English District of
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
|
|
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. |
|
Rev. Myron G. Mader
August 25, 1932 - January 3, 2021
The Rev. Myron G. Mader, Ocala, FL, was called to glory on Sunday, January 3, 2021. No services are planned at this time due to COVID-19. A future memorial service will be announced for both Myron and his wife, Judith, who predeceased him on November 27, 2020. Please keep the Mader family in your prayers.
“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord!”
|
|
Call Received
The Rev. Adam C. Koontz, Assistant Professor at Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, IN, has received a call to serve as Sole Pastor of St. John’s, Clarksburg, WV.
|
|
Meet Your 1-1-1 Recipients! |
|
|
Our English District identified recipients of 1-1-1 (A Dollar for Mission) for 2020-2021 are the campus ministries of our District. We want members of our District congregations, those who bring a (1) dollar per (1) person per (1) Sunday, to have a clear picture of how these gifts are being used to directly support the mission of our District. These gifts come together to fund important ministries across the District, like Lutheran Student Fellowship (LSF) in Pittsburgh, $1 at a time.
Read more about the campus ministry of First Trinity Lutheran Church through Lutheran Student Fellowship-International Student Ministry and how it serves multiple universities and colleges in the Pittsburgh area.
|
|
LCEF is offering free webinars to help through these troubling times. The first, titled "Technology + Church-How to keep Christ at the Center in the Digital Age," is on January 19 at 2:00 p.m. CT. Space is limited, so please register now.
|
|
Concordia Plans Employer Webinar Series |
|
|
Concordia Plans will be continuing the employer webinar series. On January 26th Lauren Spurlock, CPS Enrollment Eligibility Services Specialist, will be covering the Benefits Administration System (BAS).
Whether you are new to using the BAS or an experienced administrator wanting a refresher, this webinar will provide you with valuable information.
This webinar on January 26 at 1 p.m. CT will include:
- Overview on basic navigation of the BAS
- Demo on how to use the BAS to manage your ministry’s benefits
- Review of the reports available in the BAS
- Helpful resources that are available and where to find them
You can register for the webinar here.
|
|
The next LCMS “Making Disciples for Life" Gathering will be a virtual conference to be held January 11-14. The theme of the conference is "Making Disciples for Life: Our 'New' Normal." There will be recorded sessions during the day and live sessions in the evenings.
Registration information is available here. Please register now to reserve your spot. |
|
Ministerial Health Commission |
|
|
Your English District Ministerial Health Commission is here to be a confidential sister or brother in Christ, walking along side of our church workers and their families. We strive to be a listening ear with a non-judgmental heart, supporting you where you are, not where anyone thinks you should be. We will encourage, not chastise, listen without advising, and pray without ceasing for you. May God grant you the strength to reach out if and when you need it.
|
|
Register for exclusive webinar featuring Elaine Sommerville
Paycor, Concordia Plan Services' preferred payroll services provider, invites LCMS ministries to an exclusive webinar featuring Elaine Sommerville, author of "Church Compensation: From Strategic Plan to Compliance". The January 21 webinar kicks off at 1 p.m. CT and covers navigating the “Maze of the Unique Compensation and Tax Aspects of Ministers.”
|
|
A New Year's Resolution with Eternal Consequences |
|
|
Have you made your New Year’s resolution for 2021? It’s time to make that annual attempt to set our priorities straight and look to make changes for the better in the new year. Will you resolve to wear a mask when in public until everyone has been vaccinated? Will you even get your vaccine? How about resolving to eat better to lose those quarantine pounds? But have you considered a resolution to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with anyone and everyone in 2021? Read more in this article by Rev. John Diener from the English District Evangelization Team about how this resolution will not only bless your life but also have an eternal consequence in the lives of those around you this new year.
|
|
The Bible's promise is true: "If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us" (1 John 5:14).
Pray with us this month! Daily prayers for February are on our website.
Pray with us for other Christians, for our government, that both groups serve God in their vocations, loving their neighbour as themselves.
Pray for Peggy Oke and family at the loss of her mother and Steve Gierak at the loss of his wife of 72 years.
Your prayer concerns are important to the English District. If you have a prayer request you would like shared in this newsletter, email Holly Scheer.
|
|
Livestreamed/Recorded Services |
|
|
We encourage everyone to take advantage of alternative opportunities to hear God’s word and to be blessed by the Divine Service. We have compiled a list of opportunities on the English District website that is continually updated.
