News for the week of July 12, 2026

Sheltered in Grace: Update
July 2026

Thanks to your generosity, we've signed a contract to fix our roof — AND you are making it possible to pay down our mortgage! Pledges total $193,719 and counting. Thanks be to God!

Work begins in August. More than $73,000 of what you've given is already headed straight to our mortgage principal — not the roof. That is money that will reduce our monthly payments and free resources for ministry, year after year.

We are at 77.5% of the Hallelujah Goal. Gifts are received through August 1. If you feel moved to give or to do more, there is still time.

Join us at clcvalpo.org/shelteredingrace.  Questions about appreciated securities, a tax refund, or an IRA charitable rollover? Contact Heather Budnik.

We built this place together. Let's protect it and then some.

Meeting in the Middle 

This informal group is a chance for women facing the many changes of middle age- emptying nests, aging parents, physical changes, etc.- to share conversations, comfort, and coffee with each other and consider what following Jesus looks like in this season.  We will meet at FLUID Coffee Roasters, 260 Franklin Street in Valpo, on Sunday, July 26 at 2 PM.  Feel free to contact Erin Schmidgall 

(219-487-6532) with any questions. 

LDA SUNDAY WITH A SPECIAL GUEST

Deacon Erin Brown

Followed by a potluck luncheon

July 26, 2026

Erin serves on behalf of the ELCA as the Regional Representative for South America and is based in Argentina. In this role, she will steward ELCA’s relationships with global companion churches (Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia) and partners through deep engagement and presence in their lives and ministries. She provides contextual mission interpretation to ELCA, Synods and Congregations, fully informed by the perspective of the companion’s churches and partners and the theological lens of accompaniment.

YOUR SUPPORT MAKES A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE! HERE’S HOW TO GIVE: 

By check: Make payable to “Evangelical Lutheran Church in America” with “Erin Brown GCS3618” in the memo line. Give through your synod office or mail your check to: 

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Gift Processing Center, P.O. Box 1809, Merrifield, VA 22116-8009. 

By credit or debit card: See ELCA.org/MissionaryGiving or call 800-638-3522 and specify 

“Erin BrownGCS3618.” 

By automatic monthly bank withdrawal, or to establish a covenant of prayer, communication and support: Contact 800-638-3522, ext. 2820, or [email protected]. 

A Message from our Quilters

"Thanks from the quilters for all who stayed and helped with our "Quilt Tying Party" on May 31st. We completed 10 quilts that day! Our current count since the last   

In-Gathering last fall is 227 completed quilts.

We meet on Wednesday mornings in the Fellowship Hall from about 8:30 to 11:30am. If you have some time to help, just stop in for as long as you can spare to help us tie more quilts. Many hands make light work.

Questions? Contact Kathy Stefans 847-612-3025,  [email protected]  or 

Judy Haalboom  [email protected]"

Lifeline Screening

Tuesday, July 21 

Christ Lutheran Church

Activity Center, Door #14

July Altar Gifts

Holy Communion       Grace Safrin ~ In Celebration of Kara’s birthday! 

Altar Candles              Marilyn McGawn ~ In Memory of Malcolm

Eternal Lamp             Sara and Jeremy Long ~ In Celebration of our 30th Wedding Anniversary         

Christ Lutheran Church offers a Grief Support Group every other week on Wednesdays from 9:30 - 11 am in the Conference Room. (209). The group serves adults who have experienced a loss of a spouse, parent, child, friend, sibling or neighbor. The core group of peer support welcomes others to walk together in our grief journey .

Come when you can. Coffee and Kleenex available. 

The group is facilitated by Cheryl Slack, a Stephen Minister. You may contact her at 219-241-0677 or one of the pastors if you have any questions.

Upcoming dates are July 29; August 5, 19.

Faithful Citizenship Project

Leadership Assembly: Launching the Faithful Citizenship Project 

How can our congregations help our members and our neighbors participate in public life with hope, purpose, and love? Does loving our neighbors include helping them have a voice in shaping our community? Join We Make Indiana’s Porter County chapter Leadership Assembly as we explore how churches can strengthen faithful citizenship during this election season and beyond. 

Together we’ll reflect on our shared call to seek the well-being of our community, learn practical ways congregations can encourage civic participation, and launch our fall efforts to help every voice be heard. 

Tuesday, August 25 at 6:30 p.m. Christ Lutheran Church Valparaiso (Church Hall)

Pastors, lay leaders, and anyone interested in serving the common good are invited. 

RSVP here or contact organizer Serena Fugate: [email protected], 

219-508-7714 

https://secure.ngpvan.com/8TYrq6eGwk6Hdracbb-GmQ2 

CLC Social Ministry and Mission

July 2026

Each month the Social Ministry highlights a special giving opportunity with July’s emphases to provide monetary support for 1- ELCA’s Global Missions’ Arusha Lutheran Hospital in Tanzania Africa and 2- AMOS, “A Mission of Service” in Guatemala and Honduras.

