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

MAY 2012

On Sunday and Monday, May 6 & 7 at all worship ser-

vices and church school hours, the Word of Peace

family is invited to make a financial pledge to

A Strong Founda�on Building Fund Campaign. Pledge

cards were sent home in the mail and will be availa-

ble at all church doors on May 6 & 7.

Our financial gi's for A Strong Founda�on Building

Fund Campaign over the next three-and-a-half years,

over and above our giving to support our general

fund budget (opera*ng budget), will keep our church

on a strong financial founda*on and allow us to sig-

nificantly pay down our mortgage debt so that we will

be in posi*on to achieve our dream of building a new

sanctuary (worship center) in 2016.

Our goal is to raise 1.3 million dollars over the next

three-and-a-half years, over and above our current

annual giving for our budgeted ministry needs. In

mee*ng this challenge we will lay A Strong Founda-

�on by:

• Making our mortgage commitments for the next

three-and-a-half years, totaling approximately

$650,000.

• Using $650,000 to reduce the debt on our present

facility so that we can strengthen our ability to se-

cure future funds to build our new sanctuary in

2016.

• Con*nue our tradi*on of giving beyond ourselves

by sharing 5% of dollars received to the CROSS food

shelf right here in our community.

Upon A Strong Founda�on, God will con*nue to

bring people to faith and grow people in faith in our

Lord Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. We are all invited

to be a part of this exci*ng vision as we together

make a difference in our community and in God’s

world.

Our generous, sacrificial, and joyful giving will truly

build A Strong Founda�on for Word of Peace. To-

gether we will make it happen!

BUILDING FUND

PLEDGE WEEKEND

IS MAY 6 & 7

2

Our Holy Week and Easter worship services were a great suc-

cess thanks to the more than 200 volunteers who helped set up

chairs, greet, usher, serve communion, read, sing, work the

sound board, the media board, and the video board, directed

traffic, stuffed bulle*ns, scrambled eggs, flipped pancakes,

broiled sausage, brought fruit and sweets and juice and all good

things, cleared tables and washed dishes. Our volunteers minis-

tered to the more than 3,000 people who worshiped here last

week. We give a special thank you to our Visual Ministry team,

who worked over*me that week to ensure that the worship

seDng was appropriate to the service. The Easter display was

spectacular. You bless us all.

The 7th

Annual Peace Market rummage sale was a HUGE suc-

cess! Thank you for dona*ng, volunteering and shopping! Pro-

ceeds from the sale will go to the par*cipa*ng ministry teams,

benevolence, general fund and building fund.

Benefit for Mark Westerman will be held at Word of Peace on

Saturday, May 12 from 4-8pm to help pay for a Personal Care

Assistant for Mark, which is not covered by insurance. Benefit will

include a spagheD dinner, silent auc*on, kid’s games, bake sale

and music by Soled Out. Please call Karen Running at

763.496.2421 with ques*ons or to donate an item to the silent

auc*on.

5K Fun Run/Walk Benefi2ng S.A.V.E. (Suicide Awareness Voice

of Educa2on) in memory of Dus2n Harrington & Beau Gruen-

wald—Saturday, May 19, 2012. Registra*on begins at 8am; Race

begins at 9am; Kids Zone begins at 10am. Registra*on Fee: $20

for adults and kids 12 and over; $5.00 for kids 11 and younger.

Pre-register at hNp://save.donordrive.com/event/

adaytoremember/. Please contact Gretchen Harrington at

Gretchen.harrington@yahoo.com or 763-706-7223 with ques-

*ons or to make a dona*on.

BeFrienders Informa2onal Mee2ng—BeFrienders is a one-on-

one listening ministry. Stop by the table in the Gathering Area on

Sunday, April 29th to get informa*on, learn about training or to

register to be a part of the next training BeFrienders session.

Mother’s Day Plant Sale—What beNer gi' to give your wonder-

ful mother to say “I love you” on Mother’s Day than a beau*ful

spring plant? Help support the youth ministry at Word of Peace

on Sunday May 13th

—stop by the South Gathering Area and buy

a plant (or several!) between worship services.

