Words of Peace. Stewardship Campaign Commitment Sunday November 11, November/ December The Words inside:

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1 Words of Peace November/ December 2018 The Words inside: Stewardship Campaign Commitment Sunday November 11, 2018 From Pastor Sarah Page 2 Council News Page 3 From Nadia Fitzcharles Page 4 By now members should have received a letter and pledge card in the mail thanking you for your continued support of the ministries of Peace Lutheran and asking you to prayerfully consider your support for the upcoming fiscal year. Galleries Page We will offer up and celebrate our commitments to Peace for the upcoming year in worship with the Rev. Leila Ortiz, assistant to the bishop of the Metro DC Synod, as our preacher. Additional pledge cards can be found on the usher table. Read the Stewardship letter here. In this issue... Peace for the Future Update A Place for You at Peace Advent and Christmas Preparations Use Less Plastic Challenge Beading for Haiti and Boomerang Project News Youth and Family Activities Village of Hope Haiti Christmas Trip Opportunity Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 & 8 Page 9 Page 10 Paige 11 Page 15 The Rev. Sarah Scherschligt Pastor pastorsarah@sharingpeace.org Dr. Adela Peeva Music Director Adela_peeva@yahoo.com Paul Sticha Director, Bell Choirs psticha@cox.net Natalie Cain Council President natrcain@gmail.com Nadia Fitzcharles Children, Youth and Family Ministry Community Engagement nadia@sharingpeace.org Kris Rinnert Parish Administrator info@sharingpeace.org Jim Nice Creative Worship Leader jnice116@gmail.com

2 From Pastor Sarah Senior Pastor Won t you be my neighbor? Greetings Church, It can be easy to think that hatred and divisiveness are winning the day. As Advent and Christmas approach, we remember the beautiful truth that God decided to make a home in this messy and sin-sick world. God redeemed our lives first and foremost by sharing our lives. Jesus loved people where they lived and worked and ate. In Jesus, God became our neighbor. Jesus used the word neighbor to describe a basic rule of the Christian life: Love your neighbor. I don t think Jesus meant this metaphorically. I think he meant that we are supposed to actually take care of our neighbors and let them take care of us. Modernly, one of the only times it s considered normal to knock on your neighbor s door is Halloween. That might be one of the reasons Halloween can be so fun! The neighborhood lights up for a night and we get a sense of the bonds of community and shared joy. In the face of acts of hatred, especially against anyone who is seen as different from some imagined norm, I think it s an act of faith to build relationships with neighbors. This can be especially important with those who don t worship like you do, vote like you do, or speak the same language you do. The fabric woven by relationships across apartment-building hallways, streets and fences can be a powerful witness that love has a home among us. At Peace, we have been working on a refugee resettlement program called The Good Neighbor program. Due to drastic cuts in the numbers of refugees the US government will allow into the country, we have to rethink how we use the people power and money we d organized for the Good Neighbor program. In the meantime, we are exploring ways to become better neighbors to Parklawn Elementary School. In the face of hatred, Jesus is the face of love. I invite you to pray for your neighbors, to reach out to your neighbors, invite a neighbor to an event at church, and to recognize that in loving the neighbor, we also love God. Be at Peace, Pastor Sarah -- Pastor Sarah s Sabbatical: May 23 August Peace has received a Clergy Renewal Grant from the Lilly Foundation to fund Pastor Sarah s sabbatical. Her sabbatical will focus on re-centering. She will spend the bulk of her time with her family and making pottery, including a month apprenticing with a potter in Northern MN. She will also travel to the Iona community in Scotland. The grant will cover all expenses for pastoral coverage as well as Pastor Sarah s travel and education expenses. It also gives the church seed money for a couple of events on arts and spirituality next fall. Pastor Sarah says a big Thank You to the sabbatical planning team for all your work on this grant and to the congregation for giving her the opportunity to be renewed in this way. November/December 2018 Page 2

