Tag: jesus

Pastor’s Message

~ laurieagould ~ Leave a comment

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, June 18, 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 the arrival of summer (officially) on Friday, and let us be glad for all the joys and delights the season will bring!  Summertime Up North is such a special time of the year, with seemingly limitless ways to enjoy God’s beautiful Creation that surrounds us.  We’re looking forward to adventures and new experiences, we hope that you are, too!

Sometimes those adventures and new experiences bring frustrations, because things don’t go as we planned, or it turns out that a new experience requires a few tries to get it right.  We’d all like to think that we’ll easily conquer a new game, or that there’s nothing to getting up on water skis, but the reality is that very few of us are going to be good at something the very first time we try; and if we are successful, odds are that a healthy dose of luck was involved!  But fear not, because if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!  For the vast majority of us, failure is a (tough) part of learning a new skill; so is determination, and we have a great internal source of determination and patience – Jesus Christ.  He’s with us in all things, even when we’re at play and trying something new and different.  He’s also with us when we stumble and fall, when we stumble and fall again, and when we stumble and fall a third time, whether we’re trying water skis or dealing with something far more important like a new task at work or a challenging time in a relationship.  So don’t give up, keep trying, and trust always that your coach will never let you down.  God is good, all the time; and all the time, God is good!

Blessings,

Karen and Greg

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


I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Psalm 32:8

Pastor’s Message

~ laurieagould ~ Leave a comment

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, June 11, 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 the slowly-warming air and abundant rainfall, and let us be glad for the lushness of the earth that flows from these things! It’s awe-inspiring to look at the beauty around us, with flowers in bloom and trees sporting their full coats of leaves. We are truly blessed by the generosity of Almighty God in sharing Creation with us!

We are also truly blessed to enter into the days after Pentecost, when we are free to focus on our relationship with the Divine without planning for the next “big day” on the calendar. We often overlook these days, because they’re so, well, so ordinary; but these are the days when we can put our newly-invigorated faith to work, to let our spirits soar and our hearts sing out with joy in our everyday living. It’s true that the warm-weather months gift us with all manner of delights, as the ice cream stands reopen, the golf courses and tennis courts are ready for play, and the beaches beckon us to come and sit for a while; but it’s equally true that these are the weeks and months when the real work of the church gets done. These are the days and weeks and months during which we can live out what we say we believe, when we can make a real difference in the lives of those in need. These are the days when we can allow ourselves to recognize our own needs, to accept that our needs matter just as much as those of others, and to revel in the fact that we have the time to address those needs. In these quieter times, before the Season of Advent rolls around again, we humbly suggest that it’s OK to pay attention to you. It’s OK to be a little inwardly focused, because you matter, too.

God bless you, Karen and Greg Home: (989) 474-9116, Cell: (734) 502-5969 revgregrc@yahoo.com / revgreggl@yahoo.com revkarenrc@yahoo.com / revkarengl@yahoo.com

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

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, April 9, 2025


Greetings in Christ!

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! Let us rejoice that the ice from last week’s storms has melted away, and let us be glad for the hard-working crews from across the region and across the country who worked tirelessly to restore power to most of us, and now to clear away the debris. Let us also rejoice and be glad for neighbors helping neighbors, for businesses opening their doors (without power) to try to make essential products available during the protracted darkness and cold. It’s a pretty safe bet that none of us want to experience anything like this ever again, but it’s an equally safe bet that a whole lot of people were at their very best during the storm and its aftermath.

It was easy to see the hand of God as the days wore on, and those with the means to help did exactly that; warming shelters quickly established, folks with generators opening their homes to those without heat and light, National Guard troops rapidly mobilized to aid those in need. And now, as the cleanup continues and the last pockets of power outages are dealt with, we see the hand of God at work in neighbors being helped – those gloved hands that you might have thought belonged to the guy next door are in fact the hands of God. As we continue our journey with Jesus to the cross, let us all remember that Christ gave a new commandment to his disciples, to love one another as he had loved them. Let us love one another as Christ has loved us by reaching out to all who have need, and doing whatever is in our power to help; it could be picking up branches, it could be hauling damaged items out of a flooded basement, it could be preparing a meal. Or it could be holding a hand or sharing a prayer. Let your hands be the hand of God. Let your heart be the heart of Christ. We will get through this, and we will do so together.

God bless you.

Karen and Greg

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

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

Pastor’s Message

~ laurieagould ~ Leave a comment

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, March 26, 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 the evolving season of spring, and let us be glad for the delights it brings! OK, maybe that’s a bit much on the morning after yet another dumping of snow and cold air, but it’s hard to argue that it isn’t beautiful outside with the sunshine reflecting off the pristine snow and a gentle breeze barely rustling the branches of the trees. The old adage that ‘March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb” is certainly being tested this year!

What isn’t being tested is our journey to the cross, as we continue in our observation of the Lenten season. Day-by-day, we come ever closer to Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, his Passion, and his ultimate victory over sin and death. Day-by-day, as we invest in our personal relationships with the Almighty, we begin to see ourselves in a new light, a light of faith and commitment, a light of spiritual rebirth. We’ve said it many times, but we believe it to be true; this is a wonderful, marvelous season in the life of the faithful and of the church, one which we encourage you to fully embrace and savor. We look forward to sharing the rest of the journey with each of you, trusting in God’s infinite grace and wisdom to guide each of us to exactly where we need to end up. God is good, all the time; and all the time, God is good!

