Announcements

The May special offering is Campus Ministry in the Metropolitan DC Synod area. This includes the ministry at George Mason University. Many of us who did not attend a religious-affiliated school know the comfort from attending a campus ministry at the school we attended. This is often a first time on our own and there are many and varied influences on behavior and belief. Campus Ministry helps us to be grounded in our faith and helps us deal with questions and concerns that come naturally at this age.

Join us for Sunday School! The Sunday School, for children age 3 years old through 6th grade, is finishing our miracles theme this month and studying some special topics, including Pentecost, spring/creation, and the 10 Commandments. As a reminder, classes run from 9:00 - 10:15 a.m. It's never too late to get involved or to register children.

Children in 1st - 6th grade will be playing handbells and chimes in the concert at the church on Sunday, May 18th at 7:00 p.m. Ringers should arrive by 6:30 p.m. for a rehearsal. Many thanks to Paul Sticha, who has been working with the children to learn their parts. Please let Paul know if your child will not be able to attend the performance so he can plan bell and chime assignments.

Saturday morning yoga will be May 10, 17, and 31. If you are interested in participating, please send an email to Alissa Wunder at wunderam@gmail.com.

Nametags - Have you misplaced your nametag or never had one? Please sign up on the green sign up sheet on the Ministry board for a new one. Let's welcome our new minister candidate and visitors by helping them remember our names. Nametag holders are available at the Sunday school or narthex entrances.

WRAP (Women's Renewal at Peace) - Thursday May 15, 7-9pm in Fellowship Hall where we will assemble a scrap book on the Prayer Shawl Ministry led by Allian Pratt. We will continue our study of the beatitudes: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven". Mark your calendars for June 19 and July 17 for more WRAP.

The Lunch Bunch will meet on Tuesday, May 20, 2008, at 11:30 a.m. at the Red Lobster Restaurant. The Red Lobster is located at 555 S. Van Dorn Street in Alexandria. Lunch Bunch is a group of individuals who enjoy gathering for food and fellowship once a month. A sign up sheet is located in Fellowship Hall. If you have any questions, please call Elaine and Bob Peoples at 703-751-8937

Need Volunteers - The Peace Lutheran Church mow team has the need for 2 or 3 additional volunteers to replace those who have deservedly retired or moved away. We graciously thank those who have volunteered in the past. Mowers are placed on teams of 3 to 4 individuals and are responsible for 4 or 5 weekends a year in a 6 week rotation. Mow teams usually meet on Saturday mornings are finished in about 4 hours. No prior experience is necessary. We would be happy to instruct anyone that is interested, and there are experienced mowers on each team to help. Please contact Josh Messner if you would like to volunteer. Josh Messner - 703.785.9472 or halecoy@yahoo.com.

Bingo Prizes Needed - Helga Recevuto volunteers at the Lincolnia Adult Day Health Care Center every Wednesday playing bingo with the seniors. She is looking for scarves, knick knacks, stuffed animals, costume jewelry and other small items that can be used for prizes. Please bring your donations to the church office or see Helga Recevuto or Liesa Kirste.

First Friday - Come join us on Friday, May 9th for an evening of dinner and discussion. We will be reading chapter 6 of the book, Holy Purpose: The Blessings of Service, Obedience, and Faith by Carolyn Coon Mowchan. Dinner is at 6:30 pm with discussion afterwards.

REBUILDING TOGETHER A SUCCESS! Peace and our ACCA partners, led by this year's team captain from John Calvin, did an outstanding job of refurbishing a home on April 26 during "Rebuilding Together." The team captain reports that... "Getting that stairway drywall to look half way decent was mission impossible but it turned out far better than expected. Mrs. Barbour was most appreciative of what was accomplished and is very happy." Peace's team included Michael Stumpf, Sue Sticha, Ramsey Woodworth, Nancy Viano (and her son) and Rai Seifart.

Quilting 2008 - The winter/spring quilting session is now over. However, starting in June, several interested ladies will meet twice a month to continue with the project. For more information, call Vicki Haugen at 703-914-3933 or Nada Sah at 703-256-8856. Meanwhile, the beautiful quilts on display today and also the upcoming two Sundays are the result of the dedicated work of the ladies who met once weekly for 14 weeks. The large quilts will be delivered to the New Windsor L.W.R. Center May 27. From that point, they will be shipped or airlifted to several destinations worldwide where needed. The baby quilts will be donated to the ACCA Daycare Center in Annandale. Thanks to all who volunteered to make this possible—including the DeHavens who offered to drive to New Windsor. More details will follow in the June newsletter. Nada Sah, Quilting Coordinator.

