After Peter confesses his belief that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus tells his disciples for the first time what is to come. Peter’s response indicates that he does not yet understand the way of the cross that Jesus will travel.

Confessing Jesus as the Messiah or Lord or the Son of God means walking the way of the cross. It is no small act to identify as a Christian, rather it is a way of life
that empties oneself in sacrificial love.

Join us on Sunday as we confess Jesus as the Messiah and embrace the way of the cross.

Brody Johnson is asking for your help in reaching his fundrasing goal! Childhood cancer still takes more lives of children in the U.S. than any other disease and your participation is vital in funding research grants. 

• Fundraising Goal: $800.00
• Event Title: New Braunfels Scheren
• Event Venue: Freiheit Country Store
• Event Date: March 2, 2024
• Location: New Braunfels , TX

Here's the link to your fundraising page - https://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/1132076/2024

To learn just how much your support means to kids fighting cancer, check out this short video from Jaron, a St. Baldrick's Honored Kid.

We are well on our way to having a Pictorial Directory, but we need you! Submit family photos, using the email peaceluthnb@gmail.com.  Please include the names of the people in the picture and where they are positioned in the photo. You can also drop off your pictures at the church office if you don't know how to scan or email your pictures. We have also set up a backdrop to take your pictures on Sunday, Feb. 18 & 25, if you still need your photo for the Directory.

Questions? Email beckyvoges@yahoo.com. Our deadline for photos is Feb. 29.

The Synod Assembly holds an election for the office of the bishop every six years. This year is a bishop’s election year. In preparation the Cibolo Creek Conference (a cluster of ELCA congregations in a particular region) holds an informational meeting that shares the election process as well as generating nominees.

Our gathering is online Sunday, February 25⋅4:00 – 5:00pm 

You may join online individually or meet at the Peace facilities for a group meeting with Pastor Jake and others.

Join us each Wednesday in Lent for a meal from 5:15-6:15pm followed by worship at 6:30pm as we explore Faith through the eyes of everyday people.

2/14       Ash Wednesday Imposition of Ashes and Holy Communion (no meal)
2/21       Lent 2
2/28       Lent 3
3/6         Lent 4
3/13       Lent 5
3/20       Lent 6

Supper will be served from 5:15-6:15 p.m.
Come join us for a meal before Lenten Worship.

The meals are planned by the Fellowship Board, but we would like to welcome volunteers to assist with the meal prep and clean up. Contact Becky Voges at beckyvoges@yahoo.com for more info.

Feb. 21 –  Soup & Salad
Feb. 28 – Spaghetti
Mar.  6 – Baked Potato Bar
Mar, 13 - Casseroles
Mar. 20 – Burgers

The Spirit of Sharing (S.O.S.) Inc., Food Bank has been in operation since June 1, 1988 and is located at 248 W. Merriweather. It is an ecumenical group of churches and civic groups that have come together to help the needy of New Braunfels. All food distributed is donated and all labor is volunteer. Most of the donations come in as non-perishable food items. They partner with the San Antonio Food Bank to fight hunger in New Braunfels through emergency food issues and monthly food allotments to needy families. 

Want to volunteer? Members of Peace work the second Monday of each month from 1:00 - 4:00 pm. Call the church office at 830-620-0618 to get signed up.
Want to donate? There is a grocery cart in the narthex where you can drop off non-perishable goods.

If you would like to support this cause financially, please make checks out to Peace Lutheran Church. Giving online is available as well by clicking the link or scanning the code below. Regardless of your method of support, please be sure to include "Mission Spotlight" in the memo.

Thank you!
Service Ministry Team

Texas Lutheran Viva de Christo will be holding its Hill Country Retreat on March 21-24; Thursday thru Sunday. Via de Christo means “Way of Christ” and is a grace filled weekend of spiritual renewal. If you have any questions please contact Gary and Maxine Goodson 361-772-6308 or 361-772-6291 or E-Mail at goodsong76@gmail.com  

You may also visit the Texas Lutheran Via de Christo web site: txluvdc.org 

Yoga (ALL levels) - Tuesdays @ 5:30pm, Peace Lutheran
Chair & Gentle Mat Yoga - Thursdays @ 11am, Peace Lutheran

Classes have begun! 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.

February 25, 2024 (Second Sunday in Lent)
“For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.” – Mark 8:35

Jesus is pretty clear that we are not to spend our time on earth amassing stuff and seeking to extend our lives and capital but rather to give ourselves away in grateful response to the gospel. Saving one’s life is about loving and giving instead of fortifying one’s own status and economic condition.

