Author: Jack Busche

MAY 2026

Our Heart’s True Home
In the book of Genesis, the Lord God invites Abraham up a mountain in Canaan and says, “Raise your eyes now, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever.” This becomes the promise that Abraham - and later all of Israel - lives by.
I experienced something similar years ago, when our son, Nick, was fourteen or fifteen. Together we climbed a remote granite peak in the western UP. As we looked out over that rugged and tree-filled land,
Nick declared: “Dad, I was born to live in this place.” Though he has moved elsewhere for employment, that love of place remains embedded in his heart.
What is your relationship to this place you call home? Do you wish you could live elsewhere? Or have you learned to love the Upper Peninsula, to embrace its forests and streams, the big cold lake at your doorstep? Even in the dead of winter, buried under several feet of snow, do you find something to love here, in this place?
I am not writing about regional pride here. To love the UP is not to think that our home is better than say, the Florida Keys or the Andes Mountains. It is simply to be grateful, grateful to God, the Creator for the rich experience of living here, in this particular place. That means learning all you can about this land - its topography, geology, flora, and fauna. That means finding something to love about every season: winter, spring, summer, and fall.
That means taking seriously the responsibility that falls to us since we live here, to preserve what is best about this land. To wrestle with the question: what will the next generation inherit from us? To work toward a balance between economic development and environmental protection.
Being grateful for living here also means honoring and respecting those who lived here before us and loved this land before us: the Ojibwe people who still live among and near us. If we, the descendants of immigrants from other parts of the world, cannot make right the historical wrongs done to Indian people, how can we learn at least to understand and value their culture and walk together with them on this land?
Human beings come from dust and to dust we shall return. This dust, the red clay, granite rock, and sand of Upper Michigan, is our particular dust.
For about ten years, our family lived in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It was a wonderful place to live. We made the best of our years there, building friendships with people, including the Lakota people who call that land sacred. We climbed the hills, marveled at bison and elk and antelope. We saw first-hand how vulnerable the west is to wildfire. We watched helplessly, as ponderosa pine forests succumbed to beetle infestations.

May

Newsletter

Grace Lutheran Church

MAY 2026

We enjoyed that place but were never completely at home. Whenever we visited the UP, our heart rates quickened. The sight of Lake Superior stirred something deep inside us. This place is our heart’s true home.
Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase, “Bloom where you are planted.” As the spring trillium, trout lilies, and marsh marigolds flower our woods, may you find yourself blooming right alongside.
Celebrating God’s gift of spring with you,
Pastor Dave.
Preacher/Worship Leaders for the month of May
Sunday, May 3: Pastor Dave Van Kley
Sunday, May 10: Pastor Chrys Hendrick
Sunday, May 17: Pastor Dave Van Kley
Sunday, May 24: Mr. Walter Scanlon
Sunday, May 31: Pastor Dave Horn
We will celebrate communion at each worship service!

May

Newsletter

Grace Lutheran Church

News at Grace Lutheran

Are You Interested in Membership at Grace?
If you are, we would love to have you! Perhaps you’ve been coming to Grace for years, as a visitor. Or maybe you just started to attend and found here a place of welcome and an outlet for learning together and serving others. While membership may not seem all that important, it is a powerful way to express your commitment to Christ and to the life of the church.
What’s involved? Not a great deal! You would meet with the pastor and/or several of Grace’s leaders to learn a bit more about the congregation’s life and ministry. If you are a member of another congregation and would like to request a transfer, we can do that for you. But if it’s been a long time since you attended anywhere else, this can be a new beginning for you, too.
Then, at one of our regular worship services, we would welcome you and together with you, renew our commitment to faith and life. You would then be able, and encouraged, to vote in congregational matters and use your gifts, however you are called and inspired to use them, in the life and mission of Grace Lutheran Church.
If interested, please inform Pastor Dave.
First Communion Celebration
On Easter Sunday, we at Grace Lutheran Church rejoiced to welcome to the Lord’s table Chase and Hazel Herriman for the first time. It was also great to have Chase and Hazel participate as leaders in worship that day! Arian Mathis also completed first communion instruction and, while Arian was unable to attend that day due to illness, we look forward to welcoming him soon.
Confirmation of Kaden Ruokola
Kaden Ruokola has been engaged in the Superior Central Conference’s cooperative Confirmation instruction program for the last three years and now, on May 17, he will affirm his baptism and share his faith story with us during the rite of confirmation at worship. We look forward to celebrating with him!
Custodian Update
For many years, Reggie and Luanne have done a wonderful job keeping our church sparkling clean, plus all for the little extras that they did. They decided it was finally time to take a long overdue retirement, so the hunt began for a new custodian.
Good news! We have hired a new custodian, a very capable young woman named Julie Lakanen. If you see her cleaning around the church, stop by and introduce yourself.

