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Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind
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Servant to Servant 8-10-2018
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Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.
Matthew 22:37
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For the last three years we have focused on "Love your neighbor as yourself". This focus was centered on reminding us that our Lord first loves us and that He chose us to be His own. He loved us so much that He gave up His life in place of ours, giving us forgiveness and salvation. This gives us the ability to love others and to show mercy and kindness to those who are around us. Loving your neighbor is a reflection of what God has done in our lives which motivates us to love others.
This triennium, I would like to focus on loving God as our Lord and King. The very same principles utilized for the last three years, but now we can apply them in love toward God with our whole being. Yahweh alone is Lord, and true faithfulness to Him involves every part of one's life including heart, soul, and mind. The original command to love God with your whole heart, soul, and mind is given in the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 6:5.
The Hebrew word for love is אָהַב 'ahab. I
n many Bibles it is translated as "loyal love". This type of translation is very fitting for our understanding of this command. Having loyal love for God is a type of love that provokes actions and response. Jesus, in honor and love for His Father, fulfilled the law and gave up His life for us. Our Lord unconditionally loves us; therefore, loving our Lord is a natural reaction for the believer and the child of the heavenly Father. Unfortunately, in this sinful world loving our neighbor, our God, and ourselves is very difficult and in many cases overwhelming for the believer.
Romans 13:10 reminds us, "Love does not commit evil against a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." By loving our Lord, we show the reverence and the honor due our Savior and King. Loving God with our whole heart, soul, and mind and devoting all our being to Him shows the proper respect and gratitude for all He has done in our lives and the lives of all His creation. Remembering at all times that it is His love for us that first allows us to be able to love and be loved. We respond in kind to the work of the Savior and His Father in Heaven.
Bishop Jamison J. Hardy
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Bishop's visit
Installation
Bishop Jamison Hardy officiated the installation of Vicar Jonathan Olson at Messiah, Danville, CA on Sunday, August 5, 2018.
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N
ew Workers Conference
Peace, McMurray, PA, was the host location for the 2018 New Workers Conference.
The conference was open for DCE's, lay ministers, seminary graduates and pastors new to the English District. This year, there were seven new workers who attended the conference August 8-9, 2018. They included Rev. Matthias Benfey, Rev. Curtis Binz, Rev. Philip Gai, Rev. Alexander Sabol, Rev. Joshua Ulm, Rev. Daniel Warner and Ms. Kimberly Hornyak. The district staff shared information to guide the new workers in their ministries.
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#LoveThyNeighbor
Service projects
Members of Morning Star, Lakeside, CA, have been busy with service projects to help their community. Members participate in Sewing for Charity and Backpacks for Lakeside Christian Helps Center.
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In our churches
Outdoor worship
On Sunday, August 12, 2018, Concordia, Berwyn, IL will be having an outdoor worship in the area pictured above. The service begins at 10:30 AM and a luncheon will follow. Games are planned and a magician will perform at 1:30 PM.
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Communication is key
Rev. David Miller of Lutheran Church of the Ascension in Atlanta, GA shares some thoughts on prayer: W
hat makes Christian prayer different from all others? Knowing that the God listening at the other end is your heavenly Father. No other religion offers such a deep, intimate, personal relationship with the divine.
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In our schools
Music & art classes offered to preschool students
Faith Preschool of Jacob's Well, Ft. Wayne, IN is adding a music class and art club in the coming year.
Ua, worship Director, at Jacob's Well, Fort Wayne, IN, will be leading the Music Class, and
Ivory, a worship leader at Jacob's Well, will be sharing her passion for art this coming school year with the preschool students.
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St. Michael Liturgical Conference
The St. Michael Liturgical Conference, to be held on Monday, September 24, 2018, is for pastors and others concerned with the Evangelical-Lutheran Liturgy and its theology. The conference has three major components: worship, a keynote address, and sectional presentations.
The keynote address establishes the theme for the conference, and the sectional presentations are designed to deal in detail with the conduct of the liturgy. Worship during the conference is centered in the Holy Mass, which begins the conference, and the Divine Offices of Sext and Vespers.
Stressing the practical application of Lutheran liturgical theology, the conference presentations will inform participants of the rite, rubric, and ceremony of the Evangelical-Lutheran liturgy, so that they may make informed decisions about local customs in their parishes. Time for conversation among participants is encouraged during lunch and the breaks as well as at the reception held following the conference.
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A Dollar for Missions
One dollar, per member, per week = 1-1-1!
The English District has launched a new model for funding missions in which every congregation is invited to participate. It is completely voluntary, but we believe that as God's people see and hear what is being accomplished, specifically and directly in support and development of new missions and enhancing existing missions, more and more of us will want to be involved.
It's simple. Very simple. It is NOT burdensome, nor sacrificial. It involves every baptized member of the Body of Jesus in your congregation, from the newest baby baptized to the oldest member. It demonstrates the power of the beautiful body of Christ working together, prompted by faith. It shows how much can be accomplished by many, giving little.
Here's the plan: $1/per baptized member/per week. Simple, right? Self-explanatory almost. Not burdensome, nor sacrificial. All can participate.
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to provide a deeply discounted rate for our Lutheran schools. Please submit the form at the link below no later than Monday, August 27, 2018 if you would like to subscribe for the 2018-2019 school year. You will receive an invoice in September to submit with payment for your services at your discounted rate. Please do not submit payment to the School Ministry office until you have received this invoice.
Discovery Education Discounted Pricing for 2018-2019
- Discovery Education Streaming: $4.75/student w/$525 minimum and $1,100 per school max
- Discovery Education Streaming Plus: $7.25/student w/$625 per school minimum and $2,175 per school max
If you have any questions please contact Matthew Bergholt in the LCMS School Ministry office at 314-996-1285 or via e-mail at
[email protected].
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English District National Youth Gathering T-Shirt Design Contest
Calling all artists! The English District is in need of a t-shirt for the 2019 National Youth Gathering and your design could be the winner! Deadline for submission is August 26, 2018. Click
here for official rules and guidelines on design.
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Save the Date
St. Peter's, Columbus, IN, is once again hosting "Best Practices for Ministry: Heartland" in October. This free conference will be held October 10-12, 2018.
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English District Daily Prayer List for September
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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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
Kathy Stanis by Wednesday, 12:00 pm ET.
We want to see how YOUR congregation or school is showing the love of God to those around you.
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