St. Matthew Lutheran Church Newsletter March. 2017

Transcription

1 St. Matthew Lutheran Church Newsletter March From the Pastor I hope we are all ready to come to the church on the Wednesdays of Lent for the soup suppers and for the services that will follow. I remember doing that as a child, though the soup suppers were refreshments afterward at my home church instead. We always attended the midweek services. It was part of who we were, I suppose. That is a good plan, no matter who you are. Let everyone decide what he or she might do for Lent that is out of the ordinary special as the season deserves. Please consider bringing a friend to these services, or to the regular weekend services of the church. Here, too, I remember something from when I was a child. I recall inviting two people to church and Sunday School on two separate occasions. One said no rather gruffly. I think that had been his parents reaction. The other said yes, and we were eventually confirmed together. He still goes to church, and has found an LCMC congregation for himself and his wife. Their children are also church people, and his parents became church people. I don t know how much my invitation had to do with all that, if anything. But I m glad I asked. The number one reason people come to a church for the first time is: someone invited them. We make give lots of chances for you to do that. And I know that some of you really do invite your friends. He Who Dies With the Most Toys Still Dies. That is our Lenten theme for the midweek services. Go to the video trailer at the church s website ( to see about it. We are going to consider what Christ calls us to give up. That may not sound exciting, but it is certainly important for us. You will hear more next month about our Shroud and Sudarium display for That will be another chance to involve your friends, so be ready for it, please. In case you didn t know, Bernadine Anderson is a student at the Institute of Lutheran Theology, as was Pastor Fran. Bernadine has written a great article for this newsletter about the Book of Concord. That s very appropriate for this 500 th Anniversary Year of the Reformation. The next of our newspaper statements about the 500 th Anniversary Year will appear about a week after you read this. By suggestion of the Council, we will have all our special newspaper pieces made into posters for you to keep, and we will keep laminated originals in the church office. I am quite pleased with the way the congregation is learning the ReClaim liturgy so well and so fast. We will use it at least through Lent. Then it will be something we can turn to as well as the other services which we already know. Please note that choir will resume on Wednesday, March 8 at 7:50 following the Wednesday Lenten Service. Please note the change of day for the Lenten season. Any questions, call Jan at

2 We continue to support the Lutheran Church of South Sudan, and also Christ the Victor congregation in Arizona. There are many other ways we minister to people s needs besides these. Please don t forget that. And thank you for all that you do. Yours in Christ, Pastor Frederick W. Baltz President s Letter to the Congregation March 2017 Dear Members of the Congregation, Once again we begin our personal and congregational preparations for the Coming of our Lord with the Ash Wednesday service, March 1 at 7 pm, and with special Lenten services every Wednesday evening in the weeks to come. I can think of no better way for you or me to prepare than by sharing in these services with our church family. But please remember our Mission Statement: The mission of this congregation is to make disciples for Jesus Christ by going to people within and outside the church with the message of the Gospel, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them by word and example to obey the Word of the Lord. Invite a neighbor or friend to a Lenten service at St. Matthew s! At the Council s first meeting of the new term in February, Dale Knipschield was elected Vicepresident; Bryan Daniel was elected Secretary; and Dick Beutel was elected Treasurer. Dale Knipschield will chair the Board of Trustees. Pastor Baltz and I will co-chair the Board of Deacons. Kathy Pedersen has tendered her resignation. We are very appreciative of her service as a Council member and as Congregational Secretary. 2

