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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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June Congregational Meeting Scheduled
Mark Your Calendar for Sunday, June 28
th
at 11:00 AM.
The Congregational Council has selected Sunday, June 28
th
, for a Congregational meeting. The sole purpose of the meeting is to vote on the sale of Misty Hollow and the election of new council members. (The location/venue and format of the meeting will be announced closer to the meeting date.)
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The council met on May 20, 2020 on Zoom. Here is a summary of what they considered:
- Reviewed current financial situation
- Heard from the newly established Re-formation Teams. (See elsewhere for purpose of teams, ministry areas and team members)
- Agreed to follow the New England Synod, ELCA, Bishop's request to abstain from inside, in person worship until July and possibly longer
- Approved the following students to be Confirmed (when and where to be determined):
- Cassandra Buzzell
- Emma Cable
- Ava Cantone
- Andrew Confortini
- Morgen Kleppin
- Chris Mattera
- Riley Rokvoid
- Determined the current Council terms and vacancies for the Nominating Committee's work.
- Selected Sunday, June 28th, for a Congregational Meeting to vote on sale of Misty Hollow and election of new council members. (Location and format of meeting to be determined.)
- Approved a congregational short survey to gather positive stories about why PoP matters to our members.
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Camp Calumet News:
Resident Camp for Kids and all other programs we offer for children will not take place this summer.
This is a huge disappointment for campers and staff who look forward to spending part of their summer at camp. We — Calumet Nation as a whole — share this sorrow. For over 60 years, Calumet has been a place that is chock full of happy splashing, worshipful singing, and relationship building. It’s been about loud cheers and the constant, holy noise of goodness. The idea that Luther Hall, Johnson Hall, and the ODC will be quiet this summer is simply unfathomable.
Calumet’s leaders will continue to monitor options and possibilities regarding our ministry related to the Family Campground and the Conference Center.
Pray for Calumet’s leaders who are working hard to determine what’s best for the summer ahead. On their behalf, I want to thank you for your support. Be well, be smart, be safe, be healthy, and make good choices.
Karl Ogren
Executive Director
Calumet Lutheran Ministries
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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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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 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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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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What do you Miss Most about Being Together?
We Want to Hear From You!
Join us this Sunday at
11:00 a.m. for our weekly Fellowship/Coffee Hour.
NEW this week - we want to hear from you
- What do you miss most about being together in person for worship and church activities?
We are collecting stories to better understand the power and influence of Prince of Peace in our membership.
Members of the Forward Leadership Team will be present to share their stories and to capture yours.
Sign into a virtual Coffee Hour by clicking on the link below.
If prompted
Meeting ID: 988 8813 8373 Password: 735006
It is always helpful to test your ability to join and visual and audio sounds on your computer or tablet prior to the meeting.
See you Sunday at 11:00 a.m.!
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Re-forming the Church - What happens next?
During a recent zoom special council meeting, it was decided to organize four teams to create a phased approach to "re-forming" at PoP.
The four teams are worship, faith formation, social ministry, and fellowship.
The council is suggesting the following members on the
"Re-forming Teams":
Worship
Convenor: Jerry Nabozny
(Council), Susi Lehmann (Altar Guild), Kevin Fay (Music Staff), Nan Carlson (Forward Leadership/Accountability Team) and Nancy Tolmoff.
Faith Formation
Convenor: Heather Pontonio
(Forward Leadership/
Accountability Team/Sunday School teacher), Deb Nobes (Preschool), Alison Cantone (Council/Confirmation Guide) and Liz Davies (Council/Confirmation Guide)
Fellowship
Convenor: Andrew Confortini (Council/Oktoberfest Chef), Joan Manka (Council/Committee member), Casey Johansen (Council/Forward Leadership/Accountability Team/Fellowship Host) and Paul Adam.
Social Ministry
Convenor: Monica Walsh (Forward Leadership/ Accountability Team), Julie Parker (Council/Forward Leadership/Accountability Team), Steve Davies, and Janet Lutz
Pastor Lutz will be an
ex-officio member of all four teams.
All of the teams have met once. At that meeting, they reviewed all the congregational activity in their ministry area with an eye for Phase 1 preparations (What's most in need of attention in our area?) as suggested by the New England Synod, ELCA. Then they began to create a list of suggestions and questions to share with the Council.
If you have thoughts, suggestions, concerns in any of these ministry areas, please speak with the Council. We want to know both what you need today in this pandemic to continue to experience worship, faith formation, fellowship, and social ministry.
And we would like to know what we need to do before you will feel safe returning to our building.
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So, what do you say, Prince of Peace?
(an invitation from Pastor Lutz's sermon on 5.17)
"Let’s start a campaign of writing "love letters"; words of encouragement and gratitude to health care workers or to essential workers in food service, elder care, and other industries. Even to families who are struggling at home with schooling or to teachers who have taken their instruction online. Or perhaps you can make your own list of those you feel for? If you don’t want to write, be creative -
call, text, draw a picture, paint a sign to hold or post, write a poem, or a song. Everyone can do something to share the love of Christ with a hurting world.
As Churchill said,
“Never let a good crisis go to waste!”
I think the Advocate would agree. Love beckons us..."
Let me know who you are sending love to. I'll send a letter too.
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Personal Protective Equipment
Many sewers are still sewing! Masks are a necessary addition to one’s wardrobe when out in public for everyone. We are making masks for children as well as adults so let us know if you need one for your kiddo. We will leave some masks in the tub at church so help yourself and call me if it’s empty.
Remember to wash them frequently. Drying the mask in the sun is particularly good, if you can.
Nursing homes are still happy to have both masks and scrub caps. Residents of nursing homes cannot leave their room without a mask.
Workers at Regional Hospice have been pleased with our donations. Unfortunately, some of their patients are infected with the virus, The donations are all identified as from Prince of Peace so our name travels with them.
Please remember to donate food to Daily Bread or the Food Pantry. Many are without money and food.
A word about the Pandemic:
It’s not over yet. The fact that the state of Connecticut is beginning to reopen does not mean that it is safe to go out and resume normal activity. At this time, there are fewer people in the hospital but people continue to die from Covid-19. More cases will occur because more people are out with others who have the virus. Some of us carry the virus but do not have obvious symptoms. This is allergy season and some people may attribute their early symptoms to allergy.
People who are over 65 or have illnesses like high blood pressure, diabetes or lung and heart disease are at increased risk to get the virus. The disease is more likely to end our lives…so be careful…stay home…avoid contact…and wash your hands. No, scrub your hands after being out.
Don’t take any chances.
~ Nan Carlson
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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.
Virtual Lectors Sought!
If you have a phone you can record yourself reading one of our Sunday scripture passages to be included in our virtual worship.
Starting on Pentecost worship (5.31) we will include all four of the Sunday readings.
Speak to Pastor Lutz if you'd like to serve as a "virtual" lector.
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Christ in Our Home
is available for pick up.
The Gather Magazine
is also available for pickup.
Please pick up your copy of this devotion and magazine 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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