Holy Week Worship

Join us as we gather together in worship for the Great Three Days.

  • Maundy Thursday Worship with Holy Communion: Thursday, April 9 at 7:30pm on Facebook Live

MAUNDY THURSDAY WORSHIP BULLETIN

  • Good Friday Service with Plymouth Whitemarsh Ministerium: Friday, April 10 - a recording of this service will be posted to the church website midday.

  • Good Friday Tenebrae Service: Friday, April 10 at 7:30pm on Facebook LIve

GOOD FRIDAY WORSHIP BULLETIN

  • Easter Sunday Worship with Holy Communion at 10:00am on Facebook Live

EASTER SUNDAY WORSHIP BULLETIN

Holy Communion: We will be celebrating Holy Communion during our Worship on Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday. Bound together by Christ and in grace we share in Word and Sacrament even as we gather remotely. All those who believe in the presence of the Lord at the table and with the community are invited to share in the  sacrament. Take the elements of your choosing and share them with yourself, one another in your home, and with the community remotely. If young children are present who have not yet received their First Communion please take a moment and share a blessing with them. Be the community of Christ with all those gathered near and far. All are welcome at the table of the Lord.


Holy Week Hymn Sing

Join Sam Tarasanko on Tuesday, April 7th for a Holy Week Hymn Sing on Facebook Live. Sam will be sharing some of the greatest Lenten and Holy Week Hymns found in our hymnals. A pdf with all the hymns can
be found at the end of this post so that you are able to follow along and singalong. Join us as we enter into Holy Week in song and praise!

Hymns:
Savior of the Nations (ELW 263) – ok, this is an Advent hymn but Sam really likes it!

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross (ELW 335)

Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed (ELW 337)

Beneath the Cross of Jesus (ELW 338)

Go to Dark Gethsemane (ELW 347)

Ah, Holy Jesus (ELW 349)

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded (ELW 351)

Were You There (ELW 353)

Happy Friday St. Peter's!

Happy Friday St. Peter's!

We hope that this email finds you well in the midst of all that is going on in the world! We may all be quarantined but the life, love, and joy of Jesus Christ continues through the church, through our community, and in our homes and with that in mind let’s get right to it…

1.     Online Worship: We will be streaming our worship online once again on Facebook Live at 10am this Sunday and then placing a link to the service recording on the church website later in the day – we hope that you’ll join us for this new way to worship! We are not trying to advertise for Facebook but have found this is the easiest way for us to reach a large group of people for worship on Sunday mornings – if you are not on Facebook and need some help creating an account, if you’re having trouble finding the live stream, or have any other problems please don’t hesitate to contact me and I’ll be happy to help. The worship bulletin for Sunday can also be viewed by clicking RIGHT HERE and is also attached to the end of this email. Finally, if you have friends who are not “online” much please reach out to them and offer help so that they can join our worship services and don’t forget to invite all your friends!

2.     Need help viewing our live events? Are you having trouble viewing our worship services in real time on FaceBook Live or having trouble joining our Facebook Live chats? Never fear, thanks to Chrissy Waldron we have a handy tutorial here to help you easily access both our live events and, if you need, get on Facebook. Thanks Chrissy! You can find the tutorial RIGHT HERE.

4.    Palms! We will be leaving the palms outside of the church doors following worship on Sunday. We ask that you only consider coming to pick up palms if you can do it safely and if you do come to the church to pick up palms please be observant of other people as well - if you see someone picking up palms please wait in your vehicle until they are finished. Please consider staying home and simply using something from your backyard, household plants, or a "palm" of your own making - feel free to get crafty and share your ideas!

3.     Holy Week Hymn Sing! Join Sam Tarasanko on Tuesday, April 7th for a Holy Week Hymn Sing on Facebook Live. Sam will be sharing some of the greatest Lenten and Holy Week Hymns found in our hymnals. A pdf with all the hymns can be found at the end of this post so that you are able to follow along and sing along. Join us as we enter Holy Week in song.

Hymns:

Savior of the Nations (ELW 263) – ok, this is an Advent hymn but Sam         really likes it!

