peace in the valley lutheran church, lcms
PEACE IN THE VALLEY LUTHERAN CHURCH, LCMS P.O. Box 2467, 551 J-6 Ranch Road, Benson, AZ 85602
WEB SITE: www.pitvbenson.org OFFICE PHONE: 520-586-3171 OFFICE E-MAIL: [email protected] NEWSLETTER E-MAIL: [email protected] Sunday Worship Service: 9:30 a.m. Fellowship: 10:30 a.m. - Sunday Bible Study: 10:45 a.m. - Sunday School: 10:45 a.m.
Views from the Valley February 2018 LENT My brothers and sisters, it seems that we have just completed Advent and Christmas and now we will be celebrating Lent. So why Lent and why celebrate Lent anyway? Well Lent is the 40 days before Easter, which begins on Ash Wednesday. During these 40 days we recall the sufferings of our Lord Pastor Ron York Jesus Christ. We might be tempted to conclude that we may not see the relevancy of continuing to celebrate Lent. Jesus came to this earth in order to provide for us the complete and total forgiveness of sins, life eternal, victory over sin, death and the Devil as well as giving to us a completely restored creation. If that wasn’t enough, our Lord also came to give to us the abundant life. The abundant life for a lot of people is believed to be the living out of the American Dream, which is the accumulation of wealth, things and stuff, firmly believing that those things will bring about true and lasting happiness. The evidence though doesn’t seem to bear that out. In spite of that American Dream, the pursuit of happiness, our world and our country is in a mess. There is chaos and strife in everyday life. There has also been a radical pushing away of the God of the Bible along with the teachings of His Word, yet God in His grace and mercies continues to bless us immensely. In accordance to those blessings God desires us to return to Lord and so during this Lenten Season we are going to be looking at a series of subjects which will enable us Continued on page 2
Mark Your Calendar . . . Worship Service every Sunday at 9:30 a.m.; Fellowship -10:30 a.m.; Bible Study—11 a.m. We will NOT be meeting for breakfast at the Horseshoe Café, downtown Benson, during the Lenten season. Will resume after Easter. Wednesdays at 5 p.m. Choir practice; 6 p.m. Soup suppers; 7 p.m. Lenten worship services Saturday, February 3, 9 a.m. — Men’s Fellowship Breakfast (ladies included) followed by Men’s Bible Study and LWML meeting and Bible Study; 11 a.m. Church Council meets Every Wednesday at noon: Brown Bag Bible Study at Dan James home, 272 S. Cochise Ln in the J-6 Ranch area. Email: [email protected] or 520-686- 0760 Wednesday, February 14, 6 p.m. Traditional Ash Wednesday Baked Potato dinner. Sign-up sheet in the narthex if you plan to attend so ample amount of food can be prepared. Wednesday, February 14, 7 p.m. Ash Wednesday service. Need Prayer? Please call Hutler at 520-586-4250 or email to: [email protected].
Pictured at right: Allen Edwards is the 2018 president of the PITV Church Council. All members were installed in January. When Allen gets up to speed with his new duties, he will offer a letter to the congregation in the monthly newsletter. Keep Allen in your prayers as he takes on the responsiblity of church business. Page 2
Pastor’s Letter . . . . Continued from page 1 to perhaps return to the Lord with more fervency, gratitude and service. We will begin on Ash Wednesday looking at returning to the Lord who is gracious; then we will follow up during our mid -week Lenten Worship Services as to returning to the Lord who has redeemed you, who has restored you, who will raise you up, who does not change, and who does not tire of calling you. On Maundy Thursday we will see where our Lord returns to Jerusalem with Mary and what implications that has for us. On Good Friday we will see how the Word of the Lord returns to Him with success. All of this will culminate in a wonderful Easter celebration. I therefore want to really encourage all of you to make intentional preparations in order to join us on Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. A soup supper will precede Lenten services at 6 p.m. beginning on Ash Wednesday, February 14. I trust that you will find this Lenten Journey to be a tremendous blessing in your life. Pastor Ron
POTLUCK DINNER at PITV every 3rd Sunday of the month — the best buffet in Benson — Arizona — USA — the world, taking words from Pastor Ron!
