Peace Lutheran Church El Paso March Newsletter
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Transcript of Peace Lutheran Church El Paso March Newsletter
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7/29/2019 Peace Lutheran Church El Paso March Newsletter
1/13
Passing the Peace
Peace Lutheran Church (915) 584-1383 March 2013Volume 2,Issue 3
Are We There Yet?
Thoughts along the Way by PJ
I know I told this story once in worship for the childrens sermon. I would, however, like to
retell it here for the benefit of all who may have missed it on that particular morning.
This is the story of my experience going up the mountain; literally, to Copper Mountain to take
some ski lessons and spend the weekend skiing with some dear close friends. I, if I were to be
honest, and I like to be honest, would have to tell you from the beginning I had not been skiing in a
very long time. This mere fact, for me, is not trivial as the last time I had been skiing was in a place
resembling more hills than mountains. With that said, I was approaching this weekend on two
fronts: 1) A great opportunity to see my friends and get some exercise and 2) A great opportunity for
me to test my durability, i.e. not to return to El Paso with broken bones.
I was also a tad bit nervous or one could even say scared. My friends had both scared their
wives off of skis in the not so distant past and all they could say about we was that I was a bit more
dare devilish than their wives. They ski double black diamonds and I like double black Johnny
Walkerthis was going to be a harrowing weekend
At long last, the day of our trip arrives. My friends all board planes in different cities, I boardin El Paso, and we all arrive in Denver relatively close to one another. We hook up, rent the car,
and begin our journey to the house we would be using as our base of operations. Normally, we are
surrounded by our beautiful wives and discussion tends to be a bit more intellectual. But, and I dont
know what it is, when you put a group of men in a car (plus their mom), conversation digresses from
intellectual stimuli, to who can make the loudest noises with their bodies I do cherish those times
I also am happy to return to adulthood too!
Conversations were short our first evening in Colorado as we all were tired from our travels
and were anticipating a beautifully long snowy day on the slopes of Copper Mountain. Sleep came
fast. Morning came faster. As we ate, laughed, packed lunches, put our ski clothes on, and loaded
the car with the equipment, there was an air of excitement and anticipation, and air of energy, andan air temperature of about zero degrees I was not thrilled about the temperature, I was,
however, marveling at the beauty of the scenery, the magnificence of our friendships, and the
elegance of our love
for one another. Those things span distance and time and forge bonds stronger than most any I can
think of.
We arrived at Copper Mountain, I rented equipment, my friends headed off to the double
blacks, and I practiced on the kiddie hill awaiting my ski school instructor and classmates to join me.
Wally, a native of Brooklyn, tells us, upon his arrival, that we should consider ourselves lucky we
would not be experiencing the GLMF method: the Good Luck My Friend method where by the
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instructors would take you to the top of the mountain, give you a gentle push, and yell after you:
Good Luck My Friend. No, Wally, would gently remind us we were here to learn how to ski, not die
trying. Wally told us to remember these four things: Fear, Courage, Experience, and Confidence.
Fear: right now this may be quite frightening to you. Right now you may very well be looking
around and wondering what you got yourself into. Right now you may be wondering if you
want to go to the spa instead. You should! You should have some fear right now. This is
brand new to you. You can get hurt doing this. You have a lot to learn. You have a right to
be scared, or afraid, or humbled, or in fear.
Courage: I am going to ask you to be brave, to have some courage. I am going to ask you to
step outside of your comfort zone in order that you can exercise some courage, some
bravery, so that you can grow and overcome your fear.
Experience: by overcoming your fear, exercising courage, you will gain experience. As you
gain experience you will challenge yourself to grow some more by trying some new things.
As you try new things you will gain new experiences and will have overcome your fears agai
and again and again through courage.
Confidence: And as you gain more and more experiences you will gain confidence! When
you have confidence there is nothing you cannot do. Remember: fear, courage, experience,
and confidence. That is the goal of our class today: to get you to overcome your fear,
exercise your courage, gain experience, and to inspire confidence in yourselves!
