Peace Church Events

Peace Adult Education for Spring 2012

2011-12-26T07:38:00.000-08:00

Friends at Peace,

The Adult Ed Team has a dazzling variety of high quality offerings for spring, 2012. Tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell strangers, and post notices around the town!

1) Starting January 8^th, Sunday mornings, at the Adult Ed hour, 11:30-12:30 there will be a Study (8 January - 1 April) led by the Rev. Dr. Richard I. Deibert, MD, MDiv, PhD in New Testament Studies, University of Cambridge titled Approaching The Revelation of Saint John: The End of the Bible, the End of Time, and the Confident Hope of the Church for a New Creation.

This study aims to clear a way through the confusion surrounding this mysterious book that completes Holy Scripture. Join us, and invite others, for this journey through John's Apocalypse. Together we'll explore the depth and breadth of this paean of praise to the ultimate power of God.

2) In January, we will introduce a Thursday evening (1/12, 1/19, and 1/26, 7:30-9:00 PM) study led by Bob Cutler, in which he will present on and lead a discussion of Deepak Chopra’s book How to Know God.

Dr Chopra combines his medical and psychological practice experience to present a case that the human nervous system has seven biological responses that correspond to seven levels of divine experience relating to knowing God. He believes that “it is not only possible to know this source of existence on an abstract level but to become intimate and at one with it” and he will attempt to describe how that can be achieved.

3) After the Revelation study the morning Lively Learning studies will include a series on “Being at Peace with…” some topics that will be included will be Being at Peace with your family, our polarized culture, and our mortality.

4) The Worship and Sermon reflections will continue, led by our able team of Bill Clough, Grant Lowe, and David Thomas and we could sure use others willing to facilitate reflections on the worship service that morning, resources are provided.

Your spiritual education shouldn't stop, come learn and grow with us.

Wishing you a blest Christmas season and new year,

Bill

Peace Movie Night Friday 7pm - Babette's Feast

2011-10-13T04:44:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends,

Friday night Oct. 14 we will have our October Movie Night. Our movie is Babette's Feast. We assemble at church at 7:00 p.m. to socialize. The movie, about an hour and a half long, starts at 7:30. All are welcome. Bring healthy snacks for the group if you care to.

This movie is rated G but it is not a children's movie. Children will probably be bored.

Babette's Feast (1986, Danish, with subtitles in English) took 14 years to make. It is a simple story about a French woman, an outsider to an insulated somber religious Danish community isolated on an island, who wins the lottery and uses the money to prepare a lavish French feast for her neighbors. That's about it for the plot.

The religious symbolism in the movie develops in the characters and their community. You will find it profound though subtle. Bill Cough, our co-host for the evening, has agreed to facilitate our group discussion after we watch it.

Babette's Feast is on the "reading list" of practically every college film class that includes a study of spirituality in cinema. Therefore I thought it is about time that our Peace Faith and Film group should have the opportunity to see it. We've seen light films in our past history like Woody Allen, The Bucket List, etc. We can stand to include a serious film like this once in a while.

Having warned you about the nature of the movie, let me hasten to say that most adults like the movie a lot. Just be aware of what to expect.

Attached find a helful review by Spirituality and Health. Also on my attachment is a link to the Rotten Tomatoes film review site where you can read more of the critical reviews that were 90% positive for this beautiful movie.

See you Friday evening!

Peace,

David

Attachments:

Faith and Film Babette's Feast.doc

Adult Lively Learning for September 11th, 2011

2011-09-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

For the next three weeks the Word for Life: Reflecting on Today’s Worship class will use a variety of sources. On this 10^th anniversary of 9/11, Elizabeth will continue her series on the Foundations of Presbyterianism with the Great Ends of the Church. In the Adult class materials, the folk who write the Seasons curriculum have an overall theme in mind for September through November: Living with creation and in the new creation. Until Advent, in what they call Pentecost 2, they take off from the Old Testament readings and the wanderings of the Hebrew people through the wilderness toward a new land and new life and end with Jesus’ encouragement to live in such a way as to reflect God’s vision and reign.

Mickey’s Genesis class will take up the subject of Night language, God’s other tongue.The ancients, Hebrews included, took dreams seriously. What they saw, eyes closed in the night, was data for living just as much as what was seen, eyes open, during the day. Like a discovery brought back from a distant land dreams needed to be shared.

The language is different. The language of the day is descriptive, factual. In the language of the night snakes talk, slain lambs stand up and have 7 horns and 7 eyes, sheaves bow to sheaves and stars bow to mortals. Unlike day language, which is pretty straightforward, night language is a goldmine of meaning. No wonder Joseph had to share such impolitic information with his brothers.

Never stop learning.

See you Sunday,
Bill

Attachments:

Adult Education - Sunday Aug. 7th

2011-08-06T11:10:00.000-07:00

This Sunday Elizabeth will preach on the story of Jesus going away to pray, then walking across water to calm the fears of the disciples in the rough seas. (Matthew 14:22-33.) The Old Testament passage, which the authors of Seasons of the Spirit pick up on, speaks of a rough patch too -- the Joseph story in Genesis. The story of Jacob’s sons is the longest narrative in Genesis and Joseph is a good example of going through a rough time, ultimately for good reasons. Psalm 105 says he was chained and bruised until what he said proved true and “The king sent and released him, the ruler of peoples set him free. He made him master of his household, ruler over all he possessed, to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom” (Psalm 105: 20-22).

Certainly belief in God can give one perspective and hope. But there’s another necessary step to get that hope. “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Romans 10:14). You gotta be there to hear it.

See you Sunday,

Bill

Peace Presbyterian Adult Education for July 17, 2011

2011-07-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

This coming Sunday the Adult Class will be led by Grant Lowe. The Scriptures are Genesis 28:10–19a; Psalm 139:1–12, 23–24; Romans 8:12–25; and Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43. One of the common themes addressed in all these Scriptures might be, as the Seasons lesson suggests, You can run, but you can’t hide.

That’s certainly the emotion evoked for many by the 139^th Psalm. Even the weeds, in the parable in Matthew, shouldn’t assume that being left alone is a sign of being overlooked.

On the other hand, that’s not the only thing the Scriptures imply. The Providence of God is not fatalism, it is also a great occasion for hope. The Westminster Larger Catechism, question 81, puts it this way:

Q. 81. Are all true believers at all times assured of their present being in the estate of grace, and that they shall be saved?
A. Assurance of grace and salvation not being of the essence of faith, true believers may wait long before they obtain it; and, after the enjoyment thereof, may have it weakened and intermitted, through manifold distempers, sins, temptations, and desertions; yet are they never left without such a presence and support of the Spirit of God, as keeps them from sinking into utter despair.

Or, as St Paul put it more succinctly, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

See you Sunday,
Bill

Attachments:

Seasons 7-17-11.pdf

Peace Adult Ed, Sunday July 10th

2011-07-08T06:43:00.000-07:00

Once again the sermon and the Seasons class will be complementary. The sermon will take off on the parable of the soils, Seasons on Jacob and Esau. In the class we can react to the sermon and see what connection there might be between the two.

In the Seasons lesson they take off on families and include a quote I like very much. Frederick Buechner wrote this about families: “A family is a web so delicately woven that it takes almost nothing to set the whole thing shuddering or even to tear it to pieces. Yet the thread it’s woven of is as strong as anything on earth” (Buechner, F. (2004). Beyond Words: Daily Readings in the ABC’s of Faith Harper-SanFrancisco).

Peace,
Bill

Attachments:

Seasons 7-10-11.pdf

Adult Education for Peace for Sunday, June 26th

2011-06-23T04:57:00.000-07:00

This coming Sunday we will follow the sermon with a discussion of the scriptures for the day.

Of course the sermon will kick off thoughts and, maybe, the theme for the discussion but, among other things the Gospel passage includes the simple phrase, “if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple”.

I wonder what that meant to a desert dwelling people in the days before refrigeration. It probably brought up really vivid images, much the same as it brings up to the majority of the world today. According to Church World Service, more than a billion people worldwide lack clean water, and more than 2.1 million people – most of them children – die each year from waterborne disease. Outside of the United States there is concern about the shortage of water through large areas of Asia and Africa. After all, we can live, uncomfortably perhaps, without oil indefinitely but only about three days, and very uncomfortably without water.

See you Sunday,
Bill

Attachments:

Seasons 6-26-11.pdf

Yoga and Kayaking - June 25th

2011-06-14T04:17:00.000-07:00

Please join the Sisters of Peace for a wonderful morning of fun and fellowship on Saturday, June 25 at 8:30 a.m. at South Lido Beach Park (bay side) where we'll meet to walk up the beach for a yoga class and then climb aboard kayaks for a guided tour of Sarasota Bay and the mangroves, led by Kim Hull, Marine Biologist at Mote Marine and owner of Flow Through Paddle Tours. The cost is $25/person and the group is limited to 15. Please contact Sue Seiter for information and reservations at 941-932-3536 or sueseiter@verizon.net

Lively Learning for Pentecost Sunday - June 12, 2011

2011-06-09T04:44:00.000-07:00

As we enter the summer Adult Ed will be moving to one class and experimenting with some new ideas.

This coming Sunday Grant Lowe will lead the Wired Word discussing a matter, literally, of life and death. The death of Dr Kevorkian brings up the question of freedom to choose, specifically to choose something of how and when we end our lives. We try to be responsible about other aspects of life and death, and seem to prolong life freely enough. What about taking responsibility for ending one’s life?

Next Sunday Bill Clough will start a class using the Seasons of the Spirit Adult curriculum. Seasons is a Bible study which follows the Lectionary so we should be discussing the same Scripture Elizabeth preached on that day. It will give all of us a second chance to interact with the Word. For parents, it will give you some ideas to discuss with your children who attend Lively Learning and church.

Peace,
Bill

Lively Learning, Sunday May 29

2011-05-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

On this Memorial Day weekend, let us remember those who have served, are serving, and who gave the last full measure of devotion; as well as families and friends for whom this holiday is not a day off but a day to remember their loved ones who did not come back or came back forever changed.

Mickey’s class will take up the subject of transformation in a hopeful light. In the Christian world words like conversion, transformation, and even rebirth trip easily off the tongue, but do people really change? Of course we know that some seem to, but maybe they were just open in the first place. More importantly, can people change for the better and if so, is there a reliable way for that to happen? In Genesis we will take up Jacob’s change to Israel and ask – was it a change of name only, a change of person, the awakening of what was already present in Jacob’s personality?

“It’s not the end of the world, But I can see it from here.” (From The Betrayed by Lostprophets). In the Wired Word Peggy Donaldson will lead a discussion of Harold Camping’s most recent, unfulfilled prediction of the end of the world on May 21, 2011. Does anyone know the day or the hour? How should our belief in the second coming affect how we live in the present?

The Transitions class will continue sharing about the passages we all face and how to meet the challenges of life with grace and health.

I appreciate that, from time to time, people suggest resources for Adult Ed. What we really need is teachers. We have really talented, wonderful teachers but the same names keep showing up. It would be especially helpful if you could teach over the summer when we add an Adult Seasons of the Spirit class (all resources are provided).

Have a safe Memorial Day, see you Sunday,

Bill

Adult Education for Sunday, May 22, 1011

2011-05-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

On this 1,677th anniversary of the defeat of Darius the III by Alexander the Great we have some pretty intense offerings for your consideration.

Mickey’s class will deal with a classic tale of rape, revenge, and dirty tricks, a ripping good read which has nothing to do with the IMF.

From the “hell or high water” file, Bill Clough will lead us in a Wired Word discussion, based on the floods along the Mississippi, of what it means to trust in God when the rubber meets the road – or, more literally, when the water breaches the levee.

In Chip’s class we will continue to walk through the transitions of life, not quite so traumatic as the other two examples but still, the passages easy and difficult, which we all must go through.

And, we’re looking for teachers for Adult Ed classes. We especially need help now that we will be adding an adult section of Seasons of the Spirit (which the children use and which follows the lectionary which Elizabeth follows). That way parents and children will have thought about the same passages each Sunday and they will be able to talk about them and share their insights after church.

Each class is self contained and resources and class outlines are provided.

See you Sunday,

Bill

Faith & Film - May 20, 2011

2011-05-16T20:12:00.000-07:00

This coming Friday, at the church, Mickey and Emily Miller are hosting our final movie night of the spring semester, "Millions." Mickey wants to emphasize that this is really a good movie to bring the kids to see. I want to emphasize that the choice of this movie is definitely one of my favorites, and I've used it before at Church of the Palms -- but I'm happy to report that Mickey picked it completely on his own, so now you have our two independent votes for it!

I've attached my synopsis of the movie.

Come at 7 for socializing, the movie starts at 7:30. Feel free to bring some healthy shacks, but not too much. We'll bring the popcorn, Emily is baking cookies. See you there!

David

Millions (2004, Rated PG – I don’t know why it’s not a G, 98 min.)

Synopsis: “Millions” is a charming family movie that is not easy to describe succinctly without giving away too much. It’s a British low budget independent production with no recognizable stars. Two brothers, age 7 and 9, live with their widowed Dad. When you think of the boys, think of somebody like the Camphire’s kids. They miss their Mum. One day, improbably, some train robbers who are in the process of stealing bundles of pound sterling notes (destined for destruction on the eve of the European shift to the Euro), drop a large chunk of the cash into the boys’ playhouse by accident. Superficially, the story is about the children’s conflict over whether to use it for good, or for selfishness, before the bills become worthless. Meanwhile Damien, the younger boy, has an ongoing quest throughout the movie to find out whether his Mum has joined the Saints in heaven. There are larger, more serious themes at play – but everything is handled with humor and warm goodheartedness. It’s not too sappy. The two child actors are as good as they come. Entertainment Weekly called “Millions” a “sincere, delicate, and intrinsically religious comedy,” and Roger Ebert flatly declared, “This is one of the best films of the year.”

