Jesus gets in hot water for what some of the religious leaders of his time consider breaking the sabbath rules. But Jesus brings healing and nourishment on the sabbath and redefines the purpose of sabbath rest as a gift.  

Too often we hear sabbath as a command and regulation instead of a gift in our hurried lives. If you’ve ever felt out of breath and out of balance, sabbath is the embedded rhythm of life that allows us to reset and renew from everything in life weighing us down.  

Join us on Sunday as we witness Jesus as Lord of the Sabbath and the gift it brings. 

Spirit of Sharing (SOS) Food Bank is our February Mission Spotlight. A single church in 1988 addressed hunger in our community and it has grown into many other local churches and service organizations stepping up to provide support to our food insecure neighbors. SOS is strictly run by volunteers, there is no paid staff and the only source of income and food is through charitable donations, both private and corporate.

SOS is dedicated to preventing the residents of our community from experiencing hunger. They fill the gap with emergency food assistance or providing a monthly food allotment program.

Peace has partnered with SOS faithfully through the years with a dedicated group that volunteers the Second Monday of the Month from 1 to 4pm. Nonperishable food items are also collected in our "Ugly Shopping Cart" located in our Narthex. Take advantage of grocery store sales and pick up canned goods, pasta, or peanut butter to stock SOS shelves. 

Sunday, February 23, we will Spotlight Spirit of Sharing with a dedicated offering.

Thanks
Karen

February 2, 2025 - 4th Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C

1 Corinthians 13:4-7: Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

This passage provides a good roadmap of how to be generous stewards of our loving relationships. Read this over again, memorize it, print it out. Live it!

Chair Yoga, Thursdays @ 11:00am will continue! RSVP below.

New students are always welcome. Scan the QR code or follow the link to RSVP. You will need to RSVP for each individual class at least 30 minutes before the class. Classes will be donation based ($10 recommended).
OPEN TO THE COMMUNITY!

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What is Yoga? Yoga is a practice for healthy living.
Yoga is a mind, body, and spirit practice that can build strength, flexibility, balance, resilience, and community. Using breathwork and asana (Sanskrit word for “poses”) an entire yoga practice allows the individual to develop a mind-body awareness that can help manage pain, reduce stress, increases mobility, prevent and recover from injuries.

These classes will be beginner friendly -
for ALL ages and abilities.

All Pre-K through Elementary grade children are invited each Sunday to join us for “God's Story”. This is our way of connecting God’s big story to their own stories at a level appropriate for young children. Together we dive into the scripture for the day using a variety of teaching resources. Our goal is to create a safe space for children to have meaningful conversations about God, Jesus, faith, and our everyday lives.

“God’s Story” takes place during the scripture and sermon portion of our worship service (about 20-25 minutes). We meet in our Fellowship Hall, which is in visible proximity to our sanctuary and restrooms. The children are led by our wonderful team of trained and background checked adults from our congregation.

Sunday mornings @ 8:30AM in-person in Peace Conference Room and on ZOOM  

Our new topic for Seekers and Sponges is a Faith and Reason seminar;
Does Christianity Have a Future?
Schism, Scandal, and Loss of the Sacred
Speakers: John Dominic Crossan, Marcus Borg, and Joan Chittister
recorded live at a seminar in 2013

All are welcome to join us as we wrestle with these topics and how
they impact our faith and actions in this current world.

Sundays, 8:30 am. In person and Zoom.
Life abounds with questions. We ask for answers. You're invited to check it out!

In our class, everyone in our group becomes a teacher for one another, sharing experiences and perspectives that facilitates a respectful, enlightening approach to adult learning.      

Click HERE to join by Zoom. 

Sunday mornings from 8:45 am—9:30 am
In the Fellowship Room
All ages welcome

Bring your coffee & snacks and join us for a time of weekly conversation together. Our focus will be learning basics about Christian faith, belief, and practice through a Lutheran lens. We want this to be an open time for questions and conversation—all questions are allowed and encouraged! Think of it like “Christianity 101”, designed both for folks who are newer to learning about the Christian faith, as well as for anyone who would like to deepen their understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus in the world today. We look forward to seeing you!

