NEWSLETTER OUR SAVIOUR LUTHERAN CHURCH. March 2017

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1 OUR SAVIOUR LUTHERAN CHURCH Pastor Al Muck 751 N. Maple Grove Ave. Hudson, MI NEWSLETTER March ,- ""I am / "' the I~ht of the world" -John 8:12 ~~ Church Officers A voters' meeting was held on January 29th. The approval ofthe 2017 budget and election of officers was on the agenda. The following church officers for the year 2017 were. unanimously voted in: President, Watson Clark; Head Trustee, Roger Sholl; Financial Secretary, Betty Capper; Head Elder, Watson Clark; Treasurer, Gloria Spencer and Evangelism, Linda Ruggles. On February 5th Betty Rupley was installed as Council Secretary. Ash Wednesday Service Ash Wednesday is Wednesday, March 1st. Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, a six-week, 40-day season during which we remember the price that we owed and that Jesus paid for our sin and the mercy of God. We will observe Ash Wednesday with a worship service on March 1 at. Church Council Church Council will meet Sunday, March 5th, following service. Lent and repentance Lent is a season of repentance. But for many of us, "repentance" is an offensive word. It sounds so remorseful. In reality, it isn't remorseful at all. The root word for "repentance" is the Greek word metanoia, from which our word "metamorphosis" comes. The great image of this is the butterfly emerging from its cocoon; the caterpillar being transformed into new life. No one is remorseful about that! Nor should we be with repentance, which involves leaving the past and emerging into new life. s s will begin on Wednesday, March 1st, at. Come and join us for soup and fellowship. Ladies' Guild Ladies' Guild meets on Thursday, March 2nd, at at the church. lji Daylight-Saving Time begins March 12.

2 Jennifer Ball breast cancer Grayson Rupley sensory disorder Margaret Runnells broken leg complications Kenny Lohr seizures Jayme Lohr God s peace Cameron Meyers car accident Allison Stickel health & anxiety issues Kyle Tanner bone marrow transplant Kristen Gutierrez & baby healing from a fall down the stairs Pastor Paul Herter colon cancer Helen Meyer foot pain & problems Shirley Klinger diagnosed with breast cancer and kidney stones and gall bladder issues Sue Minton cancer treatments Raelene Prothero throat cancer, she has had trach tube removed, can eat again. Still has some treatments left Adam Messersmith health issues, has GoFundMe page for on going illness Ann Daub healing from breast cancer Rich Atherton healing from stroke Fred Johnson heart problems Ben Rupley unexplained body pain Church Council Ladies Guild Prayer Group Our Saviour Lutheran Missionaries (download prayer cards of missionaries by going to for us and pray for them daily) An Ash Wednesday prayer Dear righteous Lord, we enter the holy season of Lent confessing our many sins that separate us from you. We re sincerely sorry for offending you repeatedly through our thoughts, our words and our actions and often through our inactions, too. Forgive us, Lord, and show us your tender mercy. Restore and strengthen us to become your faithful and faith-filled servants. During our Lenten journey, remind us to show mercy to other people, just as you ve shown mercy to us. In Jesus name, Amen. Relentless prayers Are you reluctant to bring the same prayers to your heavenly Father over and over? Maybe you don t want to trouble God; after all, he already knows what you re going to say. Plus, you re not worthy to ask for anything! If those thoughts surround you, think about Patrick, Ireland s patron saint. At 16, he was dragged from his home to be a slave. Patrick tended sheep in the cold. Hungry and miserable, he begged God for mercy and deliverance. In his Confessio, Patrick recalls praying a hundred times in the day and almost as many at night. Without ceasing, he told God of his needs, wants, thanksgiving and confession. And God heard his prayers. Pray relentlessly. God is always listening! MaryAnn Sundby

