ThiS week At st. peTer’s | 8-18-24
St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
2169 74th Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19138
Church Office: 215-424-5122 Fax: 215-424-7841
e-mail address: stpetersinfo@yahoo.com
Revs. Gwendolyn Johnson-Bond & Neil A. Bond, Co-Pastors
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PENTECOST 13 08-18-2024
Jesus is the living bread from heaven. Many of us have heard the phrase, “You are what you eat.” Using an unusual image, Jesus first boldly proclaimed that he is THE BREAD OF LIFE… then insisted that those who eat on this bread will live forever… and finally shocked with the grotesque statement that there can be no real life unless people are willing “to gnaw or chew” his flesh and gulp down his blood in a vicious, savage frenzy. Jesus says, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.” Are we willing to get that intimate with Jesus, that close? Or is it too hard to swallow? In this world of fading treasures and fleeting pleasures, we might feel tempted to covet and chase after many things and moments, even though they never bring true satisfaction. Jesus promises that he is the bread that will satisfy our deepest hungers… that he is more to us than food and drink… that he is the source of our very lives. Nothing else can fill the gnawing hunger and unquenchable thirst in our hearts and in our lives! Nothing else! Who’s hungry for some real living? Let us feast so that we might be more like him! Let us feast so that we can become part of that body of Christ, his living Church, all over the world and throughout the ages. And let us not forget how he willingly suffered and died on a cross to give us life! It was his flesh and blood, his self-sacrifice, that redeemed us.
TODAY
10:00AM + PENTECOST SEASON WORSHIP + (in person and online)
Noon – 2:00PM School Backpack Giveaway, sponsored by our Scholarship Committee.
The miracle of caring and sharing.
Beyond support of our 2024 Budget ($179,787 is what we envision spending this year) are various special opportunities for giving on behalf of others. They include:
ELCA World Hunger Appeal (meeting international, national, and local hunger and poverty needs)
$10 last week, $1,708 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 with various needs)
$15 last week, $966.50 received to date in 2024.
Mission Offering (For July – December we have selected a local ministry, the Sisters of Saint Joseph Refugee Housing Project, introduced to us by our young adult member Andrea Wood. Their work includes transitional housing for refugee resettlement, family support services, and a distribution center with needed household items and furniture. This Mission Offering, other monetary gifts, new and gently used items (they have a “wish list”, see the Pastors) and volunteer opportunities are all ways to respond to refugees in need with genuine love.)
$50 last week, $135 received to date, ends December 31.
LOVE, NOT HATE. PEACE, NOT VIOLENCE.
MERCY, NOT GREED. JUSTICE, NOT ABUSE
Join our family, share God’s love, and grow in discipleship.
Welcome! This is where we come hungry for bread that satisfies, thirsty for water that is eternal. This is where we come to receive the Bread of Life and the Living Water… and then go forth in courage and conviction to become God’s love to a hungry, thirsting world. We invite you to join in our new life together which is being shaped by the good news of Jesus Christ crucified and now risen among us.
ThiS week At st. peTer’s
Wednesday, 10:30AM Senior Ministry “Games and Social Activity” in Rhoda Hall.
Thursday, 7:30PM AL-ANON PROGRAM. Find encouragement to end your own codependence!
Saturday, 9AM / 11AM Viewing / funeral / meal in celebration of the life and faith of Daren B. Waite.
The book of Proverbs is more than 500 sayings… many of them one-liners… collected over more than 200 years from various authors and sources… that seek to teach moral wisdom and sense that is not always “common”… so that people might live right. Proverbs seems to pose the notion that there are three basic types of persons: the “foolish” who deliberately pay no attention to God or to any guiding principles and live by their own wits and whims; the “wise” who seek to listen to and learn from and be guided by God and the right people to live happy and prosperous lives; and the “simple” who are presently ignorant and thoughtless, but have a chance if they will learn, decide, and obey. “Get wisdom!” is the call of Proverbs as it tells how life works out most times… as it submits that godly, moral, hardworking, and wise people generally reap many more rewards in their lives than those “fools” who might appear successful but will eventually pay the cost of their lifestyle. Not so different from today’s First Reading, Paul calls upon Christians in the Second Reading to continue to “live wise”, “making the most of the time”. The new reality of living IN CHRIST affects our fellowship with other believers and our daily conduct. How are you doing right now? Are you among the “foolish”, or are you “wise”, or are you “simple”? Lord, if I have not lived wisely today, show me my foolish ways.
What’s Happening…
August 25… PENTECOST 14. 10:00AM worship in person and online.
“Back to School” Blessing of Students, Teachers, and Staff in worship!
August 31… Rental event in Rhoda Hall, 3:00PM.
September 6… Senior Food Box distribution ministry, 8:30AM.
September 6… Girl Scouts return to meet at St. Peter’s, 6:30PM.
September 9… CHURCH COUNCIL meeting in Rhoda Hall, 7:00PM.
September 14… Installation of the Rev. Bryan Penman as Bishop of our Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America at Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, 2:00PM.
October 12-13… 39th Annual Women’s Day! “God’s Love Conquers All”
October 24… Scholarship Committee “Career Day” in Rhoda Hall, 10AM – 2PM.