Tag: easter

Pastor’s Message

~ laurieagould ~ Leave a comment

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, May 7, 2025


Greetings in Christ!

Christ is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!! As we continue our journey through the fifty days of the Easter season, the message of the traditional greeting rings true; Jesus the Christ overcame death and walks with us each and every day. As spring takes firm hold of the weather outdoors, gradually warming the earth and welcoming flowers in our gardens and buds on the trees, Christ takes firm hold of our hearts and souls as he guides us ever forward!

Now, let’s be honest; anyone who has lived north of the 45th parallel for more than a couple of years knows that Mother Nature may have a trick or two up her sleeve, so it’s best to not bury the snow shovel too deep in the garage or shed! At the same time, anyone who has experienced more than a couple of Easters knows that the promises of redemption, eternal life, and deep joy are freely given and are ours forever! But these promises aren’t entirely free; we have to say “yes” to the offer, and we have to make a few changes in the way we approach the world. These changes aren’t particularly hard, but they will mark you as being “different” in the eyes of the world; you’ll have to resist temptation, reject evil, and embrace compassion, forgiveness, and love. You’ll also be asked to adopt and attitude of gratitude, and commit to a life of service. That doesn’t sound like too high a price to pay for eternity in Paradise with our Lord, does it?

Blessings,

Karen and Greg

Home: (989) 474-9116, Cell: (734) 502-5969
revgregrc@yahoo.com / revgreggl@yahoo.com
revkarenrc@yahoo.com / revkarengl@yahoo.com

And over all these virtues put on love,
which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:14

Pastor’s Message

~ laurieagould ~ Leave a comment

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, April 16, 2025


Greetings in Christ!

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! Let us rejoice in a beautiful, sun-shiny day, and let us be glad for the hope and the promise of the Resurrection that will be ours on Easter Sunday! We are so very near to the greatest day of the year, and yet we still have to wait; patience is indeed a virtue, especially when it comes to waiting on God to reveal the glories that await us!

We hope that by now most of you are fully restored to power and heat, and that the cleanup activities are going smoothly for you. We see the hand of God at work in countless acts of generosity following the ice storms, generosity of time, talent, treasure, and spirit; and it seems to us that this generosity is the perfect celebratory act of the closing days of Lent. Lent is intended to bring us closer to God, to enrich our relationships with the Almighty and with one another, and to make us attentive to the ways in which we live out our faith. From the heroic actions of utility workers to the small acts of kindness that we witnessed, it’s obvious that God’s people fully understand the call to love our neighbors as ourselves. And now we stand on the cusp of a series of events that are both tragic (at the start) and incredibly good (at the end). When we gather on Maundy Thursday to remember the Last Supper, as we pray on Good Friday, and as we sit in vigil on Easter Saturday, it is with anticipation of coming to the empty tomb and raising our voices with shouts of “He Is Risen! He Is Risen, Indeed!!”

Truly, Easter is the greatest day of the year, and we look forward to sharing it with all of you, our beloved church families.

Blessings,

Karen and Greg

Home: (989) 474-9116, Cell: (734) 502-5969
revgregrc@yahoo.com / revgreggl@yahoo.com
revkarenrc@yahoo.com / revkarengl@yahoo.com

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” – Luke 6:38

Pastor’s Message

~ laurieagould ~ Leave a comment

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Greetings in Christ!

Christ is Risen!  He is Risen, Indeed!!  On this first day of May, let us rejoice and be glad in the day that the Lord has given us!  Let us rejoice in a new month, full of promise and anticipation, and let us be glad that we can continue our celebration of the Resurrection of Our Lord!  While the weather Up North is a bit on the gloomy and damp side, the faithful know that our lives are full of brightness and joy.  Let us keep our focus on that which truly matters; Christ is Risen!  He is Risen, Indeed!!

