March 2025 Newsletter
Peace Lutheran Church
4606 48 Street
Leduc AB T9E 5X4
Phone No. (780) 986-2688
Email: peaceleduc@shaw.ca
Website: www.peaceleduc.com
“Rooted in Grace; Free to Serve”
The City of Leduc is situated on Treaty 6 territory, the ancestral and traditional territory of the Cree, Blackfoot, Saulteaux, Nakota Sioux as well as the Métis people.
PEACE NEWS
UPCOMING EVENTS
Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Supper:
March 4th will be our annual pancake supper to celebrate the beginning of Lent. Supper will be held from 5 pm – 7 pm at the church. Proceeds will go to the youth group and they are accepting a goodwill donation for pancakes and sausages.
If you are able to help volunteer in any capacity, please contact Megan Tym at 780-986-4941. There is also a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board outside of the office.
Vintage Strawberry Tea:
The Witness Committee is holding a Vintage Strawberry Tea at the church on April 26, 2025 from 1 pm - 3 pm. Tickets are $15 each and include tea, strawberry shortcake and a fashion show by Side Street Vintage store located in Leduc. Tickets are available at the church office, Side Street Vintage or from any Witness Committee member. All are welcome! Proceeds will go towards the future replacement of the fellowship hall tables and chairs. Sounds like a wonderful day out to support the Witness Committee and small business in Leduc.
BIRTHDAYS FOR MARCH
March 1 Susan Boyle
March 7 Shelly McCubbing
March 15 Jonah Stoyko
March 18 JoAnn Thomsen
March 19 Kiel Christenson
March 23 Jessica Roth
Amy & Rachel
Chorzempa
March 29 Phyllis Brown
MESSAGE FROM COUNCIL
We would like to thank everyone who came to the AGM held on February 2nd. We had 31 people stay for refreshments and a very respectful and informative meeting. Please welcome our new council members: Sharon Copithorne, Ali Doherty and Jake Kopperud. A big thank you Dorothy Gummer and Larry Barkley for your time on council. Please note that we accepted the resignation of Robyn Bolstad. Thank you for your work and dedication while on council, also.
We are beginning the season of Lent and Easter and will be requiring volunteers for a few upcoming services. March 3rd is Ash Wednesday and we require volunteers for that service.
April 17th is Maundy Thursday and will be held in conjunction with St. David’s church and St. Paul’s Anglican church, so we are hoping to have volunteers from those congregations, but if you’d like to help, please let the office know.
April 18th is Good Friday and will be held at St. David’s church.
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER
COOK ISLANDS
The 2025 World Day of Prayer, featuring the Service created by the women of the Cook Islands. Join us at First Baptist Church on March 7 at 7:00 p.m. for a prayerful service and light refreshments afterwards. Donations can be made that help women worldwide.
The World Day of Prayer is a global ecumenical movement that brings Christians of many traditions together to observe a common day of prayer each year. Through preparation and participation in the worship service, we can learn how our sisters of other countries, languages and cultures understand the Biblical passages in their context. We can hear their concerns and needs and can join in solidarity with them as we pray with and for them. In this way, it is possible to enrich our Christian faith as it grows deeper and broader in an international, ecumenical expression.
The motto of the World Day of Prayer movement is Informed Prayer and Prayerful Action. Through our participation in the World Day of Prayer, we affirm that prayer and action are inseparable and that both have immeasurable influence on the world.
World Day of Prayer in Canada
The World Day of Prayer traces its roots to the 19th century when Christian women of Canada and the United States became involved in missions at home and worldwide. Since 1812, women have encouraged one another to engage in personal prayer and lead communal prayer within their mission groups. Presbyterian women in the United States then called for a national day of prayer in 1887, and Anglican women in Canada established a national day of corporate intercessions for mission in 1895.
On October 19, 1918, Presbyterian women in Canada called together representatives of five Women’s Missionary Boards – Anglican, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian – “to promote the spreading of Christ’s kingdom through united prayer and action.” That first inter-church meeting gave birth to the Interim Committee on the Federation of the Women’s Missionary Society Boards of Canada, which organized a national and inter-denominational day of prayer on January 9, 1920.
In 1922, the Canadian and U.S. committees agreed to use the same theme and day for the Day of Prayer as U.S. women. This annual event became the Women’s World Day of Prayer in 1927. The Canadian committee changed its name to become the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada and now includes representatives from 11 church partners. This council continues to coordinate the World Day of Prayer in Canada and to speak to issues that concern women of faith across the country.
Read more about how and why the World Day of Prayer was founded: “A Glimpse into our History“ (International WDP website)
More Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada History
January Financials
Funds needed to run the church (per budget) $15,840.00
Receipts for January 19,945.10
Disbursements for January (13,183.52)
Receipts vs. Disbursements for January 6,761.58
Chequing Account Balance as of January 31, 2025 $12,992.00
NEWS FROM MULHURST
Are you looking for a meaningful summer job? Do you love being outside and have strong leadership skills? Are you passionate about working with children & youth? Enjoy cooking, or ensuring swimming safety?
Applications will be open until March 14, with Interviews beginning the week of March 18. Send inquiries or resume to executivedirector@mulhurstcamp.ca
MESSAGE FROM BISHOP TRISH:
March 2025
Dear holy family,
I know it isn’t just me. Are you also feeling somewhat bewildered by our world right now? So many of us are standing in disbelief each morning as we listen to the news from afar and near. We’re asking, “What is happening? What will happen?”
With every unfolding day we find it difficult to speak to what we hear and feel in family and friend circles and within our church communities. There seems to be an undercurrent of anxiety. We don’t know how to speak together when we disagree. We feel more and more polarized. These tremendous difficulties are eating away at our energy and our will to be together.
In her book “Why Gather?”, Rev Martha Tatarnic writes to this very world. It is serendipitous that she was booked as the speaker for the February 2025 Synod Study Conference a long time ago! (Thank you to the many congregations and ministries who encourage and support their pastor or deacon in attending this annual time of learning, rest and fellowship!) In her book she explores lessons learned through the pandemic and how they continue to inform us into the future.
Why should we continue to gather? Our buildings feel cavernous. Our volunteers and offerings are thin. We struggle with our differences. The needs to be addressed seem infinite. Hunger, homelessness, financial stress, generational divide, corruption, greed, environmental degradation, religious trauma, oppression, family violence… all continue. Do we dare ask the elephant-in-the-room question, “Does church even matter?”
Tatarnic argues, and I agree, “YES!” The simple act of coming together changes us. Sometimes in small and imperceptible ways at first. But over time, when we pause to reflect, we can see the Holy Spirit shaping the community of faith, just as God first shaped the dust of the earth into living beings.
As you enter the rich season of Lent, may the dust of Ash Wednesday call you to gather often. May the sign of the cross remind you that you are the church - small or large, struggling, singing, praying, sharing, communing. May the faces of those you gather with call you to compassion, love and care for one another. May you gather, because our lives and this interdependent world depend on it.
God is with you,
Trish Schmermund