Peace Lutheran Church, Pella, IA

News Archives

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May 2, 2007

Pastor Pries Says Farewell

Dear People of Peace,

The members of Zion Lutheran Church in Iowa City have called me to serve as their senior pastor. Trusting the Holy Spirit’s leading, I am accepting this calling as God’s call.

Serving with you has been a wonderful privilege. In our time together Peace Lutheran joined the ELCA, re-discovered and expanded your identity as a mission congregation, added facilities and ministries, shared some remarkable experiences in faith and mission, lived our faith in the saving gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and frequently celebrated the power of the resurrection faith. Peace Lutheran is an amazing, faith-filled congregation invested in learning, worship, service and outreach.

Guy Blair and the Peace Lutheran Council are fully invested in the exciting future God has set before you while they also are depending on your full partnership. With your faithful worship and prayer and your willing service and generosity, Peace Lutheran will continue to be an extraordinary example of what God’s people are accomplishing as you love others and share the good news of Jesus Christ.

Pastor Kim knows you and the ministries you share. Please pray for him daily, talk with him often and encourage him as he adjusts his pastoral priorities for ministry with you.

My last Sunday at Peace will be Holy Trinity Sunday, June 3. Between now and June 3, I welcome the opportunity to talk with you. After June 3 I will no longer be your pastor. Please then respect my need to focus my time and energy with the people and ministries of Zion Lutheran Church.

With grateful obedience,

Mark Pries, pastor

January 15

The Annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Plan to join with members of other Christian churches and communities in our area for the following special observances:

Thursday, January 18 – Second Reformed Church, 7:00 pm worship, Father Bartholomew Wojcik, St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, will be the preacher and give us an opportunity to hear how the Orthodox Church is nourished by prayer with icons. Father Bartholomew will bring insight into the use of icons and the expression of spirituality in the Orthodox Church.

Sunday, January 21 – Faith Christian Reformed Church, 3:00 pm worship with communion, will give us an opportunity to gather around the Lord’s Table as we celebrate the unity we share in the sharing of the body and blood of Jesus in Holy Communion. Faith Christian Reformed Church has graciously opened its doors to offer this witness of unity in the breaking of bread and drinking from the cup.

Tuesday, January 23 – Central College Chapel, 11:00 am, celebration and reflection on God’s Word in our lives.

Thursday, January 25 – First Christian Reformed Church, 7:00 pm worship, Pastor Larry Peterson, Pella Regional Health Center will be our preacher and give us an opportunity to reflect on our expression of unity in Christ.

December 11

Reception to Honor Don and Helen Boertje

A reception to honor Don and Helen Boertje's years of service will be held on Sunday, December 17th from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of Peace Lutheran Church.

The people of Pella have been blessed by the dedication of Don and Helen to the hungry in the area. They have volunteered at the Pella Food Shelf for twenty four years.

During this time, Don served as stock person for fifteen years and Helen has served as Director of the Pella Food Shelf for the past twelve years. Helen will be concluding her service as Director during December of this year.

Under their direction the Pella Food Shelf has gained a reputation as being one of the most well run and well funded food shelves in the state of Iowa.

You can show your appreciation to Don and Helen by bringing a donation of non perishable food to their reception.

December 20

Meals with a Mission

Campus Ministries of Central College is sponsoring a trip to Reynosa, Mexico to minister to the needs of a local church, orphanage and the community.  While there, they need meals to feed 70 college students.

  Peace has supported this for several years.  Find the list of needed items on the doors in the narthex.  Please have your donations to Peace by December 25. Let’s continue to partner with Central College in making this a successful trip.

KAPS Calendar Sales Begin - November 19th

The KAPS group plans on selling calendars November 19, 26, December 3, 10 and 17.  They will be sold after early service and before the late service on these days. The cost will be 1 for $6.00 or 2 for $10.00. The proceeds go toward our service projects.

Mission Fest Sunday - Building Brick by Brick - November 12th

Mission Fest will be held on Sunday, November 12th. This year’s Mission Fest offering will support our Mexico Ministries. In March, a large delegation from Peace will be going to Agua Prieta to help build homes. Local building supplies are used to support the area’s economy.