Adult Education for Sunday, May 15, 2011

2011-05-12T11:05:00.000-07:00

In the Wired Word, we haven’t heard about faith in Russia for a long time. On the one hand, release from captivity of an officially atheistic state has meant a resurgence in interest in and identification with religious faith. But many people who identify themselves as Christian can’t answer even the most basic questions about the faith. And many who identify as Christian don’t belong to or actively participate in a Christian community. Sound familiar? Does it mean anything to call one’s self Christian if you don’t have to associate with Christians? There are certainly disadvantages to being persecuted, are there advantages as well?

Not only can’t you go home again, you can’t stay where you are either. Every year we enter new territory, physically and psychologically. Chip’s class will continue to walk together through the predictable and unpredictable changes that mark this adventure we call life.

Mickey’s class continues the walk through the foundational document of Western Civilization, the stories that frame our identity, the examples, good, bad, but always enlightening, of the people (and God) in Genesis.

See you Sunday,

Bill

Adult Education for Mother's Day

2011-05-05T14:29:00.000-07:00

On this Mother’s Day we will start a new Adult class focusing on personal and family transitions.

We are always in transition. The only thing that is permanent is change. Some periods of transition are expected – or sort of expected – like the birth of a baby, the marriage, or a retirement. Some, however, are surprises like medical problems, a divorce, or loss of a job. Whatever the circumstances, the process of letting go of an old situation, experiencing the confusing "in betweenness" of unfamiliar territory, and then launching forward again in a new situation can leave us with a sense of being lost.

In our series on Transitions, we will identify both the endings which happen with change and the possible futures which we might aim for. Chip Schaaff will be the facilitator. Genesis frames our world view in many ways.

In Mickey’s class we will reflect on the specifics of how, when God created humanity it soon became apparent we were too independent for our own good. Even cooperative people, like Abraham, don’t do all that well and rebellious people like Jacob need chastening. Wrestling with God changes us and Jacob is changed into Israel and Israel is, as, perhaps we should be, humbled are improved in the process.

The Wired Word will take up the question Christians have been wrestling with this week: the proper response to the death of Osama ben Laden. How do we balance God’s requirement for justice with compassion and mercy. St Paul wrote, in Romans 13, that “rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer”. And yet, he also wrote, in Romans 12 “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

So, how do you balance those sayings?

See you Sunday,
Bill

Wear a Hat on Mother's Day

2011-05-05T03:20:00.000-07:00

To honor all mothers and daughters -- and to join our hatful friends Jacquie and Robin -- the Sisters of Peace invite you to wear your favorite hat to church on Sunday. Ladies, enjoy your special day!

Sue Seiter

Adult Educaton for Low Sunday and May Day 2011

2011-04-29T10:54:00.000-07:00

The Modern Spiritual Masters class will conclude with the life of Henri Nowen, one of the most popular and influential spiritual writers of his time. Through his writings he invited countless persons to enter more deeply into the spiritual life. Much of his impact came from his frank willingness to confess his own wounded ness The call of Jesus was addressed to the lame and broken .His was a call to conversion, to healings, a call to come home.

As we continue our walk through Genesis we will now turn to family turmoil, intrigue and insight, lies and the truth, jockeying for position and wrestling with angels. All this and more will be revealed in the story of Jacob/Israel who steals a blessing and ends up recognizing that God was present in a wild and forlorn place.

Is there a Hell? What if there isn’t? It’s not a new question, the idea of universal salvation has been around since the beginning of Christianity but the question has been given new life by, of all people, Rob (Nooma creator) Bell. The Wired Word will take up the discussion Bell has reignited in his book Love Wins, which debuted at No. 2 on the New York Times bestseller list in late March. With this book, Bell, who is pastor of Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is regularly attended by more than 7,000, has unleashed a flood of debate and controversy. TIME magazine calls it "a new holy war in Christian circles."

Bell's support of the idea has become big news because he is a celebrity of evangelical Christianity, not of the mainline church. Evangelical Christianity has generally maintained a clarity about salvation and damnation, insisting that while God offers salvation to all through Christ, only those who accept Christ's forgiveness of their sins receive eternal life; the unrepentant end up in hell, completely separated from God. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, says "when you adopt universalism and erase the distinction between the church and the world, then you don't need the church, and you don't need Christ, and you don't need the cross." Mohler pronounces Bell's book "theologically disastrous."

You too can weigh in on the issue.

See you Sunday,
Bill

Faith and Film Group -- April 15th

2011-04-08T10:30:00.000-07:00

Movie Night Friday April 15 at 7 pm at the Church

Dear Faith and Film Folk of Peace Presbyterian Church,

Jim and Adriana Padula will serve as our hosts for the movie "Gosford Park," at the Church next Friday night at 7 p.m. The movie is a Robert Altman film about a British whodunit set in the 1930s. Look forward to seeing you there for discussion and fellowship!

David

Lively Learning for April 10, 2011

2011-04-07T14:34:00.000-07:00

For the empiricists in the church, today is the Feast day of William of Ockham, one of the latter giants of the scholastic movement, most famous for a dictum known as Ockham's Razor. In the spirit of the love of learning and zeal for clarity we will continue our own spiritual development through one of four offerings for the adults in the congregation.

How many children did Abraham have? If you guessed two you need to come to the class on Genesis. We are moving out of the realm of prehistory into those formative stories of the origins of peoples, including those family stories such as Jacob and Esau that characterize the tribes we belong to, by adoption at least.

The Wired Word will take up a question of personal responsibility. In late March, Gainesville pastor Terry Jones burned a copy of the Quran and posted a video on the Internet. Most of us know by now that that resulted in riots and deaths in Afghanistan. Jones has refused to take any responsibility for the reaction and the deaths, and insists that it proves his point that Muslims are violent. On the other hand, it was Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s public denunciation of Jones nearly two weeks after the March 20 Quran burning that inflamed the mobs. Imam Muhammad Musri, director of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, said that while Jones is "a nut job," Karzai is a politician who knew he could score points with his Islamic constituency by elevating the obscure actions of a publicity-seeking fringe preacher. "I blame [Karzai’s] irresponsible speech," Musri said. "He knows his people."

To what degree are any of us responsible for how someone behaves in response to something we have said or done?

The Modern Spiritual Masters Class will consider OSCAR ROMERO, the Archbishop of San Salvador, who became the voice of voiceless. He became the embodiment of the prophetic church or as one theologian called him, “a gospel for El Salvador.” He was denounced by his fellow bishops, earned the hatred of the rich and powerful of El Salvador and generated such enmity that he was targeted for assassination—the first bishop slain at the altar since Thomas Becket in the twelfth century.

Finally, we will have the second part of the “All about Peace” class welcoming you to Peace Presbyterian Church. This week we will deal with this congregation and your place in this particular mission of the people of God.

See you Sunday,
Bill

Peace Adult Education for Sunday, April 3rd.

2011-03-31T07:19:00.000-07:00

Sex, lies, intrigue, great wealth, family dysfunction, and camels – all within the providence of God. Who’d have imagined it? This Sunday the Genesis class continues through the Abraham cycle with the story of the finding of Rebecca to marry Isaac.

It might surprise you to read that religion is on its way to extinction in Ireland. That Finland and the Netherlands are becoming non-religious societies might not be quite so surprising. But what about Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Canada, and the Czech Republic? And maybe the end of religious affiliation in Switzerland, where the Reformed family of churches got its start, would sadden us, as Presbyterians.

In the Wired Word we will discuss the observation that religion in general and, in the abovementioned societies, Christianity specifically is shrinking. Or perhaps the world wide demographics are merely shifting. Why is the fastest growing religious affiliation in the United States NRP (no religious preference)? What does your own experience of Christianity in the United States lead you to conclude about its future here? What can we do? What should we do? What’s at stake?

The Modern Spiritual Masters Class will consider Flannery O’Connor, who is one of the great American writers of the twentieth century. You may have read some of her work but maybe not her collected letters which showed not only her literary talent but the depth of her personal faith and her wisdom as a spiritual guide.

Finally there will be a class about you, Peace, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and all the followers of Jesus – who we are, where we fit, how we serve.

See you Sunday,

Bill

Lively Learning - March 27, 2011

2011-03-24T11:31:00.000-07:00

Mickey's Class will continue our in-depth reading of the life of the Patriarchs as we move though Genesis. And the Modern Spiritual Masters class will listen to Howard Thurman, Minister, philosopher, and civil rights activist, whose writings influenced Martin Luther King, Jr. He has been called "one of the greatest spiritual resources of this nation." His encounter with Gandhi in India led him to commit to non-violence.

Sunday March 27 is the 47th anniversary of the 9.2 earthquake that devistated Anchorage, Alaska in 1964. The Wired Word will take up natural disasters, such as Japan has just suffered and, perhaps, a little discussion of human created disasters such as we see in Libya. Is there something we should learn from them or do they just happen? Do our responses make things better or worse?

See you Sunday,
Bill

Peace Fellowship Events - Sign Up Now!

2011-03-22T18:02:00.000-07:00

Adult Night Out Dinner this Saturday March 26th at 6:30pm at Demetrios Pizza House (pasta too). Please email Nancy Hughes at nanskodi7@gmail.com or call her at 538-9609 by this Wednesday, 3/23 as she needs to make the party reservation with the restaurant. Demetrios is located at 1720 Cortez Rd Bradenton FL 34207. http://www.demetriospizza.com/?Page=Menu
Directions from Peace: Right onto Lakewood Ranch Blvd,Right onto SR 70 9.2 mi,Right onto 14th Street West 1 mi, Left onto Cortez Rd West .2 mi, On the RIGHT at 1720 Cortez Rd

And on Saturday April 9th is the Passion Play at the Cattleman's Arena in Wachula at 7:30 pm. Please have your reservation check to Nancy Hughes by Sunday 3/27, payable to Nancy Hughes to sit together. Children (3-12) and Adults 62+ are $16, all others $18. The show has a cast of 200+ people from 40 churches and 150 animals, is approximately 3 hours with one 20 minute intermission and in an outdoor arena sitting on aluminun bleachers without backs. A variety of hot sandwiches, snacks and drinks are available for cash only. Dress casually. Carpool from Peace at 5:45pm to pull out at 6:00. Approximate travel time is one hour. From Peace take SR-64 E to US-17 at Zolfo Springs, go N for 1.4 miles to Stenstrom Rd, turn W and go to end.

Our next Sisters of Peace adventure will be an afternoon tea (lunch) on Saturday April 2, 2:00pm at Charisma Art & Café. Charisma is located in a charming 1920’s home at 1004 10th Av W Bradenton, FL 34205 in Village of the Arts. 748-8203. Cost will be $18 plus gratuity (individually paid) and includes, hot tea, selection of homemade scones with clotted cream, assorted finger sandwiches and a variety of bit sized desserts with coffee served on vintage china and tea pots. Free Parking, although limited, so we may want to carpool from Church. West SR 70, Right at light onto 301 N, Left at light onto 9th Av W, Martin Luther King Jr at Advanced Auto Parts, Left onto 12th Street W, Left onto 10th Ave W. Go early or stay late and stroll through the art galleries. Wear a hat or borrow one of theirs. Bring a friend or two! www.villageofthearts.com/show_member.php?id=8 Please RSVP to Suzi Regulski Shirey ikslugers@gmail.com or 355.5928 prior to March 29th.

Thanks to our Fellowship Team and Sisters of Peace for providing these opportunities for our growth in the art of authentic relationships.

Spiritual Gifts Course

2011-03-17T05:29:00.000-07:00

A reminder: Peace will offer a course on discovering your spiritual gifts. The course will start next Sunday, March 27th from 5:00 to 6:00 PM.

Please let Betty Clough know if you plan to attend and please, to facilitate timely ordering of materials, let her know by this Sunday, March 20th. You can see her at church, phone 751-1703, e-mail sundoc@verizon.net.

While we use materials written by Dr Haugk, creator of Stephen Ministries, this is NOT Stephen Minister Training! Nor does taking this class commit you to later training for Stephen ministry! This is a class for anyone interested in discerning their individual spiritual gifts, and discovering areas both within and outside the church where they would feel most comfortable serving. Your only commitment is for 8 weeks, 1 hour each, from March 27th through May 22nd (skipping Easter Sunday).

The cost for the workbook and the inventory, shipping, etc. is $20.00 per person. Although it is recommended that everyone have their own book, it would be possible for spouses to share one book (doing a lot of copying for one). However, it is essential that everyone have their own individual inventory. The price of that is $4.00. So a couple could pay only $24.00. We encourage everyone to consider taking this course, which others have found personally very valuable.

Peace,
Bill

Peace Church's Lively Learning March 20th 2011

2011-03-17T05:25:00.000-07:00

On this second day after St Patrick’s Day Mickey’s class will continue our in-depth reflections on the Patriarchs as we move on through one of the richest books of the Bible, Genesis.

This week’s Wired Word takes up the earthquake in Japan and the discussion can be rich with implications about society and the problem of evil. Does a massive natural disaster have to mean something? Is there anything we can or should learn from it or do big bad things just happen?

The Modern Spiritual Masters class will consider Thomas Merton. A Trappist monk and author, Merton remains one of the most influential spiritual guides of the twentieth century. Beginning with his autobiography The Seven Story Mountain and scores of other works, he blended contemplation and engaged spirituality.

And a reminder of the Spiritual Gifts class which will be held Sunday evenings starting March 21st. Seating is still available and today is the deadline for getting your orders for materials in to Betty so they will be here by start of class.

See you Sunday,
Bill

Faith and Film for Friday March 18th

2011-03-16T18:39:00.000-07:00

The movie for Friday evening’s movie night is Il Postino, a story of love and enlightenment. Set in Italy in the early 1950’s it’s the story of a working man who meets a world class poet (Pablo Neruda) and discovers a world of metaphor and, along the way, woos the woman he loves.

It’s funny, poignant and exceptionally beautifully filmed with a surprise twist, not in the movie itself, but in the lives of the actors who played in it.

We gather at 7:00 at the church for food and fellowship. The movie will start at 7:30.

