N E W S O F P E A C E

Peace Lutheran Church, Steeleville, IL

2013

Reflections from the Pastor – Pastor S. Blake Duncan

Happy Epiphany Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the

earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Isaiah 60

Light and darkness! These are powerful symbols because they are a part of everyone’s own experience. We have all experienced what it is like to be in deep darkness; the kind of darkness where there is no light of any kind at all. And we know how oppressive extended darkness feels. We have also experienced what it is like to have light enter into darkness and how even a little light can give us hope and comfort. This experience of the light coming into the midst of the darkness is a part of our Christmas celebration. The Gospel text from John in particular talks about the light coming into the darkness and the darkness not comprehending it at all. Many of our favorite Christmas carols lift up this experience, and perhaps one of the most beautiful worship moments of the year occurs on Christmas Eve when we pass the light of Christ with candles in the midst of the dark church and then illuminated by the candles we sing “Silent Night.” This reminds us that the oppressive darkness of this world is overcome by the light of the incarnation. The same liturgical experience is also repeated on Easter morning when the light of Christ is passed to remind us that the darkness of death has been shattered by the light of Christ’s resurrection. At the very end of our Baptismal liturgy the pastor will light a candle and give it to the family with these words: Let your light so shine before others, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, who is in heaven. So the symbol, or the experience of light come into the darkness is then applied to our discipleship. Christ has come to us. God is with us. We have experienced light in the darkness of our lives and we are called and sent forth to be light in the midst of the darkness for others. This is what Epiphany is all about! The word itself means “manifestation” or “recognition.” Epiphany is the time when we recognize Christ in our midst; when because of the light we can see Christ at work through others; when others experience Christ because of us. The Gospel texts for Epiphany begin with the visit of the Three Kings to the baby Jesus and end up on the Mount of Transfiguration. In between we experience miracles and teachings all of which reveals God incarnate in Jesus; and all of which calls for us to follow. This year the Feast of the Epiphany falls on a Sunday. It is always January 6, and so it doesn’t often fall on a Sunday. For me this is one of the most beautiful and most profound festivals of the entire church year. It closes the Christmas season with a response to the question “so what difference does Christmas make?” And it looks ahead to the Easter celebration of the resurrection. Epiphany allows us to acknowledge the reality of the power of the darkness, and then shines a light in the midst of this darkness and sends us out. The Feast of the Epiphany allows us to focus on the three Kings who come from distant lands bearing gifts – but these gifts are not your standard baby gifts. This will be the focus of the sermon. Please plan to join us for the wonderful Festival of the Epiphany on Saturday, January 5 at 6:00PM and Sunday, January 6 at 9:00 AM. Pastor S. Blake Duncan+ prblake1@yahoo.com Pastor Duncan’s blog: Musings on the Faith: http://pastorduncansblog.blogspot.com - please feel free to visit and comment as you are led. There you will also find links to other interesting blogs.

Worship in January

January 5 & 6 – The Feast of the Epiphany – We will

celebrate this wonderful festival with the celebration

of Holy Communion and a focus on the three kings

who came from distant lands, bearing gifts. The great Lutheran chorale “How

Brightly Shines the Morning Star” along with the favorite, ”We Three Kings” will be

sung and the Lessons will be Isaiah 60:1-6 and Matthew 2:1-12.

January 12 & 13 – The Feast of The Baptism of Our Lord - Jesus is baptized by John in

the River Jordan at our services this weekend as we celebrate this feast. Our

worship will include the celebration of Holy Communion and the Remembrance of

Baptism. Our lessons will include Isaiah 43:1-7 and Luke 3:15-17, 21-22.

January 19 & 20 – Epiphany 2 – Pr. Ed Rowley will lead worship and preach on this

Wartburg Parish rotation weekend. This weekend’s services will give us an

opportunity to say goodbye and thank you to Pr. Ed as he will be retiring before

the next round of rotations begin in the spring. The Praise Band will lead our

Communion services this weekend and the lessons will be Isaiah 62:1-5 and John

2:1-11, the Miracle at the Wedding of Cana!

