Archive for the ‘Archive’ Category

Annual Meeting & Potluck Following Worship on 1/30/11

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On Sunday Peace members gather in our Fellowship Hall following worship for a potluck meal and annual meeting.  We will review our mission in 2010 and make decisions about the future, including the establishment of a new Vision Task Force.  Please plan to attend.

Posted by pastorerik on January 25th, 2011

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Pastor’s Pen for January 2011

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For you shall go out in joy, and be led forth in peace;
The mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” – Isaiah 55:12

Beloved of God,

The New Year is here—wanna dance? I certainly feel like it!  What gets me there?  Lots of things.  There’s that old Fred Astaire film we watched over Christmas break (how does he make it look so easy?), and the Celtic jam sessions that have us jumping and whirling regularly on our family room floor; there’s the glee on Naomi’s face at her 3rd birthday party New Year’s Eve, and that rare, sun-kissed bicycle ride on New Year’s Day.  And then, dear friends, there’s your response to December’s CLOSE THE GAP invitation—a response which left me (again) humbled by the abundance of God filtered through the generosity of God’s people (you all) for extraordinary ends (God’s mission).

ABUN-DANCE…it’s right there in the word. A DANCE that ABOUNDS…that’s what God is about. Doesn’t it make you want to dance, too?

The 55th chapter of Isaiah is one long lyric of abun-dance, beginning with the shout-out in verse 1—
“HO! EVERYONE WHO THIRSTS COME TO THE WATERS; AND YOU THAT HAVE NO MONEY, COME, BUY AND EAT!”
—to the closing verses where all nature sings, dances and claps in celebration of God’s abundant graciousness.  Such a DANCE may not be where some of us naturally tend to go…but it’s where God goes in Isaiah, and it’s where God ends up in Jesus—the Lord of the Dance—who “left it all on the floor” and invites us to do the same.

In a recent synod article, Bishop Chris Boerger shared the experience he and his wife DeDe had during their sabbatical sojourn in South Africa last summer.  Listen to his story:
We had occasion to worship at the Lutheran Church in Edendale… This was the shortest 3.5 hour service of worship I have ever experienced. There were no musical instruments in the building, but the singing was in four-part harmony and was amazing… The point of this story is to reflect on the eleven offerings that took place.
It should be noted that Edendale as a township is a place where the poor live. At the time of the offering, plastic containers were placed in front of the congregation. The church council was invited to come forward with their offering while the congregation sang an African song. As the music started, the council danced forward to give their offerings. After the song was finished the next song was announced and the Sunday School children danced forward with their offering.  Each group was accompanied with a different song. The older men, then the older women, the young men, young women, those who worked in the service industries, those who had a job, those who had a car, the youth of the congregation and finally those who wanted to help pay for the bread and wine used in communion danced forward with their offerings.
This was an act of worship. It was the community joyously sharing, dancing at the opportunity to share in the work of God in their lives, their community, and their church… I learned anew the fact that our offerings are part of our worship. In these days of economic uncertainty, we too often treat our offerings as a business transaction or a bill to pay. The church is just another way we use our discretionary income. For the people of this congregation in South Africa, the offering was part of their worship experience. It was their turn to respond to what God was doing in their lives. We have much to learn from our sisters and brothers in South Africa. The joy of sharing in God’s work is just one of them. Shall we dance?

“You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy!”
– Psalm 30:11
During the final month of the year, as we celebrated the advent of the Light of the world—our fiscal slog through red ink was transformed into a dance; an ABUN-DANCE.  Amazing.  So how does it feel to be an instrument of God’s work?  Wanna dance?
Pastor Erik
Posted by pastorerik on January 8th, 2011

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12/19/10 4th Sunday of Advent Children’s Program

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Adult Education & Sunday School at 9:15 am
Worship at 10:30 am.
Today in worship the young people of our congregation present their annual Christmas Program during Sunday morning worship. 
This year’s program is “Jesse, The Little Shepherd.”

