Announcements for February 16: Sixth Sunday after Epiphany

New Member Sunday and Potluck after Worship: 2 March 2025

In worship on Sunday, March 2nd, we will welcome 18 new members in 7 households to St. Peter. Please also join us for a potluck after worship. MLT, Elders, and “J&P Catering” are providing pulled pork sandwiches (in support of NYG), as well as dessert. Please click here to RSVP and sign up to bring a SIDE or SALAD.

National Youth Gathering Auction: Request for Donations to Support Our Youth!

This auction is our largest fundraiser in support of the National Youth Gathering. We invite you to offer items for auction in one of three categories: food, service, or miscellaneous. Food examples: cake or cookies baked to order, jar of homemade applesauce, etc. Service examples: yardwork, errands, tutoring, photo session, computer help, etc. Misc. examples: hosted game night with cooking for 4, pool party, boardgame basket, movie night basket, skilled hand-made jewelry, etc. Ultimately, anything you are good at, or any common interest, can be turned into a service or other item! Please click here to sign-up to donate.

Please also save the date for the auction: Sunday, March 23 after worship.

Soliciting Members: Emergency Prayer Team

Mary Jo Dubie, who has a passion for the power of prayer, is soliciting members for a prayer team that is immediately accessible when there is a life-threatening emergency (only). Team members will receive the call and be asked to call one other person. This team will serve alongside our regular prayer list and procedure for all other prayers.

If you would like to join the team, please see Mary Jo at church. Once the team is up and running, we will let everyone know how to reach them for prayer. Let’s cover each other in prayer when the need is greatest!

Thank you!

To all who donated goodies for our college student care packages – thank you! We packed 11 boxes this year stuffed with all sorts of delicious snacks.  Here’s our students for this year:

Anna Borger – freshman at IU Bloomington
Sam Borger – grad student at GVSU
Ryan Eastland – junior at ND; girlfriend Gabbi Kile also at ND
Hannah Stevenson – PhD candidate at ND
Rob Hunt 4.0 – starting a masters’ program in physical therapy
Alexa Hunt – junior at Butler
Meghan Carter – sophomore at Valpo
Anna Muhlenkamp – attending IUSB
Jadin Coddens – St. Mary’s
Ethan Baird – senior at Purdue

Items missing!!!

Sometimes items get borrowed from the office (which is fine!) but not returned. If you happen to know the whereabouts of the letter opener and the really nice pair of scissors, can you please return them to the office? Thanks so much!

Sunday Adult Bible Study, 9am: Confessional Lutherans in the Wider Body

We continue our pilgrimage into the Protestant traditions. This week, we hear the initial history (and divisive issues) among the three initial streams that appeared alongside the Lutheran (Reformed, Anabaptist, Anglican). From there, we’ll continue into the distinctive characteristics of the Reformed, Anabaptist, and Anglican traditions and the further “branches” we see today (Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, Mennonite, Pentecostal, etc.). Insights and inspiration await!

Call for Christmas Trees!

We are STILL LOOKING for artificial Christmas trees for our VBS program in the summer of 2025. If you have one that you are ready to get rid of, please let Krista Hunt know. We’d be happy to collect it now or anytime before summer if you don’t plan to keep it for next December. Another option would be if you have a tree you would be willing to loan us for the week during VBS, consider packing it up and leaving in an accessible location to make a quick grab from your storage area in June. Green trees in all sizes, styles, and shapes would be welcomed. Thank you for keeping us in mind!

Save the Date! NYG Fundraiser – Trivia Night at St. Paul, Saturday, March 1

Thank You – and Thanks be to God!

• For Cindy Matthews, who serves in so many capacities here at St. Peter (see pictures below): College Box coordinator, MAC Food Panty Coordinator, Financial Secretary and “Counters” coordinator, and more!
• For Mark and Karen Waldron and Dave Luster-Bartz, our other Counters, who stay “over-time” to ensure our offerings are rightly handled.
• For Marty and Jan Orlowski, who have now completed a second phase of converting lights to LEDs: in the Sunday School Wing, Cry Room, Youth Room, and closets.

Resurrection Lutheran Academy (RLA)
News, Info, and Ministry Opportunities

Bible Studies & Ministry Updates and Opportunities

Sunday Servants Gather Before Worship

All who help lead the Divine Service gather promptly at 10:05am to take 3 minutes to prepare their hearts and minds for worship. If you are serving as altar guild, usher, crucifer/acolyte, lector, greeter, tech person, elder, musician/dancer, doorkeeper or other HEART member, etc. on a particular Sunday, please come together for quick introductions and short prayer led by Deaconess Amy Smessaert. Together, we will ask God to bless our service to God’s people as we live connected in spiritual formation in Christ. All confirmands and parents are encouraged to participate, whether or not you are serving on that Sunday.   

Winter Mid-Week Bible Studies

THURSDAY MORNING, 9am at church: we meet in the “library area” of the narthex. Our next study on the book of James begins late February. We’d love for you to join us! Connect with Paula Ryan or call Renee in the office (574-255-5585).

FRIDAY NIGHT: 1st and 3rd Fridays 6:30pm: we meet in the fellowship hall. Hosts offer dinner from 6:30-7, with study beginning at 7 and lasting about an hour, usually. We begin this new year with a study of Isaiah! If you’ve never been part of this group and would like to join, please see John Schroeder or Mike Fonck. All are welcome!

Pick Your Next Usher Date!

Thanks to everyone who has served as an usher or part of an usher team. It’s time to pick another date to serve! Please sign up on the Sunday Servants sheet on the slat wall. You can see the specific list of duties, with video demos, here. A veteran usher will assist you and teach you one extra duty beyond communion each time you serve.

Offerings
General Fund: $5965
Memorials: $50
Endowment: $20
Maintenance and Capital Improvement: $20

Worship Attendance
Sunday 2/9: 115

M.A.C. Food Pantry
• 486 pounds this week
• The Food Pantry is under new leadership and has developed an expanded list of needed items.
• most needed right now: bags of rice; pasta: noodles, bow-tie, elbow, spaghetti; crackers; boxed potatoes; canned tuna; toilet paper; feminine hygiene; adult diapers; Jiffy; side dishes
Contact Cindy Matthews (574) 855-3504 for more information.

Braille Bible Team
• 16 copies of Galatians-Philemon in Spanish; plus 9 copies of the same on Saturday with SPY!
Contact Sharon Csaszar (574) 904-1411 or Sandy Ellis (574) 220-3636 for more information.

Sewing Quilt Team
• 5 quilts this week
Through the program year, the sewing group meets Tuesdays to cut squares, size sheets, assemble backs and fronts of quilts, iron sheets, sew and pin quilts. Participants of ANY skill level from the least to the greatest are welcome. If you are interested in this human care ministry, contact Helga Platz (574) 514-3751 for more information.

Prayer Requests may be submitted by:

• Using the convenient on-line Submit New Prayer Request Here Link
• Adding written prayers to the “Our Gathering Prayers” form on Sunday morning