The first day of a new month always brings with it excitement for the possibilities that lie ahead, and if we’re honest about it, sometimes brings with it a bit of trepidation.  The merry month of May brings us the celebration of the Day of Pentecost and the unofficial beginning of summer, with the arrival of Memorial Day at the end of the month; good things!  May also brings us graduation season, getting our gardens and yards ready for outdoor recreation, vacation planning, and for some among us medical procedures and unwelcome tasks related to unplanned life changes.  The month of May is a month of transitions, which makes it a month of opportunities; opportunities that we can both embrace and celebrate, even if they’re hard, or opportunities that we can resist or avoid entirely.  Our pastoral guidance to all is to embrace the opportunities, intentionally inviting the presence of the Holy Trinity to join with you in whatever it is you’re facing.  If it’s something delightful, God in all three persons will delight with you and enhance your joy.  If it’s something hard, God in all three persons will give you the strength and courage to get through the hard things, so that you’ll be able to look back on what you’ve done with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, because you did a hard thing, did it well, and are free to look forward to brighter days ahead.  You see, with God all things are possible; nice and easy, and tough and hard.  No matter what it is that must be dealt with, all will be better (and ultimately all will be accomplished) if we first turn to God in prayer.  Always remember that God is good, all the time; and all the time, God is good!

Blessings to you!

Karen and Greg

Home: (989) 474-9116, Cell:  (734) 502-5969
revgregrc@yahoo.com  /  revgreggl@yahoo.com 
revkarenrc@yahoo.com / revkarengl@yahoo.com

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14

Pastor’s Message

~ laurieagould ~ Leave a comment

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Greetings in Christ!

He is Risen!  He is Risen, Indeed!!  We pray that this crisp Up North morning inspires you to rejoice and be glad in the day that the Lord has made; as we write this message, the sky is crystal-clear, the temperature is around 30, and the snow (yes, we said snow!) that fell in the early morning hours has pretty much melted away.  None of us should be surprised, it’s Michigan after all, but the irony of seeing boats on trailers being towed by snow-covered vehicles isn’t lost on us.  At least what fell on the ground wasn’t shovelable!

Tomorrow, April 25th, marks the halfway point between Easter and the Day of Pentecost, which makes it the perfect day to look back and remember the glories of Easter Sunday, and to look forward to the joy of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit will fill all believers with its eternal and powerful presence.  This is not a day to begin to forget Easter; much better to take a moment to reflect on how our lives were changed that day, and to recommit to living every day as Easter people.  People filled with the hope and promise of the Resurrection, people dedicated to loving one another, to generosity and compassion and forgiveness.  These 50 days of the Season of Easter are such an important time, so we encourage you to make good use of them to strengthen your relationship with God and Christ Jesus in anticipation of the arrival of the third person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit.  Let these days continue the transformation into complete Christian brothers and sisters, so that from this point forward we live with the unlimited confidence of the children of God.
Blessings to you!

Karen and Greg

Home: (989) 474-9116, Cell:  (734) 502-5969
revgregrc@yahoo.com  /  revgreggl@yahoo.com 
revkarenrc@yahoo.com / revkarengl@yahoo.com


“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

Pastor’s Message

~ laurieagould ~ Leave a comment

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, April 10, 2024


Blessings to you!

He is Risen!  He is Risen, Indeed!!  This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!  Let us rejoice in crystal-clear skies and comfortable temperatures, and let us be glad that the forecast doesn’t appear to have any “shovelable” events on the horizon!  Spring Up North is unfolding in fine fashion, and that should make all of us happy, indeed!

And continuing our celebration of the Resurrection of Our Lord should make all of us happy, indeed!  As we walk with the Risen Christ on the path to his Ascension and then on to Pentecost, we are blessed to be reminded of the encounters Jesus had with his disciples and others, whether on the road to Emmaus or on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and others beside.  This season presents us with countless opportunities to journey with Christ, to encounter him in all that we do and everywhere we go; as the weather improves, and many of us turn our attention to our gardens and yards (and maybe our summertime toys), we can talk with Jesus, sharing our thoughts and joys and concerns.  We can listen to the voice of our Savior, and let his words soak into our souls.  We can express our frustrations, trusting that Jesus will not be bothered that we’re having a tough day; he gets it, and only wants to help.  We invite you to invite Jesus to join you during the Season of Easter (and beyond), as you go about the business of shifting gears from winter to spring; the transition will be richer and fuller than you can imagine!