News at Grace Lutheran

Dear Grace Family,
Thank you so much for your gift and kind words expressed at our retirement. It was a privilege to be a small part in keeping our beautiful church looking its best!
With Love, Reggie & LuAnne

WELCA - SAVE THE DATE!
Spring Cluster Meeting
The Spring Cluster meeting for Cluster 8 will be Saturday, May 30th from 10 am to 1 pm. Meeting location will be at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church: 555 Riverside Road., Marquette. The topic is “Pilgrimage”. Please sign up on the sign-up sheet posted in the Narthex. Thank you!
Gifts and Talents Dinner
On April 8th, the Stewardship Committee hosted a thank you dinner for all of the many members of our congregation who have served over the years with their time and talents. A full house dined on Italian food, salads, and desserts. We had such a good time, we are going to try to do this twice per year!

News at Grace Lutheran

Quilters
We will meet every Tuesday (except the second Tuesday) at 1:00 in the fellowship hall downstairs. Our quilts are sent to Lutheran World Relief in October. New quilters are welcome. No experience necessary. Join us for a cup of coffee and see what we do!
Naomi Circle
Naomi Circle meets the third Thursday of each month in the fellowship hall downstairs. We have a Bible Study from the Gather magazine and enjoy a cup of coffee. All women are welcome to join us!
Community Outreach: We were approached to sponsor the Marquette County Baby Shower. So beginning in March, there will be baskets in the narthex and downstairs in the Gathering Place. I spoke with the representative from AMCAB about the program. They take applications from parents so that they know how many families are in need. Various places sponsor an area to collect donations. They receive foundation financial donations that are used to buy the larger gifts given to the families for example strollers, cribs, baby swings, etc. If you would like to give a needy family items needed for a baby from infant to 1 year of age, the baskets will be available until about May 13th. Anything baby is accepted.
Daughters of Grace Banquet
Our Daughters of Grace Banquet will be on Friday May 8th. Toodie’s Catering will serve a ham dinner at 6 PM. Our special guest will be Pastor Bre, accompanied by Mr. Bill Barrette and Mr. Tony Beacco, who have agreed to sing a few songs for us. Sign the back of your ticket and bring it to be entered into a drawing for a floral bouquet!
Hope Circle - Thank You!
A big thank you to everyone that donated to the “Shoes for Vets” Lenten project. We delivered the check to Jacobetti Home for Veterans, for a total of $1,313.00!

News at Grace Lutheran

Fortune Lake Summer Camp registration is open
Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp near Crystal Falls is planning weeks of summer fun and friends, learning and activities in that lovely, wooded setting beside Fortune Lake. The theme for this summer is “Wear Love!” As generations of youth will attest, a week or a half week at Fortune Lake Camp can be life-altering, building campers’ sense of self esteem and trust in God’s grace, while teaching them how to live simply and well in community. There are many camp experiences available, ranging from one day camps for Grades K-5, to 2 overnight options for Grades 1-2, to 3 overnight options for grades 2-3, to a whole week of activity for kids who’ve completed grade 3 and up through nigh school.
Grace Lutheran Church offers camp scholarships, which cover up to ½ of the total cost per camper and additional scholarship money can be made available, through the camp and our community here. No one who wants to attend is turned away from FLLC!
Flyers are available in the church office or on line at the Fortune Lake Camp website.
You won’t regret encouraging your kids and grandkids to attend a week of camp! Please talk to Pastor Dave for help with the registration process.

News at Grace Lutheran

UPCOMING EVENTS:
May 8th - Daughters of Grace banquet at 6:00. Toodie’s Catering will provide a baked ham dinner, followed by music by Pastor Bre, Bill Barrette, Tony Beacco.
May 12th - Meal Kits. Assembly of meal kits for families in our community - come join us! Many hand make light work.
May 16th - Bottle/Can Drive!
May 20th - Church Council meeting at 10:00am.
May 30th - Cluster 8 Spring Meeting at Prince of Peace (Harvey) from 10am-1pm.
June 6th - We will have a rummage sale here at Grace for the Gwinn, town wide rummage sale day on June 6th. Community outreach will take any and all donations. All proceeds will go toward outreach projects. For more information please contact Lynn Marjonen at (906) 346-3727.

