Posts from 2024 (Page 2)
E-note October 4, 2024
Peace Members and Friends, This was an energizing week at Peace! Wednesday Bible studies, Confirmation studies, and Choir are in full swing. A group gathered to make quilts. Older adults met here at church for lunch and fellowship. Plans are being made for welcoming new members in October and, further out, for some of the biggest occasions of the year; Reformation and All Saints Sundays, Advent, and Christmas. Through all these events and plans life is given and life is…
CYF Blast October 3, 2024
Families and Friends of Peace, Somehow, the calendar has already turned to October—which means that Trunk or Treat is just around the corner! On Sunday, October 27, from 3:30-4:30pm, we are so excited to welcome kids and families from all across our neighborhood and community for this event. With your help, we hope to greet everyone with joyous hospitality, which I’m sure will include plenty of candy, smiles, and laughs. For those new to Trunk or Treat, it is much like Trick or…
E-note September 27, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, On Sunday, we’re going to hear about angels; yes angels! This year, the annual festival Michael and All Angels (September 29th) falls on a Sunday so angels it is. And not the top-of-the-Christmas-tree-kinds-of-angels or Hallmark angels, either! We’re going to hear from Scripture about the chief angel, Michael, and his angels fighting with dragons and their angels. We don’t have to get hung up on whether we believe in angels or not to wonder about…
CYF Blast September 26, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, Parents, especially parents of teenagers, I’m undoubtedly sure you know that it can sometimes be very difficult to get your kids to open up, be talkative, or say nice things about you… There’s always that phase… But last night I asked our Confirmation students to write down important friends, important people they look up to, and important events from their life—and I think you’ll find their answers to be very encouraging. When asked to share what…
E-note September 20, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, It’s been such a good, good start-up here at Peace, with so many exciting things happening! Sunday School, Adult Education, Peace Choir, Confirmation, Bible study; new classes, new groups, and new faces. I am grateful to you and our life together as we get on with a new ministry year! That excitement continues this Sunday. Rev. Dr. Chris Thomforde returns to the Adult Education Hour (10:45am) for the second of two presentations on, “What Does…
CYF Blast September 19, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, This weekend during worship, we will be blessing and distributing Bibles to our third grade students at Peace. Sharing the Word of God is one of the wonderful things we get to celebrate and do together as a congregation, and we do that tangibly twice for every child. When a baby is baptized here at Peace, they are gifted a Spark Story Bible, which is wonderful for reading throughout their childhood and in the early…
E-note September 13, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, I’m really looking forward to Sunday! In the Adult Education hour (10:45-11:45am) we will welcome Rev. Dr. Chris Thomforde for the first of two Sundays speaking on the timely topic, “What Does It Mean to Be a Christian Citizen?” A Long Island native, Chris comes to us with an impressive and diverse background: college president (St. Olaf, Bethany, Eastern Moravian College and Seminary); chaplaincy at Susquehanna and Colgate Universities; ELCA pastor; professor of Western Languages…
CYF Blast September 12, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, Thank you to everyone who made Gathering Sunday and our Fall Kickoff Festival so fun! It was heartwarming and energizing to see all the smiling faces, to hear all the laughs and good conversations, and to feel all of the positive and Spirit-filled energy as we begin the new ministry year together. As we move forward into the fall, there will be many more opportunities to grow in faith and in community—for all ages–and…
E-note September 6, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, Kids are back to school, vacations are ending, and we’re getting ready for an exciting fall at Peace! We celebrate this weekend with Gathering Sunday! Following worship all are invited outdoors for a Fall Kickoff Festival. We’ll have food, games, and activities. In worship (9:30), after a summer of sermon series’, we return to the Gospel of Mark. In some ways, its message is simple. In the very first verse of the very first chapter…
CYF Blast September 5, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, Gathering Sunday is this weekend, and I am so excited to begin the new year of ministry together. We will kick it off with worship at 9:30am and a Fall Kickoff Festival in the Upper Lot right after. There will be walking tacos, ice cream treats, and plenty of games and activities for all ages to enjoy. Everyone is invited! Additionally, as we move into the fall season together, I want to extend two invitations to you. …
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…