The Lutheran Beacon Let your light shine...

Transcription

1 The Lutheran Beacon Let your light shine... Published by the SELC District of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod FEBRUARY 2008 Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, this year, the 6th of February. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love 1 Corinthians 13: 13 But, did you know that there is another church holiday in February? It s Valentine s Day, or more accurately, St. Valentines Day. There are varying opinions as to the origin of St. Valentine's Day. Some experts think that it originated from St. Valentine, a Roman, who was a priest or a bishop, who was arrested and imprisoned in Rome and then was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity. While in prison he preached the Gospel and baptized many there. He died on February 14, 269 A.D., the same day, plus or minus, that had been devoted to love lotteries in Rome. Legend also says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it "From Your Valentine". Some scholars suggest that there were two St. Valentines. No matter, truth or myth, in 496 A.D. Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honor St. Valentine. In the United States, Miss Esther Howland is given credit for sending the first valentine cards. Commercial valentines were introduced in the 1800's and now the date, like other festive days in Christian calendar, has become very commercialized. And it is a good day, for it has retained its original intent of celebrating the concept of love, of altruism, of tender feelings, of commitment to another. What could be more Christian than that? A common Gospel lesson is Paul s beautiful essay on love, I Corinthians 13. Would it not be a great idea, at the same time enjoyable and meaningful, to read that chapter to your loved ones on St. Valentine s Day? Do the card thing... do the candy thing... and then do the I Corinthians 13 thing! Ash Wednesday marks the opportunity for the beginning of the 40 days of personal reflection, called the Lenten Season. In traditional Christian churches, Ash Wednesday is a solemn day of fasting, repentance and prayer. In many churches a special service is conducted either at noon or in the evening to guide our devotional thoughts. In some churches there is the imposition of ashes, sometimes in the shape of a cross, either upon the forehead or on the back of one s hand. The ashes traditionally are from the burning of the palms from the previous Palm Sunday. The wearing of the ashes actually dates back to a Hebrew custom of wearing ashes as a way to express grief or shame. In the city of Cleveland, Ohio, where I was raised, if someone had ashes on their forehead, it was a sure sign that they were Catholic. And there was no way that we Lutherans were going to be mistaken for Catholics. Ah, pride and prejudice. Since those many years ago, more and more Protestant denominations have embraced the practice, even some of our Reformed tradition. Perhaps not a bad custom at all, not to be a show of piety, but rather a personal sign of an honest and solemn look at one s life. So then, let us love, and then let s reflect in Lent on how we can love even more deeply, even as did Jesus of Nazareth. Written by Pastor Robert Dey, Faith Reformed Church, Hazlet, New Jersey

2 GOD OWNS YOUR BODY You don t own yourself. God does. Your body is His property. God owns us by right of creation and redemption. It is He who made us and we are His. (Ps. 100:3) You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. (1 Cor. 6:19-20) One way to honor God with your body is to take good care of it. Christian stewardship involves being a good caretaker of your health. A Slovak saying states: Ked mas zdravie, mas co je najlepsie. (If you have health, you have what is best) Good health enables activity - a source of happiness and well being. If you take care of your body, it will take care of you. Abuse it and you lose it. SEVEN BODILY ABUSES 1. Gluttony & Overweight 2. Improper Diet & Junk Food 3. Harmful Substances & Activities 4. Alcoholism 5. Overwork or Oversleep 6. Lack of Exercise 7. Worry & Stress PREVENTIVE MEASURES Physicians and hospitals are currently promoting measures to prevent illnesses. The Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, for example, has removed arteryclogging trans-fats from every patient meal, cafeteria, vending machine and pharmacy in the hospital system. In addition it has refused to hire smokers and initiated programs to help smokers quit the deadly habit. Another innovation planned is a farmer s market near the hospital campus to promote fresh fruits & vegetables for good health. HEALTH STEWARDSHIP by Rev. Thomas Soltis, SELC Stewardship Director SIX HEALTH TIPS Dr. Michael Roizen and Dr. Mehmet Oz, in a book Your Staying Young offer six tips to live healthier: 1. Learn to Laugh - Laughing improves the immune system. Humor is valuable to memory. 