From the Pastor
Dear friends,
I’ve been thinking about some words of Jesus lately. The words are found in Matthew 25:23, “You did well. You are a good and loyal servant. Because you were loyal with small things, I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my joy with me.” Let’s think about Jesus’ focus on small things and greater things.
Don’t we spend most of our time thinking about the “greater” things? I admittedly do. I think about ways to solve the homeless problem. “Why don’t we at least try something to help the situation!?!” I say to myself. I ponder ways to fix the ongoing mental health crisis. One recent article I read stated that clinical depression has increased ten-fold just in the last decade! I ponder ways my favorite NBA basketball team, the Milwaukee Bucks, could make some changes to their team roster to improve. If only the coach would listen to my perfect solutions!
It might seem frustrating that the Bible has so little to say about the “greater” things in life. Maybe you are seeking clear answers to life’s biggest questions and are not finding that desired clarity?
And it might seem so trite for the Bible to focus so much on the “small” things. Why does the Apostle Paul, for example, spend so much time greeting people at the end of Romans? He says hello to twenty-six people by name. If you take a closer look at the names mentioned, you might notice something. He greets males (Urbanus) and females (Mary). He greets Asians (Epaenetus) as well as Romans (Aristobulus). He greets slaves (Amplias) as well as politicians (Narcissus). He greets those new to the faith (Philologus) as well as those who had close connections to Jesus (Rufus). Paul doesn’t play favorites in his greetings. He doesn’t leave anyone out. Paul is a master at a seemingly small thing—greeting others. He goes on to encourage fellow Christians to “greet one another (Romans 16:16).” Paul understood and lived a life focused on the importance of small things.
Small things are what the Lord has tasked us to do at Peace Lutheran Church. In the month of June a whole bunch of small things will get accomplished. We will greet people at the door. We will usher one another to the rail for communion. We will encourage one another with cards. We will serve each other in fellowship. We will laugh at each other stories. We will celebrate each other’s accomplishments. If all we did were small things—we will have accomplished quite a bit.
Last year I had a chance to meet with some of our friends from the first church that I served in Jacksonville, Florida. An older lady came up to me and began the conversation by saying, “Pastor Jeremy, you made a tremendous difference in my life.” At first, I was kind of stunned. Then I began to think about what I might have done. Maybe I had explained the Holy Trinity well to her and it stuck for the first time? Nope. Maybe I had a forceful sermon that moved her closer to Jesus? Not so much. She continued. “Right before you left Grace—you took my husband to an important eye appointment. I couldn’t make it because I was battling cancer. That you took time to care for him meant so much!” As she finished her statement, I was stunned again. I couldn’t even remember taking him to the appointment. I barely recognized their faces!?! It was most certainly a small thing.
Thank you for continuing to do the small things. They make a difference. We can look forward to Jesus one day saying to us, “You did well. You are a good and loyal servant. Because you were loyal with small things, I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my joy with me.”
In His Joy,
Pastor J
Peace by the Numbers
June 4 – 10:00am – Worship Service with Communion. Holy Trinity Sunday. Picnic & BBQ for fellowship.
June 11 – 10:00am – Worship Service. Second Sunday after Pentecost. Confirmation for both Nora and Samuel during the worship service.
June 18 – 10:00am – Worship Service with Communion. Third Sunday after Pentecost. Father’s Day. The men will be hosting fellowship brunch after the worship service.
June 25 – 10:00am – Worship Service outside on the patio. Fourth Sunday after Pentecost.
