Musings from Music Ministry

Tim Degen • February 17, 2026

Musings from the Music Ministry: Tim Degen, Director of Music & Organist

Did you know that there are more hymns in our hymnal, Lutheran Service Book (LSB), than what you see in the hymnal? The last printed hymn in LSB is “Before You, Lord We Bow” #966, however the last official hymn in LSB is “Song of Habakkuk” #986. Where are the last 20 hymns? A wonderful companion to our hymnal is Lutheran Service Builder, which is a computer program that allows us to create bulletins, insert the music to the liturgy and hymns in the bulletins and on the screens, and also allows us to search for a hymn by number, title, any words in the hymn, season of the church year, etc. When LSB came out in 2006, the committee in charge of the hymnal included 20 “lesser known” hymns (#967-986) that are only accessible in Lutheran Service Builder and are not in the printed hymnal. These hymns can instead be inserted into bulletins and on screens. You might remember a few weeks ago that we sang a new hymn called “Blest Are They” #982. Since this hymn is one of the non-printed hymns, the music was in the bulletins and on the screens.

If you’ve been in Saturday worship recently, you’ve no doubt noticed that we are introducing a new sung liturgy by contemporary composer Marty Haugen entitled “Now the Feast and Celebration.” While the liturgy itself is not new (Haugen composed it in the late 1980’s), it is new to our congregation. This liturgy has all the sung components of a regular Divine Service: Kyrie, Hymn of Praise, Alleluia Verse, Offertory, Communion Liturgy, etc., and you’ll find similar words that would be sung in the Sunday Divine Service, just set to new music. During the past couple of Saturdays’, we’ve been learning the Hymn of Praise, “Now the Feast and Celebration” and the Offertory “As the Grains of Wheat”. We will be continuing to introduce various parts of this new liturgy throughout this year. Our prayer is that you will enjoy this liturgy as another way of singing God’s praises in worship!

Calling all singers! The Adult Choir is looking for singers to sing with us for Holy Week and Easter. All are cordially invited to join us in singing our yearly commemoration of our Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection. Any and all singers are invited, however we are definitely in need of men! Below is the schedule of rehearsals and worship services. If you would like to join us, please email me at tdegen@stpetersfw.org so I can have music ready for you. Please prayerfully consider joining us this Holy Week!

Rehearsals:

March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 – 6:30-7:45pm in the Cornerstone Room.

Services:

Palm Sunday – March 29, 8:00 &; 10:30am services.
Maundy Thursday – April 2, 7:00pm service.
Good Friday – April 3, 7:00pm service.
Easter Sunday – April 5, 6:30, 8:00, & 10:30am services.

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Fieldworkers: Preparing Future Pastors

By Pastor Adam McDowell • July 27, 2026

Our Partnership with Our Seminary

August Happenings

By Amy Widener • July 27, 2026

August Opportunities for Fellowship & Learning (In alphabetical order) Altar Guild Annual Potluck Meeting Wednesday, August 19th @ 6:00 pm in the Cornerstone Room If you're one of the ladies in our Altar Guild thank you. Be sure to join us for our annual potluck supper with a meeting following. Bible Studies (click for details) New Sunday series continues, but summer plans for weekday studies will be ending soon. Stay tuned for dates of when those will start to meet regularly again. Christian Education Weekend (Backpack Blessing) During all worship services August 8-9th Rededicate our faculty and staff to their teaching ministry as well as rededicate ourselves as a congregation to praying for them, encouraging them, and supporting the work God has given us to do together. Students may also get their backpack blessing tag for this school year. School starts August 12th! At the 10:30 AM service, we will also install Janet Bahr as our assistant principal and Dianna Bultemeier as a called teacher of St. Peter's. Please join us for a reception honoring Janet and Dianna on the church's front porch following this service. Confirmation Kick-Off Sunday, August 9th during the Bible Study hour @ 9:15 am in the Sanctuary Parents and students (7th & 8th graders) of our day school and public school will meet to prep for the upcoming year with Pastor McDowell. Plan to attend and remember the Confirmation Site on The Hub will be updated soon with everything you need to know as far as expectations, handbook, assignments, deadlines, and event dates. Collections/Fundraiser (ongoing) The Compassionate Care Collection is prepping hygiene kits for the Lutheran World Relief: The LWR collection will be through July and August--details can be found on the LWR.org/kits site or HERE . Needed are: light weight bath sized towels (between 20" x 40" to 27" x52"), bath-size soap bars in original wrapper, adult toothbrush, sturdy comb, metal nail clippers--all items must be new and NOT have religious symbols or patriotic decoration. Special Monthly Offering: This month we collect for our Preschool which is so appreciated by the faculty and students. You'll also see their annual Giving Tree displayed in the Ministry Center soon. Take a letter of the alphabet off the tree and bring back the supply listed. Stay tuned for a video from our Preschool Director, Barb Christian, next week about these two opportunities to support our Preschool. Drums Alive Drums will take a break in August and come back in September with an updated schedule. Stay tuned! Monday Night Worship Summer Monday night worship ends August 31st. The following Monday is Labor Day and the church offices and schools will be closed. Senior Saints Monday, August 10th @ 11:30 am in the Cornerstone Room REGISTER HERE for this month's Lunch N' Learn featuring our own Tina Acosta who does amazing work through Turnstone. Turnstone is a place unlike any other and anyone who knows about it only has good things to say. If you'd like to know another reason Fort Wayne is such a great place to be, come listen as Tina will offer an overview of Turnstone and their services. Serving in the Church Offering your talents or acts of service is often something we all want to do, but not always sure where to start. Opportunities present themselves, but it's hard to remember them all or keep track of something that called to you at one point. The Serve tab in the Realm Connect app continues to add areas that are open and looking for someone just like you. Log in on your computer or through the app on your phone and scroll through the Roles to see if one is a good fit for you. Remember, signing up doesn't commit you to it, but does share that you'd like to be contacted about it. Sisters in Christ: Simple Quilting Craft Saturday, August 15th starting at 10 am in the Cornerstone Room REGISTER HERE FREE Regret never learning how to sew? Or haven’t picked up a needle and thread in a long time? Do not miss this opportunity to learn from ladies who’ve been sewing since 2nd grade! It’s nearly a lost art, but we’re bringing it back with Linda Thiele, Debbie Haenftling, Carol Nahrwold, and Jan Bultemeier who have curated a perfect practice project to teach you sewing and the basics of quilting in the form of a pot holder or trivet. Coordinate colors with your kitchen! It’s made for beginners, but any sewing ability is welcome. There’s so much knowledge combined in this room, if you have a question about anything related to needle and thread, they can answer it! We also gather the last Wednesday each month (July 29th this week and August 26th) at 5:00 pm Kekionga Craft Co, 7328 Maysville Rd. Come & go. Enjoy a little fellowship, prayer idea, and grab something to eat if you’d like. Young Adults Second Sundays, August 9th starting at 6 pm @ Pastor Nate's house Hosted by Ben & Gwyn Corley, we'll have dinner together, games, and devotion. Bring a friend and fellowship with us. REMEMBER August 9th is also the last day to sign up for Combat Ops Laser Tag. REGISTER HERE. You can pay later, but sign up today! Don't miss out! Get on the text thread to be sent reminders and invites. Text 'stpfw' to 94000 and follow the prompts.