PRAYERS: Jon Cook; Millie Mutka; Barb Zima and her friends Alan Foster, Dave Butschli, Mick, Steven and Marilyn Hummel; Gregory Bowens; Laurie Nelson; Amber Ross’s daughter Linda; Randy & Diane Niemczyk’s daughter Julia VanAvery, niece Sarah Joda, and their dear friend Denise Hazel; Dick Volland; Don Schiesl; Valeria Hesselberg; Chris Markussen; Anne Verona’s sister/brother-in-law Pat & Woody Woodworth and friends Dennis Peterson and Natalie Madine; Ann Currie; Strong’s friend Erin Molle; Debbie Cyrtmus’ mother, Rose Wicker and sister, Corrie Trittin; Dawn Gonitzke’s brother Scott Premo; the Ebert’s friends William Charaf, Patricia Kulzick and John Oliver and Gary’s son Matthew; Joyce Leander’s cousin Laurie Nelson; Ashley Clark’s friends Michael Loomis, Keith & Becky Hernandez; the Waggoner’s sister-in-law Cheryl Busse; Karen Engels and her niece Lisa and friends Bob and Dawn; Ann Carlson’s people Enid, Curt, Chuck*, Denny*, Andy*, Stacy, Richard and Troy; and peace for all nations and comfort for those in distress.
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.
SPECIAL THANKS – to Val Snedden for being our musician today.
WORSHIP LIVESTREAM –In addition to FaceBook, we are also live on YouTube (@PastorPrinceofPeaceERWi) on Sundays at 9:00 & posted later for viewing.
YOUTUBE – we now have an active channel on YouTube. We did it! We now have over 50 subscribers! Thank you. We heard from Pastor Paul and he is asking for us to return the favor and subscribe to Calvary in Minocqua. @calvarylutheran-Minocqua1131. See link below to subscribe. (Hopefully this button works. If it doesn’t – go to YouTube and search for Calvary Lutheran Church in Minocqua)
GUESTS – if you are visiting us today, please sign our book at the entrance to the sanctuary.
QUILTERS –Tie one on with the quilting group as they assemble quilts. Meet every first and third Wed of the month 9:30 to 11:30 am.
UPCOMING BLOOD PRESSURE CHECK – Mark Zima and Catherine O’Hagan will be out of the area the first weekend in May. Blood pressure checks will occur May 11th instead.
MONTH OF MAY – WEEKEND BACKPACK FUND DRIVE – During the month of May – FORK has committed to match EVERY dollar donated towards the Weekend Backpack Program – up to $20,000! To contribute financially, follow the QR code below or mail your contribution to “Weekend Backpack Program, 4887 Echo Ridge Dr. Eagle River WI 54521” and make your check out to “The Northwoods Weekend Backpack Program.” Donations made to Prince of Peace for the WBP will not count towards the total.
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION BOOK DISCUSSION – Beginning on May 18th Chris Ebert will be leading a book discussion on “Ashes to Ashes” by Shari Seifert. It is about the initial response and journey of Calvary Lutheran Church in Minneapolis following the murder of George Floyd.
CHRISTIAN WOMENS LUNCHEON – Jerrie Van Haverbeke and Mary Kunau are the hosts for the May luncheon. The lunch will be at the Pine Cone Restaurant on May 15 at 11:30 am – located in St Germain on Hwy 70. Please RSVP to Jerrie at vanbeke@frontier.com or Mary Kunau at mlkunau3@frontier.com. This is a new option for lunch and reviews so far have been good!
PRAISE IN THE PINES – On Saturday, July 19th, 2025, Eagle River, WI, will host the second annual Praise in the Pines Music Festival. This full-day event features a free Worship Experience, food trucks, a Christian ministry faire, and a headline concert by the Newsboys. A portion of the money raised will be poured back into local nonprofits. They are asking for prayers, donations, and hands-on help. Visit www.praiseinthepines.org today to donate or volunteer.
