Lifting the following people up in prayer: Jon Cook; Millie Mutka, Zima family friends Cary Gramsch, Stefan Sladek, Dave Butschli, Mick, Steven and Marilyn Hummel; Gregory Bowens; Amber Ross’s daughter Linda; Randy & Diane Niemczyk’s niece Sarah Joda, and their dear friend Denise Hazel; Valeria Hesselberg; Chris Markussen; Anne Verona’s sister/brother-in-law Pat & Woody Woodworth; Dawn Gonitzke’s brother Scott Premo; Claire Holman; the Eberts friend Patricia Kulzick; the Ebert’s friend John Oliver; the Waggoner’s sister-in-law Cheryl Busse; Karen Engels’ niece Lisa and friends Bob and Dawn; Ann Carlson’s people Dwight, Stacy, Sarah, Ben, Staci, Dana, Curt, Troy and Janice; continued safe travels for all of us and our family and friends; and the people of Israel, Russia, Palestine and Ukraine.
PRAYER LIST PROCEDURE – Submit your prayer requests to the office in writing, by phone, by email or in person. If requesting prayers for someone other than yourself or an immediate family member, please obtain permission – unless the circumstances are public in nature. You may also submit a prayer request for events. For example – a family gathering and seeking prayers for safe travels to/from. We have a prayer request form – that works – on our webpage.
WORSHIP ON FACEBOOK – Live on Facebook on Sundays at 9:00 am and posted for later viewing.
GUESTS – if you are visiting us today, please sign our book at the entrance to the sanctuary.
GOD’S WORK – OUR HANDS – actually needs a hand. They will continue to host the first Sunday of the month coffee hour, but they are asking for assistance. Asking members of the congregation to take turns bringing in homemade or purchased baked goods. (Except for Shayne Wilfer – she is obligated to bring in her almond yumminess). If you can assist, please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex or contact Betty Wright at basslakewrights@gmail.com.
NEW TIME! NEW DAY! Let’s Gather Adult Bible Study coming soon! The Christian Ed team is excited to share we have a new Adult Bible Study opportunity coming in October. It will be Wednesdays—October 2, 9, 16 and 23 at 5:30 PM. Snacks will be provided! Please bring a beverage of your choice. (Really? Our choice? This could end up being even more interesting) We’re bringing a variety of facilitators to lead the discussion as we explore scripture together. Mark your calendars! Let’s Gather! Questions? Please reach out to Pastor Grant, Rachel Strong or Shayne Wilfer.
COLD/FLU/COVID – you know the drill. Stay home if you don’t feel well. We will miss you, but we won’t miss your cooties. If you want to take extra precautions when you are at church – do what makes you feel good.
ENDOWMENT GRANTS – Help the Endowment Team use our Endowment Fund as effectively as possible to enhance the mission outreach of Prince of Peace. As the fund’s custodian, the team is looking for ways to help the church ministry in the community. If you would like to offer a suggestion to the Endowment Team or financially contribute, get a request form from the narthex, the church office or the website. A donation of any amount will help immensely and be much appreciated. Recently our endowment made a contribution of $500 to Worship in the Wild and $250 to Northwoods Share.
EAGLE RIVER ROASTERS – if you are ever out and about and need a cup of coffee- please patronize Eagle River Roasters. They have donated coffee to Prince of Peace for all of our fellowship hours/events. They do this for numerous local organizations. Great people, great product and greatly appreciated!
BINS WITHOUT LIDS – FOR THE TAKING – The Weekend Backpack Program has bins without lids free for the taking downstairs. Use ‘em for storing firewood. Use ‘em for kids to sled down a hill. Use ‘em for kids to go down – carpeted – stairs. Use ‘em to make a giant igloo this winter. So many uses other than landfill material.
WEBSITE REFRESH – we also had a website refresh. Take a tour of it and let us know if you see anything that needs fixing and/or if you would like to see more of something.
FUN FACT: The bulletin is generally completed the Thursday before. Today is September 19th – which is Talk Like a Pirate Day. You know there isn’t a chance I could let such a day go by without comment. I did a search for “Pirate Lutheran” and would you believe it? There actually IS a relationship (of sorts) between pirates and Lutherans. Enjoy this little bit of history!
The following is taken from an article written by Heroldo Camacho.
The history of the early Reformation in the New World is both a tale of pirates and the battle of catechisms.
This happened in Cartagena, Columbia. By order of Friar Juan de los Barrios, the first Archbishop of Bogotá, the “indios” were to be rounded up to hear mass. Not all were willing. Two deputies were ordered to find the recalcitrant dwellers and beat them with rods so that they would show up to mass and renounce their idolatrous faith. As a warning, the bells were to toll for 15 minutes prior to the twice daily catechism class. In addition, should the rod-bearing enforcers of the faith bring the culprits before the priest, the guilty had to pay a fine of “two pesos in gold… one for the building of the Church, and the other to the accusing party.” As a result, this practice promoted snitching, slander, and false testimony before the catechism class even started!
In 1556 Archbishop Barrios begins his orders for the new archdiocese at his charge (Bogotá and all other territories including Cartagena) with: “Whereas the entire good of our Christian religion consists in the foundation of our Holy Catholic faith without which no one can be saved, nor can anything firm nor pleasing to God may be done, and by which the Holy Fathers in all their situations conquered the world, and reached the eternal glory which they now possess.”
