SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
Sunday, April 17th
Easter Sunday
8:00am Worship
10:00am Worship
11:00am Love Fellowship Church of God in Christ
Tuesday, April 19th
9:00am Quilting
Wednesday, April 20th
10:00am Bible Study
6:30pm Confirmation
Thursday, April 21st
10:00am Fidget Mats
6:00pm Council
Sunday, April 24th
8:00am Worship
9:15am Sunday School
10:00am Worship
11:00am Love Fellowship Church of God in Christ
WORSHIP AND WITNESS MISSION NEWS
Easter Message from Bishop Elizabeth Eaton
This Easter, many of us will be able to gather in person for glorious celebrations of our Lord’s resurrection. But the first Easter was in a cemetery, surrounded by tombstones. The women and then the men disciples came to see what had happened to their Lord. They expected to find a dead body, but instead they found God’s defiant answer to death.
As St. Paul writes in Corinthians, “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Oh, death, where is your victory? Oh, death, where is your sting?”
I know now that we’re entering the third year of this pandemic, and we see the signs of stress and incivility, even the signs of war and disease in Ethiopia and Sudan, in Europe. It might seem like death still has sway, but we can declare confidently on this Easter and all times what Job said, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh, I shall see God.”
Centuries ago, the Russian Orthodox developed this beautiful poem, the Kontakion of the Departed. It’s often used at gravesites. “Give rest, O Christ, to your servants with your saints, where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting. You only are immortal, the creator and maker of humankind, and we are mortal, formed of the earth and to the earth shall we return. For so you did ordain when you created a thing. You are dust and to dust you shall return. All of us go down to the dust. Yet even at the grave we make our song. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.”
Blessed Easter, dear church.
The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
8:00am & 10:00am – Sunday morning worship in the sanctuary. Copies of the worship music are now available for you to pick up when you grab your bulletin.
Live Easter Flower Cross
Please bring cut flowers on Easter Sunday, April 17th, to help decorate our Live Easter Flower Cross at the front of the sanctuary.
Children’s Bulletins
Children’s Bulletins and crayons will be available on the usher’s table on Sunday mornings. Feel free to take your Sunday School bins into worship too!
St. Peter Live!!
You can watch our worship services live. Our 8am service is 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.
Worship Assistants
Calling all Ushers, Readers and Tech Gurus (really anyone willing to learn how to push a couple of buttons). We need your help!! We have created a signup genius form so anyone can sign up for the dates and times that work for them. Please click on the link (https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084aaaac2eaaf58-worship) and sign up if you are available. Or, reply to this email and let Carrie know what you would like to do and when! We are happy to train you if you are unfamiliar with a job. As always, reply to this message if you have questions.
FINANCIAL UPDATE
We currently have $21,500 in our checking account. This is money we will use to cover general expenses. Designated funds such as El Salvador, Youth Fund, Endowment Fund, and Pastor’s Discretionary Fund are healthy and able to meet needs for quite some time. Thank you for supporting special ministries! Please consider how you can support the general needs of the church. This will allow for our day-to-day expenses to be met. It will also help us fulfill the commitments we have made to the community through our giving to the Greater Milwaukee Synod, SCIO, Samaritan’s Hand, Rainbow Kids, North Side Christian Food Pantry, Crossways Camping Ministries, etc.
Traditionally, we see decreased giving in the summer months. We’d like to see a healthier balance going into the summer. A checking account balance that would cover budgeted expenses for at least two months would be $42,400.
Please prayerfully consider how you can continue to be a positive part of our thriving ministry at St. Peter. Your giving is important to everything we do, and it is greatly appreciated!
COUNCIL UPDATE
The council met and welcomed new members. Time was spent going over orientation materials and reports were shared. There was discussion about the summer worship schedule. A motion was made and approved to have one worship service at 9:00am on Sunday mornings, alternating locations between outdoor in the parking lot and indoor in the sanctuary. This will be the summer worship schedule beginning Memorial Day, May 29th through Labor Day, September 4th. The next council meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 21st at 6:00pm.