FUN FACTS – A QR code, quick-response code, is a type of two-dimensional matrix barcode invented in 1994 by Masahiro Hara of Japanese company Denso Wave for labelling automobile parts. It features black squares on a white background with fiducial markers, readable by imaging devices like cameras, and processed using Reed–Solomon error correction* until the image can be appropriately interpreted. (*Too scientific to break down into a fun-fact. It is interesting, but it will also make your head hurt).
Here are some sheep facts due to our gospel lesson …
Sheep are one of the few animal species on earth that have rectangular pupils.
Sheep are intelligent and can remember up to 50 human faces for several years.
Female sheep develop special communication and vocalization with their lambs, and a baby sheep’s bleat is instantly recognizable to her.
Sheep can self-medicate and seek out herbs and natural botanicals that will help them heal from various maladies.
Sheep’s milk is more nutritious than cow’s milk and has more calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and vitamins A, B, and E!
The first mammal in the world to be cloned was Dolly the sheep in 1997. She only lived to be 6 years old and her body is on display at the Royal Museum of Scotland.
Lucky is known as the oldest sheep in the world from Australia. She lived to be 23 years old.
The World Record for the Wooliest sheep has been held since 2015 by a feral sheep named Chris, who hadn’t been shorn in years, and his fleece weighed 88 pounds!
The White House lawn once held a flock of grazing sheep. They were invited by President Woodrow Wilson for a Red Cross fundraiser. The sheep’s wool raised more than $50K.
There are over 1,000 different breeds of sheep throughout the world.
NOTES FROM ANN: Today May 1st is May Day. Consider participating in the following tradition. My Mom used to have us kids do this. So much fun. An authorized ding-dong-ditch. There was much giggling involved.
The American Girl’s Handy Book, written by Lina Beard and Amelia B. Beard in 1887, details the custom and how to make the baskets. “A May-day custom, and a very pretty one, still survives among the children in our New England States. It is that of hanging upon the door-knobs of friends and neighbors pretty spring-offerings in the shape of small baskets filled with flowers, wild ones, if they can be obtained,” the book states. “Silently approaching a door, they hang a May-basket upon the knob and, with a loud rap, or ring of the bell, scamper off, and flee as though for life.”
The picture at the top represents a golden opportunity for Pastor Grant. Come on! Having church on May the Fourth?!! Passing the peace should definitely be “May the Fourth be with you” “And also with you!” No? Just me? Okay – but I’m fairly certain some of you will be saying inside of your head come Sunday.
I didn’t share a kite-flying picture with you last week. We were very happy to fly kites on Easter this year. We had a dragon kite and an owl kite in the air. Attached is the best pic we took of the dragon kite.
And check out the gorgeous painting by Sandra Cashman. She is a local artist and recently created this piece of art. She does plan on making prints of it in the future – which is a good thing – because I really like it. Can’t you just smell the sun and the water?
My random thought for the week has to do with garbage. I’m rather diligent about recycling and repurposing. I have way too much stuff though. I’ve become the keeper of family treasures. I’m notorious for “free shopping” (curb surfing) or only purchasing used stuff. I’m a firm believer in that the older stuff is the better made stuff. There have been things I have thrown away that I deeply regret. One item was a raincoat my Mom had bought me. It was a black shiny raincoat – well made – with a zebra print lining. The coat was a tad small on me. I could have worn it open, but I was in a purge mode and got rid of it. Not sure why this particular item bothers me because it was a long time ago. And I really don’t wear raincoats – like – ever.
And that made me think about how life would be if we had to carry all of our garbage with us. Burt and I live on 35 acres. If we had to have all of our past garbage with us – the beauty of our property would be non-existent. (Tho well-deserved due to consumption but that strays too far from the message today)
And that made me think about the Trinity and forgiveness and love. Who would we be if we had to carry all – and I mean all – of our sadness, grief, & mistakes – with us? It would be a crushingly painful burden.
Thankfully, due to God’s program of recycle, reduce and reuse – we are made whole through the forgiveness of sins and are able to continue to show our beauty in the world.