If your congregation is recording or live streaming and is not included on this list, please email us at info@englishdistrict.org and let us know how people can access it.
|
|
For more information, contact the English District Gift Planning Counselor Ron Grimm by phone (412)-584-7039 or email.
|
|
Christ the Shepherd, Alpharetta, GA
Wreathes Across America honored our service men and women all across the nation. Luke Comfort Dog at Christ the Shepherd Lutheran Church was honored to lay a wreath on Ray’s grave. Many volunteers and families placed a beautiful wreath on each grave in National cemeteries in many states.
Ray was special to our team as we had visited often and were his last friends in his dying days on earth. We read the Bible and prayed with him.
Luke 11: 9-10
|
|
Trinity, Scarsdale, NY
Pastor Gordon Naumann and his family went Christmas caroling this year, the perfect social distancing activity for this season! With so many staying home, and the twelve days of Christmas not being over yet, why not visit those members that didn’t make it to church this week and bring the joy of Christmas to them with a hymn outside their home.
|
|
Ascension of Christ, Beverly Hills, MI
Members of Ascension of Christ Lutheran Church went Christmas caroling at Shain Park in Birmingham, MI. The Nativity scene behind them is jointly sponsored by their parish along with Our Shepherd Lutheran Church and Lutheran Church of the Redeemer.
|
|
Ascension, North Olmsted, OH
Ascension Lutheran Church held an "at-home servant event". A Thrivent action grant provided for the purchase of 50 "No-sew Throws" that were assembled at home and taken to Redeemer Crisis Center in Cleveland,
|
|
The members of Ascension's "Helpers of Joy" nursing home ministry went to Northridge in North Ridgeville to bring the peace, light, and joy of the Christmas story to the residents there!
|
|
A number of great ideas have already been shared on the LuthEd Facebook Group regarding how schools will be celebrating National Lutheran Schools Week and a few new and unique ones are listed below. Be sure to point your administrators and teachers to both the resources on LuthEd.org as well as the LuthEd Facebook Group to help them with their final planning!
- New Dress Up Days (Essential Worker, “Zoom Meeting”, etc.)
- Virtual Visits with a Concordia University
- Mail Thank You Notes to Pastors, Church Workers, etc.
- Martin Luther, Jesus, Pastor/Principal/Teacher Drawing Contests
- Make and Deliver (Socially-Distanced) Something (Hot Chocolate, Card, etc.) to Your Neighbor
Due to the continuing impact of COVID-19 on our Lutheran schools and also on our ability to meet and travel from the LCMS International Center, we do not have any specific events scheduled during the week of NLSW. However, we would encourage you to share the daily chapels from the LCMS international center (LCMS Facebook and KFUO Radio) even though we will not have choirs or other NLSW-specific events this year.
Especially this year, we know that our schools throughout the country will be celebrating National Lutheran Schools Week at different times and on different dates. However, we encourage both you and your schools to follow, like and tag the LCMS School Ministry social media accounts and use the “#NLSW21” and “#LuthEd” hashtags for anything related to the 2021 National Lutheran Schools Week celebrations throughout the year!
|
|
West Portal, San Francisco, CA
"Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28
West Portal Lutheran School faithfully continues to provide excellence in education to 350+ Kindergarten through 8th-grade students by teaching and learning online. Each week faculty, staff, and students virtually gather together for online Chapel to pray, to hear God’s WORD and to explore new ways to share God’s WORD and love with others. When the new school year began with stay at home orders imposed by city and state officials, one of the first challenges was how can we continue to “not be served but to serve”?
Staff and students are serving through their Operation Mission Jar gifts. The goal is to have every participant put at least $1 into their personal “Mission Jar” each week. Offerings totaling $1513.04 were sent to the Disaster Relief Fund of the LCMS-CNH (California, Nevada, Hawaii District) to assist the victims whose lives have been devastated by the wildfires in Northern California.
While the world struggles, the church is called and sent out into the world to serve, living and serving in the promise and command of Jesus “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” John 15:12
Pictured above: West Portal Lutheran School principals Mrs, Mickey Angerman and Mrs. Melissa Murphy with school pastor Rev. J. Wayne Kerr prepare to mail OMJ Offerings to assist California wildfire victims.
|
|
Open Arms, Atlanta, GA
The staff at Open Arms Buckhead thank the English District for the Panera Bread gift card which was used for lunch during their staff development day in December.
All English District schools received gift cards to show appreciation to their staff for their dedication to their students and to Lutheran education.
|
|
If you'd like to share our emails, please forward
using your email's forwarding option.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
