Prints of Peace - August 12

Dear Friends in Christ:  Saturday: Pot luck and fire pit at 4:30. Finger foods is the theme.  Sunday: We continue to look at John 6: the Communion chapter. How can it be so easy to receive the gift of eternal life by eating Jesus’ flesh (body) and drinking his blood? Sound too graphic? John wrote that way. We will unpack it this Sunday.   Come and hear God’s Word and be fed by Jesus in bread and wine.  Adult Forum:  On break until September.  Reading for this Sunday: Please read Ephesians chapter 5 plus the sidebar notes in your Lutheran Study Bible (LSB.) Bible scholars think this letter was written by a follower of Paul or someone who was schooled by Paul. The passage for this Sunday, verses 25-32, are a beautifully written admonition for behavior between loving Christians, including the wonderful phrase “. . . be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.” If you don’t yet have a LSB, see Pastor Mark.
 
Worship Schedule: Our Summer worship schedule is in effect. We have a service of  Holy Communion at 9:00 a.m.                                                           
 
Reading for Next Week:  Please read Ephesians chapter 5 plus the sidebar notes for this chapter and the introduction to Ephesians in your Lutheran Study Bible (LSB.) Bible scholars think this letter was written by a disciple of Paul. Chapter 5 addresses issues of living a Christian life in community and family. Christians at the time of the writing of Ephesians were trying to adhere to the Roman household code - the order of families in the Roman Empire. Just as we do not condone slavery, we do not need to condone the submission of wives to their husbands. The important verse is “Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (verse 21) If you don’t yet have a LSB, see Pastor Mark.
 
Attendance: On August 5, 2018, 97 attended worship.  On August 8, 2018, there was no service at Lexington.
 
Pastor away: Pastor Mark will be away on vacation from Monday, August 13th through Monday, August 20nd.  If you need a pastor during this time, please call Pastor Joel Lohafer, of Christ Lutheran at 847-358-4600. Pastor Mark will be returning any messages on Tuesday, August 21.
 
Secretary away: Allison will be away taking her daughter to school August 13 - 15.
 
Youth
                                                                                                           
Youth Director’s Days Off & Office Hours: Our Youth Director is Tracy Katschke and her days off are Friday and Saturday. She does not check church voice mail or emails on those days. Tracy is engaged at Peace half-time, and her office hours are Monday - Thursday from11:30am-3:30pm. Stating August 20, her hours will be Monday - Thursday 10am - 2pm. She can be reached on her cell for urgent matters. Her cell phone can be accessed by calling church.
 
Thank you from the Shipwrecked Vacation Bible School “Team”:  A BIG THANKS to everyone who helped make last week’s VBS such a success! All the people who helped transport the scenes in their cars and everyone who transformed our church into a wonderful Shipwrecked theme (in every room!) We had 50 children ages 3 years -5th grade (many were guests and friends of our members:), 21  crew leaders  6th grade - college, who lead small groups of children to their activities, and 12 station leaders in charge of special areas (songs, games, bible stories, snacks etc). Wow, everyday over 83 people came together for the glory of God! We even had special field trips over to visit our friends at Silverado. They provided fun games for all our kids.  Many of their residents help run the games :) We sang some VBS songs to entertain them - some residents even joined us in song and dance!  In addition, many families donated money and toiletries for our local food pantry! 
 
Confirmation Class Information Meeting:  We will have a quick informational meeting about Confirmation classes on Sunday, August 26th at 10:15am in Fellowship Hall. All students in grades 6-8 and their parents are welcome to attend! We will go over the class schedule, lesson plan and guidelines. Please contact Tracy with any questions or if your family cannot attend.
 
Mess Fest is Back!!!  Youth Ministry Kick-Off: Sunday September 9th.   Peace Lutheran has been challenged by St. Peter UCC to once again participate in Mess Fest, which is a combination of kick ball and a massive food fight! The battle will be held at St. Peter UCC onSunday, September 9th from 2:30-4:30pm. ALL high school and Confirmation students are welcome to attend and join in on the fun - as are your friends! Parents: We will need help with set-up, clean-up, taking pictures and being referees. Tracy will have a sign-up sheet in the narthex in the coming weeks if you are interested in helping! Let the battle begin!
 
