Archive for the ‘Archive’ Category

Easter service graphic

Welcome to Peace!  We’re glad you found us.

Please join us as we journey with Jesus during his final days and celebrate his passover from death to life!

HOLY WEEK SERVICES:

March 24, Palm/Passion Sunday

  • Intergenerational activities/stations @ 9:00am to tell the story of Jesus’ final week

  • Palm/Passion Worship @ 10:30am, including procession with palms and the passion story according to St. Mark

March 28 ~ Maundy Thursday, 7pm  Worship with Holy Communion and stations for prayer, baptismal remembrance, and washing.  

March 29 ~ Good Friday, 7pm Prayer around the Cross 

March 30 ~ Easter Vigil, 7pm New fire, Saving Story, Baptismal Remembrance, Easter Proclamation.

March 31 ~ Easter Sunday

  • 9:00 – 10:00am Easter Brunch Served by Peace Youth; freewill offering

  • 9:45am Children’s Activities

  • 10:30am Festival Worship with Bells, Choir, Brass, and Organ

All services Live Streamed except the Easter Vigil.  YouTube link can be found HERE.

Bulletin cover 3.17.24WELCOME TO PEACE!  

God promises Jeremiah that a “new covenant” will be made in the future: a covenant that will allow all the people to know God by heart. The church sees this promise fulfilled in Christ, who draws all people to himself when he is lifted up on the cross. Our baptismal covenant draws us to God’s heart through Christ and draws God’s love and truth into our hearts. We join together in worship, sharing in word, song, and meal, and leave strengthened to share God’s love with all the world.

To tune into the Live Stream broadcast of this service at 10:30am, click HERE.

The Worship Guide can be downloaded here: Lent 5B B 2024 03.17.24 bulletin

Bulletin cover 3.10.24WELCOME TO PEACE!  

The fourth of the First Testament promises providing a baptismal lens this Lent is the promise God makes to Moses: those who look on the bronze serpent will live. In today’s gospel Jesus says he will be lifted up on the cross like the serpent, so that those who look to him in faith will live.

In keeping with a new tradition inaugurated by the Society of Women Organists in 2021, today’s service features compositions by women composers.

Today’s Pass the Hat, chosen by our Youth, is Lutheran World Relief School Kits.

To tune into the Live Stream broadcast of this service at 10:30am, click HERE.

The Worship Guide can be downloaded here: Lent 4B B 2024 03.10.24 bulletin FINAL

Bulletin cover 3.3.24WELCOME TO PEACE!  

The third covenant in this year’s Lenten readings is the central one of Israel’s history: the gift of the law to those God freed from slavery. The commandments begin with the statement that because God alone has freed us from the powers that oppressed us, we are to let nothing else claim first place in our lives. When Jesus throws the merchants out of the temple, he is defending the worship of God alone and rejecting the ways commerce and profit-making can become our goals. The Ten Commandments are essential to our baptismal call: centered first in God’s liberating love, we strive to live out justice and mercy in our communities and the world.

To tune into the Live Stream broadcast of this service at 10:30am, click HERE.

The Worship Guide can be downloaded here: Lent 3B B 2024 03.03.24 bulletin

Bulletin cover 2.25.24WELCOME TO PEACE!  

The second covenant in this year’s Lenten readings is the one made with Abraham and Sarah: God’s promise to make them the ancestors of many, with whom God will remain in everlasting covenant. Paul says this promise comes to all who share Abraham’s faith in the God who brings life into being where there was no life. We receive this baptismal promise of resurrection life in faith. Sarah and Abraham receive new names as a sign of the covenant, and we too get new identities in baptism, as we put on Christ.

To tune into the Live Stream broadcast of this service at 10:30am, click HERE.

The Worship Guide can be downloaded here: Lent 2B B 2024 02.25.24 bulletin

Bulletin cover 2.18.24WELCOME TO PEACE!  

On Ash Wednesday the church began its journey toward baptismal immersion in the death and resurrection of Christ. This year the Sundays in Lent lead us to focus on five covenants God makes in the Hebrew Scriptures and to use them as lenses through which to view baptism. First Peter connects the way God saved Noah’s family in the flood with the way God saves us through the water of baptism. The baptismal covenant is made with us individually, but the new life we are given in baptism is for the sake of the whole world.