Note: You will continue to receive regular council updates in this email. These updates include the significant information from the most recent meeting. If you would like the “official” minutes, you may reply to this email and Carrie can send them to you. Copies of all council and team meeting minutes that we receive can be found in the binder marked “Council Reports” that is kept below the bulletin board in the narthex.
LIFELONG LEARNING MISSION NEWS
Sunday School
Please join us at 9:15am in the Fellowship Hall. A grown-up must stay with each household of children. Check out the artwork, created by our Sunday School, above the coat rack in the narthex!
Confirmation Camp
Confirmation students will be attending confirmation camp at Pine Lake from June 19-24! Confirmation households should register online. If you have any questions, please contact Pastor Kristin.
Mickey Winkel Memorial Education Scholarship
This scholarship is a non-renewable award of up to $1,000. To be eligible for the scholarship the following criteria must be met:
Applicant must be a confirmed member of St. Peter Lutheran Church.
The applicant must be attending or will be attending an accredited public or not for profit institution of higher education.
The application must be completed in full: including transcripts from your last school attended, references, and essay.
Applications can be obtained in the office at St. Peter Lutheran Church, or from the website at http://www.stpetersheboygan.com. All applications must be returned to St. Peter Lutheran Church by April 30th, 2022 for disbursement in fall.
Please return completed application and any inquires to:
Mickey Winkel Scholarship Committee
c/o St Peter Lutheran Church
2104 Geele Avenue
Sheboygan, WI 53083.
The scholarship will be disbursed as a onetime payment in the name of the scholarship recipient and the institution attending.
Bible Study
Join us for Bible Study, led by Myra, on Wednesday mornings from 10:00am to 11:00am in the Fireside Room. Please reply to this email or call the church office at 920.452.4771 to sign up to attend.
Book Club
Join us on Tuesday, April 19th at 6:00pm in the Fireside Room as we discuss Peaches for Father Francis by Joanne Harris. All are welcome, please let Kelly J. know if you have any questions.
SOCIAL OUTREACH MISSION NEWS
WELCA News
The WELCA Board met on Sunday, April 3. Our new officers are: Kathy H as President, Barb B as Vice-President, Kay R as Treasurer, and Kelly J as Secretary. Thank you, Kelly, for your service and President, and thank you Kathy for stepping up to serve.
North Side Christian Food Pantry
Thank you for filling up the food cart! Both financial and food donations have helped by providing food, including fresh produce, to people in need. April food pantry needs are: Boxed potatoes/Stuffing, Canned meals/Beef Stew, Jello/Pudding Packs, Jelly, Peanut Butter, Canned Fruit, and 64oz Juice/Iced Tea.
Lutheran World Relief
We are in need of 4oz white bar soap to create more health kits for LWR. Please drop your donations off in the cabinet in the fellowship hallway. Thank you!
Quilting
Join us for quilting for Lutheran World Relief on Tuesdays from 9am– 12pm in the quad room. Please come, we have a lot of work to do. No experience necessary. We will teach you. See you there. Peace, Wendy B.
Fidget Mats
HELP!!! Sometimes blessings can be a burden, but probably the best burden to have, we really are grateful! We have an ABUNDANCE of supplies but only 5 of us using them. HELP! Can you thread a needle? Can you sew a button? Do you like to be around other gals and enjoy bringing a bit of comfort to kids and adults with needs? THEN WE NEED YOU!!! Will you give us an hour or 2 on Thursdays at 10am? No experience necessary.
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: Ayden, Camilla, Gene, Marianne, Joshua, Barb, Debbie Tom, Bob, Gelaine, Ryan & Andrea, Jense, Jaylyn, Don, Ruth, Jeff, Jazzy, Matt, and Apostles of Christ.
BULLETIN AND WEEKLY NEWSLETTER ARTICLE DATES
Announcements for the bulletin and weekly newsletter are due at noon each Wednesday. Please submit information to Carrie, at email address stpeter@stpetersheboygan.com. The staff will review and make final decisions based on clarity, space, content, timing, and needs of the community.