Events
 
August Potluck: 8/11/18, 4:30-7:30   Theme: Finger Foods and Friends.    Bring your favorite finger foods and friends to enjoy at our last summer potluck and campfire! S'mores provided. BYOB beer/wine approved.  Some ideas are chicken fingers, taquitos, pizza, wings, potato skins, raw veggies, tacos, sliders, cookies, brownies... anything that doesn't require a fork or spoon!  The host this month is Karen Dahlke. Email her with any questions at bkdahlke@gmail.com
 
Rally Day and Picnic: You and your family are invited to Peace's annual picnic on Sunday September 9th at 11:30. The theme this year is Ship Wrecked! We'll have games and activities and of course yummy food! Wear your favorite pirate clothes, or your Vacation Bible School T-shirt. Cost is $3 for adults and $2 for kids ages 4 - 12, and kids 3 and under are free. We need lots of side dishes and desserts and drinks - please sign up in the narthex. Also, if you are able to help with set up or clean up, please sign up for that, too. Friends are always welcome!  Questions?  Email:  HelenHandley@gmail.com
 
Annual Blood Drive: Share in giving the gift of life! Please consider signing up to donate blood Sunday, September 9th. With a goal of collecting 25 units of blood, a Life Source Donor Coach will be in the church parking lot that day between 7 am and 1 pm, making it very convenient to donate before, during or after church! There are various ways to schedule an appointment during this time frame. While the preferred option is to register on-line, donors may also sign-up on the printed sheet posted on the Narthex bulletin board OR may contact Susan Sweeney at 847-533-9322 or susansweeney627@aol.com. To schedule on-line, follow these simple directions: Go towww.lifescource.org, choose ‘Make an Appointment’, click on the appropriate login option, and search by donor site location (Peace Lutheran Church) or group code (LZ50). For those who cannot donate for Peace on September 9th, any Life Source donor center may be visited on a different date. By using the group code assigned to Peace (LZ50), donation credit will still be awarded to the church. Questions???  Contact. Thanks in advance for donating…by doing so you’ll save up to 3 lives!!!
Social Outreach
 
LSSI School Supplies: Thank you to everyone who contributed so generously with donations for the children of LSSI. We filled an amazing 30 backpacks full of school supplies!! You have put a smile on their face and allowed them to start school in a special way! You are a blessing.
 
Help Fire Victims of Mt Prospect: Please place items in the bin in the narthex: Walmart gift cards, laundry detergent, pinto beans, jalapenos, new underwear (all sizes: men, women, children).  Please bring by August 26th
 
Mobile Food Pantry: The next Mobile Food Pantry in Lake Zurich will be Saturday, September 8th.  If your family is in need of food, please come and register and you will receive food from the Northern Illinois Food Bank. If you would like to volunteer, please contact the coordinator, Ken Rasbid at ken.rasbid@gmail.com.  You can help serve breakfast to the clients, help unload the truck, distribute food or work with client assistance or other much needed tasks.  It is a great way to serve the community! Please contact Donna Walstrum if you have questions.
 
In Crisis?  Anyone, anywhere can be affected by mental health struggles including depression, anxiety, having feelings of being overwhelmed, or having suicidal thoughts.  It has been in the news lately about the significant increase (up nearly 30%) in the annual rate of suicide from 1999-2016. The key to preventing people from reaching the point of suicide is to talk about it and offer help, encouragement and resources to those struggling to keep living.  The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255 and the crisis text line is text CONNECT to 741741 for people who are in distress and feel like they are at risk of hurting themselves, or if you know of a person who is at risk.
 
Preparation for mission projects day 2019:  if you can help with cutting tabs in fleece for the Lutheran world relief or project Linus blankets, sewing pillow covers for hospice or making school bags for Lutheran world relief, check out the kits in the hallway by the office. Work on them when you have a chance; they don’t need to be completed until December! If you have any questions, please contact Sue Koenig. Thank you for your help!
 
Ongoing Opportunities
 
Simply Giving: Many of our members and friends give with Simply Giving automated debit. This program is very important for our congregation. It keeps income steady during the summer months when giving drops because people are out of town. Please consider it! Giving forms are on the table in the narthex. If you do participate in Simply Giving, or if you do not have an offering on a particular Sundayyou can still participate in the act of giving during the service by obtaining Giving Acknowledgment card from an usher and placing it in the offering plate to acknowledge your support of our ministries at Peace.
 
On-Line Giving: You now have the option to make a gift to Peace from your computer, tablet or phone! To give online go to the Peace web site www.PeaceLutheranLZ.com and click on the "Make a Donation" button. To give from your phone, download the Give Plus Church app and search for Peace in Lake Zurich to make your gift. Finally, to give from your phone without downloading the Give Plus Church app just text a gift to the Peace text number, 224-458-2996. Just enter an amount and send the text to the Peace number and you will be sent a link to complete the transaction. See Kirk Swanson if you have any questions.
 
