E-notes

Dear Peace members and friends, 30 years ago tomorrow, a momentous event happened in Africa and the world. For the first time, black South Africans were able to vote in a national election. Nelson Mandela became the country’s first President and, 2 years later, won the Nobel Peace Prize. What is seldom remembered is that Mandela shared that prize with another South African leader, F. W. de Klerk. For reasons that are still not completely clear, de Klerk (brought up…

Dear Peace members and friends, Coming up this weekend is that annual Sunday of the Easter season that is often called, “Good Shepherd Sunday.” “I am the good shepherd,” Jesus declares in Sunday’s Gospel. And here’s one thing in this reading that becomes clear: Jesus does everything that ultimately matters. 5 times in 8 short verses he says, “I lay down my life”—for us! For you; for me! To confess that Jesus is our shepherd is to also say that…

Dear Peace members and friends, What a joyful Easter Sunday we had two weeks ago! And here’s the thing: the hope of Easter continues to happen. As I write these words, I’m getting ready to celebrate the life of Tom Gilmore’s mother, Joan. I’ll be reminding those who are present that Joan made the lives of people better wherever she was, and sharing with them the hope we have in Christ—“death has been swallowed up in victory.” Yes, Easter continues!…

Dear Peace Members, What a wonderful Holy Week we had at Peace!Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday worship—the Scripture, the music, the gathered people of God—all proclaiming the Good News: “He is risen! He is risen, indeed!” Now the question is: what does it mean for how we live….now! Does the Risen Christ make a difference—not just about death after life but life before death? That’s why the church calendar gives us 50 days to take the Good News…

Dear Peace Members and Friends,  Holy Week is not a service. Rather, it is an experience. A collection of worship services to immerse yourself in the climax of the story of God’s determination to redeem God’s people and world. It begins tomorrow, Maundy Thursday, continues on Good Friday, and will come to a peak on Easter Sunday. Here is the worship schedule along with some details: With nightfall, Lent comes to an end and we gather with Christians around…

Dear Peace Members and Friends, Here is the worship schedule along with some details: Thursday, April 6th, Maundy Thursday: 7:00pm Friday, April 7th, Good Friday: 7:00pm Sunday, April 9th Easter Sunday: 9:30am and 11:15am If you can’t join us in-person, all three services will be live streamed. If you wish to join us for the livestream at the time of worship, please go to our website, peacebloomington.org, and select the green “Watch Livestream” button on the welcome banner. Or, if…

Dear Peace Members and Friends, Our last Lenten Midweek worship and fellowship is tomorrow night with worship at 6:30pm, preceded by dinner being served, beginning at 5:30pm! In worship, we’ll praise and pray along with Holden Evening Prayer. We will also conclude our sermon series, “God in Pain: The Suffering of Jesus….and Our Own Suffering.” One of my favorite writers, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, wrote in a letter after the kidnapping and death of her baby son, Charles Jr.: “I do…

Dear Peace members and friends, Easter is not far off now. And yet, between now and then is Palm/Passion Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday—all connected and which, together, tell the story of our salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord. And this Sunday’s 5th Sunday in Lent worship (9:30am) is a preview of the next two weeks. The Gospel reading for the day (John 12:20-33) describes it. When some Greeks who come looking for Jesus at Passover, Jesus knew it…

Dear Peace Members and Friends, Lenten Midweek worship and fellowship continues tomorrow night with worship at 6:30pm, preceded by dinner being served, beginning at 5:30pm! One long time tradition of Lent is to focus on the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ—the events, the people—and its meaning for our lives. And that’s what we are doing this year, in a sermon series entitled, “God in Pain: The Suffering of Jesus….and Our Own Suffering.” Tomorrow night, we will look at what…

Dear Peace members and friends, First of all, remember the time change this Sunday–clocks are set forward! “Is it still Lent?” they asked, (emphasis on “still”), with a certain amount of weariness. “When is Easter, again?” Unspoken was the thought, “Enough of this Lent stuff—crosses and sin and its consequences—let’s get to the good stuff; the Good News of Jesus’s resurrection, Easter hymns, and lilies!” I understand. And so, for hundreds of years, has the church. On this coming 4th…

Dear Peace members and friends, A good March 1st to you all! These are lively days at Peace what with Lent, Holy Week at the end of the month, along with a lot of ministry and activities in between. We begin March with worship on Sunday (9:30am). On this 3rd Sunday of Lent we are given the story of Jesus cleansing the Temple. We’ve never seen Jesus this mad; chasing cattle and sheep out, overturning tables, dumping money on the…

Dear Peace Members and Friends, Lenten Midweek worship and fellowship continues tomorrow night with worship at 6:30pm, preceded by dinner being served, beginning at 5:30pm! One long time tradition of Lent is to focus on the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ—the events, the people—and its meaning for our lives. And that’s what we are doing this year, in a sermon series entitled, “God in Pain: The Suffering of Jesus….and Our Own Suffering.” Tomorrow night we will hear about a…