We estimate a locally-made adobe brick costs approximately $0.50 each. The average home requires approximately 700 bricks. Your Mission Fest donations will go to buy bricks. For how many homes can we provide bricks?

Guest preacher at both services will be Pastor Lorraine Avendano of the Des Moines outreach congregation La Voz De Esperanza. Six months ago, Pastor Lorraine accepted the call to lead Esperanza after providing spiritual leadership for a congregation in Canada. Her husband, Jose Luis Avendano is a theologian from Chile and may also be visiting with us on Sunday.

A Mexican Fiesta will be held immediately following the second service. Free will donations will be accepted to cover the cost of the meal. Thanks again for your support of this ministry.

Thanksgiving Worship - November 22

The people of Peace will gather at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 22 at St. Mary’s Church (1203 Peace Street) to give thanks. The service continues a long tradition that Peace shares with the members of First Baptist, St. Mary’s, Second Reformed and the United Methodist Church.

The offering received will support “Military Kids” through the Iowa State Extension Service. This program provides camping and counseling services for children and families of deployed military personnel.

Quarterly Meeting - November 26

The people of Peace meet on November 26 at 7:00 p.m. The agenda includes elections, approval of the 2007 budget, a report from the Relocation Steering Team and other items of interest to those gathered.

LYO Annual Pie Auction Precedes Quarterly Meeting

Peace high school youth will hold their annual pie auction at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 26. Ice cream sundaes will be served beginning at 6:00 p.m. The actual pie auction will begin at 6:15 p.m.

Donations of pies and other baked goods are needed. If you would be willing to donate items, please sign up on the sheet posted on “The Wittenberg Door”.

Proceeds from the auction will be used to support the activities of our Lutheran Youth Organization. Please make plans to attend this fun and tasty event!

June20

Bishop Stefano Msangi of the Pare Diocese Presents Forum June 21, 9:00 - 11:45am

Bishop Msangi is in Pella to host a forum on water issues in the Pare Diocese. The forum begins at 9:00 a.m. and concludes at 11:45 a.m. Following the forum, Bishop Msangi will be our guest at a luncheon at The Panda Garden. Consider attending the forum and/or the luncheon.

The Pastor’s Wednesday Bible Study group will meet for lunch with Bishop Msangi in lieu of their normal meeting.

June 8

Men of Peace to Iowa Cubs

The Men of Peace will have an outing to see the Iowa Cubs vs. Omaha Royals on Friday July 7, 2006. The game starts at 7:00pm. This is open to all Men of Peace as well as your sons of any age. Tickets will cost $8.00 each. Please sign up by June 19th. Any questions, please call Ross Ver Helst, 628-4869.

May 31

Relocation Prayer Vigil - June 4-10

Relocation Kick-Off Banquet - Saturday, June 3

May 16

Flamingoes Invade Marion & Mahaska Counties

A flock of San Antonio based flamingos has arrived in Southern Iowa counties. These flamingos are on a mission. They intend to return to San Antonio with a group of 19 Peace high school youth so they can attend the 2006 ELCA National Youth Gathering in July.

At the April 23rd LYO meeting, Dana King designated Betty Bollard as CFO (Chief Flamingo Officer) to assist the flamingoes in reaching their goal, yet control the damage to a property’s ambiance that a flock of flamingoes has been known to cause.

To protect your property you can purchase flamingo insurance from Peace high school youth beginning on Sunday, May 14th. For a donation, these youth have also been known to influence the flamingoes to visit specific addresses. For more information, contact CFO Betty Bollard at 628-9715.

May 1

Together We Grow Peace

News Release - March 31, 2006, Pella, IA

Peace Lutheran Church of Pella has recently purchased property in the northeast corner of Pella as a beginning to a relocation process.

Peace Lutheran Church has decided to relocate since it has outgrown its present space and need to better support and expand its ministries. In order to expand, it has purchased 13.92 acres of land from John and Marie Slycord; the land is located north of Vermeer Road with access to 240th Place. Fundraising for the building will begin in June with the ground breaking in the Spring of 2007.

Peace Lutheran Church began as a mission congregation and continues to embrace mission as its primary purpose. The mission of Peace is to love others and share the good news of Jesus Christ. This site will give Peace the necessary space to grow its current and future ministries.

