SCHELDUE FOR THIS WEEK
Sunday, September 19th
Worship – Indoor 8am
Sunday School 9:15am
Worship – Parking Lot 10am
Tuesday, September 21st
Council Meeting 6pm
Wednesday, September 22nd
Bible Study 10am
Confirmation 6:30pm
Thursday, September 23rd
Fidget Mats 10am
Sunday, September 26th
Worship – Indoor 8am
Sunday School & 3rd Year Confirmation 9:15am
Worship – Parking Lot 10am
AN UPDATE FROM PASTOR KRISTIN
Thank you for a wonderful start to a new academic year! Our new worship schedule has started, and Sunday School and confirmation are off to a great start! It is a joy to spend time with the young people of St. Peter and the changes we have made to worship have been life-giving for many people. The Wisconsin Council of Churches sent out an update this week that I wanted to share with you. They continue to recommend prioritizing life and health of neighbor in all ministry decisions as a Gospel witness. In Wisconsin, new daily cases/100K population are 31.3, which has doubled since the end of July. The case rate in Sheboygan County is 182.07/100,000K. (https://shebco.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/1fa299860c9f47a1bfbb9440c9860bd7)
The deltavariant is the predominant COVID variant in Wisconsin and is much more transmissible than what we’ve seen so far. This can make things worse quickly if we relax precautions. (https://www.wichurches.org/2021/01/14/returning-to-church/) We are especially mindful of children and people who are not able to get vaccinated at this time.
The Sheboygan County Division of Public Health and Human Services shared the following statement in a message sent on September 13th. “Sheboygan County Public Health and the CDC recommend that all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks while indoors or when physical distancing cannot be maintained in areas experiencing high or substantial levels of COVID transmission.” Sheboygan County currently has a high transmission level. (https://www.sheboygancounty.com/home/showpublisheddocument/16799)
Thank you for living out your call to love your neighbors by following the protocols we have in place at St. Peter. I know it is hard for some people, but we can have confidence that we are doing our best to care for each other even when it means that we are inconvenienced or disagree with decisions that are being made. I hope to see you at worship on Sunday! Or you can see me if you worship online!
WORSHIP AND WITNESS MISSION NEWS
8:00am – Worship in the sanctuary. We will wear masks and distance.
9:15am-9:45am – Sunday School in the parking lot if the weather is nice and in the fellowship hall if the weather is not nice. A grown-up must stay with each household of children. See details in ‘Lifelong Learning Mission News’ below for more details.
10:00am – Worship in the parking lot. Masks are optional. We plan to worship outdoors on Sunday mornings for as long as the weather allows us. We will move into the sanctuary (with masks) if the weather does not cooperate.
If you have any questions, please contact Pastor Kristin, or respond to this email. We continue to move forward with care for our neighbor being our primary concern.
Online Worship
A recording of the early worship service will be posted as soon as possible on Sunday mornings on the St. Peter Facebook page https://m.facebook.com/stpetersheboygan/ and website https://stpetersheboygan.com and St. Peter Lutheran Church – Sheboygan YouTube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkvPIB8agxVhS72C5822etA
SOCIAL OUTREACH MISSION NEWS
School Kits for Lutheran World Relief
During our time at home, we and our ladies worked and managed to sew 300 school bags waiting to be filled with LWR (Lutheran World Relief) school supplies. We are collecting school supplies for LWR and will fill as many as we have supplies for. So please, if you are out shopping pick up an extra blunt scissors, 24 box of crayons, unsharpened pencils, pens, rulers, erasers, pencil sharpeners, and notebooks. Drop them off in the bin outside the church doors and we will collect them.
Our world is facing many challenges and disruptions but with the gift of school supplies children can continue to learn no matter what their classroom or school setting looks like. Thank you for your generous gifts of items and prayers for children all over the world. – Kathy and Micah H.
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.
LIFELONG LEARNING MISSION NEWS
Sunday School
Sunday School for children ages 3 years through 5th grade has begun from 9:15-9:45am. At least one caregiver/parent must accompany each household of children. We need adults to stay because we will not be having a sign-in/sign-out procedure and hope to do many activities outdoors if the weather allows. Caregivers/parents are encouraged to participate with their children! Masks are not required outdoors but are still required in the building.
Confirmation
All students entering 6th-9th grade are invited to join confirmation classes on Wednesdays from 6:30-7:30pm.
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.
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT MISSION NEWS
Building Use
We continue to follow the recommendations of The Wisconsin Council of Churches. They currently recommend taking a 2 out of 3 standard approach: meet outdoors, continue to distance, wear masks. When we apply 2 of the 3 mitigations, we will be doing much to mitigate risk.
Masks will be optional for outdoor worship and outdoor activities. Masks are still required inside the building.
As always, we ask that people make arrangements with Carrie in advance to use the building (920.452.4771 or reply to this email). Building use requirements are still in place for anyone using the building.
Building Use Requirements
We continue to follow building use requirements because we continue to love and care for each other. Building use requirements for individuals and groups are: staff member must be present in the building (Carrie or Pastor Kristin); masks must be worn; distance of six feet between households; we will wait to eat together for the time being so there will be no shared meals; one person in a bathroom at a time and people are expected to clean after each use on their own using Clorox wipes provided; individuals and groups are expected to remain in planned locations; people should follow the signs regarding entering and exiting the building; if you are feeling ill or have been exposed to anyone who is sick, please do not come into the building. Staff members do not need to attend meetings, but will be present in the building to track people present and clean after.
PRAYER REQUESTS
Please keep the following people in your prayers: Nora, Peter, Gail, Pam, Kelsy, Bryon, Shelly, Mary Ann, Charlotte, Hattie, Lillian, John T., Brenda’s family, Paul’s family, and Apostles of Christ.