Dear Peace family,
Be dressed ready for service. –Luke 12:35
I am sure that you categorize your clothing—most people do. I’ve got my Sunday best on one side of the closet. Then in the middle of my closet I have those clothes for regular everyday wear. Then finally, I’ve got a side of the closet dedicated to workout clothes. I also have a dresser in the closet that holds t-shirts and socks. Which of those clothes fall into the category of service clothes?
I ask that question because Jesus says, “Be dressed ready for service.” Being “dressed for service” may mean something different to each of us. It could mean wearing a sweatshirt. It could mean wearing those jeans with the hole in them. It might even mean wearing a suit and tie or a nice dress. I think the point that Jesus is making, however, is that it doesn’t matter what clothing we wear. Jesus is interested in our attitude.
“An attitude to serve? What is that—Pastor J?” You see Jesus himself wore a whole bunch of different outfits in his life. In each of those outfits Jesus displayed an attitude to serve. Soon after coming to earth to save us and serve us, he wore swaddling clothes. When he served as a foot-washer for his disciples, he wore a towel around his waist. And on the way to the cross, he wore a royal purple robe over his shoulders.
Peace is highlighting the attitude of service this month. On Saturday, February 15 from 9:00 am to 11:00 am, Peace will be dedicating time to train people up for service. What are those ways to serve at Peace?
Greeters—These are the friendly people who welcome you to church each Sunday and give you a bulletin.
Ushers—These are those people who guide the flow of the service during the Offering and during Holy Communion.
Fellowship Hosts—These are the people who assist during Fellowship after the service.
Communion Set-Up—These are the ladies who set-up communion and clean up communion after the service.
Readers—These are the people who come up front and read God’s Word to us.
Children’s Message Sharers—These are the people who give a special message to the youth of the congregation.
Do one of these service opportunities sound appealing to you? All are invited for the training on Saturday, February 15. It shouldn’t take too long, but will be important as we seriously consider Jesus’ challenge to “be dressed ready for service.”
It could be that the service opportunities at Peace don’t necessarily fit with your desires or schedule. That is just fine, but we do want to be thinking more and more about an attitude of service. Here is a helpful prayer written by Mark Zimmermann to help us in this endeavor whether it be in the community or our church—
No matter what garments I may wear, O Lord, clothe me with a desire to serve you and those around me wholeheartedly. Amen.
In His Joy,
Pastor J
Thoughts from the Vicar
An Opportunity to Serve
Mark your calendars! From February 9th through the 15th Peace Lutheran is at the Corvallis Men’s Shelter. The Corvallis Men’s Shelter provides safety, comfort, and stability to those in our local community who do not have a place to live, and they need your help to make it possible.
Peace has promised to fill 23 evening spots through the week of the 9th, supporting the shelter staff and working with other volunteers to make sure that the good work done at the Shelter can continue.
There are many opportunities to serve and several positions to fill every night! All supplies and training are provided, so there’s no need to worry about being prepared. The only thing needed is a willingness to serve. Both men and women are welcomed to help; though all volunteers must be 18 years or older. This is a wonderful opportunity to put Faith into Action!
Maybe you’re unable participate or out of town for the week. You can still be involved! Talk with someone who has volunteered there before or talk with someone who you think might be interested in filling one of those 23 spots. People talking leads to people doing, and there’s a lot to do. Every little bit helps. If you are interested in filling one of the 23 openings, talk with Vicar Dollar or Oscar Gutbrod. It’s not too late to get involved.
As servanthood has been bubbling to the surface here at Peace, this ministry opportunity is our chance to bring some hope to our neighbors experiencing homelessness. Everyone needs a place to stay, and you can help make that possible for the people around you. Contact Vicar Dollar or Oscar Gutbrod if you have any questions.
Vicar Dollar
Peace by the Number
News from the Council
Our annual church congregational meeting was held on Sunday, January 19th. Thank you to all that attended this meeting. Of note from this meeting, the congregation voted to place an application for another Vicar for the 2020-21 academic year. The church budget for the 2020 calendar year was approved. Finally, a new slate of officers was elected. Here is your 2020-21 church council:
President – George Abele
Vice-President – Todd Muhly
Secretary – Linda Young
Treasurers – Bob Glathar & Karla Mendoza
Elders – Rick Durling, Kay Glather, Oscar Gutbrod, Mervin Munster & Elaine Schwartz
Trustees – Dan Dusek, Barry Hagen & Jim Reams
Sunday School SI – Karyn Stanley & Brandy Stokes
The church council meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall. The function of the Council is not to make decisions for the church but to discuss items that are a focus of the church then when a decisions need to be made they present the options to the voting members of the congregation for a final decision. If you should have any questions/suggestions regarding the operations of the church, please ask any of the council members. We are here to serve you.
George Abele
2020-21 Council President
Planning Ahead!
2022 LCMS National Youth Gathering Organizational Meeting: It’s not too early to start planning for the LCMS National Youth Gathering that will take place July 9-13, 2022 in Houston, Texas. We would like to hold an organizational meeting with interested parents and youths on Sunday, February 9th following the worship service. Youths who are eligible to attend this National Youth Gathering must be at least a freshman in high school in the 2022-23 academic year and no older than a high school senior in the class of 2022. Please let us know if your youth would be interested in participating.
George and Janice Abele
Men’s Circuit Breakfast
Shepherd of the Valley (Corvallis) will be hosting our next circuit men’s breakfast on Saturday, February 8th at 9 am. Pastor Eric Bohlmann has put together a topic for discussion. Please read his blurb down below and consider sharing in your bulletins/newsletters. It is good that we each come. It is even better when we invite two or three of our people to come with us. I hope we have representation from as many of our churches as possible.