News at Grace Lutheran

TO ALL WOMEN OF THE ELCA:
FROM: Northern Great Lakes Synodical Women’s Organization
SUBJECT: Introduction
The Northern Great Lakes Synodical Women’s Organization, commonly known as the SWO, is made up of women from different congregations in our synod. SWO establishes a partnership with units in the geographic areas (conferences or clusters) and with the ELCA Churchwide women's organization (WELCA) , which exists to support women in congregations.
Many of you are already aware of the SWO and their many activities, but did you know that each of you who are women are members of our organization? Whether or not you have an organized “women’s group” in your home congregation, you are an active member of the SWO! As a member of an ELCA congregation, you participate in the activities of the church: worship, choir, Bible study, community meal preparation, funeral lunch preparation, quilting ministry, prayer shawl ministry, altar care, adult forums, nursery and Christian education ministry, food pantry, giving tree project…this list is endless. As women we are a very important expression of our congregations, as well as the heart of our home congregations. From this we get WELCA which stands for Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
As women we know the benefits of being together! Studies show that female bonds reduce stress and improve long term health outcomes. (We wonder how much that cost to come up with that finding!) Any woman who ever spent quality time among other women know the benefits outweigh any extra responsibilities.
Our mission is to affirm, support and accept each other in a world that can often feel isolating. Joining a women’s group can provide a sense of community and belonging through shared experiences. Women can form deep connections and meaningful relationships with others who can offer support and understanding and can celebrate each other with love, kindness and a little laughter or maybe a lot of laughter, too!
We are here to share your ideas and activities and to help each other remain excited about Church! As we age, we find we need new perspectives on how to do the things we have been doing in our congregations for many years. Our “Reflections” newsletter shares ideas from women across our synod. A few of our conferences gather occasionally in person for fellowship and to rekindle our mission as women in the Church. Some of our congregations have women’s groups that meet monthly to coordinate the various ministries of their home church, both in the areas of outreach and in the social life of their brothers and sisters in Christ.
As women, there is a place for each of you, regardless of the size of your congregation. We invite you to take that first step, attend the Fall Convention and/or Fall Retreat, and embrace that role that God has in mind for you. Join us this September 18-20, 2026 at the Fall Convention and Retreat held at Fortune Lake Bible Camp. You won’t be disappointed.
Your sisters in Christ,
Your Northern Great Lakes Synodical Women’s Organization Board

News at Grace Lutheran

Gerry Stille	Karen Octaluk	Sally Weingartner
Darlene Faucher	Marlys Pickett	Gloria LaFave
Alice Harbin	Paul Juidici	Edna Roberts
Roger Harbin	Donald Hakala	Bill Hatch
Louise Spickerman	Harold Zaborowski	Jackie Kangas
Sarah Johnson	Deb McNabb	Sandee Kangas
Mike Stefanski	Arlene Keskimaki	Dave Kangas
Mary Stefanski	Richard Erickson	Karen Manninen
Shannon McNabb	Marla Jensen	Elanor Rose Beauchaine
Kelly Kienert	Sharon Groff

Prayer Concerns

MAY BIRTHDAYS

Reggie Krueger	5/10	Deborah McNabb	5/15
David Kangas	5/19	Mary Stefanski	5/24
Peter Lake	5/28	Mikael Leppaluoto	5/28
Gail Terres	5/29	Bill Koski	5/30

News at Grace Lutheran

May Sunday Worship Volunteers
Readers:
May 3rd: Arlene Johnson
May 10th: Lynnette Broxson
May 17th: Dee Mattson
May 24th: Beverly Bufkin
May 31st: Reed Spickerman
Communion Assistants:
May 3rd: Arlene Van Kley
May 10th: Ray Richard
May 17th: Mary Connors
May 24th: Kathy Keskimaki
May 31st: Reed Spickerman
Fellowship Servers:
May 3rd: Luanne Krueger & Lynnette Broxson
May 10th: Mike Forgette & Gary Baldini
May 17th: Kim Mooday & Sue DeGroot
May 24th: Barb Meyers & Dee Mattson
May 31st: Deannie Le Moine & Karen Nelson
Greeters:
May 3rd: Lynn Marjonen & Arlene Van Kley
May 10th: Pat Seger & Dee D’ambrosia
May 17th: Shane Ruokola
May 24th: Steve Dolinski
May 31st: Kathy Keskimaki & Mary Connors