The following new member will be received as a member of Peace Lutheran Church on May 11: Atsede Melesse.

As part of the Green Year at Peace, we will hold a workshop with the Rev. Pat Watkins, Staff Director of the Virginia Interfaith Power and Light. This workshop will include a Bible study about care of creation, and will give people a chance to calculate their carbon usage and find out alternatives to decreasing their usage. We will also discuss changes that can be made at church to be more responsible in our use of energy, and to save money in the process. During the workshop, we will be using a Carbon Calculator program which uses the following for twelve months:

• electricity in kilowatt hours.
• heat as total "therms" of natural gas (If "mcf" then, 1mcf x 10.3 = 1therm), gallons of heating oil, or gallons of propane.
• miles driven and MPG for each car you own for 12 months.
• flight miles flown by each family member for 12 months.
• total gallons of garbage produced per week.

Utility bills for Dominion Power and for Washington Gas include monthly kilowatt hours or therms of gas used for a whole year. So calculate the other figures and bring your latest utility bills.
Please sign up in Fellowship Hall, or RSVP to the church so we know how much lunch to prepare. A free will offering will be collected to cover the cost of lunch.

The Postal Service has gently told us that our "Words of Peace" monthly newsletter costs at a minimum $.87 to mail but if it weighs more than an ounce the price rises. The April newsletter cost $.97 to mail (half of the copies were returned to the church office for more postage). Postage costs will also increase on May 12 so the cost to mail will be even higher. Every month we mail about 60 copies of the newsletter. If you have e-mail but are receiving a copy in the mail, we hope you'll consider moving to the e mail distribution of the newsletter. We always place copies in the narthex and will continue to do that. Please contact the church office if you would like to change the method of receiving the newsletter.

The next Vacation Bible School planning meeting is scheduled for Sunday, May 18th at 1:00 p.m. at St. Alban's Episcopal Church, 6800 Columbia Pike, Annandale. The theme this year is "Growing in God's Love." A few more teachers are needed for the week of VBS, August 4th - 8th. Help is also especially needed on Monday, August 4th for registration and check-in, and on Friday, August 8th for Field Day. If you can assist with preparations or at anytime during VBS week, please see Kathy Nice.

The green Lutheran Book of Worship books are available in the Narthex and Fellowship Hall to anyone interested in having a copy.

Bingo Prizes Needed - Helga Recevuto volunteers at the Lincolnia Adult Day Health Care Center every Wednesday playing bingo with the seniors. She is looking for scarves, knick knacks, stuffed animals, costume jewelry and other small items that can be used for prizes. Please bring your donations to the church office or see Helga Recevuto or Liesa Kirste.

The Others' Ministry is looking for people to help launder crib sheets for the ACCA day care nursery. Interested people would need to pick up 2-3 loads of crib sheets and crib blankets from ACCA on a Friday night, launder the sheets over the weekend, and return them Monday morning. Interested people, rewarded with immense satisfaction at a job well done, can contact Pat Henkel at 703-370-4944.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - Will you help a family that faces eviction, cessation of utilities, or has nothing to eat? The Annandale Christian Community for Action (ACCA) needs family assistance and food captains to work from home fielding phone calls from social workers one week per quarter. Drivers are also needed to deliver food to families in the Annandale/Lincolnia/Baileys Crossroads area. All clients are screened and referred by social service agencies. Call Susan Farris at 703-256-2775 (followedbyamoonshadow@verizon.net) for detailed information.

Health Savings Account -If you are planning to set up a health savings account, you can do this and help develop new church missions in the ELCA at the same time. The Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA provides health savings accounts along with their other investment opportunities. For information, contact MIF at 877-886-3522, or visit their web site at www.missioninvestmentfund.org.

Lutheran World Relief is not only a widely respected organization, it is also our presence to respond to natural disaster around the world. If you wish to give aid for the people affected by the earthquake in Peru, or people affected by hurricanes, you can send your donation to LWR, P.O. Box 17061, Baltimore, MD 21298-9832, or include your donation with your offering and mark that amount for LWR.