News for God’s People at Peace With Christ Lutheran Church
The Dais………………………………………………….. Page 3
Marilyn’s Memo……………………...…..……………… Page 7
Letter from Preschool…………………………………… Page 9
LWML…………………………………………………… Page 10
Youth Activities………………………………............... Page 10
Call Committee………………………………………………. Page 11
Adopt-A-Sem…………………………………………… Page 11
General Announcements……………………………….. Page 12
Financial Update………………………………………… Page 13
Anniversaries…………………….…………………..…. Page 14
Birthdays….……………………………………………. Page 14
P e a c e W i t h C h r i s t L u t h e r a n C h u r c h
1412 West Swallow Road
Fort Collins, Colorado 80526
970-226-4721 pwchrist@pwchrist-fc.org www.pwchrist-fc.org
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P e a c e W i t h C h r i s t S t a f f & L e a d e r s h i p
Church Staff
Richard Pierson—Pastor, 970-597-0218
Michael Groves—Admin. Of Music & Ed.
Renee Hein—Preschool Director
Marilyn Lasich—Youth Coordinator
Marcy Petago—Office Manager
Church Elders with telephone numbers
Ray Kaiser, 223-0987
Robert Kingsley—Worship Elder, 217-9605
Wes Nierman—Head Elder, 226-5936
Don Patterson—Staff Elder, 734-4500
Art Pforr, 223-8533
Michael Rohlfs, 482-2663
Church Council
Larry Siegfried—President
Loren Wiesner—Vice President
Lisa Bernhardt—Secretary
Claude France—Treasurer
Lisa Bernhardt—Early Childhood Preschool Chairperson
Emily Geisler—Education Chairperson
Loren Wiesner—Endowment Fund Committee Chairperson
Rhonda Kaiser—Evangelism Chairperson
Vacant —Fellowship Chairperson
Betty Keeney—Hands in Harmony Chairperson
Cliff Buchholz—Head Trustee
Teri Frerichs—Missions & Ministry Chairperson
Lori French—Youth Ministry Chairperson
Prayer Chain
Cheryl Harsen—Coordinator – Phone #229-1459
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T h e D a i s
How Love (Actually) Wins
By now you’re probably familiar with the slogan “love wins.” Before the Supreme Court’s ruling, it was a popular piece of rhetoric in support of gay marriage, an affective appeal toward a live-and-let-live culture, hashtagged all over social media. And now that marriage includes homosexual couples nationwide,
“love wins” has become the victory cry of a subculture that has been legitimized by a court ruling. Their long war has ended in triumph for everyone who’s for love, and all the hate-filled people who oppose this version of love have been sent to doctor their wounds and endure the public castigation they’ve so long deserved. And from profile pics to the White House, the victorious proponents of love have washed our country in rainbows because the government says that their idea of love wins.
What a bunch of bunk.
That it would happen was inevitable. The ratification of gay marriage is sweeping across western nations like a tidal wave.
America wasn’t going to prove an exception. It came, maybe, just a little sooner than we thought. Now, the discussion of this subject is tremendously complex. Books have been written and more will still. I will here focus on just one facet, the matter of love .
Our society has a concept of what love is; it was propagandized in unparalleled fashion during this recent debate.
But the fact is, we have the matter of love entirely wrong.
As we delve deeper into the culture of self, we further ourselves from sincere love and tangible expressions thereof. What should be the selfless, sacrificial devotion to another solely for her benefit, has become hardly more than the sum of one’s volitional, emotional attachments. It concerns fulfilling my needs and procuring my happiness. This version of love , though widely believed, is entirely unmoored, allowing my-own-self to be bound to no one else, making me the ultimate end to my existence .
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So, how will this love win, exactly? Our courts redefined marriage so that less than four percent of the population can be
“happy?” We allowed the appeal of let-me-do-as-I-please-cuz-Iain’t-hurtin’-nobody carry more weight than history across cultures until 2001? And when the gay couples start divorcing, and the spouse and child abuse is exposed, when infidelity is uncovered, will we start saying that, maybe, love didn’t win? Will we begin to see that, maybe, love is more than just having what I want when I want it and on my terms? Will we perceive that maybe there’s something eternal to love, something divine in love that is bound up in the essence of God himself?
In redefining the boundaries of marriage, we have disclosed—unwittingly—our wrong-headed theology of love. We think of it as an emotional, volitional thing—we love that which captures our affections and that love is a choice. Whomever that may be is irrelevant. And when our affections are no longer captured, we can terminate our loving. We’re bound to nothing.