Inspirational Messages: Pastor Mark would like to reach out to the congregation with a brief message a couple times per week. If you want to receive these, please fill out the form in the red attendance folders. Messages will be sent via a text, Facebook account, and Twitter. Any questions, contact Beth Papke at (847) 438-5294 or papkeb@wwdb.org
 
Caring Tree: This outreach ministry provides services to those in the congregation with special need, i.e., dinners for new moms, meals for those following a hospitalization, or short term help with lawn cutting or snow removal. Please contact Jean Foltin or Pastor Mark with requests for assistance. Jean may be reached by email (jfoltin5@comcast.net) or by phone/text (847-738-8599).
 
Altar Flowers: If you have a special date you would like to remember, please consider bringing flowers for our Sunday services. The calendar is on the bulletin board outside of the office. Vases are available for use in the kitchen cabinet behind the door. Flowers should be set out before the Sunday service and can be picked up any time after the Sunday service. Enter your first name on the calendar, as we have several families with the same last name. Any questions, please call Kari Mrazek at (847) 726-2716.        
 
Worship and Music: We are trying to ensure that we have a 5-6 week rotation in all assistant positions for both services. The following worship assistant positions currently have a rotation of 5 weeks or less. Please consider volunteering your time for one or more of these positions. We are in immediate need of additional ushers at the 10:30 service.
 
8:00 am Service:
  - Communion Assistants (5 weeks)
  - Ushers (5-6 weeks)
  - Greeters (5 weeks)
  - Communion Setup (5 weeks)
  - Coffee Setup (5 weeks) 

10:30am Service:
  - Communion Assistants (5 weeks)
  - Ushers (3-4 weeks)
  - Communion Reset/Cleanup (5 weeks) 

Non-Service Specific:
  - Assistant Minister (5 weeks) (assists at both services)

  - Counters (4-5 weeks) (assists after 10:30 service)
  - Communion Bread Baking (4 months, assists for one month at a time)

Any Questions, talk to Andy Heroff

 
Prayer Requests: We pray for those who need healing and wholeness: for Doris Ratajczak, Doug Ratajczak, Mike Wilms, Wes Willard, Michael Salazar, Kathy Zak, Kristen Jorgensen, Brian Bounds, Joyce Smith, Reita Schultz, Charlie Lindsey, Dolly Hansen, Theresa Sacamono, and Bob Kayser. Our practice is we will pray for an individual for at least 4 Sundays or until the end of the following month. After that time, we ask that you contact the office or Pastor Mark to keep your loved one on the prayer list. If your loved one inadvertently falls off the prayer list, please request to put this person back on the list. Thank you. We need pray-ers! If you would like to be a participant in the Circle of Prayer, please contact Terry Koncel at peaceprays@mail.com.
 
AmazonSmile: Shop on AmazonSmile and 0.5% of your purchase can be donated to Peace Lutheran. For information about it, go tohttp://smile.amazon.com/about.
 
Mom/Toddler Group: Will be taking a break for the rest of the summer and will resume after Rally Day in the fall.
 
Wednesday Morning Women’s Bible Study: We will continue to meet at Panera Bread in Deer Park at 9:00 am for the summer. Anyone is welcome to join us for coffee.                                                                                           
Peace now has Opt-Out Photo Release Forms; they are on the main table in the narthex.  If you do NOT want your/family member picture on the Church's website or Facebook page please sign and put in Cathy Malloy's mailbox in church office.
 
Online Newsletter: Do you get the Peace Lutheran weekly newsletter Prints of Peace online?  If not, please send your email address topeacelzoffice@yahoo.com and ask to be added to the emailing list.
 
Peace Lutheran Church Facebook Page: Be sure to visit our Facebook page - Peace Lutheran Church of Lake Zurich. It's the one with recent posts. If you have an event or ministry you want promoted, and haven't seen it on our Facebook page, POST IT!! If you have questions or need help please email your request to one of the page administrators:  Jean Bishop, Karen Zicco, Bridget Heroff, Nicola Prybell or Pastor Mark.
 
Church Calendar: The 2018 church calendar shows events and activities of the church and is posted on our website. You can find it by clicking "Calendar of Events" on the home page, or you can access it by visiting http://peacelutheranlz.com/calendar/  If you have an event to be posted on the calendar, please email the church at the church socail email:  office@peacelutheranlz.com
 
 
                                          This Week at Peace
 
 
      August      12       9:00am                 Worship Service (Holy Communion)
      August      13       7:00pm                 Al-Anon
      August      15       9:00am                 Women’s Bible Study - Deer Park Panera
      August      16       10:00am               Mom and Toddler Group
                                  12:30 - 6:30pm     Voice Lessons
      August      19       9:00am                 Worship (Holy Communion)

           
                                        Stewardship
                                          July 2018
 
                              Actual Giving       $ 164,890
                              Budget                   $ 174,946
                              Deficit                   ($  10,056)