Bill

A Reminder on Spring Forward's Eve

2011-03-12T19:14:00.000-08:00

The Spiritual Gifts Class will begin Sunday, March 27th, there will be 8 classes but we’ll skip Easter Sunday so we will hold the last class on Sunday May 22nd. Anyone interested in discerning their spiritual gifts and using them to the glory of God is welcome.

Cost of materials $20.00 — due to Betty Clough by March 20 so we can order the inventories and books in time for the start of the course. See Betty at Church or contact her by email (sundoc@verizon.net) or by phone (751-1703) as soon as possible so we know how many are coming.

The classes will be held on Sunday evenings from 5:00 to 6:00 PM at the church (10902 Technology Terrace, Lakewood Ranch, 34211 – on Lakewood Ranch Blvd, between SR 70 and SR 64, Manatee Association of Realtors Building).

Peace,
Bill

Discover Your Spiritual Gifts

2011-03-08T12:28:00.000-08:00

Peace Presbyterian Church, Lakewood Ranch is offering the course Discovering God’s Vision for your Life: You and your spiritual gifts. Participants will find clues to their spiritual gifts by means of the Haugk (creator of Stephen Ministries) Spiritual Gifts Inventory and other gifts discovery activities. They will then explore opportunities to further develop and use their gifts in the congregation and community.

We’ll investigate:

The Deep Spirituality of Spiritual Gifts
From Dependence to Independence to Interdependence
Ministry as opposed to Volunteerism
Gifts, Offices, Functions, and the Fruit of the Spirit
Spiritual Gifts and Burnout Prevention

The classes will be held on Sundays from 5:00 to 6:00 PM at the church (10902 Technology Terrace, Lakewood Ranch, 34211 – on Lakewood Ranch Blvd, between SR 70 and SR 64, Manatee Association of Realtors Building).

The Spiritual Gifts Class will begin Sunday, March 27th, there will be 8 classes but we’ll skip Easter Sunday so we will hold the last class on Sunday May 22nd.

Cost of materials (Spiritual Gifts Inventory and Workbook plus shipping) $20.00 — due to Betty Clough by March 20 so we can order the inventories and books in time for the start of the course.

Happy Fat Tuesday, see you at the Brinner tonight,

Bill

Article in Lakewood Ranch Herald - March 5, 2011

2011-03-05T09:43:00.001-08:00

The following article appears in the March 5, 2011 edition of the Lakewood Ranch Herald. It appears in Section B LWR/Business section at the bottom on the first page.

QUOTE

New Life

Baptism at Peace Presbyterian's font full of symbolism

By James A. Jones, Jr.
jajone1@bradenton.com

Lakewood Ranch -- The emotion was overwhelming the day Wellspring Olson Thomas was baptized at Peace Presbyterian Church.

"There wasn't a dry eye in the place" said Rev. Elizabeth M. Deibert, who performed the baptism of the son of Rev. Clay Thomas and Rev. Tricia Dillon Thomas.

When Wellspring -- his parents call him "Wells" -- was born Sept. 8, it was a relief and a joy not only for his parents, but the entire congregation at Peace Presbyterian. A year earlier, the Thomases had lost a baby at five months of pregnancy.

Wells is the first to be baptized in the church's new baptismal font since the congregation moved into its leased space in the Manatee Association of Realtors building.

The congregation took the loss of the first baby, and the arrival of Wells, very personally.

Tricia Thomas is associate pastor for youth and families at Peace Presbyterian. Her husband, Clay, is pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Sarasota.

"Clay had said all along he wanted to name the baby Wellspring," Tricia Thomas said. At first she wasn't so certain but came around to the idea.

"In the Old Testament there are things about the wellsprings of life and people garthering about the wells to talk. In our personal and Christian walk of life it summed up where we had been. His birth was a celebration for a lot of reasons," she said.

The Thomases have been active in interfaith outreaches over a period of years, helping build bridges between Christians, Muslims and Jews.

At the time of Wells' birth, Pastor Terry Jones was making worldwide headlines in Gainesville with his plans to burn Qurans on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"Wells was born on Sept. 8 in the midst of all this turmoil," Tricia Thomas said.

Clay Thomas took part in an interfaith service of reconciliation in Sarasota on Sept. 11 to share a message of hope, love and tolerance, a stark contrast to what Jones was preaching in Gainesville.

The Thomases saw Wells as a glimmer of hope and blessing for all.

Although the newborn Wells was too young to attend the interfaith service, his arrival in the world was acknowledged in a special way.

"It was fantastic to receive a blessing from an imam and a rabbi," Clay Thomas said.

When it came time to baptize Wells months later at Preace Presbyterian, four ministers -- Richard and Elizabeth Deibert and Clay and Tricia Thomas -- wrote letters for the sermon to the child.

"It was a remarkable day," Elizabeth Deibert said.

After the baptism, the baby was passed down the aisle to congregations members.

This is your child, too Clay Thomas said.

"It was beautiful symbol of redemption," Elizabeth Deibert said.

The baptismal font was donated by New Life Presbyterian in Naples after it closed down.

"New Life really didn't ide," Tricia Thomas said.

Peace Presbyterian was chartered in 2009 and originally met in leased space at the State College of Florida.

End of Quote

Two photos accompany the article: One of the baptism and one of the Peace Presbyterian property on Lorraine Road where Peace Presbyterian will eventually build.

This Week at Peace -- March 4, 2011

2011-03-04T13:17:00.000-08:00

This Sunday we celebrate the Transfiguration, which reminds us of the dual nature of Jesus Christ, a human in whom God’s majestic glory resided. Amazing!

Tomorrow ten people from Peace are going to the “Do the Right Thing” March in Tampa to support the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in their quest for just pay. Meet at church at 10:30 if you’d like to go.

Fat Tuesday Brinner at church from 6:00-7:30 on March 8 is a great opportunity to invite a friend to enjoy Peace fellowship, while supporting the youth group and filling up on yummy pancakes and sausage!

Our Ash Wednesday service at 7:00 on March 9 is a great way to begin a meaningful Season of Lent.

The Youth will be participating in a Crop Walk for Hunger. Find out more Sunday.

Final reminder: Nursery volunteer list will soon be published. Let us know if you feel uncomfortable taking a single turn annually in rocking the babies and reading to the preschoolers. Choir members will offered a turn in summer only.

Last opportunity to sign up for the Presbytery’s Main Event on March 13 (brochure attached)

Note that we will spring forward on March 13 to our trial schedule for 6 months: 10:00 Worship, 11:00 Fellowship, 11:30 Lively Learning.

Our Couples at Peace Class will begin again soon. Speak to Chip Schaaff if you would like to participate. Invite some friends too.

A spiritual gifts class, Discovering God’s Vision for Your Life, will run for 8 weeks on Sunday evenings, beginning on March 27, led by Bill Clough. The materials are produced by Stephen Ministries and are excellent.

The peace of Christ surround all of you who are struggling with grief, illness, or anything else. Take some time to pray today, as it is World Day of Prayer.

Elizabeth

Attachments:
2011 MAIN EVENT REGISTRATION BROCHURE.pdf

Peace Presbyterian Lively Learning - March 6, 2011

2011-03-03T14:15:00.000-08:00

This coming Sunday we will offer three Adult Educational Offerings.

In the class on Genesis we, along with Mickey, will leave the worldview-forming narratives of pre-history behind and enter the worldview forming stories of the patriarchs, the family history we all share.

The Wired Word will take up the case of Wisconsin and the fight to balance the budget by streamlining the process by eliminating many of the collective bargaining rights of public employees. If we were Methodist that might be less of an issue since the Methodist Social Creed (sometimes read in services) states, in part,

“We believe in the right and duty of persons to work for the glory of God and the good of themselves and others and in the protection of their welfare in so doing; in the rights to property as a trust from God, collective bargaining, and responsible consumption; and in the elimination of economic and social distress” (Methodist Church Social Creed, retrieved from http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?mid=1836 emphasis added).As Presbyterians we don’t have any quite so explicit statement so basically, we will discuss how to implement God’s uncompromising demand that we “shall not render an unjust judgment; [we] shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great” (Leviticus 19:15).

Finally David Mullen will begin an 8 week series on Modern Spiritual Masters. Each week we will cover one spiritual giant about whom you should know. This week it will be Etty Hillesum a young Dutch Jewish woman, died in Auschwitz at the age of 29 In the publication of her diaries 40 years later, An Interrupted Life, the world described a remarkable voice that drew on Scripture, literature and Christian sources.

See you Sunday,
Bill

East County Observer Article - March 3, 2011

2011-03-03T09:35:00.000-08:00

The following article appears on page one of the East County Observer on March 3, 2011. It was located on the front page on the left hand side under "SHORT STACK".

Quote

Peace hosts first baptism

The children of Peace Presbyterian Church were active participants in the recent baptism of Wellspring Olson Thomas, son of the Revs. Clay Thomas and Tricia Dillon Thomas.

The Thomas baptism was the first in Peace's new location in the Manatee Board of Realtors building on Lakewood Ranch Boulevard.

For information about Peace Presbyterian, visit http://www.peacepcusa.com/ or call 753-7778

End Quote

Lively Learning, February 27, 2011

2011-02-24T07:06:00.000-08:00

For most of us our world-view was formed by the great, seminal stories of Genesis from Creation to the Patriarchs – Creation, Cain and Abel, the Flood, and the Tower of Babel. In the last two centuries these stories were either over allegorized (turned into psychological or philosophical stories) or over literalized as people have introduced all sorts of tortured, convoluted, mental constructions to turn them into factual histories. Neither approach is true to the Bible. In Mickey’s study of Genesis we are offered a third way, in which these formative narratives are treated as both fully true and fully meaningful, one text not divided or confused.

The Bible freely uses the metaphor of a race to describe our lives: “in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize” (I Corinthians 9:24), “let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1), “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7), and, of course, “The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all” (Ecclesiastes 9:11). From football players to NASCAR, Christian symbols and language are used and the language of sports mixes with Biblical and theological language. In the Wired Word we will take up the good and bad of what happens when religion and sport mix exhortations to effort, perseverance, and morality into a sort of Civil Religion.

See you Sunday,
Bill

This Week at Peace February 23, 2011

2011-02-23T07:12:00.000-08:00

Dear Peacemakers,

What a joyous day we had on Sunday, as Wells Thomas was baptized into the family of faith!

I’m leaving shortly for a presbytery retreat for 1.5 days. Please be reminded of the following:

Memorial Service for Martha Kiplinger in our “sanctuary” at 11:00 Saturday. Bring a green plant from home to decorate, if you have a good one, and be here early with it.

Choir Festival Fundraising for Family Promise Saturday evening at 6:30. Choir there at 6:00 in black and white.

Do the Right Thing March for Farmworkers in Tampa next Saturday afternoon, March 5th. Learn more about it at this site. http://www.ciw-online.org/dotherightthing/tampa.html

Fat Tuesday Brinner 6:00 March 8th- Youth Fundraiser – sign up to bring stuff for pancake dinner

Ash Wednesday Service – Start Lent with meaning at 7:00 on March 9th

Peace River Presbytery’s Main Event on March 12th in Port Charlotte. Subject: Convergence Worship. Sign up now to get the discounted price of $10. See attachment.

Daylight Savings: Spring forward on March 13 to 10:00 Worship, 11:00 Fellowship, and 11:30 Lively Learning.

Sunday’s sermon is “Secure in the Palm of God’s Hand” from Isaiah 49:8-16. We will thank Judi Creneti for her years of service to Peace!

Blessings on you and yours
,
Elizabeth
Attachments:
2011 MAIN EVENT REGISTRATION BROCHURE.pdf
Can Christianity Be Cool.pdf

OBITUARY - Martha Lee Kiplinger

2011-02-20T12:39:00.000-08:00

OBITUARIES - Sarasota Tribune-Herald of Sunday, February 20, 2011

KIPLINGER, Martha Lee
March 28, 1931 - Feb. 13, 2011

Martha Lee Kiplinger , of Lakewood Ranch, formerly of Princeton, N.J. died Feb. 13, 2011.

Survivors include her husband, Glenn; daughter Jennifer; sons Jeff, Jon and Jason; and six grandchildren.

Martha was an active member of Peace Presbyterian Church meeting at 10902 Technology Terrace along Lakewood Ranch Blvd. between SR 70 and SR 64.

A memorial service celebrating her life will be held at 11 a. m. on Saturday Feb. 26, 2011. Directions may be found at http://www.peacepcusa.com/.

Martha was an ardent philanthropic supporter and volunteer for Sarasota Memorial Hospital and the Healthcare Foundation. In lieu of flowers, a contribution in her memory may be made to Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation at 1515 S. Osprey Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34239, or you can make a contribution online by going to smhf.org.

Adult Lively Learning, Sunday February 29,2011

2011-02-18T17:20:00.000-08:00

This Sunday Mickey will continue our walk through Genesis. The Flood, the Tower of Babel – stories you think you know, but do you really? Come, listen, participate and find out.

The very first 16 words of the first amendment to the constitution are: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” Freedom of religion is the first of freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. But what role should religion play in the election of officials?

There is a very real possibility that we will have a Mormon presidential candidate in the next election. When Mitt Romney ran for President he described himself as “religious” the other possible candidate, Jon Huntsman Jr., former Ambassador to China, says he’s not particularly religious. In your mind does that make him more or less desirable as a candidate?

See you Sunday,
Bill

Adult Lively Learning for February 13

2011-02-11T18:54:00.000-08:00

In Mickey’s class on Genesis we will finish up the story of the Fall and take up one of the immediate results of the Fall including, the first family, the first worship, the first acceptance, and the first rejection. Otherwise known as the story of Cain and Abel. We will look at some questions about the human condition: are worship and strife our natural state, are those two things contradictory, is there anything we can do about it?

The Wired Word will discuss an opportunity that two warring camps have to work together. A recent statistical report says that 41 percent of pregnancies in New York City end in abortion. That’s double the national rate. Although abortion is a topic that can generate debate and disagreement, everyone who read that report agreed – nobody is happy about such a high rate. What does Scripture have to say about this problem which everyone recognizes as a problem and what guidelines does it offer for solutions?

