SUNDAY MORNING SCHEDULE BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 11th
8:00am – Worship (Sanctuary)
9:00-9:45am – Sunday School (Meet in Fireside Room)
10:00am – Worship (Sanctuary)
Coffee Fellowship will be between services in the Fellowship Hall
SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
Sunday, August 28th
9:00am Worship – Sanctuary
11:00am Love Fellowship Church of God in Christ
Tuesday, August 30th
9:00am Quilting
7:00pm Grace Notes
Wednesday, August 31st
10:00am Bible Study
Thursday, September 1st
10:00am Fidget Mats
Sunday, September 4th
9:00am Worship – Parking Lot
11:00am Love Fellowship Church of God in Christ
COUNCIL UPDATE
The St. Peter Church Council met on Tuesday, August 16th. The meeting began with sharing God-Sightings, scripture reading, and prayer. Respectful communication guidelines were reviewed, and reports were given. Ministry Minutes were shared by liaisons of different teams and the council was informed about upcoming Sunday School, confirmation, worship music, and fellowship happenings. A report was shared about coffee fellowship on August 14th that was hosted by WELCA. The worship and Sunday School schedule for Fall was approved. Beginning on September 11th worship will be at 8:00am and 10:00am. Sunday School will be from 9:00-9:45 am. Coffee fellowship will take place between services.
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.
FINANCIAL UPDATE
As of August 16th, there is around $21,000 in our checking account. This is used to cover general and day-to-day expenses. Thank you for your faithful financial support!
WORSHIP AND WITNESS MISSION NEWS
Blessing of Backpacks (work bags, diaper bags, purses, etc.…)
We will have a blessing of backpacks on Sunday, August 28th. Bring your backpacks to be blessed as we begin a new academic year! Grown-ups are invited to bring work bags, purses, and diaper bags to be blessed too!
‘Squishy Jesus!’
Be sure to take pictures and send them along with a caption to church (stpeter@stpetersheboygan.com). You can also post pictures on the St. Peter Facebook page or print them out and post them yourselves when you are at church. Remember that wherever you go, God is with you!
9:00am – Sunday morning alternating weeks worshipping in the parking lot and the sanctuary.
For parking lot worship bring a chair, blanket, or something comfy to sit on. Cones will be out to separate the worship and parking spaces. Kids can grab their Sunday School bins that will be stocked with bubbles and sidewalk chalk. If the weather does not cooperate, we will move into the sanctuary.
For worship in the sanctuary, children’s bulletins and crayons will be available, and families are welcome to use the Pray Ground.
9:00am Summer Worship Schedule
08/28 – Sanctuary
09/04 – Parking Lot
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.
St. Peter Choir
Choirwill begin rehearsing on Wednesday, September 7th at 6:30pm. All are welcome.
Grace Notes
The band will be rehearsing beginning Tuesday, August 30th at 7:00pm and leading worship on Sunday, September 11th.
If you are interested in joining our praise band, we would love to have you! The only requirement is a desire to praise God through music. If you have questions, please feel free to talk to a band member, reach out to Lori, or reply to this email.
Sign up to be a Worship Assistant
It is now easier than ever to help with worship! Visit the Sign-Up Genius site to help with reading, ushering, outdoor set up and tech. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084aaaac2eaaf58-worship
LIFELONG LEARNING MISSION
Blessing of Backpacks (work bags, diaper bags, purses, etc.…)
We will have a blessing of backpacks on Sunday, August 28th. Bring your backpacks to be blessed as we begin a new academic year! Grown-ups are invited to bring work bags, purses, and diaper bags to be blessed too!
Sunday School
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Sunday School will start on Sunday, September 11th from 9:00-9:45am. Kids ages 3 years old through 5th grade are invited to join us for a time of bible stories, music, and activities. Please click the link to register for Sunday School. https://stpeter.breezechms.com/form/3931c5
Sunday School Teachers
PLEASE HELP! If you are able to help with teaching Sunday School please reply to this email and let Pastor Kristin know. We are hoping to find enough teachers so that everyone can lead a lesson about once a month. Lessons and supplies will be ready for you. All you need to do is show up and have fun with the kids!
Confirmation
Confirmation for youth in 6th-8th grade will start on Wednesday, September 14th from 6:30-7:30pm. The first class is for ALL confirmation youth AND their parents/caregivers. Please click the link to register for confirmation. https://stpeter.breezechms.com/form/3931c5
Leah Circle
Leah Circle will meet on Wednesday, September 7th at 11:30am in Fireside Room. Bring a sack lunch. We will be doing our Bible Study from the Gather Magazine after our brief meeting and lunch.
SOCIAL OUTREACH MISSION NEWS
Dartball Aluminum Can Drive
St. Peter’s Dartball Team is sponsoring an aluminum can drive 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, August 28th and September 25th before 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 new shirts for the team – many are still wearing their St. Andrew shirts!
Little Free Library
We are happy to introduce the Little Free Library! We have already enjoyed conversations with neighbors at the library and look forward to many more. If you have books that you would like to donate to the library (the neighborhood kids are asking for youth chapter books), please drop them off in the church office. We will keep track of them and restock the library as needed.
Lutheran World Relief Layette and Health Kit Assembly Day
We will be assembling Layettes and Health Kits on Saturday, September 10th at 9:30am in Fellowship Hall. Will work until we run out of items! Speaking of running out, we are still in need of nail clippers, combs, and white soap. Your donation of these items will be greatly appreciated.
Lutheran World Relief School Kits
School supplies are in stores and the weekly ads are offering sale prices. Please take advantage of these sale offerings and help us fill 300 school bags. If you are out shopping, please consider picking up some supplies and drop off in the fellowship hallway.