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross (ELW 335)

Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed (ELW 337)

Beneath the Cross of Jesus (ELW 338)

Go to Dark Gethsemane (ELW 347)

Ah, Holy Jesus (ELW 349)

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded (ELW 351)

Were You There (ELW 353)

4.     Holy Week Schedule – Join us for Worship! We will be streaming our Holy Week Worship for both Maundy Thursday and Good Friday on Facebook Live at 7:30pm with recordings of the services posted to the church website shortly after. Worship bulletins will be available on the church website prior to the start of services.

5.     Celebrating Communion: There is a lot of talk in church circles about whether or not to celebrate Communion through our online gatherings. There is much to consider here and I plan to post a lengthy explanation early next week regarding this matter but to make things very simple – we will be celebrating Communion during our worship services for Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday. All you will need is some bread, crackers, chips, anything of the like and a glass of wine, juice, water, or anything of the like. As I said, I will be sharing a more detailed explanation for this decision early next week and if you have any questions at all please do not hesitate to contact me directly at revsuloff@gmail.com.

6.     Open Discussion Groups and Facebook Live Chat – Ask The Pastor Anything!: These events are postponed during Holy Week but will resume Tuesday, April 14th and Thursday, April 16th.

7.     Online Giving and Offering: During this time we know that many are struggling and we certainly understand that but if you are able to continue with your offering please either mail your offering envelopes to the church or consider using our ONLINE GIVING option on the website – it is a quick and easy way to share your gifts with the congregation.

8.     SCRIP and Caring for the Community: As said, we know that many are struggling or will be struggling. SCRIP is a great way to support the church and help your neighbors at the same time – one of the best ways that we can help our community right now is by donating gift cards from Weis or Giant to the church so that we can distribute them to folks in needs either within our community or through the Colonial Neighborhood Council and other Social Ministry organizations. SCRIP is easy! You can increase what you give to the church by buying these cards for your daily expenses and help out your neighbors by donating cards. Groceries, gas, Home Depot, Target, Ace Hardware Stores, Amazon purchases, etc. To place orders for Scrip online go to www.ShopWithScrip.com and click “Join A Program.” Our Enrollment Code is:  DDA6EF5815851. Our Organization is: St. Peter’s Lutheran Church. Our Coordinator is: Jane Stettler, jstettler@krautharris.com. If you order cards for either personal use or donate we will be in touch with you to coordinate a safe way for you to pick up your cards.

9.     First Communion: During these times we obviously need to postpone many things – one of those is the First Communion Workshop that was scheduled for this weekend and receiving First Communion on Maundy Thursday. As soon as we are able to return to somewhat normal activities here at the church we will work with each family who has a child who would like to receive their First Communion to reschedule the workshop, or workshops, and arrange a date that works well for families to celebrate First Communion.

10.  Elastic Needed: There are volunteers throughout the community who are working to make masks during this time for various places that need them but elastic is in short supply – if you have new elastic in your sewing box that you can donate to help this cause please contact Pastor Suloff directly at revsuloff@gmail.com.

11.  Church Office: Our church office will continue to function but it will obviously look very different for the time being as we are all going to be working remotely whenever it is possible. We will be going to the church periodically to check the mail, take care of administrative tasks that must be handled in the building, and update records. If you have a need during this time please do not hesitate to contact me directly on my cell phone or by email.

12.  Check-ins: We ask all the people of St. Peter’s to check in with one another during this time – if you have time please call or email your friends and neighbors, the person who always sits in front on you at church, or someone whose name just pops into your head. If you are aware of any needs within our community please let me know directly. During this difficult time it is of the utmost importance that we communicate with one another and take care of one another as best we can.

13.  Website: We will be using the church website (www.stpeterslafayettehill.org) and our Facebook page as our primary means of daily communication for the foreseeable future – please check the website frequently and please share information with others in the community and beyond.

14.  Ideas: This is a new and different time for all of us – our church, community, nation, and world all must learn to do things differently – if you have any ideas for how we might better share the life, love, and joy of Jesus Christ please let me know!

15.  Prayer: Look, we all feel kind of helpless right now and it is difficult – we can, and should, be socially distant during this difficult time. We can also pray because, quite frankly, that is what we do. Our prayer list is attached to the end of this email and I would encourage you all to find a bit of time each day to pray – for our families, our communities, our doctors, our nurses, all those who serve the world during this time, and for our world. We may be separated by distance but we can be united in prayer.