Arusha Lutheran Hospital, in Arusha, Tanzania https/www.almc.or.tz  (with leadership from Dr. Steven Swanson - known to some at CLC) thrives with local African leadership.  CLC is designated as an ELCA missionary partner congregation and supports Arusha in their ministry of “providing competent and compassionate medical care, promotion of community health programs and proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

ELCA’s Global Mission, “global mission” means joining God’s reconciling work in Christ alongside more than 80 companion churches and many ecumenical and interfaith partners around the world, trusting the Spirit already at work in every place and people.  The work together has a multi-faceted approach to mission, from sending missionaries and personnel, to offering grants and scholarships designed to strengthen global church leadership and to support the ministries of companions.  https://www.elca.org/how-we-serve/global-mission

An AMOS https://www.facebook.com/amissionofservice ministry team, including CLC’s Gail Mannington (Board member and Treasurer), regularly undertakes Medical Mission trips to Guatemala and Honduras.  AMOS is thrilled to announce another AMOS mission to Central America, warmly welcoming our 2026 team of dedicated volunteers! We're set to depart for Esquipulas, Guatemala on November 6th, 2026, this team is ready to make a lasting impact!

On each trip AMOS provides medical clinics, health care, speech pathology services and education.  During each trip the team sees and treats hundreds of patients during clinic days, and the needs are voluminous. AMOS raises funds to purchase and provide prescription medications, ointments, and vitamins, and also collects over-the-counter medications for the mission team to take (CLC members have donated hundreds of pounds of over-the-counter medicines).

Help achieve our total goal of $2500 in July.  Use your weekly worship giving envelope mailed with check to CLC and indicate “Arusha/AMOS” or contribute through Subsplash on the CLC website https://clcvalpo.org via the “Give” button and choose Monthly Social Ministry Emphasis.  Thank you to members for supporting the monthly social ministry emphasis.

July Senior Outing

Hamstra Gardens

2062 IN-10

Wheatfield, IN

July 30 at 12:00, Hamstra Gardens (NOTE DATE CHANGE AGAIN)

For those who wish to carpool, please meet at the front of the church at 11:00.

Please register online at HamstraGardens.com.  There is a $5.00 fee for visiting the      gardens. Please let me know if you plan to attend or have difficulty registering.

I'm checking out restaurants in the DeMotte/Wheatfield area.  We may come back to Valpo to eat. 

Please make sure to bring water or a beverage with you as it could be hot that day.

Cheryl Watson

219-929-5243

[email protected]

As much as we love summer, school supplies are already in the stores! And, as always, we will be collecting for Lutheran World Relief. Education is one of the strongest tools a community has for breaking the cycle of poverty. School Kits contain essential supplies to help children — and in some cases, adults — continue learning in the face of serious obstacles. Learning leads to a better life for them, their families and their communities. Kits are distributed worldwide, even in the US when disaster strikes. Our goal this year is to collect enough supplies through early October for 120 kits, each kit containing the following: 

FOUR – 70-sheet notebooks of wide- or college-ruled paper (approx. 8” x 10 ½”, not loose-leaf paper).

ONE – 30-centimeter ruler, or a ruler with centimeters on one side and inches on the other.

ONE – pencil sharpener.

ONE – pair of blunt scissors (safety scissors with embedded steel blades work well).

FIVE – unsharpened #2 pencils with erasers.

FIVE – black or blue ballpoint pens (no gel ink).

ONE – box of 16 or 24 crayons.

ONE – 2.5" eraser.

There is a basket in the Gathering Space for donations. If you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected].  Thank you for your support.

Your Love is Needed in Sunday School!
Your love – your kindness – your faith – your time. These are the best gifts you can give! Our young folks come to Sunday School each week ready to meet Jesus, to learn about God’s love and faithfulness, and that happens as they get to know YOU! We are looking for caring adults to join our team-teaching groups.

Leaders for each group are part of a rotating team that allows for lots of flexibility in scheduling. Our Youth Helpers are amazing! The curriculum is anchored in the Good News and makes preparation easy.
 

The gift of relationships with faithful caring adults is so crucial to our kids – and the gift of relationships with faithful, curious, joyful kids is so lifegiving for us adults!

So please pray about joining us – contact Pr. Erica ([email protected]) or the church office with interest or questions.

Adult Faith Formation Hour - your ideas welcome!

Planning is in the works for our Adult Faith Formation opportunities on Sunday mornings next year. Ever year we're surprised by how quickly the schedule fills with good things! If you have an idea, a series you'd like to lead, a guest you'd like to invite, etc - please be in touch with Pr. Erica ([email protected]) so that we can do our best to fit all these good opportunities into the calendar!