For Sunday, March 27, 2011
Third 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
Saints of Faith Milestone At 11 Am Worship: Last week our third graders learned about what are saints, what does it mean to be a saint in today’s world, and about the people that helped spread the Christian faith. On Sunday the following students will receive a blessing and a milestone gift from the congregation: Charlie Beck, Noah Chicoria, Ariana Gonzales, Kaley Hagemeister, Rhiannan Hicks, Naoum Mashraqi, Michelle McDonald, Kadin Pettigrew, Mykenzie Shaw and Nathaniel Swick.

A Message from Pastor Galen
This Sunday we will meet a woman who received living water from Jesus. This Gospel story is told in John 4:5-42. She was a foreigner to Jesus. He was a Jewish man and she was a Samaritan woman. Jesus broke with social norms and engaged the woman in a theological conversation. But the deeper meaning of this encounter is the amazing grace of God. Jesus also offers us the gift of living water. That gift is mercy and forgiveness that we cannot earn. Like the woman of Samaria we need to receive it as a gift from God. Come to the waters of life! Meet Jesus once again! 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 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.

Congregational Survey
As an effort to get the best picture of the congregation and your thoughts and hopes for a new pastor, a congregational survey will be distributed in the next few weeks. One method by which we will be offering the congregational survey is on-line. If you would like to receive a link to the on-line survey but do not currently receive the weekly Peace email, please make sure to include your email address on the worship attendance card.

Lunch Bunch
Bring your family and join us at the Grand Buffet, 8309 Spencer Hwy, on Sunday from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. Any questions call Owen King (281) 961-0803.

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.

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 acceptable. 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.

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 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 with “Buck-a-Chick” in the memo line.

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.

Creative Hands Caring and Sharing: Monday Night, March 28 6:30 Pm
We are going to take part in the "Buck A Chick". Join us for a fun, silly night. I will have pictures of the Chick and we will paint, color, dress, decorate, add embellishments, etc. This is open to all and all ages. Everything will be furnished, however you may bring extra jewels or trims, whatever you think will make your chick the best. Who knows, someone might win a prize but one thing for sure your buck will help provide a family in need of eggs to eat and sell at market. The chicks will be on display in the narthex. Cost $1.00 per chick. (Monies will go to ELCA World Hunger.)

Creative Hands will again be making journals for the boys and 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 also do gift bags for the 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

PLEASE CONTINUE TO SAVE YOUR USED INKS AND TONERS. The rebate we get back helps us get our supplies that we need for card making, the blessings and other projects.

Communion Instruction- April 3rd, April 10th, And April 17th At 1:00 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 1:00 pm 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 if you have questions. Please sign up today so we can have enough supplies for our class.

From the Youth Director
So we are on our second week in Lent and how have your Lenten practices coming along? I know that many people take this time to give something up in their lives and when they break their commitment, they give up for the rest of Lent. But I challenge you to get back to your practice. When this happens, this is a wonderful time to realize the sacrifice that Jesus did for us as he died for our sins. Take this time to remember the love that God has for you as you go through your journey this Lent season.

Also I would like to invite you in this time of Lent to a prayer station that we made in our narthex. This is a place 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.

God Bless,
Ben Remmert

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. Sign ups are on the youth and family ministry bulletin board. Please sign up by April 3rd. More questions please contact Ben Remmert.

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.

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.

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!

Camp Hope Paid Staff Interviews-April 2 & 3
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. If you have not turned in your staff application, please contact Ben Remmert as we will begin our interviewing for staff on April 2nd. Please sign up on a time that you can come in to interview on our Camp Hope bulletin board in the narthex.
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.
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.

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.

Deep Leadership Meeting: Sunday at 2 pm Upstairs
Our leadership team is called “DEEP” because we are going to dive into our ministry together, head first. 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 discovers that can help us grow in our ministry. This meeting will be about finalizing our ministries in April, discussions about Camp Hope, and also about our summer ministries together. 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 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.

Jr. High, Sr. High and Young Adults
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 5-6 pm
Sr. High – Sundays at 4-6 pm
Young Adults – Wednesdays at 7-8:30 pm

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.

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.

Sr. High/Young Adults- Paintballing: April 3
We’re going to paintball with our neighborhood Lutheran church, House of Prayer, right after church on April 3rd 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.

The Brotherhood
Gentlemen, mark your calendars, bring a guest and plan to join us on Saturday, April 2nd at 8:00 am in the Fellowship Hall for our monthly breakfast and meeting. If you have any questions please contact Weldon Wilkerson.