Love your neighbor as yourself
Servant to Servant                                      2-24-17


 
March 1, 2017
Board of Directors meeting



WELCOME DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The English District Board of Directors held their meeting at Peace, Fremont, IN February 18-19, 2017.

Bishop Jamison J. Hardy said, "Wonderful and uplifting visit at Peace Lutheran in Fremont, Indiana!" 


Peace, Fremont, IN
English District Board of Directors
Bishop Jamison J. Hardy and
The Rev. Jeffrey S. Teeple

Pastor Teeple teaching Bible class
Divine calls
Call Received
The Rev. Michael Brown from Redeemer, Lincoln, NE, has received a call to serve Good Shepherd, Glencoe, MN.

Call Returned
The Rev. Karl Hanke of Mount Calvary, Brentwood, MO has returned the call to serve Peace, New Berlin, WI.

Call Accepted
The Rev. Steven B. Patton, Crosspoint, Sahuarita, AZ has accepted the call to serve Messiah, Charlotte, NC.

LEA Award
Congratulations to Mrs. Christy Wood, assistant principal at West Portal Lutheran School, San Francisco. Mrs. Wood received the LEA (Lutheran Education Association) Elementary Administrator of the Year Award. The award was presented by Jonathan Laabs, Executive Director of LEA. This is the second year in a row that an English District administrator has been honored with this award. We are very proud of the work Mrs. Wood does for the Kingdom in the name of Jesus.
Church and school activities
#LoveThyNeighbor

Community Meals
People of all ages from   Grace Lutheran Church, Wyoming MI, help clean up after the weekly Community Meal.




Delivering meals
Volunteers from Epic, Shelby Township, MI, filled bags with groceries for ServeLocal.



Sharing love
Kindergarten students from Family of Christ in Phoenix, AZ "spread the love" by singing at a nursing home and handing out flowers and bookmarks they made for the residents.
In our schools

Little folded hands
Little ones from Open Arms, Alpharetta, GA, spend time in prayer and in chapel.
Hands-on learning
Students at Concordia Lutheran Church and Little Lambs, Berwyn, IL, learned about the letter "B" with balloon painting and bubble wrap prints.
Pie in the eye
Students hit their Accelerated Reader goal challenge, and staff members held up their end of the bargain at Hales Corners Lutheran Schools, Hales Corners, WI, by taking a few pies to the face.
Time for projects
Students at Martin Luther Christian School (MLCS), Pennsauken, NJ, complete their Black History research projects.



In our churches
 
Family fun
Artists shared in the fun and smiles at the first "Paint with Me Night" at Grace Lutheran Church, Elyria, OH.




In our District

Servant Retreats
All English District Youth! We are looking forward to seeing you this summer at one of two events: Medina, OH, July 13-16, 2017 or Lincoln, NE, July 20-23, 2017. We will have the opportunity to worship, serve, study and hang out together! Click here to register online. 
English District blog
Oh, L.A.S.S.I.E., Where Are You?
By Rev. John Diener

No, I'm not talking about the television show and our favorite collie that last aired in 1973. More importantly, I'm referring to the approach to witnessing that was shared through our English District communications, convention and website with the acronym:  L.A.S.S.I.E.: Listen - Ask - Seek - Share - Invite - Encourage!

Read more

Rev. John Diener is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, Wyoming, MI, and is the chair of the English District Evangelization Committee. Do you have a ministry experience you would like to share? If so, you, too, could be a guest blogger for the English District. For consideration, please send an email to Lynne Cobb, Communications Coordinator for the English District LCMS, at lcobb@englishdistrict.org.

Congregation statistics
Up-to-date statistical information is essential for the Synod as it plans current and future ministry efforts. Such information is also critical for determining proper voting representation at conventions. If you have not completed your Statistical Report, please do so by February 28, 2017.  

The online method provides the following benefits and features:
  • A printable worksheet
  • A save and finish later option
  • Fewer data items to complete
  • A printable completed copy for your records
  • Quicker updates to your data on the LCMS Congregation Locator at www.LCMS.org
  • Enhanced stewardship
You should have received your login information in the mail. If you have misplaced it and are in need of login information, please call 1-888-843-5267 and ask for Rosters & Statistics or email rosters.stats@lcms.org. Click here to obtain a paper version of the form. 
 
Thank you for providing your information. It assists a wide variety of ministry efforts at both the national and district level, as well as fulfilling the expectation of membership set forth in Bylaw 1.3.4.

Professional Church Workers Conference and More!
The theme of this year's Professional Church Workers conference is "Loving Your Neighbor: Even if they are unlovable."  The key note speaker will be The Rev. Dr. Lawrence R. Rast, Jr., president of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and professor of American Christianity and American Lutheranism.  Also presenting will be The Rev. Allan Buss, Senior Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Belvidere, IL and The Rev. Dr. John A. Nunes, president of Concordia College-New York.  We are excited about the opportunity to gather together to worship, learn, and fellowship in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Register online or download a PRINTABLE or FILL-IN form.  Registration deadline is March 31, 2017.

New contact at English District office

For assistance in the areas of Missions, Congregational Services or Schools, please contact Evelyn Jentzen at ejentzen@englishdistrict.org or 800-755-9335 ext. 212.

Detroit Lutheran Singers Spring Concerts
March 26 & April 1-2, 2017 | Detroit Metro area
The Detroit Lutheran Singers' Spring series is presenting concerts based on the Psalms. These settings paint an intimate picture of love, exultation, prayer, and praise. Composers for hundreds of years have used these words to carry their musical expressions.  Enjoy the music of Bach, Mozart, Bernstein and others. For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.


Pastor emeritus, Joseph P. Fabry (Livonia, MI) is now home from the hospital after back surgery earlier this month. Please remember him in prayer, asking for strength and a good recovery.


Urgent need
The International Lutheran School in Shenzhen, China is in urgent need of a teacher for Grade 3. This position would start as soon as possible and last from six months to possibly longer. For more information please contact Tom Engler (tomengler@verizon.net) or Derek Mathers (dmathers@englishdistrict.org).
 
Travel opportunity
Celtic Missions to Anglo-Saxon Britain | July 25-August 2, 2017
From Dublin to Whitby, follow in the footsteps of Irish missionaries to Britain after the Romans left in the 5th century. This tour will include the Book of Kells at Trinity College (Dublin), the site of the 6th century monastery of Glendalough, the Boyne Valley, Armagh, Belfast, Whithorn, Hadrian's Wall, Lindisfarne, Bede's monastery at Wearmouth-Jarrow, Durham, Whitby, and York.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Erhardt of the Lutheran Church of the Messiah in Princeton, NJ, plans to accompany the trip. If you have questions about the content of the tour, contact him at lcmprinceton@gmail.com or 609-924-3642. Questions about tour logistics and registration should be directed to Lana Bennett at lana@tours-international.com.

For additional information, click
here and use the password lutheran2017 Deadline to register is March 7, 2017.

Previous issues of the eNewlsetter, Servant to Servant, are available here. 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!
ENGLISH DISTRICT LCMS

webmail@englishdistrict.org



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