2023 Annual Report - FINAL : simplebooklet.com

Table of ContentsMeeting Minutes for Approval 3PoP Congregational Meeting Minutes June Annual Meeting 6/11/2023 3Staff & President Reports 5Pastor’s Report 5Membership Statistics 9Historical Attendance & Membership 9Social Media Presence 11Council President’s Report 12Council Committee Reports 14Bridging and Evangelism 14Children, Youth, and Family Ministry 17Christian Education/Faith & Spirituality 19Fellowship 20Music & Worship 23Property 25Social Ministries 27Adopt-a-Highway 27Rotating Safe Car Park 27Family Supportive Housing 28Intergenerational Immigration Border Trip 30Table Talks 30Meal Ministry 31Non-Council Committee Reports 33ELCA Participation 33Mission Endowment Fund 33PoP + Zion Investment 35PoP + Zion Distribution 37Financial Reports 39Stewardship 39Benevolent Giving 41Finance Committee Report 43Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 1 of 47

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Meeting Minutes for ApprovalPoP Congregational Meeting Minutes June Annual Meeting 6/11/20231. Called to order at 11:442. Quorum established- 67 in person, 9 over zoom3. Prayer4. Approve minutes from last congregational meeting- Connie Chen moves we table until next meeting due to technical difficulties- Marilyn Clawson seconds- Motion approved- Connie Chen moves to take from the table the minutes for approval for the congregation- Cionne Falkenhagen seconds- Motion passes- Dave Birdsall moves to approve- Todd Hauschildt seconds- Motion passes5. Intern news!- August 2023 – August 2024; will fill in during P. Sara’s sabbatical6. Staff updates7. Gratitude for Time and Service8. Stewardship- Thank you for your contributions and generosity! We are near our YTD target- Brian Strom raises the question: “We are about halfway to our total YTD goal, as we areabout halfway through the year?”o Short answer: Yes, maybe a little low. There are many one-time donations that mayshow up later in the year9. Council and Committee Election- Nominees:o Julie Skaareo Brian Tomlino Todd Hauschildt- Elizabeth Lewis moves we elect all three members with one vote by show of hands- Tim Hoffman seconds- Motion passes unanimously- PZ investment fund:o 2ndterm for Lisa Martino No nominees from the floor- Elizabeth Lewis moves to elect Lisa Martin to a 2ndterm- Jo-Ann Birdsall seconds- Motion passes unanimously- PZ Distribution Committeeo Thea Jorgensen moves to elect via show of handsAnnual Meeting January 28, 2024 3 of 47

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o Marilyn Clawson secondso Motion passes10. Adjourn- Todd Hauschildt moves to approve- Pam Louderback seconds- Motion passes- Meeting adjourned at 12:05Congregational Meeting Minutes July, 30 20231. Called to order at 11:24am2. Quorum establisheda. 76 in personb. 9 over Zoom3. Prayer4. Slide presentation on preschool lease opportunity by Todd Hauschildt and Rick Helmondsa. Current financial situation, Prince of Peace financial needsb. Background and opportunityc. Potential negative impact to Prince of Peaced. Corrective measures to minimize the impact to Prince of Peacee. Financial investment from preschool tenantf. Investment needed by Prince of Peace to prepare for leaseg. Pro forma financial reviewh. Benefits to Prince of Peace, investments to be made by tenanti. Review of questions that were previously raised5. Questions from Congregation6. Motion to approve long-term lease for preschool tenanta. David Birdsall moved to voteb. Mailyn Clausen secondedc. Discussion was heldd. The motion passede. For: 76 in person, 9 onlinef. Against: noneg. Abstain: none7. Adjourna. Drew Ajer moves to approveb. Todd Hauschildt secondsc. Motion passesd. Meeting adjourned at 12:15pmAnnual Meeting January 28, 2024 4 of 47

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Staff & President ReportsPastor’s Report“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12:34I deeply love our annual reports. To me, they summarize the heart, treasure, and passions of thiscongregation. And this past year, the vibrancy of PoP is as strong as ever. My deepest and heartfeltthanks to all who are involved here. I hope you will read and take in the entirety of this report. As youperuse you will see where our hearts are and what we value. For my annual report, I offer up aselection of 3’s–from my heart and perspective as the pastor here:Three things that brought me joy this year—1. The incredible art and commitment to healing that PoP brought to the Synod Assembly in thecreation of hundreds of Kintsugi style crosses and PoP members planning the SA banquet.2. Bob and Darcy and this whole church’s care for Safi, Somayeah and their son—a beautiful circleof welcome for a family fleeing their home country for the sake of a better life.3. Carol B’s art and Cortnee’s music Wednesdays during Lent…a truly original twist on a greatWednesday tradition!Three things that inspire this pastor’s heart—1. This community’s care for one another! (late fall during a hospital visit I received word that themember had already received multiple phone calls of care and prayer) unofficially and officiallythrough our Eucharistic ministers.2. The incredible Wednesday Work Crew and their dedication to the property and its upkeep forthe sake of all who are on these holy grounds!3. The fantastic off-site gatherings that occur! From all-ages camping trips to hilarious andheartwarming women’s retreats to planned and impromptu social gatherings that buildcommunity…we offer several ways for people to connect with others and thus tangibly feelGod’s love in a sometimes lonely world.Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 5 of 47

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Three thank-you’s—1. I hesitate to single folks out, but as far as volunteering and sheer hours committed to PoP,please take a moment when you can to thank John Schroeder, council President, for hisdedication to our church finances, his passion and conviction that PoP has a unique gift to offerthe world in its ministries and community.2. Also on that list is Todd Hauschildt/Brian Davis/Rick Helmonds whose forces combined keep thischurch and its properties in top shape. These three also secured an incredible financial egg forthe church in the preschool lease.3. The social justice ministry teams—RSCP, Meal Ministry, Family Supportive Housing, Adopt aHighway---the work we do to care for our neighbors (and Creation!) keeps us always reachingout and growing as a church, and helps ensure we are relevant and grounded in Christ’s call forus. Thank you to all who have been involved in these ministries AND for the folks who leadthem and organize them.Three things that excite me in the year to come—1. Intergenerational experiments that will connect us to one another differently and deeply—greatideas already started like pickleball, new ideas cropping up from members, and a unique spin onTables for 8, scheduled to launch in late spring.2. Christian Ed and TT leaning into a difficult but important topic—educating ourselves about theMiddle East Conflicts and war; for the sake of us all being peace-makers and hope-bringers.3. Working with this PoP staff and our gifted intern, Sharon---their combined dedication and loveof this church is clear! From their pitch-in together attitude, to trying new ways of doingchurch… I am so grateful for this team!For where our hearts are centered and for all of the ways we are responding to God’s call, thank youPoP. I am honored to serve this community and look forward to the ways we will grow in Christ’s love!-Pastor SaraAnnual Meeting January 28, 2024 6 of 47

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Vicar’s ReportDear PoP Family:I sat down today to review all the places and spaces I’ve had the opportunity to travel since I arrived inAugust. WOW! There’s so much to be grateful for as I look back over the past 5 months.Here are a few highlights:● Immigration Advocacy – I have had the honor of walking with our Afghan Refugee family sinceSeptember when Pr. Sara and I supported them in their first immigration hearing. Not manyintern pastors get the opportunity to advocate for the stranger and outcast in a court of law.The experience was both stretching and affirming of God’s call for me to continue walking withthe vulnerable, sharing the hope and peace that can be found in Christ. Looking into the eyes ofsomeone afraid of being deported and saying, “You are safe!” It changes absolutely everything.● Sierra Pacific Synod Assembly – I had the opportunity to join Pastor Sara and PoP staff at thesynod assembly, especially since this was the occasion to witness a new bishop. What’s more,Bishop Jeff was one of the spiritual care leaders at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. Thismeans I have known him well over the three years I was in Berkeley.● Grief Group Started – In November, I started a small group that meets weekly as a way tosupport and encourage those experiencing grief, whether that loss is recent or many years ago.This is group is small but mighty and I have seen so many moments of connection and healing.I’m grateful for the opportunity to try this idea here at PoP.● Interfaith Thanksgiving Service – Pr. Sara and I joined those from other churches and religiouscenters in Saratoga for the annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service on Thanksgiving Day. What ajoy it was to stand on the stage of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church alongside my Catholic, Jewish,Muslim, Hindu, and other Protestant clergy to give thanks for all that we have been blessed toreceive this year. Despite unrest in the world between faith traditions, it spoke volumes to seeJewish and Muslim faith leaders saying their respective sacred prayers standing next to eachother.● Celebration of Light – Also in the category of interfaith events, I joined with other clergy andthe City of Saratoga on a cold evening in early December to speak about how light is importantfor Christians around the world. But, this event also highlighted how other faith traditions uselight. To see Blaney Plaza bright with lights to celebrate all faith traditions as children fromSaratoga schools sang “December Lights.”Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 7 of 47

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● Christmas Eve – I will never forget Christmas Eve 2023 with PoP. It was a honor and a joy toshare the hope of the Advent season with long-time members and first-time visitors. Theinteractive family service experience is something I will take with me as a resource and amemory of laughter and celebration, which is what the holiday season is about. The lightsoutside the sanctuary and the candlelight inside the sanctuary set an incredible stage tocelebrate the birth of Christ. One I’ll never forget.As I begin to plan events and sermons for 2024, I continue to be encouraged by the people of Prince ofPeace who go out of their way to support and encourage me as an intern pastor. It’s not always easybeing the new person in a community but you have made it so wonderful. Pr. Sara and I are planningsome exciting things for Lent and beyond. Thank you for giving me this incredible opportunity to grow,stretch, and learn alongside each of you.I leave you with a blessing that is inspired by Jan L. Richardson’s Through the Advent Door: Entering aContemplative Christmas.May God bless you and sustain you in these early days of 2024.Vicar SharonAs we gather the scattered pieces of 2023and lay them at the threshold of 2024…God, we bid you to hold them,bless them, use them;Ask you to tend them, mend them,Transform themTo keep us warm,Make us whole, and send us forth.Help us to create places of welcomeThat bring healing and life.Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 8 of 47

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Membership Statisticssubmitted by Anne Hess, Pastor SaraMEMBERSHIP 12/31/2023Members received in 2023Infant Baptism 0Adult Baptism 0Affirmation of Faith 0Transfer/move 0TOTAL 0Members removed in 2023By death 1By transfer Lutheran/move 2Other 5TOTAL 8Pastoral Acts/Statisticssubmitted by Anne Hess & Sara Pearson20232022202120202019201820172016201520142013Child Bapt.022033363110Adult Bapt.00001030020Funerals34163453332Weddings12102142545Historical Attendance & MembershipSubmitted by Anne Hess, Pastor SaraThere were no new member classes in 2023 for a variety of reasons and several members moved away,but we are seeing an increase in visitors and regular attendance without joining. While we do not trackchildren attendance in these reports, there has been a noted increase in the number of childrenattending worship with an average attendance of 12.Easter attendance was 242 at one worship. Christmas eve brought 442 split between three services.The last year Christmas attendance was this high was 2016.Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 9 of 47

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ConfirmedCommuning*Average WorshipYouthConfirmands200737719314200836533518472009359282183720103533241783201135431816972012345334158720132982841611220142802781336201527626114662016280267152.572017270270144220183442991375201933929112962020336289209**320213452258585**3 ++2022271+334+89 In-person (104 by Q4)75**420232634421020Confirmed - Members, excluding unconfirmed children*Communing - attended, participated in life of church, and/or took communion at least once duringthe year. Includes children who are old enough to take communion, but are not yet confirmed.**Average unique online views per week - Unique means individual addresses. On-line Viewership andAnnual Meeting January 28, 2024 10 of 47

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Social Media PresencesSubmitted by Anne HessSocial media has become an important part of evangelism. Its use is less expensivethan newspaper advertising. Most of our Social Media use is free and organic.YouTube, where we post our worship videos, is also classified as social media. Wehave 318 subscribers on YouTube. Subscribers are those that have signed up to ourchannel. You can watch videos without subscribing. Last year there were 282subscribers to our channel. Just like a family unit, there may be one subscriberwith multiple viewers. Prince of Peace has 354 Facebook and 265 Instagramfollowers. Facebook engagement (comments, likes, shares) is typically 3-4times higher than Instagram, while Instragram reaches a much youngeraudience. YouTube and Meta, the parent company of both Facebook andInstagram, provide different types and format of data so we can not easilycompare their effectiveness.Our average worship video is viewed 78 times, with the highest worship viewsbeing Easter Sunday (208), Christmas Eve 7:30 (103), Reformation Sunday (102) and Children’sChristmas Play (99). In general, online viewership drops as in-person worship increases.In addition to our Live streaming and recorded worshipservices, this fall we started posting weekly short videoson YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. The advice tofocus on video came from one of your young adultmembers who works in Social Media. It is the same videoon each platform. YouTube has had the widest reach byfar. The short videos resulted in more than half of oursubscriber increase and 27% of online viewership. 11new subscribers came from a short that showed the choir and congregation singing oneverse of “Angels We Have Heard on High” that advertised the Christmas worshipservices. While it remains to be seen whether the increased exposure brings people inthe doors, it does support our goal of spreading the love of Christ in ways that we cannot do in person.In 2024 we are leaning into the short video model and kicking off a series to driveengagement, not only with Prince of Peace, but with a wider audience. Playing off apopular sports podcast that invites their audience to submit questions that are answeredunder their “No Dumb Questions'' portion of the show, we are inviting people to askthose burning church questions. The segment is called “No Dumb Church Questions.” Wehope you will submit your own questions to help us kick off the series and spread it farand wide.Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 11 of 47

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Council President’s ReportJohn SchroederCouncil PresidentGreetings Congregants! 2023 saw PoP getting back in stride as we emerged from the pandemic.The Table Talk events continued to be a reason for us to gather with the community, this year raisingawareness and building empathy around the challenges of immigration and the unhoused., this yearwith a focus on immigration and the unhoused. Thanks to the LEAD team, Norman P for chairing apanel regarding the unhoused, and Yildiray Hazir for sharing his personal immigration journey.We should all be proud of what we do at Prince of Peace. We care for our members, but our mealministry, support for Family Supportive Housing, RSCP, and the Lord’s Pantry are having a significant andpositive impact on those in need. We welcomed Vicar Sharon and are thrilled with a new grief ministry.My prayers are that we can continue to expand our social ministries to include national andinternational causes. Our best moments seem to be when we are programmatic about our initiativestying together doing some good with congregational involvement that may include a temple talk,Christian Education, service work, and potential for a mission trip. This approach can increase ourknowledge of an issue and compassion for those impacted.Barbara, Michael, and Kerry continue our world-class music program inspiring our worship. Drewleading a vibrant youth program, and children’s program is growing. David and our technical volunteersprovide us the ability to worship both in person and virtually. Katie and Anne keep the machinerunning.Property continues to make our campus a wonderful place to worship and a facility for fellowship andour ministries. Todd Hauschildt and Rick Helmonds worked magic to increase our building usageincome by signing the new pre-school tenant and renegotiating leases with our existing tenants.Please join me in thanking our councilmembers for their talent, dedication, and hardwork. It is a pleasure to work with DarcyDutcher(Fellowship), CioneeFalkenhagen(Worship and Music), MariaGaribaldi(Evangelism and Fellowship), ToddHauschildt(Vice President and Property),Rainer Hoehler(Stewardship), JimLeSage(Youth), Julie Skare(ChristianEducation), Erika Solsberg(Youth), YvonneStrom(Social Ministry), BrianTomlin(Secretary), and PeterWoods(Property). I do the Finance committee.Thanks to all those who serve on ourcommittees or as volunteers.Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 12 of 47

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What does council do? Council meets monthly, holds a minimum of two congregational meetings, hastwo offsites annually, and usually a couple of good BBQs. We work to apply our resources to grow ourcongregation spiritually and in numbers. Our tasks include reviewing our programs, reviewingfinancials/business issues, developing/managing to budgets, coordinating between our committees,and nominating/recruiting council and committee members. We make decisions or recommendationsfor congregational approvals as required by the PoP constitution. If you haven’t already, considerjoining the council or a committee. It’s a fellowship opportunity and it’s interesting to see how thechurch works while applying your talents.Finance info will be in the Finance report.Finally, thanks to Pastor Sara for doing a wonderful job leading our congregation. I enjoy working withPastor Sara given her ability to bring levity even when working on tedious matters as she’s reallystepped up her leadership as our sole pastor.Peace,JohnCouncil & Staff BBQAnnual Meeting January 28, 2024 13 of 47

