Advent Peace to You!

Dear Friends and Members of Peace, The Voices of Peace will usher in the season with a lively Advent Gospel  Carol.   We hope you will join us this Sunday (or any Sunday morning at 10:00) as we reflect on the “Life-giving Hope” we have in the promises of God, who became one of us on Christmas Day.   It is the most wonderful time of the year!   Only it’s NOT – not for everyone.   Not if there’s any empty chair at the table.    Not if your body is falling apart on you.    Not when depression is too much to bear.   Not when you’re having trouble paying the bills even before you think about Christmas shopping.   Not if you feel all alone. But it can still be a hope-filled time for you, when you anticipate the real gifts of the Christmas story:   Mary was alone and afraid, but God was with her and exalted her.   Joseph was disgraced, but through the son  Joseph raised, God had a plan to save the world.   The world was in darkness, but God sent the light of life to shine.   We often feel alone and sad, but in Jesus Christ, Immanuel, God is truly with us.   If Christmas is difficult for you, or if you want to be a support to those having a hard time, choose to do something to make a difference:   Come to our Service of Hope this Sunday afternoon, December 2 at 5:00. If you have children in K-5th grades and you need a day of peaceful shopping or peaceful anything, drop your kids off with us on December 15 from 2-6.   What a deal -- $5/kid!   Please call soon to let us know you’re coming.  753-7778 Eager to help to less fortunate?   We have a wonderful Alternative Gift Market  as well as Angel Tree Gifts to be distribute to needy families in the area. We have activities for young adults, youth, children, women, men.    There are many ways to discover  PEACE.  But the best way is to show up and find the most authentically caring people around.   And while we are full of invitations, we hope you know that we accept “no” as an answer.    No pressure – just opportunities.  On Christmas Eve, our service of carols, communion, and candlelight will be at 6:00. Advent Peace to you! Elizabeth

This Week at Peace - - Reign of Christ 2012

This letter written on Tuesday -- thought I sent it that day before family members arrived. :  ) Dear Peace Family, Pastor Tricia, Director Gia, and I give thanks to God for each of you, and pray that your hearts will overflow with gratitude for all God’s daily gifts of grace.   On Dedication Sunday, we received 42 pledge cards from adults and 5 promises from kids.   Please bring yours this Sunday or mail it in, and our big thanks to all of you for your sacrificial generosity. There are many extra giving opportunities at Peace as the year ends.    Let me tell you about them, so you can think about your options.  For any who may have large estates, now is the time to give without incurring a gift tax.   Think of what you could do to glorify God between now and 2013, when the lifetime exemption is set to change.   These larger gifts could secure Peace’s future home.  Here are opportunities for one and all:  1.     Year-end giving to the Building or Operating Funds of Peace 2.     Presbyterian Disaster Assistance this week will be directed to Brick Presbyterian, where Nancy Bonnell’s daughter is engaged with helping victims of Superstorm Sandy. 3.     Alternative Gifts International – a great way of giving to family and friends that helps the poor 4.     Angel Tree Gifts for families at Beth-El Farmworker Ministries are always appreciated.  (Learn more on Dec. 2) 5.     PC(USA) Christmas Joy Offering to assist retired ministers as well as racial-ethnic Presbyterian colleges   (to be collected on Dec. 23)   Not happy that the holidays are here?  Plan to find strength and share some peace with others at our Service of Hope on December 2 at 5:00. This Sunday, Christ the King, is the last in the church year, as the new year begins with Advent.    We will explore the faith and fear of Pilate in his truth-seeking encounter with God incarnate from the end of John 18.   We will also explore our own faith and fear, as we hear an expanded version of the Lord’s Prayer and have our own truth-seeking encounter with God. Let love be genuine…and so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.   Read Romans 12:9-18 once more before Thanksgiving week-end is over. Thankful to be your pastor, Elizabeth

This Week of Gratitude at Peace!

Dear Peace Family, This week we dedicate our promises to God, promises which will keep Peace’s ministries and mission thriving for 2013.  Please prayerfully consider your blessings and how you might be a blessing to others through this growing church, which needs your faithful giving.  Bring your promise cards, committing to give as you are able, and deposit the cards at offering time in the beautiful blue boxes, decorating by the Peace kids.  Pastor Tricia will be preaching on Phil. 1:3-11, a prayer of gratitude for the church.   Bring a gratitude rock in your pocket or get one from the gratitude box, remembering that God is your rock and refuge, a stronghold to get you through all troubled times.  The choir will remind us, “Jesus is merciful.  We shall be thankful.” All new members at Peace and anyone who would like to learn more about what it means to be a Presbyterian, please consider staying this week for our All About Peace and the Presbyterians powerpoint presentation during Lively learning.   Just one hour to be a more informed church member. Not excited about cooking this week?   Share a Thanksgiving meal with Peace friends at a local Amish restaurant.   Sign up Sunday.   Not happy to see the holidays are here?  Plan to find and share some peace with others at our Service of Hope on December 2 at 5:00. It was such an amazing joy to see the contagious spirit of generosity well up among the children last week in worship.   May the same Spirit of Christ fill every one of us this week.   God is good!  Don’t forget that wonderful Romans 12:9-18 devotion we are sharing.   Meditate on it again:   Let love be genuine.   Hate what is evil.  Hold fast to what is good…..and so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.   Peace and love, Elizabeth

