ThiS week At st. peTer’s

4TH SUNDAY OF EASTER

04-21-2024

Another Good Shepherd Sunday in the Easter Season arrives (happens every year!), and we are once again compared to a bunch of wooly sheep – not so smart, brave, or self-sufficient as we might like to think and hope. In a world of enticing meadows that can lead us astray, dry deserts that leave us gasping, lurking wolves that seek to harm us, fake shepherds who will abandon us, and shadowy valleys that frighten us to death, we can thank God that we have Jesus Christ to guide, protect, comfort, and nourish us always and even into eternity. “I am the good shepherd,” says Jesus, so committed to the well-being of the sheep that he was willing to lay down his life for them. It cost Jesus his life to deliver you from death. It is a love freely given to us, a love we are commanded to offer to our neighbors. Many followers of Jesus have responded by also becoming good shepherds, even to the point of laying down their own lives for others. We have a message to hear and a story to tell…

TODAY

9:00AM All Saints Choir warm-up for worship.

10:00AM + EASTER SUNDAY WORSHIP + (in person and online)

11:30AM All Saints Choir rehearsal.

Express your Easter fai+h with deeds and dollars unblocked by tombstones!

The Pastors just heard about this last Sunday. The Religious Leaders Council of Greater Philadelphia held an interfaith prayer service in February at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul to pray for Mayor Cherelle Parker and members of the Philadelphia City Council. During her public remarks Mayor Parker spoke about not being afraid to appear vulnerable or to express her need for help from others. She mentioned being the daughter of a single parent mother, father absent from her life, raised by her grandparents. A quote: “I know what surplus food is like, because I picked up the cheese and butter at St. Peter’s Church at 74th and Briar Road in the neighborhood that I grew up in.” It’s now our turn to pass the love on… to embody a message of resurrection and new life for others as believers and as a community of faith. May it be said of our lives and ministry: “They have preached the Gospel to the poor, they have brought healing to the sick in Jesus’ name, they have preached deliverance to the captives, the recovery of sight to the blind, they have given new life to the broken hearted, they have set at liberty those who are bruised. They have proclaimed in word and deed the Gospel of God’s Kingdom.”

“Created to Be”, ELCA Youth Gathering, July 13-20, New Orleans

Greetings to St. Peter’s from AGAPE (Dave Scherer) and Joe Davis – both noted for Christian witness among children, youth, and adults with music, poetry, and storytelling… and each of them presented and preached at St. Peter’s – at last Sunday’s Synod rally attended by 17 of us. We have 7 kids and 2 adult leaders going to the Gathering that we will need to raise a few more dollars to help send… and another 5 adults who have volunteered to serve as ELCA Gathering staff.

Monday… Earth Day.

Tuesday… Primary Election Day in Pennsylvania.

Wednesday, 9:30AM Senior Ministry “Study and Discussion” in Rhoda Hall. (Note the earlier start!)

Wednesday, 10:00AM Diane Hughes, volunteer office administration.

Wednesday, 11:00AM Whole Foods fresh produce distribution.

Thursday, 7:30PM AL-ANON PROGRAM. Find encouragement to end your own codependence!

Friday, 6:30PM Girl Scouts.

Saturday, 9AM – 1PM Girl Scout event in Rhoda Hall.

Giving in 2024

Beyond support of our 2024 Budget ($179,787 is what we envision spending this year) are those opportunities for special giving on behalf of others. They include:

ELCA World Hunger Appeal (meeting international, national, and local hunger and poverty needs)
$603 received to date in 2024;
Lutheran Charities Appeal (assisting three local social ministry organizations – KenCrest Services, Lutheran Settlement House, and Gemma Services – that serve thousands of neighbors in need
$282 received to date in 2024.
Mission Offering (For January – June we have selected Loaves and Fishes, Capetown, South Africa, suggested by Pastor Bob Holum after he had occasion to visit and interact there. It is a shelter facility and social ministry that works with homeless people to provide “spiritual, psychological, and material renewal”.)
$405 received to date in 2024.

What’s Happening…

April 28… 5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER.

Hybrid Worship at 10AM.

Synod ELCA Youth Gathering pre-trip meetings, 3:30PM and 5:00PM.

May 3… Senior Food Box distribution ministry, 8:00AM.

May 3, 4… Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod Assembly at Franconia Mennonite Church, Telford PA.

May 4… Our Cliveden-Wister Al-Anon Step Group gathers in Rhoda Hall for another anniversary celebration!

May 11… Women’s Ministry “Gathering” at 11:00AM. (in person and online).

May 12… 7TH SUNDAY OF EASTER. MOTHER’S DAY.

Tyesha Love Blackshear, a St. Peter’s member, will be our guest preacher.

May 18… “Talent Show” by the Scholarship Committee.

May 19… DAY OF PENTECOST. A Spirit explosion of joy and power!

Hybrid worship at 10AM (in person and online), followed by a picnic and fellowship in Rhoda Hall. Wear bright red, yellow, orange, or pink as we celebrate the fire of the Holy Spirit that filled, fueled, and poured out of those 120 praying gathered believers when the Church was born! Invite FAMILY, FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS, STRANGERS! Sign up to help us estimate the attendance, sign up to contribute food items!