Prints of Peace - June 28

IMPORTANT UPDATES – WEEKLY CHANGES - June 28, 2020
Contents (scroll down for each):
 
This Sunday
PLC Constitution Review
Call Committee Update
Care and Concern
Fellowship
Faith Formation Now
How to give your offering
Youth
Social Outreach
PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH REOPENING - WHERE ARE WE NOW?

This Sunday
Join in live-streaming of the baptism of Adeline and Carter Abbott at 10am this Sunday.  The family and sponsors will gather around the font inside our worship space, while the congregation is invited to participate online.  Go to Peace website  www.peacelutheranlz.com  and click on the link ‘Holy Baptism 10am June 28” and follow along in the baptism service script provided. 
The Virtual Coffee Hour at 10am on Sunday will follow the live-streamed baptism.  The Zoom link is on PLC website home page. During this hour we’ll continue discussion of the book, Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the U.S. We are discussing chapters 3-5 this week.
PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH REOPENING - WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Scroll down in this Prints of Peace to see answers to FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS about where we are now in planning for a return to in-person worship
In coming weeks, we invite MORE MUSICAL OFFERINGS. It is such a pleasure to see the talents of many – young and old.   Just record yourself doing a classical or spiritual music piece, and follow the directions in this File Sharing Tutorial to upload your selection for worship. For questions or help, email or call Ben or Karen Dahlke bkdahlke@gmail.com Ben- (847)757-8570; Karen- (248)921-4463
PLC Constitution Review
Draft PLC Constitution with proposed changes are available in hard copy or e-file. Call/email the church office for a copy: 847-438-4400 or email office@peacelutheranlz.com. Vote to approve the changes will be in a virtual congregational meeting on July 12.

CALL COMMITTEE UPDATE
Be sure to catch the announcements after this Sunday's service for an update from the call committee that you won't want to miss!

CARE & CONCERN
We pray for one another: We pray for those who need healing, safety and God’s watchful care.  This week we pray for Mike Wilms, Sherri Juveland, Greg, Lydia Home in Chicago, residents of Lexington in LZ, Chris and Stephanie Mitchel’s family. Brandon, Brad Baker. We pray for comfort and peace for Scott Abbot and family on the death of his father, Terry. We welcome prayer requests.  Let us remember to life up our needs, concerns, and joys – and those of others – in our prayer!  Make your prayer request by emailing Pastor Dale pastor@peacelutheranlz.com or the church office office@peacelutheranlz.com .
We care for one another: If you have any special need or know someone who does, reach out to the Caring Tree by contacting Jean Foltin or Pastor Dale.
How are you doing – you, your family or household?  Expect a phone, email or text.  A CONNECTIONS TEAM of volunteers and staff are checking in with all Peace households.  We are the church – connected!  
FELLOWSHIP
Trivia with Tracy!: Do you fancy yourself to be an expert in all things sports or geography? Are you a wizard of facts great and small? Come test your knowledge during Trivia with Tracy! We will meet twice a month via Zoom: Wednesday, July 15th at 7pm! Our trivia game will consist of five rounds, with one round being a secret theme/music round. All are welcome to attend and be ready to trash talk! If you are interested, please visit the virtual gathering section on PLC website home page for the Zoom link!
 
Brewing Questions is Back!: It's been a while since we have gathered for Brewing Questions, so let's do so....over Zoom! Everyone is welcome to join in for some great conversation, laughs and, of course, bring your beverage of choice. Our next Brewing Questions meeting will be on July 8th.  If you are interested, please visit the virtual gathering section on PLC website home page for the Zoom link!
 
