We had a fun afternoon last Friday playing an all-school game of Hula Hoop Rock, Paper, Scissors.

In Our Prayers: This week we will be praying for these St. Peter alumni who graduated from our school:  Leigha Strzynski, class of 2015; Lindsay Hagenow, class of 2014; Logan Dankert, class of 2013 and Logan Kackmeister, class of 2016.

Devotion of the Week: The Keys to the Kingdom Bible verse for this week is Psalm 118:24, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Have you ever seen the movie Groundhog Day ? It is about a cynical TV weatherman, Phil Connors , played by Bill Murray , who finds himself reliving the same day over and over again when he goes on location to the small town of Punxsutawney to film a report about their annual Groundhog Day. One scene in the movie shows him repeatedly waking up at 6:00am to the same song and he takes his frustrations out on the alarm clock. ( Click here to view the 40 second clip .)

Hopefully you do not have a pile of broken, shattered, and destroyed alarm clocks next to your bed, but maybe you have experienced wanting to punch, kick, or throw your alarm clock once in a while. It is easy to read the words of the Psalmist, but many times it is difficult to rejoice and be glad in it. We may think, did the Lord have to put up with a culture like we have? Did he have all of these other responsibilities of a career, children, spouse, and trying to fit in a little ME time? Are we really expected to rejoice and be glad in it, when it can be pretty hectic, crazy, scary, and even frantic.

We don’t need to answer these questions, because once we are able to swim out of our self-pity, we know our Lord understands our problems all too well. He was to be murdered; before He was an infant; His parents had to move across the country to keep Him safe; He was ridiculed and insulted for doing nothing wrong, and all the Jewish leaders were out to get Him; He was beaten and nailed to a wooden cross and left to die on that cross used for the worst criminals. He did this so that we may have forgiveness of sins and life eternal with Him. We know He understands. We know we have reason to rejoice and give thanks because we are living with the knowledge of eternal life in a sin free zone.

As our alarm clock goes off, instead of wanting to smash it, break it, or hit the snooze, remember to rejoice and be glad at knowing that we are anchored in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit and are able to live with that assurance of knowing that we are saved through what Jesus did for us. 

St. Peter Bulletin:  If you would like to read this weekend's church bulletin, you can now view it digitally by clicking anywhere on this article.

Third Quarter Chapel Offerings: February and March chapel offerings will be given to Gifts for All God’s Children. This organization began in 1988, 32 years ago, at Faith Lutheran Church in Troy, Michigan as an Advent ministry to serve needy children with Christmas gifts. Throughout the years, this organization has continued to meet needs and share the love of Christ with at-risk children in Southeast Michigan. This is accomplished by connecting children with churches and community organizations, giving gifts, and planning events. Some of the activities and resources provided to at-risk children include: tutoring, summer Bible Camp, school supplies, school uniforms and shoes, connecting kids to Christ (CKC) Center, field trips, and Valentine, Easter, and Christmas parties in partnership with churches. At the end of the month, coin collection bags will be sent home with students to gather additional offerings for this ministry. 

"Wow! We are overwhelmed by the amount of food the students of St. Peter collected for God's Helping Hands. It's wonderful to know that we have such caring families in our church & school. Food is a necessity of life, but it's nice get some treats, too. We thank them all for everything."

-Comment from Mrs. Joyce Linville who helps to run God's Helping Hands. She and her husband, Larry, transported three car loads of food from last week's collection.

Continuous Enrollment: Last year, we had great success with our continuous enrollment so we will be doing that again this year. Continuous enrollment means that once a student is enrolled at St. Peter, enrollment automatically renews each year until your child graduates from St. Peter. Re-enrollment is assumed unless your family notifies the school by March 13 that you choose not to re-enroll. Continuous enrollment saves you time and reduces paperwork while creating a more seamless process. This process is extremely beneficial to our school with staffing, planning, and budgeting. A letter detailing this is coming home today with your oldest student or you may click here to access the letter. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Eric Hagenow .

