APRIL BIRTHDAYS
APRIL BIRTHDAYS
4- Lynn Kite
8- Mavin Rodgers- Mavin will be 94 years old. Here is her
Mailing address if you
Leah Dallas to send her a card. Mavin Rogers #A-19
9- Debbie Foltz
Avante of Harrisonburg
11- Tommy Nelson
94 South Avenue
Violet Grimsley
Harrisonburg, VA 22801
12- Gary Page Foltz
18- Don Essman
Tom Nelson
25- Dennis Croft
26- Haili Campbell
28- Sylvia Eppard
29- R.L. Campbell
30- Joey Shuler
ANNIVERSARIES
No Anniversaries
ST. PETER’S LUTHERAN CHURCH
413 Central Avenue
Shenandoah, VA 22849
[email protected]
APRIL 2011
NEWSLETTER
Pastor’s Pen
“Old Time Religion”, Pastor Mark
Like the Advent weeks before Christmas, these present weeks of
Lent have a real goodness about them. The goodness of Lent is more
hidden. One way of tapping into it is with some old time religion.
Real old time—an activity so old it was already ancient when Jesus
recommended it to the Twelve. Fasting is something that involves
every part of a person. Most days when our stomachs rumble with
hunger we just reach for food to fill them. What a difference to be
hungry on purpose, to hold onto that emptiness asking God to use it
as a bridge into mind and spirit. Fasting, an old mark of Lent,
might just be useful to God in making a mark upon us! SEQ CHAPTER
\h \r 1
If you haven’t fasted before and, health permitting, want to try
here is a way in three simple steps.
SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1
1. One Saturday, eat your evening meal before sundown.
2. Except Holy Communion, eat nothing else until after sundown
on Sunday evening.
3. While you fast, do drink water or juice often as you
like.
Some reasons to fast; you will think of some more:
Jesus taught it to followers, “When you fast..., and your Father
who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:17-18).
· Use mealtimes to read your Bible, and pray (see Psalms 63, 71,
91, 102)
· Fasting turns our thoughts to children who live with hunger;
maybe give help through ELCA World Hunger Appeal and the
congregation
· Holy Communion on Sunday morning– a true breakfast!
Holy Week and Easter Schedule
Maundy Thursday Service of Holy
Communion April
21 St. Paul 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM
Good Friday Tenabrae
Service
April 22 St.
Luke 7:30
PM
Egg
Hunt
April 23 St.
Paul 10:00
AM
Community Easter Sunrise
Service April
24 PCHS stadium time TBA
Pastors’ Rotation for April and May
-Pastor Mark at St. Peters
-Pastor Patti at St. Luke & St. Paul
We give thanks to and for those who serve!
Head Usher List for April:
3 – Joe Campbell – Communion
10 – Mark Comer
17 – Mike Lowe – Communion
24 – Lori Painter – Communion
List of Counters of Offering
3 – Betty Shuler & Joe Campbell
10 – Betty Shuler & Mark Comer
17 – Betty Shuler & Mike Lowe
24 – Betty Shuler & Lori Painter
Altar Care for April – Cathy Firkin & Sylvia Eppard
April Lector – Jerry Jackson
We still need offering counters for the months of:
May – Ron Smoot
June:
July -
August – Eddie Loker
Sept. – Laney Dallas
Oct. – Joan Nelson
Nov. -
Dec.
Substitute counters – Libby Walker & we need a few more.
April Church council Meeting – April 10
Fellowship Meeting - Following Coffee Hour after church
Thank you, Christie Kite for agreeing to give leadership to the
fellowship committee!
7th Day Retreat
We had two youths from St. Peters to attend this event, Piper
Sattva and Bailey Dallas. I ask both of them to share some of the
highlights with our members. I think you will agree it was great
experience for both of them
I enjoyed 7th Day because I made new friends, saw old friends,
learned new songs that I loved, and made crafts in art! The
food was tasty and we got to stay up late! ( That
was my favorite part ).
For dinner, when we arrived, we had spaghetti withs
buttered rolls, vegatables, and, everyone's favorite, DESSERT.
After dinner, we had to go into our "classes". Our
classes were...
-
Music- Bounce, I will Follow You, Noah's Ark.
(My favorite song was Bounce because you had to do a lot of
moving around)
-
Science (How people lived during Jesus' time)
- Art- Bobble hands and crosses
We stopped after art and we went to our cottages.
Everyone was allowed to stay up untill 11:00!
The next day we got up at 7:30 and went down to eat breakfast,
French Toast with syrup. There was bacon and juice as
well.
We went to worship and then we started our activities.
We said our good-byes to everyone and left at about dinner
time. We had a great time.
Piper Sattva
Seventh Day
By: Bailey B. Dallas
Seventh Day was a great experience for me. I learned that God
fixes our hearts. Our lesson was how Jesus healed a paralytic man.
The man trusted on his friends to get him there safe, and they did.
As I played a role as being a friend of the paralytic man I got the
man there safely. Giving me a experience that is unforgettable!
God fixes our hearts and most of the time we don't even realize
it. Like when we do bad things such as sins, his power, and his
love, fix our hearts. Those are the tools in his tool box. Tools we
can put in our toolbox that we get in this program including
learning God's word, praying, singing, makes you feel you're just
one huge step closer to God!
I really enjoyed Seventh Day this year. We had unforgettable
experiences that can sometimes, only happen once in a lifetime. The
lessons I learned, the gospels we read, the prayers we prayed, the
songs we sang, made me feel like I was just One In A Million!
Thanks to all of the Seventh Day leaders, it was fun this year!
