Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.
Servant to Servant
Greetings!
November 2, 2018
In Our District
Installation of Rev. Robert Stevens
At Crosspoint Lutheran Church in Sahuarita, AZ, Rev. Robert Stevens was installed on Sunday, October 28. Circuit Visitor Rev. Dr. Vern Schindler performed the installation.



Pastors participating from left to right: Rev. Kurt Cockran, Rev. Roger Stuenkel, Rev. Dr. Frank Ciampa, Rev. Robert (Bob) Stevens, Rev. Dr. Vern Schindler, Rev. Todd Arnold, Rev. Dr. Garry McClure, Rev. Ted Predoehl, and Vicar Isaac Wirtz.
Divine Call
Call Accepted
The Rev. Marcus J. Mackay, Peace, Hastings, NE, has accepted the call serve as the Senior Pastor of Advent, Zionsville, IN.
November Visual Faith Bulletins Are Now Available

My Worship Notes (for kids) and Sermon Notes (for adults) for November are ready and available to  download here . These FREE My Worship Notes bulletins are designed to engage children (preschool and up) through the entire service. Because they are listening for words spoken, they are learning the liturgy and biblical accounts. This resource also provides opportunities for family conversations and prayer requests throughout the week. Both of these resources are following the Lectionary and will be available for download each month. They are created by Visual Faith ministry team members. For more information about Visual Faith Ministry,  click   here .
Gathering registration is open! Click here for more information.
National Youth Gathering District Youth Event
All youth and leaders from the English District are invited to the district event on Sunday, July 14th. Round trip transportation will be provided from the convention center as we head to Minneapolis Sky Zone—an indoor trampoline park. Once at Sky Zone we will have opportunity for several rounds of ultimate dodge ball (including an adult vs. student round and blacklight). Since we have the full facility, other opportunities such as sky climb, warrior course, foam jump, and sky joust are available. All you can drink soda on site and a meal are included. Since there is no Youth Gathering mass event on this evening, it’s a perfect time to join us. Cost is $40 per person and includes bus transportation, entry to Sky Zone, meal, and a district t-shirt.

In Christ,
Kristi Bauer, DCE

I nformation brochure .
Website for the venue. 
Prayer Requests
There is power in prayer. Your prayer concerns are important to the English District. When you submit a prayer request, it will be posted in our weekly eNewsletter, Servant to Servant. The Bible's promise is true: "If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us" (1 John 5:14). Please email  Holly Scheer  with your prayer requests.

In Our Prayers:
The Rev. Dr. Victor F. Halboth, who is receiving hospice care at home

Give wisdom to our citizen voters this week that they may listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

The district prayer list for November is available here.
Celebration Lutheran Church
St. John's, FL

Celebration's 1-1-1 effort has been very successful with good participation from the congregation. They started in mid-August and the 1-1-1 jar has been filled each Sunday. In the month of October members gave $250 bringing the total to date to $357.00. There is power and strength in many giving a little.
Thank you for supporting 1-1-1!
Joining us in 1-1-1:
Zion, Detroit, MI
Rev. Mark Braden, Circuit 11
Redeemer. Fort Wayne, IN
Rev. David Petersen, Circuit 14
Trinity, Villa Park, IL
Rev. Robert Rogers, Circuit 15
Saint John the Divine, Chicago, IL
Rev. Paul Brunner (serving), Circuit 16
 
This brings us to 47 congregations participating in 1-1-1. What about your congregation? Currently, the Midwest Region has 42% of their congregations participating. Click  here to see how your region is doing.  If you're participating and not on the list contact Evelyn Jentzen.
In Our Churches


LCEF Special Offer!
LCEF’s 40 th  anniversary special offering has received an overwhelming response. You still have time to take advantage of this special offer of a 40-month note at 4% interest. Please let your members know about this offer by using the bulletin announcement. If you have any questions you can contact David Thiele, LCEF Vice President, at 517-980-2857 or by email !

When you invest with Lutheran Church Extension Fund, you’ll join over 60,000 investors who have discovered the joy of helping and supporting ministry work. New LCMS ministry opportunities are emerging all the time, as many LCMS ministries are thriving around the world.

To meet future loan demand and help support growing ministry opportunities, LCEF needs to raise an additional $100 million. Which is why we invite you to a special, limited-time investment opportunity: our 40-month 40th anniversary note at 4%.

Click to download application , bulletin message and/or informational flyer.

* The primary owner on the account must be 18 years or older.
* The State of Washington has adopted a regulatory position that currently prohibits residents of Washington State from opening a new investment unless they are already an LCEF investor.

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. Lutheran Church Extension Fund—Missouri Synod is registered and licensed through the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System-NMLS#3444. View Our Public Page.

Call 800-843-5233 to learn more or visit LCEF online .
Concordia Technology Solutions Offers Tips on Communication for Last-Minute Church Events
Whether they’re potlucks, special voters’ meetings, or trunk-or-treats, last-minute events are bound to happen (sometimes more often than we would like!). The idea of driving attendance or gaining support for a last-minute event makes most of us cringe. While it is sometimes easy to explain to a volunteer that they should consider moving the date to ensure the event is successful, it isn’t as easy to tell the church president or pastor.

So, what do we do with these last-minute requests? How do we pull off a successful communication effort in a short time frame? We must dig into our toolbox of available resources and communication knowledge. We must become creative and not panic in the moment of slight (or maybe big) frustration.

Prince of Peace, Menomonee Falls, WI
Rev. Engler baptizing Lahna
Welcome to God's family!
Rev. Arthur Schiemann Funeral

Members of the Canadian Circuits and others gathered to remember and give thanks for the ministry of Rev. Arthur Schiemann and to give their condolences to his wife Carol and their family. 

Front: Rev. Dr. Roger Ellis, Rev. James Leistico, Rev. Jeff Miskus
2nd: Rev. Robert Voelker, Rev. Dr. David Stechholz, Rev. Jordan Simon
Back: Rev. Gerry Luck, Rev. Dr. Dusan Tillinger, Rev. Dan Murray, Rev. Dr. Robert Bugbee (LCC), missing: Rev. Dr. Jason Kouri
Reformation Service, First Trinity, Oakland, PA
The Pittsburgh Reformation Service was held at First Trinity, Oakland, PA on Sunday, October 28, 2018.
St. John’s Lutheran School Hannibal, MO

Kindergarten–2nd graders sang and played for the congregation. Each month a school group sings during the 10:00 a.m. service. This includes the preschool through 8th grade. This particular Sunday was Reformation Sunday, making it all the more special. A 5th grade student accompanied them.
Catalina, Tucson AZ
The Reformation Festival at Catalina Lutheran Church in Tucson, AZ, was held on Saturday, October 27. Dave Seng gave a presentation on justification and a fellowship meal followed.
Bethesda, Chicago, IL
Reformation Celebration

Bethesda Lutheran Church celebrated Reformation Sunday with the Asian Indian congregation. They thank God for 98 years of blessings to Bethesda and 20 years of blessings to Asian Indian Ministry.
Redeemer, Sarnia ON
On Sunday, October 28, Redeemer Lutheran Church in Sarnia, Ontario welcomed world renowned organist Dr. David Troiano for a concert that featured music from the Reformation.

About 100 church and community members attended the afternoon concert to hear Dr. Troiano play as well as to sing some favorite hymns.
Risen Savior, Green Valley, AZ
Congregation members of the Lutheran Church of the Risen Savior participated in the local White Elephant Parade.
In Our Schools

Open Arms, Lancaster, PA
Pastor Adam Koontz leads chapel with the preschool aged children of Open Arms Christian Childcare Center.
Christ the King Preschool, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI
Mrs. Cecchini's and Ms. Ziegler's classes had Noah's Ark themed parties.
Shepherd King Preschool, West Bloomfield, MI
The preschool children have been talking about Halloween and pumpkins at Shepherd King Preschool. They made monsters out of coffee filters and volcanoes out of pumpkins . They painted with the pumpkin tops and made the letter H into a spooky haunted house!
Faith Preschool of Jacob's Well, Fort Wayne, IN
The children at Faith Preschool had fun painting with Nerds and lollipops in art club. They mixed colors and even sipped the "paint"!
Concordia Lutheran Church & Little Lambs, Berwyn, IL

The kids at Little Lambs made "pizza."
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. They can subscribe by clicking on the link at the bottom right titled, "Sign up for our emails." Thanks for spreading the word!
Please share your congregation's or school's unique ministries with the rest of the District. Send pictures and stories for consideration to  Holly Scheer  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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