Casseroles, salads, breads, meats, desserts, beverages — it’s free and everyone is welcome to partake!
If you leave the table hungry, it’s on you!
Page 3
Thanks . . . The Benson Area Food Bank extends their thanks to the members of Peace In The Valley for their generous support. Your donations enabled many needy families in the Benson area to enjoy the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Each year we see the need increasing. The support of the Benson area community is truly amazing to help us keep our shelves stocked throughout the year. In 2017, we distributed 1,335 nutritionally-balanced food boxes to DESqualified families and 283 boxes of nutritionally-balanced food to DES and WIC -1721 qualified children of ages one through five. We also provide donated bread and produce to the communityat-large. We are the only Food Bank in the area open five days per week. Because the city of Benson provides our building and utilities, 95 percent of your cash donations go directly for food purchased locally. We are an all-volunteer organization. During 2017 we recorded over 6,000 volunteer hours. Thank you for helping us make our local families’ lives a little easier. Your continued support is greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Joy Reilly, President Pat and Jack Martin, Volunteers
Where ever you are, you can find us at www.pitvbenson.org Or friend us on Facebook!
Page 4
Doug and Connie Burt became the newest members of Peace In the Valley Lutheran Church on December 31, 2017.
UP AND COMING . . .The Women’s Retreat, “What's in the Water?” is scheduled for Saturday, March 10 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. We’re asking women to bring a salad or dessert. A chicken salad will be the entree. Please invite your friends and neighbors to attend with you! There will be a sign-up sheet located in the narthex later in February. Looking forward to a great retreat!
Worship Planning Team is looking for people who have a background or interest in drama/theater. Please call Connie Burt at 520-221- 0456 or sign up in the narthex. You may also call the office at 520 586 3171. Thanks. There are two kinds of talent: man-made talent and God-given talent. With man-made talent, you have to work very hard. With God -given talent, you just touch it up once in a while. — Pearl Bailey
Hot Potato! Ash Wednesday, February 14, marks the beginning of Lent AND Valentine’s Day. The Women in God’s Service (our LWML members) will create the annual Baked Potato Bar. YUM! Suggested donation is $7.50 all of which goes to the Olivers, our mission family. Bring your sweetie and load up a hot potato with chili, cheese, sour cream, bacon bits, onions, butter and the kitchen sink!
Prayer.. You’ve probably heard prayer described as knee-mail and chuckled a bit, but prayer IS our connection to God. If you stop and think about that for a minute, it’s a pretty awesome God that allows us direct communication, and in fact, wants us to talk to him a lot. This is God we’re dealing with….the creator and ruler of the universe. Sometimes we forget that. Just try to create a beautiful lily from nothing and we quickly remember just who our God is. Do you pray every day? Do your say grace before meals… even at a restaurant? Do you only pray at church during worship or during a crisis? Our Father in heaven always waits for your prayer. He wants to help you with problems and bless you with abundance. He also wants us to grow our church and bless our community and that’s always there. Contributed by Connie Burt
Everyone is encouraged to attend Bible Study held at approx. 11 a.m. until noon, following Sunday worship service and fellowship. We are currently studying the book of Acts of the Apostles. Page 5
CHURCH BUILDING CELEBRATION! We are planning a celebration of the building of our church. The date is set for October 20, 2018. At this time, we are trying to locate as many of the 80 volunteer builders as we can. If any of you can help us locate some of the builders please contact Lynn Lawrence or Yvonne Beckley. Volunteers from Ascension and Messiah Lutheran churches in Tucson also had volunteers here and we will try to locate them. We will be inviting the community and city officials along with the media to share in our celebration. Tentative plans for this celebration include: 1. A luncheon to honor the Builders and Pastor Arlo. 2. A slide show. 3. Guest speaker. 4. Rededication of the church building. 5. Reception with sheet cakes and punch. We will also be asking members of the congregation to provide lodging or RV hookups for those who come from out of town. We will need lots of help to make this event a huge success. We are blessed to have this beautiful building for our worship and fellowship and we pray that many volunteers will come forward to help. See the bulletin board in the narthex for list of people you may know and can help us contact.
Why . . . did the man quit his job at the eraser factory? His work rubbed him the wrong way! couldn’t the sailors play cards? They were all standing on the deck!
WEB SITE: www.pitvbenson.org OFFICE PHONE: 520-586-3171 OFFICE E-MAIL: [email protected] NEWSLETTER E-MAIL: [email protected] Sunday Worship Service: 9:30 a.m. Fellowship: 10:30 a.m. - Sunday Bible Study: 10:45 a.m. - Sunday School: 10:45 a.m.
Views from the Valley February 2018 LENT My brothers and sisters, it seems that we have just completed Advent and Christmas and now we will be celebrating Lent. So why Lent and why celebrate Lent anyway? Well Lent is the 40 days before Easter, which begins on Ash Wednesday. During these 40 days we recall the sufferings of our Lord Pastor Ron York Jesus Christ. We might be tempted to conclude that we may not see the relevancy of continuing to celebrate Lent. Jesus came to this earth in order to provide for us the complete and total forgiveness of sins, life eternal, victory over sin, death and the Devil as well as giving to us a completely restored creation. If that wasn’t enough, our Lord also came to give to us the abundant life. The abundant life for a lot of people is believed to be the living out of the American Dream, which is the accumulation of wealth, things and stuff, firmly believing that those things will bring about true and lasting happiness. The evidence though doesn’t seem to bear that out. In spite of that American Dream, the pursuit of happiness, our world and our country is in a mess. There is chaos and strife in everyday life. There has also been a radical pushing away of the God of the Bible along with the teachings of His Word, yet God in His grace and mercies continues to bless us immensely. In accordance to those blessings God desires us to return to Lord and so during this Lenten Season we are going to be looking at a series of subjects which will enable us Continued on page 2
Mark Your Calendar . . . Worship Service every Sunday at 9:30 a.m.; Fellowship -10:30 a.m.; Bible Study—11 a.m. We will NOT be meeting for breakfast at the Horseshoe Café, downtown Benson, during the Lenten season. Will resume after Easter. Wednesdays at 5 p.m. Choir practice; 6 p.m. Soup suppers; 7 p.m. Lenten worship services Saturday, February 3, 9 a.m. — Men’s Fellowship Breakfast (ladies included) followed by Men’s Bible Study and LWML meeting and Bible Study; 11 a.m. Church Council meets Every Wednesday at noon: Brown Bag Bible Study at Dan James home, 272 S. Cochise Ln in the J-6 Ranch area. Email: [email protected] or 520-686- 0760 Wednesday, February 14, 6 p.m. Traditional Ash Wednesday Baked Potato dinner. Sign-up sheet in the narthex if you plan to attend so ample amount of food can be prepared. Wednesday, February 14, 7 p.m. Ash Wednesday service. Need Prayer? Please call Hutler at 520-586-4250 or email to: [email protected].
Pictured at right: Allen Edwards is the 2018 president of the PITV Church Council. All members were installed in January. When Allen gets up to speed with his new duties, he will offer a letter to the congregation in the monthly newsletter. Keep Allen in your prayers as he takes on the responsiblity of church business. Page 2
Pastor’s Letter . . . . Continued from page 1 to perhaps return to the Lord with more fervency, gratitude and service. We will begin on Ash Wednesday looking at returning to the Lord who is gracious; then we will follow up during our mid -week Lenten Worship Services as to returning to the Lord who has redeemed you, who has restored you, who will raise you up, who does not change, and who does not tire of calling you. On Maundy Thursday we will see where our Lord returns to Jerusalem with Mary and what implications that has for us. On Good Friday we will see how the Word of the Lord returns to Him with success. All of this will culminate in a wonderful Easter celebration. I therefore want to really encourage all of you to make intentional preparations in order to join us on Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. A soup supper will precede Lenten services at 6 p.m. beginning on Ash Wednesday, February 14. I trust that you will find this Lenten Journey to be a tremendous blessing in your life. Pastor Ron
POTLUCK DINNER at PITV every 3rd Sunday of the month — the best buffet in Benson — Arizona — USA — the world, taking words from Pastor Ron!
Casseroles, salads, breads, meats, desserts, beverages — it’s free and everyone is welcome to partake!
