From the Pastor
Dear Peace friends,
Happy Reformation! We are celebrating the Reformation in style this year. We will celebrate the Reformation on Sunday, October 27. Wear red to church and be ready to sing, A Mighty Fortress. This will be a busy weekend as the Ladies Guild is hosting their annual Bazaar and some of our youth will be receiving Holy Communion for the very first time in Sunday’s worship service.
The Reformation is celebrated primarily because Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. The theses helped explain what the essence of what the Church should be about. Unfortunately, the Church of the 16th century had been caught up in peddling indulgences and collecting odd relics. I read recently that the very Castle Church, which Luther nailed his theses to the door, had also been a storage facility of holy relics: pieces of Moses’ burning bush, parts of the holy cradle, milk from the Virgin Mary. Because the Castle Church held these special items, the priests could dispense 127,799 years and 116 days of remission of suffering in purgatory. Luther’s efforts attempted to declutter the church of these distractions from Christ.
Have you heard of The Three Solas? I hope you have. If you haven’t—October is your chance to discover their importance. I’ll be offering a three-week sermon series to further explain. Luther developed The Three Solas to help answer questions about how it is that a person can be saved. Here is a quick synopsis:
Sola Scriptura—“By Scripture Alone” In Luther’s time the Church had to make hard decisions. Time and time again the church was utilizing human tradition and reason rather than the Scriptures. This caused confusion. Peace Lutheran Church is at its best when the Scriptures speak and direct us above all other things. This is why we publicly read the Scriptures each Sunday!
Sola Fide—“By Faith Alone” In Luther’s time there was a fascination with making sure everyone was doing the right things to gain heaven. Emphasis was on doing rather than on resting on what God has done. Fast. Pray. Give. Obey. Faith was squeezed out of the equation. Many churches today are no different than the 16th century Church—preaching what you must do. Peace Lutheran Church is at its best when we encourage each other to trust God’s promises and rely on what God has done for us through His Son, Jesus.
Sola Gratia—“By Grace Alone” Perfection is demanded today. And for good reason! Who wants a doctor that gets things right 89 percent of the time? Who wants to read an article that has numerous grammar mistakes!?! The prevailing thought during Luther’s day was that God demanded perfection as well. And that is quite true. Luther discovered, however, the concept of grace. Grace, for Luther meant, that the perfection-demanding God could accept Christ’s work in our place. We don’t have to be perfect! In fact—striving to be perfect misses the concept of grace altogether. Peace Lutheran Church is at its best when we relax a bit more knowing that Christ’s record is the one that God accepts. Thanks be to God! I know that I’ve missed the mark!
I chuckle inside when people ask me if I am Lutheran or Christian. I simply answer that question with the response, “I am a Christian.” I am indeed thankful, however, to be Lutheran. Being Lutheran means Christ is at the center of our lives. He’s kept there because of The Three Solas!
In Jesus’ Joy,
Pastor Lucke
Peace by the Numbers
Plan for Worship
October 6 – 10:00am Worship service with Communion. Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost.
October 13 – 10:00am Worship service. LWML Sunday. Wear Purple today. New Member Welcome. Twenty first Sunday after Pentecost.
October 20 – 10:00am Worship service with Communion. Twenty second Sunday after Pentecost.
October 27 – 10:00am Worship service. Reformation Sunday. Wear Red today.
Adult Bible Class for October
All Adults are welcome to join our discussion on The Chosen Season 2 and 3 on the Sunday mornings of October! We begin at 9 am. The discussions are built around Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus clearly explained what it means to be blessed. Blessed means valuing God’s favor over us rather than earthly things. Blessed means not focusing so much on what we must do to win God’s favor—we are saved by grace. Blessed means having God’s favor—not necessarily that our lives will be free from challenging circumstances. Peace owns copies of seasons 1 to 3 in DVD. Ask Pastor if you’d like to borrow them to watch. Episodes can also be found online.
Kudos Corner
The Kudos Corner is a new feature in Peace’s newsletter. This is just a simple way to recognize and thank those people who served in a special way to make life easier for our congregation. We’ll start with Kay Glathar and Dave Leding. Kay and Dave did something quite helpful this month. They both volunteered to pick up Peggy Malcolm in Eugene so that she could play piano for our services. Peggy’s playing was a great help for the Memorial Services of Dottie Bella (September 7) and Laura Knudson (September 21). Kay and Dave would say that they wouldn’t like the public recognition and that the pleasure was theirs as they spent time with Peggy. That is what true servants would say! Thank you, Kay and Dave, for quietly going about your way and building up our church family with your service!
Men’s Breakfast Returning
Men’s breakfast will start up again on Saturday, October 5th. Coffee on at 8:00 and breakfast starts at 8:30. Please let Oscar know if you plan to attend so we can make sure we have plenty of good eats. Hope to see you there.