3 The Salutary Gift will be the theme under which we gather during our midweek Lenten services that will begin with Ash Wednesday on March 1. The salutary gift that we will be exploring is the Lord Supper. Services begin at 7 pm, preceded with a soup supper each week at 6 pm. The chief blessing of the Lord s Supper is made clear by the words of Christ s institution: Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. The forgiveness of sins, won for us on Calvary and offered in the Sacrament of our Lord s body and blood truly makes this blessed Supper a salutary gift (Post- Communion Collect). While the chief blessing and benefit of the Lord s Supper is the forgiveness of sins, there are several different images and metaphors used by Holy Scripture to highlight the blessings of the Lord s Supper. Another benefit of the Lord s Supper is its nourishing power. Martin Luther in the Large Catechism calls the Lord s Supper a food of souls, which nourishes and strengthens the new man (Part 5, par. 23). For this reason, several hymns appropriately refer to the Lord s Supper as bread from heaven or living bread. Stanza 1 of LSB hymn 625 naturally reflects this: Lord Jesus Christ, life-giving bread, May I in grace possess You. Let me with holy food be fed, In hunger I address You. These words remind the communicant who hungers and thirsts for righteousness (cf. Matthew 5:6) that God has lovingly prepared for him in the Sacrament a nourishing meal to strengthen him in his lifelong journey towards the promised land of heaven. Drawing upon the scriptural themes of healing, some of our hymns depict the Lord s Supper as a healing balm or medicine. A classic example of this is David W. Rogner s hymn Jesus Comes Today With Healing (LSB 620). Stanza one emphasizes the healing benefits of Christ s body and blood: Jesus comes today with healing, Knocking at my door, appealing, Off ring pardon, grace, and peace. He Himself makes preparation, And I hear His invitation: Come and taste the blessed feast. Christians who are suffering from bodily ailments may take comfort in considering the Lord s Supper as a healing medicine, seeing that the complete healing of their bodies in the resurrection begins now with the healing of the soul in the Sacrament of the Altar. More examples will be developed throughout the course of this Lenten series. The goal of this series is to set before our eyes the many blessings and benefits of the Lord s Supper, chief among which is the forgiveness of sins. Our hymns help us in this regard by making connections that we might not otherwise make. They draw upon the themes of Holy Scripture and teach us to appreciate the full range of blessings that are present when the faithful are gathered around the life-giving, nourishing, and salutary gift of our Lord s holy body and precious blood. Please pray about a friend or neighbor that you might invite to be a part of our time together. Walking together in Christ, Pastor Al 1

4 Our Saviour Lutheran Ladies Guild Minutes Feb. 2, 2017 Devotions led by Dody Lord How May I Serve You with song Take My Life and Let It Be. Those present: Linda R., Betty C., Jan, Dody, Sharon, Diann, Betty R. Secretary s Report Motion to accept as in Newsletter by Dody, seconded by Jan. Motion approved. Treasurer s Report Balance $789.32, all current. Motion to accept by Betty R., seconded by Diann. Motion approved. Old Business: Betty R. questioned how supplies were handled and bought. Discussion. First Night Kit discussion on how to handle this project. Diann suggested that the whole congregation should be involved. Food Packages Dody suggested we should do the food packaging program before we start planning the First Night Kits. It was decided we could have list of items for First Night Kits so when shopping can pick up. Dody motioned to do First Night Kits and donation and someone to help coordinate with St. John s. Diann volunteered to coordinate this. Motion seconded by Betty R. Motion carried. Cards Betty R. has a list started of those we may want to send cards to. To send some out tonight. Dody commented on Congregational Meeting and the great reception she felt with everyone. Question on whether to do Easter Baskets this year. General opinion was to wait till next year as everything is just getting organized. President s Report: Will no longer be 5 th Sunday Communion. Communion cloths have been cleaned. New Business: Ash Wednesday March 1 st. Motion by Betty C. to do soup suppers again starting with Ash Wednesday, seconded by Sharon. Motion carried. Easter Egg Hunt will be April 8 th (Saturday). Linda R. will set up committees. Congregation is giving $300 to Kids Against Hunger (food packages). Dody made motion to give $100 of Ladies Guild funds to make total $400. Diann seconded. Motion carried. Pastor Al joined us for questions and answers. Putting food packages together March 18 th. Easter Egg Hunt opening by Pastor. Motion to close meeting by Dody, seconded by Diann. Meeting adjourned 8:45 PM for refreshments and making/signing cards.

5 3 Michael Yates 4 Beth Fowler Nathaniel Sparapani 5 Amanda Mayberry Dennis Pickford Dennis (Slim) Shaffer 13 Jennifer Ball Dan Church 14 Rich Frees 18 Devin Bills 20 Johnny Mohr 22 Justin Butts Tyler Mattison Dennis Henning 25 Michael Sullivan 27 Ted (Larry) Minton 28 Linda Gutierrez Pam Sparapani 29 Nick Frees 19 Scott & Tracie Popejoy 27 Caylan & Amanda Pickford 30 Michael & Eberly Torres GOD'S RICHEST BLESSINGS TO ALL Part of the deal? Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, spread Christianity in the fifth century, helping people abandon pagan rites. One day, he was baptizing new converts, including the chief of a fierce warrior tribe. Patrick leaned on his staff for support as he lowered each person into the rushing river. As he baptized the chief, he inadvertently pressed his stafffirmly down on the chiefs foot. The chief uttered not a word of complaint, but as he stepped back onto the bank, people noticed he was limping. Patrick apologized, asking, "Why did you not cry out when I struck your foot?" The chief replied, "I remember you telling us about the nails in the cross. I thought pain was part of my baptism." -s-homiletics

6 March 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Ash Wednesday Service Ladies Guild meets 5 First Sunday in Lent 10:15 AM Worship Service Church Council meets Second Sunday in Lent 10:15 AM Holy Communion Daylight Saving Time Begins 19 Third Sunday in Lent 10:15 AM Worship Service Newsletter Deadline 26 Fourth Sunday in Lent 10:15 AM Holy Communion Special One Offering Pack the food for Kids Against Hunger