See you Sunday,
Bill

Peace Choir Performance on February 26th for "Family Promise"

2011-02-08T11:29:00.001-08:00

Helping families without a home regain their independence

Come See and Hear the Best of the Best!!!

On February 26th at 6:30pm, five of the best area choirs will be performing at Harvest UMC for free. The Choral Festival is being held on behalf of Family Promise of Manatee County, so that we can help more families here in our county regain their independence from homelessness. A good will offering may be made to help Family Promise but more importantly come and hear these voices fill the Harvest Center and learn what Family Promise is doing here in Manatee County.

The participating choirs and their conductors are:

Harvest UMC - Dave Lewis, Kirkwood Presbyterian Church - Lynn Champagne, Living Lord Lutheran Church - Barb Miller, Our Lady Of The Angels Catholic Church - Joe Master, Peace Presbyterian Church - Gia Havener

Harvest is located at 14305 Covenant Way, Lakewood Ranch FL 34202, just north of University Parkway, off of Lorraine Rd. 941-907-7333

Mark your calendars and come join us for the joyous event.

If you can not attend the concert but would like to support Family Promise you can donate now, and help make a difference in the lives of a homeless family.

Peace Adult Lively Learning February 6, 2011

2011-02-03T10:30:00.000-08:00

Of course the turmoil in Egypt has dominated the news and must needs be dealt with in the Wired Word. It’s a quickly changing situation which raises questions of how citizens of the heavenly kingdom should live as citizens of our various governments. What criteria should Christians consider when deciding whether or not to participate in an uprising against established authority, churchly or governmental? The United States began with a revolution which some would call God-inspired and the European and colonial nations looked on our actions with dismay. (The French rejoiced and the British played “The World Turned Upside Down” at Cornwallis’ surrender.) Should that help us trust in Providence as the process unfolds?

Mickey Miller will continue our walk through Genesis. This week it’s the Fall. We’re made in the image of God but if that were all there was to it life would be a lot easier than it is. Let’s reread the story and discern not merely what Genesis 3 tells us about Adam and Eve over there and back then but what it tells us about ourselves here and now.

See you Sunday,
Bill

Couples Enrichment Series Beginning January 26th

2011-01-22T10:56:00.000-08:00

Peace Presbyterian Church will host a Couples Enrichment Series beginning Wednesday, January 26 at 6 – 7:30 p.m. at the church facility, located in the Manatee Association of Realtors Building, 10902 Technology Terrace, at the corner of Lakewood Ranch Blvd. between state routes 64 and 70. The series is free, open to the public and child care will be provided. The three-session series will benefit all couples with a focus on time management, effective communications and handling stress. The Couples Enrichment Series will be taught by Chip Schaaf, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. For information, visit www.peacepcusa.org or contact Pastor Elizabeth Deibert at 941-753-7778 or edeibert@peacepcusa.org.

Lively Learning for Sunday, January 23

2011-01-20T17:12:00.000-08:00

Mickey will continue our journey through Genesis. We will look at Genesis 2 in its original, extremely lively, context to mine it for its wisdom on the nature of God and the relationship of humans to each other.

In the “feast or famine” department, Australia ended a 12 year drought with a bang recently with record-breaking floods. As of January 18, more than 51 communities had been affected, and the reconstruction of damaged areas is expected to be of historic proportions. Australian Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Terry Ryan said, “It’s the worst flood in western Victoria in their history as far as our records go in terms of the depth of water and the number of places affected.” The citizens of Victoria have shown typical Aussie resilience, initiative and resourcefulness. It seems that hard times are, once again, bringing out the best in many people. Do we need that from time to time? Does suffering really hone our character, giving us something worthwhile to do and making us kinder, more empathetic, and more generous after we go through them?

See you Sunday,
Bill

Adult Lively Learning for January 16th

2011-01-13T12:08:00.000-08:00

In Mickey’s Bible Study we will revisit the opening creation story. We will read again the creed of creation, God bringing order out of chaos. It’s a picture of the overflowing, creative, generosity of God; a paean of praise to the almighty creator of the heavens and the earth, all things visible and invisible.

In the Wired Word we will take up the recent shooting in Arizona and the many questions it raises – how to punish wrongdoers, how to treat mentally disturbed people, the quality of public discourse and the possible effects of overheated rhetoric on people. Does the quality of discourse affect mentally fragile people? Do they attach their private delusions to extreme rhetoric or are they pretty much unaffected by it? How should justice and compassion, represented by the justice system and the counseling community, interact? Most of all, how should Christians, and how should Christian churches, respond?

Finally, especially if you have not done so, you might join the youth in their ongoing discussion around Rob Bell’s Nooma videos and the fresh issues they bring up each week.

See you Sunday,
Bill

January 9th, Epiphany Sunday

2011-01-06T17:23:00.000-08:00

Speaking as a native of Tarpon Springs (on Epiphany) it’s good to see that this year the Presbyterian Church, this year, describes Epiphany as the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. And we are beginning an exciting new year in Adult Education. Most wonderfully, our own Mickey Miller will start a Bible study.

Tired of Bible studies that are too elementary and platitudinous? Tired of Bible studies that you need a PhD in theology to understand? Looking for something just right, erudite enough to be informative and stimulating, down-to-earth enough to be applicable and significant for your life – seek no farther! Mickey will start with Genesis and, relying on the classic Mighty Acts of God by AB Rhodes, walk us through the good book with his usual keen insight and engaging style. Y’all come!

In the Wired Word we will discuss the theological implications of the recent sudden death of large numbers of birds across Arkansas, Kentucky and Louisiana. Jesus used the image of a sparrow falling to speak about God’s love and care for humankind, the news gives us an opportunity to talk about God’s love, and what that means in the living of our days. We will discuss some issues such as, if God knows when a bird will fall, why does he let the fall occur? And, since bad things still happen to good people, what does it mean to say that God cares for us?

Finally you are always welcome to join the youth in their ongoing discussion around Rob Bell’s Nooma videos and the fresh issues they bring up each week.

Peace,
Bill
Attachments:

ADULT LIVELY LEARNING SCHEDULE (Spring 11).doc

Christmas Season Movie Schedule in Local Theaters

2010-12-22T12:08:00.000-08:00

Faith & Film at Peace Presbyterian

Dear Faith and Film friends,

Just a quick note to pass along information about the latest movie schedule listings and times for the new flicks in local theaters as of today, 12/22. Let me know if you want to go with us to a matinee showing of one of these movies this week. We’ll try to schedule something with you.

Peace,
David

Christmas Movies of Interest

As of today, 12/22, the local movie schedule has changed for Christmas openings of the new movies. Here’s the movies of most interest from my perspective.

As Richard has pointed out, there are no specifically Christmas oriented movies out this year – for a change. Since that includes sequels to the likes of Tim Allen, Vince Vaughan, and Chevy Chase Christmas and Santa comedies, I can live without them.

AMC Sarasota 12 at Sarasota Square Mall (Tuesdays have $5 Senior rate all day)

Black Swan 2:15, 5, 8

The Fighter 2, 5;15, 8:10

Little Fokkers 12:30, 3, 5:45, 8:15

True Grit 12:20, 2:45, 5:30, 7:55

Parkway 8 Cinema on N. Lockwood & University
Second Run $2 movie

I’m really excited about this because we haven’t seen Hereafter or Secretariat yet. Too bad The Inside Job left town already, you missed a great documentary about the financial crisis in ’08.

Fair Game 1:40, 4:40, 7:40

Hereafter 1:15, 4:15, 7:15

Mao’s Last Dancer 1:25, 4:25, 7:25

Secretariat 1:05, 4:05, 7:05

Unstoppable 1:30, 4:30, 7:30

Lakewood Ranch Cinema

Little Fokkers 11:50, 2:10, 4:30, 7

True Grit 11, 2, 5, 8

Regal Hollywood 20 on Main Street near US 41, Sarasota

The Fighter 12:15, 12:45, 2:55, 3;25, 5:35, 7:45, 8:15

Little Fokkers 10, 11:30, 12, 12:30 (This indicates 4 screens, the movie will thus be playing more or less continuously all day no matter what time you show up), 2, 2:30 etc; 4:30, 5, etc.

True Grit 10:45, 1:30, 4:10, 7:30, 10:10, midnite

At the Burns Court:

Black Swan on two screens: 12, 12:30, 2:30, 3, 5, 5:30, 7:45, 8:15

There are ALSO OTHER MOVIES being shown this season, I just didn’t list them here b/c personally, I don’t rank them as highly as these possibilities. I did not list Chronicles of Narnia or other children’s titles. Check the theater listings yourself if you are interested in them. These times should hold throughout the coming two weeks at least, except early morning times are probably good only on the actual holidays on the weekend. Check the HOLLYWOOD.COM website for your zip code to make sure about all these times before you go to the theater.

Adult Lively Learning, 4th Sunday in Advent

2010-12-17T14:06:00.000-08:00

Hark! It’s the final hymn in Bill Kemp’s Advent series on four hymns of the season. Come join him to sing glory in anticipation of the newborn King!

Remember fish wars, now it’s sign wars. This week’s Wired Word will take up the discussion of a sign, posted on one side of the Lincoln Tunnel, sponsored by a group called American Atheists, which shows a nativity scene with a star overhead and three wise men on camels approaching, and proclaims, “You KNOW it’s a Myth. This Season, Celebrate REASON!”

As you might expect, when motorists get through the tunnel and emerge into New York, they’re greeted by another billboard, this one from the Catholic League. This sign also shows Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus, and reads, “You know it’s real. This Season, Celebrate Jesus.”

Should we respond to such signs? Is the fact that some people object to Christmas really that big a deal? Is battling atheists standing up for one’s faith or does it simply feed their feeling of being an oppressed minority?

Finally you are always welcome to join the youth in their ongoing discussion around Rob Bell’s Nooma videos and the fresh issues they bring up each week.

Advent blessings,
Bill

"One More Week til He Arrives"

2010-12-17T04:43:00.000-08:00

Greeting Voices and Ringers,

Just a reminder for Sunday morning rehearsal times. Ringers rehearsal at 8:45 am; Voices at 8:55 am.

Also, we will rehearse Christmas eve service at 12:15 for those who can stay with us. It should be no more than an hour and a half.

If any singers/ringers are up and ready early on Sunday, please come and help set up musical instruments: New organ, pianos (2) and 5 microphones for choirs. Denny is by himself as Joe and Troy will not be here this week.

Thanks to all, See you Sunday,

Gia
Peace Church Music Director

From Graham Hart, Peace River Presbytery

2010-12-17T03:46:00.000-08:00

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

This week I want to share a Christmas e-mail that our newly elected Stated Clerk, Clint Cottrell, also full-time pastor of Cypress Lake Presbyterian Church, Fort Myers, sent his congregation. Clint passes on a You Tube video that our retiring Stated Clerk, Craig Countiss, with all his new found free time found on the internet, sent to a number of us.(Note – Craig continues in retirement to serve part time at the Lehigh Acres Church and continues until the end of the year with Stated Clerk duties.) Our thanks to Craig for 20 years of faithful service and a welcome to Clint as he begins this part-time but important leadership role in the Presbytery… see below

Living in Advent Hope. Thanks be to God.

Graham

Graham Hart
graham@peaceriverpresbytery.org

From Clint Cottrell, pastor Cypress Lakes Presbyterian Church and newly elected Stated Clerk, Peace River Presbytery

This morning I got an incredible forward from the Rev. Craig Countiss, the minister at First, Lehigh Acres and also the outgoing Stated Clerk of our Presbytery. If you have 3 minutes, check this out on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/ExcentricPT. It tells the story of the birth of Jesus in a way that it might be told if Christ’s birth happened today, using the technology that is all around us.

It is amazing how our technology has advanced so much in recent years but yet it is also amazing how SO MUCH of it is about connecting to one another. Think about it: e-mail, IM (Instant Messaging), texting, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, “the cloud”, cell phones, etc. While the technology is new, the message is the same: people want and need to be connected! That is why Christmas is timeless!

Christmas is about “Immanuel”, God with us. God wanted a living, vibrant relationship with His people. This happened in the form of Jesus Christ, a living, vibrant human being who was born to a human mother and then grew up to walk, talk, live and teach with humans beings, one of us. Now, across the years, God still seeks a relationship with us through Christ. We can meet Jesus in the words of the Bible. We can meet Jesus in our prayers. We can meet him in church when the family of God gathers together to worship or study or even eat together. But there is more, God wants to be connected to all of his children (not just the folks in church on Sunday), to increase his “virtual” Facebook “friend page” (if you will!!!). That’s where we step in, where we recommend God to new friends...share the message.

Hark! the final Christmas Carol

2010-12-16T18:28:00.000-08:00

Attached is the article for those participating in REJOICE! REFLECTIONS ON FOUR SEASONAL HYMNS. Hope to see you on Sunday morning during adult ed.

Bill Kemp

Attachments:

Hark! The Herald.pdf

Faith and Film Tonight 12/17 at Emily and Mickey's

2010-12-16T03:54:00.000-08:00

TGITF — Thank God it’s the Third Friday! It’s movie night.

Where: The Millers home, 6434 Barberry Court
When: 7:00 p.m. Bring treats of your choice.

Movie: "The Band’s Visit" (2007, Rated PG-13, 87 min.)

Israeli movie. Language English (more than 50%), Arabic, Israeli.

Synopsis : On an ordinary day, the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra arrives in Israel from Egypt for a cultural event, only find there is no delegation to meet them, nor any arrangements to get to their destination of Petah Tiqva. When they find their own ride, they arrive instead at the remote town of Beit Hatikva. Stuck there until the next morning’s bus, the band, lead by the repressed Tawfiq Zacharaya, gets help from the worldly lunch owner, Dina, who offers to put them up for the night. As the band settles in as best it can, each of the members attempts to get along with the natives in their own way. What follows is a special night of quiet happenings and confessions as the band makes its own impact on the town and the town on them.