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

Trust in the Lord and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Pastor’s Message

~ laurieagould ~ Leave a comment

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, March 19, 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 the last full day of winter (the vernal equinox occurs at 5:01 am on Thursday), and let us be glad for the promise of spring that will be ours to embrace!  In some communities on the East Coast, there’s a tradition of “sock burning day” on the first day of spring, when people exchange their boots and heavy socks for Sperry Topsiders (or boat shoes of your choosing) and no socks for the upcoming boating season, but we don’t recommend that here in God’s Country… winter weather has a way of hanging around for a little while after the beginning of spring!

As one meteorological season ends and another begins, the season of Lent continues.  This time of preparation, contemplation, and prayer is so special because the pace of life in this day and age is so hectic that we are rarely free to sit in stillness with our God.  It may seem as if we’re beating the subject of Lenten practices to death, and maybe we are, but it’s all too easy to give the season sort of a cursory glance and say to ourselves “I’ll get around to it later,” and then never get around to it.  It’s not “normal” for many folks in the 21st Century to make time to be still for any reason, let alone matters of faith, but it is so very important.  And so, we talk about Lent a lot, because Lent is good for you!  It’s good for your soul, it’s good for your physical health, and its’ good for your mental health to stop scrambling around and be still, so that you can prepare, contemplate, and pray.  Whether you’re wearing socks or not.

Blessings,

Karen and Greg

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



“Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.” Psalm 62:1

Pastor’s Message

~ laurieagould ~ Leave a comment

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! Let us rejoice in the days getting gradually longer, and let us be glad that the switch to Daylight Savings Time is behind us for another year! We know that it takes a few days for things to begin feeling “normal” after the time change, and so we hope that everything is going well for each of you. We’d like to think that we got all of the clocks in our houses changed, but there’s almost always one or two clocks in an obscure corner of the house (or in a car!) that we missed, which can cause just a wee bit of excitement! Maybe someday we won’t have to adjust our clocks twice a year…

We are now fully into the Lenten season; the paraments in the sanctuary are purple, and the scriptures point directly to Jesus’ journey to the cross. We’re only a couple of days away from the infamous “ides of March,” which really only means the middle of the month, and are infamous only because Julius Caesar had a really bad day about 2,000 years ago. In a week (plus one day), it will be the vernal equinox, the beginning of spring, and incidentally is also “Mr. Rogers Day.” A week into the journey with Jesus, how far have you come? A week after Ash Wednesday, has the imprint of the cross faded away? This isn’t meant to scold anyone, only to ask how it’s going; the 40 days of Lent are exactly that – 40 days. There’s a lot of time left to continue the journey, or to start it as the case may be. The imprint of the cross may no longer be visible on your forehead (or back of your hand), but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t still there. In a perfect world, at least a perfect church world, we would all be laser-focused on the path to the cross, having set aside any and all distractions that might bump us off-course, and we would constantly feel the burn of the ashes reminding us of why we’re on this particular journey. Alas, the world isn’t perfect, and so our Lenten journeys are not perfect; and that’s really OK. Every day is a chance to start again, and so if you aren’t where you’d like to be on the journey (or if you haven’t started yet), get going! It’s never too late.

Greetings in Christ!

Blessings,

Karen and Greg

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

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus, 1 Timothy 2:5

Pastor’s Message

~ laurieagould ~ Leave a comment

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Greetings in Christ!

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! Let us rejoice that we’re only two weeks away from the spring equinox, celebrating the beginning of spring, and let us be glad that March came in like a lion, which means that it will go out like a lamb! Or so conventional wisdom tells us… In the remaining days of the “official” winter season, let us continue to be thankful for the road crews who keep us safe on the highways; they are unsung heroes. And let’s not get ahead of ourselves and start putting away the snow-fighting equipment, OK? That could have very unpleasant consequences!

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten season, and an opportunity to come together in worship so that we enter the holy season of Lent unified in our resolve to focus on our relationship with our God. For the next 40 days, let us listen to, let us watch for, and let us sense the presence of the Divine in our lives; if that requires you to set aside a favorite activity to eliminate a source of distraction, so be it. What you’ll gain for having been intentional about your connectedness to God will far outweigh what you might miss out on. If that requires that you add something to your routine, like prayer or a devotional reading, so be it; what you’ll gain for having prayed and studied will far outweigh any benefits that you might accrue by keeping your familiar routines in place. Ideally, your Lenten discipline(s), should you choose to engage in something new and different, will be transformative; you’ll know God better, and you’ll know yourself better. Lent can be a wondrous time of growth; take full advantage of these 40 days.

Blessings,

Karen and Greg

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

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

Pastor’s Message

~ laurieagould ~ Leave a comment

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, February 19, 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 respite from heavy snowfall (for at least a little while), and let us again be glad for the hardworking crews across the county who face off against dangerous conditions to clear the roads for us. It was certainly a tough call to cancel worship last Sunday, but keeping everyone safe is our highest priority. Hopefully we won’t have to miss worship again this winter! According to the meteorologists (and a groundhog or two!), we still have four weeks of winter to go, so we must be patient, but also hopeful; we know spring is coming!

As Presque Isle County slowly digs out from under the snow, and as we let our minds wander a bit to the change of seasons to come, we will be well-served to think about comfort; not necessarily comfort in the sense of warm homes and cozy sweaters, but the comfort of God’s presence in our lives. He’s been with us through the storms, he’s been with us as we’ve traveled, and he’s with us as we go through every day. God’s comfort can take the form of a warm feeling washing over us when we’re frightened, or it can take the form of a friendly wave from a passer-by, or it can look a lot like a snowplow cruising past our house. We can relax into God’s comfort wherever we are and whenever we need to feel reassured. As we read in Isaiah 40:1, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.” All is well, for God is close by.

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

O may Your lovingkindness comfort me, According to Your word to Your servant. Psalm 119:76