Well that covers everything for now St. Peter’s so we hope that you are staying safe and taking care of yourselves and one another – join us for worship and our other online activities, don’t forget to check the website frequently, support our ministries at St. Peter’s and help your neighbors if you are able, pray without ceasing, and as always keep sharing the life, love, and joy of Jesus Christ with all!

Your fellow servant in Christ,

                             Pastor Suloff

SPY Chat Tonight - Wed. April 1, at 7:30pm!!

SPY (St. Peter's Youth) Chat!

Calling all St. Peter’s Youth! Join us on Zoom on Wednesday, April 1 at 7:30pm for a chat and check-in - if you need any help using Zoom or have any questions please contact Pastor Suloff.

  1. Go to zoom.us and either create a free account or simply click “Join A Meeting”. If you choose to create an account simply click on “Join A Meeting” after completed the setup process.

  2. To join the meeting enter the meeting code:

    7:30pm meeting: 163-931-039

  3. If you log-in prior to either meeting you will be placed in the “waiting room” until the meeting start time. Once the meeting begins you will enter the “meeting room” screen and be able to see and hear other participants. You can choose to do audio only if you like. If you enter the
    room and do not see a video of yourself simply click the allow video button in the bottom left corner of the screen.

  4. If you are unfamiliar with Zoom I would suggest going to the website and trying to set-up your account or familiarize yourself with the website prior to the meeting if you have time. If you have any questions or need any assistance please don’t hesitate to contact me and I will do my best
    to assist you. The meeting will last a maximum of 40 minutes.

Devotion (3/31) Taking some time off...

So my Dad, who lives with us now, gets up early. Last Friday morning he came downstairs at 6am and thought I was dead. Why? Because I had fallen asleep in my chair at the dining room table where my computer sits. I don’t remember when I fell asleep, there was just a half typed document that made little sense on my computer and I don’t even really remember working on it, him waking me, getting up, and getting in bed. I remember my son coming into my room around 9:00am to tell me he had finished his homework and asking if he could play video games and mumbling, “sure”, and I remember finally dragging myself out of bed around 11 or 11:30 maybe. Somewhere in there I think I answered a call or two and responded to some text messages. I really don’t know. It’s all a blur.

When I finally reheated some coffee still in the pot and started to get my wits back about me I realized - “this is insane, I can’t keep doing this”. This constant stream of news, the constant contact, the doing whatever we can while being able to do so little, the fear and uncertainty of it all, the daily chores of life that still abound but needing to find new ways to accomplish them all...how do we keep up?

And then there is the guilt. I am not a healthcare worker, I don’t work at a nursing home like my brother and care for those at greatest risk. I’m not interacting with hundreds of people a day at the grocery store or the WaWa, or in a delivery fulfillment factory. I am not out of work and I am not fearful of how to provide for my family at the moment. What do I have to complain about? Nothing. I have nothing to complain about.

My brother on the other hand works his butt off at a retirement community kitchen each and every week. He works hard, really hard in normal times. In this time, his schedule is all messed up. Everything is up in the air. He arrives and has his temperature checked and he’s asked about possible symptoms. Then he goes to work. The next day he repeats it all again to help feed people who need the help.

I thought about all this and that is when I had a bit of a realization. We are all doing the best we can in this time and all of our lives are different with varying demands. There are only two things we can ask of ourselves in this time: (1) do the best we can and (2) know our limits. Beyond that, we lean on God cause, well, duh.

We are promised in faith that we are not alone in anything, that God is with us in all things, that even in the darkest of times we are held in God’s love and care. As we do the best we can, God is with us. When we are fearful and uncertain, God is with us. When we are on the frontlines of this crisis, God is with us. And yes, when we’ve reached our limit and break God is there too. (I’d be happy to give you scripture references - please feel free to email but make sure you read up first cause that’s basically the whole Bible).

So I’m going to try and understand my limits and I’m going to have a little trust as well. I’m going to trust that my friends and neighbors care for me as much as I care for them. I’m going to trust that the people who are working so hard now must be cared for and respected and that I am a part of that. I’m going to trust that I can be a part of helping those who are struggling. I’m going to trust that I, and all of us, will keep sharing the life, love, and joy of Jesus Christ (from a distance). I’m going to trust that God is with me, and all of us, in all of this mess.