Review: (Spirituality and Practice website)Novice director Erna Kolirin has fashioned a deeply spiritual drama about the bridge-making capacities of hospitality and the way music serves as universal language that draws people together. Instead of making a message film about Arabs and Jews, Kolirin has made a comedy filled with lovable characters struggling to communicate with those from a different culture and religion. They reach out to each other in simple ways: singing “Summertime” around a kitchen table, listening to the cadences in the Arabic language, and sharing a moment on a park bench. The cause of peace is nurtured in such soulful moments, and our hearts are lifted as we watch them unfold.

Metacritic Score: 80

David Thomas

Lively Learning for the Third Sunday in Advent

2010-12-10T18:10:00.000-08:00

As we continue our journey toward Christmas, Bill Kemp will take up the hymn, O Little Town of Bethlehem and return, briefly, to the hymn for last week, Silent Night.

What’s the meaning of Jesus’ words “there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known” (Matthew 10:26) or the admonition to honesty and straightforward communication in Proverbs 25:9? The Wired Word will take up privacy, secrecy, and diplomacy starting with the WikiLeaks Document Dump. What’s the difference between privacy and secrecy? Should Julian Assang be arrested or given the Nobel Prize – or both?

Finally you are always welcome to join the youth in their ongoing discussion around Rob Bell’s Nooma videos and the fresh issues they bring up each week.

See you Sunday,

Bill

O Little Town of Bethlehem

2010-12-08T04:08:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are participating in REJOICE! REFLECTIONS ON FOUR SEASONAL HYMNS,read the article below. If you don’t have a chance to read it, come and share with us anyway. We’ll also spend a few moments with SILENT NIGHT since that didn’t “fly” on Funday Sunday.

Bill Kemp

Copyright © 2009 www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com
Permission given to the purchaser to copy this page for use in class.

Rejoice!: Reflections on Four Seasonal Hymns

Session 3: "O Little Town of Bethlehem"

Rev. Phillips Brooks was so moved by a trip to Palestine that he penned the lyrics to this hymn around 1868. His Philadelphia church’s music director, Lewis Redner, wrote the music.

O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.
For Christ is born of Mary;
And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth!
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to all on earth.
How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him, still
The dear Christ enters in.
O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!

Ode to a City

How unusual for the subject of a hymn to be a small town
as opposed to a grand idea, but such is the case with this
nineteenth-century favorite penned by Phillips Brooks,
Episcopal minister of Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia.
So moved was Brooks by a trip to Palestine and
a brief sojourn in Bethlehem that he penned the lyrics
some time around 1868. It was his church’s music director,
Lewis Redner, who added the music, as legend has
it, just in time for that year’s Sunday school Christmas
service. It is debatable as to whether the hymn would
have become so popular if not for Redner’s contribution
of the unrushed, irregular, almost dirge-like melody, rising
ever so slightly mid-stanza before slipping back into
a quieter mood that forces us to feel the weight of the
words and the depth of their meaning.

Biblical Wisps

Brooks’s paean to this little town that so enchanted
him does not bludgeon us with biblical imagery, but
as we listen to the words the text is never far away. In
fact, Brooks goes so far as to put us in Bethlehem, in
the present tense, the biblical moment, as the evening’s
wonders are unfolding (“O little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie”) as suggested in Matthew 2:1.
He then reminds us that it is nighttime (“Above thy
deep and dreamless sleep / The silent stars go by”),
which is an easy assumption for him to make, based on
the fact that it was nighttime when the angels appeared
to the shepherds to announce the coming of the child
(Luke 2:8). In subsequent stanzas we sense the undercurrent
of Luke’s angels (“While mortals sleep, the
angels keep / Their watch of wondering love”), Paul’s
assertion in 2 Corinthians 9:15 that the birth of Christ
is a gift from God (“How silently, how silently, / The
wondrous gift is given”), and the assertion from the
Gospel of John (3:3–5) that through the Christ we can
be born again (“Cast out our sin and enter in, / Be born
in us today”).

With Scripture as his foundation, Brooks’s lyrics take
on a sharp theological hue, as he offers us fi ve specifi c
dichotomies that point to this night in Bethlehem as
profoundly life altering—both for the listener and for
the world.

Light and Dark

In the first stanza, when we sing “Yet in thy dark streets
shineth / The everlasting light,” we are underscoring
the old theological verity that light is preferable to
darkness, a symbolic contrast intended to remind us
that wisdom is preferable to folly, awareness is preferable
to ignorance, compassion is preferable to hardness
of heart. It was God who created light and saw that
it was good (Gen. 1:14–15). It was Isaiah (9:1–2), later
echoed by Matthew (4:16), who called attention to people’s
growing awareness of God’s love for them with
the words “The people who sat in darkness have seen
a great light.” And it is in the First Letter of John where
we are reminded that “Whoever says, ‘I am in the light,’
while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness”
(1 John 2:9). In Bethlehem this fortuitous evening,
Brooks is telling us, the wisdom and compassion of
Almighty God will be brought into the world for all who
are open to receive it. Or, in the words of Robert Browning,
“Through such souls alone / God stooping shows
suffi cient of His light / For us i’ the darkness to rise by.
And I rise.”1

Hope and Fear

Later in the same stanza Brooks proclaims the full burden
that will be borne by what happens in Bethlehem
this night when he proclaims that “the hopes and fears
of all the years / Are met in thee tonight.” What two
more fundamental, more potent emotions stir in competition
for the human heart than hope and fear?

An old Swedish proverb proclaims, “Fear less, hope
more”; Brooks is not downplaying the tension between
the two when he includes his line. He is not only anticipating
that the birth of Christ will give us hope, he is
acknowledging as well that fear is nevertheless a constant
companion. By this time in the Christmas story
Mary has already sung her Magnificat in Luke 1:46
(“My soul magnifies the Lord”), but we can have no
doubt that as a young woman of simple means she was
also terribly afraid of what the future held. Likewise the
shepherds to whom the angel appeared (“and the glory
of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified”
[Luke 2:9]), who, by evening’s end, would experience
something too wondrous to have ever been considered
in their humble existence as tenders of sheep.

That Christ was to be born would of course be a symbol
of hope, an attestation that God was coming into a
broken and bleeding people. But his birth would soon
be followed by fl ight to Egypt because his life was in
danger. Years later, the ruling elite would be fearful of
his ministry and would arrest him because of it. Peter’s
fear for his own safety would lead him to deny his association
with Jesus. The point Phillips is driving home
in this verse is that since fear will always push against
hope, it is up to the believer to trust that despite any
immediate evidence to the contrary, the latter can prevail
over the former.

Sleeping and Waking

The second stanza brings us this assurance: “While
mortals sleep, the angels keep / Their watch of wondering
love.” What is important here is to understand
the focus of the angels’ attention. They are not watching
over us, they are keeping vigil over the child. The Prince
of Peace, God incarnate, is a fragile idea in a boisterous
world. It must be nurtured and cared for because that
which it offers is easily missed or passed over. We who
are observing the little town in the present, pre-birth
moment do not yet understand the signifi cance of what
is going to happen to us. For this reason it falls upon the
angels to safeguard the promise.

It is all right for us to be at rest as the Son of God is
about to come to us, but after that it will be our time
to waken, to receive the gift of love but also to protect
it from all of the mortal influences that will want to
corrupt it, or dishonor it, or ignore it. As Jesus would
one day preach, “Do not give what is holy to dogs; and
do not throw your pearls before swine” (Matt. 7:6), by
which he means divine love cannot be laid before those
who would abuse it to sanctify unholy actions.

Sin and Forgiveness

As the hymn progresses toward its conclusion, Phillips
shifts his focus from Bethlehem to the Christ child (“Cast
out our sin and enter in, / Be born in us today”) so that
with his birth we are “born” also. We have moved from
anticipation to supplication; from awaiting God’s love
to humbly bowing before the manger and receiving it.
Here the purpose is revealed to us. By receiving God,
our sin will be cast out and we will be new beings.

This isn’t to say we will no longer sin. Rather, it is to
remind us that God’s love overcomes our sin, that we are
loved despite our sin, and that this love will never leave
us. Nor does it mean that God’s love for us has somehow
qualitatively changed. It has always been unconditional,
always been immutable, always been eternal. However,
in the life, death, and resurrection of this child now
before us we will come to know three things about that
love. In his life—his teachings and his healings—we will
learn about its content and texture. In his death—willfully
chosen to exemplify the ends to which God will go
for our benefi t—we will see exhibited its unconditional
nature. And in his resurrection—the victory of life over
death—we will be reminded that this love is more powerful
than even those forces we most fear. Through this
we are made wiser, more compassionate, and less fearful
of our fates, and these are the contours of the new being.

Silence and Sound

Finally, the wait now over and the burden now lifted, it
is our time to celebrate. We have moved from the hushed
anticipation of stanza 1 (“Above thy deep and dreamless
sleep / The silent stars go by”) to the heraldic song
from above in stanza 4 (“We hear the Christmas angels /
The great glad tidings tell”). Note that it is the Christmas
angels we hear, and that what they are telling us is of
the great glad tidings echoed in Luke 2:8 (“I am bringing
you good news of great joy”). God has come to live
with us, they are telling us. “O come to us, abide with
us, / Our Lord Emmanuel.” We need no longer be silent,
either in anticipation, the way a child has long awaited a
promised gift (that which we have been anticipating has
been realized), or in timidity, the way a religious people
long subjugated to a pagan power fi nd that the voice of
their own faith has been silenced.

The sound is indeed the sound of Immanuel—“God
with us”—and it is to be met with rejoicing.

What’s Different?

It’s a curious moment, both for the audience of the fi rst
Christmas and for those of us who, through this carol,
experience it as if we are there. Materially, nothing has
changed. The mother is slowly closing, healing, enduring
the pain and glory of childbirth and its aftermath as
women had for centuries and would for centuries still.
The child is hungry and helpless, the father elated over
the birth of his son and at the same time heavily weighted
with all of the responsibilities that fatherhood implies.
The shepherds will go back to their sheep, the magi to
the palace, and the animals in the manger will wonder
when their home will be vacated by these interlopers.

Rome still rules with an ironfist, the taxes still must be
paid, the poor are still poor, and outside of this small,
eclectic group, nobody in Israel knows what has transpired
in the little town of Bethlehem. By all appearances
it continues to lie still above the dreamless sleep, and in
a few short hours the people of the town will begin to
rise and go about their daily routines.

Though the coming of God has been experienced as an
interruption by the lucky few, it will be a slow unfolding
for the rest of the world, as it often is for us. God’s love
will be slowly revealed through this child who will grow
to be a man, fi rst at the temple where he will interpret the
words of Isaiah, later at Cana where he will perform his
fi rst miracle, then on the mount where he will deliver a
sermon that will shake his audience to their very bones.
Later still this love will be revealed in Pilate’s court, in
Gethsemane’s garden, and on Golgotha. Finally, it will
receive its culmination not in Christ’s presence but in his
absence, in the tomb that is empty. This is how the story
will unfurl itself, but nobody knows this. All they know
is that a child has been born—one among many—and
there is work to be done.

And so it is for us, of course, that this love does not necessarily
sweep us off our feet but slowly envelops us,
over time and tribulation. We pay our taxes and feed our
children and tend to our sheep without fully appreciating
how God will be made known to us or what difference
it will make in our lives. But as long as we are not
deaf to the story or blind to the beauty, we will see how
God has gently come into our lives and pitched a tent
among us. The boy’s story will speak to us; we will have
our temple moments and our miracle moments and our
moments of doubt and pain and triumph.

When Christ comes into our lives, nothing has changed—
the glories and drudgeries of life are still what they have
always been—but everything has changed, because
we begin to understand life as the ultimate affi rmation
that we are of God, and that this is a God whose love
is greater than the forces of Rome, stronger than death,
more incomprehensible than the “silent stars that shineth”;
it is indeed, as Brooks would put it, an everlasting
light.

Bethlehem Redux

Whatever heartwarming images this carol stirs in us, we
would be remiss if we didn’t take stock of what the little
town of Bethlehem is like today. It is a Palestinian city
that is ever under the watchful eye of the Israeli armed
forces that have invaded the city twice. The traditional
site of the birth of Christ, it is also the birthplace of the
second intifada which, in 2001, destroyed much of the
economy and infrastructure of the town. There is widespread
poverty there, as with much of Palestine, and
movement from the city into Israel and vice versa is
not easy. Indeed, if Mary and Joseph had to make their
pilgrimage today they would pass through ten Israeli
checkpoints. All parties and all nationalities pray for
peace to come to this hallowed place but there are so
many forces at work to stifl e those prayers.

All of this is to remind us that all these years later the
world is still awash in hopes and fears. As evidenced
in Bethlehem as starkly as anywhere else on earth, the
work that Christ came to do is not yet done. So we must
hope. But we also must work. Advent is not a time simply
to sing of hope. It is a time to actualize it.

About the Writer

Erik Kolbell is a United Church of Christ minister and author,
most recently, of The God of Second Chances.

Endnote

1. Robert Browning, The Ring and the Book, VII, Pompilia
(Whitefi sh, MT: Kessinger Publishing, 2004).

Silent Night, Holy Night

2010-12-03T15:15:00.000-08:00

From William Kemp.

Our “Reflections on Four Seasonal Hymns” will be short and sweet this week, offered at two different times, 15 minutes each, during SUNDAY, FUNDAY. If you care to check out the article for Session 2 of this series, here it is. Read it or not, ready or not, come, share, if you can.

Attachments:

Silent Night.pdf

Adult Lively Learning for the first Sunday of Advent 2010

2010-11-26T07:19:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Since the Christian liturgical year begins in Advent, this coming Sunday, November 28th will be the opening Sunday of the new year and we have three Adult educational offerings.

