God s Work, Our Hands September 10 th

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1 August 2017 Christ the King Lutheran Church Where We Are About God s Grace For God s People Inside this issue: Pastor s Corner 2-3 Theology/Bible Study Opportunities Youth Trip Highlights and Pictures Offerings & Attendance Synod News Those Who Serve 10 6 God s Work, Our Hands September 10 th God s Work, Our Hands Sunday has been a new tradition in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, one in which we are doing again at Christ the King! All throughout the 50 states, ELCA churches will together, on the same day, do God s work with our hands. This is not just for adults, but for kids too! Some potential projects include: Tidying up Rose and/or Stephenson Park, possibly Besse Park too; tidying up the outside of Delta Drop-in; and a few others. If you re interested, please let us know so that we can order shirts for all who plan on helping. Again, we will be doing this after worship on September 10 th, and after serving God with our hands, we ll come back to some food and refreshments and fun at church! Calendar 11 Special points of interest: Highlights of the Youth Mission Trip God s Work, Our Hands Project Volunteers Needed To Man The Fair Booth Endowment Gifts & Giving Opportunities Coming This Fall For Men All guys - fathers, sons, grandpas, grandsons, nephews, friends! On September 16th we'll be having a morning just for you! Our men's morning will begin with a hearty breakfast, starting at 8 AM, and we'll also be having a guest speak from Be Resolute ministries out of St. Paul, Minnesota, lead us in the importance of faith in then lives of men and the significance of men's ministry in general. Guys - you matter to the Lord! A great sign of a healthy church is where men are deeply involved. Hope to see you there and be sure to invite others! The cost of this event is $10 - well worth you time and investment.

2 Page 2 Pastor s Corner The ordinary person, especially in the villages, knows absolutely nothing about the Christian faith, and unfortunately many pastors are completely unskilled and incompetent teachers. Yet supposedly they all bear the name Christian, are baptized, and receive the holy sacrament, even though they do not know the Lord s prayer, the Creed, or the Ten Commandments Therefore, my dear sirs and brothers, who are either pastors or preachers, I beg all of you for God s sake to take up your office boldly, to have pity on your people who are entrusted to you, and to help us bring the catechism to the people, especially to the young. Martin Luther, Preface to the Small Catechism Last Spring we hosted a Reformation Book fair hope you ve been reading those books you purchased! This October marks the 500 th year anniversary of Martin Luther nailing the 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenburg, Germany. So what else are we doing to remember the Lutheran Reformation? Starting in August and going through December, we will be picking up again our focus on commemorating the Lutheran Reformation. This month we ll begin having weekly inserts in the bulletin which tell us about the various church leaders during the Reformation: Lutherans, Roman Catholics, the Radical Reformers, and a host of others. In September, we will be starting our 4 month series on the Small Catechism in which we will focus on the 4 chief parts: The Commandments, the Creed, the Lord s Prayer, and the Sacraments. Not only did Luther encourage (strongly, to say the least, as you can see above!) everyone to dig deep into the Small Catechism in his day, but also the Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, Elizabeth Eaton has said the same. Last September she wrote in Living Lutheran the following: It would be wonderful if we as the ELCA prepared for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017 by studying the Small Catechism together. We have a common language with which to talk about faith, engage Scripture and make sense of our world. Catechism is not just for the young. So that s exactly what we re going to be up to at Christ the King! It is important we know what we believe and why we believe it because without having the language of faith on our lips we render ourselves mute. If anything, we live in a day and age that is so confused about so many things it seems few people know what is good, holy, and true or and this is the saddest part they just don t care. Instead of saying something with real substance, with real care, with real conviction, and with biblically grounded thought behind it, many of us may clam up and say nothing at all for fear of someone jumping down our throats, or out of fear of sounding irrelevant or unwise. I know, I ve been there! For us to talk about faith with others we must first know what it is that we believe in the first place. And for the faith to be believed it must be heard, it must be taught, it must be preached! Having critical minds that can sort through all the challenges of today, hearing the teaching of our past the Small Catechism is absolutely critical to our future as Luther-

