Posts from August 2024
E-note August 30, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, This Sunday in worship (9:30am), we conclude our sermon series, “Ordinary People” with a look at Timothy. 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus are usually called “the Pastoral Letters,” partly because Paul is acting as a pastor to Timothy and Titus and partly because he is writing to instruct them in their own pastoral ministries. Paul is anxious that Christians should allow the gospel to transform their lives as well as those they are leading. Pastor Joe will tell us more…
CYF Blast August 29, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, For Bloomington Public Schools, classes begin next week. As I’ve done in previous years, I’d like to share this prayer, “A Prayer for the First Day of School,” written by Kayla Craig (from To Light Their Way), as a blessing of encouragement for all our students, parents, teachers, caregivers, administrators, and other education workers as they prepare to start this exciting new season. “O God of new beginnings, as this child begins this new…
E-Note August 23, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, It’s State Fair time and September is approaching quickly. A reminder: Gathering Sunday is September 8th, including a “Fall Festival” for all ages. More information will follow but mark it on your calendars! On Sunday in worship (9:30am), we continue our sermon series, “Ordinary People” with a look at Gideon. When a messenger of the Lord greets him, he is a farmer threshing wheat, and one of God’s people struggling to exist. Gideon is surprised…
E-Note August 16, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, September is right around the corner and I have a reminder for you at the bottom of this note. But first, a word about this Sunday’s worship (9:30am). I was chatting with a friend the other day and we were commiserating over what seemed to be a long, long list of nasty, cruel behavior and talk that we’d been about hearing in the news. Finally he just blurted out, “Doesn’t anyone know how to be…
CYF Blast August 15, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, There are a lot of exciting things happening at Peace in the coming weeks, and we want you to be a part of them! Here’s a brief taste of what’s to come: And to make these wonderful ministries possible, we need your help! Each one needs dedicated leaders who care about our young people and their faith formation: When you serve in our Children, Youth, and Family ministries, you are making a big difference in…
E-Note August 9, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, Do you want to be wise? We need go no further than King Solomon to look for the answer.King Solomon was famous for his great wisdom. There wasn’t a riddle he couldn’t crack with one hand tied behind his back and there came a point where people figured that if anything clever was said anywhere, it must have been Solomon who originally said it, and the whole Biblical book of Proverbs is attributed to him.…
CYF Blast August 8, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, There are still a few weeks of summer left, but on Saturday my final big commitment of the season was completed when I went up to Camp Wapo for the final time. And it was a great summer! Together we enjoyed Family Camp at Wilderness Canoe Base, Vacation Bible School with Community of the Cross, the ELCA National Youth Gathering in New Orleans, Camp Wapo Youth Camp, and Camp Wapo Seeds. Thank you to…
E-Note August 2, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, During these last weeks, we have been in a sermon series, “Ordinary People.” We all know the principal characters in the Bible—Abraham and Sarah, Mary, Paul, Peter—and, of course, Jesus, the focus of the Bible for all Christians. (As Martin Luther said, “The Bible is the cradle wherein Christ is laid.”) Yet, there are lesser-known characters in the Bible that we rarely, if ever, hear about; those people through whose lives God made a difference…
CYF Blast August 1, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit Camp Wapo, where 12 Peace students and 9 additional friends of Peace (21 total!) have been enjoying their week of Youth Camp. As always, it was great to be at camp. It’s a place where students feel more open to being their true selves, where there’s a shared unified energy that’s centered around Jesus, and where discipleship and faith formation plant deep roots. I’m excited to return…