We have liberated love from all the stifling limits we’ve constructed in the name of “God” or “civic good” or “cultural tradition,” so that people can be free and just love who they love.
But God cannot be divorced from love; you can’t cut him out of it. He still has a say, the say, really, because love is what he does best. And he gives it more than lip service—he doesn’t just love from a distance; he becomes incarnate to give us love’s grandest expression. He descends, dirties himself, bloodies himself, to love us with utmost sacrifice and utmost perfection.
Selfless concern for the well-being of another—that’s a good summary of love. And that’s how God does it. St. Paul puts it really well:
“…one will scarcely die for a righteous person…but
God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:7a, 8).
See, love is manifested in action. Love does. And only when love does, does love win.
Paul really nails it: he says that even when a person is worthy of another’s sacrificial love, even then it’s a rare man who
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Continued from page 4 will demonstrate that. It turns out that we have all kinds of ideas bout worthiness, and those tie us right into our culture’s view of love.
So, yeah; we’ve bought in, too.
But imagine if love were tempered, not by our whims and affections, but with true concern and self-sacrifice. What if concern for others ran so strong within us that we could find no one unlovable. The world would change, certainly, but we’d also have a taste of how God loves us in Christ.
We weren’t worthy of God’s love, but that didn’t make us unlovable to him. When we were farthest from him, he sacrificed himself to reclaim us. Jesus died for your sins. We’ve heard that countless times, but think of how absurd that is: The innocent for the guilty? The sinless for the sinners? The worthiest for the unworthy? It’s all the opposite of how we understand things. God’s love doesn’t make sense, but it doesn’t make sense because it’s the only perfect love. Ours, at best, is imperfect. But God loves perfectly, and perfect love is love that wins.
When God acted, he was not seeking a short-term remedy.
The result of his sacrificial action was to have a permanent effect on the universe. Nothing would be the same ever again. And it wasn’t, because Jesus’ death gave way to his resurrection, which is the promise that stands for all who believe.
God’s love does , and the result of that love stands forever—that’s how love wins. This love calls sin, sin, but it also speaks grace and holds to the promise of forgiveness and salvation.
It’s God’s reclaiming everything in all creation to be loved and restored by Christ’s life, to be resurrected for glory. And he won’t renege; he even loves those who reject him. His love will never wane for you; it burns continually with brightest force.
So, no matter how our society or even we ourselves distort love, we have, in the work of Jesus, love’s grandest demonstration.
It’s a love that is bound up in hands and feet, sweat and blood,
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Continued from page 5 suffering and death. All for your good; all for their good, too. Our world is full of people who are broken and hurting and condemned, made loveless by sin. But God loves even the loveless, and his perfect love seeks to redeem, to reclaim the lost. Divine love is always acting; it’s doing something for our sake
.
And when love does , love wins.
Grace & Peace,
Michael
M a r i l y n ’ s M e m o
Dear PWC Family,
Below are some of the “thank-you” notes from our Youth members who attended LVR Catechism Retreat:
Dear PWC Family,
I would just like to thank you for helping support the
Youth group's trip to LVR. I am very grateful for how much you contributed for the chance for me to hear the word of God with my friends and other people from different congregations around
Colorado. It was great to hear the word of God and learn about the
Lord's Prayer with fellow Lutherans. It was fun to do activities with other believers. Also, I’m glad I got a chance to review what I learned in Confirmation, especially with my fellow Confirmands.
Yours in Christ,
Soren Olsen
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The 2015 trip to Woodland Park was an amazing experience for everyone who attended. It was my first time going on the trip and I had a blast! We did so many fun activities such as catechism commando, horseback riding, archery, zip line, the massive swing, hiking, and so many other things when we weren’t learning about
God’s Word. The pastors were all energetic and I enjoyed listening to them. I learned a lot from all of them about the real meaning behind the Lord’s Prayer. I think this is because with so many pastors I was able to get a bunch of different perspectives that you don’t get from having just one great pastor. At camp everyone was super helpful and nice. They allowed everyone to have such an amazing experience while at camp. So I would like to thank the entire congregation for allowing the youth this amazing opportunity to go to Woodland Park year after year; because nothing is better than having fun while you get closer to God.
-Sandra Vanatta
Dear PWC,
Thanks you so much for supporting our trip to LVR. I had an amazing time. I made a bunch of friends from all over Colorado and it was nice to be outside all the time! The pastors did a really good job teaching us the deeper meaning of the Lord's Prayer and how it applies to our lives. I really enjoyed riding horses and going on the ropes course. My favorite part of camp was playing catechism commando at the end. Thanks for giving our youth group the opportunity to do things like this!
