English District of
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
|
|
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.
|
|
Dear fellow redeemed by Christ,
These are new days for all of us and days that no one can say they have experienced in the past. We are traversing through rough and difficult parts of this earthly life. Make no mistake about it, this will come, and it will go by the grace of God. Luther comments about these times when he writes, “
When faith begins, God does not let us alone. He lays the Holy cross upon our back in order to strengthen us and make our faith full of power. The Gospel is a powerful word. Therefore, it cannot accomplish its work without opposition; and no one discovers that it possesses such power but he who has experienced it. Where there is suffering and the cross, it can demonstrate and exercise its power. It is a word of Life. Therefore, it must exercise all its energy in times of death. If, then, death and corruption are not at work, it can do nothing, and no one discovers that it possesses such power and is stronger than sin and death
.”
With all that we are hearing in the media and around the world about what these potential effects of this disease can bring, many are terrified and worried. Luther reminds us that we are empowered by the gospel message, especially by the cross of Christ. Within the cross of Christ, we have power over death, the grave, illness, stress, pressure, and even pain. In Christ’s death and resurrection, the devil’s assaults can no longer hurt us or destroy us. The cross being placed on us is also a defense and an armor from the assaults of the devil. Where Christ has conquered and overcome the devil, we His children also have the ability by His grace to overcome and thrive even in these perilous times. Take heart and be encouraged, the Lord is with us, and He will lead us through these difficult times.
I know many of you are concerned about the future and what it will look like. I realize for some of our small churches, you are looking at even survival. Take heart; Christ reminds us that we should be still and know that He is Lord. We, along with all the LCMS and its entities, will work to support the workers and the churches as best we can to overcome. Please reach out to us if you have specific needs. My staff and I stand ready to do what we can to support and uplift you at this your hour of need. May the grace that comes from our Lord be with you and strengthen you at this time of uncertainty in life.
In Christ,
Rev. Dr. Jamison Hardy
Bishop and President - English District LCMS
On March 18, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed the House’s “Families First Coronavirus Response Act,” by a vote of 90-8. The bill now heads to President Trump to sign. The bill does not contain any changes to the House versions of the legislation that were passed on March 14 and March 16, 2020. Next up will be “Phase 3” of Congress’ response to COVID-19, which will likely center around a massive economic stimulus.
The full
Summary
is available on our website.
|
|
Livestreamed/Recorded Services
|
|
|
English District leadership is very aware that there is much uncertainty about gathering for worship in the current atmosphere of COVID-19 virus transmission. We hope God’s people will make the best choices for themselves.
We also want to 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 as of March 19.
If your congregation will be recording or live streaming and is not included, please email us at
info@englishdistrict.org and let us know how people can access it.
|
|
Ministerial Health Commission
|
|
|
All of us have our “down” days. All of us have our days (or more) where we “do what we don’t want to do and don’t do what we know we should.” Lord, have mercy! As your
Ministerial Health Commission
of LCMS English District, we know that our life journey is a struggle at times. What we want you to know is that we are here to be a
confidential
sister or brother in Christ, walking along side of you in your struggle. 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.
This may be especially helpful right now. Please consider contacting your Ministerial Health Commission during this stressful time.
|
|
CONGREGATION STATISTICS INFORMATION UPDATE
|
|
|
Thank you to the 35 English District congregations who have submitted their end-of-year statistics on the
LCMS Information Support Network (LISN) for Congregations. Those of you who have not done so, please access the page using the link and congregation ID and password sent to you in February and complete them as soon as possible.
If you have not received or cannot locate the letter, please contact Synod at 888-843-5267 or
rosters.stats@lcms.org
to request your login information. Deadline to submit the congregation statistics is Tuesday, March 31, 2020.
|
|
Board of Directors: May 18–19
Professional Church Workers: May 19 (3:00 pm)–May 21 (11:30 am)
Circuit Visitors: May 21 (noon)–May 22 (11:00 am)
|
|
Campus Ministry Breakout Session
|
The Campus Ministry Task Force is looking for feedback on topics related to campus ministry you are interested in learning more about. Please take a moment to fill our their
survey
.
|
|
Website Feature - Contact Us
|
|
|
The English District's new Contact Us feature not only has the District's info, but allows you to easily submit a message. Have a question, a prayer request, or need something?
Please let us know!
|
|
1-1-1 A Dollar for Missions
|
|
|
In
September of 2018
Jan Simmons, stewardship chair of Peace Lutheran Church, McMurray, PA, was encouraged by Bishop Hardy and Pastor Schmidt, to begin a 1-1-1 “Dollar for Missions” campaign in their congregation. A majority of the members have been contributing their weekly dollar and placing them in the small plexiglass church in the narthex. While Jan was visiting her friend Sue Fleischmann in Florida, also a member of
Peace
, they were able to worship with one of the new congregations that will be recipients of the 1-1-1 gifts this year, Tree of Life Lutheran Church in Inverness, Florida. It was wonderful to hear God’s word and share in communion with a welcoming congregation and to see one of the missions the 1-1-1 initiative is supporting.
Contact our District Mission Executive, Pastor
Derek Mathers
or Pastor
Justin Laughridge
, Chair of the Missions Council, with any questions regarding 1-1-1.
|
|
“Building Up the Body: Worker-to-Worker” is a series of church worker wellness devotions on t
he LCMS website. This week's devotion focuses on
Spiritual Wellness
. You can also find more wellness resources at
lcms.org/wellness.
|
|
|
Your prayer concerns are important to the English District. When you submit a prayer request, with your permission, it will be posted in this weekly eNewsletter. The Bible's promise is true: "If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us" (1 John 5:14).
Pray for Rev. Derek Mathers for healing and recovery.
Pray for Rev. Ben Eder for healing and recovery.
|
|
Contact David Thiele, English District LCEF Vice President, by
email or phone
517-980-2857.
|
|
For more information contact the English District Gift Planning Counselor Ron Grimm by phone (
412)-584-7039
or
email
.
|
|
All Saints Student Center, Slippery Rock, PA
Read about the way that lunch can show love
here
.
|
|
Bethesda, Chicago, IL
An English District grant, made possible by the generous members of Bethany Lutheran Church, who donated their building to the district, allowed Bethesda Lutheran Church and School to make significant upgrades to their gym facility. These updates will allow Bethesda to expand the use of its building in a variety of ways for the future and are greatly appreciated by the Bethesda church and school communities.
Bethany's gift to the district was a legacy that is furthering the work of the Gospel in the Chicago area. Bethesda is the second featured parish to receive funds from this gift.
|
|
English District Financial Aid
English District Financial Aid information is available on the English District
website.
Please read the material carefully and note that the deadline for submission is
June 1, 2020.
|
|
Redeemer, Pittsburgh, PA
The students are learning from home and sending in pictures.
|
|
 |
Please 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 "Sign up for our emails" link at the bottom. 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 in your community and around the world.
|
|
|
|
If you'd like to share our emails, please forward
using your email's forwarding option.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
