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Love your neighbor as yourself
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Servant to Servant 2-9-18
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2018 English District 56th Convention
Please return the following by February 19, 2018:
- Delegate Information Forms
- Nominations Forms
- Overtures & Memorials
All convention forms, with the exception of the president and vice president nomination forms, are available on the English District website 2018 Convention page. Nomination forms for president and vice presidents were mailed to every congregation in late November and are only available in printed format. If you are unable to locate your president and/or vice president nomination forms, please contact Rev. Luke Zimmerman as soon as possible to have another copy mailed to you ([email protected] or 717-636-1545).
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WANTED - Youth Delegates
Do you know of a high school aged youth (ages 14-18) who would be interested in joining other Youth Delegates at the English District 2018 Convention, June 19-21, 2018? What a wonderful opportunity to encourage and support a high school youth to serve as your circuit's youth delegate. Travel, lodging and meals are covered for the youth delegates, so cost should not be an issue. We don't want our district youth to miss out on this life-enriching opportunity.
There will be a Servant Event for the youth and a special evening event with Youth Delegate Leader, DCE Jim Bretthauer, and his team along with additional activities which are youth focused. Click here to register to serve as a Youth Delegate.
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Divine Call
Call Received
The Rev. Dr. Robert M. Roegner, Peace, O'Fallon, MO, has received a call to serve as a missionary with the Apple of His Eye Mission Society, Israel.
The Rev. Jared M. Raebel, Faith, DeMotte, IN has received a call to serve Crosspoint, Sahuarita, AZ.
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#LoveThyNeighbor
Providing for others
Some members of the youth group at Faith, Naples, FL, got together on "Faith's First Fridays" to buy shoes for the Mission of the Month, Laces of Love!
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Coins for Cambodia
Congratulations to the fifth graders at Redeemer Lutheran School Pre K - 12th Grade, Pittsburgh, PA, as they won the penny wars! The sixth-graders, one of Redeemer's smallest classes, collected the most monies for Cambodia, a total of $181.51. The total amount students collected was $940.02.
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Soup-er Bowl Sunday
A friendly little competition happened at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, Lee's Summit, MO, last Sunday. Everyone was encouraged to bring a can of soup for "Soup-er" Bowl Sunday. The soup and other non-perishable items were placed in two buckets - one for Eagle's fans and one for Patriot's fans. The "vote" made an impact on the hungry in the community, plus church members had fun in the process! The food pantry helps those who come to the church in need and it also supports Lee's Summit schools with their backpack program.
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Assistant to the Bishop visits Celebration
Rev. Derek Mathers visited and worshiped with God's people and their pastor, Rev. Steve De Santo, at Celebration Lutheran Church in St. John's, FL, this past weekend. "Their hearts are for those who do not yet know the gift of God's love through Jesus Christ, and they are asking the right questions."
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Re:Vitality
"Connect To Disciple" is the first module of the "Re:Vitality" tools designed to be used by congregations in their context-specific mission. Celebration Lutheran Church, St. John's, FL, worked through this module Friday evening and Saturday morning last weekend. It was shared with Rev. Mathers that discussions have continued beyond the time of the workshop itself, as individuals were both challenged in their assumptions and experienced a moment of new insight about outreach. They did the work; God is causing the growth.
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Baptism!
It was a special day at Peace, McMurray, PA, as Rev. Strussenberg officiated the baptism of his granddaughter, Freya Noelle.
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Youth Event
February 2-3, 2018, Grace Lutheran Church in Redford, MI, hosted the annual Catechetical overnight. Christ the King, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI, and St. Paul's, St. Clair Shores, MI, joined Grace, Redford for this wonderful event!
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Scout Sunday
Hope Lutheran Church, Hastings, MN, recently celebrated Scout Sunday. Several scouts and their leaders assisted in worship, and the scouts were recognized as they moved up in rank.
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Feed the birds
Preschoolers at West Park, Cleveland, OH, wrapped up their week on "Animals in Winter" by making bird seed ornaments for the little critters in their neighborhood.
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Physics fun
Students at Martin Luther Christian School, Pennsauken, NJ, experienced the wonders of physics through a hands-on presentation, thanks to Mad Science and their "Up, Up and Away - A Hover Craft Presentation." Some students were even able to experience a ride on a hover craft!
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Showcasing talent
The students at Bethesda International Academy, Chicago, IL, did a wonderful job presenting their S.A.L.T.-Sciences, Arts, Literature and Technology projects.
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Time in worship
Preschoolers at Faith of Jacob's Well, Ft. Wayne, IN, enjoy Bible stories and music during chapel time.
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Celebrating school
First-graders from Hales Corners Lutheran School, Hales Corners, WI, had a "dog-gone" good time celebrating 101 days of school.
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Winter games
Students at Shepherd King Preschool, West Bloomfield, MI, learned about how the Olympics are a time for people from across the world to play together and show kindness! This week, students will play different "winter games," create some Olympic-themed crafts, and display their own Olympic spirit with acts of kindness!
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English District Daily Prayer List - March
We encourage you to use the District prayer list for your daily prayers, both personal and corporate. Please feel free to publish this list in your weekend service folders, on your congregational website and in your newsletters.
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Gerda R. Treglown, 78, died Monday, February 5, 2018 in Naples, FL. Gerda, the mother of Rev. Donald Treglown (Faith, Naples, FL), served on the English District Board for Mission and Church Extension and was past president of the English District Lutheran Women's Missionary League. She is a former member of Shepherd King in West Bloomfield, MI.
