English District of
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
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Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. |
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Bishop Jamison J. Hardy visited West Portal, San Francisco, CA on Sunday, July 4, 2021. He attended the worship service and appreciated the time he spent with Rev. Curtis A. Binz, Rev. J. Wayne Kerr, and the congregational members of West Portal.
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Ordination and Installation |
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In the midafternoon of Sunday, July 4, 2021, Hope, Fremont, CA celebrated the Rite of Ordination and Installation of Ministerial Candidate Raymond A. Hulett. Many clergymen from the surrounding area attended to offer their prayers, encouragement, and support to Raymond and his family. Bishop Jamison J. Hardy officiated the worship service. |
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Holzer Heading for Retirement and Amling Called to Serve |
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Mrs. Gail J. Holzer has served as the English District’s School Ministry Executive since 2014 and will be retiring from that role in July 2021. Her years of service to the English District and to Redeemer Lutheran School in Verona, PA, where she continues to serve as principal since 1993, are a true testimony to her passion for Christian education and her unwavering love of telling children of all ages about her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We give thanks to Gail for being an example of godliness and righteousness as she interacted with the school ministries, pastors, church workers, administrators, principals, teachers, and staff across the district.
The English District is pleased to announce that Mr. Albert J. Amling, III has accepted a divine call to serve as the Executive Assistant to the President (School Ministry Executive). Albert has been a Lutheran school administrator for 36 years, having served schools in Nebraska, California, and various locations in Wisconsin. He has served in many leadership and service positions in Lutheran education through the Lutheran Education Association, LCMS School Ministry, and as a valued member of the English District’s Board of Directors. Albert can be reached by email at aamling@englishdistrict.org.
We ask that our heavenly Father bless Gail and Albert in all they do, now and always.
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At Home in Your Adoption
What would you do if tomorrow you found out that you were adopted? Would it invoke more questions than answers? Were you abandoned? Why? What happened to your birth parents? You might get angry at your entire situation; maybe you would question where you belong. Nothing can be more unsettling than to “not belong”. The Apostle Paul tells us that “in love God predestined us for ADOPTION to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of His will” (Ephesians 1:5).
Whenever I come across this text, I return to the day as a young child when I found out I was adopted. I was an avid reader as a child. In my room was a bookcase with a plethora of books that fascinated me. As I paged through one of those books on a rainy day, I ran across a cluster of newspaper articles concerning “Baby Boy Doe”. I immediately took those articles to my mother asking the obvious question, “Why are these articles in one of my books? Who is this “Baby Boy Doe”? My mother calmly said, “I’ll tell you when your dad gets home.” A talk with my father usually meant one of two things - I was in big trouble or this was finally the time for that “birds and bees” talk. But this didn’t seem like either of those. But the impending conversation helped me be “at home in my adoption” first as a child of my adoptive parents and secondly as a chosen child of God. As you ponder the question once again, “What would YOU do if YOU found out that you were adopted?”, read more of this article concerning the joy and privilege of your adoption in Christ.
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Our current 1-1-1 designated mission recipients are the Campus Ministries of our English District. These ministries are:
- All Saints Lutheran Church, Slippery Rock, PA
- First Trinity Lutheran Church, Pittsburgh, PA
- Martin Luther Chapel, East Lansing, MI
- Philadelphia Lutheran Ministries, Philadelphia, PA
- University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
As of June 21, 2021, the District office has received just over $34,500 in 1-1-1 gifts which will be used to support these Campus Missions. There are two months remaining in this current 1-1-1 cycle as it ends on August 31, 2021.
We have heard that many 1-1-1 congregations have continued to gather gifts of 1 dollar per Sunday Per Member. We celebrate that COVID-19 has not hindered the mission heart of God’s people and our motto continues to hold true: “There is power and strength in many giving a little.”
We ask those congregations that have not yet forwarded these collected gifts to our District office to please do so soon.
The two missions that 1-1-1 will support for September 1, 2021 - August 31, 2022 are:
- Blessed Sacrament Lutheran Church, Hayden, ID
- St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, Clarksburg, WV
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Greetings from the Dominican Republic |
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Greetings from Deaconess Cheryl and Pastor Jonathan!
