Dear Friends,

I hope your week is going well! There are a lot of announcements in this email. As you know from my earlier email this week, Deb Humrick, our former bookkeeper, died unexpectedly on Sunday. We continue to pray for her family during this difficult time. Her celebration of life is next Wednesday, March 29, at 11am, here at Peace. There will be a visitation at 10am, and a luncheon that will follow the service. Memorials are suggested to Peace Lutheran.

Please join us this evening for Wednesday evening, Lenten worship. We continue the presentations from our series, Promised Treasures. Chantal Branker is our worship leader this evening.

Don’t forget the concert on Friday evening, March 24, at 7pm. Straight from the Heart Media presents “From the Cradle to the Cross.” This is presented by our friend Kris O’Brien, and her friends. It will be meaningful concert experience, and features our own, Trychia Borgstrom.Everyone is welcome!!

This coming Saturday is the all-confirmation retreat, from 9am -5pm, here at church. Lunch will be provided. If your student has dietary restrictions, please contact Jessie Hodgson. This is a required retreat, so please contact Jessie if your student cannot attend.

Don’t forget to order your Easter Flowers! Order forms are available on the table in the entrance area to the church. Deadline for ordering is Thursday, March 30. Please call the church office to place an order if you are unable to be in worship or get to church, and we will help you with your order.

The youth continue their Gertens’ plant fundraiser. There are forms for online ordering in the church office. If you would prefer, you can also make donations to the youth by writing your check to Peace Lutheran and putting ‘camp support’ in the memo. We want to support our youth going to summer camp at WAPO, and every little bit helps!

We have received all the donations for our Easter Holiday Basket Ministry, and now we are busyaccepting donations to re-stock our food shelf. Thank you so much for all your generosity this year! Currently, we are accepting all our usual staples for the food shelf; including, peanut butter and jelly, boxed pastas and sauce, kid friendly cereals, pancake mix and syrup, canned vegetables, fruits and soups, and canned chicken and tuna.

The Men of Peace are hosting a pancake breakfast on Palm Sunday, April 2. Palm Sunday is our entry into Holy Week, and I hope you will plan on joining us that morning, as we worship and aswe welcome New Members.

We could use a few volunteers to help us serve refreshments on Easter morning, April 9. We will provide cinnamon rolls, juice and coffee, and we need a few volunteers who are willing to serve before the 8:30am worship and between services. Please contact the Church Office if you are able to help!

Last Sunday, there was no coffee fellowship, as no one signed up to serve. If you belong to a circle or a group at Peace, please consider signing up to provide refreshments. On the Sundays when no one has signed up, and Nancy Ritzinger is not available, there will be no coffee fellowship opportunities. Serving refreshments is not a function of my staff, and we hope that individuals, groups or families, will sign up. We have cookies available for you to serve if this is helpful. Please contact the Church Office to sign up or sign up on the board in the Fellowship Hall.

We are working on a Silent Auction for Peace Lutheran. The Silent Auction will be held on Sunday, May 7. We are looking for donations of baskets for the auction. Please contact me if you are willing to provide a basket or item for the Silent Auction.

As we continue our Lenten journey to Easter morning, please remember to prayerfully consider making an additional financial gift to the mission and ministry of Peace Lutheran. In this season, as in all seasons of the church year, we are ever reminded of God’s blessings in our lives. During the Lenten season especially, we remember Jesus’ public ministry and his sacrificial death on the cross. I hope your Easter preparations are going well, and that God would richly bless you and your family this season!

Take care… be safe…

Pastor Valerie