January 26 & 27 – Epiphany 3 – Jesus’ inaugural sermon in Nazareth is our Gospel for

this weekend’s worship. Luke 4:14-21 in our Gospel for this weekend. Saturday

service will be the Service of the Word and Sunday morning will celebrate the

Sacrament of Holy Communion.

Below are the contributions for the month of December. (thru December 16th)

$5,075.00 is needed weekly to meet our budget

Date Weekly Offering Received Year Needed Year Difference Year To Date To Date To Date

1 & 2 $5,289.03 $238,715.75 $248,675.00 -$9,959.25 8 & 9 $4,852.56 $243,568.31 $253,747.00 -$10,178.69 15 & 16 $4,469.50 $248,037.81 $258,822.00 -$10,784.91

A WORD FROM YOUR CHURCH TREASURER:

As we near the end of 2012, I am quite concerned about our financial situation. After last Sunday (Dec. 9), we are $10,181.69 behind in giving. Even more disturbing is the fact that at the end of November, we were $8,869.12 in the red in the Operating Fund. Unless something

changes, we will end the year in the red. I understand that over 40 of those who made a pledge a year ago November have not met their pledges. If your financial situation has changed and

you are unable to meet your pledge, please let Pastor Duncan or Financial Secretary Joan Dotson know that is the case. If you have just forgotten to meet your pledge, please try to give the pledged amount before the end of this year. For those of you who did not pledge a certain

amount or those who have met your pledge, I would ask, if you are able, to give a bit more to help the church in this difficult time. Please bear in mind that we have staff to pay, utilities to

maintain, and programs to run. Without your donations to the Operating Fund through regular giving, we cannot meet these objectives. Please seriously consider the status of your giving and,

if possible, help improve our financial situation before the year’s end. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Carolyn Bert, Treasurer.

Happy Birthday Evangelical Lutheran Church in America!

The ELCA was born in 1987! That seems so long ago now. I was actually finishing my seminary studies in Columbus,

Ohio and since the convening assembly was held in Columbus I was able to attend as an observer. Later I attended the convening assembly of the Northeast Ohio Synod from which I was still waiting my first call. The ELCA is 25 years old . Happy Birthday ELCA!

Update on the Chapel: Throughout the fall we have been making adjustments and settling in with the new room arrangements for Sunday school. The GED room is now a Sunday

school room; Carolyn Bert has painted wonderful murals on the walls; the Financial secretary’s office has been moved to Julie’s office, which they now share; and the Food pantry has taken what used to be the Financial secretary’s office and this is now food pantry storage. We are now ready to begin to start working on the chapel. During January we hope to move everything that remains in the Noah’s Ark room out so the room will be cleaned out. Several members of the congregation have agreed to serve on a task force to meet and plan the shape that the chapel will take and they will meet in January. We will keep you informed as work progresses and we look forward to dedicating the chapel and its furnishings in the spring. If you have any questions or would like to serve on the task force please contact Pastor Duncan.

Color me:

Semi-Annual Report Our Semi-Annual Meeting will be

January 27, 2013. Remember that this is a financial and statistical report. Only those kinds of reports need to be turned in. These need to be in the

office as soon after the first of the year as possible. We will also be voting on a Parish Council representative from Peace. Cheryl Salger and Marc Kiehna have completed their terms on the Wartburg Parish Council. We are happy that Cheryl has agreed to run for a 2nd term, but Marc has decided to retire from the council when his term is over. If you would be interested in running to serve as the Parish Council representative from Peace or one of the Alternates, please speak to Pastor Duncan. Thank you for your help and cooperation.

Flower Calendar The 2013 Flower Calendar is on the bulletin board nearest the kitchen in the basement . Please consider flowers for the new year. It is the same as

last year. You let me know how you want the dedication to read, donate $25.00 to the church, and we will take care of the rest. Please share a special occasion and bring joy and sunshine in the worship services. Remember someone or something special or just share the joy of your life in Christ by supplying flowers for our chancel. Sign up soon!!!