2. Get Soaked - A good sweat from exercise improves heart health. 3. De-stress - When tense, stop; take deep breaths and rest briefly. Break big projects into little pieces and track accomplishments. 4. Take Aspirin - One or two baby aspirins a day (with doctor s permission) can decrease the risk of some cancers, strokes and heart attacks. 5. Quit Smoking and stay away from smokers. (One hour of second hand smoke equals smoking four cigarettes) 6. Eat Healthy - Fruits, vegetables, fish & whole-grain foods prevent lung and other aging-related diseases. Avoid junk food. OBESITY Recent medical reports for the United States indicate that obesity has surpassed smoking in hindering health and hastening death. Many fraudulent weight loss products are being marketed. The Federal Trade Commission warns against fads such as diet supplements, skin patches, creams, wraps and weight-loss earrings. LOSE WEIGHT SENSIBLY 1. Be selective about food quantity & quality 2. Limit fat, salt, sugar, carbohydrates 3. Eat when hungry 4. Eat less and more often 5. Exercise HEALTH STEWARDSHIP PRAYER Lord God, heavenly Father, I did not create myself. My body is your gift to me. Enable me to be a good steward of it by pursuing the essentials of good health. May good health enable me to use myself to your glory, for the welfare of others and my own good. I pray in the Name of Jesus, the Divine Healer and Helper. Amen. RESOURCE: FOR A SAFE, SIMPLE DIET CALL OR ME: TOMAS1231@SBCGLOBAL.NET 2

3 The Millers joined the people of Thailand in showing honor to King Bhumibol by wearing yellow shirts on th his birthday, Dec. 5. Yellow is the Thai color for Mondays, the day the king was born 80 years ago. Pray for wisdom for us as we begin Z language study and building relationships in the community. Lunch after church with Z Christians. Pray that whole families come to Christ, that the Lord would protect the translation work in progress, and that Z Christians would remain strong in their faith despite being a minority in the community. The Millers Begin Work in the Thailand by Michelle Miller After a seven hour drive through the winding mountain roads of northern Thailand we got our first glimpses of Z villages. The Z people are one of the Hill Tribes of northern Thailand, and live in villages built into the mountainsides close to where they plant their rice. The largest number of Z speakers actually live outside Thailand in another Asian country where access is limited. While visiting this cluster of villages we stayed in the home of the first Christians in this particular area and learned more about the Z belief system. The Z people are not Buddhist, as are most Thai people, but hold to beliefs in a complex spirit world. Within this belief system most of life s problems are attributed to a spiritual source. The community diviner has the important role of determining the cause of problems and prescribing the solution, which is usually in the form of a food or animal sacrifice to a particular spirit. Some people sacrifice almost everything they have in order to try to fix a problem and then it doesn t go away, explained Mr. Pat, our host. We feel privileged to be serving the Z people WITH YOU. Bible translation has begun in the largest of the Z dialects, and our role in the Z-team is to work with communities to develop literature and instructional materials for both the church and wider community. Our first work among Z communities is going to be in the form of a research project under the umbrella of the Linguistics Institute of Payap University. We are also building relationships with the small group of Christians in the community where we will be spending time during the coming months as we begin language study and do preliminary research related to literacy. It was neat for us to talk again recently to the family who hosted us during our Z village stay when they came to Chiang Mai for a visit and hear their excitement about the possibility of reading and writing in their own language. I would really love to be able to write a letter to my children a letter in our Z language. Right now we have no way to do that, said Mr. Pat. And we and other Christians await the day when we will have the Scriptures in an easily understandable form. THANK YOU to congregations of the SELC District who are supporting our family and this ministry through Lutheran Bible Translators with your prayers and gifts! Your partnership has blessed us and is indeed helping to Go tell it on a mountain over the hills and everywhere. We are grateful! Two of our new friends are over 100 years old! Khun Ta ( grandfather in Thai) is 102 and rode to church on the back of a motorcycle the morning we were there. [SEE THESE PHOTOS IN FULL COLOR AS WELL AS THE REST OF THE BEACON ON OUR SELC WEBSITE. VISIT IT TODAY - AND VISIT IT OFTEN] 3

