Peace Talk570-343-9828 www.yourpeace.orgPeace Lutheran Church

THE LUTHERAN ACADEMY: On June 14th The Lutheran Academy presented their year end program of music and awards to a very blessed crowd of friends and family. Recorder ensembles, violins, flutes, piano, and a beautiful collection of songs and bible readings were shared. DVDs of the proceedings have been produced and are available upon request. Audrey Russell provided a beautiful cake for everyone to enjoy afterward with all the great fellowship. You can hear the bell choir play "For the Beauty of the Earth" on the church website as well! All the kids were just terrific and it was a great way to wind up the school year!

Heavenly Music Makes its Mark!Concerts by the Academy and Summit Choir

An Apostol ic Mission Congregation of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod

JULY 2012

SUMMIT TOURING CHOIRTHANK YOU to all those who hosted all the 46 youth singers and chaperones of the Summit Youth Touring Choir from Akron, Ohio! They arrived on Friday afternoon, June 22nd, practiced for an hour before eating dinner (thank you also Monica Bjornstad and Kim and Mark Koenig and Arlene Jones and Judy Herie for helping serve them all!) and presenting an absolutely STELLAR concert of sacred music. Then all the hosts took them home for the night. All them were THRILLED with hosting these very beautiful young people who LOVED to sing! Below is what it looked like as they tried to get all their luggage to the church!!!!!

The Lord will save me,and we will play my music on stringed instrumentsall the days of our lives,at the house of the Lord. - Isaiah 38:20

THE LUTHERAN ACADEMY AND IMMANUEL PRESCHOOL NEWS!!!

ACADEMY NEWS:JUNE 15TH saw the last day of the 5th Academic year of The Lutheran Academy! The Lord did mightily bless us! The Board of Directors met and we need your prayers as we work to fill the role of Mr. Roger Borchin (who deserves a REAL retirement) as our Directing Principal. The Board has initiated some steps to seek that special individual who will be God's further miracle for the years ahead!Most of our students will be back next year and we have a couple new students coming so far, but we need your help to be excited about our school and spread the word about what we have to offer Christian families in our community! We have a goal of 15 students!

Emily, Marja and Tony, all alumni of TLA who came to enjoy the Year End Program!

Angelique receiving the "Apple of His Eye" award from her teacher Mrs. Lori Mandile! Congratulations to ALL our students!

The Academy traveled to Eckley Miner Village for their year end field trip! The church van was GREAT transportation and Ky Betts drove!

DISCOVERY CAMP AT IMMANUEL IS JUST GETTING STARTED!

YOU CAN STILL INVITE YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS TO JOIN IN!

AGES 4-10! $225/MONTH!

A GREAT WAY TO INTRODUCE WHAT WE HAVE IN LUTHERAN EDUCATION.

CHECK OUT THE NEW ACADEMY WEBSITE!www.thelutheranacademyscranton.org and www.leccs.org

You will notice that the Immanuel Preschool and The Academy are trying to work together more and more!

We are presenting ourselves as:

Lutheran Elementary Childhood Center, Scranton

Our offering to the community is substantial! Together we offer:

Before and After School care (from 7am - 6pm)

Preschool and Kindergarten

Elementary grades 1-6

Summer Discovery Camp

Share thenews!

We thank TOM AND ARLENE JONES for deciding our front lawn could be lots prettier! They came one day and all those thousands of folks who drive by on Main Ave. give praise to God! Thank you so much!

PASTOR BJORNSTAD had a great time at the LWML Eastern District Convention in Lancaster along with Erika Bjornstad as they teamed up to be the official photographers! It was truly a joy have fellowship with such a fun group of sisters in Christ and to meet the entertainer for the convention, Don Wharton, who's songs were very important in his youth MANY years ago! :) He shared the miraculous story of how his airplane crashed into the Bearing Sea off the coast of Alaska and he and his fellow passengers were saved! Thank you to Chuck Mercer for leading the worship service back here at Peace in Pastor's absence.

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YOUTH NEWS:JULY 22ND YOUTH LOCK IN IS SCHEDULED AT ST. MATTHEW'S LUTHERAN CHURCH IN WILKES BARRE! We need kids signed up and a chaperone or two because pastor Bjornstad is going out of town! There will be a "Christmas in July" theme with Ice Skating at an indoor rink!

PEACE NEWS AND NOTESKIANA SAUTER and NICOLE CALPIN are going to Camp Pioneer's Confirmation Camp at the end of July! Horray! They will get to hang out with Erika Bjornstad who is back at Camp Pioneer for the summer as a camp counselor!

TIMMY HACKENBERG has received his life guard certificate and is now employed at Snow Cove! Congrats!

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Adam and Tonya Evans were married June 10th! Praise the Lord for all His goodness, and we pray for them and for all our families!

