For Sunday, March 13, 2011
First 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
The Transition Team will be installed on Sunday morning. Members of the team are: Rev. Gary Morgan-Gohlke – Transition Coach, Barbara Hagemeister, Carolyn Calley, Nanette Hlavaty, Sam Smith and Toni Bowman. Please keep these people in your prayers.

A Message from Pastor Galen
"Temptation and Trust" will be my theme for Sunday's sermon. We will focus on Jesus' temptation in the wilderness as told by Matthew in chapter 4:1-11. Those who want to read ahead might also look at the First Reading: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7, that tells our human story of yielding to temptation. On the First Sunday in Lent we always read about Jesus' 40-day time of temptation in the wilderness. Our Lord's story of temptation also invites us to enter into a 40-day spiritual journey in preparation for the Church's celebration of God's work of salvation in Jesus' death and resurrection. I will uplift an additional text, Psalm 91, in Sunday's proclamation. The tempter quoted this scripture to Jesus in a perversion of faith. We might ask, "When does our prayer for God's will to be done in our lives cross the line of temptation and become putting God to the test?" Trust in relationships is beautiful. Trust is a gift in our relationship with God. We might also ask, "How is trust broken, and how can we build trust in our relationships with one another, in congregation life as well as our family and friendship networks.

Pastoral Care
Dale Taggart continues his treatment for cancer.
Jason Elliott continues his treatment for cancer.
Bill Cook: Released from hospital

Congratulations To…
David Speck & Angela Turlington who were united in marriage on March 4th. David is the son of Lester & Judy Speck.

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.

March 16: Community.
March 23: The Day with Others.
March 30: The Day Alone.
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.

Ben Remmert’s Commissioning As An Associate in Ministry On April 10th-
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 Ben will be commissioned in a service at Kinsmen Lutheran Church on April 10th at 4:00 pm. A light reception will be held afterwards. 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. If you have any questions, please contact Ben Remmert.

Call Committee Notes of March 6, 2011 Meeting
Members present: Darla Haygood (non voting member/council liaison); Gary Morgan-Gohlke (Transition Coach); Joann Hutton (Secretary); Bob Wells (Correspondent); Ernie McWilliams, Ed Buskirk, Dawn Lambert, Weldon Wilkerson.

The devotion was based on scripture from Matthew 6:26-33, followed by the question: "God desires us to be successful, and lead others to His love. How does God’s vision of success differ from that of the world in which we live?"

The Call Committee is filling out the Ministry Site Profile (MSP), which takes a significant amount of time and input. We will be gathering input from the congregation, looking at how Peace is reaching out to the community, and obtaining information for compiling the MSP. Once the MSP is finalized and approved by council, we will have a major milestone completed, which will help us on our path to getting names of Pastors who are interested in being the Pastor for Peace Lutheran Church.

Please take a look at the bulletin board in front of the sanctuary. THANK YOU, ERIN MEHLING, for the wonderful job! This will give you an up to date visual of progress being made in the Call Process.

God’s blessings to all,
Peace Lutheran Church Call Committee



From The Special Call Committee Prayer Group
“If I shut myself off
so I can’t hear you cry,
What good am I?

What good am I, if I know and don’t do,
If I see, and don’t say, if I look right through you,
If I turn a deaf ear to the thunderin’ sky,
What good am I?

What good am I, while you softly weep,
And I hear in my head what you say in your sleep,
And I freeze in the moment like the rest who don’t try,
What good am I?

What good am I then to others and me,
If I’ve had every chance and yet still fail to see,
If my hands are tied, must I not wonder within
Who tied them and why, and where must I have been?

What good am I, if I say foolish things,
And I laugh in the face of what sorrow brings
And I just turn my back while you silently die,
What good am I?
—BOB DYLAN,
“WHAT GOOD AM I?”

Father God, help me to be honest with myself, about what I can do. Then, Lord, help me to go and do. Amen.

