A monthly publication. August 2018 Every One His Witness Dear Pilgrim members, Jesus said to His apostles, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1.8). Though we are not eyewitnesses of the risen Lord Jesus in the same way the apostles were, we have witnessed what the risen Lord Jesus has done for us by His Holy Spirit through Word and Sacrament (1 John 1.1 3). Simply put, we can testify to the truth of human sin and God s forgiveness in Christ. In fact, not only are we able to do this, God calls us to do this: In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3.15). Martin Luther had a way of bringing clarity through strong statements. He did not mince words. Consider what he had to say on the topic of witnessing: We live on earth only so that we should be a help to other people. Otherwise, it would be best if God would strangle us and let us die as soon as we were baptized and had begun to believe. For this reason, however, He lets us live that we may bring other people also to faith as He has done for us... Everything then should be directed in such a way that you recognize what God has done for you and that you, thereafter, make it your highest priority to proclaim this publicly and call everyone to the light to which you are called (Luther s Works, 30.11). On Saturday, August 18, Pilgrim is hosting a district-wide witness-workshop. Rev. Jonah Burakowski, the South Wisconsin District facilitator for missions and human care, will be leading the workshop using the Everyone One His Witness program, a recently- published resource of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. At the core of this program is the teaching that every Christian, baptized into Christ, has the ability and the responsibility to witness to Christ through their various vocations, those every-day roles and relationships into which God has placed them. The workshop will not only point this out, since we all know this already, but it will also give us tools and resources designed to help us actually approach and begin to accomplish the seemingly-impossible evangelistic task. Jesus said, What is impossible with man is possible with God (Luke 18.27). It is the Word of God in the hand of the Holy Spirit that is the power of God to save sinners (Romans 1.16). We are merely His messengers, as St. Paul says, we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us (2 Corinthians 4.7). But how do we go about bearing the message of Christ? Everyone One His Witness, compiled by Rev. Mark Wood, uses the LASSIE approach: listen, ask, seek, share, invite, and encourage. This approach is relational and flexible. It does not include an outline you must memorize and deliver flawlessly but encourages you to be aware of another person and their actual situation in life so that you can connect them to Jesus and His Good News for them in a real way that will resonate with them. We can all use the instruction and encouragement of this program. God our Savior, desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2.4). He has given you the knowledge of the Truth, His Son Jesus Christ (John 14.6). He has giving you the ability and the responsibility to be His witness by giving you His Word and Holy Spirit. Come and participate in this workshop so that you might be better equipped and motivated for that amazing task to the glory of God the Father (Matthew 5.16). God s richest blessings in Christ, Pastor Rusnak The workshop will be held from 8:30a.m. 3:30p.m. Materials and lunch will be provided to Pilgrim members free of charge. You can register by calling the church office. 414.476.0735. ~1~
Please introduce yourself to him if you happen to be in the building at the same time he is. Planning for the 2018-2019 LWML year has begun. The theme will be How beautiful the feet. Wow! Wait, why? Whose? Mark your calendars for the first meeting on Friday, September 14 at 7:00pm to learn more. This year will include service events to also get your hands involved as well as your mind and feet. Please also mark your calendars for Saturday, October 13 to attend the Fall Rally of our zone. This year it will be at Pilgrim. The speaker will be from Bethesda. These are always fun gatherings where you learn so much about service organizations and missions as well as sharing the time with ladies from the other churches in our zone. Bethany is having a work day on Saturday, September 29. Contact Diane Kosbab if you are interested. Maybe we can get a group of ladies and men to go to help them out. The