Sincerely,
Katelyn Mueller
Dear Peace with Christ,
Thank you for funding such a significant amount of money for
LVR. I especially enjoyed rock climbing, Catechism
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Continued from page 7 commando, and horse riding. Rock climbing was significant to me because I got to rock climb outdoors and control my speed when repelling. I also enjoyed Catechism commando. It was really cool to play in the dark and have the counselors try to scare us. Finally, horse riding was an awesome experience. I learned how to ride one and control their speed. None of this would have been possible without the funds. Thank you so much for making this possible.
-Melissa (Geraldine) Mueller
Congregation,
Thank you all so much for helping to send us to LVR this year. It was an amazing trip and we were lucky to have a fantastic counselor, and a great pastor who reinforced our knowledge and taught us more about the Lord's Prayer in our catechism classes.
One of my highlights was our hike to the top of Cedar Mountain where we could see an incredible view of the surrounding area.
Again, thank you all very much for your help to send us!
-Logan French
I want to add my heartfelt thanks for all the support of our PWC
Family for the Youth and Youth activities. You are blessings to our young people and to me!
In Christ Service,
Marilyn
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A L e t t e r f r o m P r e s c h o o l
Dear PWC friends,
We’re Back! Yep, it’s true, Preschool will be in session AUGUST
24 th . The summer was great, but now it’s time to settle in for another year in Preschool.
This year’s room theme is:
“I am the good Shepherd. I know My sheep”.
John 10:14
I am very excited to get started. We have 21 students registered for this year, 7 in the KT (kindergarten transition) class. Remember? I was hoping for at least 4 students for this KT class to “make a class”, and I have 7! YAY!! I’m looking forward to this new adventure. I have taught Kindergarten in the past—loved it, and to have 7 in a KT class is a perfect start. According to our licensing regulations, enrollment must be under 8 without an aide for this class. This is a new concept here at PWC. I hope it will continue throughout the coming years.
On Sunday, August 23 rd
, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. is Open House in the
Preschool rooms. This is the opportunity for the PS families to meet one another, meet my helper—Deb Dyrek, pick up information, drop off paperwork and see the classrooms. School begins MONDAY the 24 th
!
THANKS EVERYONE for bringing in supplies…….and they keep coming in! I am very grateful and humbled by PWC’s generosity. This Preschool is a blessing to me. Thank you SO
VERY MUCH.
He knows His sheep,
Renee Hein
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L u t h e r a n W o m e n i n M i s s i o n
• Mites are mighty! LWML's mite box for World Missions will be in the Narthex on Sunday, August 2nd. Your donations support
National and District grant recipients here at home and around the world. A full listing of grant recipients and specific dollar figures paid to date is available online at www.lwml.org
.
•
Save the date! September 12th is LWML's Fall Rally at Trinity
Lutheran Church in Greeley. Our mission project for August will align with the Rally's Ingathering. Stay tuned to future bulletins for info as it becomes available.
•
LWML's Executive Board: Break-time is over ladies. We will meet Monday, August 31st beginning at 6:30pm in the home of
Christie Peebles. If you have ideas to share please join us.
Youth Activities
August 8 – Youth Blanket Tying! We will tie a lot of blankets for
Ysleta. There will also be food, devotions, and other fun! 10 am –
3 pm
August 28 – Middle School Fall Kick Off, 5:30 pm BBQ, games, devotion, movie and planning. Event ends at 9:00 pm. Sign-up!
August 29 – High School Fall Kick-off, 5:30 pm BBQ, games, devotion, movie and planning. Event ends at 9:30 pm. Sign-up!
Wednesday Evening Youth Bible Study will begin September 9.
Be watching for more information on Sunday School classes for the coming school year!
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N e w s & A n n o u n c e m e n t s
Call Committee Update
The Call committee is in the process of compiling the results of the congregational survey form you recently completed.
This form gave you an opportunity to express your view of our congregation and will help us prepare a summary of our congregation for the self-study document. Another form, the pastoral expectations form was mailed to you in early July and is due August 2 nd
. This form gives you, as an individual, an opportunity to express which functions, traits, and abilities of a pastor are most important. These will also be compiled and will provide a summary of what the congregation as a whole would like to see in our next pastor. Finally, nomination forms will be available Aug 2 and you can submit the name of a pastor that you would like to be considered as a candidate for our next pastor. The nomination forms are available on the small table in the narthex or
I can provide you with one. Nomination forms are August 30.
