Peace Lutheran Church Peace Lutheran Church is a congregation of 450 baptized souls in Sussex, Wisconsin. Sussex is a community of 7,000 located in southeastern Wisconsin, approximately 20 miles northwest of Milwaukee. Our pastor is Rev. Peter C. Bender, who has shepherded our congregation since September 1991. We are a member congregation of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The parish has two major auxiliaries, our elementary day school, Peace Lutheran Academy and our small publishing house, The Concordia Catechetical Academy. In our congregation Christ gathers His people around God's Holy Word--to hear it proclaimed, to study it, to proclaim it in worship. In the congregation, through the water and Word of Holy Baptism, God claims each child--young or old--as His own, calling them by name and bringing them into His kingdom. In Holy Communion, Christ is truly and essentially present under the bread and wine, given to His people to eat and to drink, for the forgiveness of their sins, for life and for salvation. We invite you to join us for worship and study. What We Believe, Teach and Confess With the universal Christian Church, our congregation teaches and responds to the love of the Triune God: the Father, creator of all that exists; Jesus Christ, the Son, who became human to suffer and die for the sins of all human beings and to rise to life again in the ultimate victory over death and Satan; and the Holy Spirit, who creates faith through God's Word and Sacraments. The three persons of the Trinity are coequal and coeternal, one God. Being "Lutheran," our congregation accepts and teaches Bible-based teachings of Martin Luther that inspired the reformation of the Christian Church in the 16th century. The teaching of Luther and the reformers can be summarized in three short phrases: Grace alone, Scripture alone, Faith alone. Grace alone God loves the people of the world, even though they are sinful, rebel against Him and do not deserve His love. He sent Jesus, His Son, to love the unlovable and save the ungodly. Scripture alone The Bible is God's inerrant and infallible Word, in which He reveals His Law and His Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. It is the sole rule and norm for Christian doctrine. Faith alone By His suffering and death as the substitute for all people of all time, Jesus purchased and won forgiveness and eternal life for them. Those who hear this Good News and believe it have the eternal life that it offers. God creates faith in Christ and gives people forgiveness through Him. Our congregation is "confessional." We hold to the Lutheran Confessions as the correct interpretation and presentation of Biblical doctrine. Contained in The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, these statements of belief were put into writing by church leaders during the 16th century. (The simplest of these is Luther's Small Catechism. The Augsburg Confession gives more detail on what Lutherans believe.) Peace Lutheran Academy Peace Lutheran Academy is owned and operated by Peace Lutheran Church of Sussex, Wisconsin, under the supervision of the congregation's board of education. Peace Lutheran Academy was established in 1995 to assist and support Christian parents in their God-given vocation of raising their children. Children are gifts of God. Christian parents desire that their children grow up knowing and believing in their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and that they learn to live as faithful, responsible, God-fearing citizens in the world in which God has placed them. It is the goal of Peace Lutheran Academy to do all it can in the fields of elementary education and Lutheran catechesis to assist parents in their God-given calling. In addition to offering a high quality elementary education with a unique specialization in music and the humanities, we are committed to the Christian faith as taught in the Word of God and confessed in the historic Confessions of the Lutheran Church. Parents who believe as we do will find an important ally in Peace Lutheran Academy and the education that we offer. The Concordia Catechetical Academy The CCA is an auxiliary organization of Peace Lutheran Church, Sussex, Wisconsin made up of Lutheran pastors and laymen. The Academy is dedicated to the promotion of Luther's Small Catechism and faithful Lutheran catechesis. The CCA produces catechetical materials and sponsors seminars and lectures on subjects related to catechesis. The Annual Symposium on Catechesis is an event sponsored by the CCA on the third Thursday and Friday in June. Mark your calendar and plan to attend in future years.