Peace Talk, December 2016

NEWSLETTER December 2016

Peace Talk

House of Prayer on Parker and Main

10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ~ Luke 2: 10-12

Pastor’s Message: If Christ had arrived with trumpets and lain in a cradle of gold, his birth would have been a splendid affair. But it would not be a comfort to me. He was rather to lie in the lap of a poor maiden and be thought of li=le significance in the eyes of the world. Now I can come to him. Now he reveals himself to the miserable in order not to give any impression that he arrives with great power, splendor, wisdom, and aristocraAc manners. But upon his return on that Day, when he will oppose the high and the mighty, it will be different. Now he comes to the poor, who need a Savior, but then he will come as a Judge against those who are persecuAng him now. - MarAn Luther in a 1530 sermon.

Blessed Advent and Christmas to you and your family!

“But how can this be?” you say. “Grandmother is

CHRISTMAS DAY PRAYER FOR THE FAMILY:

sick. The Christmas Tree isn’t up. My job is SO stressful at

The day of joy returns, Father in Heaven and crowns another

this time of the year… Can this traffice be worse? Worst of

year with peace and good will.

all I JUST don’t have the money for all the presents I want to buy.”

And the angel answers you, “The Holy Spirit will

Help us rightly to remember the birth of Jesus that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds

come upon you, and the power of the Most High will

and the worship of the wise men.

overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called

Close the doors of hate and open the doors of love all over

holy—the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35)

the world and

Yes indeed! Ultimately Christmas is blessed NOT because of anything in this world… Christmas is blessed because JESUS has come to save you. The measure of Christmas for the Christian is NOT the world, but Jesus.

Jesus comes in a humble manger, in the mess of life.

Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting.

Deliver us from evil by the blessing that Christ brings and teach us to be merry with clean hearts.

He comes the Prince of Peace and the Wonderful Counselor.

May the Christmas morning make us happy to be thy

He comes as the only human actually born with the God

children

given will of death.

And the Christmas evening bring us to our bed with grateful

Your servant in Jesus, Pastor Bjornstad

thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake. **Amen**

The Immanuel Preschool and The Lutheran Academy!

Working in partnership with God's people to raise up a new generation of faithful Christian men and women!

Festival of Lessons and Carols

BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION Supporting The Lutheran Academy can be as simple as saving Box Tops for Education. Box Tops are found on almost 200+ items. Each Box Top when turned in earns the Academy 10 cents. These Box Tops can really add up. In the past, the school has purchases gym equipement and other essential supplies.

A collection box is located in the back of the church. Please begin saving the Box Tops, or if you are already doing so we thank you and ask for continued support. Spread the word and turn them in!

Around 150 people attended the Festival of Lessons and Carols on Wednesday, December 7th at Immanuel Lutheran Church.

All in attendance were blessed with the musical offerings by the students as well as the readings for this Advent season.

Pictured above is the students and teachers of the Academy.

Thank you to all who came and supported the Academy.

Check out these cute “turkeys� from the Preschool & Kindergarten!

The Academy students visited the Scranton Health Care Center on November 15th and sang to the residents. The residents were so happy to meet the students and hear the music they had prepared.

On Tuesday, December 13th, all are invited to the annual Christmas Tea at the school from 1:00-2:30. Students will serve the refreshments and present musical offerings for all who attend.

Whether you have attended every year, or have never had the chance to come, the Academy Board sincerely hopes you will find the time to attend the Tea. Immanuel Preschool & Kindergarten

NEW WEBSITE for Immanuel Preschool & Kindergarten: www.GrowIPK.org

OPEN HOUSE January 17th from 4:00-7:00pm Invite those you know with children ages 3-6 needing preschool and kindergarten services for the next year.

Remember the preschool has open enrollment which means they can enroll at any time in the year.

SPONSOR A STUDENT If you are looking for a way to impact The Lutheran Academy, perhaps consider sponsoring a student.

Full Scholarship ($3000) Half Scholarship ($1500) Quarter Scholarship ($750) One Month Scholarship ($300) Or make a simple, one time donation of any amount towards tuition.

