For Sunday, April 3, 2011 Fourth Sunday In Lent 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. Sunday’s Events Pasadena Community Ministries Food & Clothing Drive. On the first Sunday of each month we have a Food Drive of non-perishable items. (Peanut butter and jelly are always much needed items.) They also need in-season clothing, especially Easter wear and shoes and socks for children. Donations of food items can be placed in or on the cabinets in the hallway between the narthex and fellowship hall. Clothing can be placed under the large table in the narthex in the brown plastic containers. Monetary donations are always welcome. Please make your check out to Peace Lutheran Church and write “PCM” in the memo section. As always, thank you for your generosity, and please remember this ministry in your prayers. Communion Instruction begins at 1:00 pm. All students ready for instruction in First Communion (we suggest 3rd grade-5th grade) are invited to attend classes at 1:00 pm on April 3, 10 & 17. We are going to learn more about how communion is our gift of God’s love and grace while learning how it helps us communicate our Christian message. Our children will receive their first communion on April 24th with their families. A Message from Pastor Galen Our First Reading on Sunday is 1 Samuel 16:1-13. Look closely at this verse: "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7. This was the Lord's instruction to Samuel, the prophet of God, when he was sent to anoint one of the son's of Jesse to be the future king of Israel. One by one Jesse presented his sons to Samuel, but each was rejected. When Samuel asked if all Jesse's sons were there, Jesse said there remains the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep. When the youngest was brought before Samuel the Lord said, "Rise and anoint him; for this is the one." That son was David. When Samuel anointed David, the "spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward." In our Gospel for Sunday, Jesus anointed a blind man with mud and saliva. Jesus spread the mixture on the man's eyes and said, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam (which means Sent). And when he washed, his eyes were opened. And, look closely at this verse: Jesus told his disciples, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." John 9:5. God's Spirit was revealed through a boy and through a man born blind. Let the light of Christ shine in your heart of faith, too! The other Scripture for Sunday: Psalm 23 and Ephesians 5:8-14. See you in church. Pastor Galen Midweek Lenten Worship Our midweek Lenten theme this year will be a reflection on our life together as a congregation. The springboard for this reflection will be Dietrich Bonhoeffer's little book entitled Life Together. This classic in spiritual literature is still available in print if you want to read it on your own. Our Lenten reflections will not be a book study or strictly speaking a Bible study, so having the book and reading it will not be necessary. Pastor Galen will offer his reflections on the five chapters of Bonhoeffer's book. April 6: Ministry. April 13: Confession and Communion. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is commemorated on our ELCA church calendar in remembrance of his resistance to Hitler and his death as a martyr in that cause on April 9, 1945. Bonhoeffer helped form the Confessing Church and headed its underground seminary. His well known books, The Cost of Discipleship and Life Together reflect his effort to establish a faith community that was faithful to the Gospel in the face of grave social injustice by the Nazis. Plan to join us each Wednesday during the season of Lent for services at 12:30 pm and 7:00 pm. A soup lunch will be held at 11:45 am and our usual soup suppers at 6:00 pm. Pastoral Care Our Christian sympathy is extended to the family of Dennis Dunham, father of John & Pat Dunham, grandfather of Jody & David Wright and Katy & Dustin Parker, who entered into God’s glory on March 28th. Volunteers Needed For Maundy Thursday Worship The Maundy Thursday evening worship service on April 21st will include the rite of foot washing. We will need 12 volunteers (children and adults) to participate. If you would be interested, please call Monica Clark at (281) 991-7151, or the church office. Sign-up sheets are also available on the servant’s bulletin board in the narthex. Ben Remmert’s Commissioning As An Associate In Ministry On April 10 Thank you for those that were at our congregational meeting on February 27th to vote and call Ben Remmert as our Associate in Ministry for youth and family ministries. On April 10th Ben will be commissioned at Kinsmen