From the Pastor
In anticipation of our beloved church’s upcoming 75th Anniversary in December, the council has assembled a small team to coordinate celebrations. A core part of how we plan to mark the anniversary involves looking back over Peace’s past, in words and pictures.
This is where all of you come in!
First Request:
We are seeking photographs and bits of history from Peace Lutheran Church. Pictures of your child’s baptism with Pastor Hering? Yes, please! A photo of Pastor Flachsbart with a confirmation class? Yes, please! Pictures of the old building before the remodel? Yes, please! Pictures of a birthday celebration in the old fellowship hall? Yes, please! Newspaper clippings about Peace? Yes, please! Old bulletins from 10, 15, 20, 30 years ago? Yes, please! A family portrait taken at church, with exquisite 80s hair and a daughter who appears to be plotting something? Yes, please!
If you’re comfortable in the digital world, you could scan your photos, newspaper clippings, vintage church bulletins etc., and email them to Jim Holroyd ([email protected]).
If you’re more comfortable in the analog world, you can share with us the actual photos/bulletins/newspaper clippings. We can make copies of whatever you share with us and return them to you. Please make sure your items are labeled so we can return your mementos after the celebrations are over. You can hand them directly to any member of the planning committee, Pastor Lucke, or place them in any of our mailboxes in the fellowship hall. We will treat your possessions with the utmost care.
Second Request:
Your stories and memories! The richness of Peace’s history is best illustrated through your stories and memories of experiences shared here. We are planning a booklet of written memories as recorded by you–members of the congregation, past and present. Whether the story you write and the memory/memories you share are five sentences or a full page, we will happily accept it all. Please don’t worry about how it is written; we just want to hear your favorite memories and stories of Peace through the years. (Our resident English teacher is on hand to edit any mechanical errors [spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.] but will not alter your text in any other way.) Please send your stories and memories to Molly Schulze ([email protected]).
Third Request:
Looking back is invaluable, but equally important is looking ahead, recognizing that our church is a living entity that continues to grow and contribute greatly to our individual lives as well as our larger community. So, what are your hopes and dreams for the future of Peace Lutheran Church? What do you, as an individual, hope to contribute or gain? What do you dream or hope for Peace? How do you hope to see God work through our church in the future? What do you hope to look back on in 25 years when we celebrate the 100th anniversary? Please email your ideas–whether in a single sentence or a descriptive paragraph–to Molly Schulze ([email protected]).
We are so excited to see and read what you have to share! Our first “event” will be on April 27th, when Pastor Flachsbart and his wife Joy return for a visit and trip down Memory Lane. We would love to have some pictures and memories to share on that Sunday. If you’re able to send your photos/mementos/stories before then, it would be much appreciated! You can also, of course, add to our collection as the year goes on. Final celebrations will not happen until December or January 2026.
Lastly, forward this email to anyone you know who might have something to share, but who no longer receive communications from Peace. Please help us get the word out to former members, those who have moved away, etc.!
Gratefully yours,
Holly Bendixen, Cheryl Narver, Ellen Holroyd, Janet Randall, and Molly Schulze
Peace by the Numbers
Plan for Worship
April 6 – 10:00am Worship service with Communion. Fifth Sunday in Lent.
April 13 – 10:00am Worship service. Palm Sunday.
April 20 – 10:00am Worship Service with Communion. Easter Sunday.
April 27 – 10:00am Worship Service. Second Sunday of Easter.
Peace’s Lent Continues in April
This year we have been gaining a portrait of Jesus through the eyes of those whose interactions with Jesus lead us to consider His death and resurrection. These portraits come to us from St. John’s Gospel. John says that his sole purpose in writing is this, “These things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31).
We have been and will hear in April from a variety of people. We’ll meet villains, such as Barabbas and Pontius Pilate; sinners, such as Peter, Mary Magdalene and Judas; as well as others.