If you leave the table hungry, it’s on you!
Page 3
Thanks . . . The Benson Area Food Bank extends their thanks to the members of Peace In The Valley for their generous support. Your donations enabled many needy families in the Benson area to enjoy the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Each year we see the need increasing. The support of the Benson area community is truly amazing to help us keep our shelves stocked throughout the year. In 2017, we distributed 1,335 nutritionally-balanced food boxes to DESqualified families and 283 boxes of nutritionally-balanced food to DES and WIC -1721 qualified children of ages one through five. We also provide donated bread and produce to the communityat-large. We are the only Food Bank in the area open five days per week. Because the city of Benson provides our building and utilities, 95 percent of your cash donations go directly for food purchased locally. We are an all-volunteer organization. During 2017 we recorded over 6,000 volunteer hours. Thank you for helping us make our local families’ lives a little easier. Your continued support is greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Joy Reilly, President Pat and Jack Martin, Volunteers
Where ever you are, you can find us at www.pitvbenson.org Or friend us on Facebook!
Page 4
Doug and Connie Burt became the newest members of Peace In the Valley Lutheran Church on December 31, 2017.
UP AND COMING . . .The Women’s Retreat, “What's in the Water?” is scheduled for Saturday, March 10 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. We’re asking women to bring a salad or dessert. A chicken salad will be the entree. Please invite your friends and neighbors to attend with you! There will be a sign-up sheet located in the narthex later in February. Looking forward to a great retreat!
Worship Planning Team is looking for people who have a background or interest in drama/theater. Please call Connie Burt at 520-221- 0456 or sign up in the narthex. You may also call the office at 520 586 3171. Thanks. There are two kinds of talent: man-made talent and God-given talent. With man-made talent, you have to work very hard. With God -given talent, you just touch it up once in a while. — Pearl Bailey
Hot Potato! Ash Wednesday, February 14, marks the beginning of Lent AND Valentine’s Day. The Women in God’s Service (our LWML members) will create the annual Baked Potato Bar. YUM! Suggested donation is $7.50 all of which goes to the Olivers, our mission family. Bring your sweetie and load up a hot potato with chili, cheese, sour cream, bacon bits, onions, butter and the kitchen sink!
Prayer.. You’ve probably heard prayer described as knee-mail and chuckled a bit, but prayer IS our connection to God. If you stop and think about that for a minute, it’s a pretty awesome God that allows us direct communication, and in fact, wants us to talk to him a lot. This is God we’re dealing with….the creator and ruler of the universe. Sometimes we forget that. Just try to create a beautiful lily from nothing and we quickly remember just who our God is. Do you pray every day? Do your say grace before meals… even at a restaurant? Do you only pray at church during worship or during a crisis? Our Father in heaven always waits for your prayer. He wants to help you with problems and bless you with abundance. He also wants us to grow our church and bless our community and that’s always there. Contributed by Connie Burt
Everyone is encouraged to attend Bible Study held at approx. 11 a.m. until noon, following Sunday worship service and fellowship. We are currently studying the book of Acts of the Apostles. Page 5
CHURCH BUILDING CELEBRATION! We are planning a celebration of the building of our church. The date is set for October 20, 2018. At this time, we are trying to locate as many of the 80 volunteer builders as we can. If any of you can help us locate some of the builders please contact Lynn Lawrence or Yvonne Beckley. Volunteers from Ascension and Messiah Lutheran churches in Tucson also had volunteers here and we will try to locate them. We will be inviting the community and city officials along with the media to share in our celebration. Tentative plans for this celebration include: 1. A luncheon to honor the Builders and Pastor Arlo. 2. A slide show. 3. Guest speaker. 4. Rededication of the church building. 5. Reception with sheet cakes and punch. We will also be asking members of the congregation to provide lodging or RV hookups for those who come from out of town. We will need lots of help to make this event a huge success. We are blessed to have this beautiful building for our worship and fellowship and we pray that many volunteers will come forward to help. See the bulletin board in the narthex for list of people you may know and can help us contact.
Why . . . did the man quit his job at the eraser factory? His work rubbed him the wrong way! couldn’t the sailors play cards? They were all standing on the deck!