Spelling Bees: Our school Spelling Bees will be next Friday, February 14 at 12:15 (3rd-4th grade) and 1:15 (5th-8th grade) in the school gymnasium. Congratulations to all of our spellers: 3rd Grade: Brady Klemish , Gabriella Rodriguez , Kaeden Watson , Sadie Cowling , and alternate Katelyn Hales ; 4th Grade: Cora Love , Aiden Grunow , Landon Sherry , Eva Havens , and alternate Natalie McQueen ; 5th Grade: Naomi Brady, Lydia Faubert, Laci Harry, Laini Wardin; 6th Grade: Adelia Breternitz, Maryn Hyatt, Kendelle Klemish, Anna Starke; 7th Grade: Isabella Curry, Samantha Hales, Josh Roberson , Freddy Wedding ; 8th Grade: Zach Holifield, Nick Rapini, Ana Rodriguez , and Brooke Swanson .

Honor Roll for Hemlock High School: Congratulations to our St. Peter alumni on being inducted into the National Honor Society: Haylee Bauer, Magan Chanin, Anthony Hagarty and Mikayla Rapini. Keep up the good work!

Last week our fifth grade students requested to memorize the first grade Keys to Kingdom Bible verses so that they could have a complete set of verses when they graduate from St. Peter. Our school started doing Keys to the Kingdom when they were in second grade so they never had the opportunity to earn their keys. It was neat to hear that this was something that they desired to have.

We are always looking for additional stories to share. Please click here to send us your story to be published in the Panther Press .

Local Wellness Policy Updates and Triennial Assessment: St. Peter Lutheran School held their biannual Healthier Us meeting on 1/31/20. We updated the Local Wellness Policy and completed our Triennial Assessment. To see the updated Wellness Policy please go to our web page or click anywhere in this article. St. Peter Lutheran School continues to ensure that our school meets nutritional and physical activity standards developed by the Michigan Department of Education. Our Healthier Us meetings help us to reach our established goals as well as to develop new wellness goals.

Reminder: Final tuition and book fee payments for the 2019-2020 school year are due by February 10, 2020. Thank you.

No School on Monday, February 17: There is no school on February 17. Child care is available. Children (PS-8th grades) that will be here through the lunch hour will need to bring a lunch from home. The cost is $15/child half day (less than five hours) or $30/child (for all day). Toddler Care remains the same.

Free Tickets: There are still tickets available if you are interested in attending Saginaw Spirit home hockey games; please contact the school office to receive free tickets. We have received "Any Game, Any Time Tickets" courtesy of Saginaw Control & Engineering. If you do get any of these free tickets, we would appreciate it if you would send them a thank you for giving us these free tickets. We are thankful to Saginaw Control & Engineering for sponsoring our school and providing us these free tickets.

Hemlock Youth Baseball and Softball: A flyer is going home with your student today with sign up information. This opportunity is for ages 4-12.

Hemlock Middle School Equestrian Team: The team is open to St. Peter Lutheran School 5th-8th graders. If you are interested, sign up is in the Middle School office. There will be a parent/student meeting in early March with more details. Please call Libby White at 989-213-3151 for more information.

Girls Game Highlights: Last Friday, the girls traveled to Bethlehem to take on the Chargers. They were unable to overcome an early deficit and lost 7-19. Scores for the game were Brooke Swanson (4), Isabella Curry (2), and Keirstyn Curnutt (1). On Wednesday, the girls played St. Lorenz. The Panthers struggled offensively against the Spartans and lost 7-29. Brooke had 4 points, Ana Rodriguez had 2 points and Keirstyn added 1 point. The girls play tonight at St. Paul. Go Panthers!

Upcoming Events You Don't Want to Miss:

Needed: We are very excited for the upcoming Family Carnival and are in need of a few donations. We are looking for 20 oz pop, cases or singles and any king-size candy bar or candy. If you want to help with these donations, please bring them to the office or contact Amy Hyatt at 989-832-5652.

St. Peter Lutheran School

(989) 642-5659

school@stpeterhemlock.org

2440 N. Raucholz Rd.

Hemlock, MI 48626

WORSHIP TIMES:

Saturday at 5:00pm

Sunday Morning at 8:00am & 10:30am

Sunday School & Bible Class at 9:15am Sunday Mornings