St Peter's Lutheran Church Brodhagen

Grace and peace to you family of St Peter’s The season of Advent is just around the corner. This is the time in the church year when we wait in expectant hope for God's Love to be born in our world - in the birth of Jesus and in the promised coming of Christ who will reign in justice and peace. The pandemic will make this a holiday season like no other and I believe that taking the time to rest in the hope and promise of Advent will offer much needed encouragement and comfort.... As such, in addition to our usual Sunday services (which will be held in-building as long as it remains safe to do so and recorded/ uploaded to YouTube) I will be offering some additional opportunities for worship and prayer. Virtual Advent Calendar Beginning November 29th I will be sending daily emails that include a short scripture passage, a simple question for reflection or responsive action for you, and a song. These will also be posted to our facebook page. For those in our congregation who do not have computers I have dropped off or mailed hardcopy Advent devotionals. If you know of someone who didn't receive one and would like one please let me know. Online Midweek Prayer and Candlelighting On the Wednesdays in Advent (Dec 2, 9, 16, 23) I will be offering a short time of prayer and Advent wreath candlelighting online. These will be pre-recorded and made available on YouTube at 8:00PM each Wednesday. I will email the link and a reminder each week. To participate most fully you will want to have an Advent wreath at home to light along with the prayer service. If you don't have one there are lots of simple DIY set-ups you can create (see this video for inspiration). Online Service of Lament The last two years at St Peter's we have held a service during the season of Advent specifically for those for whom this holiday season is a hard time, whether because of the death of a loved one or another significant loss. This year I anticipate many of us needing a space to name the pain and struggle of this season and so on December 21st, the longest night, we will hold a Service of Lament. This too will be a pre-recorded online service and I will email the links and information to you closer to the date. The love and grace of Christ our Saviour be with you this Advent season, Pastor Laura

November Communication from Church Council

On this Reign of Christ Sunday you can worship with us here:

Until December 6 we will be collecting gifts and donations for the Angel Tree and donations for our local Food Bank. Gifts can be brought to the church Nov 22, 29 or Dec 6. Or cheques can be made out to St Peter's with "Angel Tree" in the memo line.

Important Announcement re: Online Worship Last night Church Council met for it's monthly meeting via Zoom. One of the topics we discussed was our online worship offerings. Since we've been back in the building we've been livestreaming the in-building service. During this time there have been ongoing challenges with both the audio and video quality. As such, council made the decision to stop livestreaming. Instead, each Sunday the in-building service will be recorded and then ...uploaded to YouTube for Sunday afternoon. I will email a link and post to Facebook when the service is available for viewing. The downside is that the service will not be available until Sunday afternoon. The upside is that the quality of the the video and audio should be greatly improved. Being online has been a huge learning curve for us and we appreciate your patience. We also appreciate your continued feedback. It's important to us that we're able to provide a quality online worship option for our congregation. We anticipate this being an ongoing need and will regularly be reviewing how this is going. If you have any concerns or feedback please let me or one of our church council members know. For Sunday, November 22 you are invited to worship with us either: In-building at 10:00 AM OR Online once the service has been uploaded Sunday afternoon. Online services can be accessed on our St Peter's YouTube Channel Thank you, Pastor Laura https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkeozWgIjB7ZJtzjXGZHv_A/

Our 2020 Gifts from the Heart catalogue is now available! The new catalogue is full of thoughtful and creative gifts that will fight COVID-19 and make a dif...ference in the lives of those who need it most. Although the holiday season looks a little different this year, you can still bring joy to your loved ones and change the lives of people around the world this Christmas with a meaningful gift. Visit clwr.org/gfth to shop online!

Building Reopening Update Thank you for all who responded to our survey about in-person worship. We had close to 50 respondents, nearly half of whom are ready to return to in-person worship as soon as it is possible. As such, at the September 16th council meeting it was decided that we will reopen for in-person worship October 18th, provided we are able to meet the necessary safety protocols. For the more than half of respondents who are not ready to return to in-person worship under the restrictions know that we will continue to provide an online worship experience once the building has reopened.

If you missed this morning's livestream you can also access the worship service on our YouTube channel. Peace be with you today and this week!

Our 2020 Confirmation Service is now available to view online

WITH SADNESS AND GRATITUDE After more than a century of service to generations of students in Waterloo, the Auxiliary of Martin Luther University College (forme...rly Womens Auxiliary of Waterloo Lutheran Seminary) has decided to disband. For details, please see the letter (below) co-written by Helen Weber, the auxiliarys last president, and Kristine Lund, interim principal-dean of Martin Luther University College.