4 Aspects of the Ablaze Movement for God s People Outside the Pew by Pastor Ken Ballas, em. Consider the following perhaps already familiar analogy. What would people think if medical researchers finally came up with a definitive cure for every known kind of cancer or potentially fatal disease and yet told no one else about their discovery breakthrough? Christians know and believe that with the eternal Gospel of Jesus Christ we have something infinitely more lasting even than a cure for terminal illness. And yet, sadly, this Good News, so precious to us, is relatively seldom shared with family members, friends or neighbors who may as yet give little or no evidence of knowing the Lord or the everlasting comfort of His saving Gospel message. Attempts at appealing to common excuses like, No one teaches or models for us how (to witness), or, We don t know our Bible well enough! or, What if people reject us? or, perhaps worst of all, That is what we pay the pastor for! -- these and similar endless variations on a theme reflecting our personal or group unwillingness to witness will never wash with God. Christians of all ages know how undeniably (and diabolically) powerful peer pressure can be in deterring us from doing what is right. At the same time, we are all loathe to admit or confess that there is an even deeper, underlying reason for our failure or reluctance to get the Word out on any consistent basis. As God s redeemed people who understandably rejoice in our own salvation, we often give the impression that we simply do not care about the eternal destiny of others for whom Christ also lived, died and rose again. And that has to be so very sad to our Savior-God who gave His all for the entire world! (John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:15; 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9) Having entered our sinful world as a little Baby, our Brother-Savior Jesus Christ became completely immersed and identified Himself with us as the sacrificial Lamb of God to forever take away and eradicate the consequences of human sin and guilt. There is perhaps a sense in which we Christians should feel appropriate guilt before our loving Heavenly Father not because of any failed attempts at witnessing but for seeing little reason even to try to reach the lost. Thankfully, Christ suffered and died also for such lamentable sins of omission as these. How are we to respond to our situational dilemma in the days the Lord may yet give us to serve Him? Merely to appeal to a sense of guilt for our failure to witness as we should in our daily lives is, of course, pure Law. In keeping with our wholehearted involvement in synod s well-conceived and effective Ablaze Movement, better than continually badgering or berating ourselves (or one another) with a preachment of Law, there is a far more effective way to win people for Christ. And that is ever to focus on the seemingly incredible broader dimensions of Christ s healing Gospel message of total forgiveness by allowing the Spirit of God to enable us to come full circle by returning daily to the foot of the Cross where, remembering the ongoing benefits of our Christian Baptism we are graciously invited to deposit all our sin, guilt and shame. The same Spirit of God promises to motivate and equip each of us boldly to serve Him without fear all the days of our lives enabling the light within us, by word and deed, to shine before men, women and children, friends and enemies, believers and unbelievers alike, that all may see our (not just somebody else s) good works and, with us, glorify our Father in heaven (Matt. 5:14-16). Being ablaze and witnessing for Christ is a never-ending process God s process in which each of us has a privileged role! The scriptural fact remains: We love and thank God best by ceaselessly caring about and loving other people! (1 John 4:19) Thank You, Jesus, for keeping us also on Your Good News Gospel team! 4

