From the Pastor:
Dear friends in Christ,
Happy Thanksgiving! It’s time to give thanks for all the things God has given us. These things include food, shelter, friends, family, health and salvation. I’d also encourage you to thank God for the scars of life. Scars?
Scars are those physical reminders of harm done to us and pain we’ve experienced. I have a couple that have left their mark. My left index finger has a scar running down from my knuckle down to my hand. It’s there from the time that I severely dislocated my finger and needed nine stitches. It wasn’t a devastating injury by any means, yet each time I look at it, I am taken back to the moment it happened on the basketball court and then, time spent in the Emergency Room. When I look at the scar, however, it is a reminder of the healing that has taken place.
Scars can be more than physical. They can be relational, emotional and mental wounds that have healed over inside of us. Some of these scars were caused by the doings of others. Some were caused by our own thoughts and actions.
I’d like to take you to a moment in which Jesus used his scars to be blessing for someone. Right after Jesus’ death, the disciples were locked away hiding in a room. Jesus appeared to them. The disciples were still skeptical of what they were seeing when Jesus appeared. Was Jesus a ghost? Were they just too sleepy from all the crazy events happening? It took Jesus showing the disciples his scars for them to really believe…. for them to know that they had been forgiven…………. for them to move forward in life.
Jesus’ scars are for you too. It’s one thing to know about the scars. It’s a whole other matter to know that they are there to communicate something to you personally. His scars communicate to you that grace is yours and that eternal life has been opened up to you. His scars communicate to you that you can live now in a right relationship with God. His scars bring you healing and health.
Your scars may be a source of inspiration and healing for someone else. My childhood years were a blessing in so many ways as I was given a loving family and stable environment. There were, however, a few minor roadblocks. My parents asked me to work an entire summer to pay off a debt from a car accident I was involved. It was a summer filled with pain, anger and resentment. But, but God’s grace, I persevered and made it through. I believe that going through those roadblocks in my past is now giving me resolve to encourage my own children through the challenges they face. I don’t want them to avoid pain and difficulty, but to work through it trusting in God’s strength to see them through to the end.
What scars do you have that could be a blessing to someone else? Your scars are proof that God heals. This may be the very message your children, friends and neighbors need to hear. Be open to share! Be open to listen to others who have scars and are desiring to share their stories with you. Be inspired by their healing.
I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving this year! The blessing of Thanksgiving is that it allows us time to pause and take inventory of all that we have been given by God. A part of that inventory are those scars.
In Jesus’ Joy,
Pastor J
Peace by the Numbers
Adult Bible Study
Plan for Worship
Ladies Guild News
There will NOT be a guild meeting in November, everyone will be helping with the Bazaar on Saturday, November 6. There will be a meeting on December 2 at 1:00 pm in the Fellowship Hall. This will be a Christmas Party; everyone is asked to bring a pair of socks to exchange. Janette Payne is the hostess for the December meeting.
Adding a Resource for Worship
You are probably noticing the new hymnal (Lutheran Service Book) in the pews at Peace. This will be an additional resource for our worship services at Peace with The Other Song Book (Red Book) and Lutheran Book of Worship (Green Book). These hymnals were a gift to Peace from the closing of Bethel Lutheran Church in Sweet Home last year.
Red Cross Blood Drive
Peace held a Red Cross blood drive on October 15. Thank you to everyone who donated or helped support this event. This is a great way to support the Red Cross and help save lives. Here are the numbers from our drive:
Men’s Breakfast
Mark your Calendar for November 13th. Time for us to get back into our routine having our men’s “First Saturday Breakfast”. This will be held in the Fellowship Hall as a hosted breakfast of most likely “breakfast burritos” and coffee. Pastor Lucke has prepared a topic for discussion: “America Is Having a Moral Convulsions” see below:
American history is driven by periodic moments of moral convulsion. The late Harvard political scientist Samuel P. Huntington noticed that these convulsions seem to hit the United States every 60 years or so: the Revolutionary period of the 1760s and ’70s; the Jacksonian uprising of the 1820s and ’30s; the Progressive Era, which began in the 1890s; and the social-protest movements of the 1960s and early ’70’s”
Plan to attend, coffee on at 8:00 and breakfast served at 8:30 – Topic at 9 -10. Please let Oscar Gutbrod know if you plan to attend so we order enough food. 541-231-3954
Holiday Bazaar
Next Saturday, November 6, is the much-anticipated return of the Fall Bazaar at Peace. A couple of changes for this year:
1) There will not be a table with free coffee and cookies (Sorry, but you can’t wear a mask and eat and drink). 2) There will be two cookie sale tables and we will need extra help running this area.
Bazaar and Granny’s Attic items can be delivered to the church Thursday, October 28th through Tuesday, November 2nd. Please label your items, bazaar or Granny’s Attic. Bazaar items can be left in the middle classroom next to the fellowship room. Granny’s attic items can be placed in the classroom behind the mailboxes. If you need help getting items to the church, give Jani Burton a call.
If any of the younger congregation members would like to help, show up and we’ll put you to work.
Thank you to those who sponsored a basket. They are completed. Beautiful and ready to go.
Come, shop, and have fun!
If you have any questions, please contact Jani Burton.
Hope for Healing Seminar
First Baptist of Corvallis (9th & Monroe) is hosting a mental health seminar sponsored by Compassion Ministries on Saturday, November 6th from 9-3pm. COVD has brought havoc to all, so CM is conducting a segment on depression & suicide. Free lunch is provided. To receive your packet, pre-registration is between 8:30-9:00 am. Please pre-register with the forms available in the narthex to reserve a lunch and seminar packet.
Watch Your Doorstep on November 20-21
Another Peace distribution is coming your way this month. Be looking for a delivery from your Peace family onto your doorstep the weekend of November 20-21. Inside the package you’ll find some helpful items for you and our life together as a church family. First, you will be receiving an Advent calendar—Advent officially begins Sunday, November 28. Second, you will receive a new membership directory. And then there will be a letter from Pastor Lucke. Thank you to all who have assisted in our distributions!
The Campfire is (still) Calling
Attention “MOP” (Men of Peace): The campfire (still) wants you!! We had originally planned to start this gathering in October; however, we have had to delay it. Look for the MOP campfire meetings to start in January hopefully. Please contact Rob Schulze at 541-609-8449 with any questions.
Flowers on the Altar
Aren’t the flowers on the altar beautiful? How would you like to be part of providing a bouquet. Please look for the flower sign up list in the Narthex and please help beautify our church.
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28th Corvallis Nativity Festival