Lutheran Church, 12100 Champion Forest Dr., Houston, at 4:00 pm. Ben would like to extend an invitation to you to celebrate this important event in his life, as well as witness a special ceremony where he will be commissioned by the Bishop Mike Reinhart. A light reception will be held afterwards. Please RSVP Sharon Peebles at slp1029@sbcglobal.net if you plan to attend. Easter Lilies If you would like to donate a lily to be used for our Easter services, please be sure to write your name on the sign-up sheet in the narthex. Lilies should be brought to the church on April 21st or 22nd, and can be taken home following the 11:00 worship service on Easter Sunday. Installation of Pastor Gary Morgan-Gohlke The congregation of Light of Christ Lutheran Church in La Porte, TX announces the installation of Pastor Gary Morgan-Gohlke as their pastor at a service on Thursday, April 7th at 7:00 pm. Buck- A- Chick: For ELCA World Hunger Relief This Easter, we are going to join congregations from across the nation by having a “Buck-a-Chick” sale. For one dollar, you can purchase and decorate a paper chick for yourself or in honor of a loved one and your gifts will help provide families living in poverty with chicks to provide a source of food and income. If you are going to write a check, please make your checks out to Peace Lutheran, with “Buck-a-Chick” in the memo line. ELCA Disaster Response to the Japan Earthquake & Pacific Tsunami On March 11, one of the largest earthquakes struck Japan near the town of Sendai triggering tsunami warnings across the Pacific Ocean. The initial earthquake was followed by 30-foot waves, devastating Japan’s coastal areas, and more than 50 aftershocks. The death toll continues to mount as assessments of the damage are finding their way out through contacts on the ground. Local officials are also assessing impact to new technology such as nuclear power plants, transportation and communication networks. The Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church (JELC) has reported minimal damage to its churches in Tokyo and is assessing the full extent of impact to JELC congregations near the epicenter, particularly Sendai Lutheran Church. The ELCA, through the churchwide unit for Global Mission, currently has 22 missionaries serving in schools and parishes of the JELC; all have been found to be safe and secure. The ELCA stands in solidarity with its companion on the ground, the JELC, as it assesses the safety and security of its members and communities served by the church. Through its predecessor bodies, the ELCA has been present in Japan since 1892 and will accompany the JELC in its planned response to this disaster. Elsewhere in the Pacific region, the ELCA remains in contact with companions in the Pacific Islands, South America and throughout the coastal region of the United States to respond as needed to the tsunamis caused by the earthquake. If you would like to donate to the ELCA Disaster Response you can send your check directly to ELCA Disaster Response, 39330 Treasury Center, Chicago, IL 60694. Please write “Pacific Earthquake and Tsunami” on your check’s memo line. Youth Garage Sale on April 16th! To help raise funds for Camp Hope and summer ministries this summer, we are going to host a garage sale here at Peace. We will also be serving lunch at the garage sale. So if you have items in your closet, attic, or garage that are collecting dust and just need a reason to donate, why not help our youth as they are preparing for our summer outreach ministries. If you plan on donating items, please plan on bringing them over to Peace Lutheran Church and the items can be placed in Ben Remmert’s office. For more information, please contact Ben. Family Seder Meal on April 20th at 6:30 pm During Holy Week, we are going to celebrate our time together with a Seder Meal where we will come together to have a family friendly Seder Meal. After our meal, we will have our Jr. High and Sr. High perform their Easter production. It’s going to be a time to come together for fellowship, come together in prayer, and come together to learn more about our shared Christian history. We will need a count for food, so please be sure to sign the sheet on the table in the narthex. For more information, please contact Ben Remmert. Call Committee Minutes of March 27, 2011 Meeting Members present: Darla Haygood; Mary King; Gary Morgan-Gohlke; Joann Hutton; Bob Wells; Ernie McWilliams, Ed Buskirk, Sandy Tillis, Weldon Wilkerson, Dawn Lambert. Sandy called the meeting to order. Ed opened with prayer and a devotion based on Exodus 13. Let’s remember that God will get us (the call committee) to where we need to be (calling a pastor) in