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OSU Volleyball Game with Your Peace Family
All members are invited to attend the Oregon State Women’s Volleyball game vs the University of San Francisco on Saturday, October 12 at noon at Gill Colosseum. Tickets are $6 through a group rate. Contact Rachel Harrington if you would like to attend by Wednesday, October 9. Go Brave!
Red Cross Blood Drive
October is Blood Drive month again. We are having a blood drive on Friday, October 18th from Noon to 5. There are still some spots available if you would like to donate. Also, cookies or other baked goods would be appreciated and can be delivered to the church kitchen on Thursday or Friday morning by 11:30. Your prayers for a successful drive for this life saving item are very much appreciated.
Ladies Guild News
Next Meeting will be Thursday, October 3, 10:00 am-12:00 pm in the fellowship hall. All women invited! There will be a nifty dessert and coffee or tea.
Fundraiser: Guild is supporting “Options for Pregnancy”, a Right to Life organization, in their annual fund raiser. You can pick up a baby bottle for collecting your coins, cash or checks to help fund the many projects of this organization. This fundraiser will end November 3, 2024. We hope you all will be moved to participate in this fundraising effort. Last year we raised close to $600 and hoping we match this or do better this year.
New Member Reception: Guild will be providing a cake for the reception for our new members on October 13 at fellowship hour.
LWML Sunday, October 13: In Lutheran churches all over the United States, women will be donning purple in celebration of 82 years of supporting missions of the world. That’s right, 82 years! In 1942 a group of women in a Missouri Synod Lutheran church wanted to support missions and missionaries all around the world. They decided to save their change everyday and each month collect this change and send it to a mission that they had learned about. This change was called “Mites”. The news spread about this and soon many Lutheran churches, Missouri Synod, had women collecting mites for this project. To this day, mites are collected and sent to the national organization to support the many missions across the world. Currently LWML has given over $2 million annually in support of various projects. Now all members of our church are invited to save their change and put it in the mite box gathering on the odd numbered months. Women in our own church will be serving as ushers and greeters and all women are encouraged to wear some shade of purple in honor of this mission.
Bazaar! Don’t forget October 26, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm is our annual Harvest Bazaar! There are many items available for purchase. Come and see; come and buy! Also, our beautiful quilt will be raffled at 3:00 p.m. Be sure and get your raffle tickets from any Guild member or Maggie Baker for $5.00. All monies go to fund projects for the community and church.
Peggy Krueger, Guild President
Sanctity of Life Baby Bottle Fundraiser
Diane Heitmeyer, representative of The Ladies Guild and Peace will be partnering with Options Sanctity of Life fundraiser which runs October 6 to November 3. Options PRC 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. This is a right to life organization.
Congregants can choose to participate in this fundraiser by taking home a baby bottle, which is provided, and fill the bottle with change. You can also write a check or put cash in the bottles. The checks are to made out to Options for Pregnancy. Bring the bottle back to Peace by November 3, 2024. 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!
Philomath Open Studios Tour
The annual Philomath Open Studio Tour is coming soon! “POST” is a free self-guided art event during the last two weekends in October from noon to 5 pm.
This year’s Tour features 30+ artists in 13 locations: 10 home studios, the Lumos tasting room, the Scout Lodge and Philomath High School’s art room. Twelve of the artists, plus the crew at PHS, have never been on the tour before, continuing the tradition of featuring a wide variety of unique work. The studios feature collage, beadwork, printmaking, painting, metal work, sculpture, glasswork, ceramics and more.
Visit PhilomathOpenStudios.com for a map with studio locations and artist information. The website also contains profiles of participating artists, with statements and multiple images of their work. Brochures featuring a map and artist data and images will be available at various locations throughout the Corvallis/Philomath area. (Pick-up sites are listed on the website.) Plan your route and follow the yellow signs!
What is Going on at Philomath Schools?
The Philomath Rotary Club will be hosting a presentation on the State of the Philomath School District by Susan Halliday, Superintendent of Philomath School District.
We hope you can join us on Tuesday, October 15 at noon in the Fellowship Hall at Peace to learn about the Mission and Vision of the PSD, School Funding, Decision-Making, and Projects and Activities. Also, we will hear what the Philomath School District 17J may look like beyond this school year. Lunch will be provided by the Philomath Rotary Club. Please RSVP to Lindy or Dan if you will be attending so we can plan the number of lunch meals.
Bazaar
What is Granny’s Attic?
For those of you that don’t know, Granny’s Attic is an extension of our annual bizarre. We take in donations of gently used items. Proceeds from the sale of these items benefit organizations in and around Philomath. During the bazaar, Granny’s Attic will be set up in two of the classrooms off the Fellowship Hall. The bazaar is rapidly approaching. Meaning it’s time to think about how you can help. Donations will be accepted now through Sunday, October 20th (please NO clothes, shoes, or large items). So, think about cleaning out a drawer, closet, or garage, and please keep us in mind. For questions, pick up, or delivery contact Jani B. 541.740.4650
Make Your List Now For Items To Buy at the Bazaar