Our Pass the Hat partner during the month of February is the Duwamish River Community Coalition. Robin Schwartz is with us today to offer an update on their work, followed by a special offering opportunity.

To tune into the Live Stream broadcast of this service at 10:30am, click HERE.

The Worship Guide can be downloaded here: Lent 1B B 2024 02.18.24 bulletin FINAL

Ash Wed cover artOn February 14th we cross the threshold into LENT.

We invite you to join us for our Ash Wednesday Service at 7:00pm.  

On Ash Wednesday we begin our forty-day journey with Christ toward the cross and empty tomb.  Marking our foreheads with ash, we acknowledge that we are destined to die and return to the Earth. At the same time, the ash traces the life-giving cross indelibly marked on our foreheads at baptism, reminding us we are God’s beloveds. While we journey together through this season, our relationship with God through the covenant of baptism is renewed. Returning to our baptismal call, we are set free to more intentionally bear the fruits of mercy and justice in the world.

Holy Communion will be celebrated at this service.  Christ, our Host, meets us in this meal of grace and offers himself,  fully embodied, in the bread and wine.  He invites all to come and meet him in this Holy Meal.

This service will also be Live Streamed. To tune into the YouTube broadcast of this service at 7pm, click HERE.

The Worship Guide can be downloaded here: Ash Wednesday B 2024 02.14.24 _

The people – the people – are the rightful masters of both congresses and courts – not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert it.”

Abraham Lincoln, Speech in Kansas in December 1859

2.8.24 in the House Gallery

Beloved of God,

Five of us headed to Olympia together on February 8th for Interfaith Advocacy Day, where we joined nearly 200 other folks from around the state for a series of legislative updates and the opportunity to speak directly with our legislators and/or their staff on topics close to our mission-heart: preservation of our environment, supporting affordable housing, funding for asylee support, curbing gun violence.

For much of the journey south on I-5 our ears were glued to the radio as attorneys from both sides addressed the U.S. Supreme Court on the issue of whether the State of Colorado had proper jurisdiction to prohibit D. T.’s name from appearing on the ballot.  Listening in as the nine Justices took turns peppering the two attorneys was high drama and lent added weight to what we, as citizens, had set out to do that day—raise our voices to our democratically elected representatives on topics we were deeply concerned about.

Once in Olympia our day began with a gathering at United Churches of Olympia, adjacent to the State Campus, and an invocation by Dr. Jasmit Singh, FAN Board Member and Sikh leader from Khalsa Gurmat Center in Federal Way:

“My friends, brothers and sisters, We gather here today, not bound by the walls of any one faith, but by the shared hope for a better world. We come from different spiritual paths, guided by different traditions, yet we share one common purpose: a yearning for compassion, justice, and peace in this world.”

To all that I say YES!…AND—I will add this: our common purpose must include a resurgent commitment to democratic institutions, the rule of law, and democracy itself.

Thanks to the diligent work of Faith Action Network staff and allied organizations, we were given up-to-date briefings on specific pieces of legislation we wanted to speak to our legislators about, and then we went off to do just that.  We found the staff for our 34th District Legislators – Senator Nguyen, Representative Alvarado,  and Representative Fitzgibbon—to be uniformly welcoming, generous, and eager to receive us.  We also found ourselves in the company of friends from Fauntleroy Church UCC as well as our sister Pastor Chelsea Globe.  After meetings with legislative staff, we went ascended to the Gallery of the State House to watch legislators do their thing—vote yay or nay on bills that have been marshalled through the legislative process during this year’s shortened session.  We were present to see one of the bills we had championed (mental health services support) pass with strong bipartisan support.

So much is at stake in the caucuses, primaries, and general election this year.  So much is at stake in the issues that have and will come before Appeals Courts and the Supreme Court.  Non-participation in our democracy is not an option if we want our democracy to continue.  As citizens of this country and citizens of God’s Kingdom we are called to be responsive and responsible participants in the process.  Democracy must not become a spectator sport.  While our specific opinions on particular legislation and policy will differ, we must stand united in our support of the democratic process and equal access to the voting booth, as well as in our stalwart opposition to any person, organization, or ideology that would seek to overturn or compromise the Constitution and our Democratic system of government.

With you on the Way,

Pastor Erik

 

Bulletin cover 2.11.24WELCOME TO PEACE!  