My brother has the weekends and evenings off. I used to give him a hard time about not getting groceries or not helping to clean around the house and instead just watching some show from the 80’s or a comic book movie again. I don’t do that anymore. He needs his rest. He needs his time.  He’s working for people in the midst of all of this and if he needs some time to watch Spider-Man for the 300th time then so be it. He’s earned it (and good Lord that’s a huge understatement - on both how often he rewatches movies and his need and earning of a break).

I’m going to take a day off too. From the news, from worrying so much (but keep worrying some and take this seriously!!!!), from going anywhere beyond the door (ok, that one I’ve been taking a few days off from but way less than usual!), from the computer, from the internet, from everything. I’m going to take a day off and trust in myself to do the right thing during this time. I’m going to trust in my neighbors to do what is necessary and what is right for us all, and I’m going to trust in God to be with each and every one of us in all this - I hope you do the same.

Share the life, love, and joy of Jesus Christ by loving and serving your neighbors, by being responsible, by taking care of yourself, and by trusting that God is with you in it all. And then, take a break for a minute or two, you’ve earned it.

Your fellow servant in Christ,

Pastor Suloff

Discussion Groups on Zoom! TODAY(3/31) at 12:30 and 7:30

We will be holding two online discussion groups today, Tuesday, March 31 at 12:30pm and 7:30pm to provide a place for members of our community to discuss all that is going on, how we are doing as individuals and families, how our faith can speak to us in such a time, and for prayer. If you would like to join us for the discussion group it is easy by following these simple steps:

  1. Go to zoom.us and either create a free account or simply click “Join A Meeting”. If you choose to create an account simply click on “Join A Meeting” after completed the setup process.

  2. To join the meeting enter the meeting code:

    12:30pm meeting: 927-796-150

    7:30pm meeting: 801-369-072

  3. If you log-in prior to either meeting you will be placed in the “waiting room” until the meeting start time. Once the meeting begins you will enter the “meeting room” screen and be able to see and hear other participants. You can choose to do audio only if you like. If you enter the
    room and do not see a video of yourself simply click the allow video button in the bottom left corner of the screen.

  4. If you are unfamiliar with Zoom I would suggest going to the website and trying to set-up your account or familiarize yourself with the website prior to the meeting if you have time. If you have any questions or need any assistance please don’t hesitate to contact me and I will do my best
    to assist you. The meeting will last a maximum of 40 minutes.

Happy Saturday St. Peter's!

Happy Saturday St. Peter’s!

Sorry that this post didn’t come out on Friday as usual! We are continuing on in a new way at the church and there are a number of things to cover – be sure to check the end of this email for Sunday’s worship bulletin, the updated Prayer List, and a tutorial on how to watch the service live…. So with all that, let’s get right to it…

1.    Online Worship: We will be streaming our worship online once again on Facebook Live at 10am this Sunday and then placing a link to the service recording on the church website later in the day – we
hope that you’ll join us for this new way to worship! We are not trying to advertise for Facebook but have found this is the easiest way for us to reach a large group of people for worship on Sunday mornings – if you are not on Facebook and need some help creating an account, if you’re having trouble finding the live stream, or have any other problems please don’t hesitate to contact me and I’ll be happy to help. The worship bulletin for Sunday can also be viewed by clicking RIGHT HERE and is also attached to the end of this email. Finally, if you have friends who are not “online” much please reach out to them and offer help so that they can join our worship services and don’t forget to invite all your friends!

2. Need help viewing our live events? Are you having trouble viewing our worship services in real time on FaceBook Live or having trouble joining our Facebook Live chats? Never fear, thanks to Chrissy Waldron we have a handy tutorial here to help you easily access both our live events and, if you need, get on Facebook. Thanks Chrissy! You can find the tutorial RIGHT HERE.

3.  Open Discussion Groups: We will be hosting open discussion groups again this week on Tuesday at 12:30pm and 7:30pm on Zoom (zoom.us). Zoom is a relatively easy and free website to host online
meetings and discussions and there are more detailed instructions on how to join one of our discussion groups on the church website and we will re-post that information prior to the meetings on Tuesday. If you have any questions about our discussion groups or have any trouble accessing them please contact me. Thanks to everyone who joined us last Tuesday!

4. Facebook Live Chat – Ask The Pastor Anything!: On Thursday I will once again be hosting a live chat on Facebook Live to “Ask the Pastor Anything!” at 7:30pm. During this time I will field as many questions as I can and if I don’t have the answer to your question I’ll work on finding it and sharing it the following week. Thanks to everyone who joined us last Thursday!

