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Out of an abundance of caution and following Gov. Ned Lamont's injunction to
"Stay Safe. Stay at Home."
The Prince of Peace building
is closed for the foreseeable future (but not the people)
.
In the meantime, we are
being the "church" (God's people) in the world.
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MULCH IS HERE!
If you can help with weeding before the mulch is spread (around the front door, by the sign on the front lawn, and around the stone pillars at the bottom of the driveway.) and/or spreading the mulch, please let Steve Kleppin know (
steven.kleppin3@gmail.com
-
or
475.283.5294 )
ASAP
. "Many hands make light the work."
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FM Transmitter
Prince of Peace Church is looking to borrow, rent or buy a FM transmitter. Any leads?
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Searching for all Graduates
If you or a family member is graduating from preschool, elementary, middle, high school, college, or grad school, let us know Who, from What and What's next?
Gracious and Loving God, we ask, now, for your almighty hand to be upon our graduates as they and their families celebrate this grand milestone. May they find comfort from our community's continued embrace and support as they journey through life. Bless their lives from this day on with goodness and success. Enable them: to stay true to their dreams for your greater glory, to discern what is right, good and just, and to use their gifts wisely and in service to others. Empower them to walk into the future with faith, hope, and great love guided by your light so that they may use their talents to "Go forth and set the world on fire." Grace be to them, grace be to us all.
Also, consider the following resource as a way to help make it even more memorable.
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DAILY BREAD
FOOD PANTRY IS SEEKING DONATIONS
Please consider a food or monetary donation to the DAILY BREAD FOOD PANTRY during this pandemic.
Your food-insecure neighbors will benefit from your donations of:
- Black beans or any kind of canned or bagged beans
- Rice in 1,2 or 3 lb. bags
- Pasta - any kind
- Cereal - Cheerios, Corn Flakes. Rice Krispies (no sweet cereals)
- Tomato sauce in cans
- Tuna
- Chicken in cans
- Peanut butter
- Pork & beans or meals in cans
- Canned vegetables (especially corn)
Drop off your food items or checks (payable to DAILY BREAD FOOD PANTRY) to the church's freshly painted front door anytime between now and Tuesday morning.
Your neighbors thank you.
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Meal Train Plus
The Danbury High School baseball team wanted to help take care of those on the front lines of the coronavirus, not only by social distancing and staying home but also by coming together to both support our local restaurants, doctors, nurses and other personnel at Danbury Hospital.
They are working hard to make sure everyone can get through these trying times and what better way to help them accomplish that then to keep their energy up, and most importantly - boost morale. By ordering food (any cuisine) we'll help local restaurants' bottom line. Restaurants will prepare the food and drop it off at the hospital - and we'll help fund this important task!
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Update on Summer 2020 VBS
There will be no Brookfield Ecumenical Vacation Bible School this year due to the COVID19 virus.
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Offering,Tithes and
Special Donations
Please help us stay current with our financial obligations
during this difficult time.
We say "Thank you" to all who have mailed in their offerings.
We are now able to offer online giving here.
Now you can give a one time gift or a reoccurring gift through a checking account or a debit/credit card.
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HOW TO BE A STEWARD IN TODAY'S ECONOMY:
MONEY FROM THE GOVERNMENT
I want to give you something to consider. It is looking as many citizens will receive a check from the government sometime in the near future. Like with all of your income, I invite you to join with me in considering a tithe.
A tithe is the giving of a percentage (typically 10%) of salary, financial gifts, interest, winnings or other income to others out of Christian concern. Jesus taught that "tithing must be done in conjunction with a deep concern for justice, mercy and faithfulness" (Matthew 23:23).
I invite you to consider any payment from our government as subject to tithing. There are many worthy organizations, small businesses, and efforts that would benefit from your generosity. Supporting “Brookfield Recovers”, the Dorothy Day House, your favorite local business, restaurant, coffee house, or favorite charity, to name a few. (See the list of local open business below).
To be clear, this is not a request to send money to Prince of Peace. This is an invitation to see this government payment as an opportunity to practice tithing. I am encouraging you to continue to be the church in the world by helping others in need with an act of justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
Let me know where your tithe goes. I will pray for the business.
Easter Blessings,
Pastor Paul Lutz
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Christ in Our Home
is available for pick up.
Please pick up your copy of this devotion by driving to the church building and walking up to the front door. Please wear gloves and keep 6 feet away from any others you may find there.
Pastor Lutz
is available
to drop Christ in our Home devotion or the Gather Magazine to your home per your request.
You may reach him at 609.578.7921 or
by email or by Facebook.
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How to Reach
the Pastor
And as always, Pastor Lutz is easily accessible. You can email him (poppastorpaul@ sbcglobal.net) call him on his cell (609.578.7921) or post on his Facebook page (
https://www.facebook.com/plutznj
). Although there will be no regular office hours, the church phone is checked every couple of days for messages.
