SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
Sunday, June 18th
9:00am Worship (Sanctuary)
Monday, June 19th
6:00pm WELCA Meeting (Conference Room)
Tuesday, June 20th
9:00am Quilting (Quadrooms)
Wednesday, June 21st
10:00am Bible Study (Fireside Room)
Thursday, June 22nd
10:00am Fidget Mats (Quadrooms)
6:00pm Finance Team (Conference Room)
Sunday, June 25th
9:00am Worship (Sanctuary)
FLAT JESUS IS BACK, BUT THERE’S A TWIST!
This summer we get to play bingo with Flat Jesus! Yes, you can spend time this summer searching for items, activities, and events and take pictures of Flat Jesus with those things. As you take pictures with Flat Jesus, you can mark off bingo squares. When you get bingo, let us know and we will give you a prize! In the spirit of friendly competition, we will keep a leaderboard so you can see all of the people playing bingo with Flat Jesus. You can pick up Flat Jesus and the first bingo card at church. We will add different bingo cards throughout the summer to keep up with everyone’s adventures! You can send pictures via email to stpeter@stpetersheboygan.com or post them to the St. Peter- Sheboygan Facebook page. Flat Jesus’ summer adventures are not limited to bingo so please take Flat Jesus with you wherever you go and take pictures. You don’t have to play bingo with Jesus to remember that God is with you!
COUNCIL UPDATE
The St. Peter Council met on June 13, 2023. Reports were shared and Missions gave updates. The cross was removed from above the sanctuary skylight. There is a team of people who are discussing what to do with the cross. We have options and we will explore them. More details will be shared when we have them. Please talk to Pastor Kristin, or a member of the church council if you have any questions. Members of the council are: Pastor Kristin, Joy, Ginny, Pat D., Dawn B., Steve B., Nate, Connie, Jon W., and Jamie S.
Note: You will continue to receive regular council updates in this email. These updates include the significant information from the most recent meeting. You can find the “official” minutes of all council and team meeting minutes that we receive in the binder marked “Council Reports” that is kept below the bulletin board in the narthex.
WORSHIP AND WITNESS MISSION NEWS
Summer Worship Schedule
Through Sunday, September 3rd
9:00am in the Sanctuary
Outdoor Worship on Sunday, July 16th
Church Picnic and Outdoor Worship
Join us on Sunday, July 16th for outdoor worship in the church parking lot with a potluck picnic to follow. There will be fun games and prizes for the kids, and adults are encouraged to bring board games, card games, etc. We are excited to provide this opportunity for summer fun and fellowship and hope you can join us!
If you plan on attending, please sign up to bring a dish to share. The signup sheet is located on the table where you pick up your bulletins for worship. In addition, we will be providing a link to Signup Genuis via our Facebook page. The church will provide water, lemonade and soda for beverages. If you are bringing a hot dish, please bring it hot and we will keep warm in the ovens during the service.
If you would like to help with setup and cleanup, please contact Lori. We can use help before the service as people are bringing in their dishes and after the service to set out the food. Your help is greatly appreciated!
Hope to see you all there!!
St. Peter Live
Our 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). The weekly bulletin is attached to this email if you would like to follow along with the online service.
Summer Worship Assistants
The summer services are posted to Signup Genuis. Please take a look at your availability and sign up using the link below or call Carrie to sign up. Thank you!
LIFELONG LEARNING MISSION NEWS
Bible Study
Join us for Bible Study, led by Myra, on Wednesday mornings from 10:00am-11:00am in the Fireside Room.
THE GREATER MILWAUKEE SYNOD ASSEMBLY
was held on June 2 and 3, 2023 at the Italian Community Center in Milwaukee. Bishop Paul Erickson presided over the convention and Rev Kenneth Wheeler was our spiritual leader for prayer and worship. There were 272 voting members present and 43 visitors. The convention was filled with the Holy Spirit, with laughter, with music, with joys and sorrows, with old friends and new friends.
Friday’s message centered around these themes: we are all the body of Christ, some are the hand, some are the mind, some are the heart, but we work together in different capacities to complete the Body of Christ. And listening is as important as speaking. Listening to one another is Holy ground.
Equipping the Saints Mission Appeal was our main topic of discussion on Friday. This fund at the synod is giving out grants to congregations for innovative projects to reach more neighbors; grants to congregations to help build bridges of community between two partner congregations; increasing synod staffing for innovation; 5% is a tithe to ELCA Holy Innovations and 5% to Lutheran Social Services. Any church wanting to know more can have a coach assigned to the congregation free for one year. And on Monday June 26 at 10:00 am there will be a Zoom presentation done by the synod to learn more. October 1 is the deadline to get started if a congregation wants to participate in Equipping the Saints.
To the youth in our congregation, there is a national gathering coming up in 2024 in New Orleans July 13-16, 2024. Faith formation, worship, fellowship and service will be highlighted. Information is available at ELCA Youth Gathering.
Elections were held for synod positions and results were presented.
A diversity audit was done throughout the synod during the past several months. Churches were asked to identify policies, practices, and beliefs; to ask themselves where changes can be made to improve, how are marginalized voices heard, and results from all congregations were tallied and were positive.
The ELCA is striving to be:
– A welcoming church
– A thriving church
– A sustainable church
– A church that is rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Areas to work at for individual congregations include:
– More racial justice integration in sermons
– Classes offered at churches in racial justice
– LGBTQIA inclusion, why pronouns are important
– Being inclusive of the 50-year-old + members who feel left out
– Be more active in the synod/communicate with the synod
Rev Ken Wheeler led us in a rousing worship service based on Galatians 3: 28-29: There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus and if you are Christ’s then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs to the promise. It was the high point of the convention.
Thank you for the opportunity to represent St Peter. It was a great experience and a wonderful time. Steve and Cindy W.
PARISH LIFE MISSION NEWS
Wednesday Night Golf
Great News! We will be gathering for Golf every Wednesday this Summer. Tee off will be from 5:30pm to 6:00pm at Sunset Hills Golf Course. You do not need to be a par golfer to join in the fun. You just need to like to have fun. If you don’t golf maybe you would like to just stop out and have a beverage, pizza and join in the fellowship at 7:30pm. If you have questions, contact the office or call Pam.
SOCIAL OUTREACH MISSION NEWS
Dartball Aluminum Can Drive
St. Peter’s Dartball Team is sponsoring an aluminum can drive again this summer. Bring your bags of aluminum cans (aluminum only – please continue to recycle your other items) to the kitchen entrance (north side) of the building on Sunday, June 25th, July 30th and August 27th before or after worship. If you would like someone to pick up your aluminum, please reply to this email and we will coordinate a time for you. The proceeds from the can drive will be split with WELCA. The Dartball Team will use their portion to pay for entry fees and other expenses.
Fidget Mats
The middle of June was good for fidget deliveries. The responses have been – Wow! How cool! These are neat! Such nice tactile items! All are appropriate for our needs! Thisjust boosts our will to follow Christ in providing these mats of comfort, interest, diversion, and a bit of joy to pass on to folks who may not have a lot to look forward to each day. Our fidgeters are so thankful we can do a bit of something when we can’t do the hands-on work like their caregivers which is so essential for health and wellbeing.
The deliveries went to Sharon Richardson, Azura, RCS and Shores of Sheboygan. Totals: 21 cuffs, 4 Alzheimer’s mats, 26 adult and 5 children’s mats. We’ll hold off on deliveries of the children’s mats until the beginning of September when everything begins again in fall.
They Asked and We Answered
Following a request from Sharon Richardson, they received 40+ catheter bag covers, 20 adult bibs and 150+ pocket prayer quilts in recent weeks. Thanks to those from St. Peter for stepping up to fill the need.
Quilting
Our quilting group for Lutheran World Relief needs gently used sheets for the backs of the quilts. Flat sheets are preferred – any size and color is just fine! Then, join us for quilting on Tuesdays from 9:00am–12:00pm in the quad room. No experience necessary. We will teach you.
Northside Christian Food Pantry
There are Sheboygan County people in need of help to obtain food for their families. NSCFP is continuing to see a rise in numbers accessing the pantry. On 5/25/23 we experienced the highest number of guests prior to Covid. There were 86 people who visited the pantry and 239 household members benefiting from receiving the food.
Thank you to St. Peter contributors who have partnered with the pantry to make this happen. Both food and financial donations have been appreciated. The financial donations enable the purchase of fresh fruit and vegetables along with other canned products.
Every month a list of most needed items will be suggested, however other products are always an option. Here’s the list of needed items for June: Canned Meals, Rice-A-Roni, Assorted Crackers, Soup – 13 oz. or larger, Bottled Juice/Iced Tea, Cereal/Oatmeal, Spaghetti Sauce (no pasta needed), Canned Fruit, and Paper Grocery Bags. ~ Pat L.
COMMUNITY RESOURCES
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is now operational. This lifeline provides care and support to people experiencing stressful situations. It is free, confidential, and is available 24/7. People of all ages who need help for themselves or a loved one can access the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by: calling 988, sending a text message to 988, or using the chat feature at 988lifeline.org. People who contact 988 will be connected with a trained counselor who takes note of the person’s needs, understands how the person’s problem is affecting them, provides support, and, if needed, gets the person additional help.
PRAYER REQUESTS
Please keep the following people in your prayers:
Sheila, Sandy, Merri, Pete, Elroy, Mike, Janet, Jim, Karen, Dan’s family, Bev, Billy, Phil, Sue, Aiden, Camila, Jazzy, Barb, Wilson, Julian, Eric, Neal, Praise and thanksgiving for answered prayers, 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.