God s Grace and Peace, Pastor Deanna

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1 THE PASTOR S PRESS All who hunger, gather gladly; holy manna is our bread. Come from wilderness and wandering. Here in truth we will be fed. You that yearn for days of fullness, all around us is our food. Taste and see the grace eternal. Taste and see that God is good. All who hunger, never strangers; seeker, be a welcome guest. Come from restlessness and roaming. Here in joy we keep the feast. We that once were lost and scattered in communion s love have stood. Taste and see the grace eternal. Taste and see that God is good. All who hunger, sing together, Jesus Christ is living bread. Come from loneliness and longing. Here in peace we have been fed. Blest are those who from this table live their days in gratitude. Taste and see the grace eternal. Taste and see that God is good. ~ELW 461 All Who Hunger, Gather Gladly Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! Each year I greatly anticipate its coming, looking forward to the joy and celebration. It is a time to bring family from far and near, gathering around the table to feast on a bounty of food. We remember with thanksgiving that we are able to gather and able to feast. We have food enough to fill our stomachs, and have never really felt the hunger that comes from not knowing when your next meal will be. But, in a country filled with bounty, we still yearn to be filled with something more satisfying than bread, a hunger that isn t satisfied by food. In the Lord s Prayer we pray, Give us this day our daily bread. Martin Luther, in his Small Catechism, teaches that daily bread means everything included in the necessities and nourishment for our bodies, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, farm, fields, livestock, money, property, and upright spouse, upright children, upright members of the household, upright and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, decency, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like. Earthly nourishment comes from God. And eternal nourishment also comes from God. In Holy Communion God fills all our hungers with nothing less than Jesus himself, given for the life of the world, given for our life now. As we anticipate the feast of Thanksgiving, may we also anticipate the feast of the Eucharist, where God feeds us with so much more than turkey and dressing: God s own being. May we taste and see the grace eternal. Taste and see that God is good. God s Grace and Peace, Pastor Deanna

2 , SERVING THIS MONTH Mike Cook/Joyce Hamrick Charles Dyke Barbara Conner and Susie Blissart Debbie Keeler Luella Sager and Joy Dyke Organist Reader Ushers Altar Guild Flowers NOVEMBER 2 Katie Keene 10 Frank Conner, Sr 21 Tommy & Debbie Keeler 23 David Conner 28 Gary Richard Total member contributions for the month of September was $ Total expenses for the month of September was $

3 Commemoration Corner All Saints Day (November 1 st ) Many churches in the Western Church including Lutherans, Methodists, and Episcopalians celebrate All Saints Day. This day is intended to be a day where we celebrate those who have lived lives of faith and have now passed from our world. On this day we give thanks for those faithful witnesses in our congregations and around the world that have shown us the life of faith. Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses (95 things he thought were wrong with the Roman Catholic Church) on October 31 st, knowing that a large number of people would come to the Schlosskirche (Castle Church) in Wittenburg, Germany. This allowed a large number of people to read his 95 theses and the Reformation Movement began. For this commemoration, we pray: Almighty God, whose people are knit together in one holy Church, the body of Christ our Lord: grant us grace to follow your blessed saints in lives of faith and commitment, and to know the inexpressible joys you have prepared for those who love you; through your Son, Jesus Christ our lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Coins for a Cure! St. Peter s Relay team is still collecting Coins for a Cure boxes. Every little bit helps, and last year s figures showed that our pocket change can make a difference to those in our area affected by cancer. Boxes are on the window sill at the back of the sanctuary. You may turn them in at any time. Thanks! SHOPPING TIME! SHENANDOAH VALLEY LUTHERAN MINISTRIES SVLM has been very busy. We started a children s enrichment and feeding program this summer at Emanuel Lutheran in Woodstock. We implemented a four week program during July/August. The program is called Rising Star. The children arrived at 9:00a.m. each morning and were served breakfast. They spent the morning involved in all types of activities, i.e. reading, math, art, music, and physical/ outdoor activities. They received a snack during the morning and then were served a hot lunch at noon and dismissed at 12:30p.m. The children also received a Luke s Backpack to take home for the weekend. The goal of SVLM is to find other churches within our county who would be willing to host such a program in their facility during the summer in order to feed children during the summer. Our Luke s Backpack is off to a good start this fall. We have a new director, Leslie Heird, from Mt. Zion, Woodstock. Leslie has been working with our three Site Coordinators to build better communications between sites and to establish relationships with companies like Sysco, which enables us to purchase items in bulk and for a cheaper price. We order the more expensive items such as the shelf stable milk. We have added middle school students to our backpack program. We are currently providing 82 children with Luke s Backpacks each weekend, which equals 246 meals plus milk, water and snacks. Those numbers continue to grow almost weekly. Shenandoah Valley Lutheran Ministries thanks all who have supported and continue to support our ministries. The Middle School and High School Youth of the parish will be shopping and wrapping Christmas gifts for the Empty Socking Fund. We will meet at St. Peter s on Sunday, November 11th at 12:30. We will get pizza on our way to shop. Please remember to bring your calculators. Once shopping is completed, we will return to St. Peter s to wrap the presents. This ministry of Shenandoah County is an excellent one, and we are fortunate enough to be invited into this grace-filled ministry.