His time. Council Update - Darla and Mary There will be a congregational meeting on May 15th, after the 11:00 a.m. service. This meeting will cover the annual elections. They also suggested it may be a good time for the Call Committee to give an update to the congregation. The Call Committee Budget was approved by council. The $3,000 that was donated for the call committee has been paid to the synod. Confidentiality There was discussion regarding the individual nomination form and a reminder from Gary that the committee keep pastoral candidate names confidential. Congregational Survey The Congregation Survey form was finalized and Sandy will email the form to call committee members for any comments or changes that appear to be needed. We are to complete our review so that the survey can be put in the weekly email, the Sunday bulletin, an individual email. This needs to go to Judy Griffin by 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 30th. Bob will try to get the information regarding the survey into the quarterly newsletter, which will soon be mailed out. The Survey will be made available to the congregation by email and a paper survey will be available to hand out to the congregation on April 3 and 10. The time for the survey to be open and completed will be from March 30th through April 13th. Bob and Sandy will have computers in the fellowship hall on April 3rd and 10th for those who would like to complete the survey on line. Darla and Joann will provide refreshments for those two Sundays. Weldon also offered to help with the refreshments. Also, there will be temple talks on April 3 and 10 regarding the congregational survey and the importance of the survey so that the committee can begin completion of the ministry site profile (MSP). A paper copy of the Survey will be available on April 3rd and April 10th for those who want them. The paper surveys, once completed, are to be placed in the Church Council lock box. (We need to mention this in the temple talks.) Bob will get information to Judy for the weekly email and the Sunday bulletin. He will also be talking to Bernie regarding identifying the webmaster for Peace Lutheran’s web site. The next meeting will be April 3, 2011. Sound Advise For Godly Living What if Jesus had your job At home…At your workplace…At school…At church… There are many wrong ways to do something: Indifferently: I have no interest in doing it. Stubbornly: I won’t do it. Independently: I’ll do it my own way. Rebelliously: I’ll do the opposite. Disobediently: I’ll do it, but not exactly. Slothfully: I’ll do it with as little effort as possible. Lazily: I’ll do it when I get around to it. Selfishly: I’ll do it if there’s something in it for me. Irresponsibly: I’ll let someone else do it. Negatively: I’ll do it, but why does it have to be me? Ungratefully: I’ll do it, but don’t expect me to be happy about it. There are also right ways to do the tasks at hand: Well Done Wholeheartedly: Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for me. Colossians 3:24 NASB Joyfully: Serve the LORD with gladness. Psalm 100:2 KJV Faithfully: Well done, good and faithful servant. Matthew 25:21 KJV Be mindful to pray for: The Call Committee, Pastor Galen, Ben and the Youth & Family Ministry, and the pastor the Lord is preparing for Peace. The Call Committee Prayer Team wishes you a good and Godly day. Congregational Survey As we move forward in the call process it is important that we get input from the congregation to help match us with the best candidates to lead our congregation in our ministry. To do this we have created a survey to help develop a profile of the congregation. The congregational survey is now available on-line through April 13. Additionally, paper forms will be available during all three services on April 3rd and April 10th. For those members who do not have a computer but would still like to complete the survey online, the Call Committee will have computers set up in the fellowship hall during church services on April 3rd and April 10th. Please go to the following link https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Peace_Lutheran to complete the survey online. Your response to this survey is very important in helping us identify the right pastoral candidate to lead the ministries of our congregation. Thank you, The Call Committee Election of Church Council Officers Last year, PLC amended our constitution regarding the election cycle of Council positions to occur with terms starting September 1st each year to allow new Council Members an opportunity to be involved in the annual budget process for the term of their position. Council positions up for election this year are as follows: President, Treasurer, Personnel and Policy Chair, and two Member-at-Large positions. We will hold elections for these positions at a called Congregational Meeting to be held Sunday, May 15th, 2011, immediately following the 11:00am Worship Service. The Nominating Committee for 2011 is actively seeking candidates to serve in these two year positions. If you are interested or would like to nominate a qualified member of PLC, please contact the Nominating Committee by phone or fill out a form located on the table in the Narthex and drop it in the Church Council comment box. The Nominating Committee members are: Darla Haygood (281) 487-7173 Vernon Vanderford (713) 455-4975 Monica Clark (281) 991-7151 Carolyn Jones (713) 649-6954 Toni Bowman (281) 998-0230 If you are nominating someone else in the congregation, please ask that person prior to submitting their name. We ask that all names be submitted by Sunday, May 8th, so that the names may be included on the ballot at the Congregational Meeting. Council members are eligible to serve two consecutive terms. Of the positions above, Mary King, our current President, has agreed to serve a second term. Additionally, Randy Shaw, Member-at-Large, has agreed to serve as well. The Nominating Committee has also recruited a member to head the Personnel and Policy Chair. Please prayerfully consider if God is calling you to serve Peace Lutheran in this ministry of church leadership. From the Youth Director How are your Lent practices coming along? I know that I slipped on my practice of giving up fast food for Lent, but I took this time to remember the sacrifices that Jesus went through in his ministry here on Earth and the forgiveness that God gives us as we mess up. what a great God we have. So during this time of Lent, I would like to invite you to visit the prayer station that we have in the narthex. This is a time where you can write a prayer that you have and give this prayer to God by writing on a sticky note and placing it on the wooden cross, symbolizing how God takes our prayers and listens to them. There are also other Lent goodies that you can use to help make this time special for your friends and family. We also survived our 30 Hour Famine with our senior and junior high. Together with other Lutheran congregations around Houston, we raised over $500 dollars for the ELCA Hunger Relief, learned more about how we can help relieve hunger in our community, and helped out Cypress Assistance Ministry and I-45 Hope in their ministries. God is certainly working through our youth! God Bless, Ben Remmert Sr. High/Young Adults-Paintballing April 3 at 2 pm. We’re going to paintball with our neighborhood Lutheran church, House of Prayer, right after church on Sunday and we should be back for closing prayer and devotion. Cost is $20 which covers the paintballs and rental equipment. Make sure to also fill out a Release form. Sign Ups are on the youth and family bulletin board. Bring a friend. For more information, please contact Ben Remmert. Camp Hope Registration for Summer! This summer Camp Hope is themed as our own circus! Camp Hope is a ministry where our youth who are 5 years old through 5th grade are invited to our three week Day Camp. Expect an action packed day for school children which includes Bible stories, crafts, games, (indoor & outdoor), songs and more. Campers are cared for by trained High School and College age Small Group Leaders and Support Staff. Camp Hope is from July 11-15, July 18-22, July 25-29. So make sure to register now to get in on our early bird discounts by April 30th. Registration forms can be found on the table in the narthex. For more information, please contact Ben Remmert or Camp Manager Jessica Gaul. Youth Lent Focus: Becoming a Contagious Christian Lent is the time to focus our attention to the ministry of Jesus Christ. Our Wednesday night evenings are focused on how to equip our youth in relational evangelism by discovering your own style of communicating about Christ, how to build spiritual significant relationships, telling your own story, and having some fun doing so. For more information, please contact Ben Remmert. Jr. High Human Dignity Retreat: April 8-9 What this is not is a Sex Ed. Retreat. However, this is a place to have caring and warm discussions where we will talk about how we are relational beings and how God has given us the gift of sexuality. This is a lock-in only for our Jr. High students and we are going to Holy Comforter Lutheran Church where we will be with 5 other Lutheran congregations. There will be food, games, fellowship, and meaningful conversations. For parents, we just had our meeting, but we can email you a copy of the meeting