Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.
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Lutheran Heritage Foundation Gifts
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Lutheran Heritage Foundation Executive Director Rev. Dr. Matthew Heise delivered several cases of LHF books to Rev. Derek Mathers, mission executive of the English District and pastor at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Toronto, Ontario.
This weekend, Rev. Mathers will baptize 32 new members who are Iranian immigrants and as welcome gifts, they will receive LHF’s Farsi translations of "A Child’s Garden of Bible Stories" and Luther’s "Small Catechism."
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Church Workers on Candidate Status
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At the July 2016 Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod Convention, resolution 12-02A was approved by the delegates. In part, the resolution states:
WHEREAS, there are ordained and commissioned church workers on candidate status, that is, rostered church workers without calls but who are available for calls and service to the church.
Resolved, that district presidents publish annually in a district publication the names of these candidates.
Click
here
for a listing of the English District rostered church workers who are on candidate status.
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Call Received & Accepted
The Rev. Young Chol Choi has received and accepted a call to serve St. Mark, Tucker, GA.
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English District Youth Advisory Council
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Bishop Hardy is pleased to announce the creation of an English District Youth Advisory Council (ED-YAC) and has appointed DCE Rod Lane as Coordinator of YAC. The main function of YAC will be to support and encourage youth ministry as a District and within our congregations. They will draw together the experience of many who lead youth and youth leaders.
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Advent Greetings,
My name is Rod Lane, I serve as the DCE at Redeemer Lutheran Church, in Lincoln, Nebraska. I know I’m repeating the paragraph above, but it is my pleasure, and hopefully God pleasing, that I serve as the district coordinator of YAC. In the New Year, we've got something really big coming. It is something that will change how youth and adults perceive their district, and the church at large especially when looking at the district for resources. The main goal is keeping the focus on the Cross and having the youth and adults a part of this amazing relationship with their Savior and each other. Interested? If you are a pastor, DCE, deaconess, or adult lay leader who would be interested in this ground floor opportunity please email me at
dcerod@redeemerlincoln.org
. I promise I will share more details with you in future communications, but for now let me wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a joyous New Year.
Cheers to 2019,
Rod
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Did you know that there's an interactive map of the congregations and schools in the English District? Click
here and let us know if anything needs to be updated!
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The English District now has an
Instagram account! Please follow us, and tag us in pictures of your congregation's life or member's lives!
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Do you need to make a required minimum distribution (RMD) from an IRA or retirement plan?
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Your RMD can be given as a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) to the English District and will not be taxable to you! (See specifics below)
Did you know?
The English District is ready to support two new missions in the new year? One is in West Virginia and the other is in Florida.
The English District has an Endowment Fund that supports new mission work, provides scholarships, helps new church workers pay off student loans and more.
The English District is a leader in campus ministry as it seeks to bring the good news to students across the country.
If you are required to make the minimum distribution (RMD) from an IRA or an employer retirement plan, you can avoid paying taxes on the distribution by making a charitable gift to the English District.
Talk to your investment advisor knowing your gift will make a difference!
Thank you in advance for your support!
“Taxpayers age 70 ½ or older who need to withdraw their required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year should consider leveraging a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). The taxpayer may direct the distribution of up to $100,000 each year from their employer sponsored retirement plan or IRA to one or more qualified charitable organizations. This distribution counts toward satisfying their RMD and will not be taxable to the individual. This is a smart way to gain an effective deduction for charitable gifts without the need to have itemized deductions in excess of the newly increased standard deduction.” - Robert Westley, CPA/PFS member of the AICPA PFS Credential Committee
2018 Deadline: Distributions must be made by December 31, 2018.
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How Your Endowment Gift Helps
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Your faithful tithes and offerings to the English District enable us to continue to be a source of hope and opportunity for people who need us.
Please prayerfully consider joining us in ministry, so that the English District can continue its work in spreading the message of Christ. The English District Endowment Fund was established to provide support to current and new missions and ministries, church workers 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, Canada, and around the world.
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Installation - Advent, Zionsville, IN
The Rev. Marcus MacKay was installed as the Senior Pastor of Advent Lutheran Church on Sunday, December 9, 2018. Bishop Jamison Hardy officiated.