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Council Committee ReportsBridging and EvangelismYou are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lampand put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. Inthe same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify yourFather in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16Who we are: The Constitution of Prince of Peace lists six functions for the Evangelism Committee:1. Contact visitors who attend our worship services and request a visit.2. Arrange an on-going or periodic visitation of inactive members.3. Introduce ways to involve new members into the life, programs and activities of theCongregation4. Provide assistance to the Pastor after each Service to give attention to visitors5. Handle publicity about special events and activities of the Congregation.6. Getting the people in the local community to become aware of and interested in Prince ofPeace.Evangelism 2023 Highlights:● We mailed 1250 postcards to new residents in neighborhoods close to PoP to highlight churchactivities such as Lent/Easter, Fall kick-off events, and Advent/Christmas. Postcards weredesigned by the staff/support with input from the committee.● We also ran religious directory ads in neighborhood newspapers in Los Gatos, Saratoga andWillow Glen. It was decided to discontinue the ads in 2024.● We welcomed 14 Easter worship visitors with a special gift bag filled with treats and informationabout PoP.● We actively use social media accounts, such as Facebook, Instagram and NextDoor, to publicizeour activities. In 2023, we also began using MeetUp, which is organized along affinity groups.Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 14 of 47

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Also part of the Evangelism committee is the Eucharist Ministry, which is a group of congregationalmembers trained to provide pastoral care to shut-ins and others needing visitation support. In 2023 thisdedicated team of servants included: Colleen S, Julie S, Brian D, Cortnee L, Jim and Onalee F. Togetherthey visited members in-home for encouragement, love, prayer and communion.Jill D leads our prayer card ministry by sending notes of comfort and encouragement to those on theprayer list. Jill has mailed 40 cards of well wishes and 20 Christmas cards 2024. We are thankful for hergift of time caring for those in need.Our Farmers Market booth was used to publicize the summer music stroll, church camp and otherspecial events. A new PoP custom-sized signage/banner was installed.We arranged three opportunities for church members to have their photos taken after a worship anduploaded to the Breeze photo directory. Breeze is our online church directory and sign-up system,which is a key to volunteering and contacting other members.A note from your Bread Ministry Team:The Bread Ministry Team was formed in 1998 with the purpose of delivering a homemade loaf of breadto visitors’ homes the week they worship with us. The bread is a way of making a personal connectionand serves as both a welcome and “no strings attached” thank you gift for worshiping with us. Visitorsare asked to sign our visitor book in the narthex or complete a visitor pew card and place it in theoffering plate. Baker and Delivery teams are scheduled for two-week assignments about every 2months.The 2023 team includes 17 members: Vicki A, Janet C, Jessica C, Ginger D, Darcy D, Barbara E, Onalee F,Karen H, Elizabeth L, Lois L, Pam M, Cathy S, Linda S, Erika S, Brian S, Lynn W and Jamie Y.Five bread deliveries were made to visitors this year, another decline from previous years. We find thatnot all visitors are recording their visit or if they do, they are not providing their address. In 2023, 16people signed our visitor book, completed a pew card, or registered as a visitor online. Only 5 providedus with an address allowing us to deliver bread to them. On Christmas Eve, we had 4 sign in, yet only 1provided an address. The other 3 provided emails and/or phone numbers, so they were called oremailed with a welcoming message left and an invitation to come again.There has been discussion to repurpose this team to include visiting shut-ins, not necessarily providingbread. The in-person visit is what would be valued and meaningful. This idea will be explored further in2024.My thanks to the Bread Ministry team members for their continued service; to Anne Hess & KatieHoffman for their ongoing support in tracking visitors and bread deliveries.Respectfully submitted, Cathy SchroederAnnual Meeting January 28, 2024 15 of 47

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In the closing of 2023, we are proud of the number of visitors that come to PoP. We have a number ofnew, very engaged attendees who come to worship, attend events, go to Bible study, sing in choir orjoin other church groups.Evangelism Objective for 2024Our objective for next year is Relational Evangelism: to empower PoP Members to personally invitefriends and neighbors not only to worship but to also connect these visitors with church circles andcommunities beyond Sunday worship.If you have an interest in participating in any of the activities of the Evangelism Committee, we needyou!!! Please contact any of the committee members: Maria G, Maria J, Cathy S or Cionee FRespectfully submitted, Cionee Falkenhagen/Maria GaribaldiAnnual Meeting January 28, 2024 16 of 47

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Children, Youth, and Family MinistrySubmitted by Drew Ajer, Director of Youth and ServiceErika Solberg & Jim LeSage, Council LiaisonsDear beloved,It is indeed so good to be reflecting on another amazing year of ministry together. Through the pastyears, we have navigated tumultuous times, and evolved the way we minister to each other and ourcommunity. I have been so thrilled about the growth we experienced this past year, and the awesomeframeworks we have put in place for continued success.For our friends in elementary school, we continued to adapt, evolve, and reform the way we want ourprogram to look, and how we want our young friends to experience God and experience church. OurSunday School time, affectionately called Sunday Funday, has continued to develop well after asuccessful launch in 2022. We have kids in church every week, with some Sundays even having over 20kids! Our new Sunday Funday Coordinator, Dori R, has been a huge help keeping volunteers and Drewon track. We were able to have adult volunteers for every Sunday Funday during the fall and built someawesome relationships between the kids and other adults. It has been amazing to witness the growthand excitement over this program, which allows the children the opportunity to experience the joy ofChrist’s love and the joy of a church community. I love that the children enjoy coming to church.We continue to have monthly fellowship or service options for our kids as well. This year we had ourValentine’s Day and Halloween Parties, service projects at and for Family Supportive Housing, retreatsat Mt Cross, Day Camp, ice skating and more! We also had another phenomenal Christmas Program,and it is wonderful to have the kids taking on bigger roles and having so much ownership over theprogram!Middle school aged youth have had some important developments as well. We currently have ourbiggest confirmation class since I began! Pastor Sara and I are constantly evaluating the best way to doConfirmation, and this fall met once a month for 3 hours, instead of the weekly meeting. While bothhave their pros and cons, it was so cool to have extended fun and conversations that really dug deep.This also allowed us to minister to some youth whohaven’t had the opportunity to meet during theweek. They have really become close, and havejoined us in a number of ways including service daysat the family shelter, making Christmas decorationsfor those isolated at home, retreats at Mt Cross, iceskating, movie outings, backpacking with Maria Gand so much more!Our high school youth is really flourishing now aswell. This group is so amazing at caring andsupporting each other. Recently, when one of ourAnnual Meeting January 28, 2024 17 of 47

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youth was in the hospital, it was amazing to see the ways in which the group cared for and supportedhim. Furthermore, seeing the ways in which they invite each other to participate and help out by doingtech during services, helping Drew with the kiddos, or being a lector or acolyte, has been awe inspiring.We were able to go on amazing monthly outings like Raging Waters and Kayaking, and this summerwent to the Western States Youth Gathering. This was great preparation for the National YouthGathering in New Orleans this summer! Another huge victory was the return of the Annual YouthDinner. Our theme was “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” and we had a great time celebrating each other,highlighting our year together and raising funds for upcoming trips. I want to give a huge thank you toAndrea P who has cooked these dinners for years, and who has now retired to greener pastures. In2024, we look to Erika Garcia to pick up the mantle! Thanks Erika!Some achievements we had for the year were bringing back the youth dinner, Increased attendanceand the fostering of intergenerational relationships through a restructured Sunday Funday youthinvolvement with Sierra Pacific Youth Committee (SPYSC) and Mt Cross and more!Goals for the 2024 year are to make our service learning trip more accessible, increase youthleadership in worship, and increase the size and scope of our youth committee. Speaking of thecommittee, a huge thank you to Erika S, Jim L, Monica A, Johanna W, and Bryan S for helping us formand plan for the new year!We also need to highlight our youth! While I could write novels on each of them and how they havegrown, there were a couple of highlights from the past year: Will Louderback and Drew Solberg doingEagle Scout projects, Matthew F and Annika R volunteering at Day Camp, and Abigail M joining theSierra Pacific Synod Youth Committee! Abigail not only helped to elect our new Bishop, but also isputting on retreats for all youth in the Sierra Pacific Synod at Mt. Cross!As I reflect on this year, I am again honored and humbled to be blessed with the opportunity to be atthis church. I feel so lucky to be able to witness the way God works through you and this congregation,and feel the presence of the Spirit whenever I am here. You as parents, parishioners, and people of Godare like wifi router extenders that spread the love of God so far and so wide, and create such a deepimpact in this community. Thank you for the opportunity to work here, to serve here, and to be here,and we look forward to an amazing 2024!Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 18 of 47

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Christian Education/Faith & SpiritualityDuring 2023 several of our regular faith building activities remained on the calendar. Ongoing monthlyTheology Pub gatherings continued to be well attended. Topics ranged from spiritual themes inpopular culture (the Barbie movie) to more contemplative/philosophical topics such as “What isprocess theology”. Pastor Sara and Vicar Sharon have been wonderful discussion leaders and facilitatorsfor these thought-provoking sessions.Bible study on Tuesdays at 10 AM continues as a weekly event where scripture readings for theupcoming Sunday service are read in “Lectio Divina” style. Participants joined in person at the churchor connected via Zoom. Attendance has been up and sharing of what “shimmers” in the readings leadto rich discussion for participants.A women’s retreat was held Oct. 13-15 at Monte Toyon Camp and Conference Center in Aptos. Thisbeautiful setting in the redwoods was the perfect place to get off the grid for a couple days. Theretreat was well attended, including some younger women who energized us all. The theme was theuse of enneagram as a tool for self-awareness and spiritual growth. We are grateful to PastorStephanie Lappe from Southern California ELCA Church who graciously joined us to share herknowledge of the enneagram.A new Adult Christian Education Committee was formed in September 2023. Prior to this adultChristian education was the purview of the pastoral staff. With the formation of this new committee,Pastor Sara will continue to play a key leadership role, now with a collaborative effort that includesmembers of the congregation. Julie Skare serves as the committee coordinator and liaison to theCouncil. Carol Bierach and Vicki Atherton joined the committee, although Vicki will soon be relocatingthe Oregon to be closer to family. Vicar Sharon participates in the work of this committee as well.Additional members from the congregation are welcome and are actively being sought!The first step for the Adult Christian Education Committee was to request via congregational surveyinput on topics of interest and frequency of meetings for future in-person education. That feedback iscurrently being incorporated into future plans.In November a small group of members attended a five-week Sunday after the service discussion serieson Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Future of Faith. The format included ~35-minute videos from scholarson Bonhoeffer working in areas such as climate change, prison reform, racial tensions, pastoral care,and Christian Nationalism. This class made us think about Bonhoeffer’senduring question to the church, “What is Christianity for us today?”The videos were also accessible to folks via a link in the E-Peace Notesfor folks unable to attend the class.The weekly E-Peace Notes will continue to include information and linksto allow members access to similar resources. Most will be free andavailable to use on your own time. Submitted by Julie SkareAnnual Meeting January 28, 2024 19 of 47

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Fellowship2023 was an opportunity to connect, and in many ways reconnect with one another within our churchcommunity, connect to God and connect to our neighbors. We were blessed to be able to strengthenour church community with activities that provided intergenerational opportunities for fellowship aswell as welcoming more of our community members to be involved in Prince of Peace activities. Wetried some new events and revived some “oldie but goodies” too this year.Highlights include:● Church Coffee Service: Weekly Theresa R and Maria J lead the task to recruit weekly CoffeeHosts who keep the coffee brewed and treats supplied to congregants and guests alike. Thisministry complements our worship service and helps welcome others to our Prince of Peacecommunity in a non-threatening, non-pressuring way. An added bonus are the friendships andconversations that are had over a cup of coffee among our own church members. Our weeklyvolunteers that make this virtual ministry keep moving forward deserve a special shout outThank you!!● Fat Tuesday/Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner: February Todd H and Norman P spearheaded thisevent. A feast of pancakes and bacon were served to more than sixty adults and children. Awonderful community building event for all ages.● Lenten Soup/Salad Dinners: March We had six different church groups (Choir, Moms of AdultishKids, Weavers Circle, Youth and the congregation at large) prepare an amazing array of soups,salads and bread that were shared weekly during the Lenten season. This food and gatheringtime enabled conversations, building community and strengthening connections with oneanother.● San Jose Giants Baseball Game Outing: April We had a wonderful mixture of forty-two adultsand families join together for an afternoon of fun while watching and cheering for the San JoseGiants, our local minor league baseball team.● Ministry Fair: April A Ministry Fair was organized following church to highlight the manyincredible and varied volunteer opportunities we have within the Prince of Peace community. Itwas a wonderful way to connect with one another and learn of the many ways we can all helpand get involved. Groups ranging from the Altar Guild to the Wednesday Work Crew to theRotating Safe Car Park were in attendance. If you missed the Ministry Fair, we still haveguidebooks in the office. Just ask!Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 20 of 47

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● Welcome Summer Picnic BBQ: May We had more than one hundred and fifteen people attendour all church picnic in Quito Park. Bob and Darcy D spearheaded this event. In addition toburgers and brats grilled in the park, a fabulous potluck smorgasbord was provided frommembers of the congregation. The best part was witnessing the impromptu sing-a-long, frisbeetossing and laughter that was present that day. Perhaps “best day ever” might be a bit of a brag,but definitely a fun time was had by all.● Summer Solstice Music Stroll: June This first time event had more than fifty people come andwander our campus and listen to a variety of musical guests while enjoying the perfect weatherwith friends and ice cream. The event fell on a Wednesday so we were able to draw someFarmers Market customers onto our campus to enjoy the longest day of the year.● Cinderella Musical Outing: July We had twenty three people (between two showings) attendWVLO’s Cinderella to see Sara B perform her magic as the Fairy Godmother.● Hot August Night: August We welcomed our pastoral intern, Vicar Sharon Degraw, with rootbeer floats, ice cream and a lot of fellowship complete with a sing-a-long.● Family Camping Trips: June and August We had not one, but two opportunities fornature-loving, spiritual renewal and family bonding events this year. The June destination wasat Pinnacles National Park with fifteen adults and youth in attendance. August had more thanforty adults and youth explore Uvas Canyon Park.● Table Talks: May and November Guest speakers helped spark conversation among churchmembers and our community guests over a catered meal. Wonderful, introspective andchallenging conversations were sparked.● Christmas Cookie Exchange: December Thirty congregation members gathered to exchangetheir homemade cookies with one another. It was a wonderful way to spread Christmas cheerand connect with one another. Additional cookie plates were assembled to pass along to ourshut-ins and congregation members needing additional Christmas love this holiday seasonduring our Christmas Caroling Event. At that event, we had youth and adults divide into twogroups to go sing Christmas carols and deliver the Christmas cookie platters.● Prayers and Pickleball: December The parking lot now has a pickleball court taped off toprovide fellowship, exercise and fun following our church service. All ages were in attendancefor our inaugural kickoff. What a great way to invite members of our community to churchand have some fun afterwards! Prayers and Pickleball will be held monthly, weatherpermitting.Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 21 of 47

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We encourage everyone to get involved and connect! If you don’t see an opportunity or want to trysomething new, please connect with Darcy D or Yvonne S. Anyone is welcome to join in any of thebelow groups.● PoP Moms of Adult-ish Kids Group: (formerly known as PoP College Moms) This group ofMoms give each other ongoing support to one another throughout the year. The college carepackages are an annual highlight for our congregations’ college and graduate school aged kids.This group lovingly prepares the care packages every year. Christine L and Ulrike H lead thisgroup.● Moms of Young Kids Group: This is a lovely connection point for moms of younger agedchildren. To connect with them, contact Laura L.● The Wise Men’s Group: This group is open to all men of our congregation, college aged andup. We are still trying to get a consistent schedule established. Contact Jon L if you’reinterested.● Weavers: A wonderfully diverse and eclectic group of women spanning all ages and life stagesmeet monthly for fellowship and faith-based discussion. New members are always welcome.Meets 2nd Tuesday of the month in the evening at the same location. Perfect for busy lives.Hold potluck dinners, summer venues (e.g. Montalvo) and Holiday/Yuletide parties. TheWeavers Circle explored a couple of different books in 2023:● Brave: Women of the Bible and Their Stories of Grief, Mercy, Folly, Joy and Redemptionby Alice Conner gave us a chance to explore a different perspective of how differentwomen in the Bible handled or perceived experiences they had.● Gutsy: Mindfulness Practices For Everyday Bravery by Dr. Leah Katz is currently beingexperienced by teaching us how we might become more able to experience life and acton it.● If interested contact Cionee F. (408) 621-4772 sunnyfalkenhagen1@yahoo.com● Young Professionals (Young Pros): This relatively new group was added for our growing group ofyoung professionals who are out of college and working on building their careers. People intheir young twenties to early thirties are the target for this group. Connect with Graham N.ifinterested.If you have any ideas or would like to join us in planning any events, please connect with Darcy D orYvonne S. Don’t know the contact person, ask the office, we are happy to connect you! We would loveto have you join us!!Respectfully submitted by Darcy Dutcher and Yvonne Strom, Co-Fellowship ChairsAnnual Meeting January 28, 2024 22 of 47

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Worship & MusicThe past year included many special and innovative events in PoP’s Worship and Music.Pastor Sara experimented with interactive sermons (more “audienceparticipation”) with the underlying themes of Why Faith?, Why Church?, and Why Prince Of Peace? Ofcourse there were no “right or wrong” answers to these questions but it allowed the congregationmembers to reflect on these questions and share their views. An interactive sermon changes thedynamics from “Pastor preaching to Congregation” to “Pastor and Congregation joining together toexplore faith”. Accompanying these sermons were artistic contributions from Carol Bierach and othersto enhance the sermon message with artistic visual effects in the narthex and sanctuary.During the year, Vicar Sharon DeGraw joined the Worship Leadership Team as an intern. She madevery valuable contributions to our worship services, and also other key church services such aspastoral care, bible study and fellowship. For example, Vicar Sharon led a very impactful Tidings ofComfort service (formerly known as Blue Christmas) during the holiday season.For the Lenten season, we had Wednesday evening services that started with a soup and salad dinnerin the Fellowship Hall followed by meditative music worship service that included soloist/guitarist/pianistcontributions. and art projects by Carol B.Easter week included services for Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. On EasterSunday we had a wonderful music program including solos by Kirk Eichelberger. An Easter Egg Huntfollowed worship.In June, we had a Summer Music Stroll on the PoP campus. There were several music stationsincluding performances by Michael Touchi, Barbara Day Turner, Steve Conway, Brian Strom andfriends,the Cali Clarinet Quartet, and flutists Isabella Grimes and Anastasia Goldin.Facilitated through 2022 PoP+Zion Funds, as the covid situation eased up a bit, were a series of free,45 minute concerts. In October and November, the concerts featured a performance by Angela KraftCross, with another concert (Martin Luther KIng) scheduled on MLK day January 2024, featuring theworld premiere of her composition homage to Martin Luther King These concerts. On December 22,the concert featured the San Jose Chamber Orchestra String Quartet playing spirit-raising holidaymusic.Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 23 of 47

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On December 10, there was a joint Advent choir concert with the PoP Choir and the Choral CosmoChoir featuring Magnificat, composed by Taylor Scott Davis. The concert included very fine soloistcontributions from Sarah Birdsall and Alison Collins and a small chamber orchestra. There wasexcellent attendance and response to this event. All proceeds were given to Youth Groupprograms.Our contemporary band joined the choir for a great service on September 10th!Other Holiday Worship and Music Highlights included:Children’s Christmas Play ---PoP kids acted out the story of Jesus' birth.Two groups visited PoP shut-in members to sing Christmas Carols, including a visit to BelmontLiving in San Jose.Three Christmas Eve Services:● 5 pm, family oriented service● 7:30 pm, candlelight, contemplative service with Sanctuary choir accompanied byorchestra, guest soloists Juanita Harris and Kirk Eichelberger● 10pm meditative service with Michael Touchi (pianist/organist) and soloist Sarah Birdsall.During the year, the responsibility for the greeter program was transferred from the EvangelismCommittee to the Worship Committee`. A captain/lead person for the month has the option to recruitweekly greeters or do it herself/himself. The church launched a new eco-friendly name tag system,using permanent name tags to reduce waste.We are grateful to the many PoP members who contribute to our outstanding Worship and Musicprograms. Special thanks to our Music leaders, Barbara Day Turner, Michael Touchi and Kerry Lewis!Also, thanks to our Worship Teams: Video Production, Ushers, Altar Guild, Communion Servers,Lectors, Greeters and Coffee Hour Hosts!Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 24 of 47

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PropertyCurrent Property Committee Membership:• Peter W, Council Representative• Brian D, Member at Large• Barbara E, Member at Large• Reinhard W, Member at Large• Rick H, Member at Large• Kim H, Member at Large• Todd H, Member at LargeFinancials:Operational Budget: In 2022 we established a reasonable 2023 budget to better maintain theproperty and better service its many constituents. We employed a maintenance contractor toassist with the many items that have been neglected over the years. We have made a lot ofprogress on the never-ending list of items that need to be serviced – gutter repair, roof leaks,termite damage, light replacements, etc. While this will continue for some time, we are makingprogress. We were under budget for the year mainly due to some of the projects being pushedoff to 2024 for reasons out of our control.Rental Income: In 2023 we have made significant improvements in our rental income. Early inthe year a preschool expressed interest to Anne Hess about renting the classroom building. TheProperty Committee got heavily engaged under the leadership of Rick Helmonds. We now havea 10-year lease for Rooms 1-6 and the play yard. In the next couple of years, the income fromthe Preschool will be over $100k/year! In addition, we have re-negotiated the Farmers Marketlease as well as the Noel Church lease, all adding additional income to the church.Unfortunately, in this process we lost the Reading Clinic, but we are still projecting a positiveincrease in our rental income for 2024.Capital Improvement Status: Approved in the original 2023 budget, and additional capital wasrequested and approved in June as a part of the new Preschool lease. The additional items werescheduled to be completed over the next few years but accelerated in order to optimize rentcollected from the preschool.● Social Hall Roof Sealing - Complete● New Sump Pump - Complete● Sanctuary Narthex Roof - Complete● Sanctuary HVAC – Ordered in March of 2023, to be installed in Jan/Feb of 2024● Choir Speakers – Complete● Parsonage – Front Yard Landscaping - Complete● Parsonage – Bathroom flooring – Complete – But needs to be redone● June Pre-School - Class Room HVAC – Approved in 2023, install in 2024● June Pre-School - Class Room Roof - Approved in 2023, install in 2024● June Pre-School - Parking Lot Seal & Striping - Complete● June Pre-School - Class Room & Office Termite - Complete● June Pre-School - Social Hall Narthex Door - Complete● June Pre-School - Storage Shed - CompleteAnnual Meeting January 28, 2024 25 of 47

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● June Pre-School – Cabinetry - Approved in 2023, install in 2024Priorities: The committee is reviewing the current priority list and will be presenting theirrecommendations to council in February. The most likely projects for 2024 are the following:● ADA Compliant doorknobs and keys● Repaint all the buildings● Classrooms - Install programmable lock on Room 7● Offices/Classrooms - New Phone & Internet System● Sanctuary - Replace the Roof over the Narthex - Shingles● Sanctuary - Add additional Video capabilities● Sanctuary - Restroom Flooring● Sanctuary - Narthex & Conference room flooring● Social Hall - Improve sound/acoustics● Social Hall – Begin process to study and recommend how to better utilize Social Hall toserve the community and increase rental activity.Wednesday Work Crew (WWC) is anincredible team that constantly is caring,fixing, and improving our property. Theymeet almost every Wednesday morning andcomplete hundreds of tasks that are a keypart of maintaining our property. If you geta chance (either on a Wednesday morning,or anytime you see them) tell them thanks!They love their community, and they caredeeply about our property. If you too, carefor our property and enjoy the team and aresomewhat useful with your hands, (or not,we will train you!) – come check it out on aWednesday Mornings!!!● Carol R● Marilyn S● Jim R● Reinhard W● Rotraut W● Bill Y● Susan Y● Brian D● Barbara E● Kim H● Laura C● Marc F● Pam L● Jaime Mc● Dorothy Ma● Kerry L● Christa WThe property committee is committed to making our facilities as inviting as possible. Thank youfor your support.The Property CommitteeAnnual Meeting January 28, 2024 26 of 47

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Social MinistriesThe 2023 annual report of Social Ministry at Prince of Peace highlights an inspiring journey ofcommunity impact and social innovation. This year, the ministry strengthened its commitmentto social justice, environmental stewardship, and homelessness advocacy, while nurturinggenerosity through substantial donations to the family shelter. The congregation's notableactivities include the Adopt-a-Highway cleanup, the Rotating Safe Car Park program, andpartnerships with Family Supportive Housing and the Lord’s Pantry that significantly aided thosein need. Innovative approaches in projects like Table Talks and the Immigration Border Tripexemplify the congregation's dedication to creating meaningful change and nurturing acompassionate and active community.Adopt-a-HighwayThe Adopt-a-Highway cleanup crew was very active thisyear, and ably organized by Bryan M. They met seventimes early on a Saturday morning to clean up ourassigned section of Highway 85 from Saratoga Ave toDe Anza Blvd. Each time, there were 7-13 peopleworking for 1-2 hours (that’s 72 people hours!) They getextra credit for the innovation of using a pickup stick totake a selfie :)Rotating Safe Car ParkKaren H and Norman P continue to lead our highlysuccessful safe parking program, called the RotatingSafe Car Park (RSCP.) Ulrike H has also been activebehind the scenes in many ways, for example, keepingthe pantry well stocked.Marc F has joined the team, filling in as a Team Leadduring our safe park hosting in December and January.Marc has been an RSCP volunteer since our pilot in2018 so he understands this ministry very well. He has been a great asset to our Team. Thankyou, Marc!The RSCP would also like to thank Matthew F who has been providing support to the team inthe way of Meal Ministry leadership, training volunteers and providing valuable input. Thankyou, Matthew.Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 27 of 47

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The RSCP is increasingly seen as a leader in advocacy for ourhousing insecure neighbors, giving workshops, speaking at theSynod assembly, offering advice on homeless programs in SantaClara County, and recruiting new hosting partners. This year twonew host churches included Bethel Lutheran of Cupertino andAbundant Life Assembly of God in Cupertino. RSCP was awarded agrant of $25,000 from the City of Cupertino. As a testament to thesuccess of the program, six former RSCP guests have foundpermanent housing.During the month of December the RSCP guests were hosted onthe Prince of Peace campus. We began with 11 guests, andcurrently have 6 guests who are active. We see only a few athospitality, as some take off early, or come in late. We are actively pursuing WVCS again to helpAmigos with outreach here in the West Valley, where there is a huge need.There were 45 POP volunteers, and 11 RSCP partner volunteers working hospitality shifts orproviding meals in December (and January.)The RSCP partner community of volunteers is stronger than ever! Partner churches stepped upto help us cover shifts and meals during the busy Christmas season. They also knew some ofour leadership would not be present in the last part of December and were providing supportfor our safe park and the guests.The RSCP December host traditionally gives the guests Christmas presents. Now it was POP’sturn. Jill Davis offered to shop for and beautifully wrap and label Christmas boxes for eachguest. In addition, Volunteers provided additional hot meals around Christmas and New Years;much appreciation goes to Jill Davis again, Yildiray Hazir, Susan MacDougall, and RSCP partners. This special effort was very well received and appreciated by the guests.Family Supportive HousingThe collaboration with Family Supportive Housing is strong and ongoing. Three new volunteershave joined the team including Matthew F, Gretchen W, and Ulrike H. Activities include Days ofService, Meal Ministry, Holiday Events, and Kids to Camp. Here is their report, respectfullysubmitted by Cathy SFor over thirty years Family Supportive Housing (FSH) has been helping homeless single- andtwo-parent families with children remain intact, while addressing their needs for food, shelter,employment and education. FSH provides temporary housing for a maximum of 35 families for90 days at their San Jose Family Shelter, then support services when families secure permanenthousing. The shelter is currently housing 29 families made up of 33 adults and 65 children. TheyAnnual Meeting January 28, 2024 28 of 47

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are expecting up to 4 more families the week of January 8th. Prince of Peace’s relationship withthe San Jose Family Shelter began in the 1980’s, when the first shelter building was underconstruction and the community was asked to sponsor or fund “rooms.” Prince of Peace (PoP)agreed to sponsor a room for one family. A congregational appeal raised funds that wenttowards furniture, bedding and other supplies. Members also began preparing and servingdinners at the shelter. Then in 2001, PoP started sponsoring shelter children to attend a Mt.Cross summer camp with close to 600 kids attending Mt. Cross camps to date. Our Meal andKids to Camp ministries continued for many years until the Covid-19 pandemic broughteverything to a halt. Our congregation support was unwavering, not letting a pandemic hinderthem in their service to others. We increased and modified our support to the shelter families,responding generously but in more relevant ways, raising funds to meet critical needs thatsurfaced with the pandemic; collected and donated large numbers of tangible goods; beganmaking 50 bag lunches, delivering them twice a month; and providing gift cards during theholidays. Much of this continues today, but with the pandemic effects waning we’ve been ableto grow our support, resurrecting past ministries and adding more service opportunities.● Kids to Camp Returns: With much celebration, our Kids to Camp ministry was reignitedafter a 3-year pandemic hiatus. On May 14 Mt. Cross Program Director Sam Garcia andFSH Operations Manager Jennifer Saxton kicked off our congregational appeal to raise$8200 for camper fees and bus transportation. Our congregation responded withgenerous hearts, giving $6500 and Christ Lutheran Church of Aptos contributed $1,700.June 18-23, 9 shelter children attended a Mt. Cross week-long overnight camp. Only 20children in total attended the camp, so the shelter kids received lots of attention. Thefamilies’ caseworkers reported that the children thoroughly enjoyed the experience, ahuge summer highlight that helped relieve the stresses of their housing challenges. FSHmanagement was very pleased and are happy to be back at Mt. Cross.● Days of Service Increased: We added one more Day of Service, increasing from 2 to 3 in2023. On May 7 we cleaned and organized the Family Shelter Day Care Center. OnOctober 22 our members assembled goods for 35 hygiene and 40 meal kits. OnDecember 9 & 10 we helped run an activity at their Holiday Party and restored thefacility back to order the next day.Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 29 of 47

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● Tangible Goods Donations: Over 400 items weredonated at a value of $1048. 1) hygiene productsincluding family-sized shampoo, conditioner, bodywash, lotion, and hand soap. 2) lunch food items suchas juice boxes, water, chips, snacks and cookies. On Oct22 these goods were placed in plastic bags to serve as“new family welcome packets” and delivered on Nov 2.● Adopt-A-Family: In its second year, this Adventgiving program was launched on November 12 and wasthoroughly embraced by our members. FSH matchedus with 10 families in their care, mostly single parentswith 1-4 children. 50 PoP individuals/families purchased over 150 gifts from their wishlists that were valued over $3,600. These were delivered on December 4 along with hats,scarves and blankets made by Jo-Ann Birdsall. An additional 15 members donated$1,915 towards the purchase of these gifts, the cost of the Holiday Party and otherneeds. On December 7, PoP volunteers wrapped these and other gifts at the shelter forthe 47 families served by this giving program. Both the FSH staff and shelter familieswere extremely grateful for our generous gifts as expressed in their thank you letter andhand written cards.● Meal Ministry: Volunteers continued to make and deliver sack lunches twice a month tothe shelter. This year, over 1000 lunches were provided! On May 14, Director of Youthand Service Drew Ajer and Boy Scout Troop 325 prepared and served the shelter familiesdinner. More to be reported in a Meal Ministry report.● PoP Zion Grant: FSH was very grateful to receive a $1750 PoP Zion Endowment grant touse towards their computer lab improvements.Intergenerational Immigration Border TripSeveral times over the past decades here at Prince of Peace we havedone intergenerational multi-day service trips. There is a beautifulcombination of fellowship, action, relationship building and fun thatgoes into these trips. Eight people, led by Drew Ajer, participated thisyear during the week of June 25. They traveled to the border in SanDiego where they learned about immigration issues there.Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 30 of 47

