Blogs And Devotionals (Page 3)
E-note September 20, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, It’s been such a good, good start-up here at Peace, with so many exciting things happening! Sunday School, Adult Education, Peace Choir, Confirmation, Bible study; new classes, new groups, and new faces. I am grateful to you and our life together as we get on with a new ministry year! That excitement continues this Sunday. Rev. Dr. Chris Thomforde returns to the Adult Education Hour (10:45am) for the second of two presentations on, “What Does…
CYF Blast September 19, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, This weekend during worship, we will be blessing and distributing Bibles to our third grade students at Peace. Sharing the Word of God is one of the wonderful things we get to celebrate and do together as a congregation, and we do that tangibly twice for every child. When a baby is baptized here at Peace, they are gifted a Spark Story Bible, which is wonderful for reading throughout their childhood and in the early…
E-note September 13, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, I’m really looking forward to Sunday! In the Adult Education hour (10:45-11:45am) we will welcome Rev. Dr. Chris Thomforde for the first of two Sundays speaking on the timely topic, “What Does It Mean to Be a Christian Citizen?” A Long Island native, Chris comes to us with an impressive and diverse background: college president (St. Olaf, Bethany, Eastern Moravian College and Seminary); chaplaincy at Susquehanna and Colgate Universities; ELCA pastor; professor of Western Languages…
CYF Blast September 12, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, Thank you to everyone who made Gathering Sunday and our Fall Kickoff Festival so fun! It was heartwarming and energizing to see all the smiling faces, to hear all the laughs and good conversations, and to feel all of the positive and Spirit-filled energy as we begin the new ministry year together. As we move forward into the fall, there will be many more opportunities to grow in faith and in community—for all ages–and…
E-note September 6, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, Kids are back to school, vacations are ending, and we’re getting ready for an exciting fall at Peace! We celebrate this weekend with Gathering Sunday! Following worship all are invited outdoors for a Fall Kickoff Festival. We’ll have food, games, and activities. In worship (9:30), after a summer of sermon series’, we return to the Gospel of Mark. In some ways, its message is simple. In the very first verse of the very first chapter…
CYF Blast September 5, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, Gathering Sunday is this weekend, and I am so excited to begin the new year of ministry together. We will kick it off with worship at 9:30am and a Fall Kickoff Festival in the Upper Lot right after. There will be walking tacos, ice cream treats, and plenty of games and activities for all ages to enjoy. Everyone is invited! Additionally, as we move into the fall season together, I want to extend two invitations to you. …
E-note August 30, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, This Sunday in worship (9:30am), we conclude our sermon series, “Ordinary People” with a look at Timothy. 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus are usually called “the Pastoral Letters,” partly because Paul is acting as a pastor to Timothy and Titus and partly because he is writing to instruct them in their own pastoral ministries. Paul is anxious that Christians should allow the gospel to transform their lives as well as those they are leading. Pastor Joe will tell us more…
CYF Blast August 29, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, For Bloomington Public Schools, classes begin next week. As I’ve done in previous years, I’d like to share this prayer, “A Prayer for the First Day of School,” written by Kayla Craig (from To Light Their Way), as a blessing of encouragement for all our students, parents, teachers, caregivers, administrators, and other education workers as they prepare to start this exciting new season. “O God of new beginnings, as this child begins this new…
E-Note August 23, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, It’s State Fair time and September is approaching quickly. A reminder: Gathering Sunday is September 8th, including a “Fall Festival” for all ages. More information will follow but mark it on your calendars! On Sunday in worship (9:30am), we continue our sermon series, “Ordinary People” with a look at Gideon. When a messenger of the Lord greets him, he is a farmer threshing wheat, and one of God’s people struggling to exist. Gideon is surprised…
E-Note August 16, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, September is right around the corner and I have a reminder for you at the bottom of this note. But first, a word about this Sunday’s worship (9:30am). I was chatting with a friend the other day and we were commiserating over what seemed to be a long, long list of nasty, cruel behavior and talk that we’d been about hearing in the news. Finally he just blurted out, “Doesn’t anyone know how to be…
CYF Blast August 15, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, There are a lot of exciting things happening at Peace in the coming weeks, and we want you to be a part of them! Here’s a brief taste of what’s to come: And to make these wonderful ministries possible, we need your help! Each one needs dedicated leaders who care about our young people and their faith formation: When you serve in our Children, Youth, and Family ministries, you are making a big difference in…
E-Note August 9, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, Do you want to be wise? We need go no further than King Solomon to look for the answer.King Solomon was famous for his great wisdom. There wasn’t a riddle he couldn’t crack with one hand tied behind his back and there came a point where people figured that if anything clever was said anywhere, it must have been Solomon who originally said it, and the whole Biblical book of Proverbs is attributed to him.…