5. Online Giving and Offering: During this time we know that many are struggling and we certainly understand that but if you are able to continue with your offering please either mail your offering envelopes to the church or consider using our ONLINE GIVING option on the website – it is a quick and easy way to share your gifts with the congregation.

6.  SCRIP and Caring for the Community: As said, we know that many are struggling or will be struggling. SCRIP is a great way to support the church and help your neighbors at the same time – one of the best ways that we can help our community right now is by donating gift cards from Weis or Giant to the church so that we can distribute them to folks in needs either within our community or through the Colonial Neighborhood Council and other Social Ministry organizations. SCRIP is easy! You can increase what you give to the church by buying these cards for your daily expenses and help out your neighbors by donating cards. Groceries, gas, Home Depot, Target, Ace Hardware Stores, Amazon purchases, etc.  To place orders for Scrip online go to www.ShopWithScrip.com and click “Join A Program.” Our Enrollment Code is:   DDA6EF5815851.  Our Organization is: St. Peter’s Lutheran Church. Our Coordinator is: Jane Stettler, (610) 316-3350, jstettler@krautharris.com. If you order cards for either personal use or donate we will be in touch with you to coordinate a safe way for you to pick up your cards.

7. First Communion: During these times we obviously need to postpone many things – one of those is the First Communion Workshop that was scheduled for this weekend and receiving First Communion on
Maundy Thursday. As soon as we are able to return to somewhat normal activities here at the church we will work with each family who has a child who would like to receive their First Communion to reschedule the workshop, or workshops, and arrange a date that works well for families to celebrate First Communion.

8. Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter: As of this time it appears that we will be worshipping online for Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter for the safety of our church community and the larger community. An updated Holy Week Schedule will be shared via email and on the church website this week.

9. Elastic Needed: There are volunteers throughout the community who are working to make masks during
this time for various places that need them but elastic is in short supply – if you have new elastic in your sewing box that you can donate to help this cause please contact Pastor Suloff directly at revsuloff@gmail.com.

10. Church Office: Our church office will continue to function but it will obviously look a little different for the time being as we are all going to be working remotely whenever it is possible. We will be going to the church periodically to check the mail, take care of administrative tasks that must be handled in the building, and update records. Carla is working on changing the church voicemail and will be checking messages frequently and we are also working on having calls forwarded from the church phone to my cell phone. If you have a need during this time please do not hesitate to contact me directly on my cell phone or by email.

11. Check-ins: We ask all the people of St. Peter’s to check in with one another during this time – if you have time please call or email your friends and neighbors, the person who always sits in front on you at church, or someone whose name just pops into your head. If you are aware of any needs within our community please let me know directly. During this difficult time it is of the utmost importance that we communicate with one
another and take care of one another as best we can.

12. Website: We will be using the church website (www.stpeterslafayettehill.org) and our Facebook page as our primary means of daily communication for the foreseeable future – please check the website frequently and please share information with others in the community and beyond.

13. Ideas: This is a new and different time for all of us – our church, community, nation, and world all must learn to do things differently – if you have any ideas for how we might better share the life, love, and joy of Jesus Christ please let me know!

14. Prayer: Look, we all feel kind of helpless right now and it is difficult – we can, and should, be socially distant during this difficult time. We can also pray because, quite frankly, that is what we do. Our prayer list is attached to the end of this email and I would encourage you all to find a bit of time each day to pray – for our families, our communities, our doctors, our nurses, all those who serve the world during this time, and for our world. We may be separated by distance but we can be united in prayer.

Well that covers everything for now St. Peter’s so we hope that you are staying safe and taking care of yourselves and one another – join us for worship and our other online activities, don’t forget to check the
website frequently, support our ministries at St. Peter’s and help your neighbors if you are able, pray without ceasing, and as always keep sharing the life, love, and joy of Jesus Christ with all!

Your fellow servant in Christ,

Pastor Suloff

SUNDAY WORSHIP BULLETIN

FACEBOOK LIVE and FACEBOOK TUTORIAL

PRAYER LIST

What about Easter?

Look, I’m going to make this simple and straightforward – we
all want life to be back to normal but that is not the case at the moment. Life
is not simple, and it is not straightforward, we are a people together in something
new that none of us know how to go through. This is hard for all of us. This is
hard for the world.