ingathering for August and September will be Kleenex and hand sanitizers for Milwaukee Lutheran High School. Please place the items at the LWML table in the narthex. Hope you are pumped for the new year and that your young or old feet will bring you to LWML on September 14 and October13. We think you will be glad they did. (You will not have to show your feet.) NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS August The Trustees are pleased to report that our new custodian has started work at Pilgrim His name is Stephen Kjeldgaard and he lives in West Allis, about three miles from Pilgrim. He recently retired from GE Waukesha Gas Engine after 20 years service. Early on in his life he also spent 12 years in the military. Steve is a pleasant man with an eye for detail and will serve us well, not just with general cleaning but also with his mechanical experience. Come and visit with Pr. Edward Naumann, his family and Grandma LuAnn Roman on Friday, August 3 rd. You can still come if you didn t sign up for the potluck, just bring a dish to share. The potluck is from 5:30-6:30 pm. Beverages and dessert will be provided. Afterwards Pr. Edward will give a presentation on their ministry in Sri Lanka,(if you re not free for dinner come for the program.). Monica, LuAnn and the children will worship with us on Sunday, August 5 th. During the coffee hour come downstairs to greet them. The South Wisconsin District will be holding an Everyone His Witness workshop on Saturday, August 18 th from 8:30 AM 3:30 PM here at Pilgrim. Materials and lunch will be provided to Pilgrim members free of charge. You can register by calling the church office. 414.476.0735. On Sunday August 19 th, Ms. Angela (Nikki) Strege will be installed as our new PCDC Director. Please join us downstairs afterwards where you will have an opportunity to meet and greet her. ~2~
SCRIP AUGUST 26, 2018 at 10:30am Followed by a church picnic SEPTEMBER You will not want to miss this opportunity to hear Dr. John Kleinig, Australian biblical scholar and theologian, right here in our area September 8th at Elm Grove Ev. Lutheran Church, 945 N. Terrace Drive in Elm Grove. Kleinig s new book, Wonderfully Made, expected sometime next year, will present a Lutheran theology of the body. DOXOLOGY is sponsoring identical seminars (in Wisconsin and in Iowa) in which Dr. Kleinig will explore engaging themes from his upcoming book. The program is titled, Christian Sexuality in a Decadent World. Thanks to sizeable grants, we are able to offer this daylong seminar for only $15 per adult registration and $8 per student, box lunch included. Register online before August 25. Save the Date! Sunday School Rally Day is set for September 9th! Our theme is Anchored in Christ, and we ll be kicking off our year of learning with some special activities. Along with our weekly Bible story and songs, children will be decorating shirts and a banner, learning about our mission project for the year, and enjoying ice cream sundaes. We hope all can join! Name Date Betty Ney-Bentz 8/1 Bob Stempkowski 8/2 Linda Hitz 8/3 Tyran Thompson 8/4 Kathy Knott 8/5 Helen Meyer 8/5 Donna Beyer 8/11 Parker Sullivan 8/11 Mark Maahs 8/13 Gina Brenner 8/17 Marilyn Viets 8/17 Trevor Staff 8/20 Lois Horne 8/21 Lynn Jensen 8/24 Joyce Kickbusch 8/26 Kristen Stempkowski 8/27 Landon Sullivan 8/30 ANNIVERSARIES Ron and Jenny Booth 8/18 Bruce and Diane Kosbab 8/29 ~3~
SPLASH CANYON VBS 2018 We enjoyed a summer lunch and fellowship. (Thank you to all who helped in the kitchen, it was yummy.) We focused on the Bible Story where God kept Paul and the crew safe when they were shipwrecked. The take away was God is with us in good times and in storms. We began with snack of fruit shaped ships and goldfish crackers. (Thank you Jessica Staff) The children enjoyed singing praises to their Lord. ~4~
Crafts were made of clay crosses, figures in life preservers saying Jesus saves, and ships to sail. A puppet show was shared where the children helped Freddy find Splash Canyon and Eddie the otter learned how God is always with us, you can count on him. Pastor told the Bible Story. ~5~
We closed with fun water activities outside such as: ships sailing down rain gutters, fishing, relays, water table play, sensory water beads to squish, and water balloons. (Diane wants to thank the children for getting her nice and wet.) The Board of Education wishes to thank all those who helped to make this year s VBS enjoyable for the 40 people who attended. Here s to next year may it be a tad cooler. ~6~