Bible Book Club Update! We've created a special Facebook Group for our Online Book Club. Please request to join at any time if you'd like to participate - open to members and friends of St Peter's. This month we're starting at the very beginning with Genesis!

Worship for September 20th

A special back to school prayer & blessing for the children of St Peter's

Worship for Sunday, September 13

Worship for your Labour Day weekend - the 14th Sunday after Pentecost.

This September we will be reading through the Book of Genesis as part of our National Church's focus on Living our Faith through reading scripture. To participate this month all you need to do is: 1. Start reading Genesis. 2. Watch this Facebook page for discussion question posts starting September 21st.... Perhaps now more than any other time in our collective experience, this is a moment to rest in the stories and promises of Scripture. In the comments below you will also find links to Bishop Susan's invitation to participate, some introductory notes on the book of Genesis, and where you can read the passages online if you don't have a Bible at home. Happy reading!

Worship for the 13th Sunday after Pentecost

Looking for people to record themselves reading Scripture or prayers for online worship. If you're willing to help let us know!Looking for people to record themselves reading Scripture or prayers for online worship. If you're willing to help let us know!

We are asking all members (especially those who regularly attended worship/Sunday School pre-pandemic) to take a few moments to respond to this short survey. Your input will help council make some important decisions about when and how to reopen our building for in-person worship and what kind of online presence to maintain. Thank you!

Today we remember all who have been laid to rest in the St Peter's Cemetery. We also remember by name all the members who have died and those who have been laid to rest in the past year: Donna Hinz Joanne Robertson Pat Schellenberger... Don Ahrens Ron Gethke Norma Dietz Leonard Miller Bruno Braecker Rodney Hinz Bill Arbuckle Edith Pushelberg Thank you to all who placed flowers in the cemetery. Theyre a powerful symbol of the love that endures through and beyond death. As you are able, we appreciate your help in removing any flowers that you have placed by Wednesday, August 26. And thank you to Ed and our Senior Choir for leading us in the hymn of the day and sending song. To all who have been continuing your offerings, thank you! Like many organizations, St Peter's continues to need your support during this time of closure. If you are in good financial shape, consider the church as you're able so that the church will in turn be available to help people in times of need. Offerings can be given in these ways: Mail an offering to the church (offerings are being counted and deposited every 2 weeks; the next count day will be today) Donate online: https://www.canadahelps.org//st-peters-lutheran-church-br/ Sign up for Pre-Authorized Remittances (your offering automatically comes out of your account on or around the 20th of each month). If you wish to set this up please be in touch with our book keeper Glenda ([email protected]). Make arrangements to get it to any one of our church council members Blessings on your day. God be with you! Pastor Laura

Blessings to you on this Cemetery Decoration Sunday. I'll be heading out to the cemetery soon to film the final pieces for today's service, and you can expect a link for today's service sometime before 2PM EDT. Thank you to all who brought flowers over the past two days. It was lovely to see all the cars coming and going. And as always, the cemetery is beautifully adorned with so many flowers - a visual symbol of the love that still connects us with our departed loved ones. ...This is a Sunday when together we remember our loved ones who rest in the St Peter's Cemetery. I want to share with you this recent article from the Globe and Mail on grief and the power of remembering. The husband in this story is Rev. Joel Crouse, pastor of St John Lutheran Church in Ottawa, in our Eastern Synod. I encourage you to take the time this morning to read it. And may God be with you in your remembering See more

Church Council met last night for their monthly meeting. You can expect to receive a complete overview of this month's meeting next week but for now I wanted to share with you an update about the building closure. Council made the decision to extend the building closure until at least October 4th. During this time, worship will remain online. Especially with schools reopening next month, if felt like the prudent decision at this time. In the meantime, you can expect two thing...s to happen. First, next week you will receive an email with a link to a short survey. A link will also be posted to our Facebook page. We want to hear from you about your desire and comfort level for returning to in-person worship. Please take the time to respond. Your input will guide council in their decision-making. Those who don't have email will be contacted by phone. Second, council has formed a committee, chaired by Elaine Dietz, who will be tasked with outlining a plan for safely reopening our building using the checklist provided by the Eastern Synod. They will meet in early September and present their recommendations to council. I personally want to thank council again for their leadership in this time. These are not easy decisions to make but know that our highest priority is always care and concern for our members. As always, if you have questions or concerns please don't hesitate to reach out to me or a member of council. Peace be with you, Pastor Laura

A lovely reflection from Diana Butler Bass on rituals and some suggestions for all ages how mark back to school in this time of pandemic.

