PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH AND SCHOOL

Transcription

1 PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH AND SCHOOL PRINTS OF peace June 2016 Our Mission: God s family united to,...preach God s Word,...Teach God s Grace,...Reach God s World Dear Friends in Christ, June is traditionally a time when things start winding down. Vacations to places far away, camping, and extended stays in the hammock become the norm. Catching up on things we enjoy like gardening, water skiing, long walks or hikes fill our days. But, in the Church Year something else is at play. Just last month we celebrated the Day of Pentecost, the day the Christian church was born. We began a journey through the annals of Christian history; and now, for the rest of the Church Year, we watch as the kingdom of God grows through the working of the Holy Spirit in his people, the Church. This was not a time of rest and relaxation. Growing does not happen without effort; and the Spirit does not manipulate us like robots to make it happen. He could, of course, but for some reason he chooses to do his work in another way. He encourages us. He makes the Word of God known to us; and he does it in such a powerful way that it makes us want to proclaim it to the world. And he does this so convincingly that we feel bound to that Word in a way that makes us stand firm in it no matter what. That s what we see and that s what we celebrate in the month of June. In this month we celebrate St. Barnabas, St. John the Baptist, St. Peter and St. Paul, and we celebrate the presentation of the Augsburg Confession. St. Barnabas was Paul s friend and confidant. His nickname was The Encourager. The Holy Spirit gave him the gift of encouragement as he journeyed with Paul throughout the known world, spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ wherever he went. The Spirit used St. John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus. He proclaimed Christ Jesus as The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. St. Peter and St. Paul were two of the most powerful Evangelists the world has ever known; proclaiming Christ crucified and risen, and starting churches wherever they journeyed. And that brings us to the final celebration I want to discuss this month, the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession. It happened over a thousand years after Peter and Paul and John and Barnabas walked the earth, and yet the Holy Spirit was clearly at work here too. German princes who had been taught the gospel in its fullness by their own theologians (Martin Luther and his peers) stood before Charles, the Holy Roman Emperor, and proclaimed the truth of God s Word as they had come to know it through the working of the Holy Spirit. The Emperor told them to recant; but instead they, filled with the Spirit, knelt down together and told the Emperor that they would rather lose their heads than to recant their belief in God as it was described in the Augsburg Confession. They lived and continued to confess their faith throughout their lives. The kingdom of God grows, but not without effort; and it certainly grows only through the working of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit continues to make the kingdom grow in our day, through us. He continues to send encouragers, proclaimers, evangelists, and brave souls who maintain their faith even unto death. Surely one of them is you? Inside this Issue: From the Pastor 1 Elder s Corner 2 LWML Rummage Sale 3 Peace Lutheran Cancer Kickers! Anniversaries 4 Birthday Greeters School News 5 I am the Good Shepherd 6 VBS 7 Cinnamon Bread Special points of interest: We began a journey Luther reminds us All proceeds from This year has been God has called us PLEASE consider... Continued on page 2

2 P A G E 2 P R I N T S O F P E A C E As we celebrate the saints of the early church this month, that s a question we should each ask ourselves. Jesus said, The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak. [Matt. 26:41] But Jesus also promised to send his Spirit, the Helper, to strengthen our weaknesses. Trusting in God, pray to him and ask him, then look for the answer that he gives you. Which one are you? The Spirit knows. In Christ s service, Pastor Huelle Love Him Anyway Without descending into too much mawkish sentimentality, I can say that, as fathers go, I had it pretty good. He was there for everything I wanted him there for. No problems with the law. No real alcohol problems. No late-night screaming fights with Mom. There was always enough to eat. I never had to grit my teeth and get along with Dad s new girlfriend. Not quite so many moves might have been nice, but that was a small trade-off. With the pretty stable family situation I grew up in, I ll admit that sometimes it s been a hard thing for me to relate to when I hear of people who had physically absent, emotionally distant, or otherwise dysfunctional fathers. Why were their fathers like that? Maybe they became fathers too young, and just weren t ready for the burden. Maybe they were frightened by the idea that they were now supposed to be the providers. Or maybe they were on a different life trajectory, which they may have seen as being cut short when the role of father was thrust upon them. We can only hope that the people who had these sad situations with their fathers can take some comfort in the idea that, as we gain years, maturity, and insight, someday we will finally know and understand why Dad was how he was. We have seen everywhere the damage that can be done, not just to individuals, but to our communities, when there are too many absent or irresponsible fathers. While the answer can be top-down, with the fathers re-awakening to the joys and the duties of their position, it can also work bottom-up. Regardless of what kind of relationship you had, or still have, with your father, what he has done, or what he has not done, there is an overlying principle in Scripture that our fathers are to be honored: Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (this is the first commandment with a promise), that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6: 1-4). In the Small Catechism, Luther reminds us of our duty to honor our parents by regarding them as God s representatives. John Calvin also refers to the sacred origin of the role of human father, and notes that the Fourth Commandment does not therefore depend on the particular worthiness of the parent. So, no matter how strained the relationship may be, we should strive to honor our fathers in much the same way that we strive to bring glory to God in our thoughts, words, and actions. For a young child, obeying Dads - and Moms - goes hand-in-hand with honoring them. That includes listening, heeding, and submitting to their authority. As the children grow up, the obedience that they learned as children will serve them well in honoring the other authorities around them. The result of all of this will be children that respect authority and love their parents. Children that feel secure at home, and will actually dread the day they have to leave. Children that can look back on life, like I do, and say, I want to lead my children by the example that my father did. Walk In Christ s Service, Ross Lytle Board of Elders by Faith Not by sight 2 Cor 5:7

3 P A G E 3 You can help us by your donations of clean and saleable items. Some items that cannot be accepted: broken items, children s car seats, wood stoves, chemicals, tires, paint or other hazardous materials, built-in appliances, organs, mattresses, waterbeds. We will accept donations beginning June 6. All proceeds from this sale will go to support both local and international mission projects selected by the Women s Fellowship Group. June 25-26, Noon-Noon Bremerton High School Please join or support our team Peace Lutheran Cancer Kickers! See Cathy Bonsell or Denise Crawford for details!

4 P A G E 4 6/01 Robert and Judith Lowe 6/03 Paul and Jennifer Keifert 6/04 Larry and Liz Convis 6/05 Chuck and Cindy Stone 6/15 Owen and Maureen Kelly 6/16 Benjamin and Ellena Pollock 6/19 Ross and Carolyn Lytle Jack and Jody Porter 6/20 Chris and Nicole Schultz 6/25 Stuart & Marsha Hafer 6/01 Peggy Goodman 6/05 Julie Cox 6/07 Katharine Kemnitz 6/08 Keelin Balzaretti Marilyn Perry 6/11 Bob Schadt 6/12 Elsie Botz 6/14 Glenda Negrones 6/18 Owen Kelly Jim Manning 6/20 Carolyn Perkins 6/22 Sean Nichols 6/23 Kelly Balzaretti Beverly Ferguson Carter Joslin Asher Stroud 6/25 George Dorich Jackson Sutton 6/26 Austin Fritz 6/28 Lucas Stroud 6/30 Michelle Lytle 6/26 Bryan and Kim Hansen 6/05/16 8:00 AM Dave and Glenda N 10 :45 AM Dennis and Mary S 6/12/16 8:00 AM Tim and DeeAnne J 10 :45 AM Bob and Irene L 6/19/16 8:00 AM George and Denise C 10 :45 AM Terry and Loretta F 6/26/16 8:00 AM Bob and Irene L 10 :45 AM Wes and Amy P Acolytes & Candle Lighters 6/5 8:00 AM GUNNAR NILSSON 10:45 AM GUNNAR PERRY 6/12 8:00 AM CASSIDY RUSSELL 10:45 AM GALILEO RAMIREZ 6/19 8:00 AM SAM BONSELL 10:45 AM RONEN PERRY 6/26 8:00 AM RHYLIE RUSSELL 10:45 AM GUNNAR PERRY Sign on Church Reader Board Adam blamed Eve Eve blamed the snake and the snake didn t have a leg to stand on. USHERS 8:00 am 10:45 am George C Dalton C Darrell D Gary D Carlin M Brett J Gordan W Gary W

