St. John s Lu theran Church

Transcription

1 St. John s Lu theran Church June 2018 Eagle Newsl e t t er John 14:6-7 ESV Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him. St. John s Lutheran Church and School 4939 W. Montrose Ave., Chicago, IL

2 2 St. John s Picnic: The 2018 picnic will be held at Linne Woods on June 3 rd in Morton Grove. The day begins with a Worship Service at 10AM followed by food, games and more. Do you want to help? Contact Lori Pahlke at or Nikki Carini- Wardecki at St. John s Picnic Help Needed: Want to see a great picnic again this year? The picnic team, chaired by Lori Pahlke and Nikki Carini-Wardeck, has need of some assistance. Please contact Lori or Nikki (call office for numbers) and volunteer to help with one or more of the following: Obtain fun donations for raffles - entertainment events and overnight stays are a big hit. (A Eurpoean trip, or Cubs World Series 2018 tickets would be cool too). See office for donation request letters, or download Donation Request Letter at the St. John s website. Staging and loading of the truck on Friday, June 1 st, 5PM Set up at picnic grounds - 7AM, Sunday, June 3 rd at Linne Woods. Raffle ticket sales - immediately following Worship in the Woods Entertainment - face painting, juggling, someone to get shot out of a cannon? Know an a cappella group or barbershop quartet? Be creative - show off your talent! Kids games - organize and run one or more. Adult games - organize and run one or more. Clean up picnic grove & load the truck for return to St. John's. Unload truck as St. John's ~6:30PM. Our annual picnic is always a great time. Returning volunteers needed, new ones welcome. Help make this another great picnic day full of fellowship and fun!

3 3

4 4 Summer Worship Schedule Begins June 10 th : Sundays at 8AM: Bible Class Sundays at 9:30AM: Divine Service Sundays at 6PM: Spoken Divine Service

5 5 From the Pastor Call Committee: God s Blessings to you, To assist the Pastor Call Committee in our search for a Pastor, we are asking that you please complete and return this survey. Please prayerfully consider your responses and respond with what you really believe and not what you think you should say. If there are multiple persons in your household, we ask each of you to complete a separate survey. There are paper surveys in the Narthex beginning May 27 th. Thank you for returning your responses to us on or before June 10 th. Please click this link to complete the survey: Ladies Book Club: We ask you to pray for our member, Erna Morgan who fell and broke her hip and is recuperating in Minnesota. Erna, we miss you! Our Book Club members had mixed reviews for our May selection, The Rooster Bar by John Grisham. While all thought it was an easy read, some ladies liked it and others did not care for it at all. We all agreed that is far from being Grisham s best book. Eric Larson, one of our favorite authors, wrote our June selection, Dead Wake- The Last Crossing of the Lusitania which tells of the sinking of the Lusitania and the events leading up to World War I. It brings to life many interesting characters from famed Boston bookseller Charles Lauriat to pioneering female architect Theodate Pope to President Woodrow Wilson, a man lost to grief, dreading the widening war but also captivated by the prospect of new love. This book has been described as being full of glamour and suspense. This should be an interesting and informative read and a look at an important time in history. Our upcoming schedule is: July For One More Day by Mitch Albom August The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls September Defending Jacob by William Landay October The Jungle by Upton Sinclair We invite new members to join us in reading and discussing any or all of the selections. If you would like to have a copy of our schedule including a short synopsis of each book, please contact Karen Buhler. We meet for discussion and refreshments at 7PM on the last Tuesday of each month. Contact Karen Buhler or any Book Club member about the location of our upcoming meetings.

6 6 The Dorcas Society: Our officers for the 2017/2018 year are: President: Debbie Wheeler Vice-President: Betty Carey Secretary: Laura Weith Treasurer: Linda Galek Membership/Program: Kathi Deahl THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING!!! Join us on June 5 th, 2018 for our year end ice cream social. This is a great fellowship time for all of us. Our Spring Meet and Greet celebrating the Kentucky Derby was so fun! The hats were festive and flowerful. The food was especially tasty. A few of the horses in the races fell over - a good time was had by all. If you were unable to come this year, don t fret; we will have the Second Annual Kentucky Derby celebration on May 3 rd, CHANGES: A look at our upcoming events: Our small groups meet on the third Tuesday of the Month for fellowship, crafts and food. Beginning in September, there will be two groups: one group meets during the day at a member s home and the other meets at 7PM at St. John s. 2018: September 4: Trivia night October 2: November 6: Wine and cheese tasting while we pack up our Military donations Thirty-One Gifts presentation November 18: Bake Sale December 4: Christmas party 2019: January 8: Ugly Christmas Sweater party with prizes and A Dish to Pass February 5: March 5: March 16: April 2: April 14: May 3: May 7: June 4: Tray favors for Lutheran Home Packages for Military with a Mardi Gras Celebration Social with St. Pat s celebration and great card games I Am project Bake Sale Kentucky Derby Elections and Games Ice Cream Social Dorcas wishes all of you a healthy - happy summer!!! We look forward to seeing you at some of our events. As you can see, we have some great parties planned and, of course, we ALWAYS have food. We invite you to join our group or you can come to any event as a friend.