BUSY BEE WORKERS this month include Jim Calpin who has been working on renovating the guest room in the parsonage basement AND putting in MANY hours helping Audrey Russell as she makes her way back to health! Jerry Cornog has been dealing with many issues at the church including new electrical problems and cleaning and painting the wrought iron. Elsie Schweitzer gets the gold star award as she has to deal with a pastor who doesn't always print enough bulletins and newsletters that she sends to folks who don't make it to church! Parish Nurse Susan Crosbie led a team of caregivers to see Anita Holzman and share the love of Christ with her! Also KEVIN WOOLVERTON who attended the District Convention June 15-16!

JUDY AND DALE NEWHART are hard at work restoring a condemned house on the Plot and making our neighborhood better! Thanks so much!

SHARON ALEXANDER has found out it is harder to be retired than to be working - so she is BACK on the job!

We pray for BEVERLY GEDRIMAS and family as her cousin Lois Yobs passed away. We praise God that although she had many difficulties in life at the end she was led by God's Spirit to know Christ as her Savior. Pastor Bjornstad will conduct a graveside service on July 7th at 8am (Easter Sunrise Service!)

THE BJORNSTAD FAMILY will be out of town on vacation from July 11-24th in MN to visit with family. We thank the Elders of the congregation for leading the worship. If there is an emergency pastoral need, please call Pastor on his cell at 570-815-0917 and he will contact an available pastor locally present!

DAWN SILVI is volunteering at the Scranton Rescue Mission helping the homeless and those in need! PRAISE THE LORD! She is a blessing to many!

CHRIS AND LAURA JONES have just moved back to NEPA after a year in VA. Welcome home!!!!!

PLEASE PRAY FOR THESE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE:Tina Goble (struggling with cancer); Audrey Russell who is housebound still, waiting for God's healing.Kevin Winters (former organist)Our Shut in's: Edith and Elwood Korban and Trudy MaKowskie

WORSHIP AND SPIRITUAL LIFEat Peace Lutheran ChurchSUMMER WORSHIP IS AT 9:30 AM ON SUNDAY MORNINGS!

Featuring:Praise songs beginning at 9:20 (come a bit early!)Holy Communion every Sunday!

PLEASE CALL OR SPEAK WITH PASTOR BJORNSTAD ABOUT HOME BIBLE STUDYS! It would be awesome if we could get something going this summer on a weekly basis during the week. Let's find a time!

IN JULY WE WILL CONTINUE FOCUSING IN ON OUR YEAR'S THEME: THE BIBLE!

WORSHIP THEMES YET THIS SUMMER:July 1: The Holy Scripture: It's Nature as "God's Word"

July 8:  The Holy Scripture: It's Nature as "Inerrant" and Trustworthy

July 29: The Holy Scripture: How it Came to Be

August 5:  The Holy Scripture: It's Center in Christ

August 12: The Holy Scripture: Law and Gospel

August 19: The Holy Scripture: Wisdom for Life

August 26: The Holy Scripture: Adding To and Taking Away

September 2: The Holy Scripture: The Sword of The Spirit

GOD'S WORD IS LIFE! LET'S LOOK FORWARD

TO READING IT THROUGH BEGINNING

IN SEPTEMBER!!

GOD'S WORD IS LIVING AND ACTIVE!

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

JULY 30 - AUGUST 3!5:30 - 8:00 PM

WE STILL NEED:+ PRESCHOOL TEACHER+ A SECOND GAMES HELPER+ REGISTRATION HELPERS+ DECORATIONS GURU!

DECORATION MATERIALS NEEDED:+ small plastic swimming pool for a

sandbox standin…+ Old large drapes to make desert

tents out of and Oriental rugs...

PASTOR BJORNSTAD in his craziness thinks that it would be kind of cool to invite the VBS families down to Knobles on Saturday August 4th. Let him know if you would like to fill the church van on that day and crash our organist's summer party at Knobles (Jill Trapane works at Knobles in the summer!). If there is another day that is better, let him know when that would be!

TALK WITH JIM CALPIN when you would like to go camping for a night or two this summer as a group!

Thrivent Chapter PICNIC!!!!

Annual Thrivent PicnicSunday, July 15, 20121PM - 4PMNay Aug Park, 1901 Mulberry St. Scranton PASwimming pool pavilion, Handicap accessibleContact: Cheryl Vomhof570-604-5802 -RSVP by 7-10 for picnic and pool

Roasted or fried chicken, various side dishes, drinks and dessert are provided by the local chapter. Bring non-perishable food items to donate to local food pantries; FREE swimming passes available. Don't forget your family and friends. RSVP please by July 10th.

