E-notes (Page 6)

February 23, 2024 Dear Peace members and friends, There are a lot of important things to share today, so I hope you read, or at least scan, today’s e-note all the way to the end! Whenever Lent comes around, I remember a story about Jeff, who loved his grandfather more than anyone in the world. One day, when Jeff was about two, he went with his grandfather for a ride in the car. This was long before seat-belts and seat-belt…

Dear Peace Members and Friends, Lenten Midweek worship and fellowship begins tomorrow night with worship at 6:30pm, preceded by dinner being served, beginning at 5:30pm! All of us know something about pain and suffering. Anyone who has suffered through even one night of deep hurt knows what it’s like to pray for relief. Sometimes the prayer is answered and sometimes it is not. Still, as Christians in those times, we trust that Jesus Christ is present in our suffering. On…

Dear Peace members and friends, On Ash Wednesday we began the season of Lent. Many see this season in the church as year as a grim, merely-to-be-endured time in the church year and understandably so. Lent begins with ashes on our foreheads, reminding us of life’s limits….and our own. Yet that’s exactly why I also see Lent as an opportunity not to be missed; a time to reflect, to act, to grow and to learn as we make our way…

Dear Peace Members and Friends, The season of Lent begins tomorrow. The word “Lent” comes from the Old English word “lengten,” which simply means “spring”—when the days lengthen and new life springs up. It is a time in which we anticipate the victory of the light and life of Christ over the darkness of sin and death. Still, Lent doesn’t have to be grim! It is, to borrow a phrase from C.S. Lewis, a season of a kind of “happiness…

Dear Peace members and friends, I’m looking forward to being back with you this Sunday. And what a Sunday it is on the church calendar: the Transfiguration of Our Lord. It’s a strange story. Jesus transformed. Petrified disciples. Heroes from the past. A shiny cloud. It’s a milestone in the life of Jesus. From this moment, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to (in the words of Luke) “accomplish” something. The Transfiguration is what God is about to go…

Dear Peace members and friends, This Sunday in worship (9:30am) is the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany. Pastor Joe writes, “The season of Epiphany celebrates Jesus’ physical presence among us—that God became manifest through Jesus in the flesh. The season started with the wisemen following the star to see Jesus in Bethlehem, and this Sunday we’ll hear the story of Jesus healing the disciple Simon’s mother-in-law, and then a whole town. It reminds us, as the Apostle Paul described in his…

Dear Peace members and friends, It’s a big Sunday ahead! The Annual Congregational Meeting of Peace Lutheran Church will take place in the Parish Hall, beginning at 10:45am. At this meeting, both a proposed budget for 2024 and new Council members will be voted upon; Pastors’, Committees, and President’s reports will be offered. All members of Peace are encouraged to attend! Before the meeting we will gather for worship (9:30am). As we near the end of the church season of…

Dear Peace members and friends, He said to me: “Have you heard any good news lately?” I paused. I had to think. And my first response was, “Well, no—no I haven’t.” I had to admit that I hadn’t heard any good news on TV or read any in the newspapers. That’s why, when I read this Sunday’s gospel that begins, “…Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God,….,” my reaction was, “What is it? I want to know!”…

Dear Peace members and friends, In these Sundays between Christmas and Lent, we keep the season of Epiphany. It is the season in which, having just celebrated God’s coming in Jesus Christ, we are now invited to see and experience him. This is the season when, in answer to the question, “Who is God, and what does God want from us?” we are invited, in the words of Philip in Sunday’s Gospel reading, to “come and see” Jesus. “Come and…

January 5, 2024 Dear Peace members and friends, Today is the twelfth and final day of Christmas. Tomorrow—January 6th—the Christian calendar turns to a new season: Epiphany. On Sunday, we will celebrate this new season with—a day after—“The Epiphany of Our Lord.” The word “epiphany” can mean manifestation, revelation, appearance, insight, enlightenment, or a shining forth. Epiphany begins with the story of the Magi. You know it. These astrologers, magicians follow a brilliant star to the place of Jesus’ birth…

Dear Peace members and friends, The excitement and festivities of Christmas are largely over. Even some of those Christmas decorations are already put away! Now is a good time for us to ponder the meaning of the coming of God in the flesh, Jesus Christ. Christ has been born in Bethlehem. But what has changed? We go back to our routines. And yet, in the world, it’s New Year’s Eve weekend. As the old year ends and the new year…

Dear Peace members and friends, “You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” —Psalm 16:11 When I went to the Shrine Circus in grade school there were, of course, clowns. I remember the clown car pulling into the main ring. And the clowns would come piling out, one after another after another after another. How many clowns can fit inside of a tiny clown car? Enough to…