3 From Natalie Cain Church Council President Happy fall to all! I love the advent of autumn as it signifies a break from the heat and the beginning of a whole host of holidays I love to celebrate with friends and family (including my church family!). Speaking of my church family, please know that we have a meeting scheduled for Sunday, November 18 immediately following the 10:30 a.m. worship service. You'll hear a budget update, several updates regarding Peace for the Future, and an exciting update on our HVAC system. Please don't miss this chance to hear what's happening at Peace and ask any questions you'd like. See you in church and peace be with you. Peace, Natalie Cain The meeting topics we will cover are included below: Approve minutes from August 12 family meeting Budget update Property updates PFTF updates HVAC Community engagement Opportunity to rent out our space/piano for recitals FAMILY MEETING SCHEDULED To all members of the family of Peace, Our next meeting of the family is scheduled for Sunday, November 18 at 11:45 a.m. in the fellowship hall. The meeting will follow the 10:30 a.m. service and a nursery attendant will be available. The minutes of past family meetings are available on the Peace website: If you would like to have a printed copy of minutes mailed to you, please contact Kris in the office (info@sharingpeace.org or ). Sincerely, Natalie Cain Council President Baptisms Christopher Arnold Summitt 9/9/18 November/December 2018 Page 3

4 From Nadia Children, Youth and Family Ministry Community Engagement Hello, friends! I pray that it is well with your spirit. If you find yourself constantly tired, I pray that you are able to take make! time for at least one mini-sabbath during the day to close your eyes and breathe deeply, remembering that abundant life is not necessarily made up of an abundance of things to do or have. If you feel yourself caught up in the manic rush to get so much done in a day, besides dealing with traffic, meals, and s, I pray that you know that whatever it is that you re able to do is enough you are enough. If you struggle with the changing of seasons, I pray for the peace that surpasses understanding to hold you in the balance of this inbetween time. In a world where it appears to matter what you wear, where you live, and what and who you know, the message we hear and see over and over again is that what we are worth is tied to the worth of what we have and how productive we are. Success is supposed to look like a full calendar and the thinking seems to be that, because we are invested in so many things, we are indeed valuable and necessary to the collectively-perpetuated performance machine. It seems that our entire system of commerce, education, and lifestyles are geared towards having more and being more. If you are a high schooler in a high achieving school, the dominant narrative is that you should get good grades so that you can go to a good university so that you can get a good job and have a good life. Quality of life is thus inextricably tied to [productivity at] work, which is tied to results in school and college. As such, so many of our formative years are oriented and calculated around this chosen reality and the desire to fulfill that narrative carries on into our working lives and perhaps beyond. Admittedly, there is merit in gaining knowledge, awareness, and exposure to the world. These words are simply meant to offer the remembrance that our reality, to an extent, is chosen - often in accordance with what others would expect of us. What about what God expects of us - to what extent do you think that what God expects of us aligns with what the world expects of us? I come up with two markedly different tallies. The Sabbath, the loving of our neighbor, the welcoming of the stranger, the liberation of the oppressed these are examples of things that would not necessarily calculate favorably in terms of one s own assets. Perhaps part of our preoccupation with things to do and have is that they offer a distraction from what is beneath the beautiful or, in other words, what is beyond the impression(s) we present. I heard someone say once that she found a church where there was little to no shame. Imagine that, in a church of all places! On a communal level, it is not often, if ever, we find a place where we can feel known on a meaningful level. To feel known among others hopefully translates into being honest with others, and letting others see and hear what is beneath the well-kept exterior. I wonder, what would it take to build a church where there is little to no shame? For sure, it begins with knowing one another. From there, we can begin to be human with each other and build a space where we are honest in our vulnerability, where the façade of what we have and do is meaningless because even without those things, we are enough. You are enough. I am enough. By the grace of God, we are bound to each other in this truth let s start building. Community Engagement update: the Good Neighbor refugee resettlement program is evolving and exploring how we might support resettled families who are already here, as opposed to solely focusing on newly arriving families. Resettled families already here need assistance with many things, including ESL tutoring, financial literacy classes, and homework help for school-aged children and youth. We are now in the process of setting up an orientation and background check system for all who are volunteering with this initiative - if you are not receiving communications from our group and would like to, please let Nadia (nadia@sharingpeace.org) know. November/December 2018 Page 4