Here is a plan for the readings in April and the people that we will be considering. It is greatly beneficial to read ahead in preparation for each Sunday:
March 30 Peter John 18:12-27
April 6 Barrabas John 18:33-40
April 13 (Palm Sunday) Pontius Pilate John 19:1-16
April 17 (Maundy Thursday) Judas John 13:21-30
April 18 (Good Friday) John—the Apostle John 19:25-37
April 20 (Easter) Nicodemus and Mary John 20:1-18
A Month of Fellowship
Peace is having a full month with special fellowships in April. Can you help?! We hope so! Each of these fellowships are opportunities to connect and share with one another. Here is a brief plan for what need each week:
Sunday, April 6 First Sunday of the month Potluck—stay and bring a dish to share
Sunday, April 13 Ruth Dally’s 100th Birthday Celebration!! The Ladies Guild is providing a cake. Stay and consider sharing a dish!
Sunday, April 20 Easter Sunday! Bring finger food to share!
Sunday, April 27 Pastor and Joy Flachsbart will be visiting. Bring a dish to share and stay for fellowship!
Men’s Breakfast in April
Men of Peace, please join us for the April Men’s breakfast in the fellowship hall. We will be joined by the Boy Scouts who have graciously offered to help with the church grounds for the clean-up day. Coffee on at 8:00am and breakfast will start around 8:30. Start your day off right, fuel up, and please stay to help out with the yard work. Talk to Oscar for more information and to let him know if you will attend so he knows how many meals to prepare.
Church Clean-up Day
Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 5 for Peace’s Spring Clean Up day. We are attempting to clean both the inside and outside of the church this day in preparation for Holy Week and Easter. Bring gloves, shovels, rakes and wheelbarrows as we spread the bark. Donuts will be provided. Please See Sally or Dan if you have any questions! Thank you!
Peace Lutheran Ladies Guild – April
All women who are members of Peace are members of Guild. There are no dues. We meet as a group to discuss how we can be community care givers. Please attend our monthly meeting on Thursday, April 3, 2025, at 10:00 am in the Fellowship Hall. If you need a ride please call Peggy Krueger. We are starting a new project for our monthly meetings. Each member is asked to bring 2 items for the Community Outreach Program called “2025 Philomath March on Hunger”. These items will be delivered to Philomath Community Services. A list of most wanted donation items includes:
- Canned meat (corned beef, hams, Spam, chicken, etc.)
- Canned fish (tuna, sardines, salmon, clams, etc.)
- Condiments: mustard, ketchup pickles, etc.
- Spices of all kinds
- Canned entrees: spaghetti, corned beef hash, etc.
- Boxed entrees, Rice-a-Roni, Hamburger helper, etc.
- Ready to Eat Soups
- Dessert and Baking Mixes (cake, cornbread, biscuit, etc.)
- Jams, Jellies, syrups
- Feminine Hygiene Products,
- Laundry Soaps: Powdered or Pods
- Personal Care Items: toilet paper, shampoo, toothpaste, soap, disposable razors
Another very special event in April is the celebration of the 100th birthday of our “Sister in Christ”, Ruth Dally on April 13. We will be hosting a potluck after service and invite the congregation to come and bring a potluck item if they want. This will be a very special celebration for a very special lady.
Peggy Krueger, Guild President
Red Cross Blood Drive
April is Blood Drive month again. As we move into spring, consider giving the gift of life. We are having a blood drive on Friday, April 25th from Noon to 5. There are still some spots available if you would like to donate. Also, cookies or other baked goods would be appreciated and can be delivered to the church kitchen on Thursday or Friday morning by 11:30. Your prayers for a successful drive for this life-saving item are very much appreciated.