Brochures can be found at the back of the church.

Pray without ceasing - 1 Thes. 5:17 Remember to ask: "How can I pray for you?"

CHURCH NEWS AND NOTES: + SPECIAL PRAYERS NEEDED For Monica Bjornstad in need of healing.

For all college students coming home over the holiday break.

For the March for Life in Washington DC coming Friday, January 27, 2017. We will leave early that morning and be back at the end of the day. If you think you would like to attend, please let the church office know. Perhaps even ask your boss for the day off or switch days with a co-worker so you can go.

For Frank Schulze and his trial currently scheduled for January 17th.

Pastor recently visited him and he is doing well. The church blessed him with a Lutheran Study Bible for his intensive studies of the scripture and to help him in his Bible Study groups. Please pray for him and his family as they await his trial January 17th. If you would like to set aside any of the days of January 17th and following to attend the trial, Meredith and Kevin would greatly appreciate the support.

Congratulation to James McHale as he was part of a winning football season with Temple University. + CAMP PIONEER UPDATE: Goal Met! In a message from Rev. Alex Knowles, Executive Director of Pioneer Camp and Retreat Center, "As of Monday, Nov. 21, 2016, we are slightly over 100% of our appeal goal with 294 individual donors.

The appeal was sent on Oct. 6th and within 6 weeks, the Lord blessed this effort in an amazing way." This is just another way God’s people moved into action.

If you would still like to make a donation you can do that on their website www.pioneercamp.org. Thank you so much for helping make possible this incredible ministry that has been in existence since the 1940s!

+ CHRISTMAS PAGEANT: Just a Little Christmas will be held December 18th at 10:30 am. Practices will be held during Sunday school hour 9:30-10:15 with a final dress rehearsal Saturday, Dec. 17th from 10-noon. There is no snow day, so pray for good weather on the 18th! + SUPPORTING THE CHURCH THROUGH STOCK DONATIONS One member of the congregation, who is blessed with growing investments, supports the congregation to the tune of several thousand dollars every year through stock donations. The church has all the proper instruments to receive such donations. If the Lord has given YOU a blessing of stock and you would like to make a donation in stocks to bless the ministry of the Gospel here at Peace, please call the church office for more information.

+ BAPTISM We praise God for the baptism on November 20th of Braydan Perry, son of Chris Perry and Marissa Zaleski. Pictured here with his big brother, parents and godparents. + 100th ANNIVERSARY FACEBOOK PAGE If you are on social media, we have a page dedicated to the sharing of stories and photos. The page is titled: Peace Lutheran Church, Scranton: 100th Anniversary. Please head over and join the page, and spread the word to those who may have stories and photos to share. Thank you to all who have been adding photos and commenting on them with descriptions and helping identify past members. + REFORMATION WEBSITE Pastor has created an area-wide reformation website. You can see it at www.lutheran-reformation-nepa.info. This site is designed to link all the area Lutheran churches and be a resource for all things “reformation” as we approach the 500th anniversary. + CONGREGATIONAL MEETING RESULTS The budget for 2017 passed and we decided to go ahead to use general funds to install the new sound system. As one of the 100th Anniversary projects, the new sounds system cost will be included in the capital campaign that has begun to raise money for various projects taking place during our 100th Anniversary year. + THRIVENT MEMBERS Thrivent Action Teams gives each Thrivent member up to $500 each year in fundraising seed money to benefit your causes! We have already benefited three times in our congregation, so if you are a Thrivent member, and want to raise some money for a good cause, you can apply for a $250 credit card! Go to www.thrivent.com for more information! + DEVOTION AVAILABLE A new devotional booklet published by the Lutheran Curch Missour Synoid are still available for anyone to pick up at the back of the church. The book 40 Daily Devotions of God’s Comfort, can guide you through times of loss and sorrow. There are plenty and we encourage you to share them with those suffering a loss of any kind. + DISASTER RELIEF TRAINING DAY If you would like to be involved with Pastor Bjornstad's Disaster Relief teams, please hop in the van going up January 14th (Saturday) for a day of training by an LCMS Disaster Relief trainer from St. Louis, MO. This training will be held near Syracuse, NY and it costs $10 (for lunch).