Each bag contains: 1- blunt scissors, 1 – pencil sharpener, 1 – boxes of 24 crayons, 1 – pink eraser, 1 – ruler, 4 – 70 sheet notebooks, 5 – pencils, and 5 – pens. Each filled bag will give a child the chance of going to school and the chance to change the world.
Fidget Mats
We can accept doodads and gizmos once again. The basket is back on the small table as you enter the building across from the office. We are in need of men’s watches – if they can’t be repaired please think of us. Thanks so much for all you do to keep us gifting our fidget mats. Peace, Joan
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.
SCIO
Items that we would especially appreciate at this time are School Supplies (notebooks, pens, 2-pocket folders, pencils, erasers, scotch tape, kleenex), AA Batteries, and Emergency Preparedness Kit, including Plastic Jugs of Water.
Three families are currently living at Bridgeway. One family with 4 children, one family with 3 children, and one family with 2 members. One more family of 2 will be moving in on August 31, 2022. This will put our transitional living program at capacity. SCIO’s mentoring program has started! Coffee gift cards are welcomed for our mentors and mentees to meet up and chat over a cup of Joe. Please hold the Bridgeway family in your thoughts and prayers as we venture through a season of change with staff and new residents.
The SCIO Summer Farmers Market is at peak season! The market runs from 8am-1pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays in Fountain Park and 12pm-5pm on Thursdays in Plymouth in the Dairy Queen parking lot. We accept EBT at the information tent — this year we are offering a match of up to $15 in fresh produce vouchers through the Double Your Bucks program thanks to a generous donation from The Hunger Ball and continued generosity through St. Nicholas Hospital. Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program vouchers are available through September.
El Salvador News
In August, we celebrate 22 years of involvement with Apostles of Christ in El Salvador. This year we took on 16 new students in the elementary level of school. Thanks to all our sponsors, we are now sponsoring 49 students! We are always looking for new sponsors and would love for you to join us.
We received letters from all our students in Apostles of Christ and would love to send letters back to each of our students. Would you be interested in writing a letter, or two, or more? If you like, you could purchase a card and write a short note of encouragement inside. You do not need to be a sponsor to send a letter, nor do you have to speak Spanish – we have volunteers willing to translate your messages!
If you have any questions about sponsorship or letter writing, please respond to this message for more information. Thank you! Jim S. and the El Salvador Team
Northside Christian Food Pantry
The number of people accessing NSCFP has increased. Your donations help in providing nutritious food to those in need. NSCFP thanks you for partnering in this community ministry. August greatest needs are: Rice/Pasta Sides, Manwich, Cereal, Canned Fruit, Juice/Ice Tea, Baked Beans, 64oz Laundry Detergent. If you are interested in volunteering at the pantry or becoming a board member, please reply to this email or contact 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 a 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.
PARISH LIFE MISSION NEWS
Coffee Fellowship
The Church Council is pleased to announce that regular weekly Coffee Fellowship between services will resume on September 11th between the 8:00 and 10:00 services in the fellowship hall. The following procedures will be followed:
1. Any food items served at the coffee fellowship must be individually wrapped or bagged in the manufacturer’s individual service packaging
2. Any person making coffee or filling other beverage servers should wear a face mask and sanitize hands before starting the preparations.
3. Hand sanitizer will be made available at the serving tables.
4. All food and beverages will be placed on tables or counters well-spaced with at least 6 feet separating the food items from the beverages.
5. Beverages will be self-serve.
6. All service items and surfaces will be cleaned and sanitized promptly at the end of the followship time.
We hope by following these procedures we can re-establish our long tradition of coffee fellowship between services where our church family can come together to get back into physical contact with each other in a manner that is as safe and comfortable as present conditions allow.
A HELPFUL REMINDER ABOUT RESPECTFUL COMMUNICATION
The St. Peter Church Council uses the Respectful Communication Guidelines (developed by the Kaleidoscope Institute) and invites teams and individuals to practice the guidelines as well. Below is a brief explanation of the Respectful Communication Guidelines that would be helpful for you to look at as we continue to focus on being a healthy congregation that practices healthy communication.
Guidelines for communication are like the traffic rules that one has to understand and observe before getting a license to drive a car. We are required to pass a test proving that we know and will follow the rules in order to be safe. With interpersonal communication, we do not require people to pass a test but, we do need to remind people about how to interact respectfully. When we react to others with negative attitudes, put-downs, judgments, and dismissal, it is not helpful to the community.
Different communities use different versions of communication guidelines. The Respectful Communication Guidelines are written in an acronym that helps people remember them.
R = take RESPONSIBILITY for what you say and feel without blaming others.
E = use EMPATHETIC listening.
S = be SENSITIVE to differences in communication styles.
P = PONDER what you hear and feel before you speak.
E = EXAMINE your own assumptions and perceptions.
C = keep CONFIDENTIALITY.
T = TRUST ambiguity because we are not here to debate who is right or wrong.
Communication is an important element in building a more inclusive community. People of different backgrounds bring with them different communication styles. Sometimes these differences can cause conflicts among members of a community- often in an unconscious way.
If we are to express the essence of God’s inclusiveness, we need to agree to behave differently when we are attempting to build a more inclusive community. The Respectful Communication Guidelines provide a foundation to uphold the well-being of the community.
A resource of the Kaleidoscope Institute, found at: http://www.kscopeinstitute.org/respectful-communication-guidelines/
PRAYER REQUESTS
Please keep the following people in your prayers: Diane, Tracy, Bonnie, JoAnn’s Family, Edith’s family, Mya, Vi, Doris, Karen, Jim, Susie, Rog, Gary, Mike, Bobby, Jazzy, Dan, Kevin, 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.