Portals of Prayer
The new Portals of Prayer are available in the entryway at church. Portals of Prayer comes in small and large print. Consider taking one and even sharing one with someone you know–we have plenty. This is an excellent way to connect with God’s Word and be encouraged each day
Preparing for Easter
HE HAS RISEN Easter Service is April 20 beginning at 10 a.m. followed by Easter fellowship (No Sunday School). Please consider bringing finger foods only so that we can have an easy cleanup. The Easter egg hunt for children through 6th grade will immediately following the church service, around 11:15.
Every year a wooden cross is placed at the entrance to the church, and it is decorated with cut flowers. Please bring cut flowers to help decorate the cross anytime on Good Friday up until Saturday at noon when the cross will be decorated. Flowers can be placed in the buckets of water in front of the church. Be looking in your yard and think about contributing flowers.
Plastic eggs will be available for people to take home and fill with goodies for the Easter egg hunt—candy, stickers, money, anything fun that can fit in an egg.
And last, please consider bringing an Easter lily to church to help decorate the Sanctuary. Place them in the kitchen on the counter.
Explaining Holy Week
Palm Sunday — April 13th at 10 am. Palm Sunday begins Holy Week. On this day we process forward with palm branches in order to reenact Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem (see Luke 19:37-40). A word you will hear often in this service is “hosanna.” “Hosanna” is a transliteration of the Hebrew phrase that expresses the plea “Lord, save us”—a cry of joyful hope. Come, wave your palm branch and celebrate Jesus—the Victorious King!
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Maundy Thursday—April 17 at 7 pm with Holy Communion. This service captures the happenings of Jesus with his disciples in the Upper Room before his arrest and betrayal. This service gives us much to think about. If we were there as one of Jesus’ disciples, what would we have been thinking? Undoubtedly, we’d marvel at Jesus’ call for humble service as he washed his disciples’ feet. Come this night to hear about Jesus’ desire to serve you! The stripping of the altar ends the Maundy Thursday service—this is a moving way to represent Jesus’ humiliation at the hands of those who crucified him. The stripping of the altar happens in silence as we prepare our hearts and minds for Good Friday and Jesus’ death.
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Good Friday — April 18 at 7 pm. What is so good about Good Friday? Come and find out! This is an austere and simple service that focusses on the fulfillment of God’s promises in Christ Jesus’ death—the full payment for our sins—that’s why Good Friday is “good.” At Peace we recognize this in a personal way. Each participant receives a nail at the beginning of worship that can then be placed into the cross on the narthex at the conclusion of the service. This reminds us that our debt has been paid by Jesus’ death. This service will be live-streamed.
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Easter — April 20 at 10 am with Holy Communion. Easter is the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus did not remain in the tomb, but rose from the tomb and lives. This is a day of celebration! We will welcome back our church choir to sing some powerful Easter songs. When the pastor says, “Alleluia. Christ is risen”, be ready to reply, “He is risen indeed! Alleluia.” This is our way of saying, “Jesus wins and so do we!”
Willie McCormick Shares a Prayer
Lord God, ruler of the universe who knows my name, thank you for the Holy Spirit who has guided my path. I am thankful for the material items you have provided me with along with my talents and abilities. I pray for my cousin, Norm, who is very wealthy, but doesn’t know Jesus as his Savior. I pray the Holy Spirit will soften his heart and make him realize his need for salvation – if it be your will. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Hearing from Friends of the Family
Please come to the Philomath Rotary Club event on April 15th at noon in the fellowship hall.
The main presentation is “Friends of the Family” (FOFM). The speaker is Dave Jackson, MS, LMFT (Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist), Executive Director of “Friends of the Family”. FOFM is a faith-based counseling support services for marriages, couples, and individuals across the communities of Philomath, Albany, Lebanon, and Corvallis since 1994. Dave’s presentation is on promoting healthy relationships and healthy homes through relationship educational programs and professional counseling services.
Also at this meeting event will be the Philomath Middle School “Student of the Month” awards for both March and April.
We hope you can come and please remember lunch will be provided. Please RSVP to Lindy if you will be attending so we can plan the number of meals.