3 Page 3 ans in America. The Small Catechism can help us better dialogue, calmly disagree with Christian charity, and point to the Savior who has come to forgive sinners, to save from the curse of death, and redeem us by His blood from the law s demands, and lead us into a life lived in Christian freedom, freedom which is devoted to loving the Lord and loving our neighbor because we have first been deeply loved by God. It is my hope and prayer that this time of commemorating our past will launch us into a glorious future prepared for us by the Lord himself. And it is my hope and prayer that as we commemorate the work of the Lutheran Reformation from back then, our faith would be inspired, would be awakened, would be a light shining in the darkness for all to see. Your brother in Christ, Pastor Chris Thursday Theology 2017 Summer Focus: N.T. Wright s Surprised by Hope N.T. Wright, professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at St. Mary s College in the University of St. Andrew s in Scotland, tackles the biblical question of what happens after we die and shows how many Christians get it wrong. It s not so much about going to heaven; it s more about the resurrection and how heaven comes down to earth--a difference that makes all of the difference to how we live on earth. It s about life after life after death and how that future life which has invaded this present life transforms our present visions, hopes, and mission. Each session begins with a video (about minutes) and continues with guided discussion. We ll be finishing Surprised by Hope this month, stay tuned for Fall opportunities! August 10 th The Hope of Salvation August 24 th The Hope of the Church 2017 Prophetic Books Bible Study This summer, we continue focusing on the challenging prophetic Scriptures, this time from Ezekiel. We hear warnings of judgment and punishment; we hear promises of healing, restoration, and salvation. We see visions, both bizarre and challenging. Be challenged by these ancient words and their relevance for today. The morning Bible Study group will continue meeting throughout the summer. Here s what we ll be focusing on and when in August; August 2 nd 12 th Ezekiel Watchmen Warns of the End August 9 th Ezekiel Dry Bones, Hear the Word! August 23 rd Ezekiel A Temple not Made with Hands We will resume our focus on the Minor Prophets on Wednesday, September 13 th. We also will be having our evening Bible Study back in session at 7 PM on that day too!

4 Page 4 Youth Trip Highlights: July 16th-21 st in the Quad Cities After receiving a blessing in worship on Saturday night, Pastor and 6 confirmation students headed south-west to the Quad Cities. Leaving early Sunday morning, they made a stop in Clinton, Iowa to see some of the local sites and go to a minor league baseball game. The evening concluded with a meal and worship at St. Paul s Lutheran Church in Davenport, the church who graciously hosted us and whose basement we slept in all week. Here s a brief day by day look at what we were up to Monday: Helped clean up a community garden for a local Presbyterian church and in the afternoon played with children of refugees, sharing the love of God with them. Afterwards had ice cream, went swimming at a local water park, had dinner, worship, and small group time. Tuesday: Helped out at a non-profit called Dress for Success which helps poorer women to succeed with job interviews, resumes, and gives business clothes to help them feel confident. In the afternoon went back to the local Presbyterian church to hang out with some of the local kids and do some work around the church. Afterwards had ice cream, dinner, went to the Skywalk to pray for the Quad Cities, and concluded the night with worship, and small group time. Wednesday: Helped clean up a community garden for a local Roman Catholic ministry and in the afternoon played again with children of refugees, sharing the love of God with them. The children were from all over: Tanzania, Iraq, and a number of Asian countries. Afterwards had had ice-cream one final time at Whitey s, dinner, went to a water-ski show, and concluded with worship, and small group time. Thursday: Helped clean up a homeless apartment complex which was in need of some love before new guests could move in. This work was done again on behalf of a local Roman Catholic ministry. In the afternoon we helped sort out a bunch of things for the local Salvation Army what HUGE warehouse they had! Afterwards we went to Antique Archaeology (home base for the show American Pickers), had a community cook-out with local residents and the people we served and kids we hung out with, and concluded the night with worship, prayer, and small group. I was so proud of those students as they prayed aloud for one another! Friday: Had breakfast, prayed one final time together (about 65 students and leaders there total), and headed back home to the U.P.! Wonderful, exhausting, inspiring week! Thanks everyone!

5 Page 5 Youth Trip 2017 In Pictures

6 Page 6 Offerings & Worship Attendance For July Date 5 P.M. 10:30 Total July 1/ July 8/ July 15/ July 22/ Average attendance for July: 106 Offerings For July July 2 $4, July 9 $2, July 16 $3, July 23 $5, Total Offerings for July (through the 23rd) $14, Total Offerings needed for July (through the 23rd) $13, Difference: $1, YTD Needed: $91, YTD Received: $98, Difference: $7, Loan Balance: $4, Thankfulness: An Online Opportunity to Give If you need a convenient way to make recurring contributions, are out of town and would like to give, missed worship and still want to give out of the generosity of your heart, we encourage you to check out our electronic giving option. As we get back into the routine of things, you may find electronic giving a most welcome routine and an easy way to make contributions. To set up a recurring giving schedule, visit us online at and locate the Online Giving button on the right side of the webpage. Or if it's easier, complete a paper authorization form and return it to the church office. Thank you for your generosity and support of God s work through Christ the King!