Bill Kemp will start the first of four Advent lessons entitled Rejoice! Reflections on Four Seasonal Hymns. This Sunday the hymn will be “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” a translation of “Veni, veni, Emmanuel,” a medieval “O” antiphon, a song in which Jesus is addressed by various titles. When singing this hymn we put ourselves back in the place of the ancient Israelites, asking ourselves how it is we have grown distant from God, and asking as well what we feel captive to, and what we are exiled from.

The Wired Word will take up the subject of airport screening. As you surely know, Thanksgiving is one of the most heavily traveled days of the year and the start of the holiday travel season and airplane screening procedures have brought protests from some who say that the latest security measures instituted for airline passengers by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration are too invasive. Even though the protest didn’t turn out to be all that much it does raise some questions. Of course some kind of screening of passengers is necessary but how much is too much? Did 9/11 move us into the “age of anxiety”? Where does our security lie?

Finally you are always welcome to join the youth in their ongoing discussion around Rob Bell’s Nooma videos and the fresh issues they bring up each week.

See you Sunday,
Bill

Lively Learning for Sunday, November 21st

2010-11-18T10:12:00.000-08:00

This coming Sunday is the last Sunday of the liturgical year, Christ the King Sunday. We often think of Jesus as friend or personal savior. This Sunday is devoted to meditating on, even celebrating Jesus as, in the words of a Jewish title for God, “King of the universe.”

Oxford’s World Christian Encyclopedia estimates that, over the centuries, an estimated 70 million Christians have been martyred for their faith. Italian journalist, Antonio Socci, in his new book, I Nuovi Perseguitati (English title: The New Persecuted: Inquiries into Anti-Christian Intolerance in the New Century of Martyrs) discusses those data and notes that 45 million, or two-thirds of all Christian martyrs, were killed in the twentieth century. As we approach Thanksgiving in just a few days, it’s worth remembering that a major motivation for the Pilgrims to make the voyage to America was to escape religious persecution. With that in mind, the news of recent attacks on Christians in Iraq deserves our attention. That news reminds us that persecution of Christians is not a thing of the past, but a present reality for millions of Christians around the world. Just because Christians are not a persecuted minority in the United States does not mean that we aren’t a persecuted minority.

So, for this installment of The Wired Word, we will review the stories of attacks on Christians in Iraq and consider what we, as citizens of a free and safe society, can and should do about such tragedies.

The Enough class will take up the subject of the Christian life being defined by generosity. For most of us our resistance to generosity is not driven by selfishness but by fear, so Sue Seiter will take up the subject of overcoming that fear.

In the Nooma class we will discuss the video, Lump. A lot of us have done things in our lives that we’re ashamed of. Some are small things, some big. Some personal junk that we don’t know how to deal with, do we? We’re afraid that if we try it’s just going to make everything worse. But no matter how big our junk is, no matter how much what we’ve done has impacted the way other people feel about us or how we feel about ourselves, it hasn’t changed how God feels about us. God loves us, always has and always will, and there’s nothing we can do to change that.

See you Sunday,
Bill

Faith and Film - Friday, November 19th at McClurg's

2010-11-17T08:33:00.000-08:00

Here’s the basic information for Friday's Faith and Film Event.

Fellowship Time: 7:00 p.m.
Time Show Begins: 7:30 p.m.
Place: Chuck & Sue McClurg's Home at 10909 Bullrush Terrace in LWR.
Film: “Once” (2006, Rated R, language, 85 min.)

Easy-to-like movie about an Irish street musician. Won Sundance Festival top audience prize, plus Best Song award at the Oscars. Intercultural theme about music and relationships, in English.

It is hard to describe “Once” in just a couple of sentences. So here is the IMBD list of reviews for you. Its aggregate positive score is an astounding 88 out of a possible 100.
http://www.metacritic.com/movie/once/critic-reviews

Everyone invited!

Adult Lively Learning for November 14,: Caregiver Sunday

2010-11-14T12:21:00.000-08:00

Recent statistics indicate that as many as 50 million people in the United States are providing some amount of care for a family member who is chronically ill, has a disability or is experiencing frailty associated with age. They contribute volunteer services estimated to be worth around $260 billion per year. Thank you for your dedication – to your loved ones, to the good of the society, and to being an example of God’s love in action.

Very appropriately today, given that the Scripture reading on Sunday starts with I Timothy 6:6, the Enough class, led by Robin Miller, will give us some specific direction toward cultivating the grace and joy of contentment.

The Wired Word will discover the solution of a 75 year old mystery. In the providence of God, an investigative journalist was given a suitcase filled with old papers. The suitcase belonged to his grandfather and contained letters to and from a man who, in the depths of the Great Depression, anonymously gave small gifts of money to people in need. The “new” news part of the story is the reports just coming to light of how his gifts instilled hope in the recipients, pulling at least one back from the brink of self-destruction and enabling others to purchase necessities or give a Christmas gift to a loved one. We all know that non-Christians do good deeds and that Christians are saved by grace through faith and not by works but – is it possible to be a Christian without doing good deeds?

The Nooma, for this Sunday is Sunday and takes up the subject of why we go to church or give money away. Because we’re supposed to or because we think God needs it? Everyone dislikes meaningless rituals and routines. And so does God. So what’s the point of it all? All these things are means to an end and if you get the end straight the means will make sense.

See you Sunday,
Bill

Adult Lively Learning for November 7, 2010

2010-11-05T12:19:00.000-07:00

In addition to daylight savings time ending (don’t forget to set your clocks back at 2:00 AM Sunday morning) it’s time to adjust to the new political landscape and move on – but move on to where? The Wired Word will take up the questions around how to decide where to go from here. The election demonstrated that a majority of voters aren’t satisfied with the current political status and want change – but so did the election of 2008. The majority vote was a “Not this way” decision without a “This way instead” mandate. Even so-called specific aspirations like a balanced budget entail concrete decisions and those decisions are not yet clear.

Stewardship will continue the study of Enough with Mark Winters leading a discussion of Wisdom and Finance, two words that ought to go together.

The Youth invite any interested adults to an intergenerational class viewing and discussing the latest Nooma DVD.

See you Sunday,
Bill

It's the Anniversary of Protestantism

2010-10-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

This Sunday will see the 493rd anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation. On 31 October 1517, Martin Luther wrote to the Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg, protesting the sale of indulgences. He enclosed in his letter a copy of “95 Theses”. So some churches celebrate October 31st as Reformation Day.

It’s also All Hallows Eve, the day before All Saints Day. And today we have two Adult Ed offerings and one to which adults are invited.

The Wired Word will take up some questions about Biblical interpretation and Christian kindness. Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of “Snyder v. Phelps,” where Albert Snyder, the father of a fallen soldier, sued members of Westboro Baptist Church for protesting at the funeral of his son, Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder. The protesters claimed that God is permitting the deaths of U.S. soldiers as punishment for our country’s support of gay rights. The Phelps group claims biblical support for its protests, but it’s not difficult to find Bible verses that can be interpreted to condemn their actions. How do we reconcile Bible verses that seem to send opposite messages? Where is the line between free speech and harassment?

The Stewardship Team will continue their study of the book Enough. Enough is an invitation to rediscover the Bible’s wisdom on prudent financial practices. Find the keys to experiencing contentment, overcoming fear, and discovering joy through simplicity and generosity. After all, if enough isn’t enough nothing will ever be enough.

Finally, what’s the most important thing you’re doing right now? Reading? Sitting? Thinking? Planning? What about breathing? You could stop any of those other activities but if you stopped breathing it would be all over. But we don’t think about the most important thing of all because it’s too close. God is always present and as close to us as our next breath. Do we overlook God too? The Nooma the youth will be watching is called “Breathe” and discusses that very question.

See you Sunday,
Bill

Adult Education for October 24th

2010-10-21T18:14:00.000-07:00

Resurrection is the central theme of Christianity, new life and new birth. Of course life knows death, danger, and stagnation as well but last week we saw one of those wonderful, inspiring examples of good in action with the rescue of the Chilean miners. How is this an example of human-divine cooperation? How might this rescue make a difference in the mining industry? In people’s lives?

In addition the Youth have invited us to participate in their Nooma discussions. Come and hear what they have to say, offer your reflections in an intergenerational class.

See you Sunday,
Bill

Adult Lively Learning for October 17, 2010

2010-10-15T13:58:00.000-07:00

In the Wired Word this week Frank C. will continue the discussion of religious knowledge. If you want to see what the Pew Forum says on religious demographics, issues, beliefs, and participation in the US you can go to http://religions.pewforum.org/. If you want to cheat and take the test to see how informed you really are compared to the survey participants you can go to http://features.pewforum.org/quiz/us-religious-knowledge/index.php

The Youth have invited any interested adults to join in their Nooma video class. To prepare: What words come to mind when you think of God?

See you Sunday,
Bill

Peace Adult Lively Learning, Sunday October 10th

2010-10-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

Adults have three options for Lively Learning this coming Sunday: the Wired Word, Evangelism, and Nooma.

Are you smarter than a 5th Grader? Do you know as much about your religion as the average atheist? In May and June the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life conducted a religious-knowledge survey, testing Americans on the core teachings, history, and leaders of the major world religions. The results, released last month and making the news last week, revealed that atheists and agnostics scored the highest, followed by Jews and Mormons. These groups outperformed evangelical Protestants, Roman Catholics and mainline Protestants.

For example, only half of self-identified Christians could name all four Gospels, only 45 percent knew that the Dalai Lama is Buddhist. Less than half of the Protestants knew that Martin Luther kicked off the Protestant Reformation. The researchers probably knew better than to ask about Calvin or Wesley. Roman Catholic Christians didn’t fare much better: 45 percent of them didn’t know that, according to church teaching, the bread and wine used in Holy Communion become the body and blood of Christ.

“A little learning” Pope wrote, “is a dangerous thing.” Shouldn’t professing faith require at least some basic knowledge of the faith one professes – and perhaps other faiths as well?

For Evangelism, Sue S. will convene a follow-up discussion about Peace’s outreach to the community. You can come and discuss what we can do to get the word out about Peace to the local neighborhood.

Finally, Adults are invited to join the Youth in their Nooma series for a time of intergenerational discussion and sharing.

See you Sunday,

Bill

Peace Adult Lively Learning - - October 3, 2010

2010-10-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

As you know there have been some growing pains related to moving into our new location. It looks like they will be ironed out by Sunday and Lively Learning will resume.

This week, in the Wired Word, we take up the real implications of ideal goals. A little over a week ago, the United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals concluded with the adoption of a global action plan to achieve eight broad-ranging anti-poverty goals by 2015. Every one of these goals sounds like something Jesus would approve, and their implementation will vastly improve the lives of people all over the planet.

On the other hand, seven billion human beings cannot all live the current lifestyle of the billion richest. The planet simply can’t support it and the number of people won’t level off or start reducing until 2040 at the very earliest. Therefore actually implementing those goals will require genuine sacrifices from those living in the lands of plenty, America included.

What do we do now?

Peace,Bill

Lively Learning for Sunday, August 22nd

2010-08-20T06:19:00.000-07:00

This Sunday’s Lively Learning will be lively indeed. Plan to stay for the presentation of excerpts from Godspell!

There will be no Wired Word.

Peace,
Bill

Lively Learning for August 15th

2010-08-19T06:04:00.000-07:00

For our younger members, rehearsal continues on selections from Godspell which will be presented next week.

This week’s Wired Word takes up the massacre, perhaps martyrdom, on August 5th, of 10 members of a health-care team in Afghanistan.

What might it mean if doing good works because of one’s religious convictions is perceived as proselytizing?

Peace,
Bill

On A Dog Days Adult Ed

2010-08-06T18:40:00.000-07:00

As the children continue to prepare for Godspell (see http://www.peacepcusa.org/ for a picture) Adult Education for the Dog Days will take up the question of “Why be a Christian?” using the example of Ann Rice. As the intro to the Wired Word puts it:

“For most of her adult life, author Anne Rice was, as she described it, ‘a pessimistic atheist.’ She became famous as the author of a widely read series of novels about vampires, at least two of which were made into movies. She also wrote stories about witches and even penned some dark erotica.

In 1998, however, after nearly 40 years of denying God, Rice returned to the Catholic Church of her youth. Eventually, she announced that from then on, she would write only for God. She has since produced two novels about Jesus — Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt and Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana — and one called Angel Time: The Songs of the Seraphim. In 2008, she published her autobiography, Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession, in which she detailed her journey back to Christ and her decision to become a Christian.

Late last month, Rice announced on her Facebook page that she has ‘quit being a Christian.’ In her fuller explanation, she said she isn’t leaving Christ and that her faith in him remains ‘central to my life.’ What she’s abandoning is Christianity, which she’s come to see as a ‘quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious and deservedly infamous group.’

I can go with ‘quarrelsome, hostile, and disputatious,’ but can’t hack ‘deservedly infamous.’ Anyway, how should people handle the fractious yet diverse, loving and arrogant, stringent and accepting nature of Christianity?

Wondering,
Bill

Lively Learning for July 11th (the 50th anniversary of the publication of "To Kill a Mockingbird"

2010-07-09T10:54:00.000-07:00

This coming Sunday the children will resume their practice for Godspell.

The Wired Word will take up the discussion of the making of law. Of course ideals, like justice, require operationalization in law. But no law can adequately embody the ideal it’s supposed to. How do you craft a law that works but minimizes the distortions of human sin, ignorance (unintended consequences) and evil (scamming the system)?

Our Book of Confessions says that we Presbyterians have a unique view of the relationship between Law and Grace.