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VIRTUAL WORSHIP
Please join us whenever convenient for your household for virtual worship. Each Sunday service is posted by 8 a.m. on our website. The abbreviated virtual worship experience including hymns you can sing along with, a gospel story worth telling, a sermon that speaks to our current reality, prayers for the community and world and community announcements about what's happening at PoP. Check your email for the link or go our website (
http://princeofpeacebrookfield.org/
) and click on the date of the service you would like to experience.
We are looking for lectors and storytellers!
Let Pastor Lutz know if you would like to read or tell on the Sunday's readings! Starting on Pentecost worship (5.31) we will include all four of the Sunday readings. You can record on your phone from anywhere and send the video clip in to be included in our virtual worship.
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Update on Masks and Scrub Caps
We continue to donate scrub caps and masks to the Hospital as well as Regional Hospice. We are also making masks for our congregation and community.
It’s been very rewarding as masks are generally not available at this point.
Please let us know if you or a friend needs a mask. We also have patterns and fabric for children. Sizes are Large, Medium (women or teens)
or 3-6 years or 7-12 years.
As we plan for reopening, masks are in the plan for all of us.
Update on Food Pantries
The volunteers at the Daily Bread Food Pantry told us that they usually service 70 families, but that number has risen to over 250 families.
Would you think about donating to the Food Pantries in the area? They need food donations. You can leave it at church or bring it to the Senior Center in Brookfield, St. James Church in Danbury or the Bethel Food Bank. There are hungry adults and kids all over. It’s difficult to believe that a child can learn when hungry or an adult can get “back on their feet” with a job when hungry.
Let’s help them.
~ Nan Carlson
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Faith Formation
at Home
Parents of Sunday School children, we are supplying several options for faith formation at home. Download the Taking Faith Home insert from our website for daily family prayers, rituals and traditions. In addition there is on the web page Sunday School readings, questions, and activities that correspond to the bible story presented in the worship clip.
Parents of Confirmands, we have moved to a Zoom class every Tuesday. Let me know if you have any questions
Adult learners, I would like to also create an Adult Faith Formation blog to continue our learning. How many would be interested in such an experience? We could also hold the Women's Bible Study online with Zoom. Ladies, are you interested?
As a friend of mine said recently, .... it is also a time to recall that our God is an abundant, enduring and fiercely caring God who responds to our prayers by reminding us we are all ministers capable of serving our neighbors and the common good at ANY time.
Time in worship and study are perhaps more needed than ever before.
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New Way to be
the Church
So, what ideas do you have for new ways to be the church at a time like this? Here are some thoughts that may trigger some ideas for you.
- Take care of yourself. Read. Try to relax. I’ve rekindled a new music listening habit that had gone away because of a busy life. Restoring the practice has been such a gift. Exercise 30 minutes a day if you can. Taking a walk works.
- Reach out to others in new ways. Social distancing does not have to mean social absence. Try a Zoom meeting. Stay in touch with PoP friends by cell phone, email or by writing a compassionate note.
- Renew or energize family relationships and relationships with other friends with whom you’ve lost touch. You may have “forced” free time now to build on relationships that have lagged.
- Check on your neighbors. You can still knock on a door and give the gift of a smile, showing that you care. (That would be a group of less than 10, right?)
- Have a grudge against someone? No time like the present to mend fences.
- Say thanks to a doctor or nurse or EMT volunteer you know who may be having a tough time right now.
- Keep your offerings to the church going. Thanks to you, the ministry of PoP continues in the hardest of times. Remember PoP, its pastor and faithful staff and leaders in your prayers
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Let us Pray
O God, where hearts are fearful and constricted, grant courage and hope. Where anxiety is infectious and widening, grant peace and reassurance. Where
i
mpossibilities close every door and window, grant imagination and resistance. Where distrust twists our thinking, grant healing and illumination. Where spirits are daunted and weakened, grant soaring wings and strengthened dreams. All these things we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
(Evangelical Lutheran Worship, Additional Prayers, pg. 72-87)
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“Brookfield Recovers”
is a special fund created to assist residents impacted by the Covid19 emergency. Brookfield is an extremely generous town, so it’s not surprising that we’ve been overwhelmed with inquiries from residents about “how can we help?” This is how you can help Brookfield residents. Donations will be administered by the town’s Department of Social Services with 100% of all contributions directly benefiting residents in need.
Funds will be used to purchase items to resupply our food pantry and to assist clients impacted with basic needs to help them stay in their homes. Your gift will have a measurable and immediate impact on friends and neighbors. Please consider a donation to Brookfield Recovers.
All donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
You may send a donation via check, payable to:
Town of Brookfield
(note Brookfield Recovers on the memo line)
Brookfield Social Services
100 Pocono Road
Brookfield CT 06804
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