his circumstances, in plenty or in want, Paul made it about Jesus and about others around him. Notice how Paul starts the whole book of Philippians. In 1:2-3 He says, “Grace and peace be to You from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. I thank God every time I remember you.”

If we are facing our first thanksgiving mourning a loved one, we can still rejoice and give thanks for them and the good they blessed us with. We can celebrate them in grace and in peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ even in sadness. We can do the same thing while caring for one with long term illness, or when missing a child far away, or when struggling with troubles. Something good has been given to us that is worthy of our thanksgiving. Missing them is evidence of that. Troubles also move us to take stock of what we have. It’s just as important to filter the hard stuff through Jesus as much as our sin. That’s what Paul did over and over and rather than dwelling on his troubles he focused on the good of the people. The people in the churches that he visited were his greatest blessing. When he wasn’t with them Paul missed them like any of us would miss loved ones. Through those people God blessed Paul in prison. They visited him for long visits and cared for Paul. Paul depended on them as much as they depended on Paul. And in the midst of it all Paul rejoiced in the Lord and gave thanks in all circumstances.

Faith gives us the same advantage that Paul had. Filtering our lives through Christ makes some things tolerable and other things a great joy but it always brings us salvation. Our great joy in the Lord is knowing that when all is said and done our Lord will keep His promise to us. Because of this Philippians 4:13 is a place many are fond of quoting in this regard. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” A life filtered through Christ is a life strengthened in Jesus and a life that still finds a way to rejoice in the Lord. May the Lord strengthen you. (Part 2 is next week.)

Pastor Matthew Woods

John 3:30

PRINTABLE PDF: WDNov18.PDF

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/RgSnO16ir30

[email protected] — (502) 523-9327

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Live Video Broadcast Sunday Morning
8:00AM and 10:30AM

Click on the Links Provided Below:
Note: If one fails try another link. They will be active on Sunday.
YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Vn4JFP_IQP8JQ3f8QwADQ
Faceboook: https://www.facebook.com/GraceLutheranChurchNA

PRINTABLE PDF SERVICE PROGRAM FOR SERVICE: SERVICE PROGRAM

Seminarian Josh Bieri is the preacher this weekend.

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WORSHIP SCHEDULE

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23 — 5:00 PM
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24 — 8:00 & *10:30 AM
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30 — 5:00 PM
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1 — *8:00 & 10:30 AM
* = Communion

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For more information (Your Bulletin) check out
NEWS & TIDBITS at the top right box

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For more Devotions check out THIS WEEKS DEVOTIONS
at the top right box

For more Devotions check out RECENT DEVOTIONS
at the top right box

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CHECK OUT BAPTISM – OBITS

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For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works so that no one can boast. — Ephesians 2:8-9

Welcome to the Grace Lutheran Church and School web site. There is a variety of information here regarding our congregation and our beliefs. Lutherans are Bible-believing, sacramental Christians who trace their roots back to Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. There have been Lutherans since 1517, particularly in Germany and Scandanavia. Lutherans in America followed large immigrations from Europe in the 1840’s and 1850’s.

The congregation at Grace was founded in 1927 in a small room over a pool hall on State Street in New Albany. The congregation moved to Tenth and Oak, then to Charlestown Road, before building its current facilities on Klerner Lane in 1974. The congregation now numbers just over 1100 souls. We worship at 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on Sundays and at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday evenings. The pastors are Rev. Bruce Kischnick and Rev. Matt Woods.

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