FROM THE PASTOR S DESK

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2 FROM THE PASTOR S DESK DEAR MEMBERS & FRIENDS, Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Sure can t complain too much about the winter so far; unless of course you are one of those who prefer the weather to be much colder and to drop huge amounts of snow. I m perfectly happy not having to shovel much snow so far this winter. Yet, I have lived here long enough to know that even if winter weather doesn t arrive until January, it can still be a long winter. There are varying predictions. Some say it will be a mild winter. Others have said the first half will be mild but the second half will make up for it. Only the Lord knows. Christmas is behind us and the New Year will arrive soon. In January, January 22 nd to be precise, we have the anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling to legalize abortion. It was January 22 nd in 1973 that the Supreme Court decided that it was constitutional to abort a baby before birth. The constitutional right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness went right out the window. Every year there is a March for Life in Washington DC on the anniversary of the Court s decision. In my thinking, there are two sides. One is pro-life and the other is the opposite pro-death. Yet that is not how the media has framed the argument. Anything you read in the liberal media calls pro-life people anti-abortion and calls pro-death people pro-choice. This is exactly backwards to common sense. If you are pro-life you are labeled negatively and if you are pro-death you are labeled positively. Since the Court s decision in 1973 there has been an element of a death culture in our society. We can illustrate this backwards thinking by a closer examination of the Colorado Springs shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic recently. The shooter killed three people at the clinic. The shooter said that he was trying to see that Planned Parenthood would no longer be aborting babies and selling their body parts. Many have claimed that the shooter must have been pro-life; or in media speak, he was anti-abortion. I would argue that he was not pro-life or even pro-death. What he really was is pro-choice. Regardless of how he viewed himself, once he entered that clinic he became pro-choice. It became his choice to end the life of three human beings. Even though he may have thought that his actions would eventually save lives, and perhaps they did, he made it his choice to end lives. I m not sure what his defense attorneys will argue when his case goes to trial. Perhaps they need to appeal to the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that gave people the right end other people s lives. Perhaps the Supreme Court meant that you could only choose to end the lives of those yet unborn; but the Colorado shooter obviously extended that right for himself to kill adults. The Court s decision has also been used to support assisted suicide and mercy killing. If a person is truly pro-choice, then they believe that people have the right to end the life of other people, or even their own. When people exercise that choice, whether it be by abortion, or by suicide, or by assisted suicide, or even outright murder; it is a refusal to recognize that God is the author and finisher of life. It is also a refusal to recognize the sanctity of life. All human life is precious because all human life is a gift of God. Christian Life Resources began as a WELS pro-life organization that primarily educated people about the horrors of abortion and the sanctity of life for the unborn. Recognizing that the sanctity of life exists at all stages of life, they changed their name. Life at every stage of life, from conception to natural death, is sanctified in the eyes of God. Do I do enough for the pro-life cause in our nation? Probably not! Should abortion be illegal in our country and any other civilized nation? Of course it should! Should Planned Parenthood be defunded? Obviously! You and I should not be forced to pay for the abortions of unborn children, especially when there are long lines of people waiting to adopt. And you and I should not be forced to aid and abed the selling of infant body parts. The best outcome is that we would not need a law to prohibit abortion or even to grant abortions. The best would be if hearts and minds were changed to faith in God and faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ. Then, no one would ever contemplate aborting a child the Lord has blessed them with before the child is born. In Christ s service, Pastor Lloyd Schlomer

3 ANNIVERSAY SUNDAY Our Anniversary Sunday this year is January 17 th. On January 17 th we will have our annual meeting during the Bible Study hour. We will also have our annual anniversary dinner at around 12:00 noon. Check for sign-up sheets for the anniversary dinner at church. This will be the celebrations of Ascension s 51 st anniversary. One in Christ is the title of the special offering to eliminate our synod s debt. The goal is to eliminate our synod s debt by June Our synod has been paying down the debt with annual payments of 1.6 million dollars per year from the budget. Eliminating the debt would mean that the 1.6 million dollars that now go for debt payments can then be used for missions and ministry. Many congregations kicked off their One in Christ offering this fall. Our council decided to wait until 2016 to roll out the One in Christ offering as we were wrapping up our building project. Look for more information in the coming weeks. If anyone does want to contribute to the One in Christ debt elimination sooner, you can mark an envelope One in Christ and it will go there, or you may pick up a One in Christ brochure/envelope at church. MY SON, MY SAVIOR My Son, My Savior is the title of a new video produced by our synod s evangelism committee. The video portrays the life of Jesus, often through the eyes of his mother Mary hence the title My Son, My Savior. The video is intended for congregations and individuals to help with outreach. We have ordered enough copies for everyone. You may also take one for a friend or relative. The approximately 45 minute video has received critical acclaim. Feel free to share it with friends and family. We also still have copies of the Come Follow Me if you would like a copy.

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6 The 53rd Annual LWMS Convention will be held in St. Charles, IL June 23-26, 2016 at the Pheasant Run Resort. Registration information will be available on the convention website in January: lwms.org and will also be posted on the bulletin board in the Narthex once available from the LWMS. Stay tuned! LWMS Facebook There is a wealth of wonderful information to be found on the LWMS Facebook page. This is one of the best ways to keep up-to-date on the latest news as well as to share memories and keep connected with friends in LWMS. "Like" us today! Martin Luther College Ladies Auxiliary The annual meeting was held on Saturday, October 10, 2015 at Martin Luther College. The projects for the year shown below were adopted by the Ladies' Auxiliary. They have been blessed with the challenge of funding a record number of items submitted by various departments at MLC.

7 Results of Project Selection (in order of funding) ipads for Student Teacher Supervision $ 2,995 Wireless Hearing Assistance System for MLC Auditorium $ 2,104 Wi-Fi Enabled Microscope Cameras $ 1,550 Field Trip for Urban Ministry Program $ 1,000 Spanish Immersion Grants $ 2,000 Lampshades for Library Lounge Areas $ 300 Lampshades for Library Lounge Areas $2,438 Digital Learning Equipment for Early Childhood Learning $1,230 Center Kinesthetic Classroom $3,895 Cross Trainer for Fitness Center $ 3,400 Octave Set of Crotales for Wind Symphony $ 2,000 Campus seating $ 550 EARLY CHILDHOOD MINISTRY UPDATE Home Mission Administrator Keith Free also updated the board on Pastor Nathaniel Walther's ministry in Minot, North Dakota. You may remember Pastor Walther presented at the 2015 convention about the gift of an Early Childhood Ministry facility that was originally intended for Grace Lutheran Church of Minot, North Dakota. Grace was unable to go forward with the project. Upon agreement with Pastor Walther who serves Grace, the gift was given to Christ our Savior Lutheran Church of Sterling, Virginia. Please pray for both missions as they move forward as God directs. Sunday Morning Bible Class If a class is cancelled we will continue as scheduled. If you would like your own personal copy of the People s Bible commentary on Genesis we can coordinate orders. Date Bible Reference Topic The People s Bible: Genesis 1/3/2016 No Class Christmas weekend Luke 1-2, Matthew 1-2, Self-study of the Christmas Story John 1:1-34 1/10/2016 No Class Undecorate church Matthew 3, Luke 3 Self-study 1/17/2016 Genesis 20 Abraham and Abimelech pages Genesis 21 Isaac is born pages /24/2016 Genesis 22:1-14 God tests Abraham pages Genesis 22:15 23:20 God renews his promise to pages Abraham; Sarah is laid to rest 1/31/2016 Genesis 24 God unites Isaac and Rebekah pages Genesis 25 Abraham s family grows pages If you are unable to attend and would like the study questions for a particular class please contact Tim Schulz.

8 I noticed a tattered third sheet of paper that I have on a bulletin board with the following message on it. It is a family hand down. If I have the story correct at one time it was in small book that was in my grandfather's kitchen. Then it was used through the years by a few different pastors/churches in the bulletins and newsletters. I want to share it with you as I think it very beneficial to ponder on as we start the year of WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? Between the skeptic who does not believe in the Bible and the negligent Christian who never reads it? Between those who do not believe in Bible classes and those who choose never to attend a class? Between the atheist who does nothing to build up the Lord's church and the Christian who finds fault with others [what/how they are doing things] but does nothing himself? Between a man of the world and a person in the church who lives like a man of the world? Between a man of the world who lives for self and a person in the church building who lives for self, not GOD? Between the atheist who would not dream of financially supporting the church and the Christian who will not financially support the Lord's church? These are tough questions for Christians who live in a tough world. The fact is Christians make no difference until they are different. As we look forward into the new year with the new challenges and blessings it will have, let us make sure our focus is correct. We need to have God first and foremost in our lives. We need to be different from the world, we need to remember heaven is our home. We need to continually ask ourselves, are we doing the Lord's work? Is it reflected in your attitude, your daily study of scripture, your use of your time, your use of your talents, your use of finances? Or, are you satisfied to not be different from the world and simply be a Christian when it is convenient for you? May God Bless you in 2016 and I pray that these questions will help you set a God pleasing focus in your life throughout the coming year. Tim Schulz Adult Nurture Elder If there is any information that you would like included in the monthly newsletter, please either drop a note in Trisha Dominguez s mailbox or send an to: stdominguez@outlook.com ***All information for the February newsletter is due by January 25 th ***