ASSOCIATION OF LUTHERAN FRIENDS EVENTS:ONE LAST CHANCE! YOU ARE INVITED TO COME WITH US TO BALTIMORE for our special annual "Mission Venture" to explore everything Lutheran World Relief! We will leave Thursday July 5 and come back Friday July 6th! It cost $80 for adults and $40 for youth! Speak with Pastor if you have questions and to COME! Great for the whole family!

RANSOM VALLEY LUTHERAN CHURCH:July 15th, 3:30pm Worship service led by Pastor Bode (of Grace Lutheran Church, Hop Bottom)August 12, 3:30pm - Family Day with Pastor Bjornstad leading a worship and Audrey bringing the big PICNIC! Lots of singing, fellowship, and FUN!

EASTERN DISTRICT CONVENTION REFLECTIONS, by Kevin Woolverton, church council president.

On June 15-16 I along with Pastor attended the Eastern District Convention in Buffalo, NY. The Convention theme was "Chosen" based upon I Peter 2:9, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light" Some of us are "Chosen" for even more specific things. Some may be Chosen to be part of a team. Some may be Chosen to be part of a Project. God chose me in Christ. Not because of my race -- or for any other qualification -- God chose me. Who am I? I am chosen. I don't know why. It was nothing in me of value above any other humans. I didn't earn it or merit it, or meet any conditions to get it. It happened before I was born. I stand in awe of it. I met many people from different churches. Some I havern't seen in years. I learned a great deal in a short period of time. Some key notes from the Convention were: Rev. Chris Wicher was elected to a 2nd term as District President. The result of the passing of Resolution 1-02, "The Encourage the Re-imagining of Small Congregation Ministries" will be the formation of an Eastern District LCMS Board of Directors "Small Congregation Task Force" to assist congregations seek opportunities to "reinvent" themselves to further the growth of the Kingdom of God in their communities.

The resolution "Breaking New Ground for the Mission of Christ" encouraged our congregations to make disciple-making a top priority, to support and participate in local and regional mission initiatives and commended district leadership to challenge congregations to "Break New Ground" through establishing new mission and ministry starts, training and developing lay leaders, forming clusters of congregations the will work together as we move into the future that God has prepared for us. And finally

Delegates also voted on what we see as the most important issues facing our Eastern District Mission and Ministry. These emphases are going to be forwarded to Synod through the Eastern District Board of Directors as a memorial to the 2013 Synod Convention at St. Louis. The following were voted the top three in this ranking order:1. Small Church Ministry Support and Material2. Men's Ministry Encouragement and Resources3. Evangelism Training Kevin Woolverton, Church Council President

PASTOR BJORNSTAD'S BLOG POST ON NATIONAL HEALTH CARE: (see more at www.yourpeace.org)So the news has broken and the President’s Health Care Mandate’s constitutionality is upheld. Personally, I am not against the idea of national health care coverage legislation. I would be thrilled if something were to be worked out to make it happen here in this country. I spent 10 years in Canada and came away quite impressed with how it all worked there. Of course the reality is that the United States is quite a bit bigger and more difficult beast to tame than Canada when it comes to implementing a national health care system. I have no idea what the best answer for health care is in this country, but these are some concerns of mine:

1. My biggest concern is that health care is coming to be understood as a “right” – instead of a privilege. Health care has good aims. I have good Christian reason to think highly of it. We know doctors and nurses are the Godly facilitators of our health and healing. This is all wonderful and fabulous. However – health care is most assuredly a GIFT of God and not something that we should ever assume is our “right” as a citizen of this country (and it certainly isn’t in our constitution!) Unfortunately our only “right” as humans is sickness and death (the wages of sin!) If we begin to assume health care is a right then we run the danger of taking it for granted and misusing it. And of course, ultimately, striving toward good health proves to be a flailing after the wind as we all do die at one point or another! Sometimes I think that our striving for all the latest health care is worshipping a false god – a blatant attempt at being our own savior and an obvious fleeing from death and God.

2. Of course one important issue that has yet to be resolved is the issue that the president of the LCMS, Rev. Matthew Harrison, and the leaders of many other religious bodies, are concerned about… and that has to do with the rules presently set to take effect that state that health care providers (including those run by churches and privately held businesses) must pay for abortion coverage and birth control – including those medications which induce abortions. This is most certainly an infringement on our religious freedom if we do not have the option to opt out of those requirements.

3. The final concern that I have (that I am spending time dealing with presently, anyway!) is that this is going to be far more expensive than we realize. Am I personally going to be prepared to be a lot poorer because of it? Yes! I am going to try to be, anyway. But I don’t think most people are. In this country we want everything for nothing! “Yes! Yes! Let’s have health care!” we all love to say. “It is a good thing! (But you had better NOT raise my taxes! I REALLY want that fancy new car!)" But then the real bill will come when we can’t borrow any more money and the government is broke. THEN we will be crying!Let’s pray for our country in these difficult times!

For God SO loved the world… that he GAVE his only begotten son!