Blogs And Devotionals (Page 4)
CYF Blast August 8, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, There are still a few weeks of summer left, but on Saturday my final big commitment of the season was completed when I went up to Camp Wapo for the final time. And it was a great summer! Together we enjoyed Family Camp at Wilderness Canoe Base, Vacation Bible School with Community of the Cross, the ELCA National Youth Gathering in New Orleans, Camp Wapo Youth Camp, and Camp Wapo Seeds. Thank you to…
E-Note August 2, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, During these last weeks, we have been in a sermon series, “Ordinary People.” We all know the principal characters in the Bible—Abraham and Sarah, Mary, Paul, Peter—and, of course, Jesus, the focus of the Bible for all Christians. (As Martin Luther said, “The Bible is the cradle wherein Christ is laid.”) Yet, there are lesser-known characters in the Bible that we rarely, if ever, hear about; those people through whose lives God made a difference…
CYF Blast August 1, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit Camp Wapo, where 12 Peace students and 9 additional friends of Peace (21 total!) have been enjoying their week of Youth Camp. As always, it was great to be at camp. It’s a place where students feel more open to being their true selves, where there’s a shared unified energy that’s centered around Jesus, and where discipleship and faith formation plant deep roots. I’m excited to return…
E-Note July 26, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, Thank you for both the meaningful and fun “Hymn Sing” last Sunday! You chose terrific hymns and you sang them wonderfully. Once again, I was reminded what a singing congregation Peace is! I’m already looking forward to this the next hymn sing. It will be a part of our Sunday worship on August 11th. Mark the day on your calendars! In this Sunday’s worship (9:30am), we, continue our sermon series, “Ordinary People in the Bible.” I would be willing to bet that…
CYF Blast July 25, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, Pastor Joe is on vacation this week after a whirlwind week in New Orleans last week! Given all the airline troubles, we are grateful that our group returned home as planned. It’s an exciting weekend ahead! Sunday afternoon, 11 Peace youth (4th-8th Graders) will head to Camp Wapogasset’s Youth Camp in Amery, WI for the week. The Peace youth are: Ellie Anderson, Ben Budz, Trevor Budz, Emery Byers, Kiya Losinski, Myla Macejkovic, Elsie Macejkovic, Asher Rogers, Ayla Rogers, Grace Stender,…
E-Note July 19, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, I’m looking forward to this Sunday’s worship (9:30am)! For one, we’re having a “Hymn Sing.” And that means during the portion of worship where we typically share in the Lord’s Supper, we will instead sing hymns that have been chosen by you—yes you. We’ll take a few minutes at the beginning of the service so you can look up your hymns. In the meantime, you might want to be pondering your hymn choice! In worship, we’ll also continue with our sermon…
CYF Blast July 18, 2024
July 18, 2024 Dear Families and Friends of Peace, We have been having a fantastic week at the ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans. Together, our group of 8 students and 3 adults have enjoyed exploring the city, boating on the bayou with the local ‘gators, and meeting 16,000 new friends from around the US. In their words, here are some of our favorite experiences from the trip so far: Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we…
E-Note July 12, 2024
Dear Peace Members, Yesterday, we had another gathering of older adults at church. It was terrific! I’ll say more in a moment. But first, let me remind you: Moses would have had a hard time getting a management job these days. As a matter of fact, he might have had a hard time getting any job. Why? Not simply because he was a murderer and a fugitive from the law, but he himself admitted he was a lousy speaker. Instead, God called him to be…
CYF Blast July 11, 2024
Beginning on Monday, 8 students and 3 adults will venture down to New Orleans for the 2024 ELCA National Youth Gathering. While there we will gather under the theme, “Created to Be,” inspired by Psalm 134:14, which states: “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” The Gathering staff explains the theme further: “We have been created to be ourselves. Created by the Holy One. Since the last time the ELCA came together for an ELCA Youth Gathering…
E-Note July 5, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends of Peace, I hope you having a good July 4th holiday week/weekend! This Sunday in worship (9:30am), we’ll conclude our current sermon series, “Following Jesus in Mark’s Gospel.” In the early chapters of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus has been teaching Discipleship 101 to his followers. Lessons have included the importance of both resting and remembering we belong to God; that we have, not only our own family but God’s family to bless and support us along…
E-Note June 28, 2024
June 28, 2024 Dear Peace Members, I know that a number of you are traveling this coming July 4th week (more about this celebration near the end of this e-note). God’s blessings on your travel, your reunions, your gatherings, and all your celebrations! This Sunday in worship (9:30am), we continue in our sermon series, “Following Jesus in Mark’s Gospel.” In Sunday’s Gospel scene, Jesus meets a desperate woman who has suffered from hemorrhaging for 12 years. She has not only…
CYF Blast June 27, 2024
June 27, 2024 Dear Families and Friends of Peace, It’s been a whirlwind of a week in our CYF ministries since you received last Thursday’s edition of the Blast. Last weekend, from Thursday to Sunday, Peace families attended Family Camp at Wilderness Canoe Base up in the Boundary Waters. And from Monday through today, we have been hosting Vacation Bible School every morning this week with our friends over at Community of the Cross Lutheran Church. During both events, discussions…