As of right now, all our Holy Week services and Easter
services will be held online and all church activities will continue remotely.
This is the best way that we can help the community and serve our community –
we stay in our homes and we learn new ways to be a community that shares the life,
love, and joy of Jesus Christ with all.

This is not a political statement by any means, and we keep
politics out of church. This is a statement about our safety and how we, as
children of God, can best love and serve our neighbors and best be the people
of God.

We remain in a new state of the Church. Yes, things are
different now for all of us. Yes, we all want life to return to “normal”. No,
we cannot do that right now. We are called, as the people of God to love and
serve our neighbors and the best way that we can do that is by staying away in
person and gathering safely through new methods.

This is a new day for the world, for our community, and for
our church – our lives, our routines, all that we know as “normal” is upended –
so be it. Together we will persevere, together we will be a community, together
we will share the life, love, and joy of Jesus Christ with all in new and
different ways.

Together we protect our community and our world – even if that
means our Easter celebrations occur in our living rooms while wearing our pajamas.
Together we give thanks to God, sometimes in new and different ways. Together
we love and serve our neighbors. Together we can do all things with our Lord,
even all of this.

“I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to
have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being
well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do
all things through him who strengthens me.”

Philippians 4:12-13

Your fellow servant in Christ,

Pastor Suloff















Devotion - 3/25

During our Council Check-in meeting this week one of the ideas that was shared is for Council and members of the congregation to share their thoughts, devotions, and prayers with the congregation during this time and so here is our first submission courtesy of Stephanie Freidly.

I recently moved to a new house this past fall. Over the
past couple months I’ve met a few neighbors here and there. There’s a neighbor
a few doors down from mine that is a family with three children about the same
ages as Natalie and Luke. We’ve met one or two times but our schedules have made
it difficult to get together and get to know each other.

This past week, that all changed. After a day of sitting at
my desk with my work computer at home, I went outside with Natalie and Luke and
found a bunch our neighbors sitting in lawn chairs (6 feet apart of course)
chatting, having a good time with kids riding bikes and coloring with side-walk
chalk. They invited us over right away. So Natalie grabbed her tricycle, Luke
grabbed some “colors” (what he calls sidewalk chalk) and I grabbed my folding
chair and we joined our neighbors. We talked about which grocery stores had
what in stock, what we were doing for our jobs or if we still have a job, we
joked about video conferences and just adjusting to this new normal of life
right now – there was such a great feeling of community!

Since then, every time I go outside, if I see the girls a
few doors down from me, they ask if Natalie and Luke can come out and play.
When I was out weeding my garden over the weekend, they got their little
gardening sets and came and helped me weed! They stopped by my house on Sunday
with their mom just to check in and see if I needed anything. Their mom and I
are planning playdate adventures for when things are open again (we’re also
planning ladies nights for ourselves!)

In these uncertain times, it’s important to have good
friends and neighbors both near and far. It’s important to check in with one
another and make sure we’re all ok. Most of all, it’s important to remember
Jesus is our most faithful friend who will always be with us through whatever
we’re facing. We’ll all get through this together! Our St. Peter’s council is
planning to reach out to everyone in our congregation to check in and see if
there is anything we can do for you. I encourage you all to reach out to a
neighbor or friend, near or far and just see how they’re doing, see if there is
anything you can do for them and let them know you care about them and are
thinking about them!

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I
have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

John 15:15

   -Stephanie Freidly



Join in the Lord's Prayer at noon today!

An invitation to prayer from the bishop of the ELCA:

Dear Church,

The Evangelical Lutheran Church America, as part of the body of Christ, is united with other Christians in our communities, in our country and around the world. This unity takes many forms, including prayer.

I am writing to extend an invitation we have received from Pope Francis, through the Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches, to join in the Lord's Prayer tomorrow, March 25, at noon your local time. Please share this invitation through your synods, congregations, ecumenical communities and individual networks.

During the global pandemic of COVID-19, the church can and should give witness to our unity in Christ and express our deep concern for God's creation. Despite social distancing, through prayer we are able to enter together into the presence of Christ and the communion of believers. By praying the prayer that Christ taught us, we are united with followers of Jesus in every time and in every place. When the church gathers in this way, we can be assured that Christ, our eternal hope, is present in the midst of suffering.

In Christ,

The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton

Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

SPY (St. Peter's Youth) Chat!