From the Youth Director
The season of Lent is upon us! It’s our time together where we come together to recall the Easter story and absorb its meaning in our lives today. So as we are entering into this important time in our church calendar, here are some hints on how to observe Lent effectively. 1) Take some time to observe Lent with others. This is a time where we can strengthen our family ties and help others see the great news of Christ. 2) Develop some helpful attitudes. We should approach Lent joyfully, thinking of it as a time of opportunity instead as a sacrifice to be loving towards others and open to God’s love. 3) Be fair in your practices. Make sure to try and incorporate these spiritual practices into your life without making others feel guilty or uncomfortable as some people may not understand the true meaning of Lent.

Also, we have made a prayer station in our narthex. I would like to invite you in this time of Lent to stop by the station and 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.

God Bless,
Ben Remmert, Dir. of Youth and Family Ministry

Buck-a-Chicks: 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 themselves or in honor of a loved one where 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 Church, with “Buck-a-Chick” in the memo line.

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 for you to 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!

Camp Hope Paid Staff Applications- TURN THEM IN ASAP!
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. Its an opportunity for Peace to be a part of one of the most successful outreach and youth leadership program our synod offers to our youth and families. If you have not turned in your staff application, please contact Ben Remmert as we will begin our interviewing for staff on April 2nd so please sign up on a time that you can come in to interview.

Saints of Faith Milestone: March 20th at 9:45 am and March 27th at 11 am Worship
We are given our time together as a gift of God’s creation. People are given the choices to do what they want with their time. Our Christian faith calls us to live the life of the servant, the life that Jesus Christ lived. But can we truly live this life style? For those that accept the call to live the life of the suffering servant and preach the good news of Jesus Christ to the community, these are saints. This is what we are going to ask of our third graders for this milestone celebration as they will be learning about the people that helped shape our Christian story and heritage and how we can continue to shape the Christian story. So be sure to mark your calendar for this important milestone. For more information, please contact Ben Remmert.

LUTHERHILL This Summer!
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 that 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.

DEEP Leadership Meeting: Next Meeting Sunday March 27th @ 2 pm.
Our leadership team is called “DEEP” because 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 but also a time for our leaders to come together for devotion and have some discussions about passing on the faith to our youth. We are going to begin our times together discussing about the research done on the spiritual lives of American youth by Kendra Dean in Almost Christian. Kendra Dean has made some new discoveries that can help us grow in our ministry. So if you are interested in becoming a leader in our youth and family committee, please 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 have been here for 9 months and I am still committed to meeting all our families here at Peace Lutheran. I have placed a sign up sheet on our youth bulletin for families to sign up what day and time 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.

Jr. High, Sr. High, and Youth Group: Oh My!
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- Sundays at 4 pm- 6 pm
Young Adults- Wednesdays at 7 pm-8:30 pm

Communion Instruction- April 3rd,April 10th, and April 17th at 1 pm
It’s coming up, our spring class of Communion Instruction! All students ready for instruction in First Communion (we suggest 3rd grade- 5th grade) are invited to attend classes every Sunday at 1pm on April 3rd , April 10th, and April 17th 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. Please contact Ben Remmert for more questions.

Sr. High and Jr. High Hunger Famine Lock-In- March 25th- March 26th
Sign up by March 20th! We will be going over to Kinsmen Lutheran Church with other Lutheran congregations from March 25th – March 26th! All Senior High and Junior High are invited as we will have activities for both grades and activities that are to engage them on their own level. We are going to learn more about world hunger and participate in a 30 Hour Famine to help raise money for Lutheran World Relief to help the world feed the world. It’s going to be a blast! Please bring $5 to help pay for dinner and breakfast. For more information, please contact Ben Remmert.

St. Patrick’s Day Celebration: Sunday, March 20, 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm
JOIN US… for Games, Potato Bar ($6.00/Adults, $3.00/Children under 10), Crafts. Enjoy our Christian community together as we share our church’s history!

