A NOTE FROM PASTOR KRISTIN
Dear Loving People of God,
I am guessing that you are all aware that our hospital systems are overwhelmed, and case numbers are at an all-time high. Yesterday, the Wisconsin Council of Churches (WICoC) released new recommendations suggesting that churches go back to their virtual platforms for the next 4-6 weeks. The St. Peter Task Force had an emergency meeting last night to discuss the new recommendations. We have stayed close to the WICoC’s recommendations in the past and have done well. We would like to continue to make decisions that take physical and mental health into consideration. Given the safety mitigation standards that we already have in place at St. Peter, the Task Force has decided to continue in-person worship, but we strongly encourage people to stay home and worship online. We also ask people to limit building use as much as possible and we must insist that everyone wear masks in the church building.
The current changes are temporary and short term. The research predicts a spike in cases in the next couple of weeks. We have vaccinations, treatment options, testing, and lots of resources that we did not have two years ago. However, we still need to do our part to live out the command we have to love each other. Please talk to me or a member of the task force if you have any questions. Task force members are Renee, Paul, Joy, Leslie, Carrie, and me. If you reply to this email Carrie can forward questions to them.
The council is scheduled to meet next week. Please respect our leadership as they continue to make difficult decisions. We are all doing our best. There are changes we can make right now to care for others, which is why we are asking people to stay home for a couple of weeks.
Small group team leaders have been contacted about suspending meetings for a couple of weeks. Sunday School and Confirmation families will be contacted also. Things are changing fast, and I ask that you please give me some time to share information.
I am grateful to be your pastor and am proud of the ways we have remained focused on the gospel, even when it is really hard. Remember that you are loved!
Pastor Kristin Berglund, M.Div., LPC, NCC
ANNUAL MEETING DATE
Our Annual Meeting has been rescheduled to Sunday, February 27th at 9:00am (between services) in the Sanctuary.
WORSHIP AND WITNESS MISSION NEWS
St Peter Live!!
You can now watch our worship service live! Our 8am service will now be livestreamed to our Facebook page (https://m.facebook.com/stpetersheboygan/) each Sunday morning. Following worship, the service will be uploaded to YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkvPIB8agxVhS72C5822etA) and our website (https://stpetersheboygan.com). In case of technical difficulty, the service will still be recorded and posted as soon as possible after worship.
8:00am & 10:00am – Worship in the sanctuary. We will wear masks and distance.
SOCIAL OUTREACH MISSION NEWS
Mitten Tree
The Mitten Tree is back and ready for your donations. We have LOTS of hats, but we could use more gloves/mittens and scarves. Please bring your new or gently used items to St. Peter and add them to the tree. We will then send them off to area elementary schools. Before we even get started this year, we are dropping off 126 hats, 25 pair of gloves and 3 scarves to 7 different elementary schools. Thank you so much for your generosity – please keep it coming!!
El Salvador News
Pastor Cruz sent the following message on December 24, 2021:
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Church San Pedro on behalf of Pastor Cruz Calles and the people of Apostles of Christ church.
We want to take this opportunity to acknowledge all the help that you continue to give us. Thank you because without that, many blessings would not be possible for our brothers and sisters of the Apostles of Christ Church.
We send you a small video of the latest activities that we have carried out thanks to your help.
A fraternal hug, God bless you and we hope to meet soon.
Blessings.
Pastor Cruz
There are two parts to the video attached Pastor Cruz mentions. The first section shows the families of Apostles of Christ enjoying themselves in a park like setting playing games, swimming and sharing food. They were in a protected site – safe from the gangs that are ordinarily a part of their daily lives. The second part shows some scenes from Apostles of Christ church. As you will see, they are wishing all of us a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. This annual retreat was made possible by the generous people of St. Peter.
Click this link to watch the video: Apostoles de Cristo
El Salvador Student Sponsor Update
The 2022 El Salvador student sponsor form was mailed to each sponsor this week. It provides you with a brief description of how this ministry works and makes you aware of your student’s name, grade and scholarship costs. Please take a moment to review this pertinent information.
This year there are a large number of elementary students who are new to the scholarship program and do not have assigned sponsors. So, the El Salvador Team is looking for individuals (St Peter members or community members) who might be interested in becoming a sponsor. Please respond to this email if you are interested in learning more about this ministry or the possibility of becoming a student sponsor.
In order to assist the El Salvador team this year, all sponsors are asked to return the bottom portion of the sponsor form to the St. Peter Office expressing your continuing interest in sponsoring a student for 2022.
A huge thanks to all who provide financial support for this ministry by providing scholarships or ministry support for our sister church Apostles of Christ.
Community Resources
The National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) has a helpline 800-950-6264 that is available M-F 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. This helpline provides the one-on-one help and information necessary to tackle tough challenges that you, your family or friends are facing. They also have 24/7 crisis support. Call 800-273-8255 or text NAMI to 741-741 to receive free support via text message.
PRAYER REQUESTS
Please keep the following people in your prayers: Kelsie, Delores’ Family, Dave, Brian, Jessie, Rudy, Lydia, Bruce’s family, Jazzy, Wina, Linda, Dianna, Rae-Ellen, Reed, and Apostles of Christ.