THE PASTOR S PRESS. God s grace and peace be upon you, Pastor Deanna

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1 THE PASTOR S PRESS In prayer, real prayer, we begin to think God s thoughts after him: to desire the things he desires, to love the things he loves, to will the things he wills. Celebration of Discipline, by Richard Foster Last month Pastor Jonathan wrote about how through prayer the Holy Spirit can stir up in us faith for daily living. He invited you into a practice of prayer during this Lenten season. Here are some types of prayer that may help you in this discipline: Vocal Prayer is speaking with God. It can take the form of thanksgiving for the blessings God has given to us, or the form of petition where we ask God to care for our needs. Vocal prayer includes praying the Lord s Prayer, table blessings before meals, and morning or evening prayers. Martin Luther suggests the following prayers: o In the morning: I give thanks to you, heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ your dear Son, that you have protected me through the night from all harm and danger. I ask that you would also protect me today from sin and all evil, so that my life and actions may please you. Into your hands I commend my-self: my body, my soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel be with me, so that the wicked foe may have no power over me. Amen. o In the evening: I give thanks to you, heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ your dear Son, that you have graciously protected me today. I ask you to forgive me all my sins, where I have done wrong, and graciously to protect me tonight. Into your hands I commend myself: my body, my soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel be with me, so that the wicked foe may have no power over me. Amen. Meditative Prayer is actively thinking about God. In meditative prayer, you might start with a text from the Bible and think about what it tells you about God. Ask questions about the text, put yourself in the place of each character of the text, and think about what God is saying through the text. Here are some suggestions of texts to meditate on during Lent: o The Psalms o The texts from Sunday worship o Exodus chapters 1-20 Contemplative Prayer is resting in God s presence. It is silent time to simply be with God, experiencing God s presence closer than thinking, closer than breathing, closer than consciousness itself. It is helpful to pick a comfortable place to sit up straight with your hands resting open on your lap. Select a simple word that will bring you back to silence, and whenever your mind starts to wander, say the word in order to set aside the thoughts and return to silence. Possible words include grace, peace, mercy, or love. It is helpful to set a timer or alarm for anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 minutes to bring you out of your time of prayer. God s grace and peace be upon you, Pastor Deanna

2 Commemoration Corner Hans Nielsen Hauge (March 29 th ) Hauge was a lay preacher who left a deep mark on Norwegian church life and piety. He had a religious experience on April 5, 1796, which convinced him of God s call to arouse his sleeping country. He began preaching in his own parish, then preached throughout the country. Itinerant preaching was against the law, and he was frequently arrested. Eventually he settled on a farm near Oslo and gained the respect of many church leaders. In his writings he emphasized a person s vocation as a service to God, warned against separatism, and urged his followers to remain faithful to the national church. Relay Fact of the Month How is local Relay money used? Here are a few ways that the money St. Peter s raised helped people in our community from September August 2012: 4,191 cancer patients received 7,783 programs/services from the American Cancer Society. The Western Area (ours) served 219 more cancer patients than last year. 551 rides were provided to treatment for 101 patients through Road to Recovery. 473 wigs were provided to cancer patients. 103 health care providers referred 1,779 patients for 2,390 services. Stay tuned for more facts next month. Thank you for your continued support of our Relay team! Let us pray: Gracious Lord, we give you thanks for the renewers of the church. You call us to our particular vocations; use us and all that we have and all that we are for your glory as we worship you and with your help continually renew our own congregations, synod and national church. In your Son s name we pray, Amen. North Mountain Parish Council The North Mountain Parish Council met on Feb. 5, 2013 at St. Stephen. Some of the items that were discussed are: Wounded Warrior - One of our young adults would like us to get involved with this project. It was suggested that she give us a min. talk before our service so we understand what this group does. We would like this done during the month of May. Then we would have the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend to take up a donation for them. The directory committee met and have decided that Universal would get the bid. It was stated that all the pictures would be taken in one location. It was asked if members would like to have pictures taken with their pets, that we allow this. They are looking at the middle of March or later for picture taking. It has not been decided which church the pictures would be taken in. It was noted that the 5th Sunday of March is Easter, so we will not have the joint 5th Sunday worship. Each will have at their church. It was voted and approved to have a North Mountain Parish Vacation Bible School. More will be forthcoming. It was suggested to have a Parish Cookbook. The women of St. Stephen would like to do one and incorporate a Memory Section for recipes from members who are no longer with us. It was agreed to take back to the individual council to see if interest is there. It was suggested that we should have a parish retreat. We would make it an all-day event on a Saturday. We would ask those attending to bring something to put in the pot to make soup for the evening meal. This is a good way to get involved with the members of all ages. Glen Baker suggested that his uncle has a huge farm that he may offer for us to use. This will be taken back to the three councils for approval. The Joint Council will meet with Bishop Mauney on April 14 so we can have ideas for a mission statement. April 23, 2013 will be our next joint council meeting.