Congratula2ons Graduates! Come and celebrate this year’s grad-

uates at the 9:30 and 11:00 am worship services on Sunday, May

20th

. Join us as we pray, bless and send these students into the

next life adventure.

Happenings

Pastor Krista Strum

Faith Formation Pastor

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“We welcome you into the Lord’s family; we receive you as a

member of the body of Christ, child of the same heavenly Fa-

ther, and worker with us in the kingdom of God.”

What a welcome! Presiding at and teaching about Bap*sms is

one of the many highlights of my ordained ministry. Bap*sm is

full of promise, hope and welcome. The newly bap*zed gets

welcomed into the Lord’s family, received as a member of the

body of Christ, shares with us the same heavenly Father, and is

with us as we work together in the kingdom of God.

Word of Peace’s Long Range Planning CommiNee, our Execu*ve

Team, Council and Staff have been working together designing

our long-range plan. We have adopted a new mission and vi-

sion statement.

Vision Statement

To be a community where everyone knows CHRIST’S LOVE and

shares CHRIST’S LOVE with all people. (emphasis is mine.)

Mission Statement

Christ works through us as we:

• Welcome all people to grow in faith, love, and devo2on

• Share Christ’s love through word and deed

• Care for others and the world God made

• Work for jus2ce and peace

Our mission statement begins, Christ works through us as we…

God is at work through us. God is at work through our lives. God

uses us as instruments of God’s grace. This mission statement

upli's the importance of our role in the kingdom of God. God

uses us to do God’s work in the world and in doing so calls us to

encourage one another to share Christ’s love with the world

and nurture faith in each other.

I invite you to place our Vision and Mission statement some

place where you can see it. Talk with your family about what it

means for Christ to work through us. What does that look like in

your life? A simple ques*on to ask yourself or your family…

Where did you see Christ at work today? Where did others see

Christ at work in you?

Peace to you!

C.R.O.S.S. CORNER—

Our Word of Peace congrega*on donated 1,411 pounds of food to C.R.O.S.S. in the month of March (along with 115 chocolate bun-

nies!). What an incredible group of givers we have at Word of Peace! THANK YOU!!!

Word of Peace’s own Vicky Johnson, along with two other volunteers at C.R.O.S.S., has been chosen to receive the Good Neighbor

Award for her dedica*on and many hours of service at C.R.O.S.S. She and the others was honored in April at a special ceremony.

C.R.O.S.S. is running low of the following: Large juice, medium size peanut buNer, honey, jam/jelly, cereal, walnuts/almonds, pop-

corn, bar/face soap. Please drop dona*ons off at C.R.O.S.S. Corner in the North Gathering Area.

3

Music & Worship

Word of Peace Seniors

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

general informa*on for seniors.

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

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

Date Time Activity Cost/Details Contact

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

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

(eat at 4pm)

Dave 763-428-4217

Tuesdays 2:30-3:30pm Fit & Fun Exercise for Seniors North Ballet Academy

Hwy. 101 & CR 141

Barb at 763-429-4955

5/16 1:30-3pm Memory Loss Support Group at Wellstead For family members caring for

loved ones

Heidi at 763-428-8181

5/20 9-10:30am Breakfast at Denny’s in Rogers Menu items for $6.99 includes

drink

Margaret 763-428-8650

5/22 3-5 pm Happy Hour at Dehns in Dayton Early dinner $3.99, drinks

not included

Margaret 763-428-8650

4/29 5:30-7pm Senior Ci*zen Prom-come dance the night

away and enjoy pie and punch at the St.

Michael-Albertville High School Cafeteria.

This is a free event and sponsored by the

Saint Michael Albertville High School

Student Council.

Free-sponsored by St. Michael/

Albertville H.S. Student Coun-

cil. High School is located at

5800 Jamison Avenue in

Albertville.

Lauren Skare

763-331-5856

GRACE CHOIR PRESENTS:GRACE CHOIR PRESENTS:GRACE CHOIR PRESENTS:GRACE CHOIR PRESENTS:

The Musical

Oh, Jonah!

COMING SOON: July 1st—Minnesota Orchestra’s Salute to America at the Ted Mann Concert Hall at U of M.

Motor coach from Heritage Place. Cost is $43.00. Call Margaret at 763-428-8650.

