Prince of Peace E-Newsletter: October 2024

Welcome to the Prince of Peace Monthly Newsletter. This newsletter is designed to keep you up to date on all that is going on here at Prince of Peace. If you ever have something you would like included in our next E-News, please contact Karina Higareda

Visit our website

Listen to our Sermons

Church Calendar

We are in this together. Council has been praying and planning and discerning the needs of the congregation for weeks, working tirelessly to keep moving forward and making sure the needs of the congregation are met. We have interviews set up for an interim pastor and we will work through this process in short order. We ask you to keep praying and participating in the extraordinary work and mission of POP. As we move forward, we want to keep hearing from you, what are your visions for POP? The conversations at the town hall meeting were great starters and we want to continue hearing what is most important to members as we walk through these transitions together. There are a lot of moving parts we are working on, and we will share details and plans as we move forward through each step. Please continue to reach out to council members; find us on Sundays, leave us a note or send an email with questions. Blessings,POP CouncilHere is the most recent financial report. If you have questions please contact Rachel Henderson. As the leadership of this congregation, we are asking you to prayerfully consider how you can contribute to the present and future needs of this community. Our goal this stewardship season is to raise $30,000 for our immediate/building needs, and for every household to make a 10-15% increase in their giving for the sake of our future. This is a big goal, but we know our community can step up when it matters, and this is that time.To give a one time gift, enroll in online giving or update your current giving, logon to ENGAGE, our online giving platform.OCTOBER CALENDAR Wednesday, October 2ndBible Study @ 2pm Sunday, October 13thHwy 81 Clean Up @ 10:30am Wednesday, October 23rdFarewell Gathering for Pr. Natalia @ 6pm Saturday, October 26thTrunk-or-Treat @ 10am

Highway Clean Up – Sunday, October 13thCome and join us after worship and help us clean up our stretch of HWY 81.We’ll meet in the Welcome Center at 10:30am and divide up into teams. Reflective vests, garbage bags and a handful of gloves and trash grabbers will be provided. Please bring your own gloves and trash grabber if you have one!Thank you for considering joining us in this important endeavor to beautify our community. Please sign up on the kiosk at church or e-mail Melissa Johnson if you’re able to join us!

Trunk or Treat is COMING SOON!Join us on Saturday, October 26th from 10am-11:30am for our Annual Trunk-or-Treat event. We hope to fill the middle of our parking lot with lots of cars with decorated trunks!This is a great opportunity to reach out to the community and give them a safe and fun Halloween experience! If you are unable to attend, but would like to still help, we could always use extra candy for if/when we run out. Click HERE to sign up to help.

Park Brook Elementary Reading Buddy Needs You:Oct 2024- May 2025:Want to make a difference in the life of a Park Brook student? As a Reading Buddy volunteer, you will be matched with a student who needs help with reading. One day a week, from October – May during the student’s lunch period, the volunteer and student will eat school lunch together and then the student will read to you for about a half-hour. Volunteers can also be paired with one student, with the 2 volunteers alternating weeks or splitting your reading however it works into your schedules.Sign up HERE or at the kiosk in the POP Welcome Center.Any questions, please contact Jodi Spoden @ 612.597.3054

Do you like to Embroider?Prince of Peace will celebrate its 65th anniversary next year, 2025. Jenny Wroge of the PoP Quilters has volunteered to coordinate a quilted wall hanging to commemorate this milestone. To the left is a sample of one made for another church on their 75th anniversary.  We are looking for any church member who likes to embroider who would like to make a square to be included in the quilt. We will provide the fabric square and a printed pattern, or you are welcome to create your own design of something you feel would be meaningful. The embroidered squares should be completed sometime in early 2025 so that they can be included in the quilt. Please contact Jenne Wroge at 952-737-7859 if you are interested in participating in this project.

CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILY MINISTRY HIGHLIGHTSOctober will bring fun for people of all ages as we celebrate the Fall Season and the Halloween HolidayDue to MEA weekend, there will be NO Middle School Ministry on Wednesday, Oct. 16th or Children’s Ministry on Sunday, Oct. 20thJoin us on Sunday, Oct. 27th as we celebrate our 9th Graders who are participating in our Affirmation of Baptism Service. We celebrate with them as they take this faithful step in their journey.For the full October Newsletter for Children, Youth & Family Ministry Newsletter, click HERE.