5 Peace for the Future update: Out with the old and in with the new! Our ancient HVAC system, circa 1967, has been removed and replaced with a new system that will last for years to come thanks to generous donations to our Peace for the Future Campaign. While the HVAC system replacement may not be the most visible improvement made to our building, it is the heart and soul of the physical building we call Peace Lutheran Church. The HVAC system s warmth in winter and cool AC in the summer allow us to serve both our congregation and the community. Our beautiful pipe organ, pianos, reredos and paraments will benefit from better humidity controls and we will better control mold and mildew. Thank you to the workers at Densel who have been working hard on this project. November/December 2018 Page 5

6 There s a place for you at Peace! Tuesday Morning Bible Study 10:00 am with Pastor Sarah Meets November 13, 27 and December 4, 11 Quilting 9:30 am 12:00 pm November 8th December 6th Brothers of Peace First Wednesday of each month 7:30 pm in the Narthex. Beading for Haiti 9:30 am 12:00 pm Mondays Sunday School Classroom Lunch at Greensprings 12:00 pm November 13 and December 3 Boomerang Project 1:00 pm 3:00 pm Wednesdays Sunday School Classroom Prayer Shawlers 1:00 am - 3:00 pm Fridays at the Barcroft Starbucks. (Last Friday of the month at Peace.) The Peace Prayer Shawlers are going to a holiday lunch at Glory Days/Barcroft on Friday, December 14, 2018 from 11:30 to 1:00 p.m. prior to our usual knitting time at Starbucks. Feel free to join us but please RSVP to Nadine Krutzky-Mitchell at nadinekm@cox.net by Weds, Dec 12th so we can have a correct reservation. Adult Forum Nov. 4, 11, and 18 9:15 am- 10:15 am Sundays - Fellowship Hall All are also invited to attend the annual ACCA Ecumenical Thanksgiving service on November 20 at 7 pm at St. Paul's Episcopal Church at Bailey's Crossroads. November/December 2018 Page 6

7 Advent and Christmas Season is just around the corner! December 1 Advent Wreath Making for all ages A craft workshop that you won t want to miss will be held Saturday, Dec. 1st at 4:00 pm Come and create a beautiful Advent wreath, using traditionally colored candles and fresh greens. Use the wreath at home to build a tradition of lighting one candle the first Sunday of Advent, December 2, then an additional candle each Sunday. Share a Bible reading and Advent hymn with your family. Please note that there is a $5 charge to cover the cost of materials. Sign up is required so that the right amount of materials can be purchased. Space is limited to 24; Contact the church office by Nov. 25. All are welcome. December 2 Advent Carol Festival This year s Advent Carol Festival is on Sunday, Dec. 2nd at 4:00 pm featuring excerpts from Handel s Messiah and Folk Carols from many lands. Performed by Peace s ringing and singing choirs and soloists. December 16 Children s Christmas Program A joy filled presentation of the Christmas story at the 10:30 am service including songs and readings by the Sunday school children. December 22 Hanging of the Greens - Decorate the church for Christmas Hanging of Greens means getting the church ready for Christmas Eve. Saturday, December 22nd beginning at 8:30 am come and join in this annual tradition. Trees need to be decorated, greenery needs to be hung, and candles put up. December 24 Christmas Eve Services at 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm 5:00 pm - Family Worship Service with communion and candlelight 8:00 pm - Traditional Worship Service with communion and candlelight December 25 Christmas Morning service Led by House of Faith International at 10:30 am December 30 First Sunday after Christmas Informal Worship with communion, 8:00 am Lessons and Carols Service, 10:30 am Sponsor a Poinsettia Plant for the Sanctuary Poinsettia plants will be used to decorate the altar area of the sanctuary for Christmas. If you would like to sponsor a Poinsettia plant, order forms will be available later in November in the Sunday Peace Notes, on the usher s table or on the Bulletin Board in the Fellowship hall. Cost is $10. You can take your poinsettia home after the service on December 30th. November/December 2018 Page 7