“Shepherd of the Valley is excited to share breakfast and a topic with the men from our circuit. The topic for the breakfast will be a recent article written by Rev. Michael Newman, President of the Texas District of the LCMS. The article, “Next Steps for LCMS Multiplication: Two Actions to Reignite a Gospel Movement,” looks at data collected about church planting and our own LCMS history related to planting new churches. Rev. Newman creates a practical vision for us to grasp and consider, one of which is actionable in our own backyards and the other a bold and outside our normal way of thinking about missions in America.”
Incident Preparedness
The incident preparedness team met on January 7 for our first quarterly meeting of the year. There was a myriad of topics discussed including a pew preparedness card (that you will see in the coming weeks), ideas for building preparedness kits for your home, and discussion about the new Corvallis Alert Emergency Notifications system. The meetings this year will take place on April 7, July 7, and October 6. Please feel free to attend.
Preparedness tip for February 2020. What will you do if the power goes out?
Depending upon where you live, power outages will likely be infrequent, but we all need to be ready for a time when the power may go out for several hours or days. “Mom” magazine had a good article about preparing for power outages. Here are some ideas:
Before the power goes out:
- Think about the things you need that require electrical power and develop alternate plans for those items.
- Sign up for the Benton County or Corvallis Emergency notification system.
- Install battery powered carbon monoxide and smoke detectors
- Check your emergency kit and make sure you have good working flashlights and extra batteries. Rechargeable flashlights are great, but will you be able to recharge it when the power is out?
- Keep mobile phones charged and your vehicle gas tank near full.
- Have a plan for required medications that require refrigeration.
- Keep a thermometer in the refrigerator and throw out any food that gets above 40 degrees F for more than 2 hours or has unusual odors, colors, or textures.
Protect yourself and your family after the power is off:
- Keep the refrigerator and freezer closed as much as possible. A full freezer can keep foods frozen for up to 48 hours if not opened much.
- Only use generators outside and away from doors & windows.
- Do not use a gas or propane stove to heat your house.
- Unplug appliances, TVs, computers, and other delicate electronics to avoid damage when the power is restored.
- If power will be out for an extended period, you may want to consider relocating to a place (hotel, friends’ house, etc) that has power.
- Check on your neighbors to make sure they are okay.
- Think about ways to keep your children’s minds occupied. How about working on your shadow puppet skills?
Recommended items to acquire in February 2020 to build your Preparedness Kit:
1) Food – at least a three-day supply. The best types of foods have in your kit are things that have a long shelf life such as energy bars or other packaged foods that will last a long time. You might even consider purchasing food packages used for camping or military style MRE’s (meals ready to eat). If you would like to make it easy, COSTCO sells an Adventure Meal Kit which has 13 pouches and 30 servings of a variety of meals and has an advertised shelf life of 30 years. Canned foods are great as well, but make sure you have a can opener and you will probably want some way to heat your canned food so consider using your BBQ or camping stove. Whatever you use, make sure you have adequate fuel for the stove and use it in a well-ventilated area.
2) Food for your pets. Don’t forget that your pet will need to eat as well so keep some extra food in the kit for your furry friends.
Men’s Saturday Breakfast
Mark your calendar for February 1, once again time for the Peace Men’s Breakfast. No topic has been determined at this time. The menu will be whole wheat and regular pancakes for a change. We won’t forget the sausage and bacon to go along with the pancakes. Thanks to Rob for heading up the pancake preparation. Remember coffee on at 8:00, breakfast served at 8:30, and topic discussion from 9 – 10. In preparation for buying the food please let me know whether you CAN or CANNOT make the breakfast – Thanks. Oscar Gutbrod – 541-231-3954.
Also – On February 8th the Men of Circuit 4 will be gathering at Shepherd of the Valley for breakfast and discussion. The topic for the breakfast will be a recent article written by Rev. Michael Newman,
President of the Texas District of the LCMS. The article, “Next Steps for LCMS Multiplication: Two
Actions to Reignite a Gospel Movement,” Time is 9 – 10:30. Do plan to attend.
Tables of Peace
There is a small group fellowship opportunity coming to you in May. The small groups, of about 8 people, meet at one of the group members’ homes, or at the church, for a meal followed by a short discussion topic. The signup sheet is for you to indicate whether you are interested in being part of a group or if you would like to host a group. The host is not responsible for the entire meal because it is a potluck style gathering. The sheet for signup is on the Bulletin board in the Fellowship Hallway.
Tables of Peace is and has been a wonderful way for church members, friends of the church or new attendees to get to know each other better.
New Group Meeting at Peace
Have you heard about Oregon R.A.I.N.? No, not the weather we get constantly throughout the winter but the non-profit company who partners with “Oregon communities to catalyze entrepreneurial ecosystems, connect entrepreneurs to resources (including overlooked entrepreneurs), and contribute to the creation of prosperous economies.” Oregon Regional Accelerator and Regional Network will be utilizing our Fellowship hall for eight Tuesday evenings at 5:30pm for planning, meeting and networking. They have already brought funding to the Philomath area businesses and would like to be available for more opportunity. You can check them out online at oregonrain.org.
BIBLE STUDY THROUGH LENT!
The new bible study is in the works! We are so excited about this multi-generational bible study! Being able to include our youth in this study, although separate for the classes, allow us the opportunity to bond and know each other better. The workbooks are available for purchase from Callie in the church office for $10 per book. Scholarships are available. We will be starting this 40-day bible reading challenge toward the beginning of the Lenten Season.
Each Sunday we will go through what was read in the week prior. This “challenge” to read the red letters of the Bible has taken the country by storm Pastor and Vicar will be leading this study with the aid of the workbook which will play an integral part of each of our class times and the content will be included in worship.
Come to the office and get a book as soon as you are able!
