Do you wonder if God sees what you're walking through?

He does.  Not casually, but in detail – with a love that will sustain and strengthen you with every step.  God has everything you need today.  God wants to be involved in everything you do today.  God has a purpose for everything you face today.  There is no one else as interested in everything that concerns you, as the God who loves you with all His heart!  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  Philippians 4:6

We invite you to search God’s Word with others at Peace.  Search it through Sunday Bible Classes (or Tuesdays and Wednesdays), or at Lifetree Café, or in your personal Bible readings.   See a description of all the opportunities this fall at Peace under “Connect” on the website.  Please call if you have questions.  See you in class!    “Search the book of the Lord and see all that He will do; not one detail will He miss.”  Isaiah 34:16

                                                                         Polly Wegner

                                                                         Dir. of Discipleship

                                                                         303-424-4454

                                                                         pwegner@peacelutheran.net

Kingdom Business

Kingdom Business

This month I would like to invite Peace Members to attend the September Voters Meeting on Tuesday, September 11. If you have not attended a Voters Meeting, I would strongly encourage you to attend one to help familiarize yourself with the Kingdom Business in our church.

As a voting member of Peace you probably have in your possession a Constitution and Bylaws document. New members are given this document with their New-Member packet, many existing members may have an old copy at home, or if you have misplaced your copy you may contact the church office for an updated one. Over the past two years, our Leadership and Voters have updated our existing Bylaws and the meeting on September 11, will finalize the current Bylaws for, most likely, some years to come.

As outlined in the Bylaws, Peace has three elected officers and nine boards that are chaired (also elected by the Voters). In addition, there is a Missions Ministry, Kitchen Ministry and a Salary Review Committee. Whew!! A lot of business going on in the Kingdom!

Voters Meetings are usually one to two hours long, and the part I like the best is hearing Staff and Board Reports. This is where Staff members and Board Chairs will highlight the goings on in their area of ministry. This is so informative! There is also a lot more opportunity to match faces with names. Article III)A)1  of our Bylaws state regular meetings shall be held six times each calendar year, so I am certain there is an opportunity for you to attend one (or more).

I would not be honest if I did not share with you that sometimes Voters Meetings can be challenging. There can be difficult decisions needing to be voted upon. However, as a Voting Member of Peace, I strongly encourage you to make an effort to attend these meetings. In fact, page 7 (Article II B) states it is our “privilege and duty” of being a member of Peace Lutheran Church!

Looking forward to seeing you at a future Voters Meeting!

Thankful to be of His service and yours

Patti Ninneman,

Business Manager

Philippians 1

⁹ And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

What is Lifetree Café and who loves it?

Lifetree Café is a comfortable place and time for people to gather every week to explore life and faith.  It’s the kind of place where the atmosphere encourages conversation, questions, and personal stories.  And the conversations about life lead to seeing God’s presence and love.

The hour-long Lifetree Café experience features real stories of real people, guided conversation, biblical insights, time to build relationship with new and old friends and laugh!  Lifetree stories dig into the big and little things that shape our lives:  Family,  Friends,  Fears,  Balance,  Money,  Materialism,  Health,  Heaven,  Peace,   Purpose. 

Lifetree Café is designed for the large portion of the population that is spiritually curious and wants to talk and ask questions about life issues.  Lifetree Café attracts the un-churched, the de-churched, the churched who desire what Lifetree uniquely offers, and the churched who wish to share their faith stories with others, including pre-believers.

Who loves it?

Young Adults love it.  It’s great for exploring life’s purpose and connecting with new people.

Couples love it.  It’s like a date night, only free!  Couples learn something about each other because they talk about things out of the routine.

Students love it.  Teens enjoy the multigenerational conversations, where they’re listened to and respected.

Adults love it.  Whether busy, retired, working, or in transition, adults find the conversation invigorating and thought-provoking.

Spiritually curious people love it.  Those who have abandoned the church, never experienced God, or carry baggage from their past find Lifetree a safe place to explore life and faith.

Lifetree Café is national!  Check the website www.lifetreecafe.com for other locations.

Lifetree at Peace meets Tuesdays, 12:00 noon and 7:00 PM.   Come join the conversation!  Invite someone along!

                                                                     Polly Wegner, Director of Discipleship

                                                                     pwegner@peacelutheran.net

                                                                     303-424-4454

Kingdom Business

I have to confess, when I attend meetings and functions outside the church, I love it when people ask me where I work. “Oh, I work for a church,” I say. “Really? What do you do at the church?”  “I’m the Business Manager.” Huh? People look so puzzled; I mean what kind of business needs attending at a church? One of the first expressions I learned when I started working at Peace was “Kingdom Business.” I love that phrase!  There is a lot of business to attend to at Peace, through this blog/newsletter I would like to share with you what I have learned about Kingdom Business.  Not only what it means to me, but what it might mean to you as a member of Peace. 

