Weekly Email for Aug. 16, 2009 11th Sunday after Pentecost

Weekly Email for Aug. 16, 2009

11th Sunday after Pentecost

To all the baptized saints of God, working together for the sake of the Gospel,

Sunday Events

This Sunday we continue our reading of John 6 and Jesus identifying himself as the bread of heaven or bread of life. The title of my sermon is "Word in the Flesh" and I will be encouraging us to see God's Word as something we can feel, taste and touch in our lives. We as Lutheran Christians believe in Jesus as really present with us in the sacrament and in our lives. God's forgiveness and love is something that is real. Jesus also calls us to make this love real in our relationships with others. I hope that you will be blessed.

At the 8:30 service we will be celebrating the baptism of Addison Nolan Buskirk, the son of Ed and Kim. Sponsors are Tom and Andie Troutman.

We will continue offering bread and a flyer for you to take to someone who is need of emotional or spiritual encouragement. These loaves and flyers are found in the narthex.

On Sunday evening at 6:00 we will have an orientation for confirmation students and their parents. The orientation will be about this upcoming year. We hope that everyone will attend this important meeting.

Lutherhill Campers Return

Check out the videos of our children's week at camp on the blog. http://welcometothepeacelutherancommunity.blogspot.com/

Thanks to David B. for a great job of leading them. They will be returning from camp on Friday afternoon.

Google Groups

Please go to this link for access to Peace Google Groups. Google groups is a new way for us to collaborate on our mission and ministry at Peace without depending on face-to-face meetings. All you have to do to join most groups is to just click on the link. Some you might need to have an invitation. To fully use the Google Group you will need to have a Google Account using your normal email address. Just go to google.com and click "sign in" on the top right corner and follow the instructions (I have a training video to help explain hi).

The model for leading our ministries will be workshops and Google Group online collaboration. Of course, ministry and mission at Peace is always more about the Indian than the bow and arrow. What matters most is your willingness to do the mission and ministry at Peace. We are moving away from a Pastor and Staff led church, to a mission and ministry led church. We are trying to establish a collaborative environment for ministry when lay people work together in doing the work of God. Collaboration is fun and exciting and I hope that you will give it a try. You can now do the work from the comfort of your home.

Property Outreach Improvement Projects

Playground Project: We are in the design stage and have met with a playground company for insight and direction. We have a bulletin board in the hallway by the offices for your input and ideas. We are asking especially for children to draw what they think the playground should look like. If you would like to be involved with the project, join the Google Group. The playground will be located on the education building side of the big lot in the back. We are looking to accompdate up to 30 children, ages 2-12. We are moving slow because we want to do a thorough job.

Labyrinth Project: We are still in the design stage. We are looking to place the labyrinth on the grass behind the fellowship hall with removable stone pavers. If you would like to be involved, we have a meeting on Tuesday. Feel free to come.

Sanctuary Repairs and Improvements. We are look at contractors to do the work and producing bids that have the improvements and repairs cost individually listed.

Blessing of Students, Teachers and Backpacks, Sunday August 23 all three services.

Since August 24 is the first day of school we will have a special blessing for students, teachers, education staff and workers at all three services on August 23. We will also recognize all children starting kindergarten and their first step toward graduation. We ask all the youth and children to bring their backpacks as part of the blessing.

Rally Day, August 30

We will begin our new Sunday School year with a kickoff Rally at 9:45. We will have a new curriculum this year called "Witness". Go to this website http://www.augsburgfortress.org/learning/sundayschool/witness/ for more information. The format goes back to the use of colorful handouts for children to take home with them.

We will be serving breakfast in the fellowship hall. We ask everyone to be there. We will be installing our 09-10 teachers during the 8:30 and 11:00 services.

Vocational Sunday, September 6

On this Sunday we will be recognizing the ministry of our vocations as part of our Sunday worship. We ask that you wear your work clothes if want and we will have a bulletin board for you to share what you do during the week. Special note: This includes homemaker or those staying at home. Martin Luther teaches us the biblical truth that all vocations are callings from God and holy work. We practice our Christian service to others in daily work. We will have a special blessing as part of the service.

See You Sunday!

Pastor Tart