Announcements for March 30: Fourth Sunday in Lent

Lenten Small Group Study Guide

Weekly study sheets are available in hard copy every Wednesday evening for the following week. You may also download them below:

Easter Flowers – FINAL SUNDAY TO DONATE: MARCH 30

Donations for Easter flowers will be accepted beginning Sunday, March 23 and running through Sunday, March 30. Please place your donation in the box on the table at the back of the church and sign the sheet so we may acknowledge your donation. Checks payable to: Women of St. Peter.

Thank you for helping make our Easter altar amazing.

Easter Preparations

The children’s Easter party and egg hunt will be held again this year on Saturday, April 19 from 9:30-11am. We need lots of help!

1. Please grab a plastic bag (or a few!) of 100 eggs from the tables under the slat wall, fill each egg with candy, and return the full bags of 100 eggs to an EMPTY BIN, no later than Palm Sunday. Instructions for egg-filling are on the tables.
2. Please sign up to help with the party itself. There are lots of roles, of various commitments and time frames. See the pink board on the slat wall table for more information. See Pastor Clark with questions.

We will also enjoy brunch after Easter Sunday worship. Please sign up to bring a dozen (or more!) eggs and/or muffins, a coffeecake, cinnamon rolls, etc. Eggs MUST be dropped off to the church no later than Good Friday (in the fridge, please!). Baked goods can be brought morning-of. Questions, see Paula Ryan.

If a family or several eager volunteers would like, it’d be great to have the outside grounds picked up after the party on Saturday the 19th (trash, large limbs, etc.). No trimming of plants or shrubs, or digging, is required! Just make the property look nice, out to both streets. See Matt Rockwell or Renee.

Interested in Becoming a Stephen Minister?

A couple weeks ago on “Noticer Sunday,” we mentioned Stephen Ministry. In response to the ongoing growth of the faith community here at St. Peter, our Stephen Ministry program is in need of additional Stephen Ministers – both male and female. Want to learn what being a Stephen Minister is all about? Check out the literature in the Stephen Ministry section of the slat wall. Have questions? Do you feel that God might be calling you to join this mutually beneficial ministry? Then just talk to one of our Stephen Ministry Leaders. Applications must be submitted by May 1 and are available from Vickie Hess. Our next Stephen Ministry training class will be starting on August 8. Stephen Ministry is truly “God’s Love in Action!”

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

We continue our pilgrimage into the Protestant traditions. This week we continue the theology of church, state, society, peace, and mission from the four principal Protestant streams: Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, Anabaptist. Never too late to join us!

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!

Thank You – and Thanks be to God!

• We raised a little more than $8700 at the Service Auction and then received a single donation that bumped us to almost $9700. We are very close to meeting our goal for funding the entire trip.
• For everybody who was involved in the youth Service Auction – those who: offered items for bidding; bought items; provided food and hospitality; served as auctioneers and runners; kept track of all the details; collected money; cleaned up after a wonderfully successful event. THANK YOU for such overwhelming and generous support!

Thanks be to God for these servants and their service!

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. We are studying the book of James. 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 6:30-7pm, with study beginning at 7pm and lasting an hour or 90 minutes, usually. We are studying Isaiah! If you would like to know more, please see John Schroeder or Mike Fonck.

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: $7404

Worship Attendance
Sunday 3/23: 132
Midweek Wednesday: 57

M.A.C. Food Pantry
• 38 pounds this week
• most needed right now: TOILET PAPER and PAPER TOWELS, feminine hygiene products; CRACKERS; jelly/preserves; Jello-O; Rice-a-Roni; bags of rice; pasta: noodles, bow-tie, elbow, spaghetti; 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
• Braille did not meet this week
Contact Sharon Csaszar (574) 904-1411 or Sandy Ellis (574) 220-3636 for more information.

Sewing Quilt Team
• sewing did not meet 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