[Presbyterian] theology of grace and law is one of the most important things that distinguishes the Reformed tradition from other traditions and theologies. (a) It distinguishes Reformed Christians from other Christians who understand obedience to God’s commandments as a means of earning or cooperating with the saving grace of God rather than as a thankful response to saving grace already freely given and powerfully at work. (b) It distinguishes Reformed Christians from other Christians who believe that the law of God serves primarily the negative purpose of exposing sin, leading to repentance, and leading to the gospel of God’s saving grace rather than the positive purpose of guidance offered by the gospel. © It distinguishes Reformed Christians from the belief of some other Christians that Christian freedom is freedom from rather than freedom for obedience to the commands of God. (d) It distinguishes Reformed Christians from other Christians for whom obedience to the law is an end in itself rather than a means of loving and serving God and other people. (e) Finally, it distinguishes Reformed Christians from those who use the law of God to justify oppressive “order” in society for the benefit of a few rather than to achieve a free and just society for all. (Book of Confessions, p xvii-xviii)

The second presentation on Stephen Ministries will be postponed until some of our membership have gone through the training.

See you Sunday,
Bill

Lively Learning - July 4, 2010

2010-07-02T12:29:00.000-07:00

This coming Sunday will be the 234th birthday of the United States, the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, and the 50th anniversary of the 50 star US flag.

Since many people will be traveling we should keep them in our prayers. Because so many families will be away the children won’t hold play rehearsal and there will be no adult education. Take the time after fellowship to relax, barbecue, or whatever. Give thanks for the nation and pray, with the psalmist:

Give the gift of wise rule to the king, O God,
the gift of just rule to the crown prince. May he judge your people rightly, be honorable to your meek and lowly.

Let the mountains give exuberant witness; shape the hills with the contours of right living. Please stand up for the poor, help the children of the needy, come down hard on the cruel tyrants.

Outlast the sun, outlive the moon— age after age after age. Be rainfall on cut grass, earth-refreshing rain showers. Let righteousness burst into blossom and peace abound until the moon fades to nothing. Rule from sea to sea, from the River to the Rim. (Ps 72: 1-8, The Message)

Lively Learning for June 27, 2010

2010-06-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

On this coming Sunday, the 13th in Ordinary Time (and Captain Kangaroo’s 83rd birthday) the children will continue to prepare for the play. Gia’s musicals are always wonderful and enriching and everyone has a great time both practicing for and participating in them.

Adults will have two offerings. Our own Barbara Staton will give us a first introduction to the powerful, life enhancing opportunity which is Stephen Ministry. All adults are eligible to look into the training and, in any event, it is good to find out about because Peace will be becoming a Stephen Ministry Church. Training will start in the fall and ministry will begin in the spring.

The other offering is the Wired Word. The topic will be ambush “interviewing.” An Internet video that went viral on Monday featured U.S. Representative Bob Etheridge (D, NC) in a confrontation with two questioners. In the video, Etheridge walked toward these two men, one of whom greeted him, then held a small camera close to his face and asked, “Do you fully support the Obama agenda?” Etheridge immediately (and repeatedly) responded, “Who are you?” but, receiving no answer, initiated physical contact. It is written, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). But what if a soft answer is broadcast as equivocating and harsh words are interpreted as overreaction?

See you Sunday,
Bill

Lively Learning for Sunday, June 20 (Father's Day & Pentecost 4)

2010-06-17T12:11:00.000-07:00

Peace Church has a special honor. Our pastor Elizabeth is a commissioner to the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, USA Saturday – Friday, 3-9 July 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“So?” you ask! We’ll tell you for Adult and Senior High Lively Learning this Sunday!

The younger participants in Peace will prepare for Godspell and the rest of us will discuss some of the issues coming before the General Assembly.

See you Sunday,

Bill

Lively Learning - June 13

2010-06-10T19:36:00.000-07:00

The younger classes, with the exception (of course) of the nursery, will be preparing for the musical in August.

The Seniors, young and older adult, will watch the Nooma Video “Bullhorn.” God loves everyone, so we should, too. But it’s not always easy to handle other people’s political views, religious beliefs, behaviors, or something else, and it makes it hard to love them when we feel like we’re right and they’re very wrong. Now what do you do?

In the Wired Word we will be taking up the news about how, on June 2, Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was robbed of those rare events in baseball: a “perfect game.” How do you react when things don’t go well? No, let’s be more specific: How do you react when you’re wronged – by a person or by a circumstance? Do you react with anger and defensiveness or do you show grace instead of resentment, deception or animosity? Life has no instant replays. What are the implications of that for human interactions?

See you Sunday,
Bill

Lively Learning for 6/6 th 66th Anniversary of D Day

2010-06-04T15:25:00.000-07:00

For our younger participants we have a Nursery for infants, toddlers, & preschoolers. We also have classes for Preschoolers who are ready for more directed activities learning what it means to be loved by God. K-2nd graders engage in Godly Play learning through sacred stories and parables. Third to 5th graders explore Seasons of the Spirit, an imagination-driven journey. Middle schoolers use Seasons of the Spirit to engage the Bible, church, and the world.

Senior Highs and Adults will have Nooma. This week we consider that it’s easy for us to sometimes get down on ourselves. To feel “not good enough” or feel like we don’t have what it takes. But, for one thing, being right as we can be is a tall order and maybe if we had more insight into the culture that Jesus grew up in and some of the radical things he did, we’d understand the faith that God has in all of us.

In the Wired Word we will discuss the surprising news that, less than a month after their 40th wedding anniversary, former Vice President Al Gore and his wife Tipper announced to friends and supporters through a joint e-mail message that they were splitting up.

What is a functional relationship anyway?

Peace,
Bill

Lively Learning for Trinty Sunday 2010

2010-05-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

Summer Lively Learning at Peace

2010-05-24T04:22:00.000-07:00

Peace's summer LIVELY LEARNING begins on June 6th. Children (K-5) and youth will be celebrating the songs of GODSPELL & preparing to share that with the congregation on August 22nd! Adults will continue the NOOMA video series through June 20th. Over the rest of the summer there will be a variety of options including THE WIRED WORD.

Come join us!

Lively Learning for Penecost 2010

2010-05-21T03:36:00.000-07:00

For Pentecost our younger participants we have a Nursery for infants, toddlers, & preschoolers. We also have classes for Preschoolers who are ready for more directed activities learning what it means to be loved by God. K-2nd graders engage in Godly Play learning through sacred stories and parables. Third to 5th graders explore Seasons of the Spirit, an imagination-driven journey. Middle schoolers use Seasons of the Spirit to engage the Bible, church, and the world.

One Adult/Senior High class will consider the Nooma DVD “Kickball.” We always think we know what’s missing from our lives that would make us happy – don’t we? Or do we?

Adults have The Wired Word bringing Scripture and faith to bear on current events. This week takes up the case of two elderly sisters who used to go gambling together, they even had a notarized contract agreement to split gambling winnings but, during a spat, one sister said she didn’t want to be partners anymore.

Wouldn’t you know it? The next year her sister (along with their brother) won $500,000.

It’s easy to be “generous” when someone else is earning the money, income is secure, or the stakes are puny but, when the stakes really matter do all those “churchy” values go out the window?

See you Sunday,
Bill

Movie Night "In America" - Faith and Film

2010-05-18T04:38:00.000-07:00

This Friday, May 21st, we will be viewing and discussing the wonderful movie “In America” at our house. This movie was released in 2002 and was nominated for several Academy Awards (best actress, best supporting actor and best original screenplay). It tells the story of young family of Irish immigrants coming to terms with grief and opening their hearts again; set in the backdrop of Hell’s Kitchen, NYC.

We welcome you from 6:45 to 7:30 for snacks and chatting, then we will start the movie at 7:30pm. Please RSVP so we can provide ample seating. Bring something salty or sweet to share, if you’d like! Sorry, we’re not making whiskey slush – we’d sleep right through the movie! Maybe an Irish coffee instead….

"In America" will be shown on the first floor and if anyone with kids wants to bring kids, we will be viewing GODSPELL on the second floor for those under 13!

With Peace,
Eirinn & Chris

Lively Learning for Sunday, May 9, 2010

2010-05-17T08:14:00.000-07:00

Lively Learning for Sunday, May 2nd

2010-04-29T11:16:00.000-07:00

For our younger participants we have a Nursery for infants, toddlers, & preschoolers. We also have classes for Preschoolers who are ready for more directed activities learning what it means to be loved by God. K-2nd graders engage in Godly Play learning through sacred stories and parables. Third to 5th graders explore Seasons of the Spirit, an imagination-driven journey. Middle schoolers use Seasons of the Spirit to engage the Bible, church, and the world.

This week one class, for Senior Highs and Adults, will be the third of the Nooma series, Trees. People want to know why we are here and we need a God who cares about this life, this world, right here, right now. What does it mean to live like God wants us to live? And, if God created us for a purpose, why is it so difficult to find it and live it?

The Wired Word will address the Arizona legislation against illegal immigration. On April 23, Gov. Jan Brew of Arizona signed into law the toughest bill in the nation against illegal immigration, unleashing a flurry of protest and opposition. On the other hand, Arizona residents have reason to be concerned about illegal immigration, as their state has proven to be the busiest gateway for unauthorized entrance into the country.

See you Sunday,
Bill

Lively Learning, April 25th

2010-04-22T04:48:00.000-07:00

Men's Prayer Breakfast - 20 April 2010

2010-04-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

Gentlemen, Gentlemen!

Is there a man among us who does not love a fish fry? Jesus’ final earthly meal with his disciples not only confirms that he was a real man and that his disciples were real men, but that real men do fresh fried fish.

Join us early this coming Tuesday, 20 April, when we have the Crisper’s Restaurant all to ourselves. We begin gathering as early as 06:30, crescendoing in attendance, spirit, food, prayer, and gospel reading until 08:00. We usually consume all four primary food groups (protein, fat, carbohydrate, and caffeine) and we always laugh a lot.

Note on the attachment that this coming week will see the grand finale of Luke’s Gospel, which we’ve been reading for the past 96 weeks(!). Since we’ve already done the Gospel of John, we’ll begin Matthew’s Gospel on 27 April. This will stand us well, as Matthew becomes the lectionary Gospel when Advent begins in November.

Come one, come all, and come blessings to all,

Richard

Lively Learning on the Third Sunday of Easter

2010-04-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

Lively Learning on the Third Sunday of Easter (and the 235th anniversary of Paul Revere's ride).

For our younger participants we have a Nursery for infants, toddlers, & preschoolers. We also have classes for Preschoolers who are ready for more directed activities learning what it means to be loved by God. K-2nd graders engage in Godly Play learning through sacred stories and parables. Third to 5th graders explore Seasons of the Spirit, an imagination-driven journey. Middle schoolers use Seasons of the Spirit to engage the Bible, church, and the world.

One Adult Class will be The Wired Word. When golfer Phil Mickelson won the Masters last week, his wife was at the 18th hole to share a hug with him, despite being weak from breast cancer treatment. The hug, especially following the scandal of Tiger Woods, became a special moment not only for the Mickelsons, but also for the whole golf world. The story gives us the opportunity to talk about love and relationships

A second class for Adults and Senior Highs will take up the subject of where God is when life isn’t going the way we wish it would, meditating on Bob Bell’s video Rain.

See you Sunday,
Bill

Peace Lively Learning for Sunday, April 11th

2010-04-10T06:13:00.000-07:00

This coming Sunday, in addition to our classes for children and youth, we will have, in the auditorium, a presentation by a farmworker leader of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) (http://www.ciw-online.org/) and a staff member of Interfaith Action of SW Florida (IA) about efforts on behalf of Presbyterians to improve tomato pickers’ sub-poverty wages and to end modern-day slavery and human rights abuses in the fields.

This is a mission to the “third world” in our own back yard. You can be an anti-slavery activist if you missed your chance prior to the Civil War.

See you tomorrow,
Bill

TOUR DE RANCH BIKE RIDE - April 24th

2010-04-07T05:22:00.000-07:00

THE TOUR De RANCH – Saturday, April 24. In 2009 this event had over 200 riders and we raised $10,000 for Suncoast Partnership. This year the goal is 500 riders. The Tour de Ranch is a Lakewood Ranch community benefit to bring bicycles to the homeless in partnership with the Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness. All monies raised will go directly to the purchase of bicycles to empower the homeless in our community with the gift of transportation. Bicycles are the most environmentally-friendly and affordable way to travel and can become the beginning of someone’s better and more independent life.

Hosted by the Lakewood Ranch Main Street Merchants Association to benefit the Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness. Complete information can be found at www.tourderanch.us I rode last year and would love to have some company from Peace. We could wear our Peace t-shirts. Donation is $30 and includes a free lunch. There are routes of various lengths, but I could do a 20 mile route or, with some social pressure, the 35 mile route. Depends on those who might be interested. For the athletes there are longer rides, but I won’t be with you. If you are interested, call Bill Kemp (751-9062) or e-mail williamjkemp@gmail.com. It’s a fun morning.

Men's Prayer Breakfast 2020-04-06

2010-04-05T07:26:00.000-07:00

Message from: Richard Deibert

Men of Peace:

Christ is risen!
He is risen, indeed!

Christ is risen!
He is risen, indeed!

Christ is risen!
He is risen, indeed!

In my humble opinion, these are the three most important words in any vocabulary in any language in all of human history throughout the entire material creation.

Is it not a wonderful coincidence that our reading through Luke’s Gospel presents us with the story of the first Easter, just 48 hours after Easter Sunday of 2010?

Come one, come all for fellowship, food, and the freedom of the Gospel, 6:30-8:00 Tuesday mornings at Crisper’s on SR 70 near I-75.

All you need is a Y-Chromosome and a willing heart.

Remember that I will be in Iowa all week at a Primary Care Refresher Course. I’ve attached tomorrow’s handout, with a request for leadership (and sausage and cheese biscuits) from Professor David Thomas (don’t forget to send me the prayers).

Please pray for me at this conference and for my family during my absence. Also, please pray for my 81-year old Uncle Ted (my father Irv’s sister Ann’s husband), who sadly has been transferred to hospice care in Vero Beach due to a poorly treated left heel pressure ulcer that became gangrenous. I anticipate his death within the week.

It’s a mystery to me that death and birth often occur together in families. Ted and Ann’s only son, my cousin Teddy, is expecting his first child, Ted the 4th, due today, 5 April, in Philadelphia; his wife is Christie.

