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Love your neighbor as yourself
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Servant to Servant 12-1-17
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Nomination ballots
Congregations will soon receive their official nomination ballots for District President and Vice Presidents by mail. These ballots should be returned to Rev. Luke Zimmerman, District Secretary, in the envelope provided.
The nominations deadline is February 19, 2018. Please prayerfully consider pastors who may serve well in those offices.
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Annual Giving
Please prayerfully consider joining us in ministry, so that the English District - LCMS can continue its work in spreading the message of Christ. We have established the English District Endowment Fund, which is designed to support current and new missions and ministries, church worker and seminary students, and campus ministries in the areas where our congregations live and witness. Every gift matters. Whatever God leads you to give will be a great blessing as we all work together to plant new missions and schools and provide resources to existing ministries and church workers across the United States and Canada and around the world.
Click
here for our giving page.
Thank you!
For our Canadian friends: To receive a tax receipt, please make your cheque payable to your congregation and designate the gift for the English District Endowment Fund. Your congregation will forward your gift to the English District and provide you with a receipt for income tax purposes.
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From Confirmand to Candidate
On Tuesday, November 28, 2017, Bishop Jamison J. Hardy was in attendance during the morning chapel service at Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, IN to witness Candidate Alexander Sabol receive his call to serve Holy Trinity, Lakeview, MI and Hope, Stanton, MI. Bishop Hardy has known Alex for 17 years. Alex was in Bishop Hardy's first confirmation class at Our Savior, Mt. Lebanon, PA, a suburb of Pittsburgh. Alex will be ordained at Peace, McMurray, PA on Sunday, December 3, 2017. Bishop Hardy will officiate. On Sunday, December 20, 2017, The Rev. Alex W. Sabol will be installed at Holy Trinity and Hope.
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Calls Received
Candidate Alexander W. Sabol has received a call to serve Holy Trinity, Lakeview, MI (English District) and Hope, Stanton, MI (Michigan District).
The Rev. John M. Sproul, Candidate Status, St. Louis, MO, has received a call to serve Hope, Hastings, MN.
Calls Accepted
Candidate Alexander W. Sabol has accepted the call to serve Holy Trinity, Lakeview, MI (English District) and Hope, Stanton, MI (Michigan District).
The Rev. Fred H. Gerlach, Bethany, Ewing, NJ has accepted the call to serve Family of Christ, Phoenix, AZ.
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Reformation 500 Celebration
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Redeemer, Sarnia, ON, Canada, held a special showing of the movie Martin Luther: The Idea that Changed the World at a local theatre. Members of the congregation and the community were able to purchase tickets and all 241 were sold two weeks prior to the show on Thursday, October 26, 2017. One hundred of the tickets were purchased by church members and the rest were purchased by members of the community. Redeemer received many favorable comments from those in attendance. In the future, Redeemer hopes to offer other Christian-themed movies for their community. This event was made possible by a $660 grant from the Canada Corporation of the English District.
A special guest in attendance was The Rev. Dr. Harold Ristau, a professor of theology at Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary, St. Catharines, ON, Canada. The Rev. Dr. Jason Kouri, pastor of Redeemer, and Dr. Ristau gave a brief introduction to the film. Following the movie, Dr. Ristau presided over a question and answer period in which approximately 60 people attended.
Pastor Kouri said, "... This was a great outreach event. It was a great educational event that strengthened the Lutheran identity of our members and deepened their faith."
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#LoveThyNeighbor
Helping hurricane victims
Hales Corners Lutheran School, Hales Corners, WI, collected donations to be shipped to Jessup Elementary School in Houston, TX. Necessary supplies were needed after Hurricane Harvey hit the Houston area in August, 2017. A Thrivent Action Grant of $250 helped to cover the cost of shipping the supplies.
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Feeding the hungry
The student council from Martin Luther Christian School (MLCS), Pennsauken, NJ, along with the help of MLCS students, organized a Thanksgiving food drive to support the Martin Luther Chapel Christ Cupboard.
