The 25th Annual Pumpkin Patch!
We are super excited to celebrate our 25th Pumpkin Patch with you all! It's a tradition with families for miles around around - and it is the largest patch in the Beaches! We unloaded 1,780 pumpkins on Oct. 12th and will open for sales on Sunday, October 13th at 11 a.m. The Patch will run from October 13 to the 31st: Monday through Friday from 1 pm to dusk; Saturdays from 9 a.m. to dusk; and Sundays from 11 a.m. to dusk. With St. Johns County schools off on Monday, October 14th, the Patch will be open all day from 10 a.m. to dusk! Our Family Fun Days weekend will be October 26 (10-4) and October 27 (noon - 4). Look for the bounce house, games, face painting, popcorn and snowcone machines, tractor rides and more, to enjoy before or after you pick your pumpkins! This year a minimum of 10% of net pumpkin sale proceeds will go to support the needs of Hurricane Helene and Milton, through the Florida-Bahamas Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Blessing of the AnimalsIt's a heart-warming tradition to see your pet be blessed for the coming year! They are so deserving as God's creatures who give us nothing but love! 25 Years of Worship in a Stable!
We celebrated a milestone on August 11th! It was our 25th anniversary of being located at 276 Roscoe Blvd. N and worshiping in a stable! Lord of Life Lutheran Church purchased this site in August 1999, and went from worship in a manufactured home to realizing the potential that the stable could have. Over the years congregants, local businesses, and Scouts have contributed their time and talents to improvements to the building. Guests can see the poles along the sides of the interior that demarcate where the horse stalls once were - and some bite marks too! We embrace the fact that true love was born in a stable. We find this unique and unpretentious church frees us to listen fully to the sermons by our wonderul Pastor Karen Biggerstaff, formerly of Spirit of Life in Jacksonville. Join us at 9:45 a.m. any Sunday to see its natural charm.  Farewell to Two Congregants who Head North
We bid farewell in early July to two lovely congregants who have decided to move back north to be closer to friends and family (grandchildren). We celebrated our love for them with a wine and cheese gathering at the home of the church council president. Pennsylvania will be home to both of them just an hour apart and there is talk in our congregation about a road trip - while also seeing (of course) the nearby King of Prussia Mall - the largest in the United States! We love to celebrate and do so every month at least with a monthly celebrations of birthdays (we sing happy birthday before the service is over), on Mother's Day and Father's Day, a BBQ usually in the summer, and a Christmas party at a congregants home.
Presentation on Identifying Invasive Tree at Your Home When: June 9, 2024 at 11 am - 11:45 am Where: Lord of Life Lutheran Church Who: Nicholas Storm, Eagle Scout, Troop 277 What: Presentation on how to identify the Chinese Tallow - a now banned tree in Florida - and short walkabout Local Eagle Scout Nicholas Storm, who has done other conservation work including building a native plants Prayer Garden at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, recently identified the invasive Chinese Tallow tree on our property with his conversation mentor Ginger Feagle. She is the North Central Regional Coordinator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. How many? There were 203 trees and saplings on its property! Nicholas organized a weekend BSA Troop 277 work event, fittingly around Earth Day, to mark, cut down or use an ax to put hatch marks into these trees, followed by applying an herbicide, that will eventually kill them, using state guidelines. “I found out that it was Ben Franklin who brought this tree to the United States, and while they look pretty, it’s now recognized that they spread really quickly and will overtake native Florida vegetation,” Nicholas said, adding “its leaves when they drop can even change the chemistry of soil.” Other states including Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana have followed Florida’s lead. This is a good time of year to identify these trees since new growth starts around February and these trees will bloom until May. The tree has a heart-shaped leaf that is rosy colored when new, light grey rough bark, and will have a white flower with no petals, that resembles popcorn. “We are grateful for Nicholas’s genuine interest in helping our church and being such a good steward of our local Ponte Vedra Beach environment,” said Sheila Kolesaire, Council President of Lord of Life Lutheran Church. “We had no knowledge what these trees were on our property, but we will now be on the lookout for new seedlings.”
We have a flagstone walkway into the church! We were delighted to have Sofia from BSA Troop 291 at our church in mid-December to create a beautiful new flagstone walkway for us as her Eagle Scout Project! We have been blessed this year with three Eagle Scout projects from area BSA Troops. This walkway is a great enhancement to the church as we have had to walk over grass into the sanctuary and this presents issues for people with mobility issues or ladies in high heels! It was great to watch her and her team of about a dozen work together so considerate and focused and understanding the importance of this project to the look of the exterior of the church and its definite functionality! Thank you so much Sofia! Come Find a Book at our Little Free Library!
We are delighted to announce that we have a Little Free Library, joining the worldwide book sharing movement! We are only the 2nd public Little Free Library in Ponte Vedra/Ponte Vedra Beach area! This new faith-focused library will hold children's books on the left and adult books on the right, including copies of the books we read in our faith-based book club every other month! Please feel free to drop by to take a book or leave a book! The 'library' is right inside on the front left of the church! This great project was done by Boy Scout Landon McIntosh, as his Eagle Scout Project with other Scouts from BSA Troop 288 using designs from the Little Free Library. This Boy Scout Troop is one of several that Lord of Life Lutheran Church is currently chartering here. To learn more about the Little Free Library movement, go to https://littlefreelibrary.org A Little Bit About Us About the church: This church is part of the Florida-Bahamas Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and it has been located at this address in Palm Valley for 25 years! We gather for worship at 9:45 a.m. each Sunday at 276 N. Roscoe Blvd., Ponte Vedra Beach. About the people: One of the greatest strengths at Lord of Life are the people who are welcoming, friendly, and truly care. We are a little church with a big heart! Our congregants range in age and profession from a local principal, former realtor, AARP marketer, to retirees living the good life. Most of us have relocated to Florida from other states, with diverse interests and hobbies. We live in Ponte Vedra Beach or surrounding areas (Ponte Vedra, Nocatee, Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and some snow birds who are with us during the winter).
About the building: The church property was formally a horse farm and we still worship in the stable! It's a wonderful casual environment to listen to a sermon, and be joined occasionally by a bird or anole! This structure has been renovated to include handicapped accessible restrooms and a full commercial kitchen. It is open-air and we use ceiling fans to cool us down in the summer or heaters in the winter. We love this rustic, humble, come as you are, place to worship. And we invite you to bring your well-behaved family dog with you too, if you like! They are God's creatures too.
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