As our Orthodox Christian sisters and brothers sang repeatedly from midnight to three Easter morning, with uncontainable joy:

Christ is risen from the dead,
Trampling down death by death,
And upon those in the tombs bestowing life!

Attachments:
2010-04-06 Luke 24.1-12.pdf

Lively Learning for Palm Sunday

2010-03-25T14:15:00.000-07:00

For our younger participants we have a Nursery for infants, toddlers, & preschoolers. We also have classes for Preschoolers who are ready for more directed activities learning what it means to be loved by God. K-2nd graders engage in Godly Play learning through sacred stories and parables. Third to 5th graders explore Seasons of the Spirit, an imagination-driven journey. Middle schoolers use Seasons of the Spirit to engage the Bible, church, and the world. Senior Highs are exploring discipleship using the Thoughtful Christian materials.

For Adults, David Mullen will wrap up his series on Centering Prayer. And this week’s Wired Word will take up the question of when silence is sinful, questions about privacy, confidentiality, and culpability which have been raised by the recent revelations of sex-abuse scandals.

The Wired Word folk decided not to discuss health care. Without question, the passage of the health care legislation is the biggest news in the United States this week. But, because it’s so recent, it may not yet be to the point where it lends itself to reasonable discussion in a class setting.

See you Sunday,

Bill

Lively Learning for March 21, 2010

2010-03-18T08:51:00.000-07:00

For our younger participants we have a Nursery for infants, toddlers, & preschoolers. We also have classes for Preschoolers who are ready for more directed activities learning what it means to be loved by God. K-2nd graders engage in Godly Play learning through sacred stories and parables. Third to 5th graders explore Seasons of the Spirit, an imagination-driven journey. Middle schoolers use Seasons of the Spirit to engage the Bible, church, and the world. Senior Highs are exploring discipleship using the Thoughtful Christian materials.

For Adults Dave Mullen will continue to walk us through the process of Centering Prayer which can give us a tool to cultivate the Godly awareness that should precede thinking; the honesty that should precede speaking; the calmness that should precede acting. And The Wired Word will explore the proper response to Glenn Beck’s accusation that the terms “social justice” and “economic justice” are code words Liberal Churches use, wittingly or unwittingly, to push for the inclusion of Communist and Nazi ideas in government policies.

Peace,
Bill

Lively Learning for Sunday of Daylight Savings

2010-03-12T19:09:00.000-08:00

For our younger participants we have a Nursery for infants, toddlers, & preschoolers. We also have classes for Preschoolers who are ready for more directed activities learning what it means to be loved by God. K-2nd graders engage in Godly Play learning through sacred stories and parables. Third to 5th graders explore Seasons of the Spirit, an imagination-driven journey. Middle schoolers use Seasons of the Spirit to engage the Bible, church, and the world. Senior Highs are exploring discipleship using the Thoughtful Christian materials.

For Adults David Mullen will continue our journey through the depths of Centering Prayer and The Wired Word will use the “Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009” as a jumping off point to discuss finances, borrowing and lending. Almost everyone agrees that the ability to borrow money is important under certain circumstances, such as when loans allow borrowers to take advantage of significant opportunities they wouldn’t be able to pursue otherwise. What guidelines help you decide when a purchase on credit is the wise thing to do? It is written, “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge no interest. If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset, because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate” (Exodus 22: 25-27).

See you Sunday, on time.

Bill

Lively Learning for Third Sunday in Lent

2010-03-04T12:08:00.000-08:00

For our younger participants we have a Nursery for infants, toddlers, & preschoolers and classes for Preschoolers who are ready for more directed activities. K-2nd graders engage in Godly Play learning through sacred stories and parables. Third to 5th graders explore Seasons of the Spirit, an imagination-driven journey. Middle Schoolers use Seasons of the Spirit to engage the Bible, church, and the world. Senior Highs are exploring discipleship using the Thoughtful Christian materials.

For Adults Dave Mullen will continue exploring the discipline of Centering Prayer, a method of silent prayer that prepares us to experience God’s presence, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself. This method of prayer is both a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship.

In the Wired Word we will take up the issue of suicide. Shockingly, “Suicides outnumber homicides in America, making self-hatred more lethal than violence by others” (Michael Gerson, in a March 3 Washington Post column). Not so surprising the article also notes that suicide is “associated with depression, feelings of hopelessness, substance abuse and low levels of serotonin in the brain.” The church has had a traditional role in suicide prevention which should not be forgotten.

See you Sunday,Bill

Lively Learning for Sunday, February 28, 2010

2010-02-25T14:07:00.000-08:00

For our younger participants we have a Nursery for infants, toddlers, & preschoolers. We also have classes for Preschoolers who are ready for more directed activities learning what it means to be loved by God. K-2nd graders engage in Godly Play learning through sacred stories and parables. Third to 5th graders explore Seasons of the Spirit, an imagination-driven journey. Middle schoolers use Seasons of the Spirit to engage the Bible, church, and the world. Senior Highs are exploring discipleship using the Thoughtful Christian materials.

Adults have David Mullen’s class on Centering Prayer, establishing a direct, personal link with God. The Wired Word will take up the issue of anger. Everybody, since the middle of the 20th century, has heard the truism that "It’s OK to be angry." But recently two anger-motivated acts have made the news which are decidedly not OK, the University of Alabama professor who killed 3 fellow faculty and wounded three others and the man who flew a plane into a building out of anger at the IRS. Has our culture become increasingly tolerant of anger or unable or unwilling to differentiate between responsible and irresponsible actions? And what should Christians do with their anger – and the anger of others?

TONIGHT - Don't Miss This Film - February 19th

2010-02-19T11:38:00.000-08:00

Dear Moviegoers:

If you’re wondering whether or not tonight’s movie will be worth it, let me reassure you. This film will end up on your lifetime Top Ten list and on your Top Three list for films about death. I realize most of you don’t keep a list for films about death, but I do because I believe death is the most important subject of our lives.

DEPARTURES is a Japanese film that stunned the film world by winning the 2008 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. In addition, it won ten Japanese "Oscars," grossing more than $60 million in Japan, where it was viewed and celebrated by young and old alike.

Do not let "foreign film" and "subtitles" discourage you! The film moves slowly and elegantly. Do not let the Deiberts’ old TV discourage you! The Deiberts caved in a year ago and sold the back eighth-acre for a 46-inch, razor-sharp flat screen TV. Do not let those wretchedly uncomfortable Deibert chairs discourage you! The Deiberts have ten of the comfortable chairs donated to Peace by Siesta Key Chapel.

Do not be discouraged by any non life-threatening excuse from seeing this exquisite film! It’s a tender, grace-filled expression of the beauty of death, the gift of our bodies, and the value of preparing for the life hereafter. In short, it’s a celebration of the glory of the human person.

See you this evening,

Richard

Lively Learning - February 18, 2010

2010-02-18T17:58:00.000-08:00

Lively Learning for the First Sunday in Lent

For our younger participants we have a Nursery plus classes for Preschoolers who are ready for more directed learning activities. K-2nd graders engage in Godly Play learning through sacred stories and parables. Third to 5th graders explore Seasons of the Spirit, an imagination-driven journey. Middle schoolers use Seasons of the Spirit to engage the Bible, church, and the world. Senior Highs are exploring discipleship using the Thoughtful Christian materials.

Adults will have, in lieu of The Wired Word, the second half of Welcome to Peace by Elizabeth and Bill and the first of David Mullen’s lessons on Contemplative Prayer. Come deepen your prayer life or refresh/extend your knowledge of Peace Church. Either way is good.

Have a blessed and reflective Lent,

The Men of Peace - February 17, 2010

2010-02-17T14:20:00.000-08:00

Dear Men of Peace:

Paraphrasing one of my favorite holy people, born way back in 345, "If you are a real man [theologian], you will pray truly. And if you pray truly, you are a real man [theologian]" (#61 from On Prayer: 153 Texts by Evagrios the Solitary).

We gather between 06:30 and 07:00 rain or shine outside Crispers near I-75 and SR-70. We shoot the bull for 15 or 20 minutes, collect prayer concerns and pray, then read and discuss the passage of the day from Luke at a very simple level. We close with the Lord’s Prayer and we’re faithfully out by 08:05. A couple of guys bring something to eat and Crisper’s provides a big pot of coffee. It’s all very informal, open, fresh, and affirming.

If you’ve never come, consider this a warm invitation to join a fabulous group of men. If you’re a regular, consider this a warm thank you.

And don’t let anyone kid you: Real men pray truly.

Warm greetings to all,

Richard

Lively Learning for Sunday February 14th

2010-02-14T11:00:00.000-08:00

On Valentine’s Day we will have our usual classes for everyone from infants to adults. Plus a special attraction.

For our younger participants we have a Nursery for infants, toddlers, & preschoolers. We also have classes for Preschoolers who are ready for more directed activities learning what it means to be loved by God. K-2nd graders engage in Godly Play learning through sacred stories and parables. Third to 5th graders explore Seasons of the Spirit, an imagination-driven journey. Middle schoolers use Seasons of the Spirit to engage the Bible, church, and the world. Senior Highs are exploring discipleship using the Thoughtful Christian materials.
Adults have Mickey wrapping up his delightful and insightful study of the Psalms. In addition, on Saturday, February 13th, at the Deiberts (6421 Blue Grosbeak Circle, 34202 – in Greenbrook Run 753-7778) we will host a discussion of All about Peace and being a Presbyterian. It will run from 10-12 AM.

In lieu of The Wired Word, we will run All about Peace and being a Presbyterian during the Lively Learning time February 14th and finish up the next week, during Lively Learning on February 21st.

Lively Learning for February 7, 2010

2010-02-04T06:24:00.000-08:00

For our younger participants we have a Nursery for infants, toddlers, & preschoolers. We also have classes for Preschoolers who are ready for more directed activities learning what it means to be loved by God. K-2nd graders engage in Godly Play learning through sacred stories and parables. Third to 5th graders explore Seasons of the Spirit, an imagination-driven journey. Middle schoolers use Seasons of the Spirit to engage the Bible, church, and the world. Senior Highs are exploring discipleship using the Thoughtful Christian materials.

Mickey Miller will continue leading us in the dance through the rich and beautiful book of Psalms.

Rich, famous, called – is there a difference? The Wired Word this week takes up the example of Grant Desme, a 23 year old ranked by Baseball America as the eighth-best prospect on the Oakland A’s farm team, on a fast track to the major leagues who, last month, informed the A’s management of his intention to retire from the game and enter seminary.

Remember, Sunday is the 20th Souperbowl Sunday. In 1990 Brad Smith, then a seminary intern serving at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC, prayed: "Lord, even as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us be mindful of those who are without a bowl of soup to eat." With those words, a youth-led movement to help hungry and hurting people around the world was begun.

This prayer, delivered gave birth to an idea. Why not use Super Bowl weekend, a time when people come together for football and fun, to also unify the nation for a higher good: collecting dollars and canned food for the needy? Youth could collect donations at their schools and churches in soup pots, and then send every dollar DIRECTLY to a local charity of THEIR choice. The Souperbowl raised $5,700 in 1990, in 2009 it raised $10,400,000.

See you Sunday,
Bill

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Lively Learning, Sunday, November 8, 2009

2009-11-08T15:24:00.000-08:00

This coming Sunday’s Lively Learning at 11:00 will include childcare for infants and toddlers, and lively learning classes for preschoolers, Grades K-2, Grades 3-5, Middle Schoolers, and High Schoolers.

For adults, Bill Kemp will lead the second of four parts of the study of John Ortberg’s masterful and readable little book on priorities, When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box.

November 9 is the 20th anniversary of the tearing down of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of one of the largest socio-political systems on the planet. That event gives us a chance to celebrate the freedom that is ours in the West as well as to consider what lies ahead and, from a Christian point of view, what still needs to be done.

Peace,Bill

Attachments:

Wired Word 2009-11-08.pdf

Sunday November 1, 2009 - Lively Learning

2009-10-30T17:35:00.000-07:00

Lively Learning, November 1st (All Saint's Day)

This coming Sunday’s Lively Learning at 11:00 we will include the younger of our saints with childcare for infants and toddlers, and lively learning classes for preschoolers, Grades K-2, Grades 3-5, Middle Schoolers, and High Schoolers.

For Adults, the Wired Word topic will be the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama. Not, so much, the awarding of the prize for aspirations but the mechanics of peacemaking, getting from the real to the ideal.

And Bill Kemp will kick off the first of 4 Sundays on John Ortberg’s masterful little book on Christian priorities in the game of life When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box.

See you Sunday,Bill

Attachments:
Wired Word 2009-10-18.pdf

Election of Elders for Peace Presbyterian - Aug 30th

2009-08-30T12:41:00.000-07:00

On August 30th at 10:30am, Peace Presbyterian will elect 9-12 Elders.

"Elders are chosen by the people. Together with ministers of the Word and Sacrament, they exercise leadership, government, and discipline and have responsibiities for the life of a particular church as well as the church at large, including ecumenical relationships. They shall serve faithfully as members of the session. When elected commissioners to high governing bodies, elders particpate and vote with the same authority as ministers of the Word and Sacrament, and they are eligible for any office. Elders should be persons of faith, dedication, and good judgment. Their manner of life should be a demonstration of the Christian gospel, both within the church and in the world." (PCUSA Book of Order, 6.03)

Elders will ordinarily serve a three year term, though the first two classes of elders will be one and two year terms.

Election of Elder Nominating Committee - July 26th

2009-07-26T12:34:00.001-07:00

On July 26th at 10:30am - Peace Presbyterian congregation will elect the Elder Nominating Committee. This is preparation for the Election on August 30th at 10:30am of 9-12 Elders.

PENTECOST WORSHIP SERVICE

2009-04-03T19:00:00.000-07:00

PENTECOST WORSHIP SERVICE

This Sunday, May 31st, is Pentecost, a festive holy day, when we celebrate the birth of the church and gift of the Holy Spirit! You are invited to wear red as a sign of the flames of the Spirit.