Ebenezer Lutheran Church Port Hudson The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod 9100 Highway YY Leslie, Missouri Parsonage 573-459-6432 Church 573-459-6431 Rev. William F. Zastrow, Pastor Mary Sprick, Secretary ebenezerlutheran@hotmail.com THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT Passion Fruit March 6 & 7, 2010 AS WE GATHER: We are midway through the season of Lent. God's Word has drawn our attention to our sin and our need for His forgiving grace in Jesus Christ. Today's readings are no different. Ezekiel reminds us that God has a standard of justice that none of us can live up to. Paul states that our sins lead to God's judgment. Jesus calls us to repent or we will perish. Yet our eyes are focused on Good Friday and Easter with their message of the forgiveness of sins that God has brought us. Today's readings remind us that God has conquered sin and death through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. PRAYER BEFORE WORSHIP: Almighty God, You have promised that when we face temptation, You will not let us be tempted beyond our ability to resist. Help us when tempted to turn to the powerful resources in Your Word and Sacraments so that when the time of testing comes we may be able to stand firm and resist; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and 1
reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Divine Service I, page 136 THE DIVINE SERVICE HYMNS: 232, 364, 91, 239, 236, 365 The Hymn of Praise is omitted during Lent OUR MISSION AND MINISTRY IN OUR PRAYERS: We pray that the Lord would grant better health to our members, shut-ins, and friends of Ebenezer, especially: - Mary Ann Bellis, and Darleen McDaris who are both undergoing cancer treatments. - Lois Senter, who has had major surgery recently, and is in poor health. Pastor Senter has asked for our prayers. Pastor and Lois address is: 416 Canary Lane, Metamora, Illinois 61548-8366. - All our shut-ins and members who have difficulty getting out Leonard Brune, Elda Vohs, Ray and Irene Bargen, Edna Deppermann, Allen Gerdes, Ken Obermann, Ada Groppe, Harvey Schroeder, Delores Roehrs, Ruth Marks, Mildred Mann, Adeline Keune, Beth Pelster, Cornelia Bunge and Ed and Ruth Gardner, and all those we hold dear in our hearts. 2
- We pray for all the people in the country of Haiti and Chile who are still suffering from the terrible earthquakes that hit these two countries. We ask God to bless the many agencies of the Lutheran Church that minister to the deaf, the blind, and those with special needs. For our Missouri Synod, District and Circuit officials and the Missionaries serving around the world, especially Robin McCoy, serving in Thailand and Mike and Cindy Rodewald and John Strasen serving in Africa, as well as the Missionaries serving in Chile and Haiti. We ask the Lord s Blessings to be upon all our government officials and we pray for the safety of all our law enforcement people, EMT s, firemen, and our men and women serving in the Armed Forces around the world, especially for Josh Bade, grandson of Albert and Marilyn Bade who is being deployed to Afghanistan. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ We welcome all our guests that are worshiping here with us today. We ask that you please sign the guest register near the Church entrance with your name, address and Church affiliation. Thank you! We hope you will join us in worship again! Sewing Night Ebenezer Mission Society has scheduled another sewing night for Tuesday, March 16, 2010. We will continue our sewing of dresses for Orphan Grain Train and warming bags for the local hospital. All are invited to join us 3
anytime after 6:30 PM till about 8:30 PM. If you would like to sew at home, just contact Pastor or Margaret. Mo Department of Conservation Hunter Education Class The Hunter Ed class will be held Friday, March 19th from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM and Saturday, March 20 th from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Registration for this class will be through Missouri Department of Conservation s Sullivan office 573-468-3335 or www.mdc.mo.gov/hunt/huntered The class will be held at Immanuel Lutheran School in Washington. The cost is $5.00. The class is limited to the first 75 persons to register. Requirements: Proof of age students must be 11 years of age by the class starting date* (13 and under must be accompanied by an adult.) For more information, please call Raenhard Wesselschmidt. April 4 th Please keep this date in mind as it is the date for the Easter breakfast here at Ebenezer. We hope to again join with the youth to prepare and serve the breakfast! Recycle Update The winter has been difficult for our recycling project. We have filled a dumpster and a new one has been put in place. A check should follow in a few weeks from Central Paper Stock. Also please remember PLEASE DO NOT PLACE ANY CARDBOARD OR BAGS OF ANY KIND IN THE DUMPSTER. Aluminum recycling has added $26.00 to the total collected for missions. The new balance for aluminum collected is $1821.40 and the new grand total for all recycling is $2539.90. Thanks for your continued support of our recycling for missions project! 4
Lenten Services will be held again next Wednesday, March 10 th, at 10 AM and 7:30 PM. The theme for this worship is How Do You Know Who I Am? Jesus said to Mary, Woman, here is your son, and to John, Here is your mother. Do you bristle when people make claims on your life? Text: 1 Peter 2:9-12. Church Picnic June 13 th SAVE THE DATE The first picnic committee meeting was held February 16 th. The next meeting is set for May 4 th. *Prices for the meals will remain the same - $8 for adults & $3 for kids under 6 yrs. *There will be new and fun activities for the kids. *The Silent Auction and Homemade ice cream are always great attractions. Please support the Silent Auction by getting donations for it. There will be letters at the back of the Church that can be given to businesses to verify what they are donating to. *Our give-away drawing will be really exciting with completely new prizes: - 1 st prize half a beef - 2 nd prize half a beef - 3 rd prize half a hog - 4 th prize half a hog Contact persons with tickets to sell are Bob Saak Saturday evening services and Susan Hoemann at Sunday services. The Mulhearn Family will be with us to provide music and entertainment again this year. They are coming from Tennessee to be able to do this. More Picnic information will follow in the coming weeks Thanks to all for your support! 5
Springtime in Paris is the theme of the Immanuel Lutheran School Dinner Auction on Saturday, March 13, 2010. The Silent Auction will begin at 5 PM. The dinner will be catered by Café Mosaic at 6:30 PM, followed by the oral auction. Cost for tickets if $30 per person or $200 for a full table of eight. Proceeds from this event will benefit the children of Immanuel Lutheran School. For more information or to buy tickets, please call 636-239-1636. Camp Trinity s 8 th Annual Spring Clean-up will be held Saturday, March 13 th 8 AM 4 PM. The service of many volunteers over the years is what helps make God s Outdoor Ministry possible at Camp Trinity. This day of service can be a chance to help make a difference in the life of the volunteer and the lives of the many youth and adults who come to experience a retreat at Camp Trinity. Projects planned for the day will include *Sewer Project completion (fence installation around gravel filter area); *Lodge and cabin clean-up and fix up, including some carpentry; *Cutting firewood; *Woodland Cleanup/Trail Work. There is a job for every age. A light breakfast will be provided when the volunteers arrive followed by a morning devotion. Lunch will be served at noon. Please call Ruth Rethemeyer if you can help with this project! Thank you. 573-237-2072 A Cappella Choir at Immanuel, St. Charles On Friday, March 19 th, the A Cappella Choir from Concordia University, Seward, Nebraska will present a concert at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 115 S. Sixth St., St. Charles, Mo. Under the direction of Dr. Kurt E. von Kampen, The A Cappella Choir will be performing a concert of sacred and secular choral anthems 6
representing many historical periods. The choir will perform traditional and contemporary works. Children from Immanuel Lutheran School will sing with the A Cappella Choir in the concert. The choir exists to perform choral music at the highest artistic level to honor God and proclaim the message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. The concert will begin at 7:00 PM. Admission is free. For more information, call 636-946-2656. There are copies of Rodewald s newsletter on the table near the entrance. It is a very interesting newsletter! Please help yourself to a copy. Saturday Lay Bible Institute The program, Muslim Outreach is especially designed for laypersons in the congregations. The Lay Bible Institute will be held on the Concordia Seminary campus in Sieck Hall, room 202, on Saturday, March 20, 2010 from 9 AM 4 PM. The workshop is being led by Dr. John Loum, who has had more than 20 years of work among Muslims in Europe, Africa, and the United States. Participants will be provided with a unique perspective of one of the fastest growing religions in America. Persons can register or for more information by calling the Continuing Education office 314-505- 7486. Chilean Earthquake Report: As he traveled to Haiti to work on the continuing LCMS long-term earthquake response, LCMS World Relief and Human Care Director of Disaster Response Rev. Glenn F. Merritt monitored the aftermath of the magnitude 8.8-quake that hit Chile on Feb. 27. At least 700 people died and an estimated 2 million are homeless in this new disaster, which 7
triggered tsunami warnings in 53 nations and territories, according to news reports. After learning of the disaster, LCMS World Relief and Human Care Executive Director Rev. Matthew Harrison said, Christ have mercy, our prayers are with the people of Chile after this disastrous earthquake. LCMS World Relief and Human Care is ready to provide whatever appropriate assistance we can as we work with President Carlos Schumann of the Confessional Lutheran Church of the Chile (Iglesia Luterana Confesional de Chile). The earthquake described as one of the strongest ever recorded toppled homes and collapsed bridges. Earlier, experts said tsunami waves could hit Asian, Australian, and New Zealand shores as well as the U.S. West Coast and Alaska. In Hawaii, reports described the initial waves that swept ashore as powerful but appearing to cause no significant damage. Chilean Lutheran president expresses thankfulness for offer to walk along with us The day after a powerful earthquake rocked his country, Rev. Carlos Schumann, president of the Confessional Lutheran Church of the Chile (Iglesia Luterana Confesional de Chile), expressed thankfulness that the death toll included no members or pastors' families and his gratitude for prayers and an offer of assistance from the Synod's mercy arm. By God's grace nobody of our church members and pastors' (sic) families have suffered something, Schumann said in an e-mail to LCMS World Relief and Human Care Executive Director Rev. Matthew Harrison on Feb. 28, the day after a magnitude 8.8-quake killed more than 700 people and left an estimated 2 million people homeless. Our 8
houses, church and schools buildings didn't suffer serious damages. But [the ground] is still shaking and will be so for some days. The day of the disaster described as one of the strongest quakes ever recorded Harrison e-mailed the LCMS partner church president, offering prayers and assuring him that we stand ready to do what we can to assist you and the church in Chile in facing this terrible earthquake. Schumann informed Harrison that plans were in the works to begin evaluations on March 1 to take some kind of spiritual and material help to the people hit by the earthquake. We are going to keep contact with the authorities to get better information and ways to help. The greatest damage, Schumann said in the e-mail, happened 800 km south of Viña del Mar and Valparaíso. In Concepcion (the largest city near the quake's epicenter), he reported that buildings and houses collapsed and basic services such as water, electricity, and telephone are still out. When all that you believe strong and solid shakes with you included, you try to embrace anything around to keep [standing] up but 'anything' it is also shaking, Schumann wrote to Harrison. So, just a thing remains firm: God's merciful and powerful hands where your life by faith quietly rests. Thank you once again for [offering] to walk along with us in this moment, Schumann said. On behalf of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, LCMS World Relief and Human Care (the mercy arm of the LCMS) will work cooperatively with LCMS World Mission (the mission sending arm of the LCMS), LCMS congregations and districts, and U.S. and international partners to provide immediate and long-term relief for the people of Chile and the Confessional Lutheran Church of the Chile (Iglesia Luterana Confesional de Chile). 9
Into Your hands I commend my body and soul and all things - Luther 10
Those Serving Today Organist Saturday Esther Voelker Organist Sunday Ruth Marschel Choir Director Kathy Scheer Choir Cast your eyes upon Jesus Violinist Renee Hellmann, God of Glory Head Usher Saturday Tracey Bade Head Usher Sunday Lawrence Pelster Altar Guild Denise and Kate Walkenhorst Acolytes scheduled to serve Corey Adams, Alyssa Bopp, and Ryan Bunge Our measure of love in giving at worship: Weekly envelopes $2,432.00; Plate $212.60; Sunday School $48.27; Kids Against Hunger $10.00; Lenten offerings $55.00; Portals of Prayer $5.00 Total $2,671.87. Attendance last Saturday 21; Sunday 99. Sunday School attendance 15 children; 17 adults. Lenten worship $356.00. This Week at Ebenezer Tuesday High School Confirmation Class 7 PM Wednesday Worship 10 AM & 7:30 PM Confirmation 6:30 PM Choir practice after evening worship Saturday - Worship 3 PM Wedding 1 PM 11