8 Gifts of Hope, now in its 26 th year, will be available at our congregation during Advent and you will see some new changes. First, Gifts of Hope has a new dove logo. Second, there is a new Christmas card, designed by a high school student from Manassas VA. Third, the 2018 Catalog of Gifts is 50% bigger and printed in color. Fourth, the catalog has a Challenge Gift (#42), with lead donors matching your donation, dollar for dollar. And finally, the Community of St. Dysmas, a congregation and ministry in the Maryland State prison system, is the latest beneficiary organization to join Gifts of Hope. Learn more about Gift of Hope, its 19 beneficiaries, and 42 gifts by looking at the new catalog and at its website: giftsofhopedc.org. Working together volunteers, donors, congregations, and the beneficiary organizations we make a difference today and tomorrow. --Carolyn Sowinski, Director November/December 2018 Page 8

9 The Quest to Use Less Plastic In September, Peace Lutheran hosted an event call The Zero Waste Church and I learned a lot about how Peace, as a congregation, can become more environmentally friendly. We are already on the right track by using and washing real plates, mugs and silverware when we have food events at church. I took on a challenge posed by Fairfax County to reduce my use of one time use plastic bags and bottles for the month of October and accepted an invitation to tour a recycling plant in Manassas. I ve learned a lot and would love to meet with others in the congregation who would like to work toward personal and congregational goals to reduce the consumption of plastic. Want to join me in this adventure? Contact Kris Rinnert at info@sharingpeace.org I can use reusable beeswax wraps to keep my sandwich fresh! Be creative! Here is Pastor Sarah using her sandwich wrapper for her salad instead of using the plastic plate provided by a caterer. The four R s!! Refuse - Refuse to take a plastic bag bring your own bag! Request no straws in your drinks Reduce - Buy products without plastic packaging or products in less packaging. Reuse - Repurpose plastic bags and containers you already own. Reuse them multiple times. Recycle - As last resort, recycle. Know your city or counties requirements Recycling should be a last resort. First refuse, reduce and reuse. November/December 2018 Page 9

10 Beading for Haiti Exciting news! Beading for Haiti jewelry has gained local prominence and is now on display and for sale at Beadazzled, a beading store located in Falls Church, VA which is open 7 days a week. Their October e-newsletter had this to say about our Beading for Haiti jewelry: Beadazzled is featuring the works of local artists who fabricate exquisite paper beads and assemble them into lovely jewelry. Budget friendly prices and best of all the proceeds go to help Haitian school children. Indulge yourself or a friend, while doing good. The Beading for Haiti jewelry display at Beadazzled includes information on Village of Hope School in Haiti, which the proceeds from the sale of the jewelry go to support. Other opportunities to purchase Beading for Haiti jewelry are at two upcoming craft fairs: at Woodson High School in Fairfax, VA on Saturday, November 3, 10 a.m. 4 p.m.; and at Robinson High School in Fairfax, VA on Saturday, November 10, 9:30 a.m. 3 p.m. Project Boomerang's "Staying Connected" Event Project Boomerang held a Thrivent Action Team Event, Staying Connected, on Wednesday, September 19 th at Peace Lutheran Church to create blank greeting cards for our troops stationed abroad and families of those recovering locally to send to their loved ones. Light refreshments were served, and the Scrappy Ladies who attended enjoyed catching up with each other after the summer break as they created beautiful greeting cards. Background: The Project Boomerang mission began in July 2006 with an idea to create blank greeting cards for military chaplains to distribute to deployed troops and support personnel. Recipients could then add a personal message before sending the cards to their loved ones back home, thus the boomerang effect. Currently the group sends its cards to Fisher House locations associated with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD, the Good News Prison Ministry at Arlington County jail, and overseas locations where needed. The Scrappy Ladies of Project Boomerang meet Wednesdays from 1-3 p.m. in the Sunday School Classrooms at PLC. Come and join us! November/December 2018 Page 10

