Which hope we have as an Anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast. Hebrews 6:19 Vol. 51, Num. 7 THE ANCHOR March 2017 From the Pastor... In ancient times some intellectuals had nothing better to do than play with words and ruminate on their origins. And they d come up with some fun and ridiculous etymologies (etymology is the study of the origin of words). So, for instance, some Latin authors asserted that the word barbarian derives from the Latin for beard (barba because barbarians had big beards), when it actually derives from how foreign speakers sound (they sounded to Greek speakers like they were just mumbling bar-bar-bar-bar, hence the term, barbarian ). False etymologies are sometimes more informative than the real ones, though. Barbarians did have big beards. It makes sense. So, I thought we could do the same things for the word Lent. Lent is actually just an old-german word meaning Spring, the season in which Lent falls. But we could do an etymology and say it derives from the Latin word for slow (lentus). Not because it s the correct etymology, but because it has much more theological significance. In Lent we slow down. Life is busy, I know. There are all sorts of things to do and not enough time to do them. But we can t allow the swift course of life to draw us away from the one thing needful. Nothing in life is so important that it should keep us from contemplating the suffering and death of our Savior. In fact, nothing in life is, in the end, important at all, except when considered in view of our Lord s passion. Life, no matter, how busy, is full of sin both ours and the world s. And sin is at bottom meaninglessness, devoid of anything good. We can t attribute any lasting importance to our lives, then, except when we see the sinfulness of our lives forgiven and washed away by the blood of our Savior and our God. Here we see that our lives aren t simply the drudgery of work and play, ups and downs, which quickly all too quickly! lead to our inevitable end death, the ultimate meaninglessness. No! Our sin leads to death, but the death of our Savior and our God, Jesus Christ the righteous, is life. Where sin is taken away, washed away in the blood of the Son of God, who takes on our flesh and suffers to pay for every wrong we commit, offering up His righteous life to His Father in place of our sin-stained lives, then there is nothing left but good the good of our Father s everlasting kindness to all who are found to be His children through faith in His Son. So slow down this Lent. Examine your life. Take the time to do it. Every day. Look at the Ten Commandments. See what a meaningful life should look like. Perfect love and trust in God, perfect love for your neighbor. No gossiping and backbiting. No lusting or immodest behavior. Being content with what you have. Looking forward to hearing God s Word. Being generous and never stingy. Not worrying about your physical wellbeing. Committing your body and soul entirely to God. That s the good life, the life worth living, the life of meaningfulness. Aspire to it. And then see that you have fallen far short, that God gave you a meaningful life to live and you have done a good job of squandering it by every sin you have committed. And then slow down again, take the time, and ponder the cross and death of your Lord Jesus. There is meaning for your life. There God s death conquers your death. God bears sin to take away your sin. God suffers meaninglessness, being forsaken by His own goodness, to give you again a life worth living, a life covered in the forgiveness of sin, in the righteousness of your Savior.
A great way to do this, to slow down and consider your sin and your Savior, is to sing the great Lenten hymns of the Church. Don t be embarrassed. Singing is a virtue, a gift from God, and you ll be singing forever in heaven, so you should get used to it now. And besides this, these are the best hymns ever written. Sing A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth. Sing Jesus I Will Ponder Now. Sing O Dearest Jesus, What Law Hast Thou Broken and O Sacred Head Now Wounded. These are hymns of repentance that will focus your faith on the cross of Jesus, where it needs to be. God bless you during Lententide! From the School... The Third, Fourth, and Fifth graders are studying the Venerable Bede in history class. Bede, an Anglo- Saxon scholar and monk, wrote The History of the English Church and People, which he completed in AD 731. Because of the evidence and sources that he collected and used to write his work, he is known as the father of English history. You may know him as the historian who introduced the Annus Domini (In the Year of Our Lord) dating system. Bede provides plenty of evidence to prove that the society of the eighth century was neither dark nor backward. In fact, if you read Bede s work, even more so if you read it in the original Latin, you will see Bede s intellectual brilliance and elegant use of language, along with his clear understanding of what should be remembered and held in the permanent memory of his people: the story of how England received the Christian faith. Our technological age, when information is readily available at our very fingertips (literally, with the use of a smart phone), provides a stark contrast to Bede s. We have lost the value of permanence. We don t even ask the question, Is this worth remembering? Is it worth writing down? Think of the best books ever written, the books that deal with the good, the true, the beautiful. These books include The Bible, The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Aeneid, Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War, The Divine Comedy, Shakespeare s works, and the list goes on. Our society does not value these works as the basis and foundation for our culture, connecting us with all humankind. Rather, immediate satisfaction of curiosity, greed, and desire dominates what our society calls good. Indeed, the internet has become a type of god; fingers ache to hold phones and tablets at every free moment. Why commit anything to memory when it can be found at the touch of a button? At Mount Hope, we do not permit our students to dwell on the fleeting trivial content of this world. We train them to recognize what is worth their attention and admiration. This is why our curriculum does not change from year to year. Instead, our students are committing to memory the permanent truths of our culture and civilization that is of the Western Civilization. They are being taught the value of stories, what is worth preserving, writing down, and memorizing, so that as they grow into adults, they can discern what is worth saving from their own lives and from the present society. Of course, like Bede, we always return to the same story, the story out of which all other good, true, beautiful stories flow: the true story of Christ s life, death, and resurrection for us. Miss Olson 3 rd, 4 th, 5 th Grade