Calling all St. Peter’s Youth! Join us on Zoom on Wednesday, March 25 at 7:30pm for a chat and check-in - if you need any help using Zoom or have any questions please contact Pastor Suloff.

  1. Go to zoom.us and either create a free account or simply click “Join A Meeting”. If you choose to create an account simply click on “Join A Meeting” after completed the setup process.

  2. To join the meeting enter the meeting code:

    7:30pm meeting: 102-303-035

  3. If you log-in prior to either meeting you will be placed in the “waiting room” until the meeting start time. Once the meeting begins you will enter the “meeting room” screen and be able to see and hear other participants. You can choose to do audio only if you like. If you enter the
    room and do not see a video of yourself simply click the allow video button in the bottom left corner of the screen.

  4. If you are unfamiliar with Zoom I would suggest going to the website and trying to set-up your account or familiarize yourself with the website prior to the meeting if you have time. If you have any questions or need any assistance please don’t hesitate to contact me and I will do my best
    to assist you. The meeting will last a maximum of 40 minutes.

Open Discussion Groups TODAY (3/24 at 12:30pm and 7:30pm)

We will be holding two online discussion groups today, Tuesday, March 24 at 12:30pm and 7:30pm to provide a place for members of our community to discuss all that is going on, how we are doing as individuals and families, how our faith can speak to us in such a time, and for prayer. If you would like to join us for the discussion group it is easy by following these simple steps:

  1. Go to zoom.us and either create a free account or simply click “Join A Meeting”. If you choose to create an account simply click on “Join A Meeting” after completed the setup process.

  2. To join the meeting enter the meeting code:

    12:30pm meeting: 466-151-223

    7:30pm meeting: 460-349-913

  3. If you log-in prior to either meeting you will be placed in the “waiting room” until the meeting start time. Once the meeting begins you will enter the “meeting room” screen and be able to see and hear other participants. You can choose to do audio only if you like. If you enter the
    room and do not see a video of yourself simply click the allow video button in the bottom left corner of the screen.

  4. If you are unfamiliar with Zoom I would suggest going to the website and trying to set-up your account or familiarize yourself with the website prior to the meeting if you have time. If you have any questions or need any assistance please don’t hesitate to contact me and I will do my best
    to assist you. The meeting will last a maximum of 40 minutes.

Devotion for March 21

I stopped at WaWa today on my way home from taking my son to
his mother’s house last night – yes, I know, social distancing and everything and
I take it seriously, but I needed to pick up two things. Anyway, I was standing
at the counter and I started talking with the guy working there – I just asked
him how he was doing and he simply said “doing the best we can, that’s all you
can do”. The guy sounded really tired. I said, “I hear you, this is tough man,
but I really appreciate what you do”, and he said “thanks, it’s tough but we’ll
get through it all eventually”. He’s right, we will.

You can find inspiration in all kinds of places and in all
kinds of people. We pay tons of attention and heap tons of praise on sports
figures, movie stars, and tv stars. We admire the famous and those who seem “larger
than life”. I find inspiration these days in the people who are doing their
jobs, in the midst of this dangerous time, and serving the community. The
caregivers, the doctors, nurses, orderlies, and everyone who works in health
care. The first responders, the police, the firefighters, the EMT’s. The grocery
store workers and clerks. The nursing home and retirement community workers
providing meals and cleaning. There are so many people that, on a normal day,
we might pay no mind to but who provide so much to our daily lives, to our
communities – they are an inspiration, they are heroes, they are gifts from
God.

To all those who are helping, serving, risking their health
to help keep life going – THANK YOU. You are an inspiration. You are a gift
from God. You are a hero. Thank you for what you do, thank you for who you are,
thank you. We are one body with many members – to those members that are so
often overlooked or taken for granted – thank you, we would not be whole
without you.

Let us pray. Gracious God we give you thanks for all those
who are working now, providing needed services for our communities, helping
those in need. We lift before you all those who are unable to work during this
crisis and we ask that you inspire our people to remain safe so that this virus
might stop spreading and we ask that you inspire our leaders to do everything
in their ability to support those in need. This is a difficult time dear Lord
and we simply ask you to be there for us all – through those who give all they
can to sustain our community, to all those in need, and to everyone in between.
Amen.











Happy Friday St. Peter's!

