For Sunday, December 5, 2010

Second Sunday of Advent

For a list of upcoming activities go to http://www.mychurchevents.com/calendar/calendar.aspx?ci=G1K5L6N8L6I3N8

Be sure to check out our website http://welcometopeace.com

If you cannot attend this Sunday, you can still make an offering using our online service at Contribute Online. Thank you for your commitment to our mission and ministry.

We invite you to become a friend of Peace on the Peace Facebook webpage. Facebook is an online social networking site that helps communities of friends stay connected on an on-going basis. The cost is free. Facebook is a lot fun and you will enjoy the connections. You will need a Facebook account to join. Go to http://facebook.com for more information and search Facebook for Peace Lutheran Church, Pasadena Texas. We look forward to you joining.

This Sundays Events

Sunday's Sermon
We continue our advent journey this Sunday with the introduction of John the Baptist and his message of repentance. Repentance means "turn" and the title of my sermon is the "The Great Turn". I will be preaching about the Gospel's call to turn toward God's future. This is the great challenge of faith. We need to constantly turn toward God's future of peace and harmony. How in your life do you need to turn from that is harmful and toward that which is life giving?

We continue to use new liturgies during advent. 8:30 will be using “Mass of Creation", 9:45 is setting 4, 11:00 is setting 10 (this setting uses familiar hymns to sing the liturgy.) We will also be using the contemporary translation of the Lord's Prayer at 8:30 and 11:00. The reason for these changes is for us to keep ourselves from falling into a rut in worship. The worship of God is wonderful because of the many creative options liturgies can give us. Yet the basic pattern of worship remains: Gathering, Word, Meal, and Sending.

Our annual meeting will be after the 11:00 service. Elections will be in June as per our new by-law changes.

Agenda:
Opening Prayer
Treasurer's Report
2011 Budget Approval
Approval of Nominating and Audit Committees
Reports of Pastor, President, Directors, Organizational Chairs,
Other Motions from the floor.
Adjournment with the Lord's Prayer

Pastor Report, Director Reports and 2011 Budget are on the table in the narthex this Sunday.

The Meaning of Advent
Advent is a wonderful season of the church year. It is the season of hope and the power of waiting for God's reign to come. We capture these themes in our lighting of one additional candle each Sunday and the slow decoration of our Christmas tree. Also we use the color blue and invite people to wear blue on Sunday.

Other News.................
Wednesday Advent Soup suppers and prayer service are at 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm. The theme of our devotions will be an introduction to the Gospel of Matthew.

December 8: Matthew and the Kingdom of Heaven
December 15: Matthew and the call to discipleship

We will also have special advent activities for children and youth.
We will also be slowly decorating our Christmas tree after worship.

Thank yous
To all those who helped put up decorations and Christmas tree this week.

Wednesday Morning Bible Study
Welcome to our study. We are reading the book of Galatians.

Pastoral Care Notes
Lou Linton: Released
Cindy Smith: Released
Megan Lambert: Releasee
Dale Taggart continues his treatment for cancer
Jason Elliott continues his treatment for cancer.

See you on Sunday!
Pastor Tart

General Operating Fund deposits for November.
11-07-10 $9,886.50
11-14-10 $8,841.00

To meet our budgeted income, we need $10,673 a week.

Overview of actual vs. estimated income for 2010:

                            Actual                                    Estimated

January                $44,549                                 $53,365 (five Sundays)
February              $41,879                                 $42,692
March                  $41,563                                 $42,692
April                    $42,517                                  $42,692
May                    $46,769                                  $53,365 (five Sundays)
June                    $37,266                                  $42,692
July                     $33,056                                  $42,692
August                $46,006                                  $53,365 (five Sundays)
September          $34,486                                  $42,692
October              $43,601                                  $53,365 (five Sundays)
November
December

October’s Preliminary Financial Numbers:
Actual Income $413,692 Estimated Income $462,500
Actual Expenses $463,491 Budgeted Expenses $462,500
Income vs. Expense ($49,799) deficit

YTD Expense Breakdown:

                                           YTD Actual               YTD Budget
Salaries                               $198,088                   $225,004
Admin                                 $35,202                     $27,123
Mortgage                            $122,224                   $122,224
Insurance                            $20,949                     $18,667
Utilities                                $34,331                    $30,750
Property                              $37,262                    $26,750
Education                            $3,874                      $1,667
Evangelism                          $0                             $208
Parish Life                           $477                        $625
Steward                              $2,451                     $1,500
Worship                             $6,843                      $3,333
Music                                 $0                             $417
Youth                                 $1,674                      $1,250

From The Youth Director
We’re getting closer to the big date! It’s exciting to see all the Christmas decorations in the neighborhoods and the weather getting cooler and cooler. I just wanted to thank everyone for their kind words to our college student cards! I know they will appreciate your words of encouragement. As the holidays are getting closer, I want to remind everyone to make sure that they take the time during the day to rest and relax from the busy day.