Karen and Greg

Home: (989) 474-9116, Cell:  (734) 502-5969
revgregrc@yahoo.com  /  revgreggl@yahoo.com 
revkarenrc@yahoo.com / revkarengl@yahoo.com

“I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me.” Galatians 2:20

Pastor’s Message

~ laurieagould ~ Leave a comment

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, April 3, 2024


Blessings to you!

He is Risen!  He is Risen, Indeed!!  This first Wednesday in the Season of Easter started out with incredible winds and torrents of rain, and then settled down into an overcast and chilly day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!  Let us rejoice that reported power outages from the high winds are few in our area, and let us be glad that we’re able to stay warm and dry on these early spring days.  It’s a little bit unclear if we’re going to be seeing heavy, wet snow in the next couple of days in Presque Isle County or if it’s going to be kinda’ sunny, but we know that sometime in the foreseeable future it will be warm enough to get outside without boots and heavy coats!  Yayyy!!!

Wasn’t Easter Sunday magnificent?  The sun crested the horizon at the Sonrise Service to the delight and inspiration of all in attendance, and the day only got better from there!  Worship in our sanctuaries filled our hearts and brightened our spirits, preparing all to go out into the world praising God and sharing the familiar (and powerful) greeting of “He is Risen!  He is Risen, Indeed!!”  And now we are blessed with the opportunity to live as free and forgiven people, strengthened by the Holy Spirit and accompanied by Christ Jesus our Lord in all that we do.  What an amazing gift we have received, and what an amazing gift we are called to share. During these next 50 days, until the day of Pentecost, let our focus be on fully embracing the new lives we have been given, so that nothing can separate us from the love of God in the person of Jesus Christ, to borrow a bit from Paul’s Letter to the Romans.  The stone has been rolled away, not only the stone that sealed the tomb of our Savior, but the stone that has kept our hearts sealed from expressing our true nature to the world – a nature of love, joy, compassion, and peace.  Easter makes us all new; the Season of Easter allows us to embrace that newness.  Let’s not miss out on this incredible opportunity!

Karen and Greg

Home: (989) 474-9116, Cell:  (734) 502-5969
revgregrc@yahoo.com  /  revgreggl@yahoo.com 
revkarenrc@yahoo.com / revkarengl@yahoo.com

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and

with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30

Pastor’s Message

~ laurieagould ~ Leave a comment

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, March 27, 2024



Blessings to you!

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!  Let us rejoice in the first week of spring being “in the can,” as the film industry likes to say, and let us be glad that the weather forecast for the next few days doesn’t look like we’ll be celebrating with a “white Easter!”  In fact, we may well be enjoying a bright and sunny Sonrise Service at Range Light Park on Easter!  Won’t that be nice?

Here at the midpoint of Holy Week, it’s time to assess our readiness for the Day of Days that is only about 90 hours away; not our readiness for family gatherings or Easter egg hunts or attending worship (as important as those things are), but our readiness to welcome the Risen Christ as the prophesies are fulfilled and our lives are changed.  Our journey through Lent has nearly come to an end, and so we might be looking forward to indulging in some of the foods and treats we set aside for Lent, or perhaps letting go of an intentional prayer and study practice we took on for Lent.  Regardless, we are on the cusp of celebrating a life-changing, world-changing event in the death, burial, and Resurrection of the Son of Man, and we must ask; are we ready?  Are we ready to be changed, are we ready to reaffirm our faith, are we ready to live into hope and joy and forgiveness and love?  Are we ready to shout “He is Risen!  He is Risen, Indeed” with believers around the world and right here in Presque Isle County?  Are we ready to continue the celebration for the 50 days of Easter, are we ready to welcome the Holy Spirit on Pentecost?  Are we ready to surrender ourselves fully to service in the kingdom of God here on Earth?  Lots of questions, hopefully only one answer; YES!!

May you and your loved ones enjoy a blessed and uplifting Easter!

Karen and Greg

Home: (989) 474-9116, Cell:  (734) 502-5969
revgregrc@yahoo.com  /  revgreggl@yahoo.com 
revkarenrc@yahoo.com / revkarengl@yahoo.com

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17