ST PETER'S NEWS
March 19, 2020
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Greetings good folks of St. Peters,
As we move into new rhythms and ways of living in community during these days,
what does worship look like? How can small groups and Bible studies meet? What does congregational care and serving others look like in this time?
On a conference call with our Bishop (Sue Briner) this Wednesday,
she wondered with us all if this might not also be a time of spiritual renewal
, a time to slow down and rekindle our relationship with sabbath and rest, a time to meet the current uncertainty and concerns that is slowly un-propping us from those things which we have leaned on for so long. And in so doing we receive a new sense of what it means to be human, what it means to be a child of God, and what it means to God's people in the world for the sake and life of our neighbor.
Below is information
on what we are doing to communicate with our congregation, resources to help you meet in small groups and grow in faith together, and an invitation to new rhythms in the way we worship and pray together.
Peace,
Pastor Vanicek
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RECLAIMING SABBATH IN THIS TIME
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The Sabbath day is the day of creation where rest was created, making rest not just some luxury, but something vital to the way of God and our life.
All this disruption is an invitation to reconsider what time means.
As we blaze some new trails in how we digitally gather and connect in the weeks ahead, a few words of invitation to collect time with others as you live and work, give and serve.
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I (PV) am a big fan of the
BibleProject.com
. It is a deep and rich well of dwelling in the Word of God through short videos. Here is one on Sabbath, which highlights how honoring rest, ceasing, sabbath was central to what it means to follow God in the wilderness. Enjoy!
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Below are resources that will be coming out on Saturday in an email regarding worship.
One way we mark time and God's presence in our sanctuary is with the lighting of candles.
We would like to offer you candles for your home for the weeks ahead.
We have wrapped groups of 3 candles from Christmas Eve and will have them on a table under the Portico Friday from 8am - 3pm for anyone who would like to mark time and God's presence in the home as you worship in new ways with the resources below.
SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP
We will be sending out an email on Saturday with resources for a Sunday morning worship to follow. We will also have links to a couple sister congregations that are offering live worship and do it well. A simple and interactive worship resource will also be provided for families with young children. Something for all ages to praise and give thanks to God!
MORNING & EVENING PRAYER
Along with the Saturday email will be a couple short liturgies from Pastor Vanicek, based on worship resources from the Iona Community of Scotland. They are
simple, reflective, and refreshing ways to begin and end the day.
These are offered as extra resources for those who would like a daily rhythm of prayer in this time. Each week these liturgies will be updated.
NOON PRAYER
Our synod Bishop (Sue Briner) has invited all our congregations to join with others across the ELCA and other denominations in
making noon each day a time of prayer.
If only for a minute to pause in silence, to sit and say a prayer, a time to simply be still and know God. There is no prescribed prayer, yet know that your prayers join with others in this moment.
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"Now the whole group of those who believed
were of one heart and soul...
and great grace was upon them all."
- Acts 4:32-33
Our Congregational Care Team has been busy helping connect
with our members who do not use email or the internet, as well as working with Tristan to look at our email list to see which families may not be viewing the weekly emails. Many thanks to their dedication to caring for our congregation. We are also working in the office to provide some sort of mailing to those who do not use email, so they stay informed and connected to the life of our congregation in this time of disruption. Please let the office know if you identify someone falling through the communication loop.
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In last week's email, you received a link to a
map
of the congregation so you can see who are your nearest neighbors to check on.
In order to better keep connected during this time, we are forming "Grace Groups."
Grace Group will be groups of 8 or 9 families, with a leader who calls each family once a week to do a few simple and caring things: 1) say hi and see how you are doing, 2) see if you and your family are well, and 3) ask if there is anything your family many need.
These leaders will then relay any care needs to the church office to help accordingly.
Council members have each already agreed to be leaders of a Grace Group, so Pastor Vanicek is looking for
16 more volunteers in the congregation
. The goal is to match you with at least 4 families or members you know and then 4 you don't know well yet.
Please email Pastor Vanicek by this Sunday so he can begin coordinating with all the leaders on Monday as to each person's list of families.
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ST. PETER'S BLESSINGS
Our schools are providing alternate ways for students to continue receiving daily food while closed.
BLESSINGS is blessed to be sitting on a couple weeks of food and coordinating with local schools on assessment of need.
Email
Cal Clausen
to be kept updated on helping BLESSINGS as schools determine needs.
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THE HELPING CENTER
Needs are still being assessed from The Helping Center regarding food availability from the Central Texas Food Bank and HEB, who are their main suppliers.
Lynn Carlson
,
of the Social Outreach Committee, is keeping us updated on needs.
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THE BLOODMOBILE RETURNS!
Due to school closings where the bloodmobile was planning to be, St. Peter's will again be hosting a blood drive, this coming
Wednesday, March 25 from 12pm - 5pm.
Spread the word!
For questions specific to our drive, contact Louis Hill
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The worships through the end of March have been cancelled in MSP.
Tristan has resolved the reminders and sub request emails that were automatically going out earlier in the week. No-one should be getting anything from MSP for the next couple of weeks.
Contact Tristan in the church office if you have questions or issues. Thank you for your patience as we catch all the changes that need to happen in this time.
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MEETING ONLINE WITH "ZOOM"
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To help small groups, bible studies, committees, and us as St. Peter's gather in this time, we have subscribed to
Zoom
. Please contact the church office for the login information to set up an online meeting for your group. Setup is easy and intuitive. Office staff can also help you if you have questions. What's great about Zoom is that you can connect via any device, use video and/or audio, and you can even call in from a landline to a Zoom conference meeting.
Be BOLD
in trying new ways of gathering!
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UPDATES ON UPCOMING EVENTS
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- Run for the Son has been postponed to a later date TBD.
- March Retiree Roundup will NOT be meeting.
- Holy Week worships are still being planned, yet worship resources for Holy Week are being developed in case we are still unable to gather in-person.
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March ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL
The Story of Ed: A film series about hope
We stopped half way through our Adult SS class, and
many asked to continue the videos and discussion
on Ed Dobson and his journey with ALS, and what it looks like to find hope in the face of things we can not change.
I will email the group that has been attending, but let me know if you haven't attended and would like view the videos.
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Craig and Vonda are working on providing some daily and weekly faith intersection resources for families during this time.
Families, be looking out for emails and help us as staff fine tune our offerings to best nurture and enrich your family's faith and life during this time.
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ST PETER'S RESOURCES
LARGER CHURCH RESOURCES
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