I also wanted to take this time to let everyone know that our Lutherhill summer schedule is up on the Youth and Family Bulletin board. For our elementary students, we are planning on going to Lutherhill August 7th- August 12th and for Jr. High, we will go on June 19th-24th. If you are planning on going to Lutherhill this summer, we need you to sign up as soon as possible. Spots fill up fast!

God Bless,
Ben Remmert, Dir. of Youth and Family Ministry
benr@welcometopeace.com

Next Sports Ministry Meeting-December 19th. SIGN UP IF YOU ARE INTERESTED!
Every third Sunday of the month at 2:00 pm, we will meet at Peace Lutheran for some time to come together and discuss about league opportunities in the area. We are about to begin looking into spring leagues so this would be the time to come to join our new ministry, or if you express an interest in this ministry. For more information, please contact Ben Remmert.

Next Parent Huddle Time And DEEP Leadership Meeting: December 15th, 5:30 PM & 7:00 PM
We just met to discuss about Camp Hope and other opportunities to gather together, proclaim the word, and serve our communities. We are also developing our Youth and Family Leadership Team “DEEP” where we are going to dive into our ministry together, head first. This is again a time for us to come together to gather and share the vision of Peace Lutheran’s ministry. We are reevaluating new times to meet so if you are interested, please let Ben Remmert know of which day of the week and time works best for you!

Help Feed A Starving Jr. High, Sr. High, Or Young Adult Youth Group
PLEASE SIGN UP IN THE NARTHEX IF YOU ARE INTERESTED!!! As everyone is aware, the best way conversations and fellowship are over a meal. This is the same case for our youth here at Peace. I will have a sign up sheet out in the narthex to see if you would like to help your Youth and Family Director feed our kids as we conduct ministry throughout the year. I will have schedules for days which you can help in serving a meal. If you are interested in helping please sign up. For more information, please contact Ben Remmert.

Christmas Pageant on December 12th!
Our youth and children will be performing the production of You Can’t Cancel Christmas! on Sunday, December 12th at 5:00 pm. We hope that you will invite your family and friends to come and enjoy our Sunday School Christmas Program. Refreshments will follow.

(Reminder to parents: There will be a Christmas Program rehearsal on December 11th at 9:00 a.m., followed by a Christmas Party in the Fellowship Hall.)

Gnome Removal And Infestation Sr. High Fundraiser
Have you seen them in your garden? On your sidewalk? Gnomes. They are spreading all over our community. So who are you going to call? Our Sr. High youth Gnome Removal Services will help you out. That’s right, Sr. High’s designed and implemented fundraiser is back and they thought this would be a fun way to involve the community and raise money for their Summer Trip. We have our services for sale in the narthex (between Camp Hope and Church Calendar Bulletin Boards). Please fill out a service card so we can begin the month of December with a huge success. More information, please contact Ben Remmert.

Camp Hope Information Luncheon: Dec. 19th 12:30 pm-1:30 pm
You may have seen the bulletin board with the carnival themed decorations and wondered what that is all about? You may have gotten a postcard to save the dates of July 11-28th for Camp Hope. But you may be asking what is Camp Hope? Camp Hope is an opportunity for our Jr. High and Sr. High to lead in a 3 week day camp where we teach the good news of Christ through games, worship, interactive story telling, snacks, crafts, expressive arts, and service. It’s an opportunity for Peace to be apart of one of the most successful outreach and youth leadership program our synod offers to our youth and families. If you want to know more, please attend our luncheon on Dec. 19th where we will take you through a traditional day at Camp Hope. Plus there will be free lunch!

