Peace Progress 2021

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” Psalm 16:2

Dear Peace family,

Happy 2021! It is a new year and for that, we celebrate!  In this newsletter, I would like to simply list some ministry happenings that you can look forward to in the new year at Peace.

We Celebrate a New Ministry Partnership. Peace has partnered with other ministries with prayer and by offering financial support throughout the years. This year Peace will be supporting a Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod missionary named JP Cima. JP and wife, Aimee, have three children and have been serving in Cambodia. You can look forward to hearing more about JP in our newsletters (look for his article in this edition) and discovering what God is up to in Asia. Peace will also be supporting PYAC for the first time—the Philomath Youth Activity Club. How important it is to support the youth in our community and positive activity!

We Celebrate a New Women’s Bible Study. A men’s Bible Study has been on-going during the pandemic via Zoom. The men continue to meet on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays each month (January 13 and 27) from 2 to 3 pm. Join our group as we continue to look at Galatians. A new women’s study will begin in January on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays from 2 to 3 pm (January 6 and 20). This study too will be via Zoom to start. What are we studying? We will be simply looking at a promise from God, praying and sharing. It will be uplifting and encouraging. On January 6 we will study, pray and discuss this statement: “God has made a covenant with you.” On January 20 the statement will be this: “You are an heir.” Let Peggy Krueger know if you’d like to attend and receive the Zoom invite.

We Celebrate the Beginning of Livestream Worship. As the year began, who would have thought that the church would have had to rely so heavily on online worship services? Peace has made a lot of progress in 2020 with technology. We now have a state of the art camera, tripod and useful accessories to film. We upgraded our sound board. We have created a “sound room” to truly improve the quality of sound in our online offerings. We purchased a high quality computer that will allow us to Livestream. The Livestream option for Worship is coming our way soon in 2021.

We Celebrate our Church Family. It has been challenging to have meaningful connection with our fellow members at Peace in 2020. We will continue to find avenues to safely connect with each other with phone calls and Zoom meetings and studies. But we can truly look forward in 2021 to times in which our church patterns are more like they were before 2020. Through it all, our church family is truly special and to be celebrated. I’ve said this before and I say it now, “If you were to experience a pandemic with a church family, Peace would be the one you would want to experience it.”

We Celebrate God’s Promises. It is a shaky world out there. God’s promises are unshakable. I recently came across this translation of Romans 4:20-21 (The Message), “(Abraham) didn’t tiptoe around God’s promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said.” Hmm. We can live more like Abraham in the new year. God has made promises to us too.

It is a privilege to serve you and partner with you in the ministry at Peace. I look forward to seeing the new things God will do at Peace through us!

In His Joy,

Pastor J

NEW WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY STARTING JANUARY 6, 2021at 2:00p.m.

Pastor Lucke will be leading a bible study on the “Promises of God”, on the first and third Wednesday of each month via ZOOM.  First meeting is Wednesday, January 6 at 2-3pm.

We will have a devotion, bible passages, conversation and prayer.  Pastor will send out the material before each meeting, no book is required, except your Bible.  The studies are set up so that if you have to miss a day, the next study stands alone and will not be affected.  So drop in or Zoom in, and join this wonderful opportunity to refresh your soul and rekindle friendships.

 Please let Peggy Krueger know if you want to join in by sending her your email.  ([email protected] or 541-602-1890)  Pastor will send you the ZOOM site prior to each meeting.

News from the Church Council

Annual Congregational Church Meeting

Sunday, January 17, 2021

12:00, noon via Zoom.

This meeting will give you the opportunity to hear the council’s plan for the upcoming year.

Please plan on attending if you can.

More information about this meeting will be forthcoming.

Backpack Ministry

We have begun a new ministry at Peace to help the homeless.  We are putting together backpacks with things like a hat, gloves, scarf, socks, face mask, small hand sanitizer, fleece blanket, Emergency blanket/sleeping bag, Subway gift card, ziplock of snacks (granola bars and the like),  a bottle of water ,Laundry soap and gift card for Eco Express laundromat, a tarp ,bungee cords, a rain poncho, Flashlight and extra batteries, some toiletries and a New Testament or book to read. We have made up backpacks specifically for men, women and children.  We have donated these backpacks to homeless that stop by the church, we meet on the street or to a shelter. 

I am hoping that AFTER the Covid concerns are passed, that those who might be interested in this ministry could meet to put them together.  UNTIL then….I am thinking those who would like to be involved from home could do so in one of the following ways:

  1. Send a donation to Diane Crocker with Backpack Ministry on the memo line to help pay for supplies and gift cards.
  2. Make (from supplies you might have at home) hats, scarves, face masks, smallish fleece blankets(quilts?)  that would fit rolled up into a backpack (all sizes of hats, face masks etc- men, women, child)
  3. Donate non-perishable  snack items such as granola bars, crackers, tuna packets, non-refrigerated meat/cheese sticks, all individually wrapped
  4. Donate any clean (new or used) backpacks….like a school backpack sized for a middle school or high schooler. 
  5. Donate New Testaments or any good gospel sharing smaller sized paperback.
  6. Donate Triple AAA batteries for the small flashlights 
  7. Donate Quart sized ziplock type baggies
  8. Donate new warm socks….any size
  9. Donate small individual bottles of hand sanitizer
  10. Donate travel sized shampoo, toothpaste, hand lotion

Any of the above (except checks mailed in) could be collected on three Mondays in January (11, 18, 25) in a box on the bench outside the church door from 8am-5pm. I will come collect them by 5pm each of these Mondays to put items donated into backpacks.  It would be great (but not required)  if you would put your donations in a bag with your name so I would know who to thank and contact when we get the program going after Covid. 

If you have any questions or suggestions to make this even better, please either call or email me:

Thank you for your consideration!

Diane Crocker

541-609-0018

[email protected]