Mission (Why do we exist?)
To love like Jesus so that each person experiences God’s Way.
 
Vision (What kind of community is God calling us to be?)
A world made whole through love.

Core Values (What guides our daily actions and decisions?)
Shalom – Actively pursuing reconciliation and wholeness. [John 14:27]
Compassion – Recognizing and entering into our shared humanity. [Luke 10:25-37]
Service – Responding to the needs of others. [Matthew 25:31-40]
Grace – Sharing the love that God first gives us. [I John 4:7-10]

Perspectives (Which parts of our church will we focus on?)
Stewardship (Time, Talents, Treasure) (e.g., Healthy Fund Balance)
Loving Our Neighbors (e.g., Family Promise Program)
Ministry/Processes (e.g., Dynamic Worship)
Discipleship (Learning and Growth) (e.g., Life of Faith Initiative)
 
Objectives (goals) (What do we want to accomplish?)
Measures (metrics) – How will we measure progress?
Targets – What are our targets for the next year? Two years? Five years?
Initiatives – What can we do so that we reach our targets?

PEACE PRAYER MINISTRY:

Did you make any resolutions for the New Year? Many of us have a desire to have a more intimate prayer life, so might I suggest carving out more time for prayer and reflection? Peace Lutheran Church has an active Prayer Ministry. We have an Email Prayer Chain, we have a Zoom “Sweet Hour of Prayer” Group that meets every Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. and we have a Prayer loom that is included in our Sunday morning prayers. I would like to welcome new members to join our email Prayer Chain and our Monday morning Prayer Group. We have experienced some amazing, answered prayers this year and we have given comfort to many of our members in their times of distress. Please consider being a part of our Prayer Ministry in this new year. You can email me at beckyvoges@yahoo.com for more information.

Our weekly Prayer Group Zooms every Monday at 9:00 am  via Zoom only.   Click HERE to join by Zoom.  We have a devotion, share prayer requests and pray over each request. The group is led by Becky Voges.  If you would like to be a part of the group, please email Becky (beckyvoges@yahoo.com).  All prayer requests will be kept confidential. 

Prayer Chain Requests - email Becky (beckyvoges@yahoo.com).

PASTOR'S VIRTUAL CONVERSATION:   
The first Monday of every month from 3pm - 3:30pm; Come join Pastor Jake on Zoom to ask questions, check-in, and lift up prayers. Join HERE - Meeting ID: 991 3660 5065; Password: 015347

TECH SUPPORT:
Need some technical support? Trying to stay connected in a virtual world can be frustrating when things don't work or the technological learning curve seems steep. If you need some help, contact: Patti Kassel @ kasselpatti@gmail.com 

We are part of one church body organized in three expressions — congregations, synods, and the churchwide organization. Each expression has its particular functions but all three together share a common mission of doing God’s work in the world and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. Together, they ensure a solid foundation of leadership, active involvement in communities, opportunities for dialogue and diverse perspectives, creative partnerships, and support for members and ministries of the ELCA.

Technical difficulties happen! Here are options for watching previous services and how to watch them if difficulties arise in the future. Please email Madison at office@peacenb.org with any questions.

How to watch the service live on Sundays (Peace Website):

1. Go to https://www.peacenb.org/ (We encourage you to bookmark this website)
2. Scroll down to the “Join Livestream” button and enjoy!
3. OR click the “Livestream” tab at the top of the homepage and enjoy!

How to watch the service live on Sundays (YouTube):

1. Go to Peace’s YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@peacelutheran1200 (We encourage you to bookmark this webpage)
2. Go to the “Live” tab at the top of the page
3. Around 9:55am on Sunday morning, you will see the service for that day go "live" - enjoy!

How to watch previous sermons:

1. Go to https://www.peacenb.org/ (We encourage you to bookmark this website)
2. Click the “Communication” tab at the top of the homepage, then click “Pastor’s Message”
3. Click on the sermon you would like to watch. 
4. That should take you to YouTube where you can watch the sermon!

How to watch previous worship services (in full):

1. Go to Peace’s YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@peacelutheran1200 (We encourage you to bookmark this webpage)
2. Go to the “Live” tab at the top of the page

Click on the video with the date of the service you would like to watch and enjoy!