Peaceful Friends,
My heart is full of gratitude for you. Thanks be to the Spirit of Christ, your faith is growing and our church community is thriving, as you get increasingly involved in the ministries and mission of Peace with your time, your talent, and your treasure. Nothing brings me more joy than seeing you step up your commitment to the Christian faith – by joining the church, attending a ministry team meeting, staying for lively learning, making a financial pledge, or taking on leadership responsibility in the church. If it makes me joyful, then Christ must be ecstatic when we commit ourselves to grow as his disciples.
The session will share brief life/faith stories with those considering membership this Sunday at 11:30. If you have been thinking about it, now’s a good time to consider making a commitment to Christ at Peace. Covenant with us to build this community! We will not twist your arms, but it really boosts our spirit when you say, “I’m in. I’m with you.”
This week we will be challenged by Jesus’ parable of the rich fool, who built bigger barns so he could keep all his stuff. (Luke 12:13-26) You can help your neighbors unload some of their food stuff by participation in Peace’s Halloween Offering.
This Sunday, which is close to All Saints and Reformation Day, we will remember with thanksgiving those who have gone before us – those family members and friends, whom we love and miss, as well as those saints and reformers who are our forebears in the faith.
Please don’t miss our Feasting on Gratitude Brunch next Sunday, November 6th. This will be a great time of fellowship on a day when you have the gift of an extra hour. Spend it with us at Peace. Sign up to bring food or help this Sunday.
With gratitude for every one of you,
Elizabeth
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
This Week at Peace - - October 23, 2011
Dear Peacemakers,
We continue our Gratitude Season this Sunday with a focus on Ephesians 2:1-10 and the connection between guilt, grace, and gratitude. I hope you are planning to be part of our fun Feasting on Gratitude Brunch on November 6 after worship. No classes that day but lots of thankful sharing over the meal, plus some gratitude-building activities for the kids.
It is time to deliver the Halloween “Trick hunger-Treat the hungry” flyers to your neighbors so they will be prepared to offer you real food (not just candy) on October 31. Pick up your flyers and instructions on this mission outreach event Sunday.
The Session (leadership board of elders and pastors) made two monumental decisions this past week. First, we decided to hire an architect (The Lawson Group, very experienced in church building) to lead us through a three month process to design a Master Plan for our property on Lorraine Road. This will lead to capital fundraising efforts beginning sometime in 2012. Secondly, Session decided to negotiate with MAR (Realtors) the 24/7 lease of a third of the Event Center (the choir side of sanctuary) to accommodate our larger weekday activities. Most significantly, this lease, if signed, will provide for the security of our temporary home (including Sunday worship) for the next three years. We know that all of you agree that securing our current location is crucial for Peace’s development, so please continue to be generous in your gifts to the operating fund. We are excited about our future here and on Lorraine Road and hope that these plans, coupled with your giving and the continued growth of Peace, will land us in a building by the end of 2014 or early 2015.
The Nominating Committee (Eirinn Camphire, Peter Miller, Don McIlwain, Dana Scott, and Sara Rea Jensen) are bringing before you on Sunday the following nominees for election to serve as elders for the next three years: Kathy Flora, Jenny Sheffield, Don Simpson, and Mark Winters. They also recommend that Andrew Deibert, high school senior, serve as youth elder for a one year term. There will be more information about the nominees in the bulletin Sunday and the congregational meeting will take place at the end of service. Any questions, write me back.
We could use your help, if you are able-bodied. Peace has some chairs currently stored at Pine Shores Presbyterian Church in Sarasota. They need to be moved from an office to a storage room. Show your gratitude for the generosity of our friends at Pine Shores by coming to help move the chairs. Meet at Peace at 8:00 this Saturday morning, the 22nd or come to Pine Shores on your own (6135 Beechwood Ave – NW of Clark and Hwy 41).
You are always encouraged to be at Peace!
Elizabeth
We continue our Gratitude Season this Sunday with a focus on Ephesians 2:1-10 and the connection between guilt, grace, and gratitude. I hope you are planning to be part of our fun Feasting on Gratitude Brunch on November 6 after worship. No classes that day but lots of thankful sharing over the meal, plus some gratitude-building activities for the kids.
It is time to deliver the Halloween “Trick hunger-Treat the hungry” flyers to your neighbors so they will be prepared to offer you real food (not just candy) on October 31. Pick up your flyers and instructions on this mission outreach event Sunday.
The Session (leadership board of elders and pastors) made two monumental decisions this past week. First, we decided to hire an architect (The Lawson Group, very experienced in church building) to lead us through a three month process to design a Master Plan for our property on Lorraine Road. This will lead to capital fundraising efforts beginning sometime in 2012. Secondly, Session decided to negotiate with MAR (Realtors) the 24/7 lease of a third of the Event Center (the choir side of sanctuary) to accommodate our larger weekday activities. Most significantly, this lease, if signed, will provide for the security of our temporary home (including Sunday worship) for the next three years. We know that all of you agree that securing our current location is crucial for Peace’s development, so please continue to be generous in your gifts to the operating fund. We are excited about our future here and on Lorraine Road and hope that these plans, coupled with your giving and the continued growth of Peace, will land us in a building by the end of 2014 or early 2015.
The Nominating Committee (Eirinn Camphire, Peter Miller, Don McIlwain, Dana Scott, and Sara Rea Jensen) are bringing before you on Sunday the following nominees for election to serve as elders for the next three years: Kathy Flora, Jenny Sheffield, Don Simpson, and Mark Winters. They also recommend that Andrew Deibert, high school senior, serve as youth elder for a one year term. There will be more information about the nominees in the bulletin Sunday and the congregational meeting will take place at the end of service. Any questions, write me back.
We could use your help, if you are able-bodied. Peace has some chairs currently stored at Pine Shores Presbyterian Church in Sarasota. They need to be moved from an office to a storage room. Show your gratitude for the generosity of our friends at Pine Shores by coming to help move the chairs. Meet at Peace at 8:00 this Saturday morning, the 22nd or come to Pine Shores on your own (6135 Beechwood Ave – NW of Clark and Hwy 41).
You are always encouraged to be at Peace!
Elizabeth
Friday, October 14, 2011
This Week at Peace - - October 16, 2011
Dear Friends of Peace,
We are not waiting until November to be thankful. No Gratitude Season begins right now at Peace! In the next weeks at Peace, we will find countless ways to be grateful to God, despite all the uncertainties of life. Hope you will join us at 10:00 on Sundays and that you will be our guest at a Feasting on Gratitude Brunch on November 6 after worship.
Since we moved into our new location in the Event and Conference Center one year ago, we have sixty-five NEW Peace participants, some of whom have joined and others coming regularly. What a blessing!
Here's the latest at Peace: We sent a dozen away on a youth retreat at Cedarkirk this week-end (no regular youth program on Sunday evening). We expect to see about twenty adults at Monthly Movie Night tonight. Sunday afternoon, Peace people are going to an Open House at Beth-El Farmworker Ministries in Wimauma, a Presbyterian mission where Peace has 8-10 volunteers every week.
It's time to start "tricking hunger and treating the hungry" with our Halloween Food Drive. You may also support the Food Bank by attending Empty Bowls Lunch in LWR with Peace Friends on Friday, October 21. The Sisters of Peace Craft Luncheon is next Sunday, the 23rd. The Adventure Park Kickball Picnic is going to be a blast on November 20th with players from 7 to 70.
Every week the men of Peace gather for breakfast and authentic man-share time at 7 on Tuesdays at Crisper's, while the women are multi-tasking with a Prayer Walk on Saturdays at 10 in the lovely lakeside streets near the church ministry center.