ADULT FORUM – will reconvene on Sunday, Jan. 6th 10:30 AM. We will resume our study of Martin Luther.

MORNING PRAYER: Each Wednesday morning Morning Prayer is prayed in the Sanctuary. This mid-week service provides us with an opportunity to enter into prayer and

supplication. The service includes prayers for

all of our armed service personnel and we pray for all members of the parish who are celebrating birthdays or anniversaries. The service begins at 9:00 AM and you are welcome to join us.

FUN NIGHT WITH FRIENDS will meet on Sunday, January 16th at 6:30pm. Come and enjoy pinochle, chicken-foot dominoes, and other fun games.

Invite a friend, relative or neighbor to come with you. Everyone is welcome.

MORNING BIBLE STUDY will start back up January 9,

2013 at 9:30am in the library. We will be continuing “The

Greatest Story: Paul”. We expect to complete this by the end of January. We will begin a new study during Lent, but we have

not decided on a topic.

Tuesday Evening Bible Study The Tuesday Evening Bible Study group

will complete our overview of the Bible with

“The Greatest Story” resources on Tuesday, January 15. Beginning on Tuesday, January

22, we will start a new 4-session study entitled, “A Gardener, 2 Travelers, and a Cheat: Adam, Abraham, Sarah, and Jacob.”

This study is part of the Book of Faith series by Augsburg Fortress. We will meet each

Tuesday evening in the basement at St. John’s, Post Oak, from 7:00 pm to about

8:30 pm. Learner books will be ordered the first week of January, and will cost about $7.00 each. If you would like to reserve a

copy, please call or e-mail Pastor Laura at (703)505-8710 or

johnson.laurak@gmail.com . All Wartburg Parish members are invited and encouraged to join us.

We will take a break during Lent, and then resume in April with an 8-session study

entitled “Making Sense of the Christian Faith.”

Please get your articles in for the February newsletter by January 16th. You can email them to me at peacelutheran1@gmail.com

REGULAR AND LARGE PRINT DEVOTIONAL BOOKS entitled “Christ In Our Home” for January through March are available in the Narthex and the church office. Pick

one up soon.

QUILTERS will start tying quilts

again in January beginning on the 3rd

from 1pm – 3pm in the parsonage. If

you have any questions, contact Lela

Mae Shemonic at 965-3407.

Newsletter online -

http://wartburgparish.com

Newsletter will be posted as a

.pdf file and available for

download. If you prefer to

receive the newsletter online and do not wish to

receive a paper copy, please call the office.

Otherwise we will mail the newsletter in addition

to posting it online. We will also increase the

number of copies available in the back of the

church. Thank you to the Angel Tree participants especially to Vickie Wathen and all her elves!! You were really busy this last month taking care

of all the families and children who needed special help this Christmas. We want to express our gratitude and appreciation to Marc Keihna for his excellent leadership with the Wartburg Parish. Marc was a part of the original group that drafted the bylaws and designed the parish from the beginning. Marc then served as both a member of the Parish council and the President for the last three years, from the beginning in March of 2010 until the present. His leadership has been visionary and excellent and the shape of the parish today is in no small part because of his work. Thank you Marc for everything you have done with the Wartburg Parish.

DEATHS: Ruth G. Cane passed away on November 22, 2012 at the Three Springs Lodge Nursing Home, Chester, IL. The funeral services were on

December 1st at Peace Lutheran Church. Velma M. Smith passed away on December 5, 2012 at

Memorial Hospital in Chester, IL. The funeral services were on December 5th at Pechacek-McClure Funeral Home in Chester.

TRANSFERS: Wayne Husemann to St. John’s Lutheran Church in Red Bud, IL. Christine (Dotson)Dunnigan to Our

Redeemer Lutheran church in Marion, IL.

WELCA NEWS We pray that everyone had a blessed Christmas and will enjoy a happy new year.