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Table TalksSubmitted by Drew Ajer, Director of Youth and Service Business expert Steve Jeffes wrote that “Innovation is the unrelenting drive to break the statusquo and develop anew where few have dared to go.“ It is with this mindset that I am so excitedto share our report for our newest Social Justice Ministry: Table Talks.As you may remember from last year, Table Talks was an innovative idea that came out of Princeof Peace’s participation in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Congregations LEADInitiative. This program combined the collective genius of 48 different churches from across theUS and Caribbean to unleash and harness their collective genius and discover new and usefulministry innovations. While many excellent ideas came out, and will continue to come out, ofthis process, Table Talks was the first idea that PoP decided to attempt. 2022 Gave us somegreat insight in how to improve going into 2023.Table Talks in 2023 gave some invigorating topics and speakers. We had two amazing talks onImmigration, including one from our own Yildiray H on his story as a refugee from Turkey.Additionally RSCP was able to connect with a number of additional speakers to form a panel onhomelessness. Not only did these events meet three goals (gaining empathy, educating tounderstand, and a tangible action plan of how to help!), but we also had some good turnout,increased attendance over time, and more repeating visitors. The October event had over 100attendees including 32 non-members.We are also working hard on improving these Talks for the benefit of all, including who we askto be speakers, how the sound and acoustics in the room works, and the best ways to seatpeople to maximize the effectiveness of the conversations. The CLI (Congregations LEAD Initiative) ended this past fall, however this does not mean thatTable Talks are done. In fact, Table Talks was recently approved by council to become an officialministry of PoP, under the umbrella of Social Justice Ministry. Table Talks also converges manyministries including evangelism and Christian Education and is a no pressure way for peopleoutside of the congregation to learn about us, and learn about something that is pertinent toour community.Table Talks received grant funding from both the PoP+Zion fund, as well as the ELCA whichallows us to put these events on. While the CLI is over, we owe a huge thank you to theparticipants who dedicated 2 years of their time to make this happen and who continue tovolunteer to host these events. Thank you to Todd H, Laura L, Cathy S, Christine L, and PastorSara for their time and effort.Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 31 of 47

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Meal MinistrySubmitted by Drew Ajer, Director of Youth and ServiceYvonne S, Council LiaisonsThere is something special about the meal ministry we do here, as it always reminds me of themeal Jesus gives to us at Communion. The gift of Christ’s love and the gift of communion is forall, and you continue to give those gifts at every opportunity.Our MM program continued to provide lunches to Family Supportive Housing twice a month.With 50 sandwiches per dropoff, we gave 1200 sandwiches this year! Way to go! We were alsoable to provide dinners for the Shelter once per month from January until May. We were unableto find a lead cook volunteer who had the time and ability to continue this part of the ministry,so for the time being, we have put a pause on our Shelter dinners, however the option is alwaysopen if we find willing participants.I want to be sure to thank Andrea P and Jim W for dutifully creating and running these dinnersover the past years, especially with the increase in meals starting during the Covid pandemic.Jim was especially busy during this time as he was taking the lead responsibility for the MealMinistry. As Jim enjoys retirement, and Andrea enjoys spending time with the grandkids, wewould be remiss if we did not thank them and acknowledge everything that they have done forPoP, FSH, and the greater Silicon Valley area.Lastly, this ministry couldn’t happen without some amazing volunteers. Ulrike H and GretchenW have taken over the role of checking all the sandwiches before they are taken over. Maria Jand Christa W have been amazing at transporting. Matthew F accepted the role of MealMinistry Coordinator which was a huge help, and Cathy S does so many things behind thescenes to keep this ministry running smoothly. Thank you to all who have donated and helpedmake this ministry a reality!Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 32 of 47

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PoP + Zion InvestmentCommittee MembershipJerry K (President - until 2024) Pastor Sara Pearson (Advisor)Richard R (General Member - until 2025) John S (Advisor)Lisa M (General Member - until 2026)Dave B (Secretary - until 2024)Our thanks to Todd H, former President, for his leadership during the initial formation and firstyears of this committee's work. When he joined the Church Council in June of 2023, he wasrequired to resign from this committee.Investment Strategy: No ChangesOur objective is to manage the PoP+Zion Investment Fund to maintain the “buying power” ofdistributions and the principal value of the fund.Investment strategy: Maintain a target allocation of 70% equities and 30% bonds/cash● In compliance with Uniform Prudent Management of Institution Funds Act (UPMIFA).● Appropriate long-term investment strategy per UPMIFAThis strategy was approved by the congregation in January 2021.Previously, Vanguard actively monitored and managed the investments to maintain this 70/30strategy. They would rebalance automatically when there was a 5-point variation or at ourrequest.When we switched to managing our account directly in 2022 to minimize management fees, wetook responsibility for monitoring and rebalancing our account as appropriate.The PoP+Zion investments are held in two Vanguard mutual funds:● LifeStrategy Growth Fund (VASGX) 60% equity / 40% bonds/cash● LifeStrategy Moderate Growth Fund (VSMGX) 80% equity / 20% bonds/cashBy holding equal amounts in these two funds, we are able to create our desired 70%/30% mix.As distributions are made each month, appropriate amounts from both funds are sold to bringthe total investment as close as possible to the desired 70/30 mix.Distribution Methodology: No ChangesOur plan calls for a 4% distribution based on the previous twelve-quarter moving average of themarket value of the Fund as of the last day of each quarter.Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 35 of 47

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PoP + Zion DistributionMembers: Katie H, Lisa L, Christine L, Satish R, Council Advisors: Pastor Sara, John SBackground:Prince of Peace is a special church community. When members of Zion Lutheran Church votedto join Prince of Peace in 2005, the two communities discerned the best usage for the churchproperty and decided to support it as a resource for new church ministries. After 11 years ofsupporting this effort, the decision was made to sell the property. This sale allows the vision ofsupporting church ministries to live on through the PoP + Zion Fund. Through the investment ofthese funds, the PoP + Zion Fund will provide perpetual income to support our goal to do moregood both within our church and with our surrounding community. The fund designatespercentage allocations as follows;Categorya) Synod 15%,b) Property 30%,c) Prince of Peace Member Missions andd) Open categoryCommittee Report:This year we were blessed with the ability to fund 22 initiatives - some close to home and someas far away as Ukraine. In 2023, the Pop+Zion fund distributed a total of $84,085 in grants, withan additional $22,855 going to the Synod and $45,710 going to Property. Enjoy reading aboutthe organizations and initiatives we were able to fund this year in the link below.The 2024 applications will open in early 2024 - think about your areas of passion and how thesefunds could be leveraged. Feel free to share the application with any organizations you wouldlike to support, and if you have a project or initiative you would like to lead, apply yourself!Consider passing your donations through Prince of Peace as you donate to your favoriteorganizations so they are eligible for Category c distributions.Distributions by Category$22,855 Part A 2023 Synod (15%)$45,710 Part B 2023 Property (30%)$45,710 Part C 2023 POP Missions (30%) - Eligibility limited$283 Part C carryover from 2022 - Eligibility Limited$38,092 Part D 2023 Open Eligibility (25%)$152,650 TotalPop+Zion website - distribution report and the application linkhttps://www.propeace.org/domoregood.Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 38 of 47