5 P A G E 5 P R I N T S O F P E A C E To the Body of Christ at Peace, This school year has been an exhausting whirlwind. We have endured through accreditation, new curriculum, new programs, new technology, and there was even some teaching along the way. Students are learning here! No matter what hurdles, challenges, or opportunities present themselves, we have students to teach, and they are learning. Most importantly, they are learning about true love, the love of Jesus Christ. Each and every day, teachers break their backs bending twelve different ways for seven hours on their feet trying to help as many of God s children as possible. These teachers are doing a great job! I look forward to improving my own classroom and teaching skills as I continue to learn from these wonderful teachers and admirable Christians. The end of the school year always brings a fair bit of excitement. Unexpectedly, we have been given the opportunity to search for a new principal. Though initially surprising, this news shouldn t be treated as bad news. Every time God gives us a new door to walk through, we should faithfully walk through that door with all the confidence that knowing Christ provides. From Daniel boldly refusing Nebuchadnezzar s kingly food and wine, Job refusing to denounce God, and so many more Old Testament lessons to New Testament examples like Paul challenging the church in Phillipi to trust in God and modern-day Christians in Syria holding onto that peace, which surpasses all understanding, (Philippians 4:7), we have all the models of faith and trust in God that are needed. Now it is upon us to continue on boldly trusting and knowing that God will provide for our needs here at Peace. I personally see the future of Peace Lutheran School looking amazing. There are also regular end of the year highlights that I want to bring to you as well. Our 4 th -8 th grade students competed in an annual track meet that we help host. Our students earned a 1 st place finish for Peace with overall team points. As I write this, students are preparing to celebrate a school Under the Sea themed dance. Students have learned how to program robots, nurture plant growth, analyze politics, write in cursive, and say their alphabets. From maturing middle school students to preschoolers developing their basic skills, it is awesome to look at all the growth that one school year can bring. Our entire student body will even come together several times in the last two weeks of school. One of those times will be to celebrate a year together through Field Day on Wednesday, June 1 st. Students from different grade levels will work together to compete in fun and engaging games. Also, the whole student body will be performing a rendition of Fiddler on the Roof as Mrs. McAuley has prepared them to do. This year has been an amazing blessing, filled with challenges and gifts from students, parents, and God. I pray that you ll be able to invest some time during these last schools days with students and teachers. Go and encourage them as they continue building God s kingdom, one child at a time. Blessings, Mr. Nathan A. Carnahan 2 nd Grade Teacher Athletic Director Joshua 24:15 But as for me and my house, LEST 2016

6 P A G E 6 I am the good shepherd For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son (John 3:16). God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays his life down for the sheep (John 10:11). Love means sacrifice. Sacrifice means a humbling of oneself for the good of another. And this is what the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us: Love means sacrifice. We love our families. And we love them by sacrificing ourselves for them. We put their needs before our own. We sacrifice our own wants and desires for their good and for their needs. We love our country. And we love it by pledging our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor to defend her. We ask not what our country can do for us, but what we can do for our country. We make sacrifices for our country s good and we do it because we love her. We love our church. And we love our church by giving of ourselves, by sacrificing our time, talents, and treasures in service to it. We volunteer to teach Sunday School, VBS, and other various boards. We help out cleaning and fixing what needs to be cleaned and fixed at the church property. And we give a portion of the income God has given us, so that the lights will go on, and the heat and air conditioning may run; so that a pastor will preach to us both law and gospel and administer baptism and the Lord s Supper; so that the Word will go forth into all the world through the missionaries we call and send out. God has called us into these three spheres of family, country, and church. He puts the solitary into a home. No one is an island unto himself. Everyone is put into a family, a country, and a church. In these spheres, God cares for all our needs of body and soul. He employs other members of these spheres to ensure that we have everything we need for this body and life and for the next. These callings place a claim upon us, a claim upon our presence, our prayers, our time, talents, and treasures. They give us a duty. That duty is to love. And love means sacrifice. And sacrifice means that we humble ourselves for the good of another. So then, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:7 11). And love means sacrifice. God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called. The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.