May 6 and 7 at all servicesMay 6 and 7 at all servicesMay 6 and 7 at all servicesMay 6 and 7 at all services

4

It takes a considerable amount of

trust to give our money away. We

are essen*ally saying to God, “I be-

lieve that You can take care of me

beNer than I can. I believe that You

will provide what I need when I

need it. I believe that You will do

greater things with this money than

I could.” Those who give regularly

know that the joy gained from

trus*ng God in this way is worth far

more than the money itself.

Yet trus*ng God with that weekly

offering can s*ll seem daun*ng, or

even scary. It’s far too easy to peer

into the dimly lit future and imagine

a host of rapidly approaching poten-

*al expenses. Gas prices could sky-

rocket. Apple could release a new

iPhone. We might get sick and need

medical care, or we might find our-

selves in a passionate affair with

Caribou Coffee’s White Peach Berry

Smoothie. (Mmmm.) There are so

many different needs (or “needs”)

that pull at our wallets, and we find

ourselves torn. We want to trust

God with our giving, but when the

moment comes, it is so temp*ng to

hold back. Just in case something

comes up, you know.

At least, that’s what happened to

me. For a long *me, even though I

was very ac*ve at church, I was not

giving. I would have all the best in-

ten*ons and arm myself with good

theology about *thing and generosi-

ty, and yet when it came *me to

actually give my money away, I kept

hiDng a wall. I needed help to be-

come a regular giver.

I found that help in the form of Di-

rect Giving. Direct Giving is an auto-

mated withdrawal program that

helps me prac*ce the spiritual disci-

pline of regular giving. When I en-

rolled, I chose a contribu*on

amount and schedule, and it felt like

a weight had been li'ed from my

heart. With just one ac*on, I had

become a regular giver. Whether

I’m present at worship or not,

whether I feel spiritually strong or

weak, the first fruits of my labor is

always given immediately to God’s

work through Word of Peace. It is

dedicated, set aside, untouchable.

Because of Direct Giving, I am able

to worship God with my money as I

am commanded to in Scripture by

giving to God first. Direct Giving also

ensures that my church can count

on my offerings throughout the

summer and keep doing the minis-

try that drew so many of us here in

the first place.

For some people, the regular act of

wri*ng an offering check is deeply

important and spiritually fulfilling,

and I am so thankful for those of

you who give in this way. But if you

are like me, and you o'en find

many obstacles in the way of your

giving, I invite you to join me in en-

rolling in Direct Giving. It’s a simple

way to bless your church and to ex-

perience the blessings of trus*ng in

God.

— Kate Tripoli

21705 129th Ave. N.

P.O. Box 306

Rogers, MN 55374

Church Office

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

message for the pastor)

On the Web

www.wordofpeace.org

www.facebook.com/

wordofpeace

Office Hours

Mon-Thurs 8am-4:30pm

Fri 8am-12:30pm

Our Vision Statement Our vision is to be a community where

everyone knows Christ’s Love and

shares Christ’s Love with all people.

Our Mission Statement Christ works through us as we:

• Welcome all people to grow in

faith, love and devo*on,

• Share Christ through word

and deed,

• Care for others and the world

God made, and

• Work for jus*ce and peace.

NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS Contact Jennie Priebe in the

church office at 496-2401 or

jpriebe@woplc.org.

June newsle�er deadline:

May 11 at Noon

5

Faith Forma2on Ministry

Youth Ministry

MSM.AM

MSM.AM stands for Middle School Ministry A.M. We meet

two Sundays a month in the Youth Room for food, devo-

*ons, conversa*on and games. This month’s MSM.AM

dates are May 6 and 27. On May 6th we meet from 9:30-

10:30am and on May 27th we meet from 10:00-11:00am.

All 6th-8th graders are welcome!

Summer Stretch

6th-12th Graders, sign up for Summer Stretch! It’s all

about having fun while doing important work in our com-

munity! MaNhew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your

light shine before others, so that they may see your good

works and give glory to your father who is in heaven.”

Registra*on packets are available on the Youth bulle*n

board. Deadline for registra*on is Wednesday, May 2nd

.

