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June 2008 Newsletter Contents [Newsletter Archive] |
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| Pastor's Article | Vicar's Article |
| Christian Education | Parish Notes |
| Portals of Prayer |
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June 2008 Newsletter Contents [Newsletter Archive] |
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| Pastor's Article | Vicar's Article |
| Christian Education | Parish Notes |
| Portals of Prayer |
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Happy anniversary, Immanuel! It's finally here! As you receive this issue of Esprit, we are less than four weeks away from the official kickoff of our anniversary festivities. It isn't our intention to take away from the sermon that Dr. Lawrence R. Rast, Jr. will preach on 29 June at 3:00 PM, but it seems that something official should be said in this newsletter for posterity.
As you will hear in the history as it is retold on that Sunday, the founders of Immanuel were determined that this congregation would be a confessional Lutheran congregation, that is, it would be truly Lutheran in doctrine and practice. Such a determination was not without risk because there were those who left this congregation to pursue other doctrines and practices that were not Lutheran. Over 150 years the numerical membership of Immanuel has fluctuated due to many factors, some of which were beyond our control, but simply having members was never the goal from the beginning. The purpose of this congregation was to proclaim the Word of God in its truth and purity and to administer the holy Sacraments according to Christ's institution. Everything else had to fall in line behind this purpose.
Our spiritual forebears laid a good foundation, and by the grace of God, Immanuel has continued this determined confessional march for 150 years. Not many congregations can say that. Some come and some go. The congregation in which your pastor was baptized was born in 1931 but ceased to exist in 2006. It was not from lack of soundly confessional Lutheran theology and practice but because the congregation did not reach out to those around her during an era of great social change. Other factors contributed, including community conditions no one envisioned, but mostly, the congregation failed to reach out.
If there is one challenge that Immanuel must continue to meet it is that. We must continue to reach out with the pure Gospel and Sacraments. It is not for our own sake that we should do this, as much as this might seem desirable, but for the sake of those around us who need to have the Gospel preached purely and the Sacraments administered according to Christ's institution. The Church does not exist for herself, but for the sake of the world. The world begins at our doorway. What happens inside these hallowed walls ought never be intramural but always extramural, that is, outside the walls.
We should never be ashamed of our confession as many are. We should speak it boldly and proudly because it is God's own truth that we confess. Sometimes confessing that truth meets with hostility in one form or another, but that really should not matter. It is God's truth that must be confessed and will be confessed or the congregation will cease to exist. Programs and gimmicks do not build the kingdom of God. Only the Word of God and the Holy Sacraments build and sustain the Church. If nothing else, the 150 years of this congregation should teach us that!
What we celebrate is not ourselves nor our ancestors, spiritual or physical. We give thanks for them, but finally it is the grace of God so richly poured out on this congregation that we celebrate. That is what we are remembering especially this month and the rest of the year, culminating in an anniversary Reformation service on 26 October. And we'll also remember the people and the events which have gone before us and in which we have also participated. A number of our former vicars will be here to celebrate with us on 28 June at the congregational picnic. We hope some former members are able to return and celebrate with us, too.
It is a celebratory month! Our confirmands waited until this month for the Rite of Confirmation because they wanted to have the rite in the refurbished sanctuary as every catechetical class from 1885 on has done. It's the lead-up to the festivities of the next week.
In the meantime, the renovation of our historic sanctuary nears completion as we try to ensure a suitable place in which to hear the Word of God and receive the Holy Sacraments for the next generation. May God in his grace grant it for Jesus' sake!
Pastor Meyer
THE WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH
25There were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. (Luke 4:25-26)
Picture the last time you were at the end of your rope. For most of us, such a thought brings back painful memories that we would rather forget. What if, by granting just one more favor, you knew that it would not only put a burden on you, but that it might prove fatal? What if that person were a complete stranger!?
The widow who lived in Zarephath provided for a stranger when she was at the end of her ability to give. Little more than a blip on the lifeline of the Old Testament prophet Elijah, she displayed kindness worthy of mention, even in the Bible. To completely understand this story, a little background information is needed.
