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September—October

2015

Peter’s Net

Congratulations to Skylar Anne

Beuerman, daughter of Mark and

Paula Beuerman, who was baptised

on July 26th by Rev. Bob Hutchison.

Happy Birthday to Irene Kistner

who celebrated her 100th birthday

on Aug 24th. There was an Open

House on Aug 23rd at the Friend-

ship Centre.

FROM THE PASTOR:

There are some things we can count on

every year when fall comes around. At home

it means back to school and back to routines

for a lot of families. In the church it means

that Sunday School and Confirmation start

back up again. In our rural areas it means

getting ready for harvest. And this year, in

Canada, it means election time as we look

ahead to the 42nd Canadian general election

on October 19th.

Now politics and religion are the two topics

they say aren’t considered polite conversa-

tion at the dinner table. But as I’ve shared

before: I never got that memo. In fact, in my

undergraduate studies I took a double major

in religious studies and political science. The

truth is it’s really hard to separate our faith

from our politics. Values, justice principles

and moral commitments inform all our

actions. They guide us when we speak to

politicians and when we vote on election

day.

Politics is about how we organize and

govern our communities and the story of

Scripture is about God’s relationship with

communities: first with the people of Israel

but also with the whole human family.

Throughout the Bible God uses individuals

to lead the community. God raises up leaders

like Moses and Joshua and the judges. God

gives the people kings like Saul, David, and

Solomon when they demand a ruler. And

God sends prophets to guide, correct, and

even condemn when the people go astray.

God is the creator of all there is. This

includes the creation of communities, which

require systems of governance to order our

common life. We are blessed to live in a

democracy where we have a say in who will

be our leaders. I know at times it can feel as

though our one vote doesn’t make a

difference, but as I heard someone say

recently: If “Didn’t Vote” was a party, they’d

win every time. So make sure you get out

and vote on October 19th! Make sure you

know how and where to vote. All the

information you will need is on Elections

Canada’s website: www.elections.ca. Now of

course I’m not going to tell you who to vote

for. That’s a decision for you to make. I do

believe, however, that as Christians there are

certain values that can guide our decision

when choosing which candidate to support.

Throughout the Bible God shows a concern

for justice, the common good, and for the

least in society. Jesus has a lot to say about

Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the

emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Matthew 22:21

community and how we should treat our

neighbours. In fact, Jesus himself summed

up the role of human life as being about two

things: loving God and loving our neighbour.

And so, for me, this is a clue to pay attention

to: how much candidates show a concern for

justice, the common good, and for the least

in our society? In a democracy it’s the

responsibility of every citizen to inform her

or himself on the policies and platforms of

their candidates. So I also encourage you to

seek out this information: check out their

websites and take up opportunities to meet

your candidates by attending events where

they will be speaking and taking questions.

Enjoy this opportunity to be a part of

deciding the future directions of our country

and may God guide you as you discern how

to cast your vote on October 19th!

Pastor Laura

REFORMATION SUNDAY

Nearly five centuries

ago in Central Europe,

an Augustinian monk,

doctor of theology

frustrated with church

practises decided to

publically nail what he believed were

the fundamental tenants of Christian

faith to a church door, sparking a

religious revolution still felt today.

Reformation Sunday honours Martin

Luther’s bold action on October 31st,

1517. On that date Luther posted his

statement of faith, known as the 95 The-

ses, on the door of Castle Church in

Wittenberg, Germany, thus setting the

stage for a confrontation within the

Church that would eventually lead to the

Protestant Reformation.

Local Foods Meal & Worship

with The Olive Branch for

Children

Join us on October 25th for a video call

with Deborah McCracken-Nangereke

and the children in Tanzania, followed

by our annual fundraising Local Foods

Meal for The Olive Branch for Children

(sponsored by FaithLife Financial).

Worship at 10:30 with lunch to follow.

A big thank you goes out to

those who preached for

Pastor Laura while she was

on vacation and at National

Convention in Edmonton.