Please place the completed pastoral expectations form and the nomination forms on the table in the narthex.
Paul Rubel,
Call committee chairman
Adopt-A-Seminary Student Committee
Joshua and Virginia Vanderhyde are recent parents of a son, Simeon David Vanderhyde, born March 16. Joshua will enter his vicarage, having been assigned April 29 his call to Cross
Lutheran Church and School , New Braunfels, TX of the Texas
District, LCMS. Joshua attends Concordia Theological Seminary,
St. Louis.
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Kyle, Lisa, and their son Jack Hudson Winter will visit our congregation Sunday, August 9 on their way back to St. Louis from Kyle’s vicarage at Kalispell, MT. Kyle will then enter his senior year of studies, also at Concordia Theological Seminary, St.
Louis.
While the Winters are here, Kyle will present his choice of subject for our Bible Class hour between services. It promises to be very interesting, although we don’t know the subject matter. Kyle and his family recently returned from a visit to Israel and just might have a presentation describing their experiences.
Sunday School Teacher Needed
We're in need of one (that's 1) teacher to complete coverage for our Sunday School classes for the coming year. The slot that remains open is for Kindergarten--2nd grade. Lesson materials are provided. If you are willing to help with this important work, please speak with Michael at your earliest convenience.
Pie Auction
The PWC Fifth Annual Pie Auction has been set for
Sunday, August 30 th
at 2:00pm. The best pie makers in northern
Colorado are again dusting off their rolling pins to provide us with beautiful, scrumptious, and mouth-watering delicacies of all varieties, sizes, and price ranges. Perhaps you’ll be the lucky purchaser and choose the special pie that contains a cash surprise.
Festivities will star a 2pm on Sunday August 30 th with pie delivery and viewing, followed by the thrilling and suspenseful pie auction and an ice cream social to round out the evening. Please let us know if you can attend by signing up on the Pie Auction/Ice Cream
Social poster in the narthex in the coming weeks.
Proceeds and contributions will be used to continue improvements to the church building. If you’re not able to attend but would like to support the fund-raising efforts, you can drop
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Continued from page 12 your donation into the offering plate or give your donation to a committee member. Please mark “Long Range Improvement” in the memo line.
Thanks for your support,
Long Range Improvement Committee
Mark Your Calendars
The PWC Annual Golf Tournament is scheduled for
Saturday, September 19 th
. During the month of August you will find more information.
Financial Update –As of June 2015
Budget $479,475.00
Income $215,488.13
Expenses $221,898.19
Net Income $6,410.06
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H a p p y A n n i v e r s a r y
Claude & Donna France
Brad & Amy Hoy
August 1, 1970
August 5, 1989
Michael & Nicole Smith August 6, 2011
David & Nancy Drage
Scott & Lori French
Art & Martha Pforr
Larry & Linda Siegfried
August 7, 1999
August 8, 1998
August 8, 1970
August 8, 1970
Jerry & Sara Buchleiter August 23, 1986
Loren & Sharon Wiesner August 23, 1959
August 28, 1999 Kent & Shelley Nywall
H a p p y B i r t h d a y
Julie Dokoupil
Corrie Kaiser
Carter Allison
Kerri Loesche
Paul Dumke
Austin Jesser
Michael Rohlfs
August 3
August 4
August 5
August 5
August 6
August 7
August 7
Richard Salisbury August 8
Spender Yeldell August 9
Kathy Daugherty August 10
Cassie Fiscus
Richard Lund
Anne Yeldell
August 10
August 11
August 13
August 14 Connie Jurischk
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Dylan Nierman August 14
Lorraine Schipper August 14
Micaela Nethery August 15
Myah Boehnke August 16
Owen Dahmer
Marina Rohlfs
Carsten Mueller
Nate Reeves
August 16
August 16
August 17
August 17
Michael Groves
Chris Dunker
August 19
August 20
Barbara Prenzlow August 20
Kevin Howell
Julie Kaster
Rosie Philop
Joy Bauder
August 21
August 21
August 21
August 22
Colin Fagan
Dan Juchartz
Dennis Vanatta
August 23
August 23
August 23
Krissy Petago
Audie Conard
August 25
August 26
Michelle Juchartz August 26
Mark Leising
Jan Achziger
Grace Maple
Olivia Sampson
August 27
August 29
August 30
August 30
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