Yes, it seems strange to say “happy Friday” in light of everything that is going on in the world but we rejoice in the love and grace of God and in that we can be happy even in these difficult days. With that being said, let’s get to it…

1.     Online Worship: We will be streaming our worship online once again on Facebook Live at 10am this Sunday and then placing a link to the service recording on the church website later in the day – we hope that you’ll join us for this new way to worship! We are not trying to advertise for Facebook but have found this is the easiest way for us to reach a large group of people for worship on Sunday mornings – if you are not on Facebook and need some help creating an account, if you’re having trouble finding the live stream, or have any other problems please don’t hesitate to contact me and I’ll be happy to help. The worship bulletin for Sunday can also be viewed by clicking RIGHT HERE and is also attached to the end of this email. Finally, if you have friends who are not “online” much please reach out to them and offer help so that they can join our worship services and don’t forget to invite all your friends!

2.     Open Discussion Groups: We will be hosting open discussion groups this week on Tuesday at 12:30pm and 7:30pm on Zoom (zoom.us). Zoom is a relatively easy and free website to host online meetings and discussions and there are more detailed instructions on how to join one of our discussion groups on the church website and we will re-post that information prior to the meetings on Tuesday. If you have any questions about our discussion groups or have any trouble accessing them please contact me.

3.     Facebook Live Chat – Ask The Pastor Anything!: On Thursday I will be hosting a live chat on Facebook Live to “Ask the Pastor Anything!” at 7:30pm. During this time I will field as many questions as I can and if I don’t have the answer to your question I’ll work on finding it and sharing it the following week.

4.     Online Giving and Offering: During this time we know that many are struggling and we certainly understand that but if you are able to continue with your offering please either mail your offering envelopes to the church or consider using our SUPPORT OUR MINISTRIES option on the website for online giving – it is a quick and easy way to share your gifts with the congregation.

5.     SCRIP and Caring for the Community: As said, we know that many are struggling or will be struggling. SCRIP is a great way to support the church and help your neighbors at the same time – one of the best ways that we can help our community right now is by donating gift cards from Weis or Giant to the church so that we can distribute them to folks in needs either within our community or through the Colonial Neighborhood Council and other Social Ministry organizations. SCRIP is easy! You can increase what you give to the church by buying these cards for your daily expenses and help out your neighbors by donating cards. Groceries, gas, Home Depot, Target, Ace Hardware Stores, Amazon purchases, etc. To place orders for Scrip online go to www.ShopWithScrip.com and click “Join A Program.” Our Enrollment Code is:  DDA6EF5815851. Our Organization is: St. Peter’s Lutheran Church. Our Coordinator is: Jane Stettler, jstettler@krautharris.com. If you order cards for either personal use or donate we will be in touch with you to coordinate a safe way for you to pick up your cards.

6.     Church Office: Our church office will continue to function but it will obviously look a little different for the time being as we are all going to be working remotely whenever it is possible. We will be going to the church periodically to check the mail, take care of administrative tasks that must be handled in the building, and update records. Carla is working on changing the church voicemail and will be checking messages frequently and we are also working on having calls forwarded from the church phone to my cell phone. If you have a need during this time please do not hesitate to contact me directly on my cell phone or by email.

7.     Check-ins: We ask all the people of St. Peter’s to check in with one another during this time – if you have time please call or email your friends and neighbors, the person who always sits in front on you at church, or someone whose name just pops into your head. If you are aware of any needs within our community please let me know directly. During this difficult time it is of the utmost importance that we communicate with one another and take care of one another as best we can.

8.     Website: We will be using the church website (www.stpeterslafayettehill.org) and our Facebook page as our primary means of daily communication for the foreseeable future – please check the website frequently and please share information with others in the community and beyond.

9.     Ideas: This is a new and different time for all of us – our church, community, nation, and world all must learn to do things differently – if you have any ideas for how we might better share the life, love, and joy of Jesus Christ please let me know!

Well that covers everything for now St. Peter’s so we hope that you are staying safe and taking care of yourselves and one another – join us for worship and our other online activities, don’t forget to check the website frequently, support our ministries at St. Peter’s and help your neighbors if you are able, pray without ceasing, and as always keep sharing the life, love, and joy of Jesus Christ with all!

Your fellow servant in Christ,

                            Pastor Suloff

WORSHIP BULLETIN - MARCH 22

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