Zarephath is located in Phoenicia, which was the very heart of Baalism. Phoenicia, located just west of the Mediterranean Sea and near modern day Tel-Aviv, would not have been hospitable to an Israelite like Elijah. So why would Elijah come here in the first place? Immediately preceding this narrative in 1 Kings, Elijah has been in hiding (due to his attacks on Baalism), drinking from a brook and being fed miraculously by ravens (1 Kings 17:4-6). A severe drought, however, had gripped the area, causing the brook to dry up. The Lord, ever providing for his servant, sent him to an unlikely area for aid: "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food" (1 Kings 17:9). The widow of Zarephath isn't a believer in the One True God. She is a pagan just like the rest of her townsfolk. The odds of Elijah getting any help from her are slim to none. So what happens?
"So he (Elijah) went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, 'Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?' As she was going to get it, he called, 'And bring me, please, a piece of bread'" (1 Kings 17:10-11). This is a widow of impeccable character. She doesn't hesitate to oblige this stranger's request for water, even though there's a shortage due to the drought. But now this man of God is asking too much of a poor widow-food from her cupboard, which was no doubt barren. How does she respond to this request? "As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread-only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it-and die" (1 Kings 17:12). Enough is enough, and when you're struggling to simply survive, you can't always accommodate the requests of strangers.
There are two things we should note that this point. The first is the age of the widow. Not only is her son later referred to as a boy (1 Kings 17:21), but he isn't even helping her gather sticks, even though she is about to die from the effort. No self respecting son would allow his mother to go through such agony. The widow may only be about twenty or thirty years old. The second object of interest is the manner in which she addresses Elijah. This recognition of him as a servant of the Lord doesn't automatically make her a believer. She simply recognizes an Israelite and is familiar with their God (much as Elijah is familiar with Baal).
Have we ever faced a life threatening situation and still given more of ourselves? This isn't a heroic struggle for life, either. It's a depressed recognition of inevitable starvation, which has come slowly and painfully due to the drought, which has reduced her resources to a bit of flour, a dab of oil, and a few sticks of wood. She expects to starve to death along with her son. This is a woman beaten down by life, and Baal (her god) hasn't been able to provide for her household. This 'piece of bread' that Elijah asks for won't just deplete a portion of what she has left, but will wipe out her entire food supply. She will die in service to this unknown man.
Despite her suffering, she still fulfills Elijah's request. Here's a sterling lesson for us as well. We don't think about or love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Jesus says this so clearly when answering the lawyer as to which are the most important commandments. "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40).
Christ hadn't yet uttered these words as the widow rushed to prepare for Elijah her last scraps of food. She probably didn't even know the Ten Commandments. It's far more likely that she heard the authority of the Lord in Elijah's next words. "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land'" (1 Kings 17:13-14). Already at the brink of starvation, what could it hurt to challenge the words of this man and see if what he says is true?
"She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah" (1 Kings 17:15-16). So now we have a well fed widow and her son, as well as Elijah, who is bringing this blessing to them in the name of the Lord. What more could it take to convince this woman that the One True God was real?
Just when things were looking up for her household, tragedy strikes. "Some time later the son of the woman (the widow) who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. She said to Elijah, 'What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?'" (1 Kings 17:17-18). The widow sees her sin! This is an incredible moment! She recognizes that she has been wrong, and sees her wrongdoing (namely her pagan worship) as the cause for her son's death. She is also looking to Elijah for help, because she recognizes God's power in him. Will the God of Elijah raise this child from the dead? You bet.
"The LORD heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived. Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, "Look, your son is alive!" (1 Kings 17:22-23). Bringing the dead to life is indeed a grand miracle, but even this isn't the crux of the narrative. A human life is fragile and can be snuffed out by just about anything or anyone, but the soul is eternal and more precious than anything in this life. Is the widow going to believe in the God who saved her and her son from earthly death and seek refuge from eternal death?
"Then the woman said to Elijah, 'Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth'" (1 Kings 17:24). This is an ordinary widow who sees everyone around her, everyone she loves, everyone she trusts, worshipping Baal. She knows that belief in the One True God doesn't hold much appeal or credibility in Zarephath. She would have to become somewhat of an outcast (more than widows already were) to believe and worship this God. It's hard to make that kind of definite life change. This, may I remind you, is no feeble old woman. The widow is young, has a young son, and has the opportunity to spread the message of the real God to everyone she meets for the rest of her life. She may even face death and persecution for her beliefs, but she is making a stand anyway.