‘Secret Sister’ Update:  We will be moving our Secret Sister Reveal until early fall.  In the meantime, it is always good to pray and we hope you have kept your “Secret Sister” in your daily prayers. We would encourage you to use the old fashioned letter with a stamp to send a warm thought to your secret sister on a monthly basis or if you live close, you can drop them off a goodie in their mailbox. They may have guessed who you were, but if not, the fun will continue!  At this time, if you pop in the church, please do not post any new notes on the bulletin board as it is not actively being monitored. Please reach out to Sherri Juveland and Sandy Hanna with any questions.  Stay safe and enjoy these summer days!
FAITH FORMATION NOW
For Families with Children:
Each Sunday you can access 10 Spiritual Activities for Families with Children on the Peace website that change each week with the Scripture theme.  
VBS: A VBS survey has been sent to all families with young children, so we can plan details for virtual VBS options this summer.  Watch for more information soon!
For adults:
Book Discussion during Virtual Coffee Hour of Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the U.S.  The book can be purchased at nearly any bookseller. This Sunday discussion on Chapters 3-5.
The Wednesday morning women’s bible study is again meeting.  We will meet at church At 9am. If the weather is nice we will stay outside so bring a lawn chair to use and a drink if you desire.  We have a couple more weeks of discussing “The Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel and then as a group will pick a new topic.  If you have any questions, please feel free to call Carol Wojnarowski at 847-540-8150
Men of Peace! Looking for a way to connect with other guys in the congregation during our ”Sabbath”from physical church? Join us at 8:00 am Saturday mornings for men’s Bible Study. And sports. And job stuff. And whatever comes up! Looking forward to seeing new faces we haven’t seen in a while! Go to www.peacelutheranlz.com and click on “Virtual Gatherings of Peace” to get the Zoom link.
The Labyrinth is open for your personal time of reflection and prayer.  
Access a daily 1-minute reading “Centering in the Psalms” on the Peace Facebook page. 
If you missed last Sunday’s worship, go to www.peacelutheranlz.com  to access at any time.
  
 HOW TO GIVE YOUR OFFERING
Thank you!  Thank you as you continue your generous contributions to the virtual offering plate we pass.  Congregation members are using these methods:  Mailing their check to church / Using their own bank website “send-payment” feature / Going to www.peacelutheranlz.com and clicking on “make a donation” / or, downloading and using the app we recommend: https://www.vancopayments.com/egiving/church-app
 
 YOUTH
Special Treat for Graduates of Kindergarten, 5th, 8th and 12th grades at Culver's of Lake Zurich:  Culver's is generously providing students that are graduating this year a free scoop of ice cream-all you need is the coupon that you print at home. Treat the rest of your family too-it will be a great way to support a local business!
 
SOCIAL DISTANCING PICNICS!: Instead of doing the Virtual Zooms during the week of June 29th, the High School Youth Group and Confirmands will have social distancing picnics instead! Our High School picnic will be held on Tuesday, June 30th from 12-2pm and our Confirmation picnic will be held on Wednesday, July 1st from 12-2pm! Both picnics will take place on the Peace Lutheran patio and all participants must bring their own lunch, snacks, beverages and masks. We will have a Frisbee and possibly water balloons! All are welcome to join in the fun!
Virtual Confirmation & Youth Group:  Tracy has set up weekly Zoom meetings so our teens can connect, talk and spend some time together while we are sheltered in place. The Virtual Youth Group will be held on Thursdays from 4-5pm and the Virtual Confirmation will be held on Thursdays from 7-8pm. Tracy will email and text the Zoom link and meeting code to each family on Wednesdays so everyone can participate!
It's Community Garden Time! The weather is (finally) starting to warm up, which means it is time to begin work on our community garden! We will be practicing and following our social distancing guidelines during this time and Tracy will be working with the Confirmands and High School students to determine times/what will be planted. Congregation members: If you would like to donate vegetable seeds for the garden, please let Tracy know!
 
SOCIAL OUTREACH
Workers for Meal Support: As many of you know, one of our members is facing a serious health challenge right now. Mike Wilms will be undergoing surgery soon and will have a need for nutritious meals to help with his healing for an extended period of time.  To supplement the generous actions of people on the Caring Tree, we are looking for people to donate to a fund to purchase prepared meals to be delivered directly to his home.  In order to build up this fund, we are looking for:  1. People who would be willing to donate their time to help others by cutting grass, washing windows, laying mulch, etc.  The person receiving the service would pay for any needed materials. The person can make a donation to the Meal Support Fund as they desire.  2.  People who would like help with tasks!  If you can help in either of these ways, please contact Sue Koenig as soon as possible.  We would like to start doing the work by the end of June.  If you would just like to make a donation to the Meal Support Fund, please send a check to Peace indicating where it should go in the memo section.  Thank you!
“May” You Have Enough - final tally: Wehave concluded our fundraising efforts for the Northern Illinois Food Bank.  We raised $4850!!! A check will be sent to them soon and will go a long way in helping those in our community that need it.  Thank you all for your generosity!  You can continue to help:  St. Francis and the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry continues to be very active among more clients with food insecurity. To help supply food for local people in need, look for the blue donation boxes at St. Francis church and the ministry center in LZ.  They are taking non-perishable food, toilet paper, diapers and other paper products. 
Update on masks:  Sue Koenig will continue to make masks for anyone who needs one. Just let her know how many are needed.
 
PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH REOPENING - WHERE ARE WE NOW?  
Frequently Asked Questions
 

1. The State of IL has gone into Phase 4 – what does that mean for Peace?  It means we can start to have groups larger than 10 persons return to in-person worship and other functions at our church. 
   

 

1. When will we return to in-person worship?  We are aiming for mid-July.  Who is working on this?  The PPC, working with our COVID and our worship and music teams, are utilizing guidelines from the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, the IDPH and CDC as a template for planning for Peace’s re-opening.  Is there any possible timeline that you are working on?  The tentative timeline is to have a truncated outdoor service on July 12th and then our first indoor service on July 19th.  When we get closer to these dates we will communicate with clear and detailed guidelines for all who gather on how to participate safely.What can we expect – short term? Long term?  When we first started the virtual services, we learned each week and each week our services got better.  The same will be true for returning to in-person worship.  The first few services will be different from a normal service. Practicing social distancing, no communion, reduced singing, etc. will make the service much different than in the past. As time passes, and the guidelines change we will make adjustments to the services. Hopefully each week they will also get better.  
   

 

1. Why haven’t we heard anything yet about returning to worship?  We have been working on these for some time.  We first had to complete the Phase 3 protocols.  We discussed these at the congregation meeting on June 7th. We also had to decide when we, as a church, were comfortable re-opening.   Each church in our community is proceeding on different timelines. It is an individual church’s decision on when it is right for them to return.  What is the process, what is involved? The first goal is to put together a meaningful service given all of the guidelines and protocols. It is also important to protect the health and safety of our congregation and Pastor.  The process is to walk through all of the parts and steps of a worship service and insert the recommended guidelines, like social distancing, wearing masks, communion, collecting the offering, etc.   What are possible scenarios you are considering?  You should understand that we are planning on continuing the virtual services regardless of the in-person services.  We understand that many members are still not comfortable coming back into the church right now. Based on capacity guidelines set forth by the state, we are looking at a smaller service. We will ask members to call or email the church by Friday if they are planning on coming.   That will give us some idea on the needs and be able to prepare to set up for that Sunday. 
   

 

1. Why is it taking so long for us to come back?  The PPC feels it is important that we balance the “want to” worship in-person with the safety of all of our members, staff and volunteers. We are following the Governor’s Restore Illinois Plan to the best of our ability.  We are taking into consideration all of the guidelines and how our physical environment fits within those guidelines.  As you all have seen, the guidelines and recommendations have changed based on the day to day results of testing and the number of people infected.  
   

 

1. What is involved in planning to come back?  Re-opening in-person worship will be very different from how we closed down.  Closing down in March was a fairly simple and quick process. We stopped having in-person services, we locked down the church and we started our virtual services.  Re-opening is a much more complex and slower process.  We have many guidelines to follow, we have to take into consideration our members and their health and safety and finally we have to make it work in our facility. 
   

 

1. How can I be sure it is safe for me to come back to in-person worship?  Before the PPC will re-open our church, we will make sure it is as safe as can be given what we know about the virus.  We have restored our cleaning services, we have added additional sanitizing procedures, and we are following all of the recommended guidelines. We fully encourage our members to make the best decision for themselves.  If you are a member of one of the high-risk groups, please stay home.  If you do not feel well, please stay home and call your doctor. If you have any concerns about your health please stay home.
   

 

1. What about out-door worship – could we do this now? Which is preferred?  We are looking at an outdoor service as our first in-person service in mid-July.  An outdoor service in many ways is easier to get up and running while still following all guidelines and requirements for safety. Peace has always enjoyed outdoor services in the past.   
   

 
We will continue to communicate as we get closer to reopening, so that you can be assured of safety in the expectation of worshipping - together.

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