7 Page 7 Faithful Stewardship: Endowment Giving and Gifts Life Insurance Policies can make excellent gifts to ministry. By simply changing policy beneficiaries, your favorite church, ministry, non-profit, etcetera, can ultimately receive all or a percentage of the death benefit of your life insurance policy. Transferring a cash value policy to a ministry avoids ordinary income tax while you receive a charitable income tax deduction. Purchasing a life insurance policy in the name of Christ the King, the Northern Great Lakes Synod, or the ELCA will ultimately leave a substantial gift to your most cherished ministry. In turn, you receive an income tax deduction for the annual premium that you pay on the new policy. Life insurance gifts are a great help to Church ministries as they seek to carry out Christian mission with an eye towards supporting future work of Christ s Church! Faith Formation: Confirmation +Be sure to get in: Sermon Notes, Bible Study notes, and hour sheets! +Confirmation 2017/2018 Meet and Greet on Wednesday, September 6 th at 7 PM +ELCA National Youth Gathering to Houston Initial Meeting on August 27 th after Worship Youth Trip Summer 2018 It s never too early to start planning! Next summer s mission trip is the big ELCA National Youth Gathering. It will be held in Houston, Texas a very diverse city and will start on June 26 th and go through July 1 st. You can perhaps see why we re starting early for planning! Starting on July 15 th last month, you can apply for scholarship money through the ELCA at this website: Scholarships can be as high as $300 and if we had all of our students receive scholarship money from the ELCA, that would make our own personal fundraising through the year much easier! Students entering into 9 th Grade after May of 2018 through 12 th Grade are welcome to come on this amazing mission trip and Spirit-filled experience where 30-40,000 youth gather to worship, to serve, and to connect. Think about this, pray about this, and let s make this happen!

8 Page 8 Northern Great Lakes Synod News Praying for our Bishops As many of you know, after 18 years of faithful service and labor, Bishop Skrenes will be retiring at the end of this month. Cards of gratitude to the Synod Office would be warmly received. At this year s Synod Assembly in Marquette, we were led by the Holy Spirit in selecting a new bishop for the Northern Great Lakes Synod: Pastor Katherine Finegan. Please pray Bishop-Elect Finegan as she gets prepared for bishop duties in September! Words of congratulations and encouragement would be warmly received as well! Here s the address: UP State Fair Booth Volunteer and Get in Free! It s that time of year again!!! Food, rides, animals, concerts it s State Fair time! For over a decade now, the ELCA churches of Delta County have hosted a booth at the State Fair to reach out and be a caring Christian presence. This year, Christ the King has the responsibility for hosting Saturday, August 29 th. Here are the 3-hour time slots that we need to fill: Lay School For Mission Altar Guild Workshop Northern Great Lakes Synod 1029 North 3rd Street Marquette, MI AM to 1 PM 1 to 4 PM 4 to 7 PM 7 to 10 PM One of the great treasures of our synod and conference of churches in Delta County is Lay School. Students have been gathering from around our conference to dive deeper into their life of faith. We joyfully graduated 4 Lay School last May which leaves us with not enough students left! God willing, Lay School will get back in session this Fall ONLY if we have enough students. Please prayerfully consider this challenging yet very rewarding program of our Synod and Conference for Adult Faith Formation. The Northern Great Lakes Synod invites and encourages us to have our Altar Guild in tip top shape for the years ahead! Dr. Melinda Quivik (ELCA Pastor and former seminary professor of worship and preaching), along with the Synod Worship Committee, offers a day of learning for all those who serve on Altar Guild or might like to do so. The care and attention given to this ministry is very important! And be sure to thank the Lord for all those who currently serve at Christ the King as well. Date: Saturday, September 30 th 2017 Time: 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM Location: Bethany Lutheran Church-Ishpeming