God calls all sorts of people to belief, and not everyone fits our mold of a "good Christian". Note the words of Jesus as He preached to His own hometown concerning His ministry and position as the Son of God. "I assure you that there were many widows in Israel [believers] in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath [an unbeliever] in the region of Sidon" (Luke 4:25-26). When we proclaim the message of Scripture to others, even when we feel ordinary and incapable of such a high honor, we are doing the extraordinary work of God. This is also the case in our vocations, so long as they are done to God's glory. Oftentimes situations arise when we are at the end of our wits and nothing seems to be going right. If the widow's story teaches us anything, it's that God can provide and perform miracles through anyone in any situation. He is our strength. He is our shield. Glory be to God!
Vicar Heath Trampe
1Theodore G. Tappert, The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Church, 371 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 2000, c1959).
NEW IN THE LIBRARY
Hermann Sasse, an eminent Lutheran theologian, was always a pastor at heart. In our church library we have the two volumes of The Lonely Way, selected letters and essays by Sasse [pronounced Zasseh]. The letters and essays from volume I were written from 1927-1939, very tumultuous years in his native Germany as National Socialism [Nazi] came to power. How this affected the Lutheran Church is seen in his works written during this time. Volume II covers 1941-1976, difficulties in the Church and the aftermath of great societal upheaval. All of this he views through the lens of confessional Lutheranism. Eventually Sasse left Germany and went to Australia. He deals with many thorny issues that still plague the Lutheran Church today. While discussing many profound issues, lay people will gain an appreciation for the down-to-earth nature of his insights. Sasse shows us what it means to be a confessional Lutheran in difficult times, our times. These volumes are worthy of your attention.
CONCORDIA: THE LUTHERAN CONFESSIONS
Concordia Publishing House has recently published the CD-ROM version of The Book of Concord. Also included with this offer is the ESV Bible, the version we use in the Divine Service as well as in our Sunday School, and catechetical instruction. Here's the link if you wish to order online from CPH.
"The Book of Concord should be in every Lutheran home. If a person isn't familiar with this book, he'll think, 'That old book is just for pastors. I don't have to preach. After working all day, I can't sit down and study in the evening. If I read my morning and evening devotions, that's enough.' No, that is not enough! The Lord doesn't want us to remain children, blown to and fro by every wind of doctrine; instead of that, He wants us to grow in knowledge so that we can teach others." - Dr. C.F.W. Walther
01 June 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, 10:30 Am Divine Service 04 June Wednesday, 7:00 AM Office of Matins 08 June 4th Sunday after Pentecost, 10:30 AM Matins 11 June Wednesday, 7:00 AM Office of Matins 15 June 5th Sunday after Pentecost, 10:30 AM Divine Service 18 June Wednesday, 7:00 AM Office of Matins 22 June 6th Sunday after Pentecost, 10:30 AM Divine Service [Rite of Confirmation] 25 June Wednesday, 7:00 AM Office of Matins 29 June 7th Sunday after Pentecost, 10:30 AM DS with Rite of Rededication 29 June Sts. Peter & Paul, 3:00 PM 150th Anniversary Service |
OFFICE OF MATINS
JOIN US every Wednesday morning as we pray for the Church and the World in the Office of Matins. We begin at 7:00 AM and conclude by 7:25 AM. Now that the weather is nice and the sun comes up early, it would be a great way to start your day!
SEQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
As you know, 2008 is the 150th anniversary year of Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church. Many festivities are planned with a congregational picnic and Vicars' reunion on Saturday, 28 June and the big anniversary service on 29 June with Dr. Larry Rast as our guest preacher. We have adopted the following theme for our anniversary:
THE RITE OF CONFIRMATION
The Rite of Confirmation has been scheduled for Sunday, 22 June. We have chosen the latest possible date to make sure that we will be back in the sanctuary so that this class, as have all those which have gone before, may celebrate this in our holy place. Confirmands are: Brittney Beel, Ashley Hammond, Alisha Harris, A. J. Hayne, John Latta, and Tanner Stolfe.
CONFIRMATION BANQUET
Friday, June 20, 6:00PM
Help us honor our confirmands at this festive occasion which includes dinner and entertainment. Please show your support with your presence!
PEWS/KNEELERS
Due to the generosity of two donors, our renovated sanctuary will soon include kneeling benches for those who wish to kneel during portions of the Divine Service. These kneelers have been manufactured by Atwood-Hamlin Corporation of Richmond, IL. They consist of a steel under-frame and J-hinges that fit our pews very nicely. The kneeling surface is a very nicely padded vinyl which is very comfortable. They will be installed once the pews are replaced in the sanctuary. Our pews are also being renovated through the volunteer efforts of many people who have donated their time and effort to stripping the paint and old varnish off the backs, sanding, staining, and the reapplication of a satin polyurethane finish. In addition, new "shoes" [the bottom plates of each vertical section] are being made so that our pews can be secured to our new floor in the sanctuary. When this project is finished we will publish the names of all those who had a part in all of this. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is matching funds to pay for the materials used in renovating the pews.
COUNCIL OF DEACONS REPORT FOR May 2008
The Council of Deacons met on May 10th and continued its study of the Lutheran Confessions, beginning with the Apology of the Augsburg Confession. A number of items were discussed:
• Confirmation Sunday has been set for June 22nd.
• It was decided that the Council would try to supply an updatable graphic, in order to allow the congregation to chart the progress of the 150 Drive in terms of the pledge goal, pledges received to date, and monies received to date. Brad Cress agreed to be in charge of this. It is hoped that more members will consider using Thrivent's automatic Simply Giving program.
• Arrangements are being made for re-carpeting of the sacristy and for carpeting of the new platform in the choir loft, with minimal impact to the original budget due to savings elsewhere in the project.
• Officers of the Council were determined for the year, now that the vacancy for Jim Russler has been filled. Officers and Board Chairmen for 2008 are:
Chairman: Ron Dunbar
Secretary: David Robinson
Board Chairmen:
Education: Chuck Lux
Finance: John Schulz
Outreach, Assimilation and Fellowship: Brad Cress
Property and Grounds: Jim Senff
Worship Support: Dave Miller
• A new large-capacity refrigerator is being purchased to replace the glass-door unit in the kitchen, which is no longer working properly. The unit will cost approximately $3,000 and will be funded in part by the proceeds of the pre-school sale, with the remainder to come from the Heimlich fund.
• Vacation Bible School is scheduled for June 16 - 20, and the last day of regular Sunday school is May 25th, to be followed by Something Different.
The Council's next scheduled meeting is set for June 14th , 2008.
Ron Dunbar, Chairman, Council of Deacons
PROPERTY & GROUNDS BOARD
The Property and Grounds Board met on 6 May 2008 to review active and new projects.
Jim Senff Deacon, Property & Grounds
BOARD OF EDUCATION
The Sunday 5:00pm college student study group is finished for the year. Good job Vicar and also to all the members that furnished the meals for the students each week. This is a mission/education project that has proven its worth over the years - Thanks to all.
Our summer Sunday school entitled "Something Different" will start June 1st. Pastor Meyer's present Sunday school topic will continue until he is finished in a few weeks. Our Sunday school mission project for April, May and June called "Project Wittenberg". Its plan is to reestablish a Lutheran presence in the town of Wittenberg, Germany, This will also be the VBS project.
God's blessings
150TH ANNIVERSARY CONGREGATIONAL PICNIC
Reservations:
ATTENTION
VACATION TIME
TABLE TALK
In a news release dated 01 May, the United Methodist Church [second largest Protestant denomination in the USA] voted for full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America [ELCA]. This means that clergy from either denomination can officiate at parishes from either church. While not a merger, it pretty much means that any lines of doctrine and practice have been erased. Both denominations have been in steep decline in recent years. Denominations which merge are usually hemorrhaging members and money. While hailed by the leaders as progress, it is more likely a symptom of something much worse.
SMILES
A new refrigerator has been purchased and installed in the kitchen.
Kneelers for pews will be installed after the church renovation is completed.
The platform in the choir loft will be carpeted.