Posted by pastorerik on December 8th, 2010

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Christmas Eve Service of Lessons and Carols with Holy Communion

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Title: Christmas Eve Service of Lessons and Carols with Holy Communion
Description: Join us for our traditional Christmas Eve Worship at 10:00 pm, featuring special music from Peace musicians, the Peace choir, and a message of hope as we celebrate Christ’s birth.
Start time: 10:00 pm

Date: 12-24-2010

Posted by pastorerik on December 8th, 2010

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Sunday School & Adult Education Sundays at 9:15 a.m.

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Our Christian education program continues each week with classes beginning at 9:15 am Sunday mornings.  Childcare is provided.



Posted by pastorerik on September 19th, 2010

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Worship Time Shifts to 10:30am on September 12. September 19 is Rally Sunday.

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The start time for our Sunday worship service shifts from 9:30 am to 10:30 am on September 12.  Then, the following Sunday, September 19, is Rally Sunday and the beginning of our fall education program.  As always, we begin with an intergenerational experience.  Come and see!

Posted by pastorerik on September 3rd, 2010

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VBS (Vacation Bible School) July 12-15 5:30pm-7:30pm

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“Celebrate God’s Love” is the theme for this year’s Vacation Bible School (VBS) program at  Peace  the evenings of July 12-15, from 5:30 – 7:30pm. The program begins with a simple  meal at 5:30pm followed by skits, learning activities, and crafts based on four parables of Jesus.  Children from preschool – middle school are invited to attend.  To save a place or ask a question, go to vbs2010@peacelutheranseattle.org, or call: 206-935-1962.

Posted by pastorerik on July 6th, 2010

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Pastor’s Pen for July/August

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When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief.  I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light.  For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
~ Wendell Berry

 Fellow travelers,

A good poem opens a door to another world, inviting us to enter. Wendell Berry’s poem, The Peace of Wild Things, does that for me.  It opens a door to a world I look forward to spending some time in over the course of these summer months.  Wild places have (almost) always had a calming effect on me.  I say “almost” because black bear encounters have reminded me in not so gentle ways that I was the interloper in their territory.  Sharing trails with grizzlies along the Toklat River in Alaska and realizing I was no longer at the top of the food chain has a way of concentrating the mind!  So the experience of entering wild places may be calming or it may be exhilarating, but it has always been for me freeing.

When a group of us from Peace head for Holden at the end of July, I hope that among our experiences will be this entry into the peace of wild things. Which is not to say that entering wilderness—particularly at a place like Holden—is a benign experience.  The wilderness seems so accessible there—only steps away from the Jacuzzi and snack bar—and it is.  But risk and danger as well as peace attend the wilderness experience, and those who do not discern when they have crossed the boundary between Village and Wilderness can get themselves into trouble fairly quickly.  The point is this: it is proper to prepare before entering wild places and this preparation can extend and deepen the sense of freedom one ultimately experiences.

Teaching my youngest two children how to enter into and appreciate wild places is high on my list of paternal duties.  Spiritual formation has many dimensions.  Learning to experience wilderness without being intimidated by it, allowing oneself to be tutored by wild places and wild beings, are important steps in spiritual formation.  The Scriptures teach us that wilderness has been one of God’s preferred settings for tutoring his people through the ages.  Israel spent 40 years in God’s “outward bound” program trying to learn how to trust God and live in community with each other.  The prophets’ message was honed in the wilderness, John the Baptist found his voice there, and Jesus began his ministry with a wilderness sojourn that shaped and prepared him for what was to come.

Like many things in life, after we’ve acquired a level of experience from the school of “hard knocks,” we can forget how long it took us or how hard-won that knowledge truly is.  Passing on a love of something therefore requires patience, and a willingness to enter into the experience as if for the first time. The natural curiosity and intuitive nature of kids makes this process exciting and fun and, because of the nature of nature…precarious.  Another poet, Michael Meade, has said: Every path a child takes looks precarious to the parent’s eye.  And it is, and “precarious” is an old word which means “full of prayers.” For this and for many other reasons, I hope and I expect that our sojourn at Holden will be full of prayers.

Wherever these summer months find you, I hope that you will spend time in the places and spaces which bring you peace and freedom and refreshment.

