Posts by Pastor Mark Nelson (Page 11)

Dear Peace Members and Friends, Our Epiphany sermon series, “Jesus Rediscovered” concludes Sunday with the question: “Why Jesus?” With Bible readings from Galatians and John’s Gospel in hand, Pastor Joe will remind us why God gave us Jesus and what it means for our following him. We will also receive new members, Jim and Carolyn Bergum, Marcia Craig, and Mona Gerike. Join me in welcoming them to Peace this Sunday! Following worship, the Education Hour will start (10:45am), and we’ll continue with the series, “On Faith and Justice with ‘A Peace…

Dear Peace Members and Friends, I’m looking forward to being back in worship with you on Sunday. We will continue our Epiphany worship series, “Jesus Rediscovered.” We have made our way through just some of the different Jesus’ that I, and maybe you, have known: friend, teacher, Savior, Lord, and way. This Sunday, we’ll look at another Jesus; “Jesus….As Presence.” What does it mean to say, Jesus is “present”? How do we experience Jesus’ presence? I’ll say more on Sunday. Following worship, the Education Hour will…

Dear Peace Members and Friends, On Sunday in worship we will continue with our sermon series, “Rediscovering Jesus.” We have looked at Jesus as Friend, as Teacher, and as Savior. This weekend, Pastor Joe will continue the series with a message entitled, “Rediscovering Jesus: Way.” Pastor Joe writes, “There are so many ways we can describe Jesus, but what do we do when other people misunderstand our beliefs about Jesus? How do we respond when preconceived notions about what we believe…

Dear Peace Members and Friends of Peace, I want to first thank the many of you who responded to Wednesday’s email and its urgent call to help clothe, in this cold, cold weather, some Ecuadoran refugee students who will begin school in Bloomington next week. I also want to thank those who have answered the call for the need of infant diapers at VEAP (and John Sandness’ great joke to inspire that effort. You had to be there in worship last week. It was good!). In the name of Christ,…

Dear Peace Members and Friends, In 1966, Minnesota musician Bob Dylan in an interview reported that he had “done everything I wanted to do.” “So, to what do you have to look forward?” Dylan responded: “Salvation. Just plain salvation.” When the interviewer pressed him further about what he meant by “salvation,” Dylan said, “I’d also like to start a cookbook magazine….I want to referee a heavyweight championship fight.” I’m not sure if Dylan’s answer was tongue-in-cheek (I suspect so!), but…

January 13, 2023 Dear Peace Members and Friends, I started kindergarten sometime around 1960 or ’61. My Mom brought my twin brother and me to (now long gone) St. Patrick Church school on 102nd Street between Xerxes and Penn Avenues. This was a whole new experience. Now I had a desk and I had to sit in it. There were rules on how to behave (I spent some quiet time in the hallway!). That fall, Sunday School changed, too. Now there…

January 6, 2023 Dear Peace Members, I hope you’re digging out from all the snow and staying warm! Meanwhile, I can think of no better way to begin the new year than to be able to look ahead this next month to our life and ministry together at Peace. Here are just a few examples: And that’s just in January! The start of a new year is an ideal time to jump into something new, to return, or to invite a friend or…

December 30, 2022 Dear Peace Members, We’ll still be celebrating Christmas this Sunday in worship (9:30am). In the Christian tradition, dating back to at least 587, the 12 days from December 25 to January 5 were a time of celebration and joy recalling the stories of Jesus’ birth and the few stories that we still have about Jesus’ youth. Some are hard to imagine, such as Jesus, Mary, and Joseph fleeing King Herod and going to Egypt. Pastor Joe will…

December 22, 2022 “I am not alone at all, I thought. I was never alone at all. And that, of course, is the message of Christmas. We are never alone. Not when the night is darkest, the wind coldest, the world seemingly most indifferent. For this is still the time God chooses.” –Taylor Caldwell Dear Peace Members, As you likely know, the song “Silent Night” was famously written in the midst of a near disastrous Christmas Eve. The church organ broke down.…

December 16, 2022 Dear Peace members and friends, I’m looking forward to Sunday and one of the highlights of the year: the Children’s Christmas program (9:30am). Actually it’s more than that! It’s less a program than it is worship. The participants are not only children, but the Peace Choir and all of us gathered together. And it still is Advent, but we get to hear the Christmas story told and sung about by the children of the congregation. They have been working hard on their parts and they are…

December 13, 2022 Dear Peace Members: Here is a reminder about tomorrow night’s Advent worship service at 6:30pm. It’s a special service called, “Those Who Dream…Are Not Alone.” If you are undecided about whether to come, here are a few reasons to be there: I hope you can join us! Tomorrow night, 6:30pm. Grace and Peace, Mark

December 9, 2022 Dear Peace members and friends, It’s Advent. And church doesn’t get much more joyful than these last couple of weeks of Advent and Christmas as we anticipate hearing the proclamation of the Christmas angel: “….I bring you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day….a Savior……” And yet we know, joy isn’t easy. We don’t feel joy all the time (even at this time of the year!) Joy is something that…