Peace E-zine - October 30, 2008

Peace E-zine
October 30, 2008

In This Issue

Upcoming Dates

Don't forget to turn your clocks back on Sat night!

11/02 @ 12:15pm
Pizza with the Pastor.

11/05 @ 7:00pm
FaithWalk course begins.

11/07
Pearlington, MS trip begins.

11/18 @ 6:30pm
Big Idea brainstorming.

12/07
Congregational meeting.

Worship Schedule

Saturday
5:00pm - contemporary worship

Sunday
8:30am - worship
9:45am - Sunday school
11:00am - worship

Wednesday prayers
noon

Quick Link

What the beatitudes teach

Subscribe to Our Newsletter!

Questions

Some questions can't be answered by Google. Searching for the answers to the "big questions" can be a lifetime quest. What are the essential questions that Christians should be asking? That's what our November worship series is about. This weekend we ask - What was the message of Jesus? Jesus preached that the kingdom of God had arrived. What did he mean?

What was the message of Jesus?

p.s. Are you interested in learning more about the Big Idea process or have an idea about a worship series we should work on in the coming year. We are having a Big Idea brainstorming session on November 18 at 6:30pm where we will bring our ideas and hash them out together.

Giving

Annually, Peace Lutheran asks that each household with family members engaged in our ministries to prayerfully consider a financial pledge for the coming year. Some would say that the sole purpose of the pledges is to determine our ability to meet the needs and wants of the church. When that is the focus - if our eye is solely on what the church "needs" and what we can in turn "afford" - our walk together with Jesus has turned down the wrong path.

Consider the question raised last year at this time: "How generously does God call on me to respond to all the blessings God has showered upon me?" That is the path Jesus would have us follow.

There is never a wrong time for our response to God's generosity. There is no right amount. These are matters of the heart. Of trust, and faith - ours - in God. God has already entrusted us, empowered us, and equipped us to make a difference.

Please bring your completed Estimate of Giving card to church and put it in the offering plate or leave it in the mailbox of our financial secretary, Keith Hammon. If you have questions about this stewardship process, please contact Eric Schmitz (eric.schmitz@earthlink.net) or Pastor John (PastorJohn@plchurch.org).

Signposts of God's Love

IMPACT Update
Did you see any people from Peace on the Monday night news after the Assembly? We had a nice turnout and got some positive coverage in the media to boot!

At the Assembly, we learned that much progress has been made with regard to the issues from last year. In healthcare, the commitments to provide dental care for low-income uninsured adults is well on its way. The Free Clinic has hired a full-time dental staff and is using space provided by the Public Health Department. The Charlottesville/Albemarle Dental Society has increased their volunteer efforts. There is still a need for financial commitment to fund this program ($300,000 annually) and IMPACT's healthcare committee will continue to work with UVA Medical Center and Martha Jefferson to follow-up on their commitments to bring resources to the table. For affordable housing, the joint Charlottesville-Albemarle-UVA Task Force has a draft of recommendations. Over the next several months IMPACT will work with key leaders of Charlottesville, Albemarle and UVa to ensure that key recommendations are implemented.

The testimonies given for the 3 issues to vote on this year was very strong. The issues were Youth, Jobs & Wages, and Education. The voting was very close and Education was chosen as the new issue to work on this year.

Next steps:
- Are you interested in learning more about issues related to education, healthcare or affordable housing? Research committees will be forming this Monday, November 10, 7pm at University Baptist Church. Please RSVP to Kim Wilkens (kimxtom@gmail.com).
- Can you attend a City of Charlottesville or Board of Supervisors meeting? We want to have a large presence at both these meetings as the affordable housing task force results are presented. Send Kim a note and she'll get you on the distribution list for meeting notices.
- Mark your calendars for the Nehemiah Action on March 30.

Turkey Drive
We have all of the turkeys we need, now we need the "sides"! For the next several weeks, we will be collecting canned items such as corn, green beans, and cranberry sauce, as well as boxed stuffing, to go along with the turkeys!! You can leave them on the Harvest table in the Narthex. We will need all items (turkeys and sides) here by Sunday, November 21st. (If you could get them here by the Friday before, the 19th, that would be even better!)