Four years before the founding of Cartagena, in 1529, Luther published his first Small Catechism. The Small Catechism was written in question and answer format, and was to be taught at home, not at the church. The chief catechizer was to be the father as head of the household.
Luther’s Small Catechism encompasses the heart of the Gospel message of salvation by grace through faith on account of Christ without the attached threat of forced conversion. In contrast to the message espoused by the Archbishop Barrios and others, Luther based his catechism on the authority of Scripture, not the authority of the church.
Eleven years after Barrios’ orders, in 1576, the bishop of Cartagena wrote the first catechism for the instruction of the indigenous people of Cartagena and surrounding areas. Its stated purpose is to instruct the “indios” in the faith, and to fight the Reformation heresies.
The bishop of Cartagena ordered the catechizers to instruct the indigenous people that all their ancestors were now suffering torment for their idolatry, and should they not confess the Holy Catholic faith, they would suffer the same.
Yet in addition to the catechism, in 1610, the Catholic Church established the Tribunal of the Inquisition in Cartagena. The reason? Heretics. Heretics? Already in the New World? Heretics already in Cartagena? In 1610? That’s 10 years before the Pilgrims set foot on Plymouth Rock!
The Inquisition is sent over the Atlantic in order to prevent the further advancement of the Protestant traditions in the conquered New World. It’s here that the priests are undertaking the laborious process of converting the “Indians, blacks, and mestizos” to the one and true Catholic faith with their new catechism, which in format, greatly resemble Luther’s Small Catechism.
But where is the threat? Where are the missionaries? How are they getting to the Americas?
Lutheran and Calvinist believers from Holland, England, and Germany (some French Huguenots) found a most ingenious way of reaching the Americas with the Reformation Gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone. They took the Augustinian, Dominican, and Jesuit monks by surprise.
Most of these self-made missionaries had an incredible cover: they arrived at the New World disguised as pirates. Yes, pirates! They were mercenaries in English, Dutch, and Portuguese privateer schooners awaiting the gold laden Spanish galleons to head for Spain. When the schooners anchored off the Caribbean coast near Cartagena, the “pirate missionaries” would jump ship at night and either swim or row to shore.
The history of the early Reformation in the New World is both a tale of pirates and the battle of catechisms. [I took out the part of the article which discussed the difference/similarities of the catechisms and the conflict it caused.]
It’s impossible to even guesstimate the number of these self-appointed missionaries. The only record is found in the Inquisition archives for many years kept in Cartagena.
- “John Seyber. Lutheran.”
- “Peter Leonard (17 years old when he left Holland). Lutheran.”
- “John Frederick Preys. Calvinist. Quoted from Calvinist books, laughed at the images of saints.”
- “Adam Edon. Protestant.”
- “Andrew Bernard. Calvinist. Taught Catholic ceremonies were nothing but lies. Denied the existence of purgatory and promoted a married clergy.”
- “Domingo Hernández Romero (a Protestant from Spain).”
- “Nicholas Burundel.” A recalcitrant Lutheran. Witnesses said he spoke against the Catholic mass, the sale of indulgences, veneration of the saints, “boldly, obstinately, and with depravity expounding heretical arguments.”
- “John James. Confessed he had heard Lutheran and Calvinist sermons, and that salvation could be found in those faiths. Did not believe in the intercession of the saints. Taught that neither the Pope nor priests could forgive sins.”
A total of 82 “heretics” came before the Inquisition in Cartagena. The very place where they were tortured exists to this day in the Cartagena Museum of the Inquisition. Thirty-five were sentenced, which means they were either killed by torture, sentenced to life in prison or given over to be forcefully catechised until they repented, confessed, or died denouncing the Catholic faith. Forty-seven were “absolved,” which means they were held in prison until they voluntarily repented and confessed.
The Reformation pirates took real risks and swam to shore not knowing where they would land. They had no currency but saving faith in Jesus Christ. And oh yes, Luther’s Small Catechism, which they quickly translated into Spanish.
The Reformation pirates took real risks and swam to shore not knowing where they would land. They had no currency but saving faith in Jesus Christ.
https://www.1517.org/articles/pirates-of-the-reformation for the complete article.
NOTES – Sunday is the official start of Autumn. Which seems impossible because September has been the first real summer we have had. I know I have been enjoying the weather of the past three weeks. Finally – it seems – we have had decent ‘lake-ing’ weather. I’ve been paddle boarding, kayaking and just plain floating – because it is so darn peaceful. We are also working on projects to hopefully complete before the snow starts to fall. I think we may just make it.
Bob Michaels come in the office this week and mentioned that summer was almost over. He shared the most adorable picture of him with his grandchildren. He said this picture was his best memory of the summer. Which leads me to ask all of you – what was YOUR best memory of summer this year? And please – send us a picture that represents that memory. We would love to share summer memories!
Another picture from the Bishop’s trip is attached. I have a feeling those pictures are comparable to pictures of the Grand Canyon. The pictures themselves are gorgeous – but don’t come close to capturing what it looks like in real life. Our world is breath taking.
I’m not going to share my best memory of summer. Because I want to hear from all of you first. Send me your pictures and your stories!
And a huge Prince of Peace welcome to Wayne and Ruth Rodda and LuAnn Brentlinger – thank you for making our family part of your family!