3 Plans for the celebration of the 500 th anniversary of the Reformation were discussed by Pastor at the meeting. Bryan Daniel has generously donated commemorative coins to be given to our Sunday school children and others. The second Roots in the Reformation document was recently published in the Gazette. Council also voted unanimously to accept Lori Fisher as the newest member of St. Matthew s! Lori is married to Dave Thompson. Welcome, Lori, to your new church home and family. We also discussed the need to refine our blast/communications policy. Please note that in the event of church or membership news, you ll receive an notification. If you don t have internet access, you ll receive a personal phone call. Fabi Voigt, our church clerk, is forming a membership calling committee to insure that everyone receives important notifications in a timely manner. Our current Special Focus Ministry - the Riverview Center continues through March 5. This organization is new to St. Matthew s, and I encourage you to support it. Fabi has provided information about it in the Welcome Center. On Sunday, March 5, Robin Davis, a psychologist with the Center, will be our guest speaker. Our next Focus Ministry, Malaria Bednets Project, will run from March 12 through April 2. The last box of cards and letters was mailed to Captain Tim Grass. I want to personally thank Rita and Dale Wohlers for their love and support of this young man and his family. They have been the church s liaison in our support of this young man and his family. I also want to thank every member and friend of our church family who took the time to send a note, card or letter to Tim and Andrea. Or who said a prayer. We will celebrate Tim s return later this year, probably in late summer or early fall. Please continue to keep Tim, Andrea and Ali in your prayers. As I began this letter to you, the bible verse of the day was: Proverbs 14:22 Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness. You are always welcome to call or with your thoughts and questions: or njahyman@gmail.com. It is my blessing and honor to be your Council and Congregational President. Your sister in Christ, Nancy Hyman 3

4 Church Communications Policy In the event there is important news to share with the members of St. Matthew s, an will be sent to you. We may need to advise you of a member s passing, funeral arrangements, the cancellation of church services or other critical news. Some of our members do not have internet access. Those members will receive a phone call from a special calling committee. If you have any questions, please contact Fabi Voigt, Volunteer Church Clerk, at fvoigtchurchclerk@gmail.com or call her at Thank you. The Augsburg Confession Bernadine Anderson Seminary Student - The Institute of Lutheran Theology (ILT.org) I am currently enjoying a class entitled Lutheran Reformation and the Book of Concord. Within the Book of Concord, we are focusing specifically on the Augsburg Confession. We are to come up with a way to share what we are learning in the Church we attend. I thought this monthly newsletter would be the perfect venue. My hope is that you can learn something here you didn t already know and to encourage you to learn more on your own! The Book of Concord holds the most important documents to the Lutheran faith. The fourth book in The Book of Concord is the Augsburg Confession. It was presented, as requested by Charles V in both German and Latin and is translated for us, side by side. Don t be like me, who read in the usual way, from the left page to the right page for several pages before realizing these were two separate documents! I quickly learned that the side by side feature is useful for comparing translations. This document was requested by Charles V of Lutheran and Roman Catholic theologians to explain their religious convictions. The Reformation created disunity in the Roman Empire and Charles V wanted this to go away. He was looking to reunify the Church so that he could rally support against the restless Turks who threatened invasion. The Augsburg Confession was presented at the Diet of Augsburg on June 25, It is basically a reiteration and further explanation of the small and large catechisms. Both catechisms are also found in the Book of Concord. Did you know that Luther did not attend the diet because several years earlier he had been excommunicated by the Catholic Church and was considered to be an outlaw? To attend the diet would have meant imprisonment and possible execution. His partner, Phillipp Melanchthon, along with other theologians did the leg work in Augsburg. The Augsburg Confession contains twenty-eight Articles describing the Lutheran Faith. The first 21 articles lay out the principles of the Christian faith. The remaining 7 articles are concerned with the abuses of the Christian faith within the Roman Catholic church. It was never Luther s intention to divide the Church. He was interested only in righting the wrongs that were in place. We began the semester studying the fourth article because this is often considered to be the one article by which the Lutheran church stands or falls. Justification by faith alone is unique to the Lutheran faith. I will let the Article speak for itself: 4

5 Article IV Justification by Faith Man cannot be justified before God through our own abilities; we are wholly reliant on Jesus Christ for reconciliation with God Furthermore, it is taught that we cannot obtain forgiveness of sin and righteousness before God through our merit, work, or satisfaction, but that we receive forgiveness of sin and become righteous before God out of grace for Christ s sake through faith when we believe that Christ has suffered for us and that for his sake our sin is forgiven and righteousness and eternal life are given to us. For God will regard and reckon this faith as righteousness in his sight, as St. Paul says in Romans 3:21-26 and 4:5. The Book of Concord is a valuable tool for the Lutheran faith. It makes clear what we believe and why and comes straight from the Bible. It has been accused of being more important to Lutherans than the Bible but nothing could be further from the truth. We view it as an explanation of what we believe based on the Bible. I love Luther s passion and the unbridled remarks he makes. You will also find amusing remarks by Melanchthon. In the opening address he boldly states we are the first to be here. I look forward to writing more throughout this semester. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. Hopefully I ve peaked your interest into dusting off and looking into your copy of the Book of Concord! Perhaps you d like to consider taking a course at ILT! The Book of Concord: The Confession of the Evangelical Lutheran Church Kolb/Wengert 2000 Augsburg Fortress KEEPING HIM IN OUR PRAYERS Timothy Grass has been deployed to Afghanistan, and during his time of service we will keep Tim and his family in our prayers. God s blessings to Tim and to all the people that serve our country. 5

6 The next Focus Ministry, March 12, -April 2 Malaria Bednets Project Our Mission At Malaria No More, we envision a world where no child dies from a mosquito bite. We use our innovative partnerships and focused advocacy to elevate malaria on the global health agenda, create political goodwill and mobilize the global resources required to achieve malaria eradication within a generation. This ministry will help prevent malaria. For example, $1 buys medicine to cure one person, and $10 buys one bednet. The cure for this killer of 1 million per year is simple: 1. Know the symptoms 2. Get treated 3. Use bednets. For more information, please go to: lutheranmalaria.org CHOIR MEMBERS IMPORTANT!!!!! Choir will resume on Wednesday, March 8 at 7:50 following the Wednesday Lenten Service. Please note the change of day for the Lenten season. Any questions, call Jan at Thanks so much! Jan 6

7 CELEBRATION CORNER FOR MARCH BIRTHDAYS ANNIVERSARIES March. 2 Roy Clingman March. 19 Richard & Corinne Beutel 3 John Carlson 21 Bill & Elaine Fitch 17 Dave Anderson Kathy Marsden 18 Jim Moser Timothy Grass 20 Gary Appel 23 Bruce Etzel 30 John Prellberg VISIT THE SICK AND HOMEBOUND Marilyn The Galena Stauss Assisted Living Roy The Galena Stauss Assisted Living Bernice her home, 824 Young St, Galena (815) Velda The Galena Stauss Assisted Living Pete (Marion) The Galena Stauss Nursing Home Ruth The Galena Stauss Assisted Living. Jeannine The Galena Stauss Nursing Home Please take time to visit our Church friends in the above residences. 7

8 THOSE WHO SERVE IN MARCH 2017 USHERS & ACOLYTES LECTORS March. 1 Dale & Rita Wohlers March. 4 Dave Anderson 4 Bruce Etzel 5 Kathy Pedersen 5 Charles & Kathy Pedersen 11 Jan Etzel 11 Jim Moser 12 Dale Knipschield 12 Dale & Maureen Knipschild 18 Dave Anderson 18 Bill & Elaine Fitch 19 Nancy Hyman 19 Nancy Hyman 25 Jan Etzel 25 Jeff Miller 26 Dale Knipschield 26 Dale & Maureen Knipschield OFFERING COUNTERS COMMUNION SERVERS March. 5 Ken & Fabi Voigt March. 1 Bernadine Anderson 12 John & Jane Klinkner 11 Fran Rogers 19 Connie Consedine /Roger Johnson 12 Ken & Fabi Voigt 26 Roger & Pam Johnson 25 Jim Moser 26 Nancy Hyman/ Connie Consedine BULLETIN FOLDERS Feb. 4 Bernadine Anderson 11 Bernadine Anderson 18 Bernadine Anderson 25 Dale Knipschield TIME & TALENTS Serve the Lord by using the time and talents that He has given us. Please remember to sign the Those Who Serve sheet located in the Welcome Center. If you switch with someone, please make changes on the sheet in the cry room. USHERS: Please remain in the back of the church during the service to greet worshipers and provide assistance in case of an emergency. READERS: An extra copy of each lesson will be located on the lector stand. 8

