Dear Peace Members and Friends,
Little did I know that when we had an Adult Education Hour in December on “Preventing Becoming a Victim of Fraud and Scams” that I would become one so soon! Many of you caring (and discerning!) Peace members who received an e-mail or text from me in the last day asking “for help” have written or called to find out whether this was a legitimate request from me. To which I said to them and now to all of you: “This is a scam!” I’m sorry, both for your time and your inconvenience in dealing with this fraud.
If you receive emails from anyone at Peace, please look at the “sending” email address. It must be from [email protected] or [email protected] otherwise delete it. Do not respond or open. If you receive a text from Peace staff, the area code must be 612 or 952, otherwise block and delete the number. If you have a question about the legitimacy of an email or text, please call us anytime!
Now on to more worthwhile things…… This Sunday is another festival day in the church: Baptism of Our Lord. In worship (9:30am) we will recall Jesus’ baptism and our own baptisms. Baptism may seem trivial to some, a mere rite of passage for others, but it is much, much more. I will have more to say in a message, “Who You Already Are.” We will reaffirm our own baptism, hear a children’s message, be blessed by the Peace Choir, and share in Holy Communion.
I’m really looking forward to the Adult Education Hour (10:45am) also. In this Epiphany season in which we talk about the Good News of Jesus Christ going out to all the world, we are reminded that each of us—you, too!—is the bearer of that good news in our daily life and work. So this Sunday, after a short introduction on “Christian and Vocation,” we will hear about the work of Lauren Toppin, serving as a neonatal intensive care unit nurse at Minneapolis Children’s Hospital and Bruce Hudson, our Director of Music and full-time member of the Minnesota Orchestra. A lively and inspiring morning ahead!
Some of you have been asking about our congregation’s response to the California fires. As you know, the destruction and need are overwhelming—and only getting worse. This week I received word from a representative of Lutheran World Relief who reported that they are preparing quilts and kits to comfort families affected by the wildfires. But right now, the number one need is financial gifts that can reach our neighbors as quickly as possible. You can give online at lwr.org/fires or mail a check to Lutheran World Relief, P.O. Box 17061, Baltimore, MD 21297-1061. Write “fires” in the memo line. Thank you!
Last of all, this week we have been reminded of the gift of life and also its brevity upon the deaths of loved ones and members. We mourn with Susan and Todd Bordson the death of Susan’s mother, Beverly Hutchinson; with Joanne Vance and Holly Long the death this week of their mother, Margaret Rees Schorsch; with Vi Engquist, Milt Lefebvre, and Deb Engquist upon the death in December of their son and brother, Mark.
And then there is Peace member, Bob Buuck. Bob died last Saturday after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Bob was a quiet man who lived a remarkable life. He was born in Hong Kong in 1940 to missionary parents, followed by time in a WWII Japanese internment camp. Bob was raised in Arcadia, Indiana and Garfield, Minnesota. After a stint in the U.S. Army, he moved to Minneapolis where he co-founded the medical device company American Medical Systems in 1972. After success in business, Bob and his wife Gail founded the Buuck Family Foundation in 1994, part of their lifelong commitment to giving back and helping others. An entrepreneur, philanthropist, globetrotter, and beloved husband, father, and grandfather, his was a baptism-shaped life. Thanks be to God for Bob!
See you Sunday,
Mark