A WORD FROM OUR BISHOP
God’s Beloved People,
I’ve just had the pleasure of attending the annual First Call Theological Education Event where pastors, diaconal ministers, deaconesses, and associates in ministry in their first three years of call attend to share wisdom, listen to experienced leaders with new ears, seek consolation, and soak in the camaraderie of other rostered leaders. It’s one of my favorite events of the year, a chance to catch up one-on-one with our newest leaders, and offer encouragement for the work.
This year’s class is squirrelly and idealistic and hopeful and we are blessed to have these leaders among us! I call them squirrelly because there’s a certain agitation to remake the church into the church they have hoped for. It makes them impatient and a little self-possessed. They are idealistic not in the world’s sense, but because they take seriously the announcement of the Kingdom of God and yearn for its manifestation, even among a people caught between sainthood and sins. And they are hopeful; hopeful they won’t repeat their first mistakes in a second call, hopeful about the joys of their work, and hopeful in God, who is remaking the church and the world.
I think it’s time for the whole church to remember these same passions even as we face the daunting questions of real life and faithfulness. We can face the future with fear or we can lean into the Guiding Principle that says we will NOT FEAR, even as we are being TRANSFORMED from one degree of righteousness to another. In fact, I hope we’ll get a little squirrelly ourselves, agitated by the hope that God’s hand is leading us and his love supporting us. The younger generations of our church don’t want us to forget to be eager and a little idealistic about the hope that has been planted in us. They yearn for a bigger church and a church that is more deeply aligned with the big-hearted inclusivity (only sinners welcome!) that Jesus showed us. The young want us to be the sign of the in-breaking Kingdom, an alternative community in a world that is paralyzed by ancient passions.
The question before us is whether we will try to continue to be the Christendom church of a young, self-centered, and impatient culture or whether we will become a sign of God’s new commonwealth even now seeding places of fertile soil. We have a profligate God constantly broadcasting the seed of new creation! Young leaders have only a few years to offer the gift of their vision of a new church. Will we authorize them to help us address our deepest challenges?
Let the wheat growing green in our fields remind us of this profligate God and the mystery of seeds breaking open not to die, but to live.
Pr. Martin Wells
Bishop
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HILLYARD FESTIVAL BREAKFAST
AT SAINT PETER
SATURDAY, AUGUST 8
7-10 AM
Come one, come all to the Hillyard Festival Breakfast right in our own basement. We will be serving blueberry pancakes (with real blueberries this year!), scrambled eggs, sausage, cereal, juice, coffee and cocoa. The cost is only $4.50 for adults, $3.50 for children. Thrivent will give us an additional $1.00 for every $2.00 that we raise. This is one of the major fundraisers to support St. Peter’s Helping Hands Food Pantry and the Neighborhood Free Breakfast. It’s also a way for us to introduce ourselves to the neighborhood and tell who we are, who Jesus is, and the ministries we are doing to make Hillyard a better place. Sign up sheets are on the large bulletin board in the Overflow Room or you can call the church office.
If you have not taken a pancake off the bulletin board in the Overflow Room, please do so. OR if you can donate pancake mix (add water), butter/margarine, or syrup (regular and sugar free), just bring it to Pastor Betty or the church office.
Thanks to everyone who contributes to this effort!
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WOMEN’S NEWS
* Please continue to collect items for the three different kinds of LWR (Lutheran World Relief) kits. Watch ads for back to school sales.
* The next board meeting will be on Thursday, August 13 at 6:30 pm at Bev Wood’s home.
* Please give any changes for our yearbook into the board as soon as possible.
* All young and older alike: If you have a computer, have you checked out the Café - a new podcast each month at www.boldcafe.org. Pastors, seminary and college students and other young women are all included in readership.
* Want an adventure in early October? The ELCA Eastern Washington/Idaho Synod women are meeting in Idaho Falls on October 9th & 10th. Contact Bea Scheele for information.
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♪♬♪ WORSHIP NOTES ♪♬♪
* The Liturgy for August will be LBW-1 (traditional)
* August 9 is the day to gather for worship at 10 am in Sharpley-Harmon Park.
* WELCOME PASTOR DARYL LUNDBY on August 16. Pastor Lundby will be our pastor while Pastor Betty is on Sabbatical December - February. Please come and meet Pastor Daryl.
* On August 23 Karen Zachau will lead us in a service of Word and Hymn Sing. Pick your favorite hymns from either the LBW (green book) or the WOV (blue book) and we will sing them that day.
* BAPTISMAL SUNDAY will be celebrated on August 30.
* UPCOMING EVENTS:
* September 13: Rally Day
* September 20: Saint Peter 98th birthday (and party)