March 29

LYO Rummage and Bake Sale

Saturday, April 1, 7:00 am - Noon

Peace Fellowship Hall

All proceeds from this event will help defray the cost of the trip for the youth to the National Yourth Gathering in San Antonio, Texas

February 6

Share & Share Sunday, February 12

The RST and Building Committees would like to invite everyone to attend a special event on Sunday, February 12th.

11:45 am Share in a Potluck Lunch
Right after second service we invite you to share a potluck lunch with the builder and architect we will be working with.
Steve Ferguson Principal in Charge, Breiholz Construction
Paul Jeffrey, AIA Architectural Design, Bahr Vermeer Haecker
1:15 – 3:15 pm Share in the process

We invite everyone to share his or her ideas and participate in a preliminary design workshop. Paul Jeffrey will lead us through a process to gather ideas for our new worship facility, and your ideas are needed and welcomed.

The workshop will build on the information we gathered during the Spatial Impact meetings last year. The focus will be on the building itself and the space we need to meet our growing mission. This is a great chance to express your ideas and help shape the new building.

To make it easy to attend we will be arranging some childcare for the workshop. And if you are not able to attend, please feel free to write down you ideas and give to an RST or Building Team member so it can be included with all the others.

In March, we will follow up this workshop with committee meetings and another workshop. Those will help refine the ideas you give Paul into a preliminary floor plan that will be used for the initial design and cost estimates.

So plan ahead and come share the afternoon with us in what promises to be a fun and exciting event!

January 30, 2006

CALLING ALL “MEN OF PEACE”! Saturday, February 4

You are invited to gather together the first Saturday of every month from 7:30-8:30 a.m. at Peace Lutheran Church for breakfast! One or two members of the group take turns volunteering to make the breakfast each time.

It is a great opportunity for food, fellowship, devotion and fun, together with other men in our congregation! It is a terrific chance for an informal gathering that gives us time to be together to share God’s Word, work on service projects, get to know one another, form friendships, and build a stronger community of witnesses, to better serve our Lord as Men of Faith in our own households and community.

Please prayerfully consider attending.Our next meeting is February 4, 2006, from 7:30- 8:30am.

January 30, 2006

TEC News

CITEC #31: High school sophomores, juniors and seniors are invited to attend the next Teens Encounter Christ weekend which will be held on March 31 – April 2 at First Reformed Church in Pella.

This weekend is led by the youth with adult supervision. It provides an opportunity to learn more about the Christian faith while meeting a lot of other youth from the Central Iowa area. Applications can be found in the narthex. Deadline is February 24. Questions can be directed to the De Kock’s at 628-1742 or Pastor Kim.

“CANDY CANE LANE:A RECIPE FOR LIFE”-Sunday December 11 - 2:00pm and 7:00pm

This is the title of this year’s 2nd – 8th Grade Sunday School Christmas Program. Peace youth and the adult directors are working hard to make this year’s presentation a memorable one. The program will be presented on Sunday, December 11 at 2:00 p.m. and again at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary. A reception will follow the program in the Fellowship Hall. Each student’s family is asked to supply one dozen cookies which will be used at one of the receptions.

November 21, 2005

THANKSGIVING EVE WORSHIP will be held at First Baptist Church (Broadway at Independence) this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Rev. Jim Hibma of Crossroads of Pella will preach. Offerings of cash and non–perishable food items will be received. Crossroads and the Pella Food Shelf respectively will receive what will be offered to God in thanksgiving.

November 18, 2005

Bishop Phil Hougen at Peace - Sunday, October 20

Our bishop, Phil Hougen, is the preacher for our 2005 Mission Festival. Bishop Hougen is a strong advocate for mission within our Synod and globally. His recent visit to Tanzania included a visit to Mwanga and an time to teach pastors (including Pastor Senkoro) of Pare.

A traditional fall festival turkey dinner follows the 10:45 worship service.

October 26, 2005

Sharing from the Heart

Sunday, October 30, is your opportunity to sign up to share your gifts, talents and abilities to further the ministries of Peace. Please take time to prayerfully consider the many ways you can help at Peace. There are a broad range of activities including helping with Sunday to worship – ushers, readers, assistants to serving on a committee. Perhaps you feel more comfortable behind the scenes ensuring that everything at Peace is working smoothly – repairs, mowing, altar guild. All of these things are necessary, important and each person brings their own gifts to each area.