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Operation Christmas Child
Operation Christmas Child uses gift-filled shoe boxes to demonstrate God's love in a tangible way to children in need around the world.
Between the preschool and church, 47 boxes were collected by Jacob's Well, Ft. Wayne, IN. The boxes were sent with a prayer that they would make a difference in the lives of each recipient and that each child may know God and His love.
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Sharing with strangers
Anna and Maryanne from Wellspring Lutheran Services stopped at Martin Luther Chapel, East Lansing, MI, to pick up the Thanksgiving food packages that were assembled for four of the foster families they serve. Thanks to the Spiritual Care and Growth team and all the volunteers who donated and assembled these packages!
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Sharing with others for others
November 19, 2017 was a busy place at Hope, Hastings, MN, with many local musicians performing at the "Give Thanks Concert" to support Hastings Family Service. So grateful for the partnership in helping support those in need.
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Community commitment
ServeLocal at Epic Church, Shelby Township, MI, gave out 21 Thanksgiving meals to families in the community. It may have been cold outside, but their hearts were warmed by serving God and seeing other people's loving hearts.
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Community involvement
Members of Fairlawn, Fairlawn, OH, made a difference in the community by ringing bells and collecting donations for the Salvation Army.
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In our churches
Baptism celebration
Faye Margaret Garrow was baptized at Grace, Redford, MI, on November 19, 2017. Faye's parents were high school sweethearts. They grew up at Grace, where they were both baptized, confirmed and married. Big brother Liam "helped" during the baptism. Two years ago, he, too, was baptized at Grace. To complete the family connection, Grandpa was the Elder on duty, and he is the Congregational President. The family is pictured with The Rev. Timothy Halboth.
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Baptism celebration
On November 20, 2017, The Rev. Joshua and Kristine Palmer's baby, Thomas, was baptized at Catalina, Tucson, AZ. Thomas is the ninth child, and the eighth son, of the Palmers. Sponsors were Aidan and Mary Clevinger.
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Baptism celebration
Congratulations to Joshua, son of Aaron and Kiera Francis, on his baptism at Fairlawn, Fairlawn, OH. Pease remember Joshua in your prayers as he grows in the gift of faith given!
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Welcome!
The Rev. Michael S. Taylor and his wife, Susan, were welcomed by Mount Olive, Cleveland Heights, OH. Pastor Taylor began serving as their vacancy pastor on November 26, 2017.
Pictured left to right: Clarke Earle, Chairman; The Rev. Michael S. Taylor; Susan Taylor; and Lloyd Wittenmyer, Vice-Chairman.
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Re-launch of the LWML
Lutheran Church of the Ascension, Atlanta, GA held a re-launch of the LWML. The Lutheran Women's Missionary League (LWML) sponsored the after-coffee fellowship and provided Mite Boxes for folks to take home and fill up with spare change. Also launching, in conjunction with the LWML, is Ascension YarnWorks which is an opportunity to knit, crochet, and weave items for local and national charities.
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Ohio
The youth from Prince of Peace, Medina, OH, and Fairlawn, Fairlawn, OH, joined with the Ohio District Youth Gathering November 17-19, 2017 for a weekend of worship, song, dance, and service at the Delaware County Food Bank.
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Kansas
Beautiful Savior's BLAZE High School Student Ministry, Lee's Summit, MO, had an awesome time praising God, growing in their faith, and serving at the Kansas District Youth Gathering November 17-19, 2017 in Topeka, KS.
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Creative fellowship
WinGS - Women in God's Service - at Risen Christ, Plymouth, MI, had a great time with friends and family at Creatopia. Beautiful items were created along with lasting memories and lots of smiles.
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Sushi good time
Sushi Chef Pastor Junghoon Park demonstrated how to make a California roll to the CrossYouth at St. Luke's, Toronto, ON, Canada. Then he invited everyone to get involved in making them. Lots of fun, laughter, and good eating for all!
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Congratulations!
Bethesda International Academy (BIA), Chicago, IL, announced the 2017-2018 First Quarter eSpark winners on November 16, 2017. This is an individualized learning program, funded to the school by Chicagoland Lutheran Educational Foundation, which provides BIA with the opportunity to include technology in their classrooms.
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Author visit
The first graders at Hales Corners (HC), Hales Corners, WI, had a great day visiting with local author and former HC student Katie Stuhmer. She shared her new book Happy to Be Me with the students, and they got to hang out with the main character in her book, Happy.
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School visit
The English District's School Ministry Executive, Gail Holzer, spent time visiting staff and students at Hope Christian Preschool, Hastings, MN. Gail toured the preschool, met with staff and gave ideas and encouragement for the growing program at Hope.
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Thanksgiving feast
The Little Lambs had a Thanksgiving Feast at Concordia Lutheran Church and Little Lambs Preschool, Berwyn, IL. They learned about the pilgrims and Native Americans, and read a book about the first Thanksgiving before their celebration!
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In our district
Buffalo circuit gathering
The Rev. J. Derek Mathers, Assistant to the Bishop/Mission Executive, shared his thoughts about "Mission" with church workers and laymen at the English District Buffalo Circuit Forum on November 18. Pastor Dwayne Hendricks led an excellent devotion and meeting. Redeemer, North Tonawanda, NY provided the lunch.
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Advent/Christmas Annual Get-together
The Canada West and East Circuit Advent /Christmas annual get-together was held in London, ON, Canada on November 28, 2017. The afternoon for pastors and wives began with a Communion Service held at Faith Lutheran Church (East District, LCC) followed by supper at Shelley's Restaurant in the Best Western Hotel.
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Perfect Christmas Gift for a Child!
Give the gift of a Young Investors (Y.I.) Club StewardAccount this year and give kids a way to learn to save while also learning valuable stewardship concepts.
Y.I. Club features:
- Minimum of $25 to open the account.
- Premium interest rate of 3.5% on balances up to $1,000.
- Interest compounded and paid monthly.
- Older children can earn up to $25 a year for good grades.
- Empowering ministries in Kingdom work.
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The Young Investors (Y.I.) Club makes saving money fun while teaching children to give thanks for God's blessings.
For more information on the Y.I. Club, call 1-800-843-5233 or visit
lcef.org
.
LCEF is a nonprofit religious organization; therefore, LCEF investments are not FDIC-insured bank deposit accounts. This is not an offer to sell investments, nor a solicitation to buy. LCEF will offer and sell its securities only in states where authorized. The offer is made solely by LCEF's Offering Circular. Investors should carefully read the Offering Circular, which more fully describes associated risks.
LCEF StewardAccount access features provided through UMB Bank n.a. The Demand/Dedicated Certificate and StewardAccount are not available to investors in South Carolina.
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Christmas shopping!
Are you one of the millions of online shoppers? If so, you can help the English District when you shop online this year. Remember to #StartWithaSmile! Why? Because Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price to the English District of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. Bookmark the link
https://smile.amazon.com/ch/38-1675740
and support the missions and ministry of the English District every time you shop.
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Calling a Seminary Candidate
Is your congregation interested in requesting a candidate from the seminary to fill a vacancy? If so, please contact Administrative Assistant Kathy Stanis at 248-476-0039 ext. 320 or email her at [email protected] to receive information needed to request a candidate and how to obtain call documents online. Deadline to make a request and submit call documents to the English District office is February 1, 2018.
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Previous issues of the Servant to Servant eNewlsetter are available on the English District website
You are encouraged to share the information from Servant to Servant with members of your congregation.
All are invited to subscribe to this weekly publication. Forward the newsletter to members of your church using the "Spread the Word" link at the bottom left of this newsletter. They can subscribe by clicking on the link at the bottom right titled, "Sign up for our emails." Thanks for spreading the word!
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Please share your congregation's or school's unique ministries with the rest of the District. Send pictures and stories for consideration to
Lynne Cobb by Wednesday, 3:00 pm ET.
We want to see how YOUR congregation or school is "loving your neighbor as yourself."
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