Summer Bible Study
Summer provides time to consider the teachings of Jesus. Jesus taught in an intentional way to develop people. One of the common teaching methods He used was the parable. Some of our favorite Bible stories are parables. All are welcome to discover and discuss Jesus’ unique teachings in the parables. We begin at 9 am and will meet in the fellowship hall each Sunday morning. Here is the plan:
June 18 The Prodigal Son
June 25 The Great Banquet
July 2 The Talents
July 9 The Sower
July 16 The Unmerciful Servant
July 23 The Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin
July 30 The Rich Fool
August 6 The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
August 13 The Good Samaritan
August 20 Workers in the Vineyard
August 27 The Ten Virgins
Men’s Breakfast
Men’s Breakfast: The last Peace men’s breakfast until October will be held June 3rd. Do Plan to attend. This will be a hardy one with sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, potatoes, along with fruit and toast. Rob would like to review the upcoming Father’s Day Brunch to be held on June 19th. There will be time for a topic discussion. Remember coffee on at 8:00 or before, breakfast served at 8:30 and discussion 9 -10. Always looking for some help in the kitchen, let me know if you would like to help. As in the past please let me know if you plan to attend, helps me purchasing enough eggs –
Oscar Gutbrod [email protected] 541-231-3954
Summer Picnic Kick-Off
Mark your calendars to attend church on Sunday, June 4, for our annual spring/summer picnic. We will be having our annual BBQ celebration with hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, chips, ice cream, and all the fixings, plus music, balloons, popcorn, and games for the kids. Everything is provided – no need to bring side dishes. Bring your family and invite your friends!
Sanctity of Life Baby Bottle Fundraiser
The Ladies Guild and Peace will be partnering with Options Sanctity of Life fundraiser which runs May 14 (Mother’s Day) to Father’s Day June 18th. Options Pregnancy Resource Center is a faith-based nonprofit medical clinic providing free pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, patient advocacy, and community referrals. Through the love of Christ, they empower women facing unplanned pregnancies to make life-affirming decisions. They have been serving Linn and Benton Counties since 1986.
Congregants can choose to participate in this fundraiser by taking home a provided baby bottle and fill the bottle with change for the month. Bring the bottle back to Peace on Father’s Day, June 18th. At the end of the fundraiser, Options will come and pick up the bottles from Peace. Then they mail us a certificate with the amount we raised!
Cardwell Hill Cellars Wins Four Platinum Medals
Cardwell Hill Cellars of Philomath was recently awarded four platinum medals for its Dijon, Monet, Reserve and Estate pinot noir wines in a recent invitational competition sponsored by Greater Northwest Magazine.
Cardwell Hill Cellars is owned by Dan & Nancy Chapel.
Only wines earning a gold medal in major competitions were invited to enter the platinum event.
Cardwell Hill produces only estate wines from its 57-acre property. The vineyards are certified sustainable by both LIVE (low input viticulture and enology) and Salmon Safe. The tasting room at 24241 Cardwell Hill Drive in Philomath is open daily.
Update on Storage Around Peace
Getting organized? What a great feeling! A few months ago, we began the process of reorganizing our storage spaces and classrooms.
Here is an update on our progress:
- Larger storage cabinets have been added in one SS classroom to house SS supplies.
- An existing smaller cabinet was moved to the 2nd SS classroom for added supply storage.
- The 3rd classroom (nursery) has a new cabinet for Rotary and has seen some movement of items to make the space more “child” friendly.
- Shelving has been added to both back patio sheds.
- Heavy wire shelving racks are now in the Fellowship Closet for fellowship décor, extra kitchen supplies, misc. supplies, and future storage needs.
- The wooden cupboards in the Fellowship Closet have been emptied of SS supplies and misc. items and closet rods installed to house the tablecloths, (removed from Sacristy), and misc. décor items.
- Custodial supplies are now organized in the white built-in cabinet in the Fellowship Closet.
- The Sacristy has undergone a wonderful transformation. New cabinets have been installed to house communion elements and important church supplies. The closet has been redesigned to house the choir robes, paraments, and prayer shawls.
- Purging! Along with the above, we have also been purging outdated items or no longer needed items.
**It’s important to STAY organized once we are done. We suggest you put your name on anything you leave at church if you put it in any of the above areas. If it doesn’t belong or we don’t know why it’s there, it may get tossed.
Please check with Dan or Janette if you have any questions.
Up next: reorganize the two patio sheds, and the small shed out front. Nice weather is here so that will be soon!
Start Thinking about the Holiday Bazaar
Mark your Calendars!
The 2023 Ladies Guild Holiday Bazaar will take place on Saturday, November 4th from 9-3. Check upcoming newsletters for more information.
In the meantime, crafters and creators…it’s the perfect time to get those crafted items started! Your generosity and creativity are what drives the bazaar! We definitely appreciate all that you do to help make our bazaar so successful!
Thank You from our Mission Partners
June Volunteers