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Youth Workers Conference
The 2018 National Lutheran Youth Workers Conference (#National18) is scheduled for July 8-11 at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, MN. The conference is geared toward youth workers, and there will also be a youth track following the 2018 Lutheran Youth Fellowship Teen Leadership Training. The early bird (through March 1) registration rate is $325. Adult participants will receive complimentary registration to the 2019 LCMS Youth Gathering in Minneapolis. Questions? Contact Terry Leu at
[email protected].
Visit the conference web page
HERE. To register, click
HERE.
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2018 Youth Ministry Symposium
Rev. Dave Dressel, Chair of the English District Campus Ministry Task Force, attended the 2018 Youth Ministry Symposium January 28-30 in St. Louis, MO. There were approximately 150 attendees at the conference that focused on ministry to and with young adults with a special focus on recent research conducted by LCMS Youth Ministry that involved more than 1800 young adults who have been or are connected to the LCMS as well as 377 non-LCMS or millennials not part of the church.
Their research revealed four strong predictors of high LCMS retention of millennials:
- Having a large number of young adults who joined after high school. (In other words, congregations that produced lasting Lutherans also did well in attracting other young adults.)
- Having younger adult leaders in the congregation (specifically, younger than 32 years old).
- Having a reduced number of confirmands who leave before graduation.
- Being a larger congregation.
The age of the senior pastor did not seem to make a difference, but a longer pastorate and/or staff longevity was a sign of good relationships and, therefore, led to better retention because of good "culture." Changes to the confirmation process (program) or youth ministry also had no measurable impact. Instead, developing better relationships with the staff had a positive effect on retention. But one of the more important factors in retaining millennials was found to be involving them in leadership roles.
If you would like to discuss youth ministry for your congregation, contact
Rev. Derek Mathers at the English District office.
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IMPORTANT!
In early January LCMS Rosters and Statistics mailed each congregation instructions, along with a
congregation ID and password, to use in completing the 2017 statistics report online. Please be sure this letter gets to the person in your congregation who is responsible for completing this report.
Due date for completing the form is February 28, 2018
If you have not received this letter yet or have questions, please email
[email protected] or call the LCMS Church Information Center at 888-843-5267.
This statistical information will be used to calculate congregational assessments for the 2018 District Convention. It also assists a wide variety of ministry efforts at the national level, as well as fulfilling the expectation of membership set forth in Bylaw 1.3.4.
Thank you for providing this information as soon as possible!
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Every One His Witness™ kits available from CPH
The Every One His Witness core module kit is now available through Concordia Publishing House. The kit provides everything groups need to implement this evangelism program at their church, school, or organization.
What is Every One His Witness?
Every One His Witness
is a Lutheran evangelism program that teaches you to witness to your friends, coworkers, and any other nonchurched people you may know. Using the LASSIE approach to witnessing (listen, ask, seek, share, invite, and encourage), you will learn how to naturally share the Good News of Jesus Christ through relational, contextual witnessing.
What does this mean? It means listening to those who are unsure about Christianity. It means asking questions that aren't accusatory. It means sharing the Good News about Jesus. Notice how there's no bashing, no judgment, and no forced imposition of beliefs. Instead, there's understanding, communication, and honesty between friends. And Every One His Witness teaches you how.
Each kit, which is designed for a group of 12, contains:
- Every One His Witness workbooks (12)
- DVD (1)
- LASSIE journals (12)
- Experience cards (6)
- Pens (12)
The English District is offering a $40.00 rebate to the first 50 congregations (1 rebate per congregation) that purchase the Every One His Witness kit from CPH. To receive the rebate, email your receipt to Rev. Derek Mathers no later than February 28, 2018.
Click here to order Every One His Witness kit.
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Smart app for controlling device usage
There is a new LCMS School Ministry Premium Service Provider which may be of a benefit to schools, students and parents.
Parents looking for ideas to curb their children's excessive usage of mobile devices now have a new ally following the launch of the app, StudyLock. The StudyLock app is a cell phone/tablet application that offers parental control over excessive usage of devices by infusing technology into learning. The app locks computers, tablets and smartphones until the user answers a Common Core State Standard question in subjects such as Math, Science, History and Literature. To learn more, visit:
www.studylockapp.com/lcms
Schools and administrators, please continue to review the "Premium Services and Group Purchasing" page of
LuthEd.org for the complete listing of LCMS School Ministry Premium Service Providers.
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Interested in ministry?
Christ and Phoebe Academies are summer programs held at Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, IN for high school students potentially interested in ministry or interested in theology. Their time there consists of confessional catechesis in classes taught by world-class professors, liturgical worship in beautiful Kramer chapel, and fun together as they build life-long friendships during activities and free time.
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Best Practices for Ministry Conference
The FREE Best Practices for Ministry Conference will be held February 22-24, 2018 at Christ Church-Lutheran, 3901 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85018.
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Mr. Ben Shaprio will be the keynote speaker on
Tuesday, October 9, 2018 at Our Savior Evangelical Lutheran Church and School (13667 W. Highland Road, Hartland, MI 48353) for the annual conference,
"The Body of Christ and the Public Square."
DETAILS:
+ Doors will open at 5:00 PM for general seating.
+ A buffet-style meal will be served at 5:30 PM.
+ Speakers begin at 6:15 PM.
+ The cost is $55 per person to register. A special college/seminary student rate of $28 per person is available by calling
248-887-4300. Seating is limited.
HOW TO REGISTER:
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Congregations - Final Remittance Reminder
The final receipts reporting cut-off for the district's Fiscal Year Ending January 31, 2018 is Wednesday, February 14, 2018. Please be sure that any pledge gifts for the 2017 fiscal year are clearly marked.
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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, 12:00 pm ET.
We want to see how YOUR congregation or school is "loving your neighbor as yourself."
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