We thank the hostesses for the December cluster dinner party, Lela Mae, Dorothy and Lavern, and hope everyone had a wonderful time. The next regular business meeting will be Tuesday January 15th at 1:30 pm. Joan Dotson and Darlene Finley will be hostesses for that meeting. The service project will be monetary gifts for the Murray Home, the home of Karen Bockhorn. Those gifts are to provide after Christmas treats for Karen and her group. Please also remember your regular offering. We will resume tying quilts for Lutheran World Relief on January 7th and 21st. We welcome anyone who would like to help in any way. I am sure some ladies have already pieced some quilt tops. Donations of materials to be used for filler or backing are also needed, to complete quilts for tying. Quilts must also be bound after they are tied. Anyone interested in volunteering or just to see what is done can stop by the parsonage on the 1st and 3rd Thursday each month.

Food Pantry

I want to take this opportunity to thank each one of you for working in our Community

Food Bank. We’ve been really busy the last several month. But everything has been handled lovingly and professionally. Sometimes those aren’t easy to obtain together. As we move into the New Year remember to look at the people we serve at the pantry, with love and kindness. I think it’s always important for us to remember to be grateful; we are able to sit in the chair that is serving instead of the chair that’s receiving. We may be the only face of Christ some people see this week.

There will be NO committee meeting the Tuesday,January 1st. The committees can decide to meet if they need to before the Council

meeting on Jan. 8th.

The Installation Service for Pastor Laura Kamprath will be at 4:00 pm on Sunday, January 13, 2013, at Peace Lutheran Church, Steeleville. Synod Bishop S. John Roth will be the

preacher. Worship participants will include laity from St. John’s, Post Oak, and St. Peter’s, Wine Hill, as well as the other pastors of the Wartburg Parish. Members of all of the Wartburg Parish congregations, of sister congregations in the Southern Conference and the Synod, and of the community are invited to attend this celebratory worship service. The congregations of St. John’s and St. Peter’s will host a dinner following the service in the fellowship hall at Peace.

Pastor Ed Rowley will be

retiring on March 31 after

the Easter services.

Rotation services on January 19th and 20th

will be the last time he will be with us to

lead worship and preach. At this time we

will have the opportunity to say goodbye

and thank you.

Children’s choir will begin on

Sunday, January 6th at 11:15am

– we will start really working on

the musical “The Troubbable of

Zerubbabel.”

Confirmation classes will begin again on

January 2nd

at 6:00pm. The 8th

graders

will be at St. Luke, Campbell Hill with

Pastor Laura Kamprath, Pr. Matt

Kamprath, and Pr. Deb Rahert while the 7th

graders

will be Peace Lutheran, Steeleville with Pr. Blake

Duncan and Pr. Ed Rowley.

First Communion We will hold an informational meeting for those families and children who are interested in taking their first communion on Sunday, Jan. 27th at

12:30. First Communion weekend will be March 16th & 17th. Any children who are currently in the 4th grade or older are invited to participate. We will be sending invitation postcard in January with more details.

The Junior and Senior High youth

group lock-in is scheduled for Friday,

January 25. We will have a

presentation from John and Peggy

Roberts on the American Red Cross

along with many other fun activities. Everyone is

asked to bring a new full or queen sized blanket or a

new teddy bear for the American Red Cross which

will be blessed during the Sunday morning service.

The excitement starts at 7:00 and doesn’t end until

the next morning. Be ready for lots of fun and very

little rest!

Wednesday All Stars Happy New Year Everyone. I want to congratulate the All Stars for their wonderful participation in the Christmas Choral. The hand bells

were the best they’ve ever been, you guys really did a great job. Thank you Carolyn for your ever patient teaching. The songs were beautiful as well. I think the congregation had trouble keeping up with one of them. Thank you John and Pastor for your work on the songs, and always taking time for a little music theory each week. I am really proud of this group! Family night for February has been changed to the 4th Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013. Please remember this is a family event and its a bit disappointing for the kids that doing have a parent with them. Watch in the mail for the updated schedule of happenings. Blessings to you all.

Justine Knop was nominated by Cheryl Salger at this year’s Carlinville Youth Gethering and was elected by the Central/Southern Illinois Synod

ELCA Board as the High School Member at Large Female representative and will serve a 2 year term. She will serve to the LYO constitution, and will attend both Winter and Summer planning retreats. She will help plan, organize and staff two annual gatherings each year (Carlinville and Rend Lake). She may be asked to help page at Synod Assembly.

