Blogs And Devotionals
E-Note May 17, 2024
Dear Peace members and friends, This Sunday is the Day of Pentecost, a festival day in the church that comes 50 days after Easter. Pastor Joe writes: On the Day of Pentecost, we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the entirety of the early church. This is the same Spirit that Jesus promised to his disciples—and to us. And so, filled with and empowered by the Spirit, our challenge then becomes the discernment of how we will join…
CFY Blast May 16, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, This weekend, we will recognize our graduating high school seniors during worship. These students are kind, compassionate, and caring; they’re hard-working, dedicated, and humble; they walk by faith, serve others humbly, and are more than equipped to move onto the next season of their lives. Here’s a brief summary of what each of them will be up to this fall: May God bless them and keep them. May God’s face shine on them and…
E-Note May 10, 2024
Dear Peace members and friends, I’m guessing that yesterday was likely a fairly normal day. I know it was for me. We welcomed a group of Peace older adults for lunch. We heard the musical group, Bloomingtone’s sing. There was no rain. The sun shone. That was Thursday. Which is too bad because yesterday was also the 40th day after Easter and a red-letter day on the church calendar—the Ascension of Our Lord. Ascension Day marks the end of the…
CFY Blast May 9, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, This Sunday is the final day of our 2023-2024 program year, and I am so grateful for all of you who helped make it happen. Whether it was through your prayers, time, financial resources, or something else, it takes an abundance of people to support our young people and their faith formation–thank you! And if you’re reading this, it’s likely you have a child, or know a child, who is involved in Children, Youth,…
E-note May 3, 2024
May 3, 2024 Dear Peace members and friends, A happy May to you all! In spite of the rain, I hope you’re enjoying the green, green, green of creation around us coming to life once again. On Sunday, we continue celebrating the good news of Easter. This season of the church year reminds us that the resurrection of Christ does not only have to do with what happens after we die but, first of all, it has to do with…
CYF Blast May 2, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, Typically in the Children, Youth, and Family Blast, I try not to get too far ahead of myself. I want us to stay present in the moment and focused on the things at hand–and I definitely don’t want other important things to get overlooked or feel undervalued. However, just like with parlay, sometimes it’s necessary to break the code–“they’re more like guidelines” anyway. (“Pirates of the Caribbean,” anyone?? And to the parent readers, if…
E-note April 26, 2024
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…
CYF Blast April 25, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, With Sunday’s Affirmation of Baptism for our 8th grade students, our year of Confirmation officially concluded–and it was a great year! Our weekly gatherings were centered around the theme of “God’s Story, My Story,” and our students explored the Bible, focusing on different people and their stories of how God worked in, through, and around them. Through both the Old and New Testaments, there were people and groups who faced hardship, pain, persecution, adversity,…
E-Note April 19, 2024
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…
CYF Blast April 18, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, This Sunday, during our 9:30am worship service, is the Rite of Confirmation, an affirmation of baptism for our 8th grade Confirmands—Eli Betlock, Kingston Fast, and Sofia Oman. During the Rite, our students are supporting and proclaiming the promises of eternal life and unconditional love that God has already pronounced over them. They are also publicly stating that they are ready to take on both the blessings and responsibilities of being an adult member of the…
E-Note April 12, 2024
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!…
CYF Blast April 11, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, We are approaching the end of one of the greatest weeks in all of sports. Last weekend, men’s and women’s college basketball teams competed in the Final Four, and then for the National Championship. Starting today, The Master’s golf tournament begins at Augusta National. Watching the basketball games, I was struck by the unique situation that both finals included the best individual player against the best all-around team—and in both cases, the best team…