Peace Notes W��� �� P�� L� ���� C���� ���.���������.��� P.O. B�� 306, R�����, MN 55374 � 763.496.2400

JUNE 2012

UPCOMING EVENTS UPCOMING EVENTS UPCOMING EVENTS UPCOMING EVENTS

June 21-24 Visit us at the Word of Peace

Food Booth during Rockin’ Rogers

June 23

Watch for the Word of Peace float at the Rockin’ Rogers Parade

August 9

Community Corn Feed

SUMMER WORSHIP SERVICESSUMMER WORSHIP SERVICESSUMMER WORSHIP SERVICESSUMMER WORSHIP SERVICES

SUNDAYS: 8:30 am (Traditional)

10:00 am (Contemporary)

MONDAYS: 6:30 pm (Evening Contemporary) Stay for Sundaes on Mondays

More Information Inside or at More Information Inside or at More Information Inside or at More Information Inside or at

wordofpeace.orgwordofpeace.orgwordofpeace.orgwordofpeace.org

SUMMERTIME at

WORD OF PEACE!

SUMMER CAMPSSUMMER CAMPSSUMMER CAMPSSUMMER CAMPS

Family Camp June 8-10

Kids Camps June 10-15 and Aug. 5-10

CHILDREN’S MINISTRYCHILDREN’S MINISTRYCHILDREN’S MINISTRYCHILDREN’S MINISTRY

Vacation Bible School June 25-29

Preschool Camp with Boz! July 16-20

YOUTH MINISTRYYOUTH MINISTRYYOUTH MINISTRYYOUTH MINISTRY

912_Bonfires Wednesday evenings

Summer Stretch Middle and high school youth meet for service, and fun Select Wednesdays

throughout the summer.

National Youth Gathering 86 youth and adults are headed to New Orleans

July 17-24

2

Pastor Krista Strum

Faith Formation Pastor

I recently returned from a gradua�on of a

very special person in my life. I drove to

Sioux Falls, South Dakota and was greet-

ed by a 23 year old young man I’ve

known for a very long �me. He was

wai�ng for me in the hotel lobby and as I

walked into the door received the big-

gest, �ghtest, warmest embrace with the

words “WELCOME, I am so glad you are

here!”

To be welcomed is a wonderful experi-

ence. Part of Word of Peace’s Mission

statement is “Christ works through us as

we: welcome all people to grow in faith,

love, and devo�on.”

We welcome you into the Lord’s family,

we receive you as a fellow member of the

body of Christ, child of the same heavenly

Father and worker with us in the kingdom

of God. These are the words of welcome

heard at every bap�sm. These are words

of iden�ty, belonging, and responsibility.

As a body of Christ, we are commi1ed to

the faith journeys of one another but also

to bring God’s love to the world. We wel-

come others by connec�ng with one an-

other in many ways—a handshake, a

glance, a smile or hug. We also welcome

others by having space for them in our

building and by having opportuni�es for

people to grow in rela�onship with oth-

ers and with God. We welcome others in

prayer.

One of my favorite bible stories is the

story of the Prodigal Son. The story of

the son that le5 his father, squandered

his inheritance, lived with the pigs, and

came groveling home to work as a serv-

ant for his father. Remember what hap-

pened? God’s model for us is the father,

with no thought for his dignity, races

down the road to welcome his son home.

He clothes him and hosts a celebra�on in

his honor as his son who was lost was

now found.

We are called to welcome those we know

and those we don’t. I invite you to be

inten�onal in this: Pay a1en�on to how

you welcome your family. Greet someone

you don’t know when you share the

peace in worship. Find a place to volun-

teer.

Peace to you!

Pat and Jacquie Bencke, our Missionaries in

Japan, will be at Word of Peace on Monday,

July 30th! Please mark your calendars for

this rare opportunity to share a meal with

the Bencke’s and learn more about the mis-

sion work they are doing in Japan. More in-

forma�on to come.

3rd

Annual Community Corn Feed fundraiser

will be on Thursday, August 9th. Request

your book of raffle �ckets by contac�ng Sta-

cy Stolba at 763-428-6306 or

mshhstolba@comcast.net. The raffle �ckets

will be mailed to you the first part of

June. They are $5.00 each and come in a

booklet of 10. Proceeds from the Corn Feed

will go to C.R.O.S.S, ROADS, Lutheran Part-

ners (ministry in India), and A Strong Foun-

da�on building drive.

In an effort to provide more space in the

Gathering Area, the offices of Karen Running

and Mary Miller have been moved to Room

149 (Beth Brekke’s office) and Carrie Fischer

has moved into the Educa�on office.

All Rogers Senior High School gradua.ng

seniors are invited to the 2nd

Annual Com-

munity Baccalaureate Worship Service on

Wednesday, June 6th

at 7:00pm at Christ

Church in Otsego. Ceremony will include

staff and student speakers, prayers and mu-

sic. Please contact Karen Running at 763-428

-5510 with ques�ons.

Happenings

A Strong Founda�on has started out really strong! Thank you

for pledging and joining us on the journey that will reduce our

mortgage debt over the next 3 ½ years and help fulfill the

dream of a new sanctuary for Word of Peace.

To date, pledges total just over $848,000 with 242 households

making a pledge. This is so exci�ng! With this pledge total, we

can give $40,000 to C.R.O.S.S. Food Shelf to help those in need

in our community; we can con�nue to make our mortgage

payments each month; and, we can make extra payments on

the principal of our mortgage to reduce it and the interest we

are charged each month.

We have faith that we will con�nue to receive pledges over

the next several months and through the term of the cam-

paign. We are on our way to mee�ng our goal and you are a

part of that journey! If you have made a pledge to A Strong

Founda�on already, THANK YOU for your pledge. It is a gi5

and a blessing! If you have not made a pledge yet, we encour-

age you to think and pray about being a part of this journey.

It’s never too late to pledge and all gi5s are important and a

blessing.

God bless you and remember, God’s not finished with us yet!

3

Music & Worship

Word of Peace Seniors

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

general informa�on for seniors.

If you’d like to subscribe to the Senior Newsle1er, call 763-241-3520. Or,

you can read the newsle1er online at www.seniors.cityofrogers.org.

Date Time Activity Cost/Details Contact

Thursdays 10:00am Thursday Senior Shop Rogers Bus $1.00 per rider Judy 763-428-7657

6/3 1-5pm Jammers Pot Luck & Music Rogers Community Center

(eat at 4pm)

Dave 763-428-4217

6/12 11am Line Dancing Rogers Community Center Margaret 763-428-8650

6/15 9-10:30am Breakfast at Denny’s in Rogers Menu items for $6.99 includes

drink

Margaret 763-428-8650

6/20 1:30-3pm Memory Loss Support Group at Wellstead For family members caring for

loved ones

Heidi at 763-428-8181

6/27 6pm Chicken Dinner Rogers Community Center Margaret 763-428-8650

Rockin’ Rogers Days: Thursday, June 21 through Saturday, June 23. Come and enjoy the fes�vi�es! Come out and watch the parade

on Saturday!

July 1st—Minnesota Orchestra’s Salute to America at the Ted Mann Concert Hall at U of M. Motor coach from Heritage Place. Cost

is $43.00. Call Margaret at 763-428-8650.

C.R.O.S.S. Corner

Our Word of Peace congrega.on gave over 2,000 pounds of food

to CROSS so far this year! Now that fed some families!!!

Hunger Facts:

• Food shelf use is at record highs across the state

• 56% of food shelf visitors are families with children and 20% are

seniors

• More than 50% of adult food shelf visitors are employed. In the

Twin Ci�es alone, the working poor make up 60% of people who

use food shelves

• 2/3 of food shelf visitors make less than $1,000 a month; not

enough to cover their basic needs

• Hunger hurts every day: of those who use Minnesota's food

shelves, 47% of adults and 14% of children skip meals to stretch

their budgets

CURRENT NEEDS: Large juice, medium size peanut bu1er, honey,

jam/jelly, cereal, walnuts/almonds, popcorn, canned or jar spa-

gheV sauce, tomato sauce & paste, canned tomatoes, canned

beef stew, spam, kidney or chili beans, tuna, macaroni and cheese,

taco mix, bar/face soap, paper products

Thank you for your con.nued support of our local food shelf!

Dear Word of Peace Family,

I will be on sabba�cal throughout the summer and so we

are looking for special music for our worship services dur-

ing this �me.

If you have a talent you'd like to share with your church

family, contact Dawn Saxton in the music office at

dsaxton@woplc.org or 763-496-2413.

Musical talent is a gi= to you from God, and is meant to

be shared. So don't hide your light "under a bushel." Let it

shine "for all the world to see."

Best wishes for a blessed and peaceful summer.

Michael Sahlen

Minister of Music and Worship

4

A reflec�on on the power of money

from “A Well-Formed Stewardship

Leader Embraces Financial Health as

an Expression of Faith” by Marty E.

Stevens:

“It goes without saying that money is

power in today’s world. In and of it-

self, money as power is not necessari-

ly a bad thing. Money as power can

become a bad thing when it takes

hold of our aVtudes and ac�ons. Je-

sus puts the issue starkly: ‘No one can

serve two masters; for a slave will

either hate the one and love the oth-

er, or be devoted to the one and des-

pise the other. You cannot serve God

and wealth’ (Ma1hew 6:24). When

money becomes master, we become

idolaters, worshiping something other

than the God who claims and calls us.

The Bible warns against failing to sub-

mit totally to God’s rule over all of

our lives. In Deuteronomy, shortly

a5er the admoni�on to commit total-

ly to God noted above, the people are

warned about the tempta�ons of life

in the Promised Land. ‘Take care that

you do not forget the LORD your

God…When you have eaten your fill

and have built fine houses and live in

them, and when your herds and

flocks have mul�plied, and your silver

and gold is mul�plied, and all that you

have is mul�plied, then do not exalt

yourself, forgeVng the LORD your

God…Do not say to yourself, ‘My

power and the might of my own hand

have go1en me this wealth.’ But re-

member the LORD your God, for it is

he who gives you power to get

wealth, so that he may confirm his

covenant’ (Deuteronomy 8:11-18).

It’s easy to think that the salary we

‘earn’ is en�rely our own doing. We

forget the talents God gave us that

enable us to do the work we do, the

fortuitous circumstances of living in a

country with a market economy that

will pay fair wages and benefits, the

sacrifices made by others to equip us

with the educa�on and skills needed,

the God-given gi5s of family and

friends who support us in our occupa-

�ons. It’s easy to think that we do it

all for ourselves, Sa�sfac�on with a

good standard of living can lead us to

serve money as master rather than

God, who gives and enables all good

things.”

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 in the

church office at 496-2401 or

jpriebe@woplc.org.

July newsleAer deadline:

June 15 at Noon

Why does Word of Peace have BeFrienders?

Ask yourself: “Did you ever need to talk with someone? Were you

frustrated when someone didn’t seem to listen?” I think we all

have those experiences some�mes.

BeFrienders are trained to listen. Each BeFriender is assigned one

person to visit with once a week. This may be a shut in, a person

new to the community, a new mother, or someone suffering a loss of some sort.

A new BeFrienders training class will begin soon. Contact Beth Brekke, 612-922-4366

or bbrekke@woplc for details.

5

Faith Forma.on Ministry

Youth Ministry

MSM.AM: Middle School Ministry A.M! We meet

twice a month for food, devo�ons and games. Friends

are always welcome. This month we meet June 3rd

and 24th from 10-11am in the Youth Room.

VBS ABer-Party: If you’re a youth volunteering at this

year’s VBS, you’re invited to the VBS a5er-party! Each

a5ernoon following the program, we will get together

for fun ac�vi�es like movies, outdoor games, Bunker

Beach and more! Monday, June 25th through Thurs-

day, June 28th!