Sr./Young Adults Advent Youth Group: Wednesdays At 6:00 pm
It’s that time of the year where we are preparing for the celebration of our Lord and Savior’s birth. So beginning at 6:00 pm, the church is having it’s Advent Soup Supper and we would love for you to come. Then we will come together after the supper to have a time of devotion where we will come to talk and a time of fellowship. At 8:00 pm, we will be performing our duties in our Gnome Fundraiser. If you have anymore questions, please contact Ben Remmert.

Sr. High Gathering At Lutherhill!: Feb. 18th-20th
We just got back from the Jr. High Gathering at Lutherhill and it was blast. But now Lutherhill is opening its doors to all our Sr. High students in our synod to come for the weekend to worship, meet new people all over Texas/Louisiana, small group discussions, polar bear swimming, s’mores, an ultimate frisbee tournament and so much more. The cost of the event is $160 which includes registration, meals for the weekend, and transportation there. Sign Ups are on the youth and family bulletin board. More questions? Contact Ben Remmert.

Jr. High and Sr. High Graffiti Service- January 22nd, 10 am – 2 pm
EVENT IS OPEN FOR JUNIOR HIGH, SENIOR HIGH, AND PARENTS!
I am asking for some help to repaint the barn outside in the field. Supplies will be provided by the church, but we ask that you bring a sack lunch and to wear clothing that you do not mind getting dirty, and a white shirt to paint on. After we repaint the barn, then we are going to have our Graffiti party where we are going to paint all over our white shirts. If the weather turns bad, we will repaint the junior high room. For more questions, please contact Ben Remmert.

“Lord’s Prayer” Milestone Coming Up: Jan. 16th At 9:45 am And Jan. 23rd At 11 am
ITS COMING UP!!! Our next milestone is for our 2nd graders where we are going to talk about the Lord’s Prayer and the importance of this prayer in the lives of Christians. This is also a time where we will discuss about the different methods of prayer and different spiritual practices around the world. This is an event for the parents as well, so make sure to mark your calendar for January 16th at 9:45 am for the classroom instruction and Jan. 23rd at 11:00 am to be recognized and blessed (with a special gift to remember this milestone). For more information, please contact Ben Remmert.

Women Of Peace Christmas Party
All women of the congregation are invited to bring a friend and join us for the Women of Peace Christmas Party on Sunday, December 5th from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm. This year we are planning to go caroling to our shut-ins. A light lunch will be served at 2:00 pm Afterwards we’ll return to the church for dessert.

Women of Peace Advent Card
Each year the Women of Peace provide us with an Advent Card. In lieu of sending Christmas cards to everyone in our congregation, we combine our money toward a special project. The 2010 Advent Card can be found on the table in the narthex through December 12th. Please use the blue envelopes for your contributions. (Make your checks payable to the Women of Peace.) You may place your envelope in the weekly collection plate.

This year the money collected will go to Sarah's House. The Advent Card is published and available at our Christmas Eve Services. If you have any questions, please contact Carol Young.

Lutheran World Relief Stamp Program
The Christmas Holidays are approaching rapidly and many of you will be sending and receiving Christmas cards. Please remember to save and turn in your cancelled postage stamps. Proceeds from the sale of these stamps to collectors helps to defer shipping costs for Health, School, & Layette Kits, as well as Quilts. Look for the basket in the Narthex marked World Relief to turn in your stamps.

Friendship Circle
The Friendship Circle will hold their December meeting at Chili’s Restaurant (BW8/Fairmont) on December 9th at 6:30 pm. All women of the congregation are invited to join us. If you have any questions see Cindy Stang.

Poinsettias
If you would like to donate a poinsettia plant to place in the church for Christmas Eve, please sign the sheet in the narthex. We ask that you bring your plant to the church during the week of December 19th. You may take your plants home on December 26th. Any questions please call Pam Cronan at (713) 492-2811.

Salvation Army Stockings Due Back
Just a reminder: If you took a stocking home to stuff, please make sure to bring it back sometime during this week. (Be sure to scratch off your name on the list in the book.) Special thanks to all who helped make Christmas a little brighter for some needy children in our community.
Mavis Greif

Blue Christmas Service
"Blue Christmas" Service, Tuesday, December 21, 7:00 pm. “Blue Christmas" is a service for those who are experiencing the "blues" during the Christmas season. We will gather for words of healing, prayers of comfort and songs of solace. The service will be hopeful as we find comfort in our faith in the God who understands and shepherds us through all of life. The service is on the shortest day of the year to emphasize that we must journey through the night on our way to the light of a new day.

