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"Be Where You Are":
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St. Peter’s roots in Mishawaka and surrounding communities run deep indeed. Since 1847 we have had the privilege of joining hands with our neighbors in loving this place God has given us and seeking a common good. Yet now, this story is entering a new chapter. This fall, St. Peter will seek to identify unmet or under-served needs in our community that we can work to meet together. Indeed, you might encounter us at a local park, or even on your own doorstep, asking this very question: what are the key unmet or under-served needs in our community? For instance, do we need more quality preschool in some specific part of the city? Or is there a particular way we could serve our kids and schools, our working parents, or our senior citizens better? Even as you read these questions, perhaps something already comes to mind. If so, we hope you will share it with us in the survey below.
Ultimately, God's call to "be where you are" in the local community derives from the wider purposes for which he created each of us. In the biblical story, God places each human being not just into a particular city but also into a whole host of relationships. Most fundamentally, He places each of us simultaneously in relationship to himself and to every other human being as a neighbor worthy of care and concern. In this sense, belonging to the “church”—a community where we glorify God and respect, love, and serve each and every other human being—is original to our DNA as creatures. At the same time, God also places each of us into more specific relationships with those in our families, businesses, sports teams, schools, neighborhoods, states, nations, and all the other communities to which we belong, as well as with those whose paths just happen to cross ours on a daily basis. This then is "where" each of us is: living simultaneously in relation to God and to all these "neighbors."
Happily, Scripture depicts all these relationships as gifts from God designed to bring joy and fulfillment to us as human beings. Yet it also makes clear that we find this joy and fulfillment only as we answer God's call and live into these relationships, investing in them deeply. Here at St. Peter, we thus seek to live into our relationship with God through worship and bible study. But we also look to strengthen our other relationships, as well. Of course, this happens in part as we “seek each other’s prosperity” through mutual service. But it also happens as we simply have fun together. In this spirit, St. Peter is committed to fostering opportunities to bring neighbors, family, and friends together just to enjoy one another--such as our upcoming Community Game Night on Oct 25th and our Service of Thanksgiving for Our Community (followed by desert and hang out time) on Nov 25th. You can find out more about these and other events on our homepage.
Finally, we at St. Peter share your experience that human life and relationships are not always the joy they were intended to be. Yet we also have begun to experience a Savior who took our broken lives and relationships into his Body on the Cross so that he might help us carry our burdens, reconcile us to God and one another, and enable us to bear one another’s burdens as well. Indeed, we believe that this is where all humanity already is: caught up through Christ within the life of God himself, whose strength is sufficient for us in our weakness and who is always at work to bring about redemption. Thus, we likewise believe that through Christ, this power and redemption is already present in the world, not just in the church. Ultimately then, for us, "be where you are" means living into this divine presence in both church and world. It means participating in the redemption that God is already working among all people and celebrating it, even as we seek to enter ever more deeply through faith into the fullness of the life God has for us in Jesus Christ.
We invite you, then, to join us in worship, in small groups, and in the community as God leads us more deeply into the life he gives us all. Soon, you also will be able to enter into conversations about these themes both here and on our Facebook page. Likewise, our pastors would love to talk with you about Christ and/or about how we may serve together (you may find their contact information here).
We look forward to hearing from you, and may God’s peace be yours this day and always.
Ultimately, God's call to "be where you are" in the local community derives from the wider purposes for which he created each of us. In the biblical story, God places each human being not just into a particular city but also into a whole host of relationships. Most fundamentally, He places each of us simultaneously in relationship to himself and to every other human being as a neighbor worthy of care and concern. In this sense, belonging to the “church”—a community where we glorify God and respect, love, and serve each and every other human being—is original to our DNA as creatures. At the same time, God also places each of us into more specific relationships with those in our families, businesses, sports teams, schools, neighborhoods, states, nations, and all the other communities to which we belong, as well as with those whose paths just happen to cross ours on a daily basis. This then is "where" each of us is: living simultaneously in relation to God and to all these "neighbors."
Happily, Scripture depicts all these relationships as gifts from God designed to bring joy and fulfillment to us as human beings. Yet it also makes clear that we find this joy and fulfillment only as we answer God's call and live into these relationships, investing in them deeply. Here at St. Peter, we thus seek to live into our relationship with God through worship and bible study. But we also look to strengthen our other relationships, as well. Of course, this happens in part as we “seek each other’s prosperity” through mutual service. But it also happens as we simply have fun together. In this spirit, St. Peter is committed to fostering opportunities to bring neighbors, family, and friends together just to enjoy one another--such as our upcoming Community Game Night on Oct 25th and our Service of Thanksgiving for Our Community (followed by desert and hang out time) on Nov 25th. You can find out more about these and other events on our homepage.
Finally, we at St. Peter share your experience that human life and relationships are not always the joy they were intended to be. Yet we also have begun to experience a Savior who took our broken lives and relationships into his Body on the Cross so that he might help us carry our burdens, reconcile us to God and one another, and enable us to bear one another’s burdens as well. Indeed, we believe that this is where all humanity already is: caught up through Christ within the life of God himself, whose strength is sufficient for us in our weakness and who is always at work to bring about redemption. Thus, we likewise believe that through Christ, this power and redemption is already present in the world, not just in the church. Ultimately then, for us, "be where you are" means living into this divine presence in both church and world. It means participating in the redemption that God is already working among all people and celebrating it, even as we seek to enter ever more deeply through faith into the fullness of the life God has for us in Jesus Christ.
We invite you, then, to join us in worship, in small groups, and in the community as God leads us more deeply into the life he gives us all. Soon, you also will be able to enter into conversations about these themes both here and on our Facebook page. Likewise, our pastors would love to talk with you about Christ and/or about how we may serve together (you may find their contact information here).
We look forward to hearing from you, and may God’s peace be yours this day and always.