Choirs are rehearsing again and a drama group will soon start to meet. Stephen Ministers are being trained to provide care for those in difficult seasons of life, and the Peace Care Team continues to pray for each Peace participant by name every day and particularly for those who have requested the prayers of Peace.
There's more to tell, but I'll stop and simply say to you: Be at Peace with us!
With gratitude,
Pastor Elizabeth
We are not waiting until November to be thankful. No Gratitude Season begins right now at Peace! In the next weeks at Peace, we will find countless ways to be grateful to God, despite all the uncertainties of life. Hope you will join us at 10:00 on Sundays and that you will be our guest at a Feasting on Gratitude Brunch on November 6 after worship.
Since we moved into our new location in the Event and Conference Center one year ago, we have sixty-five NEW Peace participants, some of whom have joined and others coming regularly. What a blessing!
Here's the latest at Peace: We sent a dozen away on a youth retreat at Cedarkirk this week-end (no regular youth program on Sunday evening). We expect to see about twenty adults at Monthly Movie Night tonight. Sunday afternoon, Peace people are going to an Open House at Beth-El Farmworker Ministries in Wimauma, a Presbyterian mission where Peace has 8-10 volunteers every week.
It's time to start "tricking hunger and treating the hungry" with our Halloween Food Drive. You may also support the Food Bank by attending Empty Bowls Lunch in LWR with Peace Friends on Friday, October 21. The Sisters of Peace Craft Luncheon is next Sunday, the 23rd. The Adventure Park Kickball Picnic is going to be a blast on November 20th with players from 7 to 70.
Every week the men of Peace gather for breakfast and authentic man-share time at 7 on Tuesdays at Crisper's, while the women are multi-tasking with a Prayer Walk on Saturdays at 10 in the lovely lakeside streets near the church ministry center.
Choirs are rehearsing again and a drama group will soon start to meet. Stephen Ministers are being trained to provide care for those in difficult seasons of life, and the Peace Care Team continues to pray for each Peace participant by name every day and particularly for those who have requested the prayers of Peace.
There's more to tell, but I'll stop and simply say to you: Be at Peace with us!
With gratitude,
Pastor Elizabeth
Sunday, October 9, 2011
This Week at Peace - - October 9, 2011
This week in worship we examine the two Biblical references to the Lord’s Prayer from Matthew and Luke, and consider the three versions of the prayer in English and ponder the petition: “Forgive us our debts, trespasses, sins AS we forgive… " Many of you have asked over the last five years, why we use the ecumenical version of the prayer, and recently the Session agreed with the Worship Team and me that it would benefit all of us, especially the children, to develop a level of comfort with all three versions of the prayer. Hope you can come Sunday and please consider staying for the worship discussion afterwards. Express yourself, learn from others, and grow faith with friends at Peace.
Thank you for your concerns and prayers for Peace’s home security. We are feeling more encouraged about the possibility of negotiating a new lease with the Realtors, but it could require some extra giving next year. The Session of Elders will soon meet to discuss this matter in detail.
The Adventure Park Hot Dog and Kickball Event has been postponed to Sunday, November 20th when we hope EVERYbody can participate in the fun. See the Fellowship Board for the MANY activities coming soon, and make your reservations for ticketed activities, like the Christmas Story in Sarasota.
Come to the Open House at Mission Beth-El NEXT Sunday afternoon (16th) and learn about the Presbyterian ministry to farmworkers in Wimauma, 30 minutes north on 301. Carpools will leave from Peace at 2:30 and 3:00.
Remember that Ministry Team meetings are a good way to connect, pray, and serve. Meetings are listed on the back of the bulletin. Pray for the Nominating Committee, who will soon present a slate of elders for election, possibly as soon as next Sunday, the 16th.
Finally, let me say what a joy it is to welcome new members and to see so many new faces at Peace. Do ask questions, get to know one another, and celebrate God’s goodness all around!
With gratitude for the love of Christ which binds us,
Elizabeth
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