5 Happening Around our SELC District Calls and Vacancies: Rev. Jon Bender (St. John, Cudahy WI) has received a Call from St. Peter, Deshler NE. Undecided Rev. James Rice (Redeemer, Manchester NJ), Chaplain, Captain, NJ Army National Guard, has been activated for State-side training for about 5 months, until his Battalion is deployed overseas for an expected year. Because Activation will last as much as 18 months, by previous agreement, Redeemer could have declared themselves Pastorally Vacant and begun the Call process. However, the Congregation voted to wait for Rev. Rice to return, and is investigating potential solutions to provide Pastoral services during this long-term military deployment. Scott Ryll, Graduate of CTS, St. Louis MO, was placed by the Council of Presidents as Assistant Pastor at St. John, Granite City IL at the exclusive request of the Congregation. He was ordained by Rev. Paul Biber (St. Lucas, St. Louis MO) and installed by Rev. Warren Huffines (St. John, Granite City IL) on September 30, St. John, Emporia VA Called Rev. Stephen Bocklage (Faith, Oak Lawn IL). Accepted. Installed by Rev. Carl Krueger, December 07. Peace, Galloway NJ Called Rev. Richard Tursic (Candidate, Mason OH). Undecided. Pentecost, Racine WI Called Rev. Tracy Nelson (Trinity, New Orleans LA). Undecided. Sts. Peter & Paul, Central City PA and Holy Cross, Johnstown PA (Dual Parish) have received a Call List. Our Saviour's, Chatham, Ontario Canada is in the process of deciding whether to remain in the SELC District, or to transfer membership either to the English District or to the Lutheran Church--Canada (East District). Calvary, Parma OH has begun the Call process as they complete their Congregational Self-Evaluation Tool (SET) and have requested Congregational members to submit names of "Pastors-in- the-field" as possible candidates for their Call List. Other News Items: Rev. Richard Hill (Retired, Portsmouth VA) has begun serving the Pastoral Vacancy at Immanuel, Hampton VA. Rev. Joshua and Amie Hollmann (SELC Mission Planter, Ascension, Montreal) have received their "permanent residency" status in Canada, thus making more secure their ability to continue in their outreach ministry to the immigrant community in Montreal. Congratulations to Rev. John Telloni (Pastor at St. John, Massillon OH) and Anita Johannson who were married at St. John, Massillon OH, November 24, 2007, Officiant: Rev. Dr. Christopher Cahill. The Congregation sponsored a dinner reception. Rev. Emil Lavcek was translated to glory on November 21, 2007; funeral service on November 24, 2007 at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 1261 Pennsylvania Ave., Oakmont PA. Born January 24, 1919 in Chicago IL, son of Michael and his wife, Anna (nee Salat). Graduated from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, January Vicarage and first Call at Holy Trinity, Joliet IL ( ); John Huss, Arnold PA ( ); Retired April 19, 1984, but remained active in Pastoral Vacancies up till the time of his death, serving most recently, the SELC Congregation, St. Paul, Braddock PA. Rev. Lavcek served: on the SELC Youth Board; as Business Manager for the Lutheran Beacon; as an SELC Circuit Counselor; as Chairman of the SELC Annuity Board; and on the Board of Directors of Concordia Home, Cabot PA for 40 years. Rev. Lavcek and his wife, Ilan (nee Kossuth) were blessed with three daughters: Rebecca (Brian) Cappo, Ruth (James) Marietti, and Lydia Willig; and five grandchildren. This is your newsletter... Articles & Photos are welcome! Send submissions to: Gail Peterson: 1210 Ambra Dr. Viera, FL gailmail37-beacon@yahoo.com th Deadline is the 15 of each month Please submit articles as separate attachments in whatever program you write in. [e.g. Word Perfect, Word, etc. - NOT as s] Photos must be submitted as separate attachments [preferably.jpg format and NOT as part of your article]. 5

6 HOMEGROWN DEVOTIONAL BOOKLETS ARE SPIRIT LED! by Colleen Pohlod Prayer and Preparation Sessions, led by Rev. JohnTelloni, were held in September and again in December at St. John LC in Massillon, OH. These sessions have become commonplace for SJLC members as they continue to study God s Word using the Lectio Divina approach to studying scripture. As a result of Pastor Telloni s continuing education, he first introduced Lectio Divina in It is God s Word and the Holy Spirit which leads us: Let the Word of Christ dwell in YOU richly as YOU TEACH AND ADMONISH ONE ANOTHER with all wisdom, and as YOU SING psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in YOUR HEARTS to God. And whatever YOU DO, whether in word or deed, do it all IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. (Colossians 3:16-17) The rationale for these homegrown devotional booklets is 