Make sure to check out all that Peace Lutheran is doing in March. If you would like a physical copy, they are available in the narthex.

Jesus tells one of the most famous stories in the New Testament known as “The Good Samaritan”.  The command to love neighbor is defined by a story that answers the quest, “Who is my neighbor?” By the time the story is over, Jesus has revealed that even your presumed worst enemy can be your neighbor and the call for people who follow him is to practice this radical mercy and neighborliness.

Our society increasingly isolates itself from one another. It is hard to practice the mandate of love when we do not embrace neighborliness.

Join us on Sunday as we explore the question, “Who is my neighbor?”

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, a time to turn our hearts toward God in repentance, reflection, and renewal. Join us on Wednesday, March 5, at 6:30pm for this holy journey where we will be marked with ashes, receive Holy Communion, and enter the season of Lent together.

This year, our Lenten theme is "The Way of the Heart," inviting us to walk the path of Christ with open hearts, walking with Jesus at the Stations of the Cross. For step of the stations is marks a deep meaning of Jesus and his journey to the cross – the mission of his self-emptying love for us. Come and begin the journey and walk with him.

Wednesday evening meals will begin the following week (3/12) for the remainder of the Lenten series from 5:15pm-6:15pm.

What is Lent? It’s the season of the church year we commemorate Jesus going into the wilderness for 40 days just after he was baptized. Lent is a time of spiritual renewal and going into the wilderness of Jesus. It’s often associated with deepening spiritual practices like fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. These intentional spiritual practices are meant to lead to spiritual renewal and prepare us for Holy Week as we journey to the cross with Jesus.

Consider entering the Lenten journey as you foster spiritual practices deepening your relationship with God.

Prayer – pray each day. How often? That’s up to you but make it intentional. Set aside a routine time to pray for a specified amount of time. Begin to speak with God, and you’ll learn to value that time as God begins to speak. Prayer opens the door for you to both share your life with God and to listen to God sharing life with you. Also, connected to prayer is also reading scripture. This is an ancient form of prayer in which you read and then reflect and pray based on that reading. There are many reading plans available online.

Fasting – it’s not going on a diet. Fasting is intentionally going without something so that it doesn’t have the same power over you. Fasting is traditionally food, but it can also be from the way we spend out time. Maybe it’s a fast from social media or the constant need to be entertained. Take time for silence.

Generosity (Almsgiving) – fasting leads to generosity. If you cut out that Starbucks run for six weeks, how much did you save? Use that to bless someone and not just consider it a savings plan. The same goes with your time. Maybe you cut out the social media scrolling and now you can dedicate more time to acts of service. Be generous! 

To explore Lenten practices consider the ELCA World Hunger guides: https://www.elca.org/our-work/relief-and-development/elca-world-hunger/40-days-resources

Family Promise is a nationwide program that has been active in the Greater New Braunfels area since 2012. This unique approach to homelessness depends on congregations, individuals, and corporations to provide family units with the tools necessary to secure stable housing.

In the over 12 years of serving the New Braunfels area, over 21,000 bed nights of shelter have been provided, 102 families (268 individuals) have received services, 56 families (168 individuals) have graduated and secured housing and 32 families have received donated vehicles upon graduation.

Services that are provided to single or dual-parent families include helping clients apply for assistance they are qualified for, attain education for better employment opportunities, help navigate the legal system if applicable, provide medical care and/or therapy if needed, childcare so that the parent(s) are able to find employment.

The Family Promise model is a three-pronged approach to meet the needs of their clients. Prevention is the first level of assistance that is available to clients who are struggling. The assistance is short-term and can be payment of utility bills, a month’s rent or perhaps buying gasoline. It is a stop-gap to keep a vulnerable family from losing their home.

Shelter is the model that Peace is actively involved in.  There are currently 9 congregations providing week long rotations where the families are fed and housed in a church home.  Families typically are in the program 6 to 9 months before graduation.  We have 6 opportunities to serve families in 2025, our next rotation starts Sunday, April 27.

Stabilization follows the families after they have graduated and have secure housing. They help with financial planning, and offer support as the families navigate independent living. 

Sunday, March 23 is Mission Spotlight Sunday, a dedicated offering will be collected for Family Promise.  Other service opportunities include participating during Peace rotation weeks by providing a meal, visiting with our families while they are in our care, spending the night,  or donation of non perishable food items for grab and go breakfasts.

Peace
Karen Laughlin
Family Promise coordinator

March 5 – Ash Wednesday

Matthew 6:19–21 – “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” What more is there to say about stewardship beyond this? These are the words of our Lord Jesus, and we would do well to heed them, for they flow from His heart of love.

March 9 – Lent 1

Luke 4:8 – “And Jesus answered him, ‘It is written ...’” Isn’t it interesting that Jesus does not defeat Satan with His power as God, but rather by His perfect obedience in His perfect humanity? Jesus defeats Satan not by miracles, but by quoting the Scriptures and living according to it. This should cause us great joy for two reasons. First, because we see Jesus win the victory for us. Second, because here Jesus shows us how to stand in that victory: on the Word of God alone. Let us build our lives on the sure rock of this Word!

March 16 – Lent 2

Philippians 3:19 – “Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” St. Paul does not want us to set our minds on earthly things, for they are passing away. This is similar to what Jesus says about storing up treasures on earth rather than storing them in heaven. Our heart tends to go where we put our treasure. This is why God commands us to live generously: not to spoil our fun, but to help train us in keeping our priorities straight and our minds off earthly things.