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Financial ReportsStewardshipsubmitted by Rainer HoehlerThe year 2023 allowed us to interact again in person while keeping the benefits of online-meetings wechose to. The benefits of being able to meet in person were felt in Stewardship as they were felt acrossthe ministries: being able to grow what was subdued during the pandemic. We saw growth in manyplaces, especially:1. Our Stewardship committee welcomed Karin Luton to the team.2. Vicar Sharon joined the team multiple times.3. After declining donations in 2022 compared to 2021, 2023 showed again an increase indonations.The stewardship committee members are:• Anne H• Karin L• Pastor Sara P• Rainer HKey activities in 2023 included:• Welcome Karin into the Stewardship committee and having Vicar Sharon join us multiple times.• Develop and execute on an annual Stewardship Plan for 2023, including a calendar of activitiesto generate visibility to the congregation, align fundraising activities with PoP ministries,awareness of stewardship throughout the year and providing feedback to donors.• Self-study of the Stewardship committee members on the spirituality of fundraising andfostering financial stewardship in our congregation.• Refining some analytics• Drafting plan for 2024Review of 2023 Giving and 2024 PledgeWe received in 2023 total donations of $515,701 (+3.6% compared to 2022 and +0.7% above theannual plan for 2023). Of this total amount, $426,848 (+1.7% YoY) were received for theGeneral/Operations fund. The fund for our intern, Vicar Sharon, received $19,150 in donations.Donations against 2023 pledges for the General fund were an astonishing $402,538 (+15.7% YoY)compared to the original pledge amount of $358,292 (112% actual donations vs pledge amount). Wealso received significant donations across all funds beyond pledges from members (more than $90k)and to a lesser degree non-members (>more than $22k).Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 39 of 47

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We saw again high, albeit slightly reduced year over year, concentration of donations with 22members/households providing more than 50% of the total donations (last year: 19). This continues tobe an opportunity to expand the donations further across more members.As of writing of this report, we received 60 pledges for the 2023 General/Operations fund totaling$359,900 which is behind the progress we had at this point last year. Our goal is to achieve at least thesame number of pledges as in 2022 (66) and more than $385,000 in pledges. If you have not pledgedyet, please do so at propeace.org/pledge or contact Anne Hess or Rainer Hoehler.Ways to give…Most of our funds come from donations. Most donations are provided through checks or automatedpayments services (Breeze & Vanco services) and a smaller portion through PayPal Charitablecontributions. An area we would like to expand is the donation of stocks and other equities. Donatingappreciated stocks or equities held for more than one year has additional tax advantages for the donor:the full value of the stock is tax deductible, and the donor saves at the same time on taxes on the stockgains. An overview of ways to give is available at propeace.org/support-prince-of-peace and below. Ifyou are interested in setting up auto-payments or have questions on ways to give, please contact AnneHess or Rainer Hoehler.Donate Onlinehttps://propeace.breezechms.com/give/onlineText to GiveText (408) 413-0600 with the amount you would like to donateCash or CheckSend to Prince of Peace Lutheran Church12770 Saratoga Ave, Saratoga, CA 95070Donate Stock or EquitiesA great way to increase effective donation in a tax-optimized wayContact us for detailsLeave a legacyLeave a legacy by adding PoP into your Will or Trust as beneficiary – contact usPaypal Givinghttps://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/2021712Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 40 of 47

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Plans for 2024Prince of Peace has an awesome congregation with many gifts, talents, and financial means. We alsobelieve that everything we are and what we have are gifts from God, something we proclaim when westate that God is the maker of heaven and earth. It is also an unusual belief compared to the typicalview (doctrine) that we earned what we have. We plan to reflect further and explore the role ofGenerosity and Abundance in our Christian faith and how we can actively integrate Generosity into ourlives. In practice, we plan to embed Stewardship activities stronger into our broad set of ministriesacross the year, make Stewardship a part of the New Member group activities and develop a calendarof Stewardship activities across the year. In addition, we hope to find at least one or two additionalmembers to join the Stewardship Committee.Benevolent Givingsubmitted by Anne HessIn addition to supporting Prince of Peace’s regular operating budget, Prince of Peace donated over$80,000 through Prince of Peace in other Benevolences.Causes Supported (rounded for simplicity.)Intern Expenses$19,000Family Supportive Housing - Kids to Camp, Adopt-a-Family, general ministry$12,000Youth (mostly through Youth dinner)$9,300Gen. Capital improvements & Choir loft speakers$8,600Synod$8,500Food Pantry (funded on-site pantry and pass-through to Lord’s Pantry)$7,900Pastor’s Discretionary$7,000Lutheran World Relief$2,100Women’s Retreat scholarships$1,700Harmony Community Church$1,500Harmony Community Cares$1,500Rotating Safe Car Park$1,300Lutheran Social Services$620PLTS$600Afghan family$340ES/MS retreat scholarships$350Children’s Ministry$250World Hunger$220Annual Meeting January 28, 2024 41 of 47

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Finance Committee ReportSubmitted by John Schroeder, January 2024This report provides historical performance and all aspects of the 2024 budget including profit and loss,capital, personnel costs, our balance sheet, and intern program funding.SummaryPoP finance key facts:● 2023 net income of $152K was better than the budgeted $38K due to:o Tax refunds of 82,745.14.o A successful intern program special appeal.o Lower than budgeted personnel expense.● The PoP campus mortgage was paid off in September 2023.o PoP is debt-free!o The mortgage payments were ~$38K annually.● The Property committee’s work increases 2024 building usage income by $45K growing to morethan $90K in subsequent years.o $111K in 2023o $161K in 2024o $211K expected for 2025.● Unrestricted cash is at the planned level of 50% of the annual operating budget.o ~$500K now, but property expenses will be lowering this balance.o Funds items including the $75K sanctuary HVAC and $127K budgeted pre-schoolimprovements.● PoP is business tax exempt and no longer needs to file year-end returns.● 2023 intern costs were basically covered by the special appeal through end of year 2023.● PoP has a very strong balance sheet.o Assets increased by ~$500K from $8.177M to $8.689M during 2023.o >$4M in liquid assets.o >$4M in fixed assets as reported in the balance sheet. This cost value accounting isstandard but undervalues our real estate. Using a reevaluation model would result inadjusting our real estate value to market. The parsonage zestimate is $2.138M. Mycampus guesstimate is $8M.o Reevaluation would take the total asset value to over $14M.o No debt.The teamThanks to all who make PoP finance work.● Finance committee: Julie Skare, Todd Hauschildt, Rainer Hoehler, Pastor Sara, and me.● Katie Hoffman and Anne Hess track donation income through Breeze and enter income andexpenses into Quickbooks. Katie continues to take on more of these responsibilities.● Our accountant and bookkeeper. We added a bookkeeper that created a lower blended hourlyrate to lower overall costs. The accountant contributed to producing financial reporting suitablefor filing for tax refunds and exemptions. Our finances are overly complicated specifically by theAnnual Meeting January 28, 2024 43 of 47

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accounting required by our endowments and (far too) many dedicated (directed) donations.Both take significant time, and the complexity introduces more opportunities for error.● Mutual ministry who recommends fair and prudent compensation for our clergy and staff. DaveBirdsall took over as chair in 2023 and it’s been a smooth transition.● Property works hard to contain costs. This year Todd H and Rick H worked on the pre-school andrenegotiated with our other long-term tenants.● Stewardship Committee (Anne H, Karin L, Pastor Sara, Vicar Sharon, Rainer Hoehler) is makinggood progress.Financial goalsEach year we develop a budget and manage to that budget with the following goals:● Fully fund our staff, operations, capital improvements, and grow our programs.● Maintain unrestricted cash (working capital) of 50% of the annual budget.● Fund the ability to grow our membership spiritually and in numbers. Fund programs to increaseour relevance.● Remain in regulatory compliance by submitting filings according to a calendar that PoPmaintains. Avoiding future problems is avoiding the impact and cost of non-compliance.Budget v Actuals and 2024 Proposed BudgetThis profit and loss report shows ordinary income to allow us to better manage our working capital. Thereport excludes PZ parts B, C, and D distribution amounts. The PZ interest income, gains, anddistributions are tracked as non-ordinary income as they are pass throughs that are generally not usedfor ordinary expenses. The PZ parts C and D distribution decisions are unknown when we aredeveloping the budget. PZ part B designated for capital improvements and is included as a contributorto the capital budget. We do not budget or expect additional tax refunds for 2024.Figure 1- PoP P&L Annual Comparison and 2024 BudgetAnnual Meeting January 28, 2024 44 of 47

2023 Annual Report - FINAL

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