7 HK Endowment Fund: It has been an exceptional year for the Henry Knueppel School Endowment Fund. During the year of 2017, the Fund earned approximately 18% on its investment with Thrivent Financial. At the recent meeting of the School Endowment Committee, the members determined that this earned blessing should be passed on to the three areas directed by its bylaws: the Agape Fund, teacher appreciation, and the Board of Christian Education enhancement projects. Consequently, about $47,600 will be withdrawn from the earnings of the Fund for this year s disbursement. The HK Endowment Fund has been a blessing to our church and school for sixteen years by giving the above three areas an annual amount; a definite financial help to our congregation s school. Inasmuch as the past year experienced exceptional growth, the Committee realizes it cannot be expected every year. However, it certainly was an exciting year to experience. This School Endowment Fund was established by a group of alumni in honor of Mr. Henry Knueppel who began his teaching career at St. John s in 1952, the year he graduated from Concordia College, Seward, Nebraska. His Call was for teacher of Seventh Grade, director of youth s Walter League, the Young Adult and all athletic programs. Now, in his retirement years he has worked with the congregation s senior members, especially the homebound. He holds the title of St. John s Teacher Emeritus and can be seen many days working around St. John s as a faithful volunteer. An annual appeal is made seeking support for this Fund. It s sent to alumni, parents, current and former church members and friends of St. John s. Donations of any size help the purpose the endowment and are appreciated. This year the Fund was also blessed with three substantial gifts, one from a former member who remembered the Endowment Fund in his Last Will and Testament. Two other large gifts were given in remembrance of their school and church experiences at St. John s as students and members. All financial gifts and prayer support substantiate the fact that these donors acknowledge the importance of Christian Education and the influence Christian teachers have on a student s life. Anyone wishing to help support this School Endowment s mission is encouraged to make a donation of any size to the Henry Knueppel School Endowment through the office of St. John s Lutheran Church and School. If you are a member of Thrivent Financial and receiving Choice Dollars, you may want to direct your free dollars to St. John s church and/or school. You, your gift and prayers will be another blessing to St. John s, just as we know you will be blessed in return. 7

8 8 Faith n Family 10AM CST or ON DEMAND via Website! Faith n Family is a program that lets family s keep their Lutheran faith first as we praise God for the gift He has given us in our children, parents, grandparents, and even the in-laws! Every day, Faith n Family will have an expert on the show to discuss life issues such as money management, dealing with divorce, adoption, how to raise children to lead a God-centered life in a very non-christian world, and more. And the best part of all, you can be part of the show by calling in with your questions and comments for our expert! While Faith N Family at KFUO is well aware of the fast-paced world of today, we want to keep the focus of raising our family and yours on what s really important making Christ known for generations to come! CROSS DEFENSE 2pm CST or ON DEMAND via Website! When a skeptic questions us about our faith, or when we ourselves have questions about what we believe, how do we answer them? Learn how to address modern-day issues and tough arguments levied against faith, and how to engage these conversations with intelligence and grace. Join us and discover how to share your faith clearly and lovingly. Free to be Faithful 3rd Wednesday of the 2:30PM CST or ON DEMAND via Website! Free to be Faithful is very specific in addressing public policy matters that impact our LCMS community. It is often topical and linked to contemporary issues, such as political elections or the March for Life. the analytical program regularly has experts and observers interpreting the issues at hand and suggesting courses of action. Listen to high-caliber guests discussing in-depth knowledge of issues with host Kip Allen. Lutheran Radio Station Worldwide KFUO Find and Listen at kfuo.org and follow us at Facebook.com/KFUOradio. Issues, Etc. 3PM CST or ON DEMAND via Website! Christ-centered, Cross-focused talk radio. Law and Gospel 9:30AM CST or ON DEMAND via Website! This is a program that uses the theological distinctions between Law and Gospel not only to apply the Bible but also to understand our relationship to the holy Trinity, our gracious salvation because of Jesus Christ and how to interpret reality the way God thinks.

9 9

10 10

11 11 June 2018 Stewardship Newsletter from the LCMS Christian stewardship is the free and joyous activity of the child of God and God s family, the church, in managing all of life and life s resources for God s purposes. There are three conversions necessary to every man: the head, the heart, and the purse. Attributed to Luther, though yet to be located in his vast writings, this statement echoes what Jesus taught about hearts and treasures. He said, For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:21; Luke 12:34). But which conversion comes first? I submit that the order is this: first the head, then the purse, then the heart. Let me explain. Our Lord Jesus Christ dwelt among us to save us. He took on our flesh, fulfilled the demands of the law in our place, became sin for us, and suffered torture and death on our behalf, in order that we would be free from sin, death, and hell. He gives us what He accomplished through Baptism, Absolution, and the Lord s Supper. And so, He doesn t just do it for us but gives it to us, makes what He did ours by making us His. Thus, we are called by His name: Christians. We have a new life in Him. Through the preaching of Law and Gospel, God grants us repentance, a changing of our minds. It is a conversion of the mind. We are called to turn away from our sins and turn toward Him for forgiveness, life, and salvation. For when God calls us away from something, He is, at the same time, calling us to something. And thus, He calls us to a new life, with new deeds. This is the conversion of the purse. Jesus said that it is easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:24). For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Notice that our hearts follow our treasures, not the other way around. As Christians, God calls us to invest our treasures in His Kingdom to ensure that the gospel is preached and the sacraments are administered. He calls us to share all good things with the one who teaches us the doctrines of Christ. He calls us to be generous in giving to the church, for it is more blessed to give than to receive. So where is your treasure? If it is not invested in the kingdom of God, then the only response is repentance a conversion of the heart and to begin doing just that. And as our Lord promised, where your treasure is there your heart will be also. This is not to say that you earn your way into heaven. It is simply to say that as Christians, those who have been made to be temples of the Holy Spirit, who have been given a new life in Christ, who are dead to sin and now alive in Him, we are, actually, to live think (conversion of the mind), do (conversion of the purse), and be (conversion of the heart) a new life in Him. And when you fail, know that God in Christ loves and forgives you and still calls you away from that and to Himself.