which discusses about the weekend. We will meet at Peace Lutheran Church at 6:00 pm and be back at Peace on April 9th at 8:00 pm. Cost is $30 which includes three meals, snacks, transportation, and our activities. Today is the last day to sign up. Sign ups are on the youth and family ministry bulletin board. More questions please contact Ben Remmert. Calling Our Jr./Sr. High Actors For An Easter Performance It’s closer than you think. With such a successful Christmas Program, we are going to be putting on another production for our Easter service and we need some help! As of right now we are looking for Jr. High and Sr. High students who would like to perform in a production that has to do with the Easter Message. If you are interested, please contact Ben Remmert for more information as we are beginning our rehearsal. Easter Extravaganza 2011 on April 23 At 10:00 am – 12:00 pm It’s almost here. Our time together for our Easter Extravaganza where we will have our church wide Easter Egg Hunt for our 2 year olds to 5th graders. We’ll also decorate our flower cross for Easter Sunday worship, create Easter Baskets for our shut-ins, and come together for a light meal. It’s going to be a lot of fun and we hope that all of our children and families can make it out to this very memorable event. The hunt starts promptly at 10:20 am, so don’t be late. We would also like the kids to bring fresh flowers to help decorate the cross. If you would like to donate individually wrapped candy for the hunt, there will be a box in the narthex for your donations. Jr. High, Sr. High, and Youth Group! Are you a youth and are searching for a community to belong to? Do you want to have fun with people your own age? Why not come and give youth group a try. This is a time where we are going to build on our community through fellowship, prayer, devotion, and a meal together as a group. We are wanting this to be an engaging time for our youth so the more the better! Here is the schedule for our youth groups for 2011. Jr. High- Sundays at 5 pm- 6pm Sr. High and Young Adults- Wednesdays at 7 pm-8:30 pm Children and Families Trip to the Bible Museum on May 7th! With the help from our Brotherhood, we are going to go to the Bible Museum at Houston Baptist University. The museum has creative exhibits to help awaken and enhance an appreciation of the history, preservation, and influence of the most influential in individual lives and in the culture of civilizations. Cost is free to the museum, but there is a cost for lunch so bring $10 dollars. For more information, please contact Ben Remmert. Sunday Refuge For Jr. & Sr. High @ 9:45 am! Are you ready for a new experience? Are you needing a time to be amongst people your age? Why not come to a place of Refuge where you can explore your faith while having a blast doing it! This will not be your typical Sunday School class you have experienced in the past. There will be food, games and activities, and time to listen to the gospel in a new light with a message that reflects our world today. Bring a friend! Lutherhill Summer 2011! If you are planning on going to Lutherhill this summer, we need you to sign up as soon as possible. Spots are filling fast and we need a good head count so we can put down our deposit. Remember that if you are in 1st-5th grade, we are going to Lutherhill on August 7th-12th, 2011 and 6th-8th are going to Lutherhill on June 19th-24th. Sign Ups are on the youth and family bulletin board for summer ministries and see the pictures form our Rally Day. More questions? Contact Ben Remmert. Family Meal Nights with the Youth Director Thank you for those families that have already talked to me about a time to meet, but for those that have not, there is still time! I am still committed to meeting all of our families here at Peace Lutheran. I have placed a sign-up sheet on our youth bulletin board for families to sign up on the day and time that you would like to schedule a meal together where we can bond together as Brothers and Sisters in Christ. For more information, please contact Ben Remmert. Family Roller Skating On May 14th! Bring out your disco fever as we take our children and youth out to the roller rink on May 14th at 12:00 pm where we will roller skate and have fun together. Cost will be $15 per person to cover cost of skates and using the facilities. This event is for our 3-5th graders! Be on the lookout for more information as we come closer to the event. For more information, please contact Ben Remmert. VBS 2011 Pandamania – July 31-August 5 Vacation Bible School is just around the corner! A wild celebration of God’s unconditional love! At PandaMania VBS, kids will discover that God has a