Camp Info Mee.ng: Going to camp this summer?

Awesome! Come to the Word of Peace camp info

mee�ng on June 3rd at 11:30 in the Brekke Room and

learn everything you need to know about your week

away from home!

Na.onal Youth Gathering: Our next Na�onal Youth

Gathering mee�ng is June 24th at 11:45am in the

Sanctuary. See you there!

High School Bonfires are Back! Every Wednesday

from 7:30-9pm from now through August. This

month’s dates are June 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th.

Food, faith, fire and fun!

Sign-up for Vaca.on Bible

School by June 1

We’re making the final prepara-

�ons for VBS! If you would like

to waive the $25 registra�on

fee, please sign-up for VBS by

June 1.

VBS Volunteers are S.ll Needed

Call Rachel, Lisa, and Kris�n to find out how you can have

a week of morning fun June 25-29 from 9 am-noon. We

can be reached at 763.496.2400.

Incoming 9th Grade Confirma.on Students

Be sure to schedule your confirma�on conversa�on by

July with your assigned staff person. Bear in mind several

of our staff members will be gone on youth trips and va-

ca�ons in June or July so be sure to sign-up early. Church School Teachers Needed

We need YOU to teach church

school next year! We have more

than 700 kids who need a caring

adults in their life to share the love

of God with them. Haven’t tried it

before? No problem! All you need

is a heart for learning and to like

kids! Call Kris�n, Lisa, or Rachel!

Kids of Peace Preschool

has Openings!

Your li1le one will be blessed

by Word of Peace’s preschool

program. Children 33 months

through five years who have

been po1y trained are invited to a1end one of three

programs:

●Three/Four year Program

●Four/Five year Program

●High Five Program-for five year olds not

heading off to kindergarten in the fall.

We offer a warm, welcoming environment and great

teachers who provide an academic, social, and spiritual

educa�on.

For more informa�on call, Julie Piccona1o at 763-496-

2419 or email her at jpiccona1o@woplc.org. Sign-up for Church School and

Confirma.on! Returning families,

please register July 31.

Non-Profit Org.

US Postage

PAID

ROGERS, MN

PERMIT NO. 9

C h a n g e S e r v i c e

R e q u e s t e d

P.O. B�� 306

R�#$%&, MN 55374

Sundays

8:30 a.m. Traditional

10:00 a.m. Blended

Mondays

6:30 p.m. Contemporary

June 3 & 4

Pastor Krista Strum: “Can You Hear Me Now?”

We may take for granted how powerfully connected

our voices are in our rela�onships. Today, we consider

how God speaks in the World and whether we are tuned

in to what God has to say.

Scripture Readings:

Psalm 29, Isaiah 6:1-8, Romans 8:12-17

June 10 & 11

Pastor Ron Prasek: “Op�mism, It’s the Way to Go!”

Chris�an hope is made possible by God’s promises, the

wonderful creeds given to us by our parents and grandpar-

ents, and people’s tes�monies.

Scripture Readings:

2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1, Mark 3:20-35, Psalm 138

June 17 & 18

Pastor Ron Prasek: “Now is the Time”

As Paul writes to the Chris�ans in Corinth, he encourages

them to consider their weapons of righteousness. This

is an invita�on to us to consider our strengths and how

we can best apply them to the needs at hand in our

community and in our world.

Scripture Readings:

2 Corinthians 6:1-13, Mark 4:35-41,

Psalm 9:9-20, Job 38:1-11

June 24 & 25

Pastor Rick Skare: “It’s Not What it Seems”

The Kingdom of God may look unimpressive to the world,

but rejoice! What the world regards as unimpressive,

Jesus depicts as miraculous.

Scripture Reading:

Mark 4:26-34, Ezekiel 17:22-24, Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15,

2 Corinthians 5:6-17

JUNEJUNEJUNEJUNE Sermons & TextsSermons & TextsSermons & TextsSermons & Texts