7-fold: 1. Living the Church Year 2. Following and imitating the life of Jesus 3. Using the Word of God as our daily compass and map 4. Basing the daily Bible readings on the Sunday scripture lessons (relevancy of Sunday s Divine Service) 5. Developing and enhancing the unity of the congregation in worship and prayer 6. Extending our Word and Sacrament Ministry into homes and daily living 7. Helping our members share the Word of God with one another Through Pastor Telloni s teaching and leading in these Prayer and Preparation Sessions, we learn to HEAR God speaking to us so that we can follow God s commands in Col. 3: As one body, united in Christ, we are teaching one another through the devotional booklets! St. John s has produced devotional booklets for Lent and Advent, and also as a part of corporate Bible study. Congregation members are also participating during the summer months with weekly Lectio Divina studies in the Sunday bulletin. The Advent theme is Journey Into Discipleship: The Perfect Disciple Is Revealed. The Lenten theme is Journey Into Discipleship: Follow Me, and for Pentecost, the theme is Journey Into Discipleship: Make Disciples of All Nations. The devotional booklets have had a far-reaching effect, as congregation members are sharing these booklets with family and friends and co-workers. Sharing God s Word in this way has truly been a blessing to all involved! Our thanks to Pastor Telloni for teaching us how to further study God s Word and to share His Word with those around us! REV. STEPHEN BOCKLAGE INSTALLED IN EMPORIA VIRGINIA CONGREGATION by Rev. George Plvan EM Rev. & Mrs. Stephen Bocklage Rev. George Plvan, Rev. Stephen Bocklage, Rev Carl Krueger, Rev. James Douthwaite The Installation of Rev. Stephen F. Bocklage took place on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2007 at St. John the Baptist th LC, Emporia, VA. Pastor Bocklage became the 13 shepherd in the 99 years of St. John Lutheran Church. The Rite of Installation was performed by Rev. Carl Krueger, SELC District President and Pastor of St. John LC, Cudahy, WI. Rev. Allton Bruning, Pastor Emeritus and Vacancy Pastor of St. John Lutheran Church delivered the sermon. The liturgist was Rev. James A. Douthwaite, Eastern Circuit Counselor and Pastor of St. Athanasius Lutheran Church, Vienna, VA. Rev. George D. Plvan, Pastor Emeritus and Vacancy Pastor of Nazareth Lutheran Church, Hopewell, VA was the lector. Area clergy participating in the Laying on of Hands included Rev. Phil Bruening, Rev. Wayne Pask and Rev. Michael Pottschmidt. Pastor Bocklage was born in Baltimore, MD on August 15, He was baptized on August 28, 1955 and confirmed on May 25, 1969 in Baltimore, MD. On September 26, 1998 Anna Frieda Wheatley (nee Schmidt) and Stephen Bocklage were joined in marriage. Pastor Bocklage attended Essex Community College, the University of Baltimore and the University of Maryland. He entered Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO in June His vicarage took place at Redeemer LC, Fredericksburg, VA under the supervision of Rev. Robert Koehler. On May 20, 2005 he graduated from Concordia Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree and was called to serve as Pastor of Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oak Lawn, IL. Pastor Bocklage accepted the Call extended to him by St. John the Baptist LC, Emporia, VA and was installed on December 8,

7 The Haven Christmas Parade by Donald Kovac, Executive Director A tradition has begun. The Haven Christmas Parade. Golf carts, tricycles and bicycles got dressed up in their Christmas best and lined up ready to march. Leading the parade were cheerleaders from nearby St. Luke s School. Bringing up the rear was Santa Claus atop a Seminole County Fire Department fire truck. After parading through the Haven which included riding in review past our judges at the nursing home, our residents joined together at the Fellowship Hall for cookies, punch and singing some old favorite songs. One of the judges, Vicar Peter Jurchen, from St. Luke s announced the winners for the first, second and third place trophies in each category. Winners were applauded and an acceptance speech given by the first place winner in the golf cart category, Audrey Roglitz (pictured). All of the materials used by Audrey came from the Haven Flea Market! Update your 2008 Calendar! SELC-LWML DISTRICT CONVENTION by Verna Jurkovich, Pres. SELC-LWML, Central Zone Theme: Bear Much Fruit Bible Verse: John15:5 Location: Calvary LC, Parma, OH and DoubleTree Hotel, Independence, OH Dates: May 2, 3, &4, 2008 Speaker: Janice Wendorf, LWML Pres. Registration