October 17, 2005

Visitors from Mwanga

The Members of Peace welcome our special guests from Mwanga Parish in the Pare Diocese of Tanzania. Pastor Senkoro, Elisante Mwanga and Severa Munisi will be us with until October 24th. Check the home page to find a time when you might meet them.

October 11, 2005

LYO Annual Corn Maze and Pizza Fest is October 14th

Meet at Peace at 6:00 p.m.on THIS FRIDAY. We will head to Godfather's Pizza in Knoxville for supper and then on to the Dan D Farms Corn Maze

Spares & Pairs Halloween Party.6:00 p.m. Sunday, October 16th

Bring munchies if you like. Soup and beverages will be provided. Call Mandy Smidt @ 627-5342 for more information.

October 3, 2005

WoW Begins this Wednesday

ALL 2ND—5TH GRADE STUDENTS ARE INVITED to Word on Wednesday at Peace beginning October 5. WoW begins after school and concludes at 5:30 p.m. Carpools are available for registered kids . Registration forms are in your mailbox or the narthex. For questions, see Nadine Argo or call (628-2835).

September 27, 2005

Men of Peace

The men of Peace are invited to a breakfast Saturday, October 1 from 7:30-8:30 a.m. There will be a short program. Please RSVP to Ross VerHelst (628-4869) or Denny King (628-2653).

All are Welcome Sunday

At the 2005 Southeastern Iowa Synod Assembly there was a resolution passed naming October 2 a day of welcome.  Peace Lutheran Church, as a part of the Southeastern Iowa Synod will participate in this event. Prayerfully consider how God is talking to you about your neighbor, friend or family member who you would like to invite to church with you. We have a great thing to offer in the promises of forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ.  Let’s make this an event not soon forgotten!

August 22, 2005

9th Grade Confirmation Trip

During the weekend of August 5-7 the five members of the 9th Grade Confirmation Class, Andrew B., Josh H., Ben L., Tom M. & Nick W., traveled to Minneapolis for a weekend that included a service project, worship and fellowship. The group left from Peace at 12:30 p.m. on Friday and arrived in Minneapolis five hours later. In the evening the group saw the Minnesota Twins take on the Boston Red Sox in the Metrodome. The home team won 12 – 0.

On Saturday morning the group met for devotions and then spent their time at Mary's Place, which provides temporary shelter to families who would otherwise likely be homeless. Peace youth spent nearly three hours supervising the indoor play area, interacting with inner city youth between the ages of 3 and 11. After lunch the group spent the rest of the day at Valley Fair Amusement and Water Park. The water park was a big hit with our youth on a warm summer day.

On Sunday morning the group worshipped with the people of Redeemer Lutheran Church near downtown Minneapolis. The worship service at Redeemer began at 10:00 a.m. and concluded around noon. Peace youth were impressed with the way the people of Redeemer shared the Peace. This sharing lasted some 15 minutes and was definitely an “out of the pew” experience. After a hearty lunch at the Cracker Barrel restaurant the group arrived back in Pella at 6:30 p.m. Adult sponsors for this trip were Dan H. and Pastor Kim.

When the adult sponsors asked the students about their highlight of the weekend, they did not mention the Major League Baseball Game or the trip to Valley Fair, but rather they talked about the time they spent serving others at Mary's Place.

July 10, 2005

June 26 to July 1 confirmation candidates who had completed 7th grade attended confirmation camp at EWALU. This year M.A.D. (Music, Arts, Drama) Camp shaped the week. A resident artist, 2 college-age counselors, and Pastor Pries helped guide their week. [Tremaine Versteeg is the confirmation Camp Coordinator at EWALU this summer.]

Those Peace youth that attended were Emily L., Jessica B., Stephanie J., Beth M., Haleigh M., Paige M., Hannah T., Ruth Y., Katlyn B., Tyler A., Dylan V. and Justin B.

Attending Native American Camp also at EWALU camp from Peace the same week were Tim A., Caitie H., and Amanda L.

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