CYF Blast (Page 8)

Dear Peace Families, On Sunday during worship, we celebrated the Rite of Confirmation for our 8th grade students as they professed their faith and affirmed the promises God made with them at their baptism. Faith is many things—a gift, a trust, a belief. But it is also a responsibility—to live among God’s faithful people, to hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s supper, to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed, to serve all people, following…

Dear Peace Families, Last night we had our last Confirmation gathering of the year. As our time together comes to an end, it is (as always) bittersweet—I am so happy for our students and proud of them for all the ways they’ve grown throughout the year, and I will miss our time shared together each week as well.  Because it’s been a great year! True to our mission, growing a community that nurtures a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ, we’ve grown…

Dear Peace Families, I hope you all had a blessed Holy Week and a wonderful celebration of Easter.  In the life of the Church, the celebration of Easter and Christ’s Resurrection is not just one day—it is a season that continues for six more weeks.  One big question for us to consider during the Easter season is: how do we live as Easter people? Or rather, what does it mean for us, as Christians, to share the Good News that…

Dear Peace Families, Before this week’s message, I have an important announcement: VBS registration begins on Sunday!  We are excited to welcome your children to a week of fun at this year’s Vacation Bible School! VBS will be June 26-29, 2023 at Peace, from 9:00am-12:00pm each day. This year’s VBS theme is Stellar, and we’ll be launching the kids on a cosmic quest, to Shine Jesus’ Light to the world. The week will be full of uplifting music, engaging Bible adventures, imaginative crafts, galactic snacks,…

Dear Peace Families, In Lent we follow Jesus on the 40-day journey to the cross and beyond. During the season, many Christians have traditionally given up something—things like coffee or desserts—sacrificing something they love for 40 days, acknowledging that Jesus sacrificed even more for us. As we continue through Lent, I’ll be offering suggestions for things we might give up—though there won’t be anything tangible mentioned. This week, I propose giving up poor boundaries. If we’re being honest, most people…

Dear Peace Families, In Lent we follow Jesus on the 40-day journey to the cross and beyond. During the season, many Christians have traditionally given up something—things like coffee or desserts—sacrificing something they love for 40 days, acknowledging that Jesus sacrificed even more for us. Over the next several weeks, I’ll continue offering suggestions for things we might give up—though there won’t be anything tangible mentioned. This week, I propose giving up the fear of failure. The fear of failure…

Dear Peace Families, In Lent we follow Jesus on the 40 day journey to the cross and beyond. During the season, many Christians have traditionally given up something—things like coffee or desserts—sacrificing something they love for 40 days, acknowledging that Jesus sacrificed even more for us. Over the next several weeks, I’ll continue offering suggestions for things we might give up—though there won’t be anything tangible mentioned. This week, I propose giving up uncommunicated expectations.  We all have expectations—expectations for…

March 2, 2023 Dear Peace Families, As I mentioned last week in this newsletter, in Lent we follow Jesus on this 40 day journey to the cross and beyond. During the season, many Christians have traditionally given up something—things like coffee or desserts—sacrificing something they love for 40 days, acknowledging that Jesus sacrificed even more for us. And over the next several weeks, I’ll offer suggestions for things we might give up—though there won’t be anything tangible mentioned. This week,…

Dear Peace Families, The season of Lent has officially begun—though being covered in snow doesn’t feel quite the same as being marked with ashes.  Regardless, Lent echoes the 40 days that Jesus spent wandering through the wilderness, facing temptation. In Matthew’s Gospel, this journey happens immediately following his baptism from John, and is followed by his three years of ministry.  Similarly, we follow Jesus on this 40 day journey to the cross—but it is also a journey to resurrection and…

Dear Peace Families, Lent begins next week on Ash Wednesday (February 22).  And as we approach the season that leads up to Easter, I realize that there is a misnomer about Lent—it’s a pervasive one, but not one that is necessarily biblical. In my growing years, however, it’s one that I used to believe too.   It is the belief that Lent is all about sin, suffering, and death. And because of that, we need to engage in practices of…

Dear Peace Families, Last Saturday our Confirmation students enjoyed a day-long retreat at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter. The time at Gustavus is always a highlight for the students—many have never been to a college campus before, and everyone gets excited for something new and different. After our fall retreat was spent learning about world religions and visiting their houses of worship, this day was spent learning about Christian denominations, and Lutheranism in particular. Our closing time was spent…

Dear Peace Families, In about three weeks, the season of Lent will begin.  When I shared this with our Confirmation class last evening, one student replied, “You mean like the lint that gets stuck in my belly button?” No, not that… Lent is the season that precedes Easter and is symbolic of the 40 days that Jesus spent wandering in the wilderness before beginning his ministry. Beginning on Ash Wednesday (February 22), we are reminded of our finite mortality as well as our…