A MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF WORD OF PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCHA MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF WORD OF PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCHA MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF WORD OF PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCHA MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF WORD OF PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH

JULY 2013JULY 2013JULY 2013JULY 2013

PEACE NOTESPEACE NOTESPEACE NOTESPEACE NOTES

WORD OF PEACE STAFF

SERVES, PLANS, AND PRAYS TOGETHER

The Word of Peace

staff had their annual

Planning Retreat on

May 21-22 at The

Preserve in Rogers.

23 staff members met

for the two-day re-

treat to share in wor-

shipping, visioning,

planning and serving. The visioning and planning centered around the

Holy Cow Survey that the congrega&on completed in December of 2011.

Staff from each area of ministry (worship, preschool, administra&on,

educa&on, healing and youth) addressed the ques&ons of: What is our

cri�cal place in the world? What is God calling us to do?

The staff also planned out the ministry programs and ac&vi&es for the

2013-2014 school year, including brainstorming ideas for promo&ng the

two upcoming sermon series: “Grace” (fall series) and “The Greatest

Story: Jesus” (winter series).

A highlight of the retreat was serv-

ing at CROSS Food Shelf in Rogers.

CROSS is in the process of reorgan-

izing their facility and the Word of

Peace staff played a huge role in

clearing out and se6ng up areas for

school supplies, toys, books, sea-

sonal displays and food.

When the morning’s work was

completed, the staff then came

together in the CROSS

warehouse to pray over one

another and share in Holy

Communion.

An Incredible Spring

of Support for CROSS

Word of Peace contributes to

CROSS Food Shelf every month

through dona&ons to CROSS Cor-

ner, but that’s not all. We also sup-

port CROSS in many other ways

and this has been an incredible

spring of giving!

• A third $5,000 check was donat-

ed to CROSS as a way we give

back to our community while

raising funds for the “Strong

Founda&on” building fund. And a

fourth $5,000 check will be going

to CROSS soon!

• 250 people a<ended the “Empty

Bowls” community fundraiser,

the majority of whom were Word

of Peace members. Nearly

$4,000 was raised for CROSS at

this event.

• Over 125 people par&cipated in

the “Stomp Out Hunger” 5K and

we raised over $2,000 for CROSS.

Click on this code with

your smartphone to learn

more about CROSS.

2

21705 129th Ave. N.

P.O. Box 306

Rogers, MN 55374

Church Office

763-496-2400 (press 3 to leave an emergency

message for the pastor)

On the Web

www.wordofpeace.org

www.facebook.com/

wordofpeace

Office Hours

Mon-Thurs 8am-4:30pm

Fri 8am-12:30pm

Our Vision Statement Our vision is to be a community where

everyone knows Christ’s Love and

shares Christ’s Love with all people.

Our Mission Statement Christ works through us as we:

• Welcome all people to grow in

faith, love and devo&on,

• Share Christ through word

and deed,

• Care for others and the world

God made, and

• Work for jus&ce and peace.

NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS Contact Jennie Priebe at

763-496-2401 or jpriebe@woplc.org.

August newsle�er deadline:

July 12 at Noon

JulyJuly Sermons & ReadingsSermons & Readings

July 7 & 8, 2013 Pastor Krista Strum,

“Viral Church”

Jesus set up the Kingdom to be spread through his first followers and that is

s&ll the intent today. It’s Viral! We share God’s Kingdom when we share the

love of Christ with others.

Scripture Readings: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20; Gala�ans 6:[1-6] 7-16; Psalm 66:1-9;

Isaiah 66:10-14

July 14 & 15, 2013 Pastor Ron Prasek,

“XOXOXO”

Signing le<ers with X’s and O’s used to be very common and now they’re back

in emails and texts. They have always been a part of the Bible’s message: God’s

love never changes.

Scripture Readings: Colossians 1:1-14; Luke 10:25-37; Psalm 25:1-10

July 21 & 22, 2013 Pastor Rick Skare,

“Martyrs Unite”

Are you overworked? Are you worried and distracted by many things? Will

things get done if you don’t do them? Are you resenOul of others? If so, then

Jesus wants to talk to you.

Scripture Readings: Luke 10:38-42; Genesis 18:1-10a; Colossians 1:15-28;

Psalm 15

July 28 & 29, 2013 Pastor Ron Prasek,

“Prayer: How to Get to it and Focus on it”

Not everyone is “good” at prayer. That’s why Jesus gave us the Lord’s Prayer.

It’s a good place to begin.

Scripture Readings: Luke 11:1-13; Colossians 2:6-15 [16-19]; Psalm 138

3

Like Us on Facebook!

Follow Us on Twi;er!

Come be a part of our online community of

Word of Peace friends! Stay up-

to-date on what’s happening at church,

view pictures and videos from various

events, post comments or create discus-

sions about sermons or studies, etc.

www.facebook.com/wordofpeace

www.twi;er.com/woplc

Happenings

Congrega>on Mission Trip to India We are looking for members and friends of

our congrega&on to go to India in 2014!

Two trips are planned:

January 16-30, 2014 and late July-

early August 2014. The summer trip

is open to high school students as

well as adults.

Contact Pastor Ron at 763-496-

2400 or rprasek@woplc.org,

Heather Swanson at

marajade909@yahoo.com or

Janelle Skinner at janelle.r.

skinner@gmail.com for details.

Na>onal Alliance on Mental Illness Walk: Changing Minds….One Step at a Time.

The Mental Health Task Force is building a team for the

Na&onal Alliance on Mental Illness Walk. For the 6th year,

this 5K walk will be in Minnehaha Park on Saturday, Sep-

tember 29th at 1pm.

NAMIWalks will bring together people who are living with

mental illness, their families, friends and supporters. Men-

tal illness is like any other illness, and members of NAMI

come together to fight the s&gma that surrounds it so that

people get treatment and support.

Please join us in walking or donate in support of our par&c-

ipa&on in this fundraising event. You can join our walk or

donate online at www.namiwalks.nami.org/woplc. What-

ever you can give is greatly appreciated – it all adds up! If

you have any ques&ons, please call Jessica Haeder at 763-

657-1371.

SAVE THESE DATES…

August 8:

Community Corn Feed

Proceeds will go to C.R.O.S.S, Kids Against

Hunger, Our Lady Of Peace Hospice, and

the Word of Peace general fund.

August 10:

Carrie Lorman Memorial 6K Run

8:30am Race begins

9:45am Brooklynn’s Brigade Kiddie Run

Register online by August 6 at

www.ac&ve.com. For more info. visit

www.carrieon5k.com/.

September 8:

Peace Fest

We will celebrate our fall kick-off with

lunch, games and other fes&vi&es. Con-

tact Karen Running at 763-496-2421 or

krunning@woplc.org for more infor-

ma&on.

September 8:

Church School Begins

3 year olds through 5th Graders—

Register for church school outside the

Educa&on office or at

www.wordofpeace.org

4

Learning Ministry Thank You VBS

Volunteers! Vaca&on Bible School was

a wonderful week of fun

and a meaningful week of

learning thanks to the more than 200 adults and stu-

dents who served in so many diverse ways throughout

the week. A very special thank-you to Megan Moen and

Karee Van De Riet who worked endlessly and &relessly

to help our short-staffed educa&on department get

ready for hundreds of VBS kids!

We are so grateful for the giTs that God brought in eve-

ry person who served the week. Thank you, Thank you

from the bo<om of our hearts!

Vibrant Faith at Home Looking for a Summer of Great Faith-

Building Ac&vi&es for Families, Teens,

Adults, Singles and Married People?

Go to this free resource: www.vibranOaithathome.org

Church School Teachers are Needed

This Fall! “I’m not qualified... I’ve never done that before... it’s too

much time... I don’t know my Bible well enough…” Guess

who said all of those things? Moses. Yep, that’s right,

Moses. And if God can use Moses to free the Israelite

slaves and turn him into a prophet—God will do even

greater things with you!

Spend a year learning alongside students and share your

faith with kids. Grab your spouse or friend and commit

to teaching twice a month for our church school pro-

gram. Your life will be blessed!

Confirmation Service Hours It’s important to teach our kids that serving their church

is an important way to be a follower of Jesus. All of our

confirmation students are required to give five service

hours to their church per year.

Please remember that you MUST FILL OUT A SERVICE

HOUR FORM and submit it to Carrie Fischer to receive

credit for your service hours. Thank you for your assis-

tance!

Is God Calling You to the

BeFriender Ministry?

BeFrienders are trained to listen. The

theme is, “We care, not cure.” Each

BeFriender is assigned one person to

visit with once a week. This person

could be a shut in, someone new to the community, a

new mother, a person recovering from surgery or some-

one suffering a loss.

Our BeFrienders report that this is a truly rewarding min-

istry. The caring that they do enriches their lives as well

as the lives of the people they visit. They also re-mark

that the training is very helpful in their day-to-day con-

tacts in the family and at work.

Talk with any BeFriender for more informa&on. Contact

Beth Brekke for informa&on about BeFriender training

classes at 763-496-2411 or bbrekke@woplc.org.

Boz the Bear

Preschool Camp When: July 15–19

Time: 9:00am -11:30am

Ages: 3-5 years (po<y trained)

Cost: $65.00

Come join the fun with Boz the Bear and friends at Kids of

Peace Preschool’s summer camp. Sign up today! Go to

www.wordofpeace.org for more details or contact Julie

Piccona<o with ques&ons at (763) 496-2419 or jpic-

cona<o@woplc.org.

New Men’s Group All men are invited to Word of Peace on Sunday evenings

from 8-9pm for fellowship, support, and discussion of the

book, Point Man: How a Man Can Lead His Family. This

bestselling classic encourages and equips Chris&an men to

lead their families successfully through hazards and am-

bushes like divorce, promiscuity, suicide, and drug addic-

&on. Men will find prac&cal insight on topics such as a fa-

ther’s influence, maintaining purity, and husband-and-wife

teamwork.

Books can be purchased online at amazon.com or at the

group gathering. For more informa&on contact Eric Hen-

derson at 763-898-8907.

5

Seniors

Please contact Judy Hanson at 763-428-7657 for resource, community or gen-

eral informa&on for seniors in the Rogers area. To subscribe to the Rogers Sen-

ior Newsle<er, call 763-241-3520. Read the newsle<er online at

www.seniors.cityofrogers.org.

• Thursday Senior Shop Rogers

Bus—Thursdays at 10am, $1.00 per

rider. Contact Judy at 763-428-

7657.

• Jammers Potluck & Music—

Sunday, July 7 from 1-5pm (eat at

4pm) at the Rogers Community

Room. Contact Dave at 763-428-

4217.

• Rogers Senior Dining—Tuesday

through Thursday every week at

12:00 noon at the Rogers Commu-

nity Room. Call at least two days in

advance by 2pm for reserva&ons,

763-428-0976. Cost: 55+ $4.00. Un-

der 55 $7.00.

• Cards & Games are played Tues-

days through Thursdays from 12:30

-2pm at the Rogers Community

Room. Call Margaret, 763-428-

8650.

• Happy Feet Footcare, Inc. will pro-

vide foot care services at the Rog-

ers Community Room on Thurs-

day, July 11 from 9am-4pm. Nurses

who specialize in rou&ne foot care

for elder and diabe&c feet will work

on corns, calluses, thick or curled

toenails and ingrown nails. A foot

soak and massage are provided

with each visit. Please call 763-560-

5136 for an appointment or to ask

ques&ons. Cost: $20.00 per session.

• Plymouth Playhouse Ou>ng—

Friday, July 26 at 1pm. Call Marga-

ret for more informa&on at 763-

428-8650.

• The Word of Peace Kids-Care Bus

takes seniors shopping at Ridgedale

every other month. The next trip

will be August 13. Cost is $1.00 for

the round trip. The bus will pick us

up at Word of Peace at 9:30am and

return us by 1:30pm. Call Judy to

sign up at 763-428-7657.

CROSS Corner CROSS is not only a food shelf.

The organiza&on also helps cli-

ents get back to work by teaching

them job skills, helping them

write resumés, assis&ng them in

their search for employment and

much more. If you would like to

help with CROSS contact Pam

Baumgartner at 612-803-0448 or

call CROSS at 763-425-1050.

In May, the Word of Peace con-

grega&on gave $973.42 and 174

lbs. of food to C.R.O.S.S.. Thank

you!!

July Food Shelf Needs: Baking

items such as flour, sugar, baking

soda, vanilla extract, etc.

Under the new leadership of Execu-

&ve Director, Elizabeth Johnson,

CROSS has a new vision. Part of that

vision is to increase awareness about

CROSS and about those in our com-

munity who need their services.

With a grant from Hunger Free MN,

CROSS also has a new logo and a new

website coming soon:

www.CROSSservices.org

CROSS is looking for dona&ons of

the following:

• 4 small round tables with

chairs

• 1 ever-burning light

• 2 counter-height chairs

• 1 magazine wall rack

• 30 locker cubes

• 2 bookshelves

• Cash register with pro-

grammed scale

• Emergency ligh&ng

Word of Peace only collects food

dona�ons in the CROSS Corner. If

you can donate any of the above,

please bring them directly to

CROSS or contact Pam Baumgart-

ner at 612-803-0448.

6

When have you felt closer to God? Or

when has He seemed closer to you?

I have lived with the assurance that

beginning with my bap&sm, God is

with me, by me, even within me. But

when I broke my femur I was over-

whelmed with his presence.

From the moment the

neighbor responded

to my screams as I

went face down on

the sidewalk, to the

present moment as I

take tests to deter-

mine the cause in or-

der to avoid another

fall, I have sensed

God with me.

ATer the ini&al pain

and the recogni&on

that I could see the

broken bone through my slacks, I felt a

complete peace. As the ambulance

arrived, I sent the neighbor in to get

my purse with my ID. When slammed

the door behind him, I suddenly felt

that this will no longer be my home.

But it did not ma<er. I momentarily

thought, “I may get to see Milo (my

late husband),” but then I realized I

wasn’t hurt that bad.

I experienced God’s love as many took

care of me—the neighbor, the ambu-

lance workers, the emergency staff as

they prepared me for X-ray and

s&tched up my forehead and nose, the

surgeon, the hospital staff, the en&re

staff at Masonic Home, and my family

who somehow came from all direc-

&ons in the Twin Ci&es to be with me.

As I talked with workers, I heard their

dedica&on, their sa&sfac&on in their

work and I saw their pa&ence even as

they answered the call light in the

middle of the night. My constant pray-

er throughout this ordeal was “Thank

you, God, as you work in and through

them.”

I knew people were and are praying

for me. Your cards and caring messag-

es illustrate this,

but I know you so

well that I know

your prayers are

always there for

me and for our

church family.

I have truly experi-

enced the over-

whelming peace

that is promised in

Philipians 4: 4

Rejoice in the Lord

always; again I will

say, rejoice. The

Lord is at hand; 6

do not be anxious

about anything, but in everything by

prayer and supplica�on with thanks-

giving let your requests be made

known to God. 7

And the peace of God,

which surpasses all understanding, will

guard your hearts and your minds in

Christ Jesus.

Beth Brekke received over 100 cards from the loving people at Word of Peace.

There is a TV ad for one of our local grocery chains that has

as its focus the word “Joy”—the joy of good food. OTen,

when we think of giving to our Lord through his church,

the mood can be nega&ve. We need to remember that the

New Testament has an en&rely different view.

In Second Corinthians, St Paul says, “God loves a cheerful

giver.” As you generously support our Lord’s work through

Word of Peace, may you experience joy—true and increas-

ing joy.

— Pastor Ron and the Stewardship Team

Perfect Peace

Handicap Parking is for

Those who are Handicapped!

The handicapped parking stalls are eserved for

people that hold a handicap s>cker/tag. Please

respect the law and these individuals.

If you have a s&cker or tag

authorizing the use of these

stalls, please be sure to dis-

play it prominently so there is

no confusion. Rogers Police

have no&fied us that cars

parked illegally in these stalls

will be &cketed.

7

MS MSM.AM.(youth group) meets two Sundays a month

from 9:30-10:30am in the youth room. Join us July 7th

and 21st for food, devo&ons and outdoor games!

MS Middle School Movie Nights—July 12th and August

16th, from 6-8pm in the Youth Room. We’ll have snacks,

trivia and prizes, and friends are always welcome!

MS-HS 6th-12th graders, mark your calendars for

Wednesday, August 14 for our annual trip to Valleyfair!

Cost is $30 and includes admission and bus transporta-

&on. All youth must provide a signed and completed

Word of Peace Health & Registra&on form (located on

the wall outside the youth office). A sign-up sheet will be

posted on the youth board beginning Sunday, July 16.

NOTE: The new Dinosaurs Alive Interac&ve Experience is

not included with admission.

HS Wednesday Night Bonfires con&nue! Join us for food,

outdoor games, hanging out around the fire, the mystery

food and the ques&on of the night at 7:30pm.

HS Themed Movie Night: July 24 at dusk. What theme

will we come up with next for our outdoor movie night? Star

Wars? A Scary Movie? Pirates? Check the website and youth

board for updates.

HS Coming this fall: A whole new way of looking at youth

group! Word of Peace youth ministry is revamping senior high

youth group. There are going to be new and amazing ways for

teens to connect with their friends as well as grow in their

faith. There will be big Friday night par&es, small group discus-

sion groups, monthly fun or service events, youth worship ser-

vices, retreats, and so much more! We will need tons of teen

leaders as well as adult mentors and volunteers to make this

happen. Keep an eye on the website for more informa&on.

HS Summer 2014 Mission Trips are coming! Registra&on be-

gins September 2013.

HS Summer 2015 Na&onal Youth Gathering: Mark your calen-

dars for July 15-19.

For informa�on about youth ministries, go to www.wordofpeace.org/middle-school or www.wordofpeace.org/high-school.

YOUTH MINISTRY MS: MS: MS: MS: Middle School Y

outh, Grades 6-8 HS: HS: HS: HS: High School Yout

h, Grades 9-12

For six weeks each summer, our youth

and adult leaders go out into the com-

munity to serve and play together.

This summer, we’re blessed to have

86 middle and high schoolers and over

30 adult volunteers par&ci-

pa&ng! Together, we’re living out the

meaning of Ma<hew 5:16: “In the

same way, let your light shine before

others, so that they may see your

good works and give glory to your Fa-

ther who is in heaven.”

If you’re curious to know what we’re

up to, take a look at our busy sched-

ule:

In June, we had a great &me serving at

Feed My Starving Children (hunger

relief organiza&on) and playing at

Summer Stretch 2013

Cheap Skate roller rink and

Brunswick Zone bowling alley.

In July, we’ll be serving at Sec-

ond Harvest Heartland

(hunger relief organiza&on)

and Hillside Hope Through

Hooves (equine therapy), and

we’ll play disc golf at Forest

Adventure and swim at Beebe

Lake.

In August we’ll serve at The Wellstead of Rogers and play field games and watch a

movie at Word of Peace. And we’ll finish our summer fun with an all-day trip to

Valleyfair.

Summer Stretch is a growing ministry for 6th

-12th

graders and we thank you for

your prayers and support. If you see us around town in our blue t-shirts, be sure to

say hi!

NonNonNonNon----Profit Org.Profit Org.Profit Org.Profit Org. US PostageUS PostageUS PostageUS Postage PAIDPAIDPAIDPAID

ROGERS, MNROGERS, MNROGERS, MNROGERS, MN PERMIT NO. 9PERMIT NO. 9PERMIT NO. 9PERMIT NO. 9

C h a n g e S e r v i c e R e q u e s t e d

SundaysSundaysSundaysSundays 8:30 a.m. Traditional8:30 a.m. Traditional8:30 a.m. Traditional8:30 a.m. Traditional 10:00 a.m. Blended10:00 a.m. Blended10:00 a.m. Blended10:00 a.m. Blended

MondaysMondaysMondaysMondays

6:30 p.m. Contemporary6:30 p.m. Contemporary6:30 p.m. Contemporary6:30 p.m. Contemporary

SUMMER

WORSHIP

SCHEDULE!

I forgot to mail I forgot to mail I forgot to mail I forgot to mail

our offering…our offering…our offering…our offering…

so we have to go so we have to go so we have to go so we have to go

back To Rogersback To Rogersback To Rogersback To Rogers Nooooooooo!Nooooooooo!Nooooooooo!Nooooooooo!

Sign up today at the Informa>on Desk or online at www.wordofpeace.org

Don’t let this happen to you.Don’t let this happen to you.Don’t let this happen to you.Don’t let this happen to you.

direct giving