Dear friends in Christ,
We hope this comes to you at a time when you and your family are in good health and have peace in the Lord, whatever is happening in your life! We wish you every blessing as summer begins and you enjoy some restful time with family, friends, and your home congregation!
Please click HERE to read our June 2021 Newsletter.
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LCMS Rosters and Statistics: Sending Annual Reminders for Updates |
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Beginning June 8, 2021, the annual reminders to LCMS congregations, new church starts, and LCMS rostered workers will be sent asking them to review and update their records.
September 1, 2021, is the deadline to be sure that updates are included in The Lutheran Annual 2022; however, congregations and rostered workers may update their records online anytime throughout the year since much of this information is also available on the LCMS Locators.
For help, contact Rosters, Statistics and Research Services at Rosters.Stats@lcms.org, or by calling the Church Information Center at 888-843-5267.
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The Bible's promise is true: "If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us" (1 John 5:14).
District daily prayers for August 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.
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For more information, contact the English District Gift Planning Counselor Ron Grimm by phone (412)-584-7039 or email.
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Vish and Shiv, identical twin boys, walked into All Saints Lutheran Church and Student Center asking, “Where is the cross on the steeple?” What a wonderful question! All Saints campus ministry has shared friendship and faith with the boys’ grandparents, parents, and aunts and uncles for twenty years. We hoped seeds had been planted. This question suggested that our hope may have been fulfilled.
To read more about this Campus Ministry, click here.
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Redeemer, Sarnia, ON
The July 4 confirmation at Redeemer included a father and son who joined with twin sisters who were previously confirmed on Easter. As a class, they were separated by COVID. They finally came together for the completion of the confirmation of their class and photo with Rev. Dr. Roger Ellis, Vacancy Pastor.
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Redeemer, Lincoln, NE
DCE Rod Lane shares the details of the Urban Plunge taken by his high school youth group in Chicago.
The youth’s theme was Hope, and the trip verse was 1 Timothy 4:12. Again, a great reminder God does not call the qualified, and he qualifies the called. Here are a few of the ways we served.
- Serving at food pantries
- Ministering to a 19 year old homeless man
- Packing 924 boxes of food at the Greater Chicago Food Depository
- Sorting clothes and cleaning donated furniture at a thrift store
- Landscaping at a prison and 2 community gardens
Along with enjoying local food and entertainment in the evenings, we had a fantastic week. I am so blessed to share this experience with amazing young people that love Jesus. God is so good at bringing people together for His plan and purpose. So, if you hear a call to serve, answer it. God will amaze you and favor you in ways you could never imagine!
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Prince of Peace, Medina OH
The members stepped up to volunteer and the church welcomed 51 students to "Walking with Jesus" Vacation Bible Camp, written by church member Deb Kane. It was a very hot, but excellent week of learning that Jesus is always with us, wherever we go.
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Family of Christ, Phoenix, AZ
Summer Camp at Family of Christ involves music, movement and camper favorite, story-time with Ms Jennylyn.
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Continuing Education Opportunity |
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Immanuel Lutheran Church in Alexandria, VA is excited to host a summer continuing education course, August 2-4. Dr. Roland Ziegler will present on “Luther’s Bondage of the Will.”
To register or find out more information, please visit the Concordia Theological Seminary website here. |
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Part-Time Music Director Needed |
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Immanuel Lutheran Church of Orange, CA is currently seeking a part-time music director with experience in traditional/liturgical worship.
Immanuel currently has two Sunday worship services (8am and 10:45am) both are traditional/liturgical. Responsibilities would include worship service planning, development of seasonal/special services, direction of the choir and handbell choir, contracting guest musicians, oversight of church tower bell chimes, managing the church music library and the music patrons fund and other related responsibilities. If you would be interested in discussing this further, please contact us at (714) 538-2373 or church@immanuelorange.org.
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Livestreamed/Recorded Services |
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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.
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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!
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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 jmcgarr@englishdistrict.org by Wednesday at 12:00 Noon 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.
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