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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.
The good Lord didn't create
anything without a purpose,
but mosquitoes come close.
SC
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Liz
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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