Stewardship Notes for August 2018

When we consider all of the resources that God has entrusted to our care, we realize that each of us has been blessed with time and unique talents and that we are called to use these to love God and our neighbors. This month, you are asked to prayerfully reflect on how you are investing your time, and using your special abilities.
 
Here are a few pertinent passages from the Holy Bible:
“Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.” (1 Peter 4:10 NRSV)
 
“We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.” (Romans 12:6-8 NRSV)


August is Mindfulness Month

The topic for this month is Mindfulness. According to Tim Stead, an Anglican priest in Oxford, mindfulness has been called; silent prayer, contemplative prayer, the desert tradition, or mystical theology in the Christian tradition. It has been around since the time of Jesus to the present. In about the 1970’s, the study of mindfulness and its effects on health became the focus of much research. Tim Stead (2018), defines it as, “Being more fully aware of your own experience in the present moment in a non-judgmental way.” There are some who feel that mindfulness or meditation is their time to listen to God and to discern God’s will for them. Read more…



AGE of Central Texas and Area Agency on Aging Host Free Caregiver Conference

The largest, longest-run free caregiver conference in Central Texas, the annual event helps to ease the challenges of caring for an aging family member by providing unpaid caregivers with relevant information and vital resources.  The attendees will discover local resources, acquire skills to better manage their caregiving situation, and connect with other caregivers and local experts on aging. The day also includes workshops on topics related to caregiving, with experts available for questions.     Read more…


Stewardship Notes for July 2018

In our monthly articles, we have tried to emphasize different aspects of a Stewardship lifestyle. We hope that you have come to appreciate the depth and breadth of Stewardship and to recognize that this subject includes our whole lives.   We said previously that a steward is someone who manages another person’s property, finances, or affairs.  This month, we want to remind us all that we are stewards of ourselvesour bodies, our minds, and our spirits.  Now, you might be thinking that, if there is anything that truly and exclusively belongs to ourselves, and not to anyone else, it is our very selves!  Right?  Absolutely not!  Let us explore what the Holy Bible says.


Stewardship Notes for June 2018

The primary purpose of Stewardship is to serve the will of God. The main goal of our Peace Lutheran Church Stewardship Planning Committee is to help all of our congregation’s members and participants to live their lives with purpose and meaning, so that God’s creating, redeeming, and sanctifying activity will flourish in our community and world. We seek to equip, nurture, and challenge all people who are connected with Peace Lutheran Church to lead a Stewardship lifestyle which encompasses all areas of living and is not limited to providing financial support for our congregation, and God’s people elsewhere. Read more…



June is National Safety Month

I encourage you to learn more about important safety issues like preventing poisonings, transportation safety, and fire safety.
  • Tornado preparedness- Not one state in the continental U.S. has escaped the wrath of tornadoes. While the main tornado season is from Late April to July, tornadoes can strike at any time of the year. Read more…


How Peace Serves

The four or five-year-old boy stood staring with his big brown eyes under the fringe of dark hair at the shelves of fruit, sandwiches, cookies and chips. This was not his first trip to the Mobile Loaves and Fishes truck that afternoon. He and his brothers had gotten their bags of food at our first stop in the sprawling apartment complex. They’d followed the truck to the next stop, and while the older boys looked at the clothing on the other side of the truck, the littlest stood staring at the food. “Are you still hungry?“ I asked him. He solemnly nodded yes. I gave him an orange and a bag of cookies. A few minutes later, he was back staring again. This time he got a sandwich and some chips. He smiled, said thank you, and ran away. Read more…



Stewardship Notes for May, 2018

This monthly installment of “Stewardship Notes” emphasizes that we are Stewards of Money and Wealth. By definition, a steward is someone who manages another person’s property, finances, or other affairs. Now, you may be thinking that you are barely able to manage your own money and wealth, and much less able to take responsibility for someone else’s finances. Nevertheless, God has called you to take care of the financial resources that He has entrusted to you. So, what are those financial resources that God owns, and for which you are accountable to Him? Read more…



Missional River – A Report from the Listening Team

Peace has embarked on a yearlong journey in the Missional River, following the Tune-In Guide, a 10-step process led by a listening team that emphasizes three different phases of listening:  Listening to God in Scripture and Prayer, Listening to God in the Congregation, and Listening to God in the Neighborhood. Deep listening means tuning in to God more clearly, with a firm belief that God is working in others just as surely as God is working in our own lives. The purpose of this kind of listening is to lead the congregation into new partnerships, participating in God’s mission in new ways. Peace’s core listening team will be inviting participation in many forms from everyone at Peace, and we have a great journey of listening and learning ahead of us.