and information packets will be in the mail soon. Packets will be sent to the church to attention of LWML Society. Check your church mail. Please read information thoroughly as there are deadline dates. Please direct questions to Verna Jurkovich or jurkovich1@msn.com. Look forward to seeing all at the convention Check out our SELC website for the latest news and view The Lutheran Beacon in full color! An SELC District Grace Place Retreat for Clergy Couples! The SELC, working with Dr. John Eckrich MD, has scheduled a Grace Place Retreat at the beautiful, renovated Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort at Shawnee on Delaware (Pocono Mountains) in Pennsylvania, from Monday, July 21 to Friday, July 25, This retreat will focus around resolution of conflict with our relationship to God s people spouse, children, parishioners, community, and church so that vibrancy and longevity can be furthered in our ministries and our personal walk with Christ. This retreat is for SELC clergy couples! It will be a holistic health education experience led by Dr. John & Kathy Eckrich (Executive Director, Grace Place), along with Rev. Dr. Luke & Jane Schnake. (Sr. Pastor, Christ, Lincoln NE). They will bring highly useful, Biblically based, and entertaining training in skills and attitudes to strengthen and balance relational living and whole health not just physical, but emotional, intellectual, fiscal, relational and spiritual health. Additionally, there will be much opportunity to sing, pray, explore faith and at the same time refresh and renew, with adequate daily time for rest. With resources from our SELC District LCEF, grants from the Ferdinand & Anna Duda Foundation, and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, the cost for this Retreat great accommodations, excellent food, recreation activities, and full Retreat program will only be $300 per couple (plus the cost of transportation to and from the Retreat). This Retreat is scheduled for 20 couples. Please consider joining this sure-to-be wonderful experience. Register at For more information, contact Grace Place Administrator, Annette Woehlke:

8 Jesus Prized Possessions by Tim Hasko, SELC District Youth League President Children like these orphans at the Nyagesa Rescue Center in Kenya, Africa, need to know they are prized possessions to Jesus One of the most heartbreaking experiences on my 2006 mission trip to Kenya, Africa occurred as one of our team members was interviewing an HIV+ teenage girl. Often when children are diagnosed with HIV in Kenya, their families stop sending them to school to avoid paying school fees. When asked if she thought HIV+ children should be able to attend school like everyone else, her reply revealed the depth of her hopelessness. Why bother. We are just going to die anyway. At the National Youth Gathering this past summer, Dr. Reed Lessing introduced us to the Hebrew word segulah. Segulah can be translated as a priceless, prized possession. W e probably all have prized possessions that are worth a lot to us, but when you think about it don t have a lot of economic value by worldly standards. Maybe it s a picture of a loved one who passed away; our lucky baseball cap; or a favorite childhood toy we just can t part with. Those things become valuable because we love them and we are valuable because Jesus loves us. Fortunately, the story of the teenage girl at the beginning of this article doesn t end with her despondent reply. Our team member was able to pray and share words or encouragement with her, telling her how precious she is to Jesus. Satan has convinced so many people that they are worthless. We must help them realize that they are Jesus priceless, prized possessions. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 2 Cor 1:3-4 (Tim Hasko served on an HIV/AIDS Nutrition and Education team to Kenya, Africa in September 2006 with MOST Ministries, a recognized service organization of the LCMS. For more information on MOST, visit their website at Coming Soon... Western Circuit Ski Trip by Alyssa Mayerik Date: Feb 16 & 17, 2008 Lunch at Noon at Pentecost LC, Racine W I. (Note: this is a change from last year. We will begin at Pentecost in Racine, not St. John s in Cudahy WI) A youth ministry team from Concordia University W I will lead us in activities and devotions. Cost: $40 (includes lift/ski rental/lesson; lunch and breakfast at Pentecost) Add $10 if you want to rent a snowboard instead of skis Subtract $10 if you have your own equipment Dinner is on your own at the ski lodge Leave for skiing at Wilmot Mountain in Wilmot (Kenosha County) WI at 3:00pm Night skiing from 3:30pm to 10:30 pm Bus back to Racine for lock-in at Pentecost Breakfast at Pentecost followed by 9:00am worship and Bible study led by CUW YMIN team Questions? Contact Tim Hasko at or him at timhasko@execpc.com. Hope to see you all there!!! District Luther League Youth Gathering Sets Date & Site Pastor Joe Weatherell and the St. John congregation invite the youth of our district to st HAZLETON, PA for the 81 District Luther League Youth Gathering! The dates are July 17 20, 2008 with the weekend hosted at the Penn State Hazleton campus. Hazleton, PA is located in eastern Penn State Hazelton Campus Pennsylvania in the foothills of the Pocono Mountains. The weekend promises to be filled will fun, fellowship, worship, and Bible study with youth from all over our district and country. Plan now to attend! 8

9 Tax-Free Sale submitted by Robin E. Paris, from the archives of the LCMS Foundation Gene and Carol White were age 55 when they purchased some development land outside of town. They thought it would be a good investment that they could later sell for a higher price. Over the years, the development from the town has moved toward the property and their land is now next to a large commercial store. They now rent the property to the commercial store and it is used for overflow parking. Gene: We have owned this property for over 10 years. It has been a good investment and increased in value. We have received just enough rental income in the last few years to pay the taxes. However, we now would like to sell. Carol: It would be nice if we could sell without paying a large tax. Our tax advisor has told us that if we were to sell, there would be a large capital gains tax. We also could use some tax deductions this year. The good news is that Gene and Carol can use a special trust to receive three very nice benefits. The benefits are: * Bypass capital gain * Increase income * Charitable deduction Gene: We are delighted with our special trust. The trust has a name and is called a unitrust. With our unitrust, we saved about $36,000 in capital gains tax and almost $18,000 in income taxes. That is over $54,000 in tax savings! Carol: Plus, we increased our income. The land was producing almost no income before. Now, we receive over $12,000 in income each year. This increased income is one of my favorite parts of the plan. Are you intrigued? Do you have a similar situation with one of your appreciated land assets? If so, call Robin E. Paris, Gift Planning Counselor with the LCMS Foundation for Lutheran Haven and the SELC District. She will be glad to assist you in partnership with the experts at the Foundation. Reach her at , Ext. #1168, or her at rparis@lutheranhaven.org. The introductory prices for Lutheran Service Book and its companion editions will continue to be in effect until May 12, 2008! On this date the pew edition will be priced at $23.00, and there will be a modest price increase on many of the companion editions. Concordia Publishing House is pleased to announce that there will be no increase on the annual renewals for Lutheran Service Builder and the accompanying liturgy license. However, when Lutheran Service Builder 2.0 is released in November 2008, there will be a 15% increase on the initial purchase price. Existing subscribers will receive version 2.0 and all of its enhancements as part of their ongoing service. Only new customers will need to pay the increased rate. Lutheran Service Book and Lutheran Service Builder continue to serve The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod in its worship life! Nearly 70% of our congregations have adopted these resources. Visit lsb.cph.org to view all the latest resources, including Lutheran Service Book: Propers of the Day. CTS-Ft. Wayne IN: Post-election violence in Kenya has severely affected both Reverend Dennis Meeker, a 2007 graduate of CTS, and his wife, Deaconess Lorna Meeker The couple is serving at Springs of Life Lutheran Church in Kibera, Kenya, where their church, school, and clinic were set on fire by looters. Rev. Meeker wrote, It is in a veil of tears that I inform you that Springs of Life LC and Medical Clinic [have] suffered severe damage as rioters looted everything and then set it on fire. Bishop Walter Obare, head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya, has been threatened as well, with his safety and home are in peril. LCMS World Relief and Human Care is now accepting donations on their behalf. CTS s partner, LCMS World Relief and Human Care will accept donations via check or online at 9

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