11 Nursery The nursery doors are open from 9:30 am - 12 pm; from 9:30-10:15 am, parents are welcome to hang out in the nursery and get to know each other over coffee and conversation (coffee provided). Nursery care is geared towards 0-3 year olds. Sunday School Sunday School is at 9:30 am. Parent(s) and kids will meet with teachers in their respective classrooms for a light breakfast and a time for registration and to get to know one another. Class groupings will be ed soon. All children in Sunday school must have a registration form on file. Please find the registration form online and return it to Nadia in person or by ing nadia. Kid s Church Kid s Church is a time of worship and fellowship designed for kids ages 4-6 years old that happens during the sermon (kids are invited out of the sanctuary following the Time With Children). Before and after the sermon, kids are with their families in worship; there are kid s bulletins and quiet bags in the corner of the sanctuary under the large cross. Confirmation Confirmation is a three-year process for 6th - 8th graders designed to help students understand their faith. The years are broken down into Old Testament, New Testament, and Small Catechism. This year we are on New Testament. Confirmation culminates in the ritual of Confirmation, where students give their faith testimonies and pledge to live out (aka confirm) the faith in which they were baptized. High school This year, all high schoolers are invited to join Nadia in Coffee & Conversation on Sunday mornings from 9:30-10:15 in the library. The possibilities for this time are open and endless it will be what we make it and I m looking forward to getting to know you (better)! Nadia Fitzcharles Children, Youth and Family Coordinator nadia@sharingpeace.org November/December 2018 Page 11

12 Fall Picnic and 1st Annual Chili Cook-off A HUGE thank you goes out to Cristin Glei, Lindsey Bowlby and Alan Byroade for making this event fantastic!! Nine contestants cooked up batches of their best chili and the congregation slurped, tasted and used their tastebuds to vote for their favorite one. Bill Mitchell, Pastor Sarah and Kris Rinnert were awarded 1st, 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Their names were etched on the back of gold, silver and bronze plaques to be forever memorialized on the walls of the church kitchen. November/December 2018 Page 12

13 ACME (Awesome Congregation Moving Enterprises) Furniture Movers and Cleaning Crew From this To This In September, the high summer humidity and heat was causing problems with mold in the sanctuary and everything needed to be wiped down and the carpets cleaned. Thanks to a strong and energetic crew all the furniture was removed from the sanctuary and sacristy in one evening, wiped down and then put back in place a few days later. November/December 2018 Page 13

14 Youth Group Game Night Games pizza and good friends! November/December 2018 Page 14

15 JOIN OUR CHRISTMAS SEASON MISSION TEAM THIS DECEMBER For the last several years I have had the privilege to be a member of the Christmas mission team to VOH. Anywhere from eight to twelve of us travel to Haiti to sort, organize and deliver the hundreds of gifts sent from all over the USA to the children and staff at the VOH school in hopes of helping to make their Christmas a special one. This is one of the most rewarding and memorable experiences I have had and one you will never forget after seeing the smiling faces of the 600 plus students receiving their gifts. You are not only rewarded with the gift of giving but also by the children who perform for us songs and dances as each class gets up on stage to entertain the team. This is done right before our own Santa (Papa Noel) arrives to kick off the gift giving! It is truly a celebration you will never forget. This is the first year we have openings on the team that will allow others to experience this Haitian Christmas celebration. If you have ever thought about joining a mission team this is a good one to start with since you see almost all the children, staff and our facilities at VOH. We also will do a Bible story, hands on craft and food distribution at a local Haitian village so you can see first-hand how many people live in Haiti. As a bonus you will travel in mid-december when the Caribbean weather is at its best and escape the northern winter! The dates of the trip are Dec 8-15, The cost is approximately $1200. Please contact Marni Maree at mmaree@cox.net if you can join us. You will be a blessing to our team and to many others as you work as Christ s hands and feet in Haiti. November/December 2018 Page 15

16 Peace Lutheran Church 6362 Lincolnia Road Alexandria, VA Place Stamp Here Address Correction Requested THE NEXT DEADLINE FOR WORDS OF PEACE ~ DECEMBER 20, 2018 (Articles should be ed to: info@sharingpeace.org or leave in Kris mailbox) Contact Information: info@sharingpeace.org Phone: Fax: Web: facebook.com/peacelutheranalexandriava instagram.com/pelcalexandria Sunday Services 8:00 a.m. Informal Worship and Holy Communion 10:30 a.m. Traditional Worship Nursery & Preschool Care Provided from Editor: Kris Rinnert Contributors: Pastor Sarah Scherschligt, Natalie Cain, Nadia Fitzcharles, Chris Jensen, Sue Clark, Electronic giving is now at Peace! To make an online gift through our secure site, scan the code with your smart phone. twitter.com/pelcalexandria