St Peter’s Lutheran Church - Ocean City, MD

09/14/2026

📅 There’s a lot happening at St. Peter’s—worship, music, service, fellowship, and care for one another.

https://www.stpetersoc.com/news.html

Pastor Bettye will be away for a few days on personal travel, Monday through Thursday. While she is unavailable, Pastor Keith will be available for any pastoral emergencies, so our congregation will continue to have support when it’s needed.

🎶 And our Music Ministry is officially back in full swing! Tuesday brings both Choir Rehearsal from 4–5 p.m. and Bell Choir Rehearsal from 5–6 p.m. We’re excited to hear these ministries filling the church with music again.

The week also includes Open Door Free Lunch & Groceries on Wednesday, ministry team meetings, Women’s Bible Study on Saturday, and our regular Sunday worship:

9:00 a.m. Contemporary Worship
10:30 a.m. Traditional Worship

St. Peter's Lutheran Church
A place to pray.
A place to belong.

09/14/2026

Sometimes forgiveness isn’t about forgetting what happened. It’s about allowing God to carry what we were never meant to carry alone.

Forgiveness can be one of the hardest things we are ever asked to do. A hurt. A wrong. Anger. Regret. Something someone did years ago—or something we still haven’t forgiven in ourselves.

In Sunday’s message, Pastor Bettye offered a simple but powerful image: look at your hands.

✊ Closed hands hold tightly to the hurt.
🤲 Open hands say, “Father, it’s yours.”

At the cross, we are reminded that we don’t have to carry everything forever. In Christ, we are forgiven—and through Christ, we can find the strength to forgive others and ourselves, even when that journey takes time.

Open your hands. Let it go. Receive His grace. And then ask yourself:

What are you still holding onto?

09/14/2026

Our St. Peter’s family is growing! During our 10:30 a.m. Traditional Service this Sunday, we had the joy of officially welcoming Cindy and Walter Shultz as new members of St. Peter’s!

We’re so glad Cindy and Walter have chosen to make St. Peter’s their church home and look forward to worshiping, serving, growing in faith, and sharing life together.

Please join us in giving Cindy and Walter a warm St. Peter’s welcome! ❤️

St. Peter's Lutheran Church.... A place to pray. A place to belong.

09/10/2026

Faith Gets Real When Relationships Get Hard

❤️ Loving your neighbor sounds easy—until your neighbor gets on your nerves.

In Sunday’s message, Pastor Bettye reminded us that Jesus doesn’t tell us to avoid conflict, gossip about it, or quietly carry resentment. He gives us another way: go to one another, speak honestly, listen, seek understanding, and work toward reconciliation.

That isn’t always comfortable. But healthy Christian community isn’t built by pretending we never disagree. It’s built by choosing love even when relationships get complicated.

“If your brother or sister sins against you, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you.” — Matthew 18:15

💬 What might change if we approached conflict as an opportunity to restore a relationship rather than win an argument?

09/09/2026

Maybe the question for today isn’t simply, “Do I believe in Jesus?”

It’s “Can others see Jesus living in me?”

In The Lion King, Simba spends much of his life running from who he is. Then comes the reminder he needs: his father isn’t simply part of his past. He lives on in him.

There’s something powerful there for our faith.

Jesus isn’t someone we encounter only on Sunday or read about in Scripture. Through faith, Christ lives in us—shaping how we love, serve, and show grace to others.

💭 Something worth thinking about today—and beyond Sunday.

09/08/2026

🍂 Summer may be winding down, but St. Peter’s is returning to a full calendar of fall activities!

From worship and music to fellowship, service, ministry gatherings, trips, and community activities, there are plenty of ways to connect, serve, grow, and belong.

This week alone includes choir and bell rehearsals, Open Door Free Lunch & Groceries, our Senior Adult Ministry trip to Annapolis, Leadership Meetings, and—of course—worship together on Sunday. 💙

📅 Keep an eye on our online calendar for the latest schedule and find something that speaks to you. https://www.stpetersoc.com/news.html

09/07/2026

Sometimes the hardest thing we carry isn’t what happened to us. It’s what we refuse to put down.

Pastor Bettye Wolinski challenged us Sunday to think about forgiveness differently. Forgiveness doesn’t mean the hurt wasn’t real. It doesn’t mean reconciliation is always possible. But holding tightly to anger and resentment can keep us from healing.

Christ calls us to face what hurts, seek forgiveness, offer forgiveness when we can—and eventually move forward.

That’s part of becoming the community Jesus envisioned: people who tell the truth, extend grace, support one another through the pain, and keep Christ at the center.

✨Forgive. Heal. Move forward. Magnify Christ.

09/06/2026

Things I’m Thankful for at St. Peter’s:

1. A church that feels like family
2. Pastor Bettye and Pastor Keith’s leadership
3. Our growing music ministry
4. The people behind the scenes
5. Our Open Door Feeding Ministry
6. A congregation with a heart for service
7. Our volunteers
8. Our new sound system
9. Our AV Team
10. Our musicians and singers
11. Our members and our visitors
12. The willingness to try new things
13. The people who ask, “How can I help?”
14. Our ministry leaders
15. The laughter and friendships
16. Our Community Life Center
17. The Son & Sand Retreat Center
18. Our connection to the Ocean City community
19. A congregation willing to give
20. The people willing to have difficult conversations
21. The momentum we’re building
22. Our mission and values
23. The chance to make a difference
24. Grace
25. Jesus at the center of it all
.. up to infinity....

09/04/2026

🎶 A New Song This Sunday! 🎶

We’ll be debuting a new song in the Contemporary Service. We’re sharing it early so you can listen, sing along, and come ready to worship with us! 🙌

As you listen, take a moment to think about the many blessings in your own life — big and small. ❤️

🎧 Give it a listen, practice along, and we’ll see you Sunday!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZjWYgq9QfM&list=RDaZjWYgq9QfM&start_radio=1

What blessing are you especially thankful for today? Share it below! 👇

Watch the lyric video for “Counting My Blessings”! Listen to ...

09/03/2026

Every week, our Open Door Feeding Ministry serves free meals and provides bags of groceries to neighbors in our community. But Open Door offers more than food—it offers welcome, fellowship, and care. ❤️ If you are able, please consider supporting this ministry.

We’ve made it easy to help!

🛒 Use our shopping list and pick up needed items while you shop
https://www.stpetersoc.com/uploads/1/0/1/2/101209924/open_door_feeding_ministry_pantry_list.pdf

📦 Purchase items online and have them sent directly to St. Peter’s
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/22H2BBEP9C78W?ref_=wl_share

💙 Make an online donation
https://secure.myvanco.com/L-ZAM6/campaign/C-108XD

Just as important, please pray for those who don’t have enough to eat.... or who may not have someone to share a meal with.

❤️