Blessings,

Pastor Erik

Posted by pastorerik on July 6th, 2010

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Tag Sale & Bake Sale Coming July 17

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Time to Clean Out Your Garage: Tag Sale is Coming! As a summer fund raiser, Peace will be holding a tag sale on Saturday, July 17 from 9 am until 4 pm.  This is a great time to gather those things you no longer use but that someone else might want.  It’s the ultimate in recycling and a great way to support our ministry.  We will be receiving donations  Saturday and Sunday,  June 26 and 27 and July 10 and 11 from 11 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  Please consider donating what you can and tell all your friends and neighbors to come to the sale!

A Bake Sale will also be held on July 17th, the proceeds of which will go to serving our neighbors through our AGAPE fund.  Get your favorite receipes ready!

Posted by pastorerik on June 16th, 2010

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“Season of Creation” celebrated throughout June

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We’re turning over a “new leaf” this June.  Throughout the month we will be marking the “SEASON OF CREATION.” This will be a foretaste of what we plan to offer as part of our 3-year cycle of seasons beginning in 2011.  First developed by Christians “down under,” the Season of Creation is making it’s way to congregations around the world as Christians affirm the need to reconnect Christian theology, spiritual beliefs and practices with humanity’s first vocation as earthkeepers.

 

What Is the Season of Creation?*

  • In the seasons of Advent, Epiphany, Lent and Easter we celebrate the life of Christ. In the season of Pentecost we celebrate the Holy Spirit. Now, in the season of Creation, we have an opportunity to celebrate God, the Creator.  For four Sundays we join in celebrating with Christ the wonders of creation.
  • In the liturgy, we follow the lead of the psalm writers and celebrate with creation — with the forests, the rivers and the fields, which praise the Creator in their own way.
  • Bible readings focus especially on the story of Earth, which complements the story of God and the story of humanity in the Scriptures.
  • We commit ourselves to a ministry of healing Earth, with Christ and creation as our partners.

Why a Season of Creation?

  • There is growing concern in Christian communities about the ecological crisis and the way human beings are treating God’s Earth. Planet Earth is in peril. All creation is suffering.
  • An effective way to focus these concerns is through worship. By concentrating our worship on God’s creation and our relationship with creation, we can seek ways to heal rather than exploit creation. The season of Creation helps us care for our planet home rather than destroy it.

In our worship during the season of Creation we:

  • Celebrate Earth as a sacred planet filled with God’s vibrant presence.
  • Unite with all creation in praising the God of creation.
  • Confess our sins against creation and empathize with a groaning creation.
  • Embrace our kin in creation as our extended family.
  • Proclaim the good news that the risen Jesus is the cosmic Christ who fills and renews all creation.
  • Gather at the Eucharist to receive the healing power of Christ that extends to all creation.
  • Go forth on a mission to be partners with Christ in the healing of creation.

The Christ Connection

The season of Creation is part the heritage of mainstream Christian worship. Christ is at the heart of our celebrations. The cosmic Christ is the new life at the core of creation. In the season of Creation we celebrate Christ together with creation, we face the ecological crisis with Christ, and we serve Christ in the healing of creation.

The Wisdom in Creation. This year’s texts, organized under the theme of wisdom, include:

  • June 6 – Ocean Sunday:  Job 38.1-18; Ps 104.24-26 (sung?); Ephesians 1.3-10; Luke 5:1-11
  • June 13 – Fauna Sunday: Job 39.1-12, 26-30; Psalm 104.14-23, 31; 1 Cor 1.10-23; Luke 12:22-31
  • June 20 – Storm Sunday: Job 28.20-27; Ps 29; 1 Cor 1:21-31; Luke 8.22-25
  • June 27 – Cosmos/Universe Sunday:  Proverbs 8.22-31; Ps 104.24-26; Colossians 1.15-20; John 6:41-51

 

The Season of Creation Logo

Season of Creation


The orb of the logo is planet Earth filled with the waves of God’s Spirit. The veins of the leaf suggest the web of creation. The leaf forms a tree of life that is also the cross of Christ. Leaves from the tree of life are for healing (Revelation 22:2).


For more info, go to: www.seasonofcreation.org


*Information in this post is taken from the Season of Creation website

Posted by pastorerik on June 1st, 2010

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