Hearts and Hands For Jamaica 2025 Mission TripWe are excited that we are starting to make our plans for our mission trip to Jamaica 2025! The costs will be similar to last years cost depending on airfare – 1 week $2,000 or 2 weeks $3,200 (single occupancy). A deposit of $1,000 will be due by August 15th for airfare. Our dates are not finalized but will be approximately:* One week: Tues, February 25th to Mar. 4th, 2025* Two weeks: Tues, February 25th to Mar. 11th, 2024 We will be spending time with our partners at West Haven Children’s Home for the differently abled, Faith Chapel & the infant school in Lethe. I will be meeting with our partners when I go to Jamaica for the sewing clinic in September. I will have more information regarding projects when I return. If you would like to join us or need more info about our mission, please contact Terri Revell.

Farewell NataliaCouncil will host a farewell reception for Natalia on October 23, 6-8PM. Come to share your favorite memories of POP and recognize the gifts Natalia has shared with us the past 20 years. Pop in for a few minutes, light treats served.

REMINDER: Toy Drive coming soon…In November our non-profit partners will be planning on starting their annual toy drives. They need us & the power of community, so please put this on your radar. More info to come in next months E-Newsletter.

Choir & Bells Update:If you like to sing, or ring bells, and are interested in volunteering a small but precious portion of your time to Prince of Peace’s choir/bells team please click here to email us. Our choir & bells team is now ramping up and starting practice once again on Wednesdays here at POP, see below for times:Bells meet at 6pmChoir meets at 6:45pmNo experience necessary, we will teach you everything you need to know.Community Education ClassesThis fall we will have a series of First Aid education classes. Red Cross CPR classes and Mental Health First Aid classes. POP has a grant to train up to 10 ushers in CPR for free. Signups will be available on the Welcome Wagon, spaces limited. Red Cross CPR classes: October 22 6-9pm, Nov 23 9-NoonMental Health First Aid: November 9 9-3:30

Church Library NewsIt is good to be back in “the swing of things” now that the Fall season is here. Have you been to the church library to browse the display of books and DVDs that are waiting for you to enjoy? It is with pleasure we welcome Kathy Gilbertson, Mary Jane Johnson & Laura Burns as new members of the Library Team. They will be available in the library along with the other team members to help you find just what you are looking for or answering any questions you may have. The library will be open before and after the morning service for your reading pleasure.  We are still looking for children’s books, fiction, and biography books that are ingood condition to add to the “Little Free Library” located on the sidewalk near West Broadway. People passing by are stopping and looking for a book to read at home to their children & to read themselves. If you have any books that you would like to donate, please drop them off at the church library or in the church office indicating they are for the “Little Free Library”. On October 12th the Twin Cities Area Church Library Association will be holdingtheir Fall meeting at Westwood Lutheran Church in St. Louis Park. The businessmeeting, program and time for sharing will be held in the morning after which a delicious lunch will be served. If you are interested in attending, we will car pool from Prince of Peace Church. Please let Sally Onstad know if you plan to attend.Reservations are required.  If you have any library resources that were checked out before summer, pleasereturn them soon. We will be doing an inventory of the collection in the nearfuture. Thank you for your cooperation. We are looking forward to seeing everyone in the library soon. Please encourage your children to come and find a book and/or DVD they would enjoy too!THERES ALWAYS A PLACE FOR YOU HEREWe need you in order to help others! Here at POP we have a variety of ways where folks can “lend a hand”. See a list of volunteer opportunities, or please consider joining one of many volunteer teams below. For a couple hours on Sunday mornings:Usher and/or GreetServe CommunionRead ScriptureLibrary TeamServe coffee/cookiesMoney CountersJoin a Music Team (Choir/Bells/Band)Other Opportunities:Funeral TeamQuilter TeamGarden Team (Seasonal)Outreach TeamNo experience necessary, we will teach you everything you need to know! Contact the office or click HERE to email the POP staff.