July 2013
Peace Talk Peace Lutheran Church
570-343-9828
www.yourpeace.org
Youth Arive Back from Youth Gathering Alison McHale led Christian Sauter, Timothy Hackenberg, Marja Bjornstad and Mark McHale to San Antonio, TX to join 25,000 other LCMS youth from across the country July 2-7! They went down as group with youth from Immanuel Lutheran, Scranton, and St. Peter's Lutheran, Wilkes Barre - a total of 14 youth and chaperones. It was truly a great time and everyone was blessed to be present. Alison shares: "It was a wonderful experience to be in the presence of 25,000 ethusiastic youth! The message that Jesus loves ALL sinners regardless of the sin was powerful this week. To attenda worship service with communion and the sermon given by our synod president was something we will never forget." We hope that we will hear more of their trip and experiences very soon - perhaps during the July 28th Fellowship/Coffee Hour after worship!
COMING AUGUST 12-16 To Peace Lutheran Church!
5:30 - 8:00 pm every day for the week! CRAFTS/BIBLE STUDY/GAMES/SNACKS/SINGING We will have FUN, FUN, FUN - all the while soaking in the everlasting and saving truths of Jesus Christ and His salvation work for us! Register at the church website or call! An A p o st o lic Mission C o n gregat ion of The Lut heran Church Missouri S y nod
The Lutheran Academy and Immanuel Preschool/Kindergarten JUNE 11th was our Year End Program!
OPEN H OUSES SUMME THIS R: JULY 18 & AUGUS T 15 6-8PM! SPREA D THE W ORD
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"GOD’S GIFT OF MUSIC IN OUR WESTERN WORLD"
Edie Hudak writes of The Lutheran Academy ‘End-of-Year’ Music Concert: AWESOME, is the word. Anyone who was there can truly attest to the wonderful performances presented on Tuesday evening, June 11th, at Peace. Our students were outstanding! Their singing was angelic and at times comedic. “Beethoven’s Wig” had us roaring with laughter. All of our students played one or more instruments, sang, read, recited, and bowed and curtsied after each presentation. Their poise and composure reading in front of an audience of mostly adults, was something to really to be admired and praised. The mastery of countless skills was evident throughout their performance. Kudos to Ms. Luklanchuk and Mrs. Mandile for their great work with these students this year. I feel very blessed and proud to serve on the Board of such a devout school as The Lutheran Academy. I’m sorry for all who were unable to attend this Year-End Performance. I am certain you will want to make it a point to attend the next one. Thank you to all the Lutheran Academy students for a wonderful evening of entertainment and song. Sincerely, Edie Hudak
You can see a highlights video of the program at our "Blog" section of the Academy website! Check it out! WE THANK MR. ROGER BORCHIN FOR HIS YEARS OF DEDICATED SERVICE. At the Year End Program we were able to share our thanks with all our volunteers, but the Board of Directors presented a special "Meritorious Educator's Award" to Roger Borchin who will FINALLY get his chance at actually retiring! Mr. Borchin has served as the Academy's Principal from its inception six years ago (after serving 30 years as a Lutheran Schools Pincipal where he actually got a salary!) He promises to still "be around" to help with whatever needs doing, but please pray for Lori Mandile, our new SUPPORT THE ACADEMY!: If you Principal who is already working very hard on all the would like to support the mission and new plans for the 2013-14 Academic Year! ministry of the Academy, PLEASE remember that you can donate to the Academy either in the Sunday offering plate, or simply go to our Academy website at www.thelutheranacademyscranton.org and make a donation with your credit or debit card!
IF YOU ARE A THRIVENT MEMBER - please assign your "Choice Points" to Peace Lutheran Church and the dollars are automatically assigned to the Academy! Thank you so much!
LUTHERAN WOMEN'S MISSIONARY LEAGUE (LWML) CONVENTION June 27-30 Audrey Russell, Pastor Kris, our two youngest children and I attended the LWML Convention in Pittsburgh. We enjoyed a wonderful time of worship, fellowship, and missionmindedness. But maybe some of you are less familiar with the LWML and what they do. What exactly is the LWML, and what do they do? Is it the same old meeting my Mother attended thirty years ago? The answers to those questions are as diverse as the congregations who host LWML societies, but at least a decade ago an emphasis was placed on the Mission aspect of the LWML. Our National President at the time, Virginia Von Seggern, wanted to emphasize missions. She challenged the LWML to consider itself Women in Mission, blessed by Christ to reach out to others. So, what does this mean for us today as women members of the LCMS? One of the main reasons for meeting in convention is to decide upon a mission goal and projects to fund with the money raised to meet that goal. In other words, as a national mission society, how much will we give and to whom shall we give? Over the last forty seven years, our mites have added up to more than ONE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS for missions. Funds raised by our members over the next two years will be used to train indigenous pastors/deaconesses, rebuild Nord Est Haiti Lutheran School, provide Lutheran Children's books for Asia and a host of other projects. If you'd like to know more, ask Monica or check out Lwml.org
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Heb. 12:2
Sch Elsie Lor weitze r wil ain Pe r and l be nsa h k o Jul y 2 sting 8th !
LCMS SYNODICAL CONVENTION TO BE HELD JULY 20-25 IN ST. LOUIS, MO. Please pray for our church body in these difficult and evil days! Pastor Bjornstad will be attending this (the third and last!) convention of our church this summer as our area representative. He was elected to serve in this capacity at our circuit forum meeting last year. There will be many issues to be decided at the convention (which is held every three years), but for the first time the convention will NOT be voting for a synodical President! This year he was voted for prior to the convention by electronic voting. The election was held late last month and the results were just announced July 5th that Rev. Harrison was re-elected to the office. Perhaps he will play his banjo for the synodical convention just as he did for the LWML and Youth conventions!
WORSHIP AND SPIRITUAL LIFE at Peace Lutheran Church Summer Worship begins at 9:30 AM Thanks to Chuck and Chad for conducting the services this summer while Pastor is out of town! "Worship has been misunderstood as something that arises from a feeling which "comes upon you," but it is vital that we understand that it is rooted in a conscious act of the will, to serve and obey the Lord Jesus Christ." - Graham Kendrick
Anita Holzman: Called to Glory! We said our farewell's to Anita Holzman this morning. Here is a picture of her several years ago as she showed amazing love to the victims of the Providence Square apartment fire. She was a DRIVING force in sharing the Love of Jesus in this congregation for so long. She was not rich, famous or powerful, but she LOVED (and she could bake cookies!) We were so blessed to know her and we pray for her family!
A public statement by our church responding to the ruling on marriage by the Supreme Court (which is not actually supreme - there IS a higher court!) A statement by the Rev. Bart Day, executive director, Office of National Mission June 26, 2013 Today the Supreme Court issued its ruling, striking down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), allowing for federal benefits for legally married gay couples and potentially allowing for gay marriage in all of California with regard to Proposition 8. Though the ruling is not a surprise, we are saddened for our nation, even as we call our fellow Christians to faithfulness and prayer. As Christians, we believe and confess that God Himself instituted marriage as the life-long union of one man and one woman. Same-sex unions are contrary to God’s will, and gay marriage is, in the eyes of God, no marriage at all. As Christians, we proclaim this truth, no matter what the courts or legislatures may say. We are called not to popularity but to truth. Therefore, we call on our fellow Christians to be faithful first to God’s Word, knowing that another court is ultimately supreme. Marriage is a fundamental building block of society, binding parents to their offspring. Every child benefits from the nurture of a mother and the leadership of a father. While having one mother is a blessing, having two mothers or two fathers is confusing for the child and detrimental to her well-being. The divorce culture has done great harm to the institution of marriage as well, and The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) has and will continue to respond to that heartache with Christ’s comfort while simultaneously working to restore a culture where marriage is upheld. While this occasion reminds us that Scripture calls homosexuality sinful (see Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Rom. 1:24–27), the Bible also says plainly that those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness,” that is to say, those who repent and show genuine sorrow over their sin, are forgiven and loved by Christ. And so as Christ’s Church, we forgive and love too, following His lead with compassion and humility. We forgive and love because we are all sinners in need of His grace and mercy; because no matter the sin, we have all rebelled against our Creator and fallen prey to unbelief; because He has justified us by grace through faith, freely given and joyfully received (Rom. 3:23–24); because Christ has reconciled us to the Father; because He has declared us righteous and we are. In love, we will continue to teach marriage according to God’s plan and gift. We will continue to proclaim marriage as a picture of Christ’s love for His bride, the church. And we will continue to be a place of forgiveness, mercy and healing for all people, even as we will continue to proclaim God’s truth in love. As we move forward, we offer up our prayers for the nation and particularly for marriage, family and children. Rev. Bart Day, executive director LCMS Office of National Mission