News at Grace Lutheran

Grace Lutheran Church
Church Council
4/15/26
Present: Paul Makela, Bill Kangas, Ruth Forgette, Bill Koski, Gary Howard, Jean Armatti, Sharon Groff, Dee D’Ambrosia, Karen Nelson
Meeting called to order at 3:30 p.m. by Paul Makela, President. Ruth lead with prayer.
Motion by Bill Koski, second by Dee D’Ambrosia, to approve the agenda with addition of “van key”. Motion carried.
Reviewed March Council minutes and /48 Special Meeting minutes. Motion by Ruth, second by Sharon, to approve. Motion carried.
Paul reviewed the financial reports. He made a motion to approve the reports as written. Second by Jean. Motion carried.
No correspondence to review.
Pastor’s report reviewed. Motion by Ruth, second by Karen, to accept. Motion carried.
COMMITTEE and TEAM REPORTS
Personnel: Hired new janitor. Part-time secretary position open - have 1 resume. Part-time employees policy draft presented, review for next meeting.
Finance: meeting scheduled
Transition Team: Paul reported we will need to identify people fo rthe Transition Team to list on the summary as references: 1) a lay member of Grace, 2) a non-Grace lay person, 3) a member of the ELCA clergy roster, 4) a local community member outside of Grace. Also will need to establish a Call Committee, likely consisting of: 1 Council member, 1 Transition Team member, and 4 people from the congregation.
Kid’s Café: Monday was the last day. Meeting next week to plan for fall.
VBS: Meeting scheduled in 2 weeks.
Worship and Music: met
Stewardship: Ruth reported the “Thank You” dinner was well-attended and a success.
Property: leaky toilet in women’s bathroom; everyone has been pitching in with the shoveling as we have relied on Reggie over the years; 1 light out downstairs

News at Grace Lutheran

Property: Bill Kangas reported the plumber looked at the plumbing under the sink and it meets code. Sink in the men’s bathroom also fixed. Jerry Jensen tightened the bolts for the toilet tank. Furnace inspections are coming due and the plumber recommended waiting until fall.
OLD BUSINESS
Local Assistance Fund: Tabled
Feeding America Distribution: Bill Koski reported there was a good turnout of workers on 4/2.
Bylaw changes, including Personnel and Finance Committees: Tabled
NEW BUSINESS
Possible “Worship in the Park” Events: DO or not do? Preferred dates are July 5 or 12, or August 2. Motion by Ruth, second by Dee, to do 1 service on July 12. Motion carried.
Alcohol on Premises: Request to have alcohol on premises for large family gathering scheduled later this year. Church policy is no alcohol on premises. Motion by Gary, second by Sharon, to follow policy of no alcohol on premises.
AED: Our AED needs new pads.
Christian Videos: Pastor Jack had ordered some new videos for education and we received an invoice. Will send back since we will not be using them at this time.
Mining Journal: We still have a subscription. Motion by Jean, second by Ruth, to cancel the subscription as it is not available online. Motion carried.
Ring key / Code Lock: Ruth questioned getting a Ring Key so anyone here can see who is at the door. Paul will talk with Range re: a quote.
Van Key: The van key is missing. We should get 2 new ones made. Sharon will contact the dealership.
Council Member Comments: Bill Kangas questioned if there is money to send Arian to Fortune Lake. Will find out if he is going and pay for it. Side Note: will give gas cards to St. Vincent’s to distribute if they are open to that.
All said Lord’s Prayer.
Motion by Gary to adjourn at 4:45. Second by Dee. Motion carried.
Next meeting: Wednesday, May 20, at 10:00 a.m.
Submitted by Karen Nelson

MAY 2026

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
					1	2
3 / 10 AM Worship	4	5 / Quilters 1 PM	6	7 / Hope Circle 1 PM	8 / Daughters of Grace / Banquet 6 pm	9
10 / 10 AM Worship	11	12 / Meal Kits 2 PM	13	14 / Worship and Music / 3 PM	15	16 / Can Drive
17 / 10 AM Worship	18	19 / Quilters - 1 PM	20 / Council Meeting 10am	21 / Naomi Circle 2 PM	22	23
24 / 10 AM Worship	25	26 / Quilters - 1 PM	27	28	29	30 / Cluster 8 Spring Meeting / Prince of Peace 10-1pm

31
10 AM Worship