VICTIMS OF CHURCH ABUSE HEARD AT LIFETREE CAFÉ Stories of people who have experienced church-inflicted hurt will be discussed at Lifetree Café on on Wednesday at 7:00pm in the café and Thursday at 12:30pm in the Pool House at Candlewood. The program, titled “Hurt by Church,” features a filmed interview with a woman who suffered emotional wounds caused by the church during several difficult periods in her life. In the interview, she describes why the hurt she endured eventually led to her exit from that church. “I had been a Sunday school teacher, I was singing in the adult choir, and I was playing piano for the Saturday evening service. I was totally immersed in church,” she says. “I completely stopped going to that church. The only way to get through the situation was to get out.” This Lifetree program offers attendees an opportunity to discuss the wounds they’ve suffered at the hands of the church as well.

WALK FOR WATER TEAMS – The Walk for Water is October 1 starting at 9am. It is time to get your team together. The teams can be family, co-workers, club or team members or your friends. You can ask a business to sponsor your team or ask people you know to donate. There will be prizes for the team and individual with the most donations collected and the biggest team.

WALK FOR WATER REGISTRATION Please go online to http://events.watermissions.org/site/TR?fr_id=1611&pg=entry to register for the Walk for Water. Make sure to sign up as a youth participant to only pay the $5.00 registration fee. If you would like to donate please go to the same website and click on the “donate” tab.

COOKIES OR BROWNIES NEEDED We will be providing lunch for the Walk for Water participants and need cookies and brownies for dessert. If you can make either one that would be very helpful. Drop them off at the church anytime Fri, Sept 30. Have you gotten your team together yet? The Walk will be here before you know it!

WATER JUGS NEEDED for the Walk for Water. If you have any gallon or ½ gallon jugs (clean and emptied) please drop them off underneath the coat rack before the Walk on Oct. 1.

AFGHAN AND QUILT RAFFLE – This year we will have a quilt donated by the quilting ladies and an afghan made by Richie Vanderspool to raffle for the Walk for Water. Tickets are 1 for $1 and 6 for $5 and will be sold between services and at the Walk for Water on October 1.

NEW BEGINNINGS IS CALLING LEADERS FOR THE 2017 LEADERSHIP TEAM. The Nominating Committee would like your input on the search for President, Secretary and Financial Secretary. Please spend time in prayer for the leadership of our congregation and how you and others may serve. If you are interest in serving, would like more information or have suggestions, please contact any member of the Nominating Committee or email nblc.nominating@gmail.com. The members are: Mike Feigl, 369-5078, Jim Heinold, 202-1253, Nichole Jessup, 621-2693, or Bobbie Schnitkey, 898-0358.

OKTOBERFEST IS COMING! On October 30 from 4-6pm the SOC will be hosting a dinner of German food and music at the church. Tickets are a donation of $15 per couple or $7.50 for a single. This dinner is for everyone in the congregation and their guests. The seating is limited to 80 so get your tickets early. The tickets will be available after church starting Oct 9.

SIGHT AND SOUND THEATRE Starting on October 16th and continuing once a month, the American Lutheran Church in Rantoul will be playing shows from the Sight and Sound Theatre on our screen in the Sanctuary and would like to invite all local churches to attend. There are flyers out in the Narthex that has all of the information. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask Pastor Oman.

GRACE CHURCH’S M.O.M.S MINISTRY (MOMS OFFERING MOMS SUPPORT) NEEDS CHILDCARE VOLUNTEERS. We meet on the 1st & 3rd Thursdays of each month starting on September 15th, 2016 through May 4th, 2017 from 9-11 am and ask that our volunteers arrive at 8:30am. If interested to help for just one morning or several please contact Chelsie Elmer at chel145@aol.com or (217) 390-3288 or Ashley Quach-Ye at aquach127@gmail.com or 412-328-3440. Thank you for your time and doing God’s work with MOMS! M.O.M.S Ministry is a group I (Melissa Hunsinger) recently joined and they sent out an email talking about their need for more childcare volunteers. Please consider volunteering some of your time to help the wonderful moms in this group!

ROOTS OF FAITH CLASS This Thursday evening we will begin a Roots of Our Faith class at 7:00 p.m. If you are considering joining New Beginnings Lutheran, or would like a refresher course in what we believe as Lutherans, plan to come! The class is six weeks long. Contact Pastor Oman for details.

OUR FAMILY IS CELEBRATING OUR MOTHER’S, EVA COLLINS, 89TH BIRTHDAY with an open house on October 9 from 3-6pm at the church. We invite everyone to stop in and celebrate the day with us.

ATTENDANCE for Sunday, September 18th was 64 and total offering was $2716.00.