The Annual Cemetery Decoration Service holds a special place in our hearts. With our building currently closed church council made the decision to move forward with an online Cemetery Decoration service. This will be a time to remember all our loved ones laid to rest in the St Peter's Cemetery, and to pay special tribute to those who have died in the last year. You are still welcome and invited to place flowers in the cemetery this weekend. Council is asking that folks place flowers on Friday August 21 & Saturday August 22. To view the service, a link will be posted to this page or you can find it directly on our youtube channel. It will be available to view by 2PM on August 23rd.

Take a few moments today to watch this message from our Eastern Synod Bishop Michael Pryse.

Worship for the 11th Sunday after Pentecost.

"Our thanks go to the many thousands and thousands of Canadians who have responded. We urge the country to continue following the Federal Governments lead in g...enerously responding to this tragedy, and especially in taking advantage of this matching fund to make their gifts provide as much life-saving relief as possible. - Karin Achtelstetter, executive director, Canadian Lutheran World Relief - CLWR Last night, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the Lebanon Matching Fund for donations to Humanitarian Coalition/ Coalition Humanitaire members, including Canadian Lutheran World Relief - CLWR, has been increased to $5 million. If you have not yet had a chance to respond, then please take a moment now to double your impact through this generous matching fund and give whatever you can to help the people of Lebanon who are facing this crisis. Donate now: clwr.org/lebanoncrisis

Worship for the 10th Sunday after Pentecost

Former St Peter's pastor Rev. Harold Brill died this week. Please hold Joan and his family in your prayers. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.

Worship for the 9th Sunday after Pentecost with guest preacher Rev. Dennis Serfas.

Worship for the 8th Sunday after Pentecost with guest preacher Bishop Michael Pryse of the Eastern Synod.

Do you have questions about wearing masks/face coverings in indoor & public spaces? Join us Thursday, July 16 at 2:15PM when Dr. Klassen will answer your questi...ons during our next Facebook LIVE session. Please post your questions in the comments below and we will try to answer as many as we can during our LIVE session on Thursday. See more

***UPDATE ON REOPENING OF CHURCH BUILDING*** Yesterday council held it's July meeting. Among several items on our agenda (which you'll receive an update on in the coming days), we discussed reopening the church building. The decision was made to follow the recommendation of Synod and extend the closure of our church building until September 2020. In the meantime we will continue with online worship. The reasoning behind this decision includes:... - Synod has established a task force that will be creating guidelines for reopening church buildings (these will be made available by August 1). - Synod will also be providing worship resources and additional support to church leaders throughout August to assist congregations in thinking through all that is involved in reopening our buildings safely. - I (Pastor Laura) will be taking much needed vacation time July 20-August 2; August will be focused on developing our reopening strategy/plan. - Many in the congregation have expressed that there's no need to rush to reopen. - And importantly, worshiping at home is showing love and care for one another in this time, especially those who are most vulnerable I know there are some who are really missing our in-person worship, and I get that. I miss it too. But reopening our building is about more than opening the doors for Sunday morning worship. The pandemic has pushed us out of our buildings, teaching us in real time that the church is a not a building, it's a people. I don't want us to rush back to our building without also prayerfully discerning how we hold on to some of the gifts this time has brought. I want to thank our members of church council who have had to wrestle with many tough decisions over these past months. Your leadership, time, and dedication is so appreciated! A word about Cemetery Decoration. Council decided that we will have a virtual Cemetery Decoration service August 23rd. There will still be opportunity for folks to place flowers in the cemetery that weekend...details to follow. God be with you today. I continue to pray for you and ask that you pray for me, and for our family of St Peter's. God bless, Pastor Laura

Sometimes I forget about the spiritual practice of avoiding comparison.

Worship for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost. This is a service of Holy Communion - to participate you will need bread or crackers and wine, juice or water for each person. Please take a few moments to prepare these items before beginning your worship time today. As a way of designating this as a special meal I encourage you to set out a small cloth, a plate for the bread, and pre-pour the wine/juice/water. To hold the elements you may use your regular daily dishes or put out the special china - whatever feels most meaningful and appropriate to you. The power of the Spirit unite us today as we share in this holy meal.

Worship for the 5th Sunday after Pentecost

Worship for June 28 with The Olive Branch for Children

Worship for the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost. This week make sure you watch right to the end for a well-loved sending song by our senior choir!