The 2022 English District Convention is scheduled for June 20–22. Summer events might not be on our minds right after Christmas and New Year’s Day. But even if convention thoughts aren’t front and center, the February 20 deadline for congregations to submit nominations for President and Vice President is rapidly approaching.

Nomination ballots for President and Vice President were previously mailed to each congregation of the District. With the deferral of the District Convention from 2021 to 2022, congregations may have postponed decisions about nominations.

Congregations that have yet to submit nominations for President and/or Vice President may do so prior to the February 20 deadline. Some may have Voters Assembly meetings scheduled for January or February, which would provide an opportunity for those congregations to determine whom they wish to nominate.

If your congregation has already returned nomination ballots for President and/or Vice President, those have been received and recorded.

If any congregation needs new nomination ballots, please contact the District Secretary, Rev. Luke Zimmerman, who will supply replacements. Other questions about the Presidential and Vice-Presidential nomination process can also be directed to him.

Nominations for Board of Directors, Committee on Nominations and Endowment Fund Board of Managers

Circuit Visitor selection results

Submitting Overtures

Convention Delegate Accreditation Forms

More detailed information and forms are available on our website.

Most people collectively said this past New Year’s Eve, “Good riddance to 2021. Welcome the new year 2022.”  And yet, the new year has already begun with the Colorado forest fire causing death and many losing all their worldly possessions in the snap of a finger. A major winter storm dropped a massive snowfall across a large swath of the Midwest and East Coast while causing another round of tornadoes in the South. Doctors are proclaiming that the Omicron variant will reach its peak sometime in January 2022. And yesterday, our nation mourned the one-year anniversary of the deadly violence and insurrection on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021. Yes, on Epiphany. Satan has smeared the celebration of “the Gentile Christmas” with his black mark of hatred and division. It was another difficult year to say the least. But as I looked back on my yearly letters to friends and family, the story of looking forward to dismissing the past and embracing a fresh start in the new year continually repeats itself. As King Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). If only there was something or someone who could put an end to this vicious cycle of our sin-full lives.

Great news! There is! It’s all about Jesus!  The celebration of Epiphany, as we begin the New Year of our Lord 2022, once again makes manifest the truth of God’s 24/7 unfailing gracious activity in our world and His bestowal of eternal gifts to those who believe in Jesus Christ who lived, died and rose for the redemption of all who believe in Him. As with every year in the past and all those in the future, 2022 belongs to the Lord. You’ve probably heard the line, “Wise men still seek Him.” I must confess that I, too, have worn shirts and pins that depicted this message. But the truth of all of Scripture is that God has come, continually comes and will come again to seek us. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Therefore, like the Wise Men, we fall down and worship our Lord and Savior. And the confession that we worship Jesus, only Jesus, bears a powerful witness to the world around us desperately in need of a Savior - the only One who breaks the cycle of sin and death. Read the full article which will encourage you with the truth that 2022 belongs to the Lord whom we worship and the One in whom we live and move and have our very being. (Acts 17:28)

The 2022 Lumen Christi Award nominations for the English District Professional Educator of the Year and English District Volunteer Educator of the Year are due by February 28, 2022. Nomination forms are available through the links above. Please prayerfully consider making a nomination. 

Read more here for the criteria and definitions.

The English District has sponsored and encouraged teens to attend this training for many years and would like to continue to send teens to this annual training to be held March 17-20, 2022 in St. Louis, MO. Please contact DCE Rod Lane at dcerod@redeemerlincoln.org or 402-499-0807 for more information. District stipends will be made available to help cover the cost to attend which is a registration fee of $375.00 per youth or adult plus travel expenses. Adults are not required to attend. English District Youth Coordinator Rod Lane will be attending and is comfortable chaperoning teens from other churches.

January 18, 2022, 10:00 a.m. EST/7:00 a.m. PST Zoom Link

January 18, 2022, 9:00 p.m. EST/6:00 p.m. PST Zoom Link

Mr. Daniel C. Miller was called to glory on Friday, December 24, 2021. Under Bishop David Ritt, Daniel served as Treasurer for the English District. Please pray for the Miller family. Obituary

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. Revelation 14:13

District daily prayers for January are located on our website.

Your prayer concerns are important to the English District. If you have a prayer request you would like shared in this newsletter, email the District office.

Contact the English District Gift Planning Counselor Ron Grimm for more information at (412)-584-7039 or email.

On the fourth Sunday in Advent, Mrs. Susan Gruening, long time keyboard player and member of the praise group at Redeemer, was received into membership by Affirmation of Baptism following instruction in Luther’s Catechism by Rev. Dr. Roger Ellis, Vacancy Pastor. Susan and her husband Manfred, who was already a member of the church, have raised their family at Redeemer over many years.

On Wednesday, December 15, a group of singers were blessed with good fun and fellowship singing Christmas carols to our neighbors in the City Square in Downtown Ocala.

In the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, Il., a transformation is happening. A small Lutheran school is impacting the community in a big way. In the words of Principal Aaron Landgrave, Bethesda International Academy provides “transformational learning, anchored in Christ” for the children of the Rogers Park area. Each morning, Principal Landgrave greets the children by name as they make their way through the schoolroom doors. Inside, they gather in classrooms, in the chapel and in the schoolyard to learn, grow and play. As Bethesda International Academy’s mission statement says, the students are being prepared to “...[transform] the world through a firm foundation of academics and faith.”

Click here to read the full article about Bethesda.

Albert Amling, English District School Ministry Executive, visited West Portal Lutheran in San Francisco and was present for their chapel on December 16. The 8^th grade handbell choir led by Pastor Kerr was amazing. The third grade shared a song and a recitation. What a wonderful way to prepare for the coming of the King! Well done students!!!

To suggest someone for this position, or to apply, please contact District President Rev. Richard Snow at richs@ndlcms.org. Full details of the position requirements can be found on our website at https://ndlcms.org/jobs/ .