Thanks to:

Rev. Bob Hutchison

Rev. James Garey

Sherri Bennewies

Julie Ryan

Char Breitmaier

UPCOMING NEWS

Sept 1st - Pastor Laura and Joan

Beuermann will be conducting

Holy Communion at the Mitchell

Nursing Home & Ritz Lutheran

Villa.

Sept 6th - There will be no Service at

St Peters, please join us in a

Community Service at the Mitchell Fall

Fair 9:30 a.m. with Ed Havenga lead-

ing the choir.

Sept 13th - "Bring Your Tractor to

Church Sunday" is a chance to bring

your tractor, no matter how big or how

small, to the service. There will be

food, fellowship and games to follow.

This is a fundraiser for the brick repair

on our church.

Sept 14th-20th - Pastor Laura will be

on study leave during this time.

Sept 16th - Church Council will meet.

Sept 20th - The Mobility Bus will be

available for pick up, please contact the

office.

Sept 22nd - The Thames Area Clergy

will be having their monthly meeting at

St Peters, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Oct 11th - Thanksgiving - Harvest

Home decorators are people who's

names begin with "T-Z". More infor-

mation to follow.

Oct 25th - Following the worship ser-

vice with Olive Branch for Children

will be our Local Foods Meal.

Joan Beuermann

DECORATION SUNDAY

Deb Elligsen

Constitution & By-Laws:

Delegates approved a new constitution and

by-laws for the ELCIC intended to provide a

more flexible system of governance that can

more quickly respond to any future

challenges the church may face.

Motions:

Delegates approved motions relating to:

the 500th Anniversary Celebrations of the

Reformation,

the Doctrine of Discovery;

Criminal Justice and the Correctional

System in Canada,

Authorized Lay Ministries,

Welcoming the Stranger,

and Climate Justice.

Worship:

Convention opened and closed within times

of worship. We also opened and closed each

day with a time of worship and prayer,

grounding our time and work together in the

Word of God.

For more information on the ELCIC’s 2015

National Convention please visit their

website (www.elcic.ca) and stay tuned for

more updates to come!

Also check out the article about the

Reformation Challenge in this edition of

Peters Net!

15th Biennial

National Convention

July 9-12 Edmonton, AB

Thank you for the opportunity to attend our

National Church Convention this past July as

a delegate. On a personal note it nurtured my

soul to reconnect with friends and colleagues

from the western synods. On a professional

note it was inspiring and educational to be a

part of the decision-making process setting

future directions for our church. In the

coming months I will share more details

about some of the particular motions that

were passed via this newsletter and in

sermons. For now I’d like to leave you with a

taste of some of the highlights:

Elections:

Susan Johnson was re-elected for a third 4-

year term as National Bishop, Ken Day was

re-elected as Treasurer and Linda Grainger

was elected as Secretary.

Truth and Reconciliation:

TRC Commissioner Marie Wilson addressed

the convention, laying out a challenge for the

church and its citizens: How do we make

reconciliation ordinary? How do we make

reconciliation part of our normal Canadian

way of living?

Special Guests:

Bishop Elizabeth Eaton of the Evangelical

Lutheran Church in America, Primate Fred

Hiltz of the Anglican Church in Canada, and

Jennifer Henry of Kairos all addressed the

convention.

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Waterloo, Ont. — Waterloo Lutheran Semi-

nary’s Board of Governors is pleased to an-

nounce the appointment of Rev. Dr. Mark

Harris as the seminary’s new principal-dean.

“It was a unanimous decision,” he said.

“Mark has the vision, the administrative

skills and the experience to take the helm at

an exciting time in the seminary’s history.”

The seminary is in the process of changing

its name to Martin Luther University and,

during the next few years, is set to undergo a

multi-million dollar rejuvenation of its

facilities.

“Mark has the ability to think and reason, lis-

ten and negotiate,” Kruger said. “As an ex-

perienced pastor and educator, he has the

qualities to effectively continue the semi-

nary’s long tradition of forming clergy for

the Evangelical Lutheran community. He

also has the vision, confidence and skills to

implement the school’s business plan as we

train leaders to serve in many roles in the

broader community well into the future.”