Church website: www.yourpeace.org.... email: pastor@yourpeace.org, amybetts@yourpeace.org… LMC: 570-703-0607

WORSHIP LIFE AT PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH: WORSHIP HOURS 8:00 Worship with Holy Communion 9:30 Sunday School for Youth and Adult 10:30 Worship with Holy Communion every other Sunday 6:00 Church of All Nations Worship Service at the Lutheran Ministry Center Additional Services at Immanuel: 5:30 pm Saturday Evening and 10:15 am Sunday Morning Holiday Service Notes Christmas Day and New Year’s Day we will have a 10:30 am worship service ONLY. Sunday School and Church of All Nations services will begin again on January 8, 2017.

SPONSORING FLOWERS If you would like to sponsor the flowers for a particular Sunday, please note that it is the sponsor’s responsibility to provide/order the flowers. Please sign up on the calandar at the back of the church to indicate your sponsorship!

To order from McCarthy’s Flowers, please call: 570-507-9441 or 570-343-1179 and ask to speak with Carol. Or you can stop by the 1001 N. Main Ave, Scranton store and order from there!

POINSETTA SPONSORSHIP Sponsorship order forms are available at the back of the church (on blue paper). All forms are due no later than December 19th. Please place payment in the offering plate.

Peace Anniversary T-Shirts avaialble only $15 each and come in four colors: light grey, dark grey, black and pink. Thank you to Jennifer Praefke for spearheading this project.

Great News!!! A 100th Anniversary Calendar has been created to help us all remember the history of Peace Lutheran Church as we move through our 100th Anniversary all 2017 long. Calendars will be available for pickup at church beginning December 18th and are $12 each. An order form is located at the back of the church. All proceeds to support the 100th Anniversary service projects.

Adult Bible Study Apologetics 101 • Knowing what we believe and why.

• Answering the Objections of this age.

• Answering for Christ to our friends and neighbors.

• Being a beacon of reason and truth in our careless world.

"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

-2 Corinthians 10:5 Just some of the questions addressed: • How can a good and loving God allow suffering?

• How can a good and loving God send someone to hell?

• Isn't it arrogant to say that Jesus is the "only" way to God and heaven?

• Aren't all religions ways to know God? • Can there be meaning apart from God?

Spread the word! If you want an invitation sent to someone, please give us the name and address!

CHURCH OF ALL NATIONS As we implement plans for outreach in our communities, we definitely need a good "core" of worshippers on Sunday evening! We need YOU! We don't want to take away from Sunday morning worship at Peace, but make it your duty and honor to God to attend the evening Church of All Nations service if you are unable to attend the morning at Peace. Families and children are all welcome as well!

ESTATE PLANNING How many of us think about estate planning and financial gifting? How many have taken action? Don't forget this is a wonderful way to leave your legacy with the church. We encourage individuals and couples to contact our member Brenda Colbert who is an Elder Law lawyer. She is able to help anyone who is interested to make the most positive impact for the Lord, family and others in your estate planning. You can reach her at Colbert & Grebas, PC 570-299-7909.

100th Anniversary

Aid Association for Lutherans

What we now know as Thrivent Financial was officially formed on January 1, 2002, with the merger of Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL) and Lutheran Brotherhood (LB), which had been established in 1902 and 1917 respectively. The merger formed the largest fraternal benefit society in the United States. AAL was very active here at Peace Lutheran Church. In fact, Lillian Colbert served over 23 years as secretary and treasurer of Branch 1812 of AAL. During her term, their efforts helped in the restoration of the Statue of Liberty and even were presented with an award from Lee Ioccoca. Toward the beginning of the 2000s we had other important AAL leaders in the congregation including Carolyn Tugend. Good times!

Bill Trotz, Marshall Morris, Lillian Colbert

AAL members hard at work Phyllis Trotz, Lillian Colbert, Sharon Alexander.

Church website: www.yourpeace.org.... email: pastor@yourpeace.org, amybetts@yourpeace.org‌ LMC: 570-703-0607