What God can do with nothing Martin Luther said, “Since it is God’s nature to make something out of nothing, we must become nothing before God can make something out of us.” Adelaide A. Pollard, a 20th-century poet, made the same point in the hymn ”Have Thine Own Way”:

Have thine own, way, Lord! Have thine own way!

Thou art the potter, I am the clay.

Mold me and make me after thy will,

While I am waiting, yielded and still.

A Hymn for the New Year Washington Gladden, a prolific Congregationalist pastor during the early 20th century, became well-known for his stands on social issues. His hymn “O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee,” partially quoted below, appeals to Christ for his companionship, guidance, inner peace and hope. It’s an ideal hymn for beginning a new year.

O Master, let me walk with thee

In lowly paths of service free; Tell me thy secret; help me bear, The strain of toil, the fret of care. In hope that sends a shining ray Far down the future’s broadening way, In peace that only thou canst give, With thee, O Master, let me live.

1 - Loretta Stork 2 - Laura Evans Ruth Schulte 3 - Judy Wedemeyer 4 - Callie Wildermuth 5 - Melissa Klausing Catherine Ohlau Brandon Wilson 6 - Cathy Krantz Chet Rasch 7 Lynette Gall 8 Lisa Pyeatt 9 - Rebeccah Burris Bernadette Haertling Donald Hornbostel 10 - Judy Guebert Myra Siemers 11 - Frances Dreyer 12 - Doug Bockhorn Janice Bockhorn Sarah Kohlhaas Mary Zeigler 13 - Bonnie Bogenpohl Michelle Meyerhoff 14 - Nathan McSmith 15 - Steve Bockhorn 16 - Bruce Fiene Carol Luehr Alice Sternberg Matthew Young 18 - Mike Deckard Kim Guebert Donald Langwith Joan Wittenbrink 19 - JoAnn DuVall 20 - Willard Bockhorn Sherri Buch Marilyn Knop 22 - Harold Ruehmkorff 23 - Joyce Karsten Cory Knop Cindy Monroe Cheryl Salger

24 - Jeffrey Bockhorn Kelly Mulholland 26 - Lori Evans Neal Haertling Mae Hodge Angela Rushing David Shemonic 27 - Jerel Bierman Imogene Fiene 28 - Jennifer Burris 29 - Lydia Hartel Lari Mulholland Kyle Pyeatt 30 - Kay Hathaway 31 - Steve Browning Brian Dudenbostel Janet Hafford Norla Mulholland Stan Newby Debbie Picker Dorothy Wilson 3 - Steve & Dawn

Rodewald 8 - Robert & Patricia Baue Donald & Tammy

Gaetz Scott & Michelle Gremmels 15 - Eric & April Ehlers 18 - Bruce & Imogene Fiene 21 - Joshua & Charissa McDonald 23 - Walter & Dorothy Joost 27 - William & Ruth Schulte 29 - Michael & Christine Almasy 31 - Raymond & Sharon Almasy

It is important that wherever

they are stationed, at

home or overseas, they know

that their service to our

country is appreciated and

they are not forgotten. Pray

for their safety and God’s

blessing on their service and

pray for their families.

Remember these members,

friends and neighbors of our

congregation and community

who are on active duty:

Sgt. Robert Balmer, Jr.,

USAF

Lt. Col. Kurt Bergo, USAF

Trenton Brown, USMC

Christopher Burris - US

Navy

Kyle Hill, US Navy

Chad Howard, USMC

Tony Kimbrough, USAF

Jared McCormick, US Army

(Son of Pastor Jim

McCormick, former intern

at Peace Lutheran)

Ethan Pierce, USMC

Sgt. Jeffrey H. Roberts,

USMC

The above list is the men and

women we know that are still

in the military. If there is

someone that should be added

to the list, please let us know

and we will put them on the

list. Thank you very much for

your help of updating our list.