Our Mission Statement:
We are a Gospel-centered community of people blessed by God to be a blessing to others.
Get involved!
Highlights of our upcoming events:
Prince of Peace hosts an Alzheimer's support group on the first Tuesday of each month.
-We educate and inform participants about dementia and help them develop problem-solving strategies. if yuou know of someone who cares for a person with dementia, please invite them to attend.
Vacation Bible School is this week.
-Bring your children from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m Monday through Thursday for games, crafts, songs, and Bible-based lessons.Thanks to all our volunteers!
Want to spotlight your event? Email the webmaster at popdsm@gmail.com and we'll put it here!
This month's letter from Pastor Roger Osbeck
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Just after MemorialDay, I decided my walk-behind mower needed a tune-up and blade sharpened, so I could command the optimum effort and greatest efficiency in my mowing routine.
I felt I wanted it done professionally, so I took the mower to a local business which does such things and waited for a call back. The call came the following Saturday with the message
that the blade was too badly bent to sharpen and I would need to have it replaced. Ther blade required was not in stock so it would have to be special ordered (ever hear that one before?).
Next week, still no blade. The following week, still no blade (is this a rare-type blade, or what?). Then on June 22 the call I'd been waiting for finally came.
During the three weeks delay for the replacemant blade, the grass had substantially grown, of course, but we noticed a little extra bonus. Both our trees in the front and back yard are homes to
several squirrels. Apparently the little creatures had ventured into another person's yard where they were supplying corn cobs to the critters. The squirrels had decided for take-home service hauling the cobs
back to their homes, dropping some kernel seeds along ther way. Thanks to the squirrels' efforts, we now have at least 25 almost knee-high corn stalks growing in our yard. We're real Iowans, now.
We couldn't help recall Jesus' parable of the sower dispersing seed upon the four various types of ground (the path, rocky, thorny, and good soil),
comparing it to the way the gospel of Christ is received. Without our effort, the corn stalks took root and began to grow. We're tempted to leave the stalks alone to see what happens,
but they will be cut down, for sure, by the time you read this. At any rate, we discovered our back yard has fertile soil.
I'm reminded of the parable again as I rummaged through my office desk looking for some paperclips. I stumbled upon a newspaper article from the December 22, 2017 Wall Street Journal
Doug Gulling had given me a few months ago. The article was about a little Vietnamese girl, known to the world as the "Napalm Girl." There's a famous photo taken of her at age 9 back in 1972,
running down a roadway, arms outstreched, naked, shrieking in pain and fear. In the distance, clouds of exploding napalm bombs can be identified billowing against the sky
(no doubt you've seen the photo). The girl's name is Kim Phuc and the article recaled the trauma she suffered in the naplam strike, which still requires treatment for the burns on her arms,
back and neck, along with the psychological trauma, which she described as greater: "But even worse than the physical pain was the emotional and spiritual pain,"
she said. Ten years after that photo was taken, she was attending a Christmas Eve service which led to her conversion to Christiianity. Kim Phuc credits the experience with healing the psychological
trauma. "My faith in Jesus Christ is what has enabled me to forgive those who had wronged me," she said, "no matter how severe those wrongs were. Faith also inspired me
to pray for my enemies rather than curse them...not only to tolerate those who had wronged me but to love them."
The Holy Spirit worked within her for those ten years to prepare her soul to receive the faith she now proclaims. Her message to us all, in the article, included encouragement to never give up hope.
"The peace I found can be yours as well," she said. Profoundly powerful words. I pray we can receive them with joy.
Peace to you. Enjoy your summer. See you in church.
Pastor Roger
Outreach links:
Meals from the Heartland
Habitat for Humanity
Lutheran Services in Iowa
Lutheran World Relief
ELCA Malaria Campaign
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