7 P A G E 7 P R I N T S O F P E A C E Vacation Bible School planning and preparation is in FULL SWING!! This years theme, BARNYARD ROUNDUP, promises another exciting week of reaching the children of our community and teaching God s Gospel! It will be held this year from JULY here at Peace Lutheran Church! ONLINE REGISTRATION is OPEN! Find it HERE: Here you can register your child (ren), as well as volunteer your time and talents! Additionally, this year we have online payment available for registration fees, optional donations to our VBS Mission Project Tin Roofs for Africa, optional donations to offset VBS program costs, and an optional purchase of a CD-DVD geared toward reinforcing the music and scripture taught at VBS long after its conclusion! You can find our VBS store HERE: PLEASE consider volunteering to help VBS be a meaningful week for so many! MANY hands make light work! us at vbs@peacelutherannw.org, or talk to Cathy Bonsell, Denise Crawford, Carla Yenko, or DeeAnne Johnsrude! Preparation Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 x 4- inch loaf pan. Cinnamon Rhubarb Bread Ingredients Butter, for greasing the pan 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup canola oil 1/2 cup buttermilk 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups diced rhubarb 1/2 cup chopped pecans In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in the brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, egg, and vanilla, combining thoroughly. Fold in the rhubarb and pecans. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry. Let cool in the pan slightly, then cool completely on a rack before slicing. From < Cook time:55 minutes Prep time:20 minutes Servings:8-10 slices Everyone raves about this easy-to-make quick bread, which has a lovely warmth from the cinnamon and brown sugar, balanced by nuggets of tart rhubarb scattered throughout. Chopped pecans add a great little crunch. It's fantastic for breakfast or as an afternoon snack and makes a nice gift, too.

8 8:30 AM SCHOOL CHAPEL 12:30 PM SCHOOL CHAPEL Peace Lutheran Church and School Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Walking Warriors Group 8:15 AM Thursdays 5:45 PM Cub Scouts PM PARISH NURSE 2 6:30 PM ALL SCHOOL 3 4 SCHOOL FIELD DAY MUSICAL Last Day of School 5 8 & 10:45 AM 6 8 AM MONDAY MORNING 7 5 PM VBS PLANNING PM PARISH NURSE 9 10 Scrip Orders Due 11 WORSHIP W/COM. 9:30 AM EDUCATION HOUR Mite Bite Sunday PM CHURCH COUNCIL PM PARISH NURSE & 10:45 AM WORSHIP W/COM. 9:30 AM EDUCATION HOUR Birthday Celebration Father s Day PM EVANGELISM BD Scrip Orders Due 25 8 & 10:45 AM WORSHIP W/COM. 9:30 AM EDUCATION HOUR WORK GROUP 5:15 BD. OF CHRISTIAN ED 8 AM MONDAY MORNING WORK GROUP 9 AM QUILTERS 8 AM MONDAY MORNING WORK GROUP MEETING 7 PM ELDERS 5 PM VBS PLANNING MEETING 9-12 PM PARISH NURSE 6 PM Coffee Oasis 8 AM MEN S BREAKFAST 9 AM RUMMAGE SALE 10 AM BOY SCOUTS GROUNDS CLEAN-UP DAY 8 & 10:45 AM AM MONDAY MORNING PM PARISH NURSE 30 WORSHIP W/COM. 9:30 AM EDUCATION HOUR 10:45 INSTALLATION OF OFFICERS Good Samaritan WORK GROUP