Newsletter: 05-2018 – Newsletter
Calendar: 05-2018 May Cal
Or just read on……
Dear Peace family,
Service always comes with an attitude.
Sometimes that attitude is quite negative. I recently came across a cartoon relating a recording from the customer service department at a company: “Thank you for holding. This call may be monitored for quality control purposes. Of course, if we really cared about quality we would have hired more people to answer the phone.”
I have never had someone say something like that to me, but I have experienced poor service given with a negative attitude! I’m sure you have too.
Service to and/or for others is clearly taught by Jesus. After washing the disciples’ feet in John 13, Jesus says, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you (John 13:13-14).”
But remember, service always comes with an attitude.
What kind of attitude should we show as we serve God and others? Psalm 100:2 says, “Serve the Lord with gladness!” When we serve with gladness we say things like, “What a privilege and honor it is to serve you today!”
“Serve the Lord with gladness!” is an excellent theme for the month of May. On Saturday, May 5 Peace will be participating in Love INC.’s event City Serve. This is a church-wide day of service where congregations come together to meet the needs in Corvallis and Philomath. The day will begin at 8:30 am in the Auditorium of the Benton County Fairgrounds. We will collect a t-shirt, meet with the team and have breakfast. At 9:30 am we will then go to our work site, which will be Philomath Community Services. The project will go no longer than 12:30 pm. Contact Callie to let her know you will be attending but registration will be handled by you. She will help direct you to the appropriate website.
On Sunday, May 20 the Ladies Guild of Peace will be highlighting the importance of service. The Ladies will be providing flowers for worship and lunch during fellowship in honor to God for all the servants at Peace. There are so many people who serve with an attitude at Peace—an attitude of gladness! The truth is that our ministry at Peace would not be what it is today without all our dedicated volunteers. Thank you and may the Lord continue to work through you to be a blessing to others!
I look forward to joining you in May as we both remember the importance of service and as we put it into practice with action.
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor J
Peace by the Numbers
Attendance
3/11 119
3/18 121
3/25 141
3/29 Maundy Thursday 80
3/30 Good Friday 80
4/1 230
4/8 116
Summer Activities!
Summer is within view! The kids are starting If you would like to be on the team to begin to brainstorm, plan and implement summer activities, please contact Pastor Lucke. Summer is not that far off!
Tables of Peace
During Jesus’ day, to sit down and have a meal with a person meant something. The act of eating a meal meant much more than simply “grabbing a bite”. As Jesus ate with Pharisees, tax collectors, disciples, and all sorts of people, he was in essence saying “you and I are one”. We can imagine just how well Jesus came to know these individuals as these meals sometimes took whole afternoons and evenings to complete.
Some things never change. In today’s very busy world having a meal with someone is quite significant. Taking the time to share a meal communicates, “I care about you…” “I am interested in what is happening in your life…” “I want to know more about where you came from and what you want to do.”
We want as many people as possible in the congregation and in the community to take part in Tables of Peace. There is a sign-up sheet posted in the hallway on the way to the Fellowship Hall. Please consider signing up and joining a group for fellowship. If you would be willing to “host” put a star by your name. We will form groups of about eight people.
Hosting does not mean you have to cook for the group. It does not even mean that you have to use your home. You can choose to use the Fellowship Hall and/or the patio. Hosting means you will organize the group by coordinating dates and making food assignments.
After each meal there will be time for a devotion, discussion and prayer. Pastor will prepare the devotion for the group. After every home has had their meals, we will then “mix” everyone up and send a different group to a new hosting home.
The meals will take place once every month for three months and at least one of the groups will meet during the day so that those who don’t like going out at night will not have to.
Please sign up on the Bulletin Board by May 1st or speak with Kay Glathar or Pastor Lucke if you would like to participate. It’s a great way to get acquainted with your fellow Christians.
Connections Corner
with Joyce Long
Happy May Peace Family!
As I mentioned in the April post, I have now been retired for one month. I have ended up retiring from my part time job as well. I’m sure many of you know this already since some of you are already retired. Although I knew there would be some loss in connections to the people I was encountering on a daily basis, I wasn’t completely prepared for such a sudden loss of connection. (Except for my work calling me to ask about something.) I have decided I need some sort of a routine in order to keep track of what’s up. So in this month I have been considering those connections even more. Of course, my connection to God is still there no matter what I change in the rest of my life. Quite a few people have asked what I am going to do in my retirement and that has brought up another connection that I think about. My retirement should have been a time that my husband and I could have some fun and go places we never seemed to have time for before. Grief is complex in the stages and life changes that bring a new thought of the absence of our life partner. It is also the thought of contact with grandchildren and great grandchildren that he didn’t get to experience. So I have made a conscious effort to do some things I couldn’t do when I was working full-time and more. I have places I can go and things I can do to form new connections and enhance the connections that I already have. This brings me peace in opening my heart and mind to what God has for me in this new chapter of my life. I turn to my favorite verse in the bible. Proverbs 3:5-6 says Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths I like the fact that most of the translations say paths. I think God has many ways He wants us to go if we are open to listening to Him.