If you would like to attend this service but need transportation, please call the church office.

PCM Food Drive December 5
Sunday is our monthly food drive for Pasadena Community Ministries. You can place your donations in the hallway by the Fellowship Hall. Of course, monetary gifts are also accepted. Please make your check payable to Peace Lutheran Church and write “PCM” in the memo section.

We are still collecting Holiday Undies. These items can be underwear for all ages, socks, T-Shirts, or any new items that would make a nice gift for Christmas. These will be delivered the 2nd Tuesday in December so that they may be distributed in time for the holidays. Look for the container under the large table in back of the narthex. PCM is in need of holiday foods for the Christmas baskets, especially turkeys. If you can pick up an extra turkey while they are so reasonable, keep it frozen until delivery. If you don't have freezer room I will try to find room in our freezer here at the church. The food baskets will be distributed on December 18th.

Upcoming 50+ Bus Trips
December 21 – On December 21st we’re going to Old Town Spring for some last minute Christmas shopping and some “good deals” and also to enjoy the sights and smells of Christmas. The bus will leave Peace parking lot at 9:00 am. Cost: $3.00 for the bus plus lunch money.

February 1, 2011 – The Peace Lutheran Pase Setters will be traveling to San Antonio for our first overnight trip. We will be staying at the La Quinta Downtown and walking distance to the Alamo. We will take a ride on the canal and a trolley for site seeing and much, much more. Pick up at Peace will be at 8:00 am. We will be returning on February 2nd at 4:00 pm. Cost is $120.00 per person. Make your reservation before January 10, 2011.

For more information or to register for any of these trips, please call Virginia Rodriguez (281) 487-4961 or Judy Speck (281) 470-0407.

Church Pictorial Directory
The current pictorial directory we are using is several years old, and we are going to start working on a new directory. To accomplish this, we need your help in getting your family’s picture taken. We are starting to make appointments for these pictures now. The picture dates are January 5th through January 8th and January 19th through January 22nd. Please sign up on the sheet in the narthex.

Lunch Bunch
Lunch Bunch will be suspended for the Holidays. Lunch Bunch will resume January 23rd. In January we will be going to The Fish Place at 1105 Clear Lake City Blvd, Houston.

On New Years Eve, please join the Parish Life at Pepper's for an early dinner followed by games in the fellowship hall. Please join us for one or the other or both. Details and a sign-up sheet will be available next Sunday.

Lutheran World Relief Health Kits
Health Kits remain an important part of the World Relief Program, helping people fleeing their homes to maintain personal hygiene while living in exile. Please prayerfully consider donating the items listed below for a couple of health kits and help a refugee maintain good health.

One kit consists of:
Hand Towel - Dark Color
Wash Cloths - Dark Color
Bath Size Bar of Soap
Wide Tooth Comb
Band Aids
Nail File or Nail Clippers with Nail File
     (Please No emery boards)
One Adult Toothbrush in original packaging
(Please No Toothpaste)
Look for the collection basket in the Narthex marked Lutheran World Relief. Have a blessed day.

Volunteers Needed
We need families to volunteer to light an advent candle each week at all 3 services. A sign up sheet is on the board in the narthex. We also need readers for the Christmas Eve services. If you can help out, please contact Monica Clark.

Sarah’s House Needs Your Help
Sarah's House is a non-profit organization, and operates strictly from donations. They are not supported by Pasadena Community Ministries. They provide safe housing for women and their children who are in crisis. They assist with rehabilitation and training for the mothers and help with getting the children back in school. Please prayerfully consider donating a few of the items listed below:

Non-perishable food items
Cleaning products
Paper Products
Personal Hygiene Items (Toothbrushes,Toothpaste, Shampoo, Deodorant, etc)
Look for the basket in the Narthex under the Parish Life table for your donations. Have a blessed day.

End of Year Giving
According to IRS requirements, checks must be dated and postmarked December 31, 2010 in order to claim a charitable deduction for 2010. If you are considering a donation to the church before the end of the year, please keep this in mind.

As always the church continues to be blessed and is a blessing by the ministries we offer. Please consider making a special Christmas Gift to your church to support the work we do. We have much we would like to accomplish on behalf of Christ. Thank you! You may make your contribution online at our website or as part of your regular offering.