There is so much I have learned working here at Peace, I decided the first place to start was Worship and yes, offerings. During the offering on Sunday Worship, the pastors often say “We now worship the Lord with our offerings.” I don’t think it gets any clearer than that! One way we worship our Lord is through our offerings. First fruits. Tithe. Giving. These are a few of the names for the Lord’s offerings.

I am excited to share with you that the leadership at Peace has instituted something new to our cash-flow management.  That is, our Mission projects will be paid out of the first fruits of our offerings! So for example, if the deposits for the week total $28,000, then 10% (or $2,800) of that will be paid towards one of our budgeted mission projects. This is exciting for me and our leadership to determine when and how to pay mission projects. Our leadership has prioritized the mission line items and every week as we total the plate and online offerings, we will know exactly how much to distribute to God’s kingdom!

 I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about offerings, and one of my favorite phrases, “Kingdom Business”.  Over time I will share more (kingdom) business “tidbits” that I have learned being a part of this staff. Like your own household, our Lord’s house has bills and a budget. Even in Kingdom Business things have a cost. I am so thankful that as brothers and sisters in Christ, we know that the ultimate cost is the cost of sin: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23).  May our Father in heaven pour out his blessing on Peace’s Kingdom Business, as we offer our first fruits to Him. May we always remember the ultimate offering, his son, Jesus Christ, on the cross at Calvary.

Thankful to be of His service and yours,

Patti Ninneman

Business Manager

pninneman@peacelutheran.net

If you would like me to address a certain aspect of church business, please feel free to call or email me at the church office!

Known By Love?

What’s the hardest thing about being a disciple of Jesus?   Love.   Jesus said, “A new commandment I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  John 13:34-35

We are to be known as Jesus’ disciples by how we love one another.  Just think about that.  There are so many other things Jesus could have said His disciples would be known by.  He could have said we are known by our faith.  Then we could carry a big Bible, wear a Christian T-shirt, memorize some church teachings and be known by our faith.  That may not be easy, but compared to being known by love, it would be a breeze.  Or Jesus could have said that we would be known by our morals.  Being known by morals would give us an achievable standard.  That may not be easy, but it would be easier than being known by our love.  Morals are good and we should teach them.  But they are not what we are to be known by.

Jesus said that what we are to be known by is love.  And then He gives us a standard:  “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”  Wow.  That’s hard.  How do we begin?  By getting to know the God of love. 

Come get to know the God of love in a Bible class, in a small group, at LifeTree Café, in worship, in fellowship and service along side other brothers and sisters in Christ.  Together we seek to be known by love.

Polly Wegner,

Director of Discipleship

pwegner@peacelutheran.net

303-424-4454

The Punches Hurt

I recently attended a Conference that didn’t hold back the punches.  We church workers were hit with realities of the coming years… and the punches hurt.   The statistics showed that 80% of next generations will not go to church.  Today on surveys nearly 20% of Americans are already selecting “no religion” as their affiliation preference.  These punches should knock us to our knees praying for God’s mercy and direction for His Church on earth.  How can we equip tomorrow’s believers to reach the 80%, that some may be saved?  How can we, who have been entrusted with the great commission to “go, baptize, teach” reach those today whose preference is no religion?  I would love to hear what your thoughts are on this. 

The reality of these statistics is what makes the LifeTree Café approach very exciting to me.  The safe environment offered at LifeTree Café allows you and me to invite those we know who have questions, those who struggle with spiritual stuff, those who have chosen “no religion”.  LifeTree Café weekly presents an experience packed with stories, fascinating video testimony on trending topics, and lively conversation that feeds the soul.  It is just one way we may reach the 80% who will not go to church.  It is an easy and safe way to listen to others and share God talk with them.  I pray as this opportunity becomes available at Peace, that you will take the challenge to reach out and invite a searching soul to come along with you for some God conversation.  “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”  John 20:31

Worshiping, Connecting and Serving with you  –

Polly Wegner, DCE

Director of Discipleship

Peace Lutheran Church

pwegner@peacelutheran.net

Go quickly and tell

“Go quickly and tell.” Matthew 28:7

On that first resurrection day the angel at the tomb delivered the most important message anyone can ever hear: “He is not here; for He is risen.” Death is a defeated foe! Christ has won the victory. Jesus is our resurrection and life. How hopeless our lives would be if these words were not true. Every cemetery and every grave site would be a mute witness to the futility and despair of human life. But His words are true! What a glorious hope we have because Jesus is alive. We must not keep this to ourselves. We are to do as the angel said, “Go quickly and tell” this fabulous, life-changing information to others.

At Peace and in many churches throughout the Denver area, the week following Easter we have a “neighboring” theme. Sunday worship, Saturday workshops, and even small group studies will focus on how to build great neighborhoods. The idea of loving your neighbor is SO simple, yet SO powerful, and how we can respond to the angel’s direction to “go quickly and tell”. Be watching for more information on these events and studies to take place after Easter. Even better, invite your neighbor to celebrate the resurrection with you at Peace Lutheran Church!

He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed. Alleluia!

Polly Wegner, Dir of Discipleship

pwegner@peacelutheran.net