OFFICIAL ACTS Transfer In: Darian, Shannon, Connor and Tenley Eskam from Trinity Lutheran Church, Gillette, WY Transfer Out: None Peaceful Release: None Funeral: None Wedding: None Baptisms: None Adult Confirmations: None WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES Name Date Years Michael & Breanne Metz II Mar. 4 11 Robert & Dorothy Harris, Sr. Mar. 7 58 John & Janet Rudd Mar. 20 51 Lloyd & Janet Walters Mar. 22 42 March 9 Sheila Goldsmith Randy Sorenson March 10 Benjamin Craig Mark Mehn March 13 Sarah Thompson March 16 Luke Sorenson 18 March 17 Conner Glynn MHLS 6 Shannon Eskam March 19 Nathan Edwards March 21 Sydney Soliz 14 Emily Walters MHLS 11 March 22 Tim Switzer March 24 Anna Baden March 25 Michele Sorenson Michael Wilson March 27 Alexandria Lewallen March 31 Myah Towers MHLS 10 NEWS & NOTES Good Shepherd Auxiliary The Good Shepherd Auxiliary will meet Friday, March 17, 2017, at 9:30 am in the Fellowship Hall. Hope to see you there! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! March 1 Michael Lee March 2 Robert Pavey March 5 Dan Klassen March 6 Stormy Tatro 9 March 8 Eric Graham 17 LWML News WHEN: March 11, 2017 WHERE: Mount Hope Fellowship Hall TIME: 9:00 AM Refreshments 9:30 AM Business Meeting HOSTESSES: Tarayca Walters and Janet Walters Hope to see you there! Debbie Lee and Paula Thoroughman
Upcoming Events! Lenten Services and Soup Suppers STARTING WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, we will have midweek Soup Suppers at 5:30 pm., with Vespers worship following at 7:00 pm. Jr. Confirmation will begin at 5:00 pm, then students can come up to eat at 6:15 pm. Each Soup Supper is sponsored by different groups/people. Sponsors are expected to provide soup and/or cookies, help with any set-up (no later than 5:00 pm), serving, and clean-up: Wednesday, March 8: Sponsors: Bev Geise-Woodcock and Wendy Doctor Wednesday, March 15: Sponsors: Board of Ed, PTO MHLS children are singing at this service. Wednesday, March 22: Sponsors: LWML Wednesday, March 29 Sponsors: Elders Wednesday, April 5 Sponsors: Church Council, Debbie Lee WEDNESDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY The study of the book, 5 Things You Can Do To Witness Christ has concluded. Be looking for a new series or Bible Study to begin after Easter. GEMÜTLICHKEIT! On Friday, March 28, at 7:00 pm, Pastor Preus will be hosting a men s get-together or Gemütlichkeit at his home (3721 W. 46 th Street, Casper). We ll have a little study and enjoy a Lutheran beverage or two. Please speak with Pastor Preus if you are interested in attending, or if you have any questions. A NERF WAR IS APPROACHING ARE YOU READY???? Come join the fun and be sure to bring your best nerf weapons and eye protection!!! WHEN: Saturday, March 18, 10:00 am WHERE: Mount Hope gymnasium
ISSUES, ETC. Talk Radio for the Thinking Christian You can listen to in-depth conversations on topics like: An Interview with President Obama s Faith Vote Director, The Bible & Immigration, The Story of a Philadelphia Abortionist Convicted of Mass Murder, The Apology of the Augsburg Confession and more. Issues, Etc. is a radio talk show produced by Lutheran Public Radio in Collinsville, IL, and hosted by LCMS Pastor Todd Wilken. You can listen at your convenience at www.issuesetc.org and on the Lutheran Public Radio mobile app. BULLETIN BOARD PICTORIAL DIRECTORY REMINDER! In the very near future, we are going to create a bulletin board of pictures (with family members names underneath each picture) to help all of us put names to faces, and to which we can refer when our memories fail us! We will be using the bulletin board right outside of Pastor s office, since it is centrally located (and already hanging!) We ask that you provide us a CURRENT COLOR PHOTO of your family (as listed in our Mount Hope Directory). Please provide a picture that gives a clear facial picture of each person in the photo. You may provide us with either 3 X 5 or 4 X 6 photos in one of three ways: 1. Drop your picture (along with the names of the people in order of their photo position) at the church office. Just put it in Wendy s in-box, preferably in a Ziploc baggie or envelope. 2. Scan your photo, or download it from your phone and email it to mounthopecasper@aol.com. Be sure to include the names of the people in order of their photo position. 3. If you do not have a current photo, and need your photo taken at church, please contact the church office prior to a Sunday service, and we will schedule you a photo shoot between services. You may start bringing in or emailing your pictures anytime. THANK YOU!!! ****************************************** 365 Challenge Continues... Thanks to everyone who responded to last year s challenge. It s time to restart your 365 days of giving! Your efforts are greatly appreciated as we continue the work of our Lord both here in Casper and abroad. If you have not considered this challenge, or are unaware of it, it really is quite simple. Find one dollar a day out of your life to give to Mount Hope. This is one dollar added to whatever giving to Christ s Church you do. There is a form in the hallway outside of the Fellowship Hall. Please take a moment to consider it. Mount Hope Board of Stewardship DIRECTORY CHANGES PHONE NUMBER CORRECTIONS: Michele Sorenson: 307-259-9151 Daniele Ritzman-Nice: 307-315-3225 NEW MEMBER CONTACT INFORMATION: Darian, Shannon, Connor and Tenley Eskam 1154 Goodstein Dr.
Casper, WY 82601 Darian s cell phone: 308-631-5517