9 Page 9 Let Us Pray For those Celebrating Birthdays On: August 1: Tom Raeder August 2: Ashley Dahlgren, Mitchell Martin, Ashley Franklyn August 3: Kyle Albanez, Jenny Savard, Skylar Moore August 4: Alice Hintsala August 5: Sandy Peterson August 7: Ryan Way August 8: Lisa Possi, Ashton Moran August 10: Aydin Christensen, Wendy Mattson August 11: Clara Braun, Taylor Way August 12: Reid Christensen, Leslie Leisner August 14: Patty Parlato August 15: David Johnson, Jenny Koivisto August 16: Jerry Eis, Pastor Chris Johnson August 17: Mary Leisner August 19: Chloe Carter, Wally Slade August 20: Brandon Eis, Caitlin Smith August 21: Bob Jensen, Julie Smith August 23: Michael Anderson August 24: Larry Dimock August 26: Lance Possi, Ken Robitaille August 27: Lyndsey Rodgers August 29: Toby Kuivinen August 30: Debbie Girardi August 31: Derek Lindstrom Women s Fall Retreat Fortune Lake Bible Camp September 15-17, 2017 Readings for August August 6 The 9th Sunday after Pentecost Isaiah 55:1-5; Ps. 145:8-9, 14-21; Romans 9:1-5: Matthew 14:13-21 August 13 The 10th Sunday after Pentecost 1 Kings 19:9-18; Ps. 85:8-13; Romans 10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33 To register please call Pat at or Forms are available on the website: Check the flyer on the bulletin board for more details. August 20 The 11th Sunday after Pentecost Isaiah 56:1, 6-8; Ps. 67; Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32; Matthew 15:10-28 August 27 The 12th Sunday of Pentecost Isaiah 51:1-6; Ps. 138; Romans 12:1-8; Matthew 16:13-20

10 Page 10 Those Who Serve Readers August 5/ 6 5:00 Nancy K. Norberg 10:30 Roland Jacobson August 12/13 5:00 Deb Wayne 10:30 Leigh Schmidt August 19/20 5:00 Lin VanEffen 10:30 Brett Boudreau August 26/27 5:00 Mary Jo Johnson 10:30 Patty Lindstrom Acolytes August 5/ 6 5:00 Tregan Lippens 10:30 Brett Boudreau August 12/13 5:00 Evan Burroughs 10:30 Jillian Cobb August 19/20 5:00 Isaac Berthaume 10:30 Elizabeth Brandel August 26/27 5:00 Ashton Moran 10:30 Brett Schlenvogt Altar Guild August 5/ 6 Sandy Jacobson & Judy Anderson August 12/13 Mary Jo Johnson & Beth Jacobson August 19/20 Lin VanEffen & Judy Anderson August 26/27 Laverne Picard & Connie Schmidt Assisting Minister August 5/ 6 5:00 Nancy K. Norberg 10:30 Roland Jacobson August 12/13 5:00 Sam LaMarche 10:30 Julie Smith August 19/20 5:00 Bob VanEffen 10:30 Lance Lindstrom August 26/27 5:00 Mary Jo Johnson 10:30 Connie Schmidt Communion Assistants August 5/ 6 5:00 Nancy K. Norberg 10:30 Roland & Sandy Jacobson August 12/13 5:00 Sam LaMarche 10:30 Mike & Julie Smith August 19/20 5:00 Bob VanEffen 10:30 Lance Lindstrom August 26/27 5:00 Mary Jo Johnson 10:30 Leigh & Connie Schmidt

11 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 9:00 Quilting 9:30 Bible Study 3 10:00 Coffee with the Staff 11:00 Property Meeting 5:00 Wedding Rehearsal 4 5 1:00 Wedding- Marci Anderson/ Joel Villanueve 5:00 Communion 6 9:30 Coffee Hour 10:30 Communion 7 10:00 Worship & Music Committee Mtg :00 Quilting 9:30 Bible Study 10 10:00 Coffee with the Staff 11:00 Thursday Theology :00 Communion 13 9:30 Coffee Hour 10:30 Communion :00 Coffee with the Staff :00 Communion 10 a.m. 10 p.m. CTK s Day to Work The Faith Booth 20 9:30 Coffee Hour 10:30 Communion :00 Quilting 9:30 Bible Study 3:30 Stewardship Committee 24 10:00 Coffee 11:00 Theology 5:30 Finance Mtg. 6:15 Church Council Mtg :00 Communion 27 9:30 Coffee Hour 10:30 Communion 11:45 Youth Mission Trip Mtg :00 Quilting 31 10:00 Coffee with the Staff

12 Christ the King Lutheran Church 1230 North 18th Street Escanaba, Michigan Address Requested Phone: (906) We re on the Web! This issue of the newsletter is given in remembrance of all who passed from Christ the King by Gayle Stoykovich KING S HERALD August 2017 CHURCH OFFICE PASTOR Rev. Chris Johnson address: pastorchris.ctk@gmail.com CHURCH OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Arlene Cody address: c.lutheran@att.net Website: WORSHIP SCHEDULE: Saturday 5:00 p.m. Worship Sunday 9:00 a.m. Youth Faith Formation; 9:30 a.m. Coffee Hour; 10:30 Worship Holy Communion is celebrated at every Saturday and Sunday service. At the 10:30 a.m. service communion will be distributed using continuous communion.