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Installation - Mount Olive, Cleveland Heights, OH
The Rev. Jonathan McCall was installed as the Sole Pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church on Sunday, December 9, 2018.
The Rev. James Gau, Circuit Visitor, officiated.
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On December 1st Peace Lutheran Church had a birthday party for Jesus. They decorated the church, and made lap blankets and cards for residents at Concordia Home with Thrivent funds.
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Upcoming Body of Christ and the Public Square Conference
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Our Savior, Hartland, MI will be opening conference registration in January for this conference. Please see their
website for details.
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Peace in the Valley, Benson, AZ
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A member made this Christmas quilt wall hanging to hang in the church narthex.
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Loving Others As We Have Been Loved
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Read about the blessings that can come from helping others in a local community with this
blog post
from Peace in the Valley!
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Make Your Ordinary Assets an Extraordinary Blessing
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God has blessed us abundantly. We respond in love by serving Him and sharing our earthly blessings with others. Just as we are responsible managers of God’s blessings all through our lives, we are also to practice good stewardship in the way we distribute our earthly blessings when He takes us home to heaven. Where do we begin?
Click
here for more information about how you can begin a Lifetime Plan for Giving and contact
Ron Grimm, English District Gift Planning Counselor, at 412-584-7039.
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Department of Labor Requirements
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The end of the year is the perfect time to address the Department of Labor's requirements that notices be provided to employees and posted in the workplace. Which ones are required by the Department of Labor and by your state department? And where do you get them?
Congregations can order them or print them for free. Please see
this link for more information.
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Is Your Church Legally Prepared?
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Across the country churches are experiencing religious liberty legal challenges with growing intensity. These challenges relate to the use of church facilities, gender identity laws, equal access to government grants and property, employment regulations, and more.
Your church needs to be prepared to face these and other religious freedom issues.
Your congregation should not have to bear this legal burden alone, and LCMS English District has partnered with
ADF Church Alliance
so you won’t have to.
ADF Church Alliance is a membership program that provides legal help on religious liberty issues so you can freely preach and operate your church in accordance with Christian principles.
Benefits of membership include:
✔
Religious liberty audit:
ADF reviews your church’s documents to expose and correct areas of legal risk.
✔
Direct access to attorneys:
Consult with ADF attorneys whenever you have legal questions.
✔
Resources:
Access resources to help you and your congregation navigate religious liberty issues.
✔
Pro bono legal representation:
ADF can represent your church in cases involving its religious freedom.
Because of our partnership,
you get a 20% discount on this already affordable program (use promo code
ENGDISTLCMS
when you apply).
Pricing is based on church size and can be found on the
ADF Church Alliance
website. There are no other costs to this program.
We strongly encourage you to visit the website to learn how they can serve your church. In addition, J. D. Mesnard, a regional director at ADF Church Alliance, can help answer any questions you have about joining. Feel free to set up a call with J. D. by emailing him directly at
JMesnard@ADFlegal.org
.
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Getting to Know Our Neighbors: One on One Interviews
To read the new Parish Paper, please click
here!
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On September 11, 2018, Concordia Publishing House kicked off their
150th year
and launched into a year-long celebration of every book and person that is part of their history—and that includes you!
As part of the celebration, they are holding an art contest. For details, see
here
.
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Deadline Approaching: Scholarship Opportunity!
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Concordia University Ann Arbor has a handful of generous awards to grant to promising high school seniors looking to enroll as freshmen pre-seminary students in the fall of 2019. This amounts to $20,000 per year yearly four years. If students cannot meet the first deadline (Dec. 15th), they should aim to meet the second one (Feb. 1st).
Application forms can be found here
. For more information on the Guarantee or the pre-seminary program in general, please contact
Prof. Charles Schulz
, Pre-Seminary Director at 734-995-7384.
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Job Opening: Every One His Witness Team Member
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There is an open personnel requisition for the Every One His Witness team. This is an important role in the Every One His Witness program. For more information and to apply, please see
here
.
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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.
Please pray for Carol Ritt as she recovers from surgery.
The District
daily prayers
for January are available now! Please join us in prayer.
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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. 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
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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A direct and compelling headline
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If you'd like to share our emails, please forward using your email's forwarding option.
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