This Week at Peace - - November 11 - - Gratitude

Dear People of Peace, We will Feast on Gratitude Sunday as we welcome new members and share some of our favorite foods 11:30-12:30.  Bring any sort of food you would like and if it’s not too much trouble, bring some dishes from home.   We’ll express gratitude to God for our beautiful earth by using fewer disposable products.   Special activities for children, as well as for youth/adults during and after the meal will increase the feast on gratitude.   Don’t worry that you will be put on the spot about giving.   No, the activities we have planned will make you smile.  Our 10:00 worship will focus on the extravagant generosity of a poor widow.  (Mark 12:38-44)  You’ll see the list of 1000+ gifts that we’ve compiled.  “Count Your Blessings!” Be sure to get your pledge envelopes so you have time to consider in the coming week how much support you can give to Peace’s mission and ministry in 2013.   We’re counting on the blessing of everyone doing what they can, with a cheerful heart.   Commitment Sunday is November 18 and all promises are confidential - known only by pastor, stewardship elder, and treasurer.    Plus they can be changed if circumstances require.   We believe in giving, but we also believe in GRACE!   Thank you for putting God first. The Mission Team thanks you for excelling beyond all expectation in the Halloween Food Drive –nearly 3000 lbs!   What a generous church.   Special offerings for victims of Hurricane Sandy will be collected again this week.   (checks to Peace with PDA Sandy in memo line)   Also, we have learned that Mission Peniel (sister to Beth-El  in the southern part of presbytery) could really use donations of men’s clothing.   Is it time to clear out the drawers and closets, guys?   Bring to Peace and drop in the food barrel. Despite this “freezing cold” Florida weather, the Peace-ful Sunset group is gathering at Coquina tomorrow at 5:00 for some simple fellowship.  Great opportunity to enjoy hot chocolate on the beach with friends.  Call Dana if interested  (201-8802).   Kids Club is Sunday after the feast. New members in 2012 and others interested:  Stay tuned for a class called “About All Peace and the Presbyterians” coming your way soon.   Wanna connect with Peace on Facebook?   Or buy the PC(USA) daily devotional app for your smart phone for $3?   Keep growing as disciples, building a community of peace, and caring for the needs of others. With gratitude for each of you and for the wonder of God bringing us together into one church! Elizabeth

This Week at Peace - - All Saints

“For all the saints who’ve shown your love, in how they live and where they move, for mindful women, caring men, accept our gratitude again.” Today is All Saints Day and Sunday we will remember those who have gone before us, especially remembering to name those who have died in the last year.  Make your list of saints, true gifts from God.   We will give thanks to God for those who have led the way by love and faith.   One such model of loyal love is relationship of Ruth with her mother-in-law Naomi.    We will hear her faith story and find connections with ours. We will also pray by word and song for all who are struggling in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.   Special offerings for the immense relief needed may be given at Peace for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.   Write your checks to Peace Church, with PDA Sandy in the memo line. I am grateful to see the hallway filling up with food from our Halloween Drive for the Manatee Food Bank.   Everyone bring food on Sunday to add to the pile. Tonight our Science and Christianity group meets here at 7:30.   Tomorrow night, Friday at 7:30, we will have our Gratitude book discussion of 1000 Gifts by Ann Voscamp.    If you want to “dare to live fully right where you are” come to the discussion, even if you have not read the book.   You will be filled with thanksgiving.   Eucharisteo! Youth and families, this is the final week of signing up for all the exciting retreats and conferences that Pastor Tricia has planned with your help.   You don’t have to pay all the money now, but let her know if you’re going. Did you know there's now an app $2.99 for Daily Prayer with the PC(USA).   I'm getting it.  Anything to help us pray more -- the essence of life. Our Gratitude Feast will be at 11:15 on November 11.   Bring dishes from home and some favorite food to share, and let’s sit at table and remember all the God has done for us -- blessings in abundance if we stop long enough to open our eyes.    If you are having trouble finding the joy of life (I was buried in stress myself recently), come discover in community what it means to be truly thankful for the little things.   I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. Elizabeth