3 LENT Come join us this Lenten Season! Join us for worship, food and fellowship. The schedule rotates throughout each congregation so take note of the days, times and details. Each of the Lenten Services will begin at 6PM with dinner and 7PM with worship. Different Lutheran pastors throughout the county will take turns preaching and leading worship. Pastor Jonathan will lead the first Lenten worship service in our parish and then he will rotate throughout the county. Pastor Deanna will plan to be present at worship with you. The theme this year will be "Encounter's in the Wilderness." Join us as we reflect on God's presence in the wilderness. Lenten Schedule: Wednesday, March 6th - Lenten Worship - St. Peter - Dinner 6PM (light dinner provided) / Worship 7PM Wednesday, March 13th- Lenten Worship - St. Stephen - Dinner 6PM (light dinner provided) / Worship 7PM Wednesday, March 20th - Lenten Worship - St. Matthew - Dinner 6PM (light dinner provided) / Worship 7PM Thursday, March 28th at 7pm- Maundy Thursday Worship - St. Stephen Friday, March 29th at 7pm - Good Friday Worship - St. Peter WORLD DAY OF PRAYER 2013 St Stephen s WELCA is hosting a Parish Pot-Luck meal & service on Sunday, th March 9 at 4:00 in observance of World Day of Prayer Women, men & children in more than 170 countries and regions will celebrate World Day of Prayer. The women of France, this year s writercountry, have chosen the theme: I was a stranger and you welcomed me. Invite your friends & family to join us and the women of France in prayer & song to sup-port ecumenical efforts toward justice, peace, healing & wholeness. If you have a French recipe or want to try one, bring it & the recipe to share. Bonjour!! North Mountain Lutheran Parish is in the process of producing a pictorial directory. This wonderful resource will be divided into three groups, one for each of the churches, and will provide pictures, addresses, phone numbers, birthdays, and anniversaries. The church directory company will be at St. Stephen on four days to take pictures. Thursday, March 14, has been designated as the photo day for St. Peter, but other times and dates are available also. Dates and times are: March 13-15, from 2:00-8:30, and Saturday, March 16, 10:00-5:30. See the sign up list on the table at the back of the sanctuary. Please have your family s picture taken, even if you don t wish to purchase any. The company is very low-pressure. A forthcoming bulletin insert will provide a $10 coupon, and all senior citizens will receive an additional 20% off. Some very reasonable-priced packages are available. You are also invited to bring extended family who may attend a different church, and you may even bring a pet, musical instrument, or sports item to include in your picture. Members pictures will be included in the directory, and the pictures of other family, nonmembers of St. Peter s, may be available for purchase but will not be in the directory. Please see Melissa if you have any questions.

4 ST. MATTHEW LUTHERAN CHURCH SERVING THIS MONTH Mike Cook/Joyce Hamrick...Organist Jeff Strosnider......Reader Donald Hamrick & Jeff Strosnider...Ushers Amelia Mowery...Altar Guild MARCH'S BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES 1 Joy Dyke, Luella Sager 2 Sherry King 14 Clara Barden 19 Pastor Jonathan Boynton, Jeff & Rita Strosnider 29 Billy Minton

5 MARCH 2013 SS= St. Stephen 1 2 SP=St. Peter SM=St. Matthew 9am4pm ACTSClass in Waynesboro pm Council-SP 9am Quilting Group - SP loam Bible Study -SS 4pm Pot-Luck Dinner 1pm Joint Catechism - followed by World Day SP 6pm Meal-SP of Prayer Service -SS 7pm Lenten Worship-SP I I loam Bible Study -SS am Quilting Group-SP 2-8:30pm Photo day -SS 2-8:30pm Photo day at 2-8:30pm Photo day at 10-5:30 Photo day at St. 6pm Meal-SS St. Stephen St. Stephen Stephen 7:30pm Council- SM 17pm Lenten Council- SS pm Joint Catechism-SP 9am Quilting Group-SP loam Bible Study -SS ll:30am SSKatie's Ladies Luncheon 16pm Meal-SM 7pm Lenten Worship-SM GOOD FRIDAY am Quilting Group-SP loam Bible Study -S5 MAUNDY THURSDAY 7-10am Men's Breakfast -SS 7pm Maundy Thursday worship-ss 7pm Good Friday worship-sp 31 EAS'ffR SUNDAY... St. Stephen: St. Peter: st. Matthew: 7am Sunrise Service - SUNDAY SCHEDULES 9am Worship 9:45am Sunday School loam Sunday School SM &5P llam Worship llam Worship (Children's 55 during church)

6 THRIVENT NEWS Thrivent wants to change its name from Thrivent Lutheran to Thrivent Christian. By doing this they will be able to reach more Christian people. They will be able to help more people with their Care Abounds Funds. The vote starts March 1 and goes thru April 30, I am urging all of the Thrivent members in the North Mountain Parish to please pick up the phone or use the internet to vote. Your vote matters to Thrivent. April Newsletter Deadline is FRIDAY, Mar. 15. Please send all articles and information to Gloria Goeres at goeres@gmail.com. St Stephen Men s Breakfast WHEN: Sat. March 30 th from 7 to 10 a.m. WHERE: St Stephen s Fellowship Hall FOOD: Sausage, Scrapple & Country Ham Sausage & Chipped Beef Gravy Fried Potatoes & Eggs Pancakes & Biscuits COST: Free will offering BENEFIT: SS Building Fund North Mountain Lutheran Parish