Chair Yoga, Thursdays @ 11:00am! RSVP below.

New students are always welcome. Scan the QR code or follow the link to RSVP. You will need to RSVP for each individual class at least 30 minutes before the class. Classes will be donation based ($10 recommended).
OPEN TO THE COMMUNITY!

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What is Yoga? Yoga is a practice for healthy living.
Yoga is a mind, body, and spirit practice that can build strength, flexibility, balance, resilience, and community. Using breathwork and asana (Sanskrit word for “poses”) an entire yoga practice allows the individual to develop a mind-body awareness that can help manage pain, reduce stress, increases mobility, prevent and recover from injuries.

These classes will be beginner friendly -
for ALL ages and abilities.

All Pre-K through Elementary grade children are invited each Sunday to join us for “God's Story”. This is our way of connecting God’s big story to their own stories at a level appropriate for young children. Together we dive into the scripture for the day using a variety of teaching resources. Our goal is to create a safe space for children to have meaningful conversations about God, Jesus, faith, and our everyday lives.

“God’s Story” takes place during the scripture and sermon portion of our worship service (about 20-25 minutes). We meet in our Fellowship Hall, which is in visible proximity to our sanctuary and restrooms. The children are led by our wonderful team of trained and background checked adults from our congregation.

Mission (Why do we exist?)
To love like Jesus so that each person experiences God’s Way.
 
Vision (What kind of community is God calling us to be?)
A world made whole through love.

Core Values (What guides our daily actions and decisions?)
Shalom – Actively pursuing reconciliation and wholeness. [John 14:27]
Compassion – Recognizing and entering into our shared humanity. [Luke 10:25-37]
Service – Responding to the needs of others. [Matthew 25:31-40]
Grace – Sharing the love that God first gives us. [I John 4:7-10]

Perspectives (Which parts of our church will we focus on?)
Stewardship (Time, Talents, Treasure) (e.g., Healthy Fund Balance)
Loving Our Neighbors (e.g., Family Promise Program)
Ministry/Processes (e.g., Dynamic Worship)
Discipleship (Learning and Growth) (e.g., Life of Faith Initiative)
 
Objectives (goals) (What do we want to accomplish?)
Measures (metrics) – How will we measure progress?
Targets – What are our targets for the next year? Two years? Five years?
Initiatives – What can we do so that we reach our targets?

PEACE PRAYER MINISTRY:

Did you make any resolutions for the New Year? Many of us have a desire to have a more intimate prayer life, so might I suggest carving out more time for prayer and reflection? Peace Lutheran Church has an active Prayer Ministry. We have an Email Prayer Chain, we have a Zoom “Sweet Hour of Prayer” Group that meets every Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. and we have a Prayer loom that is included in our Sunday morning prayers. I would like to welcome new members to join our email Prayer Chain and our Monday morning Prayer Group. We have experienced some amazing, answered prayers this year and we have given comfort to many of our members in their times of distress. Please consider being a part of our Prayer Ministry in this new year. You can email me at beckyvoges@yahoo.com for more information.

Our weekly Prayer Group Zooms every Monday at 9:00 am  via Zoom only.   Click HERE to join by Zoom.  We have a devotion, share prayer requests and pray over each request. The group is led by Becky Voges.  If you would like to be a part of the group, please email Becky (beckyvoges@yahoo.com).  All prayer requests will be kept confidential. 

Prayer Chain Requests - email Becky (beckyvoges@yahoo.com).

PASTOR'S VIRTUAL CONVERSATION:   
The first Monday of every month from 3pm - 3:30pm; Come join Pastor Jake on Zoom to ask questions, check-in, and lift up prayers. Join HERE - Meeting ID: 991 3660 5065; Password: 015347

TECH SUPPORT:
Need some technical support? Trying to stay connected in a virtual world can be frustrating when things don't work or the technological learning curve seems steep. If you need some help, contact: Patti Kassel @ kasselpatti@gmail.com 

We are part of one church body organized in three expressions — congregations, synods, and the churchwide organization. Each expression has its particular functions but all three together share a common mission of doing God’s work in the world and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. Together, they ensure a solid foundation of leadership, active involvement in communities, opportunities for dialogue and diverse perspectives, creative partnerships, and support for members and ministries of the ELCA.

Technical difficulties happen! Here are options for watching previous services and how to watch them if difficulties arise in the future. Please email Madison at office@peacenb.org with any questions.

How to watch the service live on Sundays (Peace Website):

1. Go to https://www.peacenb.org/ (We encourage you to bookmark this website)
2. Scroll down to the “Join Livestream” button and enjoy!
3. OR click the “Livestream” tab at the top of the homepage and enjoy!

How to watch the service live on Sundays (YouTube):

1. Go to Peace’s YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@peacelutheran1200 (We encourage you to bookmark this webpage)
2. Go to the “Live” tab at the top of the page
3. Around 9:55am on Sunday morning, you will see the service for that day go "live" - enjoy!

How to watch previous sermons:

1. Go to https://www.peacenb.org/ (We encourage you to bookmark this website)
2. Click the “Communication” tab at the top of the homepage, then click “Pastor’s Message”
3. Click on the sermon you would like to watch. 
4. That should take you to YouTube where you can watch the sermon!

How to watch previous worship services (in full):

1. Go to Peace’s YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@peacelutheran1200 (We encourage you to bookmark this webpage)
2. Go to the “Live” tab at the top of the page

Click on the video with the date of the service you would like to watch and enjoy!