purpose and a plan for everyone and that he crafted each of us with his own loving hands. Make sure to check out our VBS board in the narthex for more up to date information as we move closer to our event. Sr. High Summer Adventure in Corpus Christi, TX For this summer, we are going to head down to Corpus Christi, TX from June 15th-18th where we will camp on the beach, go deep sea fishing, catch a hooks game, and so much more. While down in Corpus Christi, we are going to talk about what it means to be Lutheran in the South and how rich our Lutheran identity is in this time of age. Sign ups will be on the youth and family ministry board. Cost will be $150 which will cover transportation, room and board, and meals. If you have any more questions, please contact Ben Remmert. Upcoming 50+ Bus Trips On May 27th we have 16 tickets for the Pasadena Little Theater performance of “Getting Sara Married” (comedy). Tickets are $6 per person. Contact Carol Thacker (281) 481-5202 or Virginia Rodriguez (281) 487-4961 to purchase a ticket. Church Facility Keys If you have a key to the church but have not notified the Administrator yet, please be sure to stop by the church office as soon as possible and complete the form needed for insurance purposes. Thank you for your help. Adults Game Night Bring a friend and a snack to share and join us in the Fellowship Hall on Friday, April 8th for an evening of games and good fellowship. Any questions please contact Ruth Meyer. Easter Breakfast on April 24th! Our Youth are going to be up early in the morning so that our congregation can enjoy a warm breakfast a church. After the Sunrise Service we will be cooking throughout the morning flipping pancakes pan frying sausage, and serving you. If you feel so moved, we are accepting donations for summer camp scholarships for Camp Hope and Lutherhill, just write in the memo line scholarship- Camp Hope or Lutherhill. Sarah’s House Just a reminder, as we do our spring cleaning, don't forget Sarah's House. They are always in need of clothing for women and children. Shoes and hand bags also accepted. Clothing must be clean and in bags, which may be placed in the collection baskets under the Parish Life table. Please prayerfully consider making a donation. Krause Center A big, big thanks to Nanette Hlavaty for the nice donation of 20 composition books. We will be starting on their journals shortly. Please remember to save your motel toiletries. We will need 60 plus shampoo, soaps, conditioners, and lotion. We are also collecting chapsticks, decks of cards, beanie baby-size stuffed toys, ladies’ size fun sport socks, men's size sport socks, tooth brushes. We make up gift bags with the items listed and they are well received. Creative Hands Ministry - Caring & Sharing We had a great and fun time with our Buck-A-Chick project. The money collected will go to the ELCA World Hunger Fund. Chicks are on display in the narthex. A few of the wooden chicks that we decorated are still available for $1.00. Our chickies will be judged and ribbons and prizes will be given. If you want to take part with a chick and the judging, they must be finished and displayed by Thursday, April 7th. You may pick up your chick the following Sunday. Monday, April 11th Card Day. Morning and night groups. We will be making our Easter cards. And if there is any interest for more Chicks Let me know so we can cut more and will have the painting supplies available. Please continue to save your used inks and toners. We use the rebates from the recycling program for our card stocks and papers and office goods for our carding, the materials for the journals and the blessings we are making for the women's retreat in September. Lutherhill Ministries Golf Tournament The 10th Annual Lutherhill Ministries Golf Tournament will be held at the Longwood Golf Club in Cypress on Friday, April 15th. 1:30 pm shot gun start. 4 Person Scramble Entry Fee: $110. Sponsorships are also available. Register by April 11th. See further information on the Parish Life bulletin board. Your generous participation and sponsorship of this event helps us to insure that no one is kept from camp due to cost. A Message from Ed & Kim Buskirk Kim and I are proud to announce that we are online with a new website. Please visit us at www.evermoreministries.com. We are closing in on completing the new CD and we will be distributing copies to the congregation as soon as possible. In the meantime please visit us on-line. We will keep the site updated with what is going on with our band Evermore, song lyrics, lead sheets, and songs for you to download. We hope that it will become the online hub for our ongoing ministry. Peace, Ed & Kim Buskirk