News and Ministry Opportunities at Prince of Peace

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Click on the groups below to find out the latest news at Prince of Peace:

Evenings of Support Start Today!

Last week we gave you the opportunity to sign up to attend one of our evening of support meetings. Well, the first one is today, and if you have not signed up, please pick up your reservation card at the table at in the Gathering Place, and sign up for a meeting that fits your schedule. You are more than welcome to join us today the EOS meeting today in the Alpha room at 1:00 p.m.

We encourage all of you to attend one of these meetings as we begin to look at all the ways in which we can help our children through an education at Prince of Peace.

For the children!

We want you to make a poster for our big event on June 1^st.  This morning you will receive a poster in Kids Kount/Kids Growing in Christ. Simply create your masterpiece, and bring it back to church by May 11. If you need an extra poster form, you may pick one up from the Information Counter. A winner will be chosen before June 1^st. 

Habitat for Humanity/Thrivent Builds – We are presently working with Habitat and other Lutherans to build a home for a famly in west Oakland. Pastor Sauer is leading a group of retired (and otherwise?) folks to work on Wednesday, June 4, 8:30-4:00. Projects will include window installation, siding, exterior painting, and roofing. No tools are required. See Pastor Sauer or Jamie Erber. Web site: www.habitateb.org  

THANK YOU to the good group of volunteers who participated in building at the Habitat for Humanity workday on September 29th.  You can see the fun they’re having!  Thrivent will be sponsoring another house in 2008 – look for details on how you can be involved.

The labor of love is finished - another family receives the priceless gift of a home built with love.
The family is presented with a Bible	Volunteers & the family	And finally ... the key

CENTERVILLE FREE DINING ROOM

We are starting a new relationship with the Centerville Free Dining Room to help feed the homeless of our community. We are looking for volunteers who can help serve meals at Centerville Presbyterian Church. We will be serving the First Thursday of each month, beginning November 1^st. We need 6 – 8 volunteers per month to serve from 3:45pm – 6pm.  No Cooking or Cleaning necessary. Just to serve.

·   Teens – You can earn Community Service Hours

·   Moms & Dads that have extra time to help.

·   Those that can serve the community for a few hours a month

·   Seniors.

·   Stay-at-home Moms – Have Fun Serving Together. Pool your Resources for Child Care.  (Or Call Lori Becker @ 510/742-5188 for Childcare).

We need volunteers for the following dates:  January 3^rd, February 7^th, March 6^th, and April 3^rd. Please sign up at the Information Desk or call Denise Rose (791-1057) or Pastor Sauer (793-3366 x223)

The Ministry of Property Repair!

In order to keep costs down we use volunteer help as much as possible for repairs and upgrades around our property.  The following are a few of the opportunities to serve we have available:

           - Replace rotting ceiling tiles in the gym

           - Install sheet metal covering on outdoor school lockers

           - Sand and paint benches in school courtyard

           - Replace faucets in Kindergarten and 2nd grade

           - Install floodlights in various places around the school

If you have a skill in any of these areas and are willing to help or if you’d like to know of other ways you can serve contact Jamie Erber in the Church Office.

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WHAT IS A STEPHEN MINISTER?

A Stephen Minister is…

v A child of God who walks beside a person who is hurting.

v A caring, Christian friend who takes the time to really listen.

v A caring person who recognizes this as a confidential ministry.

v   A lay Christian selected, trained, and supervised by Stephen Leaders to provide effective Christian care.

v  Christ’s ambassador who makes a commitment including 50 hours of training, ongoing supervisory meetings, and a 1-hour visit per week with the person receiving care.

A Stephen Minister is NOT…

v  A counselor or therapist

v  A problem-solver

v  A casual visitor

HOW CAN YOU BECOME INVOLVED?

v   Pray for our Stephen Ministry program

v Make referrals to our Stephen Leaders

v Consider becoming a Stephen Minister – Training begins September 11, 2007, in the Alpha Room.

Call Faye Hall @ 797-3219 or Pastor Sauer @ 793-3366

Prince of Peace Stephen Ministry Leaders

Stephen Ministers are Caregivers…GOD IS THE CUREGIVER

Prayer Shawl Ministry – Please call Lisa Bates if you have any questions at 796-0579. 