I cannot help but think of our life of faith in those terms, and it is intriguing to me, to think of our life
of faith in those terms. Here is why: the world around us has, is, and will continue to change. As
Christians we have an amazing story to tell. All of us have an amazing story to tell, not just the
pastor, not just the kids, not just the people who have gone through some sort of tragedy. All of us,
as Christians, have an amazing gift to tell of how God has touched our hearts, changed our lives,
and is compelling us to live our lives in such a way that the world around us would say, hey, what is
that all about? I want to be a part of that.
We may, I would suspect, have some fears about what this means for us. Did God really
mean I should go to Juarez and serve the poor? Does God really mean I am to love the folks in
Central El Paso? Does God really mean the woman who has
given her kids to friends until she can find a job and an apartment because she has lost her job and
been evicted from her apartment is the first among us? How can we engage in a community where
by people are suffering? First things first: dont despair. People are people and all people are
created in the image of God. Remembering this always helps me to know I am in the presence of
the Almighty when I am building a home, serving a meal, talking with legislators, business people,
homeless, beaten and battered, childrenpeople are people and all people are created in theimage of God. By getting involved we get to know and put a face to the phrase: the little, the least,
the last, and the lost.
Getting involved, seeing the face of suffering, seeing the face of Jesus in our midst takes an
act of courage in the first place! The very act of getting involved takes courage and allows us to
overcome our fear, and moves us to a place of relationship.
The more we are involved in relationships the more courage we must muster because
relationships involve intimacy: a kind of deep knowing that comes from listening and sharing of
ourselves. The more courage we muster the deeper our relationships go, themore experienceswe
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Ladies Nite Out
share with one another. These experiences begin to shape and mold our perceptions of our world
they become part of us, and part of our community. These experiences provide for us a calling, an
empathy, a beautiful tragedy. What I mean by that is when we are faced with experiences differen
from our own, they may very well, break our hearts. We may find ourselves thinking, I wish I didn
know this about our community. And the fear creeps up, and so we must summon the courage to
enter into the experienceto live with it, to live it, to share it, to give voice to it and to those who ar
unable to give voice to their experiencesthen we must do that on their behalf as a humble act of
service.
As we do all these things, we gain confidence. And, like Wally said, when you are confidenwhen you have confidence, you can do anything!
All of this can apply to service in the community, reading in worship, being an acolyte,
ushering, or even greeting someone you dont know. It may even apply to delivering a sermon or
reflection, sharing our faith with one another, putting a prayer card on the wall or inviting prayer for
ourselves or for a loved one.
The point is this: We all have a story to share. We are all living, breathing, beautiful people,
who so happen to be gifted with the opportunity, perhaps, mandate, to tell our storyGods story.
pray that together, we may overcome our fear, summon our courage, and gain experience, so that
with confidence we can proclaim to the world in word and in deed what God has done for us and fo
all of Creation in Jesus Christ.
Peace,
Pr. Jon
March 7th at 5:30 pm
AJs Diner
7102 North Mesa
Ladies and friends of
Peace are cordially
invited
Easter Eggs are ready for you to pick up to fill for the Easter EggHunt on Saturday, March 30
thhere at Peace.
Please return by March 24th
. Thanks.
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7/29/2019 Peace Lutheran Church El Paso March Newsletter
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Holy Week Worship is a
sacred experience for the
believers of Jesus. We
gather to remember Godsnew commandment to love
one another as God loves
us. We gather to
remember Jesus death
and what that means for
our lives. We gather for the
celebration of the
resurrection! We gather for
worship to remember and
celebrate the last week ofour Saviors life. These
services are meant to help
us to contemplate the
depths of Gods love for us
and all creation, draw us
into a closer relationship
with God and with one
another, and draw us into
partnership with God as;
we too, work to make the
Kingdom a reality for the
people of this, our home
away from Home.
We will begin Holy week
on March 24th with Palm
Sunday. This
service will have a
congregational procession
with Palms. We will gatherto begin worship on Palm
Sunday out by the round-
about with the Liturgy of the
Palms, and then proceed
into the sanctuary, and
continue with worship.
Also on Palm Sunday,
March 24th, Rabbi Larry
Bach and I will be co-
facilitating a learning
opportunity in preparation
for the Seder Meal to be
celebrated at TempleMouth Sinai on March 26th,
from 6:30pm-9:30pm.
Tickets will be sold to help
defray the cost of the meal.
We will have about 20
seats available for this
Seder celebration.
On Maundy Thursday,
March 28th, Peace
Lutheran and Cristo Rey,will worship together.
Worship will be at 7pm at
Peace Lutheran as we
celebrate our new
commandment with the
sacred foot washing.
Good Friday worship
will be celebrated on
Friday, March 29th, at 7pm
at Cristo Rey (1010 E
Yandell Dr , El Paso, TX
79902).
On Holy Saturday,
March 30, we will have an
Easter Egg Hunt and a
dramatic reading of the
story, The Legend of the
Easter Egg. The event will
be at Peace LutheranChurch at 3pm. We will
need volunteers to help fill
and hide the eggs,
donations of candy for the
eggs, and some folks to
just simply help us all to
have a good time. Please
mark your calendars and
plan to attend/help with this
event on March 30 at 3pm
at Peace Lutheran Church
(1699 Belvidere St. El Paso
79912). Remember, also,to bring your camera for
pictures.
Easter Sunday is March
31st, and you are invited to
come and celebrate the
Resurrection of our Lord
Jesus Christ! At 9am will
be worship and then
following worship we will
have Easter Brunch and
fellowship! I cant think of a
better way to celebrate the
resurrection of our Lord
than being with my brothers
and sisters in Christ in
worship and then sharing a
sacred meal together!
Holy Week is a busy
week. And I know for busypeople, taking time to come
to extra services may
seem like a burden. To
me, I think about it as an
opportunity for me to put in
line my priorities for life with
the things I confess to be
true: Jesus is Lord, Jesus
is Risen, Jesus will come
again! Coming to theseworship services is a
commitment, it does take
time, and it does take some
planning. It is worth it, for
you, for me, for us! See
you there!
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I like to give you an
article, like this one, every
month because it keeps
before us, not only theneeds of the community,
but also a sense that the
offering we give is making
a difference in the world.
Just recently I went to
Austin with Border Interfaith
to advocate on behalf of
our neighbors who do not
have health care coverage.
There were folks from
the Valley, Dallas, Fort
Worth, Houston, San
Antonio, El Paso, West
Texas, North Texas, South
Texas; what I am driving at
is that there were people
from all over the state of
Texas gathered in Austin to
make our voices heard on
behalf of those who do not
have a voice, those who
are voiceless, who are
dying because of the
inadequate access to
health care, who are hard
working people who cannot
afford to pay the costs of
health insurance. Border
Interfaith was there to
make sure we spoke up on
behalf of our brothers andsisters, more than 50,000
people in El Paso alone,
who would be given access
to health care if Medicaid
were to be expanded in the
state of Texas. Not to
mention the $220 million
dollars a year for the first
four years that would be
poured into the city of El
Paso, our tax dollars we
paid to Washington DC,
returned to us so that we
can help make El Paso abetter place to live for all of
us.
Your giving, is working
to make this city the best it
can be, for all people. That
is something to be excited
about! I would also ask you
to pray about Medicaid
expansion. Whether you
are for it or against it, I am
asking you to pray about it,
talk about it with friends
and neighbors, co-workers
perhaps, because it is
something that affects us
all.
There are a number of
people who have been
asking about when we will
offer our next new member
classes. Well, I have ananswer for you: April 14th-
June 9th. We will not have
classes on May 26th
because it is Memorial Day
weekend. We will,
however, have classes all
the other Sundays during
that time span. We will talk
about what it means to be a
Christian, the Bible and
how, we as Lutherans,
understand the Bible,
baptism and communion,
what your passions for
ministry are, and how to get
involved in the life of the
congregation. Remember,
faith is not a spectator
sport; it is something we
live out actively!
If you or someone you
know, would like to become
members of Peace
Lutheran Church, please
contact the office so that
we can put materials
together for you.
See you there!
Peace,Pr. Jon
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7/29/2019 Peace Lutheran Church El Paso March Newsletter
6/13
I remember as a child I
would look forward to
May/June every year. I
know what you are
thinking, Sure you did,
school was almost out and
you were free for the
summer! Normally I would
say, Yes, yes I was! But
not this time.
This isnt about school,or vacation, or going on a
trip with friends and/or
family. This was is about
spending time with my
mom. Every year, for as
long as I can remember
growing up, we would go to
one of the local farms and
pick strawberries until we
couldnt pick any more.Generally speaking, in my
house, I am not an early
riser, or not a happy early
riser. I am quite fond of
saying Gods not up
yetgo back to sleep, if
the kids come into the
bedroom to wake me up
before the sun comes up.On strawberry picking
day, though, I was up, I
was dressed, I had eaten,
and I was ready to go. All
the time spent crouched
over in the shadows, or in
the sun, picking
strawberries, singing
songs, talking with mom,
hearing the sounds of the
country, observing other
families doing the same
thingsome for the first
time; made the taste of
those juicy berries a flavor
my soul remembers. This
day, as ordinary as itseems, was no ordinary
day. This day was
simplistic in nature and
profound in spirit. It was
strawberry day, and I will
never forget it.
Sunday, March 17th, we
will be gathering for brunch
following worship! March
17th will be a day that startslike every other day we
gather for worship on
Sunday mornings,
and as we sing our songs,
talk with the Father and
Mother of us all, dine at
Gods table; the day will be
simplistic in nature and
profound in Spirit. When wehave gathered around the
Word and the Table we will
continue our worship as we
gather for food, fellowship,
and sacred conversation.
You see, on Sunday
March 17 , we will have an
opportunity to break up into
smaller groups to talk with
one another about the
pressures we face in our
lives/in our family lives. We
will hear stories from one
another about our
experiences living in El
Paso, not just listen to one
another, but hear oneanother. We will dine with
God, with one another in
what can only be described
as a heavenly feast, and
we will share in one
another company for the
good of us all.
Please see the sign-up
sheets in the narthex
(lobby) of the church orcall/write the office to let us
know what dish you can
bring to the gathering.
This will truly be a day
filled with Strawberries and
Spirit. I look forward to
seeing you there!
Peace,
Pr. Jon
Psthis event will take the
place of Sunday School for
the day.
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7/29/2019 Peace Lutheran Church El Paso March Newsletter
7/13
Brothers and Sisters in
Christ I wanted to take a
moment to expound upon a
question I received during
the announcements in
worship not all that long
ago. The question was,
When are we going to
have our stewardship /
giving drive for the
ministries of the
congregation? Theanswer to that is this:
Materials are going to be
sent / passed out to the
congregation beginning in
early to mid-March.
There is a very good
reason for waiting till then
to pass out these important
materials. Currently in
production is the ministry
plan for the 2013-2014
ministry year. The giving
campaign is going to be
tied directly to the ministry
plan for the year. All of this
is to say: it would have
been premature for us to
ask for your support of the2013-2014 ministry year
without having a plan for
you to pledge towards.
As you read this, keep
in mind, we are working
under the 2012-2013
ministry plan. I remind you
of this so that you know
your giving is vital to the
work we are undertaking as
a congregation even now
while we plan for the next
year. Please pray about
your support, and then, be
generous so that as a
congregation we can
continue to touch lives for
Jesus!Thank you and God
bless you!
Peace,
Pr. Jon
March 3rd: Pr. Arnold
Hilpert from Food for the
Poor will be in worship and
Sunday school with us.
This is going to be a great
opportunity for us to learn
about hunger and how we
can help.
March 10th: Medicaid
expansion workshop. We
will talk about Medicaid
expansion and the
implications for El Paso
and for us.
March 17th: No Sunday
school because we will be
having brunch and
conversations together.
March 24th: Rabbi Larry
Bach and I will be
facilitating a learning
opportunity in preparation
for the Seder Meal on
Tuesday March 26th at
Temple Mount Sinai. This
is going to be absolutely
fascinating and you wont
want to miss it.
March 31: Easter
Sunday: No Sunday
School. Easter Brunch,
though, so stick around and
have food, fun, and
fellowship!
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In January we had a beautifully fantastic time at our lock-in down at First
Presbyterian. As fun as that event was, we dont want to live in the past, I
would much rather we look forward to the future! And, in case you arewondering, the future is now!
Calling all Middle School and High School Youth and their friends:
March 17th @ 3:30pm we will meet and depart from Peace Lutheran so that we can go and play
Laser Tag at Bob Os! The cost for this event will be $15. Do not let money be an issue for not
coming, if you need help with the cost there are scholarships available. Please RSVP to Pr. Jon at
[email protected] that we can arrange rides for everyone. March 17th at 3:30pm we will
go to Bob Os to play Laser Tag, cost $15, all welcome! We will return to Peace around 6:30pm
after we have dinner.
I also want to let you know about these other upcoming Middle and High School Youth
Events:April 13th we will go to Cristo Rey to play Soccer.
April 27thwe will go to Cristo Rey for a game night.
May 5th we will climb Mt Cristo Rey
May 25th we will go to the Neon Desert Music Festival
June 17th-21st we will be volunteering at VBS at Peace Lutheran Preschool in the morning
and then we will be going to the movies one afternoon, having water fights another
afternoon, going mini-golfing another afternoon, etc
Please plan on attending these events and bringing your friends! See you there!
Peace,Pr. Jon
El Paso Childrens Hospitalcelebrated its first birthdayon Valentines Day and isin need of donations ofknitted/crocheted beaniesfor babies and new stuffedbunnies for pediatricpatients. Please talk toNancy Casner if you canhelp with this fun project.Patterns are available atchurch.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected] -
7/29/2019 Peace Lutheran Church El Paso March Newsletter
9/13
You have heard me say,
faith is not a spectator
sport. I have said it, I
promise, and I believe it tobe true. Faith is a verb, not
a noun. It is something we
do, not something own or
have. Faith is something
we do.
To that end, I would like
for us to think in terms of
hospitality on Sunday
mornings, indeed, every
day of the week, but for the
purposes of this article, on
Sunday mornings.
Hospitality is the act of
hosting people. On
Sundays, we host visitors,
new comers, and babies,
even one another as we
gather together for worship.
When we gather togetherfor worship, who is hosting
us? God. God is hosting
us.
We gather for worship
so that we can do the work
of praising God. We gather
together, as a community,
to thank God as a
community, for the gift of
being called Gods children
and servants of Gods
kingdom. To that end, I
would like us all to
participate in being
communion assistants,
acolytes, writers for prayers
and ushers. I know that
some of us are deathly
afraid of reading/speaking
in public and/or are notcomfortable singing in front
of people. So, we will work
on finding folks who are
able to do those roles and
are gifted to help with those
roles in worship. The
others: communion
assistants, acolytes, prayer
writers and ushers, we all
are a part, a vital part of thecommunity and it is up to
all of us to make Peace a
place of hospitality.
Know this: you will not
be thrown in the deep end
and asked to sink or swim.
There will be instructions,
either printed, or verbal, i.e
through training
opportunities to help us allto be more at ease and
comfortable with our roles
for worship. As we do this
together, I thinkI
thinkwe will be shaped
and molded and we will
learn and experience the
depth of Gods love for us!
I also think we will have fu
and enjoy our time ofworship, perhaps even gai
a greater understanding of
what it means to be in
service and worship of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
I ask you to pray for
this! And then, Starting in
May, make sure you check
the announcements, or
newsletter to know when
you and how you will be
being hospitable on
Sunday mornings
Peace,
Pr. Jon
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I am excited to
announce to all of you thatour theme for this years
Vacation Bible School is
Gods Backyard Bible
Camp! Under the Sun:
Where Kids have a blast
serving Jesus! We will sing
all new songs written and
performed by Yancy! We
will have crafts! We will
play games! We will haveservice projects! We will
learn to love the Lord Jesus
by serving God in our
families, with our friends,
and in the community! We
will have a blast!
VBS is June 17-21 at
Peace Lutheran Preschool,
595 Belvidere St. from
9am-12noon for young
people who have finished
5th grade and younger.
Anyone older than that is
welcome to help lead a
wonderful experience for
the participants!
As you are reading this,
you should know:registration has begun!
Please sign your children
up so that early as we will
be opening registration up
to the community in April.
Invite your friends and
neighbors to sign their
children up too! All are
welcome!
Rememberit is free!Gods grace is a gift to us,
and VBS is our gift to the
community!
Peace,
Pr. Jon
We will have our 2nd
Annual
Pilgrimage and walk to the top
of Mount Cristo Rey on Good
Friday. We will walk as a group
and at a reasonable pace. All
ages are welcome. It will be a
Good Friday to reflect on our
Spirituality and the meaning of
Easter. We will meet at the
Preschool parking lot at 5:45am
and caravan. There is a sign-up
sheet in the entryway.
Questions may be directed to
Hector Gutierrez.
QUICK FACTS
Envisioned: October 25, 1933
Founder: Monsignor Lourdes F. Costa
Elevation: 4,675 feet
Elevation Gain: 820 feet
First (wooden) cross placed: February 13, 1934
Second (iron) cross placed: March 25, 1934
Trail length: 4.4 miles round trip
Estimated time: 2.5 hours
Present monumentSculptor: Urbici SolerConstruction started: April 15, 1939Dedicated: October 29, 1939Height: 42.5 ftBase: 13.5 feetStatue: 29 feet.
http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product/1330290094?item_no=737361&event=SP102908|2864472|102908|2864472|102908 -
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I recently took a week of continuing education to read books in the areas of church
development and mission. I believe in education and reading as important tools to keep myself
fresh, challenged, and thinking critically about who I am, where I am going, how I am leading,and what is it that God is asking of us as a community? Of me as a pastor? A father? A child
of God?
It was in that vein I approached this week of continuing education and I was thrilled to
discover the aforementioned book by Diana Butler Bass.
I would like for us to read this book as a congregation. In discussions I have had with the
church council, and with members of the congregation, I think the practice of reading this book
and talking about it in light of our faith, our faith tradition, our experience and lived practice
here at Peace, and our calling by God to be in the world creatively and enthusiastically
proclaiming the message of Gods never failing love, would help us to celebrate our individual
and collective life together while at the same time helping us to deepen our understanding of
ourselves as Gods children sharing Gods love with the world. In other words, I think reading
and discussing this book will help us to talk about our faith and help us to find ways to deepen
our faith as we love and serve the Lord.
We will, Cleveland and I, be working to break up the congregation into small groups. The
goal is to have everyone split into groups and reading and gathering for discussion about
Christianity for the Rest ofUs by April 7th. I am letting all yall know about this now so that we
can prepare and anticipate these groups forming and plan accordingly.
More information will be forth coming in the weeks ahead so that we can all be ready and
excited about this opportunity for learning and growth. Till thenplease surround this inprayer!
Peace,
Pr. Jon
Three baskets will be donated to Celebre
La Familia benefiting Foster in Texas.1. Its A Dogs Life (basket for a dog)2. Wine, Cheese & Quackers3. Lets Go Out Tonight (entertainment -gift cards for dining out, movie passes,etc.)Items are needed for the baskets. Pleasebring your donation to church as soon asyou can. Baskets are in the entryway foryou to put your gift in. March 17th is thedeadline for them to be filled. Thank you.
http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A2KJkPmqhi1RaAQA_NGJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=wrapped+gift+basket+clip+art&n=30&ei=utf-8&y=Search&fr=yfp-t-900-34-s&tab=organic&ri=128&w=640&h=480&imgurl=www.oldtimecandy.com/assets/images/assortments/gift_basket_red_pail.jpg&rurl=http://www.candyblog.com/?page_id=84&size=167.2+KB&name=Candy+you+ate+as+a+kid??+%3Cb%3EGift+Basket+%3C/b%3E%E2%80%93+red+tin+pail+%E2%80%93+$39.99&p=wrapped+gift+basket+clip+art&oid=42b26a542cebb3820cda994bd41c577f&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-900-34-s&tt=Candy+you+ate+as+a+kid??+%3Cb%3EGift+Basket+%3C/b%3E%E2%80%93+red+tin+pail+%E2%80%93+$39.99&b=121&ni=28&no=128&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=114seipro&sigb=147t72bhs&sigi=127ikh5ge&.crumb=zYoSroxNw.S -
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Border Servant CorpsBorder Immersions: Border Servant Corps hosts groups interested infirst-hand cultural immersions focused on education about border issues.This program is designed for undergraduate missions, alternative springbreak programs, seminarians, and church and youth groups.
Upcoming groups March 3-9: Belmont University (Nashville, TN) March 9-15: Lone Star College (Kingwood, TX) March 17-21: University of Northern Iowa (Cedar Falls, IA)
How you can help Donate breakfast items (oatmeal, cereal, etc.) Host a meal for groups during their stay
BSC Sale: BSCs annual sale will be Saturday, April 6th at Peace Lutheran Church (Las Cruces). Thisevent is one of BSCs largest fundraisers for the year and we need your support! Please drop off gentlyused items at Peace Lutheran Church (1701 E. Missouri Ave.) on April 1st-4th from 8am-12pm or byappointment ([email protected] 575.522.7119 Ext. 18). BSC has a limited ability to pick upitems.
Sponsor an Intern: BSC internships allow current college and/or seminary students to participate inmulti-month volunteer experiences. This summer, BSC hopes to host four interns to serve in downtownEl Paso and live in intentional community. Participants work with partner sites and participate in activitiesurrounding the BSC tenets. BSC interns cost $550 per month to cover food, housing, transportation,programming, and a $100 personal stipend (simplicity!). Consider sponsoring a portion of an internsstay on the U.S./Mxico border!
Thrivent Choice Dollars: The Thrivent Choice program allows members to recommend where someof Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' charitable outreach funds are allocated by directing Choice Dollars S
BSC is able to accept these donations through Peace Lutheran Church (Las Cruces, NM). For moreinformation about how to donate, please [email protected].
Meet this months volunteer: Alexa Garcia (from Las Cruces)Service Site: La Casa, Inc. Domestic Violence Shelter (Las Cruces, NM
My name is Alexa Garcia and I am from Los Angeles, California. I just graduated from Loyola MarymouUniversity in the spring of 2012 with majors in Fine Arts and Communication Studies, and I have alsospent the past 3 years working at Disneyland. Im so excited to be he re in Las Cruces with BorderServant Corps! I will be working at La Casa, Inc. Domestic Violence Shelter as the Education Specialist
Looking at my majors and past work experience, I have been questioned a lot about why I am doing thisyear of service. There are many reasons why I decided to come to Border Servant Corps. The mainfactors have a lot to do with the groups and organizations I was involved with at school that opened myeyes about issues of both domestic violence and the border region. I was in a service organization at
LMU called Belles, and our focus on campus was raising awareness about domestic violence. Bellestaught me a lot about domestic violence, making me want to do more in addition to raising awareness. Iwas also a student leader for a monthly immersion trip to Tijuana called De Colores through which Ilearned so much about the border region, immigration, and the social justice issues around them.
I was so excited to find this program where I can really delve into both of these issues; to learn and domore about them. LMU taught me to be a woman with and for other people and I truly believe that I amgoing to understand that meaning a lot more in this year. I feel so blessed and honored to be a BorderServant Corps volunteer and I am so excited to be on this journey!
We thank you for all of the ways you support of Border Servant Corps! If you have any questions or
would like to become more involved with BSC, please contact us [email protected] (575) 522-7119 Ext. 16. Do justice. Love kindness. Walk humbly.
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