In Deepest Sympathy
Our prayers are with the children and family members of Mary
Louise Whiteside, who died on March 26, at Rockingham Memorial
Hospital surrounded by her family. Her children, Brenda
Baugher, Mark Whiteside, John Whiteside and Alice Hansberger
express thanks to the church women for providing the meal following
the Service at graveside on Tuesday, March 29. We give thanks
to God for the sure and certain hope of the resurrection into
eternal life.
Easter Egg Hunt
River of Life Ministry is sponsoring an Easter Egg Hunt for
children on
Saturday, April 23 ***10am
St Paul Lutheran Church
On Hwy 340 near Cub Run
devotions with singing, a craft,
light refreshments, THE HUNT!
Children, come and invite your friends to hear more about
just how much Jesus loves you all---
Kids Page
Inspirational Easter Story
Jeremy was born with a twisted body and a slow mind. At age of
12 he was still in second grade, seemingly unable to learn. His
teacher, Doris Miller, often became exasperated with him. He would
squirm in his seat, drool, and make grunting noises. At other
times, he spoke clearly and distinctly, as if a spot of light had
penetrated the darkness of his brain. Most of the time, however,
Jeremy just irritated his teacher.
One day she called his parents and asked them to come in for a
consultation. As the Forrester’s entered the empty classroom, Doris
said to them, “Jeremy really belongs in a special school. It isn’t
fair to him to be with younger children who don’t have learning
problems. Why, there is a five year gap between his age and that of
the other students.”
Mrs. Forrester cried softly into a tissue, while her husband
spoke. “Miss Miller,” he said, “there is no school of that kind
nearby. It would be a terrible shock for Jeremy if we had to take
him out of this school. We know he really likes it here.” Doris sat
for a long time after they had left, staring at the snow outside
the window. Its coldness seemed to seep into her soul. She wanted
to sympathize with the Forrester’s. After all, their only child had
a terminal illness. But it wasn’t fair to keep him in her class.
She had 18 other youngsters to teach, and Jeremy was a distraction.
Furthermore, he would never learn to read and write. Why waste any
more time trying? As she pondered the situation, guilt washed over
her. Here I am complaining when my problems are nothing compared to
that poor family, she thought. Lord, please help me to be more
patient with Jeremy.
From that day on, she tried hard to ignore Jeremy’s noises and
his blank stares. Then one day, he limped to her desk, dragging his
bad leg behind him. “I love you, Miss Miller,” he exclaimed, loud
enough for the whole class to hear. The other students snickered,
and Doris’ face turned red. She stammered … “Wh-why that’s very
nice, Jeremy. N-now please take your seat.”
Spring came, and the children talked excitedly about the coming
of Easter. Doris told them the story of Jesus, and then to
emphasize the idea of new life springing forth, she gave each of
the children a large plastic egg. “Now,’ she said to them, “I want
you to take this home and bring it back tomorrow with something
inside that shows new life. Do you understand?” “Yes, Miss Miller,”
the children responded enthusiastically … all except for Jeremy. He
listened intently; his eyes never left her face. He did not even
make his usual noises. Had he understood what she had said about
Jesus’ death and resurrection? Did he understand the assignment?
Perhaps she should call his parents and explain the project to
them. That evening, Doris’ kitchen sink stopped up. She called the
landlord and waited an hour for him to come by and unclog it. After
that, she still had to shop for groceries, iron a blouse, and
prepare a vocabulary test for the next day. She completely forgot
about phoning Jeremy’s parents.
The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and
talking as they placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on
Miss Miller’s desk. After they completed their math lesson, it was
time to open the eggs. In the first egg there was a flower. “Oh
Yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new life,” she said. “When
plants peek through the ground, we know that spring is here.” A
small girl in the first row waved her arm. “That’s my egg, Miss
Miller,” she called out. The next egg contained a plastic butterfly
which looked very real. Doris held it up. “We all know that a
caterpillar changes and grows into a beautiful butterfly. Yes,
that’s new life, too.” Little Judy smiled proudly and said, “Miss
Miller, that one is mine.” Next, Doris found a rock with moss on
it. She explained that moss, too, showed life. Billy spoke up from
the back of the classroom “My daddy helped me,” he beamed.
Then Doris opened the fourth egg. She gasped. The egg was empty.
Surely it must be Jeremy’s she thought, and of courses, he did not
understand her instructions. If only she had not forgotten to phone
his parents. Because she did not want to embarrass him, she quietly
set the egg aside and reached for another. Suddenly, Jeremy spoke
up. “Miss Miller, aren’t you going to going to talk about my egg?”
Flustered, Doris replied, “But Jeremy, your egg is empty.” He
looked into her eyes and said softly … “Yes, but Jesus’ tomb was
empty, too.” Time stopped. When she could speak again, Doris asked
him, “Do you know why the tomb was empty?” “Oh, yes,” Jeremy said,
“Jesus was killed and put in there. Then his Father raised Him up.”
The recess bell rang. While the children excitedly ran out to the
school yard … Doris cried. The cold inside her melted completely
away. Three months later, Jeremy died. Those who paid their
respects at the mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of
his casket … all of them empty.
I found this story on the internet and thought it had a great
message. Hope you enjoyed it.
Please note that St. Peter Lutheran has a new mailing address.
St. Peter Lutheran Church
199 4th Street
Shenandoah, VA 22849
A mailbox is now placed on the backside of the church next to
the trash bin. Thanks to Bill Shuler and Lynn Kite for taking care
of putting it up.
Church Signs: Theses messages have been used on church signs
around the country. Enjoy!
The Best Vitamin for a Christian is - B1
Can’t Sleep - Try counting your blessings
Where will you be sitting in eternity? - Smoking or
Non-smoking
We will be discussing the role St. Peter’s may play in this
activity.
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