Dear Friends in Christ,

Leymah Gbowee, a Liberian activist is an active member of a Liberian Lutheran congregation. She was instrumental in bringing her country of Liberia out of a brutal ten year civil war. She was awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her work. Gbowee says the best way to achieve global peace is to start in local communities. She said at a presentation at the Interchurch Center in New York City on October 7th, 2011 that "It is time for us to do justice in our communities. . . . One day the world's problems will meet you at your doorstep.”
Gbowee, citing the examples of Christian peace and justice advocates such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, said she does not believe it is possible to practice nonviolent action without some connection to a higher power. "My faith has really helped me," said Gbowee citing her Lutheran faith. "When you move so quickly from innocence to a world of fear, pain and loss, it's as if the flesh of your heart and mind gets cut away, piece by piece, like slices taken off a ham. Finally, there is nothing left but the bone."
In 1996, six years after Charles Taylor began the rebellion that toppled the government of Samuel Doe and led to multiple struggles for power among warlords, Liberia lay in ruins. The entire infrastructure—roads, hospitals, schools, electricity—was gone. Soldiers had shot up anything left standing, including light poles. More than 80 percent of the population was living below the poverty line. Little boys were toting AK-47s that they could hardly lift but knew how to shoot.
During this time, Gbowee was forced to survive any way she could. She accepted protection from a man who fathered her children but also beat her often. She went from a young bright student, to survivor, to abused woman, to mother and protector of many children, to peacemaker, to activist, to spokeswoman for all women and an international traveler, speaker and award winner. Gbowee was part of a group called the Women in Peace-building Network. One night she had a vivid, disturbing dream without images but with a clear voice speaking to her in the darkness: "Gather the women to pray for peace!" At 5 a.m., when she awoke, Gbowee was shaking. Her first thought was of the unworthiness she felt.
As Gbowee began to act on the vision she had been given, her lack of confidence began to fall away and her confidence increased. In April 2002, about 20 Lutheran women gathered and formed the Christian Women's Peace Initiative. This small initiative, funded by church benevolence, grew into a Christian-Muslim national movement of women who demanded and eventually wrested peace from the war’s leaders.
Gbowee's life is a classical spiritual journey. At first the disruptive forces of war causes Gbowee to lose her untested faith. Later she finds great strength in prayer, in hymn singing and in the promise of Isaiah 54:11, a verse she returns to over and over again: "I will lay thy foundations with sapphires." She supports her Muslim sisters in their peacemaking journey. The image of Jesus as Prince of Peace and as peacemaker gives Gbowee strength as she joins other women in confronting the powers and principalities in a prolonged and costly war. At one point in the battle for peace, women wearing white begin to appear in a field near a fish market where Gbowee had played soccer as a child. As the women appear, she gives voice to the words they need to hear: "In the past, we were silent, . . . but after being killed, raped, dehumanized and infected with diseases, and watching our children and families destroyed, war has taught us that the future lies in saying no to violence and yes to peace! We will not relent until peace prevails!"
Pastor Harding
*Ash Wednesday falls on February 22nd. Services will be at 11:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Worship and Music Highlights

The Worship and Music committee had a meeting on January 9th, 2012 and a couple things came up for discussion. We are interested in knowing about any folks, young or old, who play musical instruments. Some of our special music calls for instrumentation. If you have a talent and would like to share it on a Sunday morning or perhaps at a special event, please contact Milli Kleiber, our Music Director.
The Worship and Music committee along with the Property committee talked about the space issue St. Paul’s has. We are running out of room in the Altar Guild closets and we also need some space to store some of the equipment the Praise Team uses. There will be more discussion on this topic.
The pipe organ was tuned in December and a contract signed for it’s regular tuning and maintenance.

Coffee Hour Changes...From the Fellowship Committee

The Fellowship Committee is making some changes in our coffee hour. The changes address concerns brought to our Church Council who have made recommendations and requested that the Fellowship Committee oversee the smooth running of this social activity.
Effective February, 2012, please adhere to the following recommendations as a Coffee Hour Server:
• Servers make coffee and hot water for tea and have it ready to serve at the end of the service.
• Servers fill cups for juice.
• Servers buy one half gallon of milk, one container of juice, and packages of pre-made cookies.
• Cleaning responsibilities are table tops, kitchen surfaces, clean coffee pot, put things away and wash linens.
The Church will provide:
• Coffee, tea bags, sugar
• Stirrers, cups, napkins
If servers choose to bake or buy other items besides prepackaged cookies, it must be for a designated special occasion and the special occasion must be noted by the Fellowship Committee. Examples include baptisms, special birthdays and anniversaries.
A three month server schedule will be posted in advance on the bulletin board with special events listed. Examples include First Communion, Confirmation, Church Picnics, and Quarterly Brunches. If you have a concern with the schedule please see a member of the Fellowship Committee. (Ed & Stephanie Stephens, Faye Jones, Jeannette Richardson, Dave & Carol Struthwolf, Alisa Metzgar, Laura Walton, Deb Giovannoli, and Hilary Lew)
We thank you in advance for your cooperation and we hope you will consider being a coffee hour server.

For Your Calendar…
FAT TUESDAY
POTLUCK FAMILY DINNER
Tuesday, February 21 6:30 PM
More information will follow in the bulletin!

Covenant Keepers News…

Covenant Keepers News

By the time this news gets published and barring bad weather, our ON THE TOWN night of music will have come and gone. We hope those who attended had a great night especially since we had the opportunity to use our wonderful new Celebration Hall. What a great feeling! Thank you in advance to all who participated in the night’s festivities from the food prep and service to the many talented people who so enrich our musical life in our church. We have a torrent of talent in our church. So thank you in advance. We will be following that night with our St. Patty’s dinner hosted again by Tim Lasslett et al. I understand that Kaye Malinowitzer and company have the service roster set and ready to get into gear for all of our coming events----including our April 28th golf tournament. Talk about efficiency. So Happy New Year to all. Let’s get out and support all our festive fun-raiser events. Fun-raiser is OK...right, Pastor?

K. May Ertle and the Covenant Keepers

It’s that time of year again. We are getting ready for St Paul’s 3rd annual Swing Into Spring Golf Tournament. If anyone is interesting in playing golf, placing an advertisement, sponsoring a hole, adding their name to our sponsor page, or donating gifts for the raffle, please contact Meredith Smith, 570-426-1137 for more information.

Also, if anyone is interested in volunteering any time for the day, we would be happy to have the help.

On The Town
A Night of Music

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Light Buffet
Celebration Hall
6:30 to 7:30 PM

On The Town
Church Sanctuary
7:45 PM

Tickets on sale January 8th
Adults $15.00
Children 10 and under $5.00
Start spreading the news!!

School News

Our Preschool is busy learning everything about Winter. The students will be sending chapel donations from the months of January and February to Heifer International. We will be having our annual St. Valentine’s Day Ice Cream Social on Wednesday, February 8th. The students will invite their families to join them.
Gear your taste buds up for CHOCOLATE! The Gertrude Hawk fundraiser will begin on Sunday February 12th! Please look for order forms on the tables during coffee hour.
We will begin registration for the 2012/2013 school year in March. Thank you all as always for your support!

Sunday School News

Looking ahead, First Communion will be Sunday, April 1, 2012. All baptized children in second grade or older are eligible to make their First Communion. Sunday School families will receive an information letter during February and a parent's meeting will be held at the beginning of March. Classes for the children will also be in March during the Sunday School hour. If your child does not attend Sunday School but you would like them to receive their First Communion, please contact Pastor Harding.

FOOD PANTRY NEWS: