St. Peter Lutheran Church
2929 F.M 972 (at F.M. 1105)
Walburg, Texas 78626
Office: (512) 863-
Worship Services -
Holy Communion -
Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ Texas District
St. Peter Lutheran Church at Walburg, Texas
2026 -
Contact
Webmaster
Last Updated:
Sept. 2, 2026
St. Peter Messenger Newsletter: September 2026
Sunday Worship Services -
St. Peter Lutheran Church offers in-
ST. PETER LUTHERAN CHURCH COUNCIL MEETING
August 11, 2026
Pastor Phil opened the meeting with a devotional message and a prayer.
Minutes: Revised meeting minutes from July 14 were distributed at the meeting. Approved as presented.
Treasurer’s Report: July’s total income was $45,816.65. This included a $33,500 transfer from the Capital Expenditure Fund for the new roof on the parsonage. Expenses were $55,808.94, including the roof and the semi-
MOTION: To pay the next $25,000 in quarterly benevolences out of the R-
MOTION: To approve the Treasurer’s report as presented. Motion passed.
Pastor’s Report: Phil & Amy Daniels want to thank the congregation for the new parsonage roof! Pastor also reported an upcoming baptism after harvest season, and a pending memorial service for Barb Gens.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Finance: The finance committee request approval to manage & renew CD funds without the lag-
MOTION: To give the Finance Committee authority to evaluate & renew the Cemetery and Building Fund CDs currently within Huntington Bank. Motion passed.
MOTION: To clarify & send (during 4 th Quarter of 2026) the 2026 Lenten offering PLUS the St. Peter pledge, PLUS 6% of the Q4 offering to LCMC Texas District. Motion passed.
Faith Formation: Texas Gathering went well. LCMC National Gathering is coming in October.
Worship: Next meeting in October.
MOTION: To pay for piano tuning from Church funds. Motion passed.
Properties: Exterior parsonage doors are not up to code for safety or security.
MOTION: To immediately replace the rear door on the Parsonage. Motion passed.
Sunday School: No report.
OLD BUSINESS
Office Assistant Duties & Position Details: Interviewed a candidate today. She seems promising & interested. She requests part-
Piano Tuning: Jill is looking for somebody to tune the piano in the sanctuary. Prior tuner retired.
NEW BUSINESS
Ladies Aid Fundraiser.
MOTION: To authorize Ladies Aid to use the gym and kitchen for a Hamburger & Country Store fundraiser as Kathy requested on October 17, 2026. Motion passed.
2027 Service Bids. Kathy B will solicit and collect bids for cleaning, groundskeeping and anything else needing St. Peter Congregation’s budget approval at the October annual meeting.
2027 Council and Committee Membership. The 2027 Council will need replacements for Mike V, Stephanie H, Jill M & Dale S. Contact one of them if you are willing to run for (not from) one of these open positions. Membership has a 2-
Request for gym use.
MOTION: To allow Elaine S to use the gym & kitchen for a party on Monday, 9/28/26 from 1-
External Doors on Parsonage. (Revised Motion)
MOTION: To fix two doors instead of 1 in above motion. Motion passed.
Adjourn:
MOTION: To adjourn with a prayer and the Lord’s Prayer. Motion passed.
The meeting adjourned at 6:52 pm.
FELLOWSHIP NEWS FOR SEPTEMBER 2026
VBS JULY 2026 at Sunny Creek Mobile Home Park is in the books. We had 10-
Huge THANK YOU to these people who shared their talents: Phyllis J, Gwen E, Amy M, and Pastor Philip. Also a huge THANK YOU to Sunny Creek Mobile Home Park's Diana Campos and Jody, who helped with translating and opened up the building early each day for us.
Also, THANK YOU to the Taylor Lions Club for coming out and doing eye testing, and to the Weir Fire Department for bringing their fire truck and equipment and teaching the children what it takes to put out a fire and save a life.
Labor Day Celebration on Sunday, September 6th following the regular worship service. Hot dogs, buns, chili, cheese, and Fritos will be provided. We're asking the congregation to bring a side dish OR a dessert. Please invite family and friends to join us for fellowship and dominoes.
Golden Oldies Tuesday, September 1st at 12:00 noon. A potluck meal will be followed by fellowship and domino games of 42 and Mexican Train. Please invite your family and friends to join us. If you have never played dominoes, no problem -
Ladies Dominoes Tuesday, September 15th at 1:00 pm. Hosting is Elaine S. We play Mexican Train dominoes. Please invite friends, family, and neighbors to join us. We are in need of volunteers to host in October and November -
New Addresses: Contact the Church Office for new addresses received for Mary and Bill M and for Bertha L.
“Not to Judge, But to Save” by Pastor Phil Daniels
The third chapter of John is one of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible. That may be a little selfish of me. However, let me set the stage. Nicodemus, a person who has devoted his entire life to trying to understand what God is up to in this world, goes to meet Jesus under the cover of darkness. Throughout the gospels, Jesus is usually talking to everyday people, but here you sense that he allows himself the opportunity to really talk theological scholarship about the nature of God and his people. Nicodemus opens with a compliment— no one could do these signs apart from God — and Jesus answers the question underneath it. He shocks him with the truth about grace: if we look to our own selves to make us right with God, it will never be enough; but if we receive the free gift which is given to us through Jesus Christ, everything will be just fine.
John 3:16 may be the most familiar sentence in all of Scripture. We’ve heard it at funerals and ballgames and Sunday school. And it’s a complete thought — it can stand on its own. But John doesn’t leave it standing alone. He keeps going. John 3:16 tells us what God gave. John 3:17 tells us why.
In the middle of September, the church sets aside a day to look at the cross itself — the Feast of Holy Cross. It’s a day for people like you and me and Nicodemus, who know the story but sometimes need reminding why it happened. It’s a good thing for you and me to remember when we look out and feel weighed down by the bad news, or by the interactions we have as messy people living with other messy people in a messy world. It’s comforting to know that the condemnation of the world has already fallen on the back of the One who was hung on that holy cross.
John chapter 3 is a chapter about which you could spend your whole life writing essays and books. Nicodemus came looking for an explanation and got a promise instead. When Jesus completed his work on that holy cross, Nicodemus came not under the cover of darkness but with spices for the One on whom the judgment of God descended and through whom all the world was saved.
Not to judge. To save.
WORSHIP COMMITTEE
We are still looking into getting an organist/pianist, so if you know of anyone who is musically inclined please let Kathy B know. In the mean time we are using canned music for the church services and we can use volunteers to assist in providing music through using the computer. If you can click on a link you can volunteer for this and we can share in this duty.
Carol T has travel plans and will not be able to play for the Christmas cantata however Juanita P will be available and we are looking at having a traditional Christmas carol sing along on the 2nd Sunday of December.
Jill M is checking to get the pianos tune since it has been approximately 2 years since they have been checked and tuned.
Hymns have been picked from Sunday, September 6th through Sunday October 25th .
Our congregational meeting is coming up quickly, so be looking for the Time and Talent form in the bulletin.
Our next meeting will be Tuesday, October 6th at 5 PM. We are taking a short break from meetings however if you would like to join us in October please do, we always can have some new ideas for our church services.
LADIES AID HAMBURGER FUNDRAISER!
Saturday, October 17, 2026 -
Greetings, St. Peter members:
The Ladies Aid needs your help with our 3rd Annual Hamburger and Country Store Fundraiser, to be held on Saturday, October 17, starting at 4:00 PM.
We are looking for volunteers to help set up for the event, to work in the kitchen, and to bake desserts for the meal as well as baked goods and other items for the country store.
Two requests for our bakers:
1) Please place your dessert in a container that can be sold as-
2) Please choose a dessert that does not require refrigeration. We need the refrigerator space for the vegetables and meat.
Thank you for your help in years past and for your consideration in helping again this year. Through this work, the Ladies Aid seeks to carry on God's work by supporting St. Peter and other nonprofit organizations in our area.
God's blessings,
St. Peter Ladies Aid
* Funding provided by Thrivent Financial and the St. Peter Ladies Aid
LADIES AID NEWS
Gwen E called the August meeting to order.
Joyce C’s devotion was based on Acts 16: 25 and titled “Choose to Rejoice.” Instead of depending on circumstances or the actions of others, realize that joy comes from God. Paul and Silas were falsely accused, arrested, and imprisoned, but praised God for his goodness rather than blame him for their circumstances. Don’t let difficult events take away the knowledge that you are a child of God.
Emily S has the September devotion.
Central Texas Food Bank sent a thank you letter for our July $200 donation which was tripled by an anonymous donor. Thank you, Debby I, for making the most of our benevolence.
The quilters have completed 87 quilts and purchased 5 rolls of batting. Thank you to Thrivent for the $250 which covered almost two of the rolls. Thank you to Joyce C who donated the $425 to cover the rest of the batting cost.
Emily S reported that The Caring Place made almost $2.5 million from the Thrift Store and Second Helping, with about 69,000 items sold. Remember Tuesdays are 10% off your purchase.
Ladies Aid voted to give a $100 memorial to St. Peter Lutheran Church to honor Barb Gens, one of our members.
Our bank account is getting low, so we are planning a Hamburger Fundraiser and Country Store for October 17 starting at 4 p.m. We also discussed selling raffle tickets for our award winning quilt, The Potting Shed.
Our next meeting is September 1 at 11:00 A.M. Consider joining us. A pot luck and dominoes follow the meeting. Great food, fun, and fellowship-
To the Ends of the Earth
Recently I spent three days in meetings with LCMC leaders from across our association. While we discussed many important topics, one stood out from the rest. Service Coordinator Julie Smith and Mike Wind, from our Global Mission Fellowship, put forth this question: What does it really mean for LCMC to become a truly global church?
For most of our history, we have been a largely North American association that included a minority membership of congregations on other continents. We currently have 1049 total congregations with 876 here in North America. Over the past year, global interest in our association has sky-
I appreciated how Mike and Julie named the tension before us: We are now asking questions we have never had to ask ourselves before. But LCMC does not have to become a different association in order to welcome an influx of international congregations because we were designed for that in the beginning and our DNA is strong: We are Free in Christ, Accountable to One Another, Rooted in the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions, and Working Together to Fulfill Christ’s Great Commission. These core values guide how we operate as an association. The challenge before us is to discern which parts of how we operate are essential to the Gospel and which are culturally American. Mike reminded us that our LCMC DNA may get lived out and look different in Uruguay or Myanmar than it does in Texas. I agree with Mike’s assessment and therefore do not view these potential new congregations as a threat to who we are, but instead as a gift because of the Gospel taking root in new soil.
And this development is the fruit of faithful mission that began long ago and continues to this day. From Jesus’ ascension, He commissioned his disciples to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19) and declared that we would be His witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). For generations, Lutheran missionaries have traveled the world over and proclaimed the Gospel to new people where it has taken root and flourished in ways we can be jealous of. And these recent developments are a gift to our association: we have brothers and sisters the world over that have found us and are interested in joining us in our shared mission!
So how do we LCMC Lutherans in Texas prepare to receive our brothers and sisters abroad? First, we pray for those facing persecution, especially in India, Nepal, and Myanmar. In addition, I would encourage individuals and congregations to build relationships and consider adopting a sister LCMC congregation in a foreign land. And finally, we need to begin opening ourselves to how Lutherans around the world live out our LCMC DNA in a diversity of contexts. A day may soon come when we have far more congregations outside of North America than within. And thanks be to God for the gift of these global congregations.
I’d like to leave you with a final thought from our friend Mike Wind: “Every healthy church should become a blessing beyond itself.” Our Texas District mission is to multiply disciples and churches. May we embrace this calling with renewed boldness, encouraged by our international brothers and sisters in Christ.
Pastor Bryce Formwalt is the Director of Mission Growth for LCMC Texas District and Program Director of Harvest Workers, an online ministry training program (learn more at www.harvestworkers.net). Residing in Georgetown, Pastor Bryce is available to coach congregations on mission. Please contact him with any questions or comments: 512-
© 2026 Bryce J. Formwalt, All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.
September 2026
IMPORTANT NOTICE: St. Peter Lutheran Church Annual Congregational Meeting
11:30 AM, Sunday, October 11, 2026 after Worship Service
Members are urged to attend so that we can ensure a quorum.
The AGENDA will be available following the September Council Meeting.
Key business items include:
1) Election of four new 2027 Council members to replace Mike V, Stephanie H, Jill M, and Dale S for 2-
* We are looking for at least one new member capable of serving as Treasurer.
* Contact any Council member to volunteer or suggest a nomination.
2) Approve 3rd party bids for cleaning, grounds-
* Submit bids to Kathy B a week prior to the meeting.
3) Approve the 2027 budget.
4) Other items submitted from the floor.