4 Bible Study Moment Jesus Calls the First Disciples 16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the seafor they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him. Mark 1:16-20 I can imagine Jesus thinking - "Those guys are good at fishing / networking to catch fish and gather them onto the boat... If I could get those guys to work at networking to catch people and gather them into the kingdom... " so Jesus invites them to follow and to be equipped at people fishing. Then Jesus goes a little further and catches James and John, and gathers them into his discipling creel. So Jesus (God and Spirit) stands by the waters of our own baptisms, calling us by name, and inviting us to fish for people, networking to gather others into the kingdom / boat of the church. Fishing by sharing the gifts of our baptism - the unconditional love of God, the freedom of forgiveness in Christ, and the new life of the Spirit. I am reminded that we fish daily through our words and our actions that re-present Christ to and for our neighbor (family, friend, and stranger). And we fish collectively / communally from the boat of the church. We are called to network with other Lutheran congregations, Ecumenical partners, Community organizations, Institutions, and Agencies... for the sake of fishing for people (not so much to get them into the boat of our congregation) to gather them into the boat of the Kingdom. Jesus calls us this day - as we are about our vocations of call to family and call to daily work - and equips us to fish for people / networking for the Kingdom. ~Pastor Chip Gunsten, Assistant to the Bishop, Virginia Synod TURKEY TROT to benefit Luke s Backpack! SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, Massanutten Military Academy 7:30am, Teeny K(10 & 8:15am, 5k/10k Race (run or 9am Early Bird Registration: November 1 16: $30, Race Day Registration: November 17 $35 Teeny K: $10 Sign up early or on race day! Proceeds benefit Luke s Backpack Course: The course starts and finishes at the Massanutten Military Academy track and runs along neighborhood roads of Woodstock, VA The Teeny K Fun Run is 2.5 laps around the Massanutten Military Academy track Amenities: T-shirt (guaranteed for all pre-registered participants, size guaranteed for participants registered by October 31), refreshments and post race goodies. Awards for overall and age group winners and ribbons for Teeny K Fun Run participants PLEASE Come out and support this event even if you don t plan on running!

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6 ELECTION DAY MEAL WHEN: ELECTION DAY, NOVEMBER 6 TH WHERE: ST. PETER S LUTHERAN TIME: 11:00AM UNTIL 7:00PM MENU: SOUP, POT PIE, BAR-B-Q SANDWICHES, DESSERT AND TEA FREE WILL OFFERING TAKE OUT AVAILABLE YOUNG ADULTS The North Mountain Parish Young Adult Group will meet Thursday, November 15th, at 7pm at Pastor Jonathan and Pastor Deanna s house for fellowship and study. We will pick a topic and discuss as a group. Please RSVP to Pastor Jonathan at Pastorjonathanboynton@gmail.com St. Peter November Birthdays Tiffany Brown Terry Hockman Mary Peer Ashley Baker Matthew Tucker Ashton Nelson Ike Himelright Rhiannon Tucker Jim Hall Kaleb Orndorff Meleah Brown Member Information 5 th 7 th 11 th 12 th 12 th 20 th 23 rd 24 th 25 th 30 th 30 th Council Members Needed St. Peter s Church Council will meet the second Sunday, November 11 th following the worship service. If you would like to run for council, please let one our current council members know. St. Matthew Chris is in need of lots of your prayers, and she would love to hear from you! Chris Betts 110 Stecher Ct. Linden, VA December Newsletter Deadline December Newsletter deadline is November 16. Please send all articles and information to Gloria Goeres at goeres@gmail.com. North Mountain Lutheran Parish