In this season of transition, we give thanks for Jeannie Kawazoe and her 20+ years of faithful service as Peace’s organist. A celebration is being planned for the month of February – more details to come.

In the meantime, Steve Robbins, Peace’s Choir Director, will step up to serve as the primary musician on Sunday mornings for an interim period. Thank you to Steve for his willingness and gifts to lead us in praise and worship to the Lord.

Additionally we give thanks for Valerie Wood for serving as our Office Secretary and Bookkeeper for over 22 years. We will be celebrating her in the near future as well.

We welcome our newest member of the team - Theresa Robinson! We are blessed to have her join our team!
"I’m a wife and mother of two beautiful daughters. I’m also a retired military spouse of 23 years. I love to walk, shop, drink coffee and uplift others. I look forward to supporting my coworkers and the entire Peace Lutheran Church family."

Our wooden Nativity family is in need of a facelift. We would like to repaint Mary, Joseph, the Shepherds, the Wise Men, the Angel and the animals. I thought it would be a fun project to ask people to take one home to paint. You do not have to be an artist to do this, they are painted pretty simply. Let me know if you would like to take one home to work on. We are starting early since the winter months are slower for most of us. Let Becky know if you are interested - beckyvoges@yahoo.com

We are looking for people to take a month to monitor and fill our Little Pantry. We have the supplies, all you do is keep it stocked. Let Becky Voges know if this sounds like something you would like to do. Contact Becky at beckyvoges@yahoo.com.

Feb. (Braaten), Mar. (Open), April (Phife), May (Goodson), June (S. Johnson), July (open), Aug. (open), Sep. (Jenny Ann), Oct. (open), Nov. (open) and Dec. (open)

Special thanks to everyone for helping us keep the Pantry stocked. We have raised funds to stock the Pantry, but we could not keep the Pantry stocked without additional donations. When you donate items for the Pantry you have invested in sharing God’s love to our neighbors.

God’s Story is off to a great start! We have about 20 minutes with the Pre-K through elementary kids in the fellowship hall. We’ve had a big group of kids each week who are enjoying this chance to dive into God’s Word and have real conversations about our God, Jesus, our faith and our everyday lives. The general pattern we use each week is:

• Read: One of the kids reads the story out of the Spark Story Bible for the group.
• Wonder: We ask the kids about the story they saw and heard (“What do you notice?”, “What do you wonder?”)
• Watch & Discuss: We watch a video presentation by our friends at Illustrated Ministry. These videos contain built in pauses with questions as well as a prayer at the end of the video. The video matches our coloring pages.
• Tell It Back: We ask one or more of the kids to re-tell the story using a variety of teaching props
• Sing: We include some singing (when time permits) to help the kids learn God’s story
• Pray: We pray for one another and the upcoming week
• Give: We collect an offering to present to God in worship

We have a wonderful group of leaders and helpers. If you’d like to participate, please reach out to Deacon Andrew.

Starting Tuesday, January 9, 6:30pm
The Sermon On The Mount

Featuring videos and study materials from our friends at the
Bible Project.

They have a wonderful new series on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount that you can explore at your own pace. We will also be using this material for our Tuesday Zoom Bible study, Tuesdays at 6:30 pm.
We'd love for you to join us!

Here's the Bible Project link to get you started:

Bible Project Sermon on the Mount Playlist

Tuesday Zoom Bible Study link

SEEKERS AND SPONGES:  Sunday mornings @ 8:30AM in-person and ZOOM   

New Year, New Topic!
Short Stories by Jesus
The Enigmatic Parables of a  Controversial Rabbi by Amy-Jill Levine Book / DVD series

In our class, everyone in our group becomes a teacher for one another, sharing experiences and perspectives that facilitates a respectful, enlightening approach to adult learning.      

Click HERE to join by Zoom. 

Sunday mornings from 8:45 am—9:30 am
In the Fellowship Room
All ages welcome

Bring your coffee & snacks and join us for a time of weekly conversation together. Our focus will be learning basics about Christian faith, belief, and practice through a Lutheran lens. We want this to be an open time for questions and conversation—all questions are allowed and encouraged! Think of it like “Christianity 101”, designed both for folks who are newer to learning about the Christian faith, as well as for anyone who would like to deepen their understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus in the world today. We look forward to seeing you!

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:   
Every Monday from 3 pm - 3:30 pm; 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.