It’s that time of the year again. Wear your green with pride, but it’s also a time of celebration of Saint Patrick. Who was the Saint that helped spread Christianity? We are going to spend the day celebrating the life of Saint Patrick with a church family picnic here at Peace Lutheran where we will play some games, eat some food, create some crafts, and enjoy our Christian community together as we share our church’s history. If you are interested in helping out in this event or need more information, please contact Ben Remmert.

Jr. High Human Dignity Retreat: April 8th-9th
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 where there will be food, games, fellowship, and meaningful conversations. For parents, we will come together on March 21st at 6:30 pm to discuss what we will be talking with your youth about. We will meet at Peace Lutheran Church at 6 pm and be back at Peace on April 9th at 8 pm. Cost is $30 which includes three meals, snacks, transportation, and our activities. Sign ups are on the youth and family ministry bulletin board. Please sign up by March 21st. More questions please contact Ben Remmert.



Youth Lent Focus: Becoming a Contagious Christian
Lent is the time to focus our attention to the ministry of Jesus Christ. So with Lent coming around the corner, we are going to have our Wednesday evenings 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.

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 put together 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.

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 bring them over to Peace Lutheran Church after March 20th. For more information, please contact Ben Remmert.

Family Cedar Meal on April 20th at 6:30 pm
During Holy Week, we are going to celebrate our time together with a cedar meal where we will come together to have a family friendly cedar 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. For more information, please contact Ben Remmert.

Adult Game Night
Bring a snack to share and come join us for an adult evening of fellowship, games, food and a lot of fun on Friday, March 11th at 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. If you have any questions, please call Ruth Meyer.

Creative Hands
The classes for Monday, March 14th, are CANCELLED due to Spring Break. We will reschedule at a later date. Watch your weekly bulletin for date. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Krause Center
The journals were so popular that we have decide to make journals for all the boys ad girls at the Krause Center in Katy. We will need 60 plus black and white non-spiral composition books. I have a few on hand and will purchase a few with our ink rebates but will need more. We appreciate any that you might care to donate. Please watch for times and dates to come and help with this project.

We will again do gift bags for Krause Center. We are asking for all who travel to please save your unopened and unused hotel toiletries. These are perfect for the gift bags. We need 60 plus shampoos, soaps, lotions and conditioners. We also need small beanie size stuffed toys, decks of cards, toothbrushes and white sport socks for the boys (men sizes) and ladies size sport fun socks for the girls.
Jany

Sarah’s House
During the month of March we will be collecting items in Jars: peanut butter, jelly, spaghetti sauce etc, and also canned soups. Sarah’s House is a shelter for women and their children who have fallen on hard times. They rehabilitate the women and get the children back in school. Please prayerfully consider donating one or two items. It would be greatly appreciated.

Lutheran World Relief Sewing Kits
March & April items will be collected for World Relief Sewing Kits. Many retailers will be running their yard goods on sale. Wal-Mart in Pasadena is a great place to purchase your material also. The following items are needed to assemble a sewing kit:

Cotton or cotton blend fabric (no knits or 100%
polyester)
2- 1/4 yds of 60" wide fabric, or
3 yds of 44" wide fabric, or
4 yds of 36" wide fabric
1 pkg of 10-15 needles
1 spool of matching general purpose thread, 250-
300 yds
6 to 10 average size matching buttons (1/2 to 3/4
preferred)

Please prayerfully consider a sewing kit for World Relief. Thanks for your support and help through out the year.

Remember to continue to save your cancelled stamps.

Girls’ Night Out: March 25, 6:30-8:30 Pm
Flowers are blooming and soon our outdoor activities will be resuming. Spring is in the air as we roll buncos at our March Bunco affair. Don’t forget to wear your favorite Spring color! Cost is $5.00. Last names A-L bring desserts and last names M-Z bring main or side dishes. A sign-up sheet is located on the table in the narthex.

Senior Citizen’s Day Cancelled
Senior Citizen’s Day, scheduled for Wednesday, March 23rd, is cancelled for this month. Join us at 11:45 am for our midweek Lenten soup lunch followed by our worship service.