Blogs And Devotionals (Page 6)
E-Note January 17, 2025
Dear Peace Members and Friends, Wherever you are, I hope you’re staying warm! I identify with Garrison Keillor when he describes a recent return to Minnesota cold: “Nobody is out for a walk, nobody is hanging out, everyone is heading briskly for a car or for a warm building. And there is no complaining. This is the remarkable thing. Nobody says, “My God, it’s cold out, I have no feeling in my face,” because (1) this is not a personal…
CYF Blast January 16, 2025
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, As of Wednesday, registration for summer 2025 is officially open!Our schedule for summer 2025 is as follows: June 23-26: VBS @ Peace July 27-31: Wilderness Canoe Base July 27-August 1: Wapo Youth Camp August 1-3: Wapo Seeds Weekend August 8-10: Family Camp @ Camp Wapo Please see the “Summer Camps” section below for more information and for registration links. An important note on registration: Registrations are taken on a rolling basis. In other words, the earlier you sign…
E-Note January 10, 2025
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…
CYF Blast January 9, 2025
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, As we step into the new year, there are a lot of things that might catch us by surprise. For example, it’s already time to start planning for this summer! Our schedule for summer 2025 is as follows: Vacation Bible School will be hosted at Peace once again, and in partnership with Community of the Cross Lutheran Church. Our students will be venturing to the True North, where they will learn about “Trusting Jesus in…
E-Note January 3, 2025
Dear Peace Members and Friends, Remember Christmas? It’s almost a distant memory now. Many have packed up their trees, the decorations, and returned gifts that didn’t make the cut (or the size!). Those lights don’t seem to twinkle so brightly and the lefse is gone. And we plod into the new year because winter—real winter—begins now. Christmas? “Hark!” the herald angels sang. Then they stopped. And now it seems we are left to fend for ourselves. Not so fast! Sunday…
CYF Blast January 2, 2025
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, Thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s Christmas Program, “Great Joy For All,” possible! This year we give special thanks to: May God’s love bring Great Joy For All this Christmas season and through the New Year! In gratitude and celebration, Pastor Joe Orner
E-note December 27, 2024
Dear Peace members and friends, I hope you had a merry Christmas Day and are enjoying time with those you love! As you know, Christmas in the church is a 12-day festival. As Christians discovered early on, the Good News of God-in-the-flesh in Jesus was too important, too history-changing, to take in quickly; one day was simply not enough! So in their wisdom, our ancestors in the faith have given us these days following Christmas day to live into the…
E-note December 20, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! This coming Sunday, the children of the congregation will present “Great Joy for All.” Along with the Peace Choir and the rest of the congregation, we’ll hear the Christmas story through music, scripture, and storytelling. Following worship, there will be a Christmas cookie reception in the Fellowship Hall. Join us for a wonderful morning ahead! A reminder that the celebration of Christmas begins next Tuesday, Christmas Eve.…
CYF Blast December 19, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, This Sunday will be a very special day in worship as we host the annual Peace Christmas Program. This year’s program is called “Great Joy for All,” and there are 25 Sunday School students participating. In addition, the Peace Choir will sing, and the congregation is invited to join in the festivities as well. Altogether, we will share the Christmas story through music, scripture, and storytelling—and don’t forget about the costumes! There will be…
E-note December 13, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, Christmas is getting closer! I love these days of Advent; days of preparation, anticipation, days of joy and fun, as we look to the celebration of God coming in the flesh—Christmas. This Sunday we continue our Advent sermon series, “Whose House for Christmas?” with a look at John the Baptist’s “house.” John may be an odd choice. As Garrison Keillor writes: “…….when people came from Jerusalem to hear him [John] preach and to be baptized,…
CYF Blast December 12, 2024
Dear Families and Friends of Peace, Growing up as the son of a nurse, and having an occupation where I am around people and students a lot, I’ve always had a pretty good immune system and don’t often get sick. But once or twice a year, I’ll catch something that completely knocks me off my feet, and it takes much longer than I’d like to get back up. That happened last Thursday, causing me to miss Sunday worship and last…
E-note December 6, 2024
Dear Peace Members and Friends, I’m looking forward to this Sunday, the second Sunday of Advent! Worship, education, service, and fellowship—all things that are life-giving during this wonderful season of the church year. Our Advent sermon series—“Whose House for Christmas?”—continues. We’re touring the homes of different women and men whose stories light our way as we prepare to celebrate once again God’s coming to us in Jesus of Nazareth. This Sunday, I’ll have us stop by at the prophet Isaiah’s…