…to be continued…Blessings Peace Family
Adult Sunday School
Brad Hellesto has put together an outstanding schedule for the adult Sunday School. We will be taking a look at some of the lesser known books of the New Testament. Here is a schedule to help you prepare for each week:
Pieces by Peace
Submitted by Peggy Krueger
Join the newly formed group of women who meet the second Monday of each month, summer included, to create items for the Harvest Bazaar and for the community. We have made Kleenex tissue holders, table runners, hanging planters and Fairy Gardens for the bazaar. Baby receiving blankets are being made for the Lebanon Pregnancy Center. In May, we plan on making bird houses to be sold at the bazaar. This group is open to anyone who would like to attend. We try to have a variety of projects available to work on, so everyone can participate. Not craftsy? There is a place for you, bring your own project. We enjoy fellowship together and welcome you to our group. Remember, we meet the second Monday of the month at 10:00 am in the Fellowship Hall at Peace. Contact person: Peggy Krueger, 541-757-9810.
Lutheran Women’s Missionary League
Submitted by Peggy Krueger
The Lutheran Women’s Missionary League is the official women’s auxiliary of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Peace’s LWML is known as “The Ladies Guild”. All women of Peace are members of the Guild. Guild meets the first Thursday of every month at 1:00pm during the school year (September-June.) Guild is involved in a variety of mission project within the church and community. Guild also works behind the scenes at memorial services, weddings and special events at Peace.
Men’s Breakfast
By Oscar Gutbrod
Once again, we will be enjoying a “Men ONLY” fellowship and Bible study time. As always, the gathering will take place on the first Saturday, May 5, with coffee served by 8:00 AM and breakfast served at 8:30 AM. Open to all men, all ages and stages of life. Call Oscar Gutbrod 541-231-3954 if you would like to know the subject matter ahead of time or if you have questions. If you are willing to assist with serving, cooking, or cleaning up breakfast let Oscar know, as many hands make light work. See you there!
Keeping it clean
We are going to need everyone’s participation is helping us to keep our church clean. As we empty out the various rooms and organize the necessities we are asking that the areas we empty, remain empty. We have experienced an issue with individuals dropping off or simply placing items on an empty surface instead of putting it away. This will no longer be acceptable practice. Please ask for help right away if you need assistance putting something in the attic…or if you think something would be a nice addition to our necessities.
Freezer Meals
Submitted by Ellen Holroyd
The Ladies Guilds freezer meals are prepared and stocked in the freezer for anyone who wants or needs them. They have proven to be especially helpful for people who are recovering from illness or surgery, and for the elderly who need help preparing meals. Pastor often takes meals to people he feels might need them. They are also available for people to take for themselves or friends and family who need them.
Several times a year a group of ladies gets together in the kitchen, at the church, and cooks up a storm. Anyone is welcome to come
and help and you don’t need to be a gourmet cook. We need people to chop vegetables, mix ingredients, and clean pots and pans. When you smell the aroma of the prepared meals and see the counter lined up with food for the freezer it is very rewarding.
If you want more information or would like to be notified when we are having a cooking day please send an email to Ellen Holroyd ([email protected]), Jeanette Payne ([email protected]), or Ruth Moser ([email protected]). Donations to the freezer meal program and prayers for this ministry
are always welcome.
Omelet Dinner
Every First Friday of the month, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM at the College Methodist Church is the best kept secret in Philomath, an Omelet dinner made to your liking. Come and join many other Peace members as they enjoy an omelet dinner with special scones. Cost starts at $7. If you don’t like omelets…stay for their scones and gravy!
For the Laughs…and fun of it!
In ancient Israel, it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a healthy young wife by the name of Dorothy (Dot for short). Dot Com was a comely woman, large of breast, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she was often called Amazon Dot Com.
And she said unto Abraham, her husband, “Why dost thou travel so far from town to town with thy goods when thou canst trade without ever leaving thy tent?”
And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said, “How, dear?”
And Dot replied, “I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale, and they will reply telling you who hath the best price. The sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah’s Pony Stable (UPS).”
Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever having to move from his tent.
To prevent neighboring countries from overhearing what the drums were saying, Dot devised a system that only she and the drummers kn
ew. It was known as Must Send Drum Over Sound (MSDOS), and she also developed a language to transmit ideas and pictures – Hebrew to The People (HTTP).
And the young men did take to Dot Com’s trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Sybarites, or NERDS.
And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches were going to that enterprising drum dealer, Brother William of Gates, who bought off every drum maker in the land. Indeed he did insist on drums to be made that would work only with Brother Gates’ drumheads and drumsticks.
And Dot did say, “Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others.” And Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel , or eBay as it came to be known. He said, “We need a name that reflects what we are.”
And Dot replied, “Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators.” “YAHOO,” said Abraham. And because it was Dot’s idea, they named it YAHOO Dot Com.
Abraham’s cousin, Joshua, being the young Gregarious Energetic Educated Kid (GEEK) that he was, soon started using Dot’s drums to locate things around the countryside.
It soon became known as God’s Own Official Guide to Locating Everything (GOOGLE).
That is how it all began. And that’s the truth. I would not make up this stuff.
Website: http://www.lifecommunity.org/