Harris says he is humbled and honored to be

offered the position.

For full article please go to the ELCIC

website ...

Everyone is a’buzz at

Bethany!

Members of Bethany Lutheran, Woodstock,

Ontario, have created a Pollinator’s Garden,

the first of a three-part project. Our intention

is to create a safe haven for pollinators; to

educate our community on pollinating

insects; to make the best use of our green

space.

Both honeybees and the monarch butterfly

are on the decline in our county due to loss

of habitat, loss of food sources and pesticide

use. In association with a local beekeeper,

we have planted varieties that attract bees

and butterflies. We have and will continue to

educate our parishioners and the surrounding

community about pollinators – their impor-

tance to our earth, how we are hurting them

and how we can help them. We are called to

be good stewards of this earth and this

project, in its small way, has a potentially

vast impact on the people and land in the

surrounding area.

Part 2 and 3 of this project will be an expan-

sion of the garden into a shaded area where

members of the community may pause to

meditate and commune with nature. Plants

appropriate for attracting bees and butterflies

will be planted in this space as well. We plan

to use the remainder of the property for

vegetable and flower community gardens, all

of which will attract pollinators. These

gardens will be available to the community

of Woodstock/Oxford County and will be

barrier free.

CHURCH COUNCIL

NEWS

A BIG THANKS to all on the Outreach

Committee for another successful

Campground service & BBQ lunch at

Family Paradise Campground on July 5th.

Cemetery Decoration Sunday was held on

August 16th and we had a lunch fundraiser

following the service that was very well

attended, raising $1245.00. Also the church

service donations totalled $3697.00. So

along with the FaithLife grant of $500.00,

we were able to raise a total of $5,442.00

for the cemetery. THANKS to all for

coming out and offering such great

support!!!

You have probably noticed the brickwork

repairs have started recently. As discussed

and approved at the AGM on February 8th,

the estimated cost was between $15,000.00

and $20,000.00. Memorial donations were

being used to help with this project. As is

often the case, more damage and repair

work has been found needing to the towers,

with the estimated cost increase between

$40,000.00 and $50,000.00. We will have

an information update on this project on

September 13th – Bring your Tractor to

Church Sunday.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Sept 13th – BRING YOUR TRACTOR TO

CHURCH SUNDAY – this will be a fund-

raiser for the Brick Repairs project, with a

BBQ lunch following

the service. This ser-

vice is open to all

area farmers and trac-

tor owners. Come see

the parade of tractors.

Oct 25th – St Peters will be hosting a

Skype Service and Local Foods Meal to

support Deborah and the Olive Branch.

This will be our last FaithLife function

for the year. PLEASE contact council if

you can donate food for this worthy

event. THANKS.

Nov 22nd – This year we are hosting a

Worship Service with our Anglican

friends.

Council hope you have all had a great

summer. We wish you all a long autumn

season with lots of good weather for the

busy harvest ahead. Please enjoy your

Thanksgiving and let us all give thanks

for all we are blessed to have.

Gwen Neeb Church Council Vice-Chairperson

People are funny;

they want the front of the bus,

the middle of the road,

and the back of the church.

REFORMATION CHALLENGE

2017 will mark the 500th anniversary of the

Reformation. Yes, that’s right! It’s been

nearly 500 years since Martin Luther posted

his “95 Theses on the Power and Efficacy of

Indulgences;” an event that triggered one of

the most significant movements in the

history of Christianity. To celebrate this

momentous anniversary, the Lutheran World

Federation is encouraging Lutherans around

the world to lift up this commemoration. In

response to this call, the ELCIC has come up

with some bold challenges for us as a

national church over the next two years.

To:

Sponsor 500 refugees to Canada

Plant 500,000 trees

Provide 500 scholarships for schools of

the Evangelical Lutheran Church in

Jordan and the Holy Land

Give $500,000 to the Lutheran World

Federation endowment fund

These are bold and lofty goals, but as we join

together with Lutherans across Canada I

can’t wait to see what we might accomplish.

