S t. John s Lu theran Church

S t. John s Lu theran Church M a rch 2018 Eagle Newsl e t t e r Zechariah 10:1 ESV Ask rain from the Lord in the season of the spring rain, from the Lord who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field. St. John s Lutheran Church and School 4939 W. Montrose Ave., Chicago, IL 60641 773-736-1112

2 Wednesdays in Lent: Lenten Service Schedule: Divine Service 4:30PM 7:00PM Maundy Thursday: 3/29/2018 Divine Service 7:00PM Good Friday: 3/30/2018 Chief Services 4:30PM 7:00PM Holy Saturday: 3/31/2018 Easter Vigil 6:00PM Easter Sunday: 4/1/2018 Sunrise Divine Service 6:30AM Festival Divine Services 8:00AM 11:00AM Principal Call Committee: The Call Committee has completed their interviews. They will give the congregation their recommendation to Call a principal at a Special Voters' Meeting on Sunday, March 11 th after the 11AM service.

3 Rummage Sale: Please save the date for the Rummage Sale on Saturday 4/14/18. It s never too early to start cleaning out those closets and start getting your donations ready! We need lots of volunteers throughout that week and the day of. Helping with the rummage sale is a great way for St. John's 6 th -8 th graders to complete their service hours, St. John's families to complete their PTL service hours, and for St. John's alumni who need to complete their high school service hours. Cub & Boy Scout Spaghetti Dinner: Please save the date and join us in the gym on Sunday, March 25 th 2018, from 12:30PM - 2PM for our annual spaghetti dinner fundraiser. The cost is $6 per person and children age 5 and under are free. Spaghetti, meatballs, bread, salad and desserts will be served. Dine in or take out. There will be a raffle too. Proceeds help us purchase awards and recognition and be able to send our Scouts on outings throughout the year. We hope to see you there and greatly appreciate your support! Ladies Book Club: For the month of February, the Ladies Book Club read See What I Have Done by Sara Schmidt. This book tells the story of Lizzie Borden and her very dysfunctional family. It describes the life in the Borden household including the murder of her father and stepmother as it may have been seen through the eyes of Lizzie, her sister, the housekeeper, and a man hired to scare Lizzie s father. Although we found some of the information to be difficult to handle, we did agree that it was an interesting book to read. The court did not find Lizzie guilty, but did she do it? In March, we will be reading and discussing The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore. This novel, which is based on actual events, is about the nature of genius, the cost of ambition, and the battle to electrify America. In New York 1888, gas lamps still flicker in the city streets, but the miracle of electric light is in its infancy. The person who controls the means to turn night into day will make history and a vast fortune. Paul Cravath, a young lawyer fresh out of Columbia Law School, takes a case that seems impossible to win. His client, George Westinghouse, has been sued by Thomas Edison over a billion -dollar question: Who invented the light bulb and who holds the right to power the country? Edison is a wily, dangerous opponent with vast resources at his disposal private spies, newspapers in his pocket, and the backing of J. P. Morgan himself. Yet this unknown lawyer shares with his famous adversary a compulsion to win at all costs. How will he do it? In obsessive pursuit of victory, Paul crosses paths with Nikola Tesla, an eccentric, brilliant inventor who may hold the key to defeating Edison, and with Agnes Huntington, a beautiful opera singer who proves to be a flawless performer on stage and off. As Paul takes greater and greater risks, he ll find that everyone in his path is playing their own game, and no one is quite who they seem. This sounds like it will be not only an intriguing read, but also a good history lesson. Our upcoming schedule is: April 2018: Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly May 2018: The Rooster Bar by John Grisham June 2018: Dead Wake by Eric Larson July 2018: For One More Day by Mitch Albom Please plan to join us in reading and discussing any or all of the selections. We welcome new members to attend our meetings and join us in discussion, fellowship and refreshments. If you would like to have a copy of our schedule including a short synopsis of each book, please contact Karen Buhler. The Ladies Book Club meets at 7PM on the last Tuesday of each month in Erna Morgan s home.

The Dorcas Society: Our annual social event is Saturday, March 10 th in the Fellowship Room. We will play various fun card games and share a dinner of corned beef and ham sandwiches. If you are interested, please contact Karen Buhler. Our Bake Sale is Sunday, March 25 th between the 8AM and 11AM Services in the Parlor under the church. We will have yummy baked goods for sale, along with Easter crafts. We wish you and your families a Blessed Easter. Walther Christian Academy News: Congratulations to Walther Christian Academy s Varsity Girls Basketball Team on winning the Sectional Championship game against Chicago Hope. The Walther Wrestling team also had a great season, sending six members to the State competition. To receive additional season updates, follow Walther Christian Academy on Facebook or sign up for their monthly enewsletter at Walther.com. Please join Walther Christian Academy for their band concert on Sunday, March 4 th at 3PM at Walther and for the Sacred Choral Concert on Sunday, March 18 th at 3PM at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Melrose Park. The 2018 Spring Concert Tour will take Walther s A Cappella Choir, Chamber Choir and Christian Minstrels to Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. For tour details, visit Walther.com. March 15 th marks the 3 rd anniversary of the launch of Walther Christian Academy s Where Blessings Abound capital campaign. More than $1.9 million has been raised to provide building and athletic field improvements, scholarship, funds and support for the Grade School Instrumental Music Program. There s still work to be done and money to be raised with matching dollars available for donations to the heating project. If you would like to make a donation or learn more about this campaign, please visit Walther.com/campaign or contact Catherine_Hegarty@walther.com to schedule a meeting. 4

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7 Lutheran Radio Station Worldwide KFUO Find and Listen at kfuo.org and follow us at Facebook.com/KFUOradio. Issues, Etc. Weekdays @ 3PM CST or ON DEMAND via Website! Christ-centered, Cross-focused talk radio. Law and Gospel Weekdays @ 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. Faith n Family Weekdays @ 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 Mondays @ 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 Month @ 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.

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9 John Straszynski 3/1 Madeline Thompson 3/1 Niki Gernhofer 3/2 Mason Lucas 3/2 Cherie Russo 3/3 Arnold Eurick 3/4 Wolfgang Fey 3/5 Kristen Greif 3/5 Annemarie Hungerland 3/5 Steven Mackie 3/5 Jacob Turenne 3/5 Caitilyn Wheeler 3/6 Dolores Schmoldt 3/7 Stacie Polk 3/8 John Frey 3/10 Tammy Straszynski 3/10 Terrence Dunn 3/11 Lawrence Pankonin 3/12 Midge Klein 3/13 Kristi Heinz 3/14 Janet Bowman 3/16 Lyndee Wright 3/16 Amy Shearer 3/18 Bernard Giess 3/20 Sean Gundlach 3/20 Joseph Paglini 3/21 Michelle Castro 3/22 Marcy Riley 3/22 Adam Jackson 3/24 Susan Snyder 3/24 Marilyn Beck 3/26 Rachel Benedict 3/28 Kenneth Klein 3/28 Nicholas Penland 3/29 Michelle Runge 3/29 Audrey Ohlson 3/30 Marlene Dunn 3/31 Morgan Sanders 3/31

10 March 2018 Stewardship Newsletter from the LCMS Hudson Taylor, a Nineteenth Century British missionary to China, is reported to have said, God s work, done in God s way, will not lack God s supply. To know God s way, we need to know His Holy Word. Or to say it another way: you need to know your Bible. St. Paul, before he spends two chapters on giving, wrote that every thought is to be taken captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). Doctrine matters. And doctrine matters because the Scriptures matter. And the Scriptures matter because this is where we learn the teaching of Christ. Our thoughts must be brought into line with the teaching of Scripture so that our work is what God wants done and so that we do this work in His way. A good tree bears good fruit. A bad tree bears bad fruit. We have been made good trees in holy baptism. We are fertilized and pruned for bearing good fruit by constantly hearing God s Word preached and taught in sermon and Bible Class and in receiving the life-giving, faith-sustaining food of the Lord s Supper. Remember your doctrine, hold on to the Lord s teaching, and your thoughts will be taken captive to the obedience of Christ. Bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ is recognizing that God does provide. The Lord s Prayer teaches us to pray for daily bread. Praying this day in and day out reminds us that the Lord is the giver of our daily bread, and that we are to gives thanks for His daily provision of it. God is rarely early and never late in His work, as Abraham learned, on the mount of the Lord it will be provided (Gen. 22:14). The Lord s generosity forms our generosity in return. Thus, we set aside for the work of God a generous, firstfruits, proportion of the daily bread that God has given to us. This act of trust in the Lord s provision is the working out of our faith in Him. When budgetary discussions pop up, our natural reaction is to point fingers. But remember your doctrine, and what your mother taught about pointing fingers. Our first natural reaction is not always right. In fact, when our thoughts are brought into captivity of Christ, our first reaction should be repentance. It should raise questions in our own lives. As good trees in Christ who are to bear good fruit, we should ask whether our thoughts are taken captive by obedience to Christ. Have we given generously? Have we given our first-fruits? You know. And God knows. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him (2 Chron. 16:9). God will provide. He always has and He always will. He gives His meat in due season. He has not left you as orphans, but has grafted you into His own family. You belong to Him. Remember this, letting this thought dwell in you richly. And you will then be rich toward others.