Recently Lisa Bates shared her dream of a prayer shawl ministry here at Prince of Peace. These prayer shawls are tangible evidence of prayer and of God’s loving care. Since then at least a dozen prayer shawls have been knit with loving hands, and at least three have been delivered to people. Kathie Barkow took one to a friend, Elaine, whose 40 something husband had suddenly been stricken with a catastrophic illness. Kathie wrote:

“As I delivered (a prayer shawl) to my friend, Elaine, she, too, was very touched. She commented that it would stay at the hospital and that when she wasn’t using it or was leaving for the night, she had special plans for it. Her husband…always wears socks because his feet stay so cold. In the CCU he isn’t allowed to wear socks. So, one untraditional tangible means of comfort provided by the shawl was going to be that when she left she would cover his feet with a soft shawl to warm and comfort them. Untraditional and unexpected for me to hear, but sincere, loving, and comforting on both their behalves….God is good, and Elaine continues to be amazed and comforted by God’s presence in all of this, despite what the outcome is.”

Anyone interested in joining together as a group to knit or crochet prayer shawls should contact Stacey Takaseka at 438-9457. She is hoping to get a group to meet every other Friday.

On May 1^st at noon, our youth group for “Seniors” will meet in the Alpha room. We are going to celebrate “Mama” on her day with a potluck. Bring your favorite dish to share and Joann Barr is providing dessert. Coffee and tea will be on hand. Bring a poem or a story about mothers to share with the group. If you have any questions, please contact Joe Burkholder at 793-0635

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And what do we need?  People who share their gifts and talents to do the ministry work! There are large jobs, small jobs, fun jobs, challenging jobs, all kinds! If you feel the Lord touching your heart to serve, consider the opportunities that are available through our ministry teams.

Important tasks with a minimal time commitment:

Altar Guild -- These are people who help the Worship Team by preparing the Lord’s supper for worship services, as well as clearing it after the service, and some who are keeping our linens and robes clean.  The commitment for helping can be for a couple of hours per week during just one month of the year.

Offering Counter – Every week we have money to be counted. What a blessing! We have several teams of people who rotate throughout the year and spend a few hours on Sunday afternoon or Monday morning counting the donations received. If you would enjoy helping in this area of ministry, we can train you and put you on to a team.

Calling members – Once a month, a group of friendly people, led by our Shepherding Team, make telephone calls to our members to check in and ask about their prayer requests. This takes about 2 hours per month. Be one of our friendly people! Once you have done it once, you may decide to do it again and again.

AV & Sound – every worship service, and some events that outside groups that use our facility, have some music and audio/visual needs, so we have people in the sound booth managing the equipment. Would you like to be trained to help with sound or AV?

Keep your eyes (and heart) open to ideas that are shared in the newsletter or in our Sunday newsnotes. Be a blessing to others and be blessed yourself! Call the church office for more information on any of these opportunities.

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Opportunities for Women

LWML Lutheran Women’s Missionary League

“Amazing Grace” is the theme of the LWML Convention in Bakersfield, April 25-27. Several women from Prince of Peace will be attending the convention. It promises to be an inspiring time of Bible study, special guests, wonderful humor, and important decisions for the next Mission Grant projects.

During the convention there will be an ingathering of items that will go directly to the Bakersfield Rescue Mission and the Bakersfield Pregnancy Center. Your contributions will greatly help these two organizations. Any of these items may be left in the large LWML Mite box near the information counter up until Friday, April 25:

Hotel/travel sizes of toothpaste & toothbrushes, shaving cream, disposal razors, brush/comb, chapstick, shampoo & conditioner, bar soap, deodorant, tissues, hand & body lotion. Also needed at the rescue mission are towels and washcloths and new underwear-all sizes from M to XXL (for men and women). For the Pregnancy Center: “onesises”, infant gowns, sleepers, infant T-shirts, disposable diapers, hooded towels, washcloths, blankets, baby wipes.

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If you enjoy singing -- just like at the men's retreat when you're okay with it -- LISTEN UP!!!!   We are looking to organize a Men's Choir -- and before you start coming up with excuses, hear us out:   This would be for singing at services (one or both) or special events perhaps 3 times a year.  That's not a lot.  You don't have to have a great voice . . . you don't have to be able to read music.  We're looking for enthusiasm, a love of praising God through song, and a readiness to have some fun.  We're going to combine some socializing with our singing.  If you already happen to belong to an organized music group -- this will not conflict with it and we're not trying to recruit you away!   If you are okay with all of this, we want to hear from you.  Contact John Wellfare (651-0587 / johnwellfare@yahoo.com) or leave a note in the choir slot in the main office.

Questions or is there something that would be helpful to you? Contact Rollo Dowling at 796-4558.

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