Sunday, April 19

Good morning church,

Yes, it is Sunday, and I invite you to see our worship recording, which will be posted on our website and on Facebook at 10:00 a.m. this morning.

As I do every Sunday, I am sharing with you now (in time for our early service) the written version of our worship service, with prayers and messages that relate God’s Word to our time. For those of you who watch the service on Facebook, please leave us some comments. We always enjoy those!

About this Sunday’s readings: It’s not difficult to see ourselves in the subdued, quarantined disciples after Easter. Jesus found them in locked rooms and brought them peace and presence. The same can be true for you! Doubting Thomas is experiencing a resurgence of followers, as we are going through tough times. It’s easier to doubt than to have faith. Still, Jesus tells us not to be afraid of the wounds and losses we may be witnessing or suffering. “Peace be with you!”   

I know, this may sound old by now, but it is not old to me: a special thanks to Brian and his family… You’d think recording the service ahead of time would make his job easier, but he spent considerable time yesterday trying to fit in pieces, editing others and making it look nice and presentable. Brian, we thank you sincerely! I feel blessed that we have so many people in our congregation who are talented in different ways.

In today’s service, you will enjoy a prelude and a postlude brought to us by our Jazz Vespers ensemble. Amazingly, they recorded this in three different locations, don’t ask me how. Jim Holton on cello, Cindy Le Blanc playing the flute, Christine Djaletta singing and Adam Pfannenstiel playing drums – they are all part of our regular Jazz Vespers Ensemble. Adam provided the technical know-how to put all this together, even though it was recorded in three different living rooms. Thank you, Adam! And Roy, Mia, and Kirsten have again recorded hymns that you can sing along to if you wish.

Thank you, church, for continuing to support St. Peter’s during these difficult times. Every week we get many envelopes and also online donations. The Simply Giving Program can be used as an automatic church donation, and if you are interested, please let me know, or better yet, reach out to Dave S. He’d be happy to help you. For this morning I am including an online giving button, hoping that it will work and do what it is designed for, which is to lead you directly to the online giving function on our website. I hope it works, please let me know!  I will include an offering report in my message at the end of this month. I can tell you that we are doing better than in March, thanks to you!

I wish us all peace and better days ahead.

You are simply the best,

YOU ARE THE CHURCH!

Pastor Andreas Wagner