BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:icalendar-ruby CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260702T224934Z UID:50-366829@peaceotsego.org DTSTART:20260705T153000Z DTEND:20260705T163000Z CLASS:PUBLIC CREATED:20260702T142025 DESCRIPTION: \nDear friends of Peace\,\nNews Edition For Sunday of July\, 05 2026\nLessons this week:  Daniel 1: 3-21\, Romans 13: 1-7\,Matthew 22: 15-22\nSongs this week: "Eternal Father\, Strong to Save"\, “Glory to G od in the Highest”\, "Sing to the Lord "\, "God Bless Our Native Land"\n Service Sunday 11:30 am\nWhat Makes Christians Different?\nThe Bible says Christians are different. Christians are people who believe in Jesus as th eir Savior. But they often look the same as those who do not believe in Je sus. How are Christians different? The answer is often something internal\ , attitudes or perspectives that come only from the work of the Holy Spiri t in Word and sacrament. Ultimately\, Christians are people who run to Chr ist for forgiveness because they have failed to live perfect lives. As we receive the mercy of Christ\, it moves us to strive with all our being to do all the things\nthat Jesus says Christians do\, things that make Christ ians different.\n \nChristians Live in Two Kingdoms\nThis weekend is the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of the\nIndependence o f the United States of America. American citizens from many backgrounds ar e celebrating in many ways. What makes Christian citizens different? Chris tian citizenship is not connected to a particular political party. Christi an citizenship is not connected to particular civic activities. Christians understand that they live in two kingdoms. God does not need our good wor ks\, but our neighbors do. God’s Word informs our choice of political ac tivities as we seek to be faithful to our calling as Christian citizens.\n \n\n\nCall Meeting Update:  We had our first call meeting to call a new r esident pastor. The meeting was held by Pastor Tim Gauger (Circuit Pastor) \, on June 14th. Thank you to everyone who came\; voted and asked questio ns.  Call meetings are the tools that Peace uses to ask a man to serve as our pastor. The attendees of the meeting were presented with 3 candidates . We received basic information about them (names\, locations\, families\ , education). Attendees were able to discuss the candidates for a while\, then the voters were able to compare the 3 candidates. The council has inf ormed the person that we have called to serve as our pastor.    \nUnli ke hiring a political candidate\, this process will be filled with prayer\ , the Word of God\, and mutual encouragement. We are following the Scriptu ral example of Acts 2:13-26.  He will acknowledge the call in a letter ba ck to the congregation. Then the congregation will talk with Pastor Fritz and he will determine if his gifts can best be used at Peace at this time. As a congregation we should reach out to Pastor Fritz with words of encou ragement and prayers as he makes a decision on how he may continue to serv e God at this time. Expression might include what makes the Otsego/ Peace community unique\, tell him our vision for the future\, ect…. Commit to praying for him and his family throughout the entire discernment process. To help Pastor Fritz make his decision\, if you feel compelled\, reach out to him this week. \nPastor Paul Fritz  \ncell phone: 1-902-659-9812 \ nemail pastorpaulfritz@gmail.com \nHe is currently serving at Immanuel Lu theran Church in Woodville\, WI.\nPastor Fritz will most likely be making a decision in the next 2 weeks.\nConnecting with People of Peace: Encourag ement is something we all need to keep us motivated\, connected\, and feel ing loved. Imagine how our shut-ins lives could be blessed with a little g ospel message and encouragement from the people of Peace. Jo Markwart woul d like to help us all do just that! We would like to kick this off in the month of July. There will be a box with cards for the people of Peace to w rite words of love to our shut-ins. If anyone would like to donate cards t o this project please put them in Shelly or Jo’s mail box at church. \n We will be signing cards after service on July 5th during Cake and Ice Cre am!\n \nFlower Sign: We will no longer use the breeze program to sign up for flowers for Sunday services. There is a sign up sheet on the table in the Narthex. Please write what you would like to dedicate the flowers for\ , next to your name.\nVolunteers Needed: \nLawn Mowers / String trimming\ nChurch Cleaning: light house keeping: Bathrooms such as emptying trash ca ns\, swiping down counters\, cleaning windows of the front entry as needed . \nFlowers: Want to celebrate an anniversary\, birthday or honor a loved one. Bring a bouquet of flowers from the store\, from your garden and hel p beautify the altar. There are vases in the kitchen if needed\nClipboards are on the table in the Narthex\nThank you to all our volunteers!!!\n \n A look ahead:     \nJuly 5th 11:30am Sunday Service  with Cake and Ic e Cream \nJuly 5th 12:45pm Private Baptism\nJuly 6th 9:00am-12:00pm Maint enance Work Day  \nJuly 7th 10:00am -11:00am Coffee &\; Crafts     \nJuly 12th 11:30am Sunday Service \nJuly 16th 6-8 PM Community Carnival at St. James 2381 Romence Road Portage\, MI\n \nMay God be at work among the people of Peace and our gospel ministry as we listen to him and follow him!  Assistant Administrator at Peace Lutheran Church\,  Shelly Wedge\ n       Got this from a friend? Sign up here: https://peace.breezec hms.com/form/news\nUnsubscribe? Email church@peaceotsego.org\nWant to visi t with pastor? Schedule a visit/meeting reach out to our interim Pastor Da vid Rau (ST.James Portage) at pastor@stjamesportage.org or 262-325-9355\nH ave a suggestion or comment you’d like to share? Let us know!\nWould you like to donate to Peace? Please use the link for online giving\nPeace Lut heran Church 805 S Wilmott St Otsego\, MI 49078\n269-694-6104 https://peac eotsego.org LAST-MODIFIED:20260702T142025 LOCATION: SUMMARY:Coming up at Peace URL;VALUE=URI:https://www.peaceotsego.com/events/coming-up-at-peace--50/202 6-07-05 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR