OF PEACE DECEMBER 2017 Volume: 34 Issue: 12 Can you believe that we have gotten to a point in our society where the President has to BOLDLY declare that it s OK to say Merry Christmas once again? Merry Christmas is such a bland and generic greeting that it hardly passes as a deep and meaningful Christmas message. For those who haven t ever experienced the Powerful, Meaningful Christmases of Years Gone By, I would like to take you back to a time when I was 12 years old. Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the Moon, entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1968. That evening, the astronauts, Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders, did a live television broadcast from lunar orbit, in which they showed pictures of the Earth and Moon as seen from the windows of Apollo 8. As they flew over the moon s bleak surface with its arid and treeless landscape, James Lovell said, "The vast loneliness is awe-inspiring and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth." Then came the moment when they rounded the moon to see the Earth in all its glory, beautiful and full of life, covered in water, bustling with activity. How stark the contrast between the moon s surface at the bottom of the picture and earth above it. It was December 24th, 1968, on what was the most watched television broadcast up to that time that the whole world listed to Apollo 8's live broadcast. Here s a transcript of that broadcast as all three astronaut s greeted the world from lunar orbit: William Anders "We are now approaching lunar sunrise, and for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. " (Continued on Page 2)
James Lovell " And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. " Frank Borman " And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth." How powerful the Word of God read at Lunar Sunrise with the Earth as backdrop in the sky instead of the moon! How easy to see the vast difference in what God created as our home and what he created as our lesser light to rule the night. How dramatic the scene on Christmas Eve to hear our country s best and brightest giving homage to the Life Giving God. For He makes Christmas Merry. He reminds us of His Vast Blessings. And He gives physical evidence of His Almighty Power coupled with His Eternal Love. If you think Borman, Lovell and Anders got a great view of God s Grace on Christmas, think about the Angels, the Shepherds and the occupants of the Stable! Glory to God in the Highest and on Earth, there is Peace with God because His favor rests on us. Jesus Christ is proof of that. I wonder if the Astronauts would have been able to see the Star of Bethlehem from there? That would have been Awesome. But we can see it from here! Come Worship the Lord on Christmas Eve. The View is Fantastic! The Love of God just can t be ignored. The Contrast of Sin and Grace, Death and Life, Jesus and the sinner is so overwhelming you will be Inspired. See you then, December 24 th, 2017. Sunday, December 10 Sunday, December 17 Wednesday, December 20 Sunday, December 24 Sunday, December 24 Monday, December 25 Sunday, December 31 5:30pm Children s Christmas Pageant with Potluck meal to follow 7pm Christmas Eve Service 10am Christmas Day Service 2
We celebrate with Matt and Kate Walker and daughter Emma on the baptism of their son Owen on Sunday, December 3. Owen Matthew Walker was born October 6, 2017, weighing in at 8lb,6oz and 20" long and is the grandson of Gordy and Deb Christians. May God guide and protect Owen and his family throughout a multitude of years ahead filled with His blessings. Huge thanks to all who helped with our Christmas Cookie Walk, Craft and Bake Sale, from those setting up, marking, collecting money and cleaning up to all who contributed cookies, baked goods and craft items, and to those who bought our wares! We raised $482 from this event. We will determine how best to use these funds at our next regular meeting which will be Sunday, February 11. We will be preparing the Children s Christmas bags after the Worship Service on December 17. Come join the fun! This October we will be hosting the Northwest Wisconsin Circuit Fall Rally. The date has been tentatively set as Saturday, October 13 we ll have more details in the weeks ahead and hope that all our ladies at Peace will enjoy sharing in this unique opportunity! We are in need of people who have experience in entering data into computers who are willing to count and deposit church offerings. We currently have two couples who regularly count the offerings, enter the data into the church computer and make the bank deposit and have been serving us for years in this capacity as well as in many other capacities. Having additional people in this ministry would help guard against burnout for our very valuable church workers. If you would like more information on what is involved or would like to volunteer to help, please contact John Wentzel or Gordy Christians. Happy Anniversary to Pastor Nathan and Sandy Radtke on December 30! God s blessings through many more happy anniversaries in the years ahead! 3
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November 12, 2017 Prayer: Pastor Radtke opened with prayer Reading of the Minutes: minutes from the last meeting were accepted (motion to accept by Steve B., @nd by John W.) Treasurer s Report: As of November 1 2017 balance was $15,561.19; Line of Credit $16,916.67; Loan $118,425.59 (motion to accept by John W., 2 nd by Kim M.) Membership Changes: Bob and Lois Mueller were transferred in from WELS during last voter s meeting Unfinished Business: None Reports of Officers and Committees: In-reach: Elder s committee is dividing up the phone numbers of members that wil be called in order to update the church directory (Jonathan) Out-reach: video equipment was ordered (Pastor) Education: Christmas for Kids is being worked on (John W.) Property: lawnmowers winterized; furnace working well (Kim) Pastor s Report: new video unit/laptop installed, but needs additional cords and converters (being ordered) President s Report: Church Mutual sent information about a sensor for frozen pipes/safety (getting more information); Jasen K. Agreed to put together information about church safety and security; Budget Committee Steve B. And Jasen K. Agreed to sit in Other: Envelope numbers will be updated after we update the church directory and membership list (Jonathan) Motion to accept reports made by Jonathan, 2 nd by Steve B. (All in favor) New Business and Recommendations to the Church Council: Audit will be revisited in December; checking account signatures will be updated after elections in December (motion to acept by John W., 2 nd by Kim) Adjournment with Prayer: (motion by Kim, 2 nd by George) Prayer by Pastor Radtke 5
SYNOD NEWS Synodical Council Meeting Summary The Synodical Council (SC) held its fall meeting Nov. 10-11 at the Center for Mission and Ministry, Waukesha, Wis. Highlights from that meeting include the following: Jon Hein, coordinator for Congregational Services, attended his first meeting as an advisory member of the SC. He presented a summary of the demographic challenges facing our synod and outlined plans being made to help congregations address those challenges. Congregations will be provided with resources as they address ministry to millennials, work to reduce the number of backdoor losses, and emphasize every-member evangelism in order to increase the number of adult confirmations. Hein also outlined plans to provide guidelines to congregations considering mergers as a means to improve their ministries. The SC reviewed the synod s financial results from the fiscal year that ended on June 30. Congregation Mission Offerings (CMO) were slightly better than planned. Several areas of ministry underspent their budgets due to vacancies and cost-cutting efforts. All four synodical schools ended the year in a stronger than expected position due to gifts and investment results greater than planned. The Financial Stabilization Fund ended the year at its highest level ever. If CMO performance by the end of year remains strong and if CMO subscriptions in January are as planned, there is the possibility that at its February meeting the SC may be able to approve some of the projects in the Unfunded Priority List. We thank God for all of these blessings. The SC thanked Martin Luther College for developing a policy outlining how its unrestricted net assets will be utilized. The SC approved the appointment of a special committee to review the options available to the synod in providing retirement benefits to its called workers. Director of Communications Mr. Lee Hitter reported that there were nearly 1,000 screenings of the film A Return to Grace: Luther s Life and Legacy hosted by WELS and ELS congregations. The film is available from NPH. The PBS version of the film (Martin Luther: The Idea that Changed the World) will be available on Netflix beginning in January. The SC made minor changes to the Unfunded Priorities List. One or more items on this list could be funded in February. The first five on the list are: Publication Coordinating Commission ($50,000 for publishing theological works) MLC tuition reduction or financial assistance ($150,000) Additional home mission start ($200,000) Ministry of Christian Giving counselor one year earlier than planned ($100,000) Training support for national mission workers in Ethiopia and Sudan ($50,000) World Missions reported that it will begin a new program called Mission Journeys, providing opportunities for lay volunteers to participate in short-term mission work. 6
These are only some of the matters discussed and decided by the SC. The blessings of God on our synod continue to be poured out in ways that are more than we could ask or imagine. As we join together as families and congregations for the upcoming holiday, we add our specific thanks to God that he continues to bless us with the truth of his gospel and with the opportunities to share that message around the world. Serving in Christ, President Mark Schroeder Intersynodical Meetings Continue On Nov. 28-30, representatives from the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS), the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), and the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) met in Jacksonville, Fla., for the sixth annual meeting for informal discussions. The main topics covered were the Doctrine of the Call and a comparative review of the recently published catechisms by WELS and the LCMS. The last version of the catechism for the ELS (2001) also was used in discussing the new editions of the explanations to the Small Catechism. In this 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation we especially treasure the work of Dr. Martin Luther in composing his Small and Large Catechisms of 1529. The three synod presidents provided updates on the respective work of their church bodies. Challenges and blessings also were noted in respect to pastoral training, the filling of congregational vacancies, and the relationships with international churches. The LCMS is part of the ILC (International Lutheran Conference), while the ELS and WELS are members of the CELC (Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference). None of the participants at these informal meetings anticipate a restoration of church fellowship between ELS/WELS and the LCMS in the near future. Yet, the sessions themselves were once again helpful as areas of agreement, as well as specific differences, were addressed in a cordial but candid manner. The representatives of the three synods have decided to gather once again in the fall of 2018. Also in November, representatives of WELS and the ELS met with counterparts from the Church of the Lutheran Confession (CLC). The CLC was formed in the 1950s when a number of congregations left the Wisconsin Synod because they believed that the synod was not acting quickly enough to break fellowship with the Missouri Synod. The meeting was a continuation of formal doctrinal discussions intended to determine if fellowship between the synods can be restored. In 2015 the group had composed a document entitled A Joint Statement on the Termination of Fellowship. Agreement on this joint statement is seen as a necessary first step in the doctrinal discussions. The ELS convention approved the statement in 2016; the WELS convention approved it last summer. The CLC convention discussed it and recommended further study by its pastoral conferences. The CLC will consider the statement again at its next convention. Even if the Joint Statement is adopted by all three synods, other issues remain to be more fully discussed and resolved before fellowship can be reestablished. We pray for God s blessings on these efforts to establish fellowship based on a full agreement in doctrine. Serving in Christ, President Mark Schroeder 7