Plant Sale

Plant Sale Pick-up is Friday, May 11th

from

3:00-8:00pm! All youth who sold plants for this

fundraiser, make sure you pick them up

on this date. You are responsible for

delivering to the people you sold to.

Grad Sunday

Join us on Sunday, May 20th

at the 9:30 and 11:00 services,

as we celebrate those in our community who are gradu-

a*ng from High School and College. Way to go, grads!

Na2onal Youth Gathering

The next Na*onal Youth Gathering mee*ng is on Sunday,

May 20th at 12:15pm in the Sanctuary. See you there!

Wednesday Night Bonfires

Summer is almost here, and that means it’s *me for bon-

fires at Word of Peace—Wednesdays from 7:30-9:00pm

beginning May 23rd. All 9th-12th graders welcome!

Thank You Educa2on

Volunteers!

We are grateful for your ministry and

*me! Please pick-up a poNed flower on

Sunday, May 6, Sunday, May 7 or

Wednesday, May 9 in the Gathering Area as a gi' from

your congrega*on. You have grown the faith life of

God’s people. Thank you!

Church School and Confirma2on Registra2on for the

2012/2013 Year Begins on Sunday, May 6 at 8am

Registra*on forms for the 2012/2013 year can be found

at our registra*on tables or online beginning Sunday,

May 6 at 8am. Dozens of teachers and confirma*on

guides are needed for this ministry. Please grab your

spouse or a friend and teach one of our classes. Your

life will be blessed!

Confirma2on Party/Picnic

The end of the year confirma*on party/picnic for ALL

confirma*on students is Wednesday, May 9 from 6-

8pm. 8th graders receive their confirma*on exams at

the end of the evening.

Last Day of Church School is Sunday, May 6 and

Monday, May 7.

Last Day of Confirma2on is Wednesday, May 9.

8th Grade Confirma2on Parents

Please don’t miss the important Parent Only Night on Wednesday,

May 16 at 7 pm. We will provide very important informa*on for the

Confirma*on Day. Please Do NOT bring your student with you.

Beginning Sunday, May 6th, you can register your child for the fall 9th

grade confirma*on component. Forms will be located at the registra-

*on table and online beginning May 6.

Vaca2on Bible School Deadline

Please register on or before June 1st. A'er

June 1st, the registra*on fee will be $35.

We need more crew leaders and room

leaders so come have a blast and be

blessed by serving God’s kids! Contact

Kris*n Skare to volunteer at kskare@woplc.org or 763.496-2404.

From Beginning to the End: Studies in Revela2on

Sunday Mornings through May 20

Choose 9:30 or 11:00am

The book of Revela*on can confuse us. It can dis-

turb us. It can frighten us. At the same *me Revela-

*on has inspired poets and ar*sts, musicians and

movie makers because of its imagery. These studies

will explore how Revela*on, through imagery

grounded in Scripture, reveals who Jesus is and who we are called to

be in response to this. Everyone is welcome!

Non-Profit Org.

US Postage

PAID

ROGERS, MN

PERMIT NO. 9

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

R e q u e s t e d

P.O. B�� 306

R�#$%&, MN 55374

Sundays

8:00 a.m. Traditional

9:30 a.m. Blended

11:00 a.m. Contemporary

Mondays

6:30 p.m. Contemporary

May 6 & 7

Pastor Rick Skare: “Should I Not be Concerned?”

Scripture Reading: Jonah 4:9-11

May 13 & 14

Pastor Krista Strum: “I Have Called You Friends”

Scripture Readings: John 15:9-17, 1 John 5:1-6,

Psalm 98, Acts 10:44-48

May 20 & 21

Pastor Rick Skare: “What Does it Mean to be God’s?”

Scripture Readings: John 17:6-19, 1 John 5:9-13,

Psalm 1, Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

May 27 & 28

Pastor Ron Prasek: “Charge and Recharge”

Scripture Readings: Romans 8:22-27, Acts 2:1-21,

Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

MAYMAYMAYMAY Sermons & TextsSermons & TextsSermons & TextsSermons & Texts

Summer Worship Begins May 27/28

SundaysSundaysSundaysSundays 8:30 Traditional

10:00am Blended

MondaysMondaysMondaysMondays 6:30pm Contemporary