The backs of the Pews are being refinished to their natural state.
All registers have been stripped and repainted. Ducts will be cleaned out after the renovation is completed.
A new exit door leading to the west alley has been installed.
A work day is scheduled for 21 June 08 to clean up for the 150th celebration.
VBS will be held June 16 thru June 20 from 9:00am until 11:30am. Vicar and Aunnee need all the support you can give by volunteering, donating and most importantly praying. JoAnn Beleslin has graciously accepted to be in charge of VBS while the Trampes are out of town. You should look for advertisements all over town - TV, radio, posters, in daycares - all over.Upcoming dates
· Next BofE meeting June 10
· Confirmation Service Sunday June 22
Chuck Lux, Deacon, Board of Education
Saturday, June 28, 2008 at Immanuel 2-5PM
Several former Vicars and their families will be present to enjoy a buffet style lunch catered by Edibles and served under a tent in the back yard. Activities are also planned. Brush up on our church's history! A fee of $5 per person will be charged to offset the cost of the catering.
Menu:
Pulled Pork BBQ
Fried Chicken
Seasoned Green Beans
Pasta Salad
Fresh Fruit
Desserts to be donated by the congregation
Reservations and payment must be made no later than Wednesday, June 18th to allow Edibles adequate time to prepare for our picnic. Please fill out a reservation form inserted in the bulletins or contact Leslie by phone (232-4972) or email at leslie.immanuel@verizon.net.
Dig deep into your closets, basements and attic!! The Board of OAF will be having a Church Yard Sale July 18th & 19th. Proceeds from this sale will be part of our bon voyage gift to Vicar and Aunnee as they head to Latvia in August. Look for more information in upcoming bulletins.
Vacation time is upon us and we ask you not to forget the ongoing needs of your congregation. Even if you aren't going to be here for a Sunday or two, the obligations of our congregation go on. With this issue of the Esprit we are enclosing an addressed envelope so that you don't forget to send your offering. Please remember our Lord's work while you relax and play.
Martin Luther used to sit around the dinner table and talk for hours with his friends about all kinds of topics, some of them merely reflections on what was happening in their society. In Luther's Works, American Edition, this is called "Table Talk," from the German Tischreden, which can be translated as "after dinner talk." In that spirit we include this monthly column.
In the same story it was reported that the United Methodists have rejected ordaining openly gay clergy, an issue that has been hotly debated among them for years. What effect that will have on the ELCA which has openly gay clergy remains to be seen.
Many of you saw the Ben Stein movie Expelled, which dealt with the lack of academic and speech freedom as it pertains to intelligent design of our universe. A new chapter is perhaps being written as Fox News has reported that Dr. William Gray, a "pioneering expert on hurricane forecasting" has found that challenging global warming has become hazardous to his job. His employer, Colorado State University, will no longer promote his annual North Atlantic hurricane forecasts because he has dared to challenge the scientific and political community on this question. Any forecasts out of CSU must now be funneled through the head of the department. The school has denied that his views had anything to do with the cutback on media support but the university has failed to offer any reasons to the media as to why this has happened. Neil Frank, former director of the National Hurricane Center, has opined that the powers that be are actively trying to shut up this dissenter. Dr. Gray has also said that the earth will soon begin a period of global cooling. Expelled? It seems so.
A recent article by Walter Williams highlighted some of the dire predictions that environmentalists have made which have not come true. Among them: In 1969 Nigel Calder warned of a new ice age that would not be reversed any time soon; In 1968 Paul Ehrlich, Al Gore's hero and mentor, predicted major food shortages in the US in the 1970s and that "hundreds of millions of people are going to starve to death"; in 1992 the Club of Rome warned that the world would run out of "gold by 1981, mercury and silver by 1985, tin by 1987 and petroleum, copper, lead and natural gas by 1992"; In 1970 Harvard biologist George Wald warned about the end of civilization within 15 to 30 years unless drastic actions were taken; Paul Ehrlich [see above] also predicted that England would cease to exist in 2000; In 1939 the U.S. Department of the Interior warned that we had oil supplies for only another 13 years. One would think that there is no God. See Genesis 8.22.
The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending; and to have the two as close together as possible.