9 Used Ink Cartridges The Church will gladly accept any size, color, or make of used ink cartridges that you have. Used ink cartridges will be returned to Staples, who in turn will give a $2 credit to the Church for each one, thereby helping to keep the cost of our office supplies at a minimum. Used ink cartridges may be left in the Office or in the Welcome Center. Dates to Remember!!!!!! -BS Nursing Home every 10:00 am -Each Wednesday Men s Bible 8:00am at the hospital -Each Wednesday Brown Bag Bible Study at noon. -Each Wednesday after Lenten Services, Choir 7:50pm -March 1 1:00pm Executive Committee Meeting -March 1 Wednesday Ash Communion 7:00pm -March 2 -March 7 2:30pm -March 7, 14, 21 & 28 Soup Supper 5:30pm -March 7,14,21,@ 28 Lenten Services 7:00pm -March 9 Council 6:00 pm -March 12 Daylight SavingsTime begins. -March 14 & 21 Quilt 12:30 pm -March 28 With These 2:00 pm -March 25th Healing Service after Communion Service. Lending Library We have a small lending library located in the Welcome Center. Such items as tapes, books (audio and written) are available for check out. Please remember to return what is checked out so the next person can enjoy them as well. Lost and Found This corner is increasing in volume. Please check Our Lost and Found Corner located in the Fellowship Hall on the coat rack. 9

10 VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED FOR LENTEN SOUP SUPPERS Lent begins in March and we will be hosting our Soup Suppers again. This is a very simple meal. You can choose the date that best suits your schedule and sign up on the sheet that has been posted in the Welcome Center or you can contact Fabi Voigt, Volunteer Church Clerk, at , fvoigtchurchclerk@gmail.com. Two or three people or families can get together and make a couple of different kinds of soup, some crackers, cookies or easy dessert, and maybe some bread, cheese, and meat cuts for sandwiches; coffee, lemonade and milk. There are always helping hands at the end of our meals to help with clean-up and dishes. If you are a new member or have never done this before, pair yourself with an old-timer and have a good time. All members and friends of St. Matthew Lutheran Church are invited to come and have this simple meal with us. 10

11 Our Church is pleased with has been able to make: We re also have worked on People for the With These we delivered 4 shawl total shawls. God has blessed us approach we are planning to offer them to the children you to join us the 2 nd and 4 th This activity is not limited to With These Hands the number of items that this Ministry shawls, scarves, and lap blankets. some lovely Snow Bears and Little Hands Christmas Tree. Last Month this year 5 recipients received our with the gift of our hands. As Easter make Easter decorative eggs we will and the young in heart, and we ask Tuesday of each 2:00pm. members of the Church; all are welcome to participate. Your Donations help us get supplies that we need. Donations of yarn, ¾ inch ribbon and plastic eggs are welcome. For information please contact: Fabi Or fvoigtchurchclerk@gmail.com We meet at St. Mathew Lutheran Church 127 High St. Galena, IL Note: If you know someone that needs a prayer shawl, please let us know as well. Thank you. SPECIAL REQUEST: If you have an article or a note for the newsletter, please submit it to: fvoigtchurchclerk@gmail.com no later than the 20 th of the month. Thank you. Church Financial Health thru February 28, 2017 Feb Feb Total Income $8,404 $7,938 Total Expenses $11,580 $13,501 Total Net ($3, 176) ($5,563) 11

12 See our website for our full calendar of events. From our Constitution--- The mission of this congregation is to make disciples for Jesus Christ by going to people within and outside the Church with the message of the Gospel, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them by word and example to obey the Word of the Lord. 12