 

OUR THEME: The Sundays after Epiphany began with Jesus’ baptism and end with three disciples’ vision of his transfiguration.  The light of God’s glory in Jesus has enlightened us through baptism and shines in us also for others to see. That illumination took the form of chariots of fire when Elijah was taken up by God and Elisha assumed the prophet’s mantle.

To tune into the Live Stream broadcast of this service at 10:30am, click HERE.

The Worship Guide can be downloaded here: Epiphany Transfiguration B 2024 02.11.24 bulletin

We at Peace have often used a Lenten fast to reduce our environmental impact starting with our carbon fast in 2018. This year, we’re gearing up our year-long Replacing Plastics Campaign with a Lenten focus on using fewer plastics.

The UN’s Environment Programme calls plastics pollution the “second most ominous threat to the global environment, after climate change.” We produce 407 million tons of plastic each year globally, which is 30% more than the weight of all humanity. Less than 10% of all that plastic gets recycled. The rest ends up in our environment. Plastic is killing marine life as it enters food chains or entangles animals. Plastic particles can be found in soil, water, air, our atmosphere, and even human breast milk.

“The more plastic we make, the more we find it in our bodies — we are polluting ourselves,” Monica Medina, head of the Wildlife Conservation Society, commented in a Nov. 27, 2023, Washington Post opinion piece.

A technological marvel that has revolutionized medicine along with how we eat, clean our homes, and organize our days, plastic is also a major contributor to climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Plastic is responsible for 3.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, largely because it is mostly made with fossil fuels.

We must stop constantly adding more plastic to our environment. To help us all do that, we invite you to accept our Replacing Plastics For Lent Challenge.

Every week beginning Feb. 11, we’ll share an activity for the week in the Sunday bulletin, on our website and in our Facebook posts to help your household use fewer plastics and seek more sustainable alternatives. We ask you to share the weekly challenge with friends and family to encourage an ever-widening community to use fewer plastics for the sake of all creation. And in the spirit of sharing, here’s the entire Challenge at a glance. Please join us!

Feb. 11 Replacing Plastics For Lent Challenge – Week 1 Assess. The first step in using fewer plastics is to evaluate your plastic usage. Since most plastics are single-use packaging and only about 5% of the plastic we put in the recycling is actually recycled, it’s important to understand just how much we use individually. This week, set aside every piece of plastic you would normally throw away or put in recycling in a separate place. At the end of the week take 2 minutes to look through your plastic use to get an idea of what habits are leading to your plastic consumption. Make a note of which categories contribute the most to your plastic waste.

Feb. 18 Replacing Plastics For Lent Challenge – Week 2 Refuse plastics. We have choices other than plastics more often than it might seem. In restaurants, refuse plastic straws and other disposable plastics for take-outs. Bring your own mug to the coffee shop. Avoid all products that contain microbeads, those tiny plastic balls found in some facial scrubs and toothpastes that find their way into our water systems and into the creatures living in the Salish Sea.

Feb. 25 Replacing Plastics For Lent Challenge – Week 3  Replace plastic beverage bottles. Buy refillable water bottles and give them to every family member. Buy drinks in cans instead of plastic bottles (aluminum is almost endlessly recyclable!). Buy milk in recyclable cardboard cartons or glass bottles.

Mar. 3   Replacing Plastics For Lent Challenge – Week 4 Replace plastic shopping and produce bags with reusable totes and produce bags for grocery shopping. Even better, shop at the Farmers Market to avoid plastics and support local farmers. Cloth bags can go in with your regular laundry and you use them over and over.

Mar. 10   Replacing Plastics For Lent Challenge – Week 5  Stock your pantry without plastics — When you have the choice of buying sauces or vegetables and such at the store in a plastic jar or a can, opt for the can. Bring your own containers to buy bulk coffee, beans, rice, lentils, and even spices! Just have the container measured and marked for weight by the cashier before you fill it.

Mar. 17  Replacing Plastics For Lent Challenge – Week 6 Make a “Replacing Plastics” household plan. Using your notes from your Week 1 Assessment, and the experience you’ve gained during Lent, consider how you can build upon the changes you’ve made these past few weeks and keep replacing plastics in your home.

Learn more about single-use plastics at https://www.earthday.org/fact-sheet-single-use-plastics/.

For more information:
– About Creation Care at Peace Lutheran Church
– About our Creation Care Team