And so, I want to challenge individuals and

committees in our congregation to consider

how we might be a part of this Reformation

Challenge.

More information on each of the challenges

is available online at:

www.elcic.ca/reformationchallenge

FATHERLY ADVICE

On Father's Day, Brad challenged the

congregation to send him advice given to

them or phrases used by their fathers

through out time. This was the response:

When you have your own roof; you can

make your own rules. - Lisa Baillie

No sense educating women because

they're only going to get married. - Lynn

Sandiford

When finishing a project... ‘Good

enough; they can't see it from Brodha-

gen’ - Deb Elligsen

Okay, we're all done. Go play. (after

supper) - Richard Leonhardt

When the going gets tough; the tough

get going. - Kathy Patterson

Go ask you mother - Char Breitmaier

I'm a woodworker; I would work if I

had to. - Rein Breitmaier

Ya, Ya... It's not all sunshine! - Lisa

Rapien

There is no such word as can't. - Brad

Rapien

Is it your birthday? because your

"hempie" is sticking out! - Lisa Rapien

I'll be back in two shakes of a lamb's tail

- Rebecca Rapien (the lambs Brad must

be thinking of mustn't have any tails!!! -

Lisa)

Ta, Ta... Today boy! - Lisa Rapien

Brad Rapien

60th Anniversary

John and Marjorie Moore

and Family

Invite you to celebrate with us

at

Brodhagen Community Centre

October 17th, 2015

Open House 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Your presence is our gift

THE SILENT SERMON

A member of a certain church, who

previously had been attending services

regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks,

the preacher decided to visit him. It was a

chilly evening. The pastor found the man at

home alone, sitting before a blazing fire.

Guessing the reason for his preacher's visit,

the man welcomed him, led him to a

comfortable chair near the fireplace … and

waited.

The preacher made himself at home but said

nothing. In the grave silence, he contem-

plated the dance of the flames around the

burning logs. After some minutes, the

preacher took the fire tongs, carefully picked

up a brightly burning ember and placed it to

one side of the hearth all alone, then he sat

back in his chair, still silent.

The host watched all this in quiet contempla-

tion. As the one lone ember's flame flickered

and diminished, there was a momentary glow

and then its fire was no more. Soon it was

cold and dead.

Not a word had been spoken since the initial

greeting. The preacher glanced at his watch

and realized it was time to leave. He slowly

stood up, picked up the old, dead ember and

placed it back in the middle of the fire.

Immediately it began to glow, once more with

the light and warmth of the burning coals

around it.

As the preacher reached the door to leave, his

host said with a tear running down his cheek,

'Thank you so much for your visit and

especially for the fiery sermon. I will be back

in church next Sunday.'

We live in a world today, which tries to say

too much with too little and consequently, few

listen. Sometimes the best sermons are the

ones left unspoken.

Rein Breitmaier

Youth

Group

Our youth group has not met through-

out the summer due to very busy time

schedules. We hope to meet with every-

one soon to plan a fun and exciting fall

programme.

Thanks to everyone who donated

pillow cases or binding for the

sundresses for the Africa project. It is

for a great cause. The CLWR website is

a great place for finding out the needs

of those less fortunate!

Shelterlink has enough slippers for the

young men thanks to all of you! If you

enjoy knitting or crocheting slippers;

they are in need of smaller ones for the

young ladies.

Thanks,

Lisa Rapien

ARCHIVES

Entertaining Minister

Rev. Arthur Horst of St Peters Lutheran

Church, Brodhagen, proved another talent

Wednesday when he performed for the

senior citizens in the Brodhagen area. The

Lutheran Church Women organized an

afternoon of entertainment for the seniors

and Mr. horst and his guitar were part of

the musical entertainment. Readings and

movies filled out the rest of the show. The

LCW served the seniors supper before the

day ended. Mr. and Mrs. Ed Scherbarth,

Brodhagen, were given a preview of Mr.

Horst’s singing.

The Beacon Herald

September 14, 1972

Lyn Sandiford