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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On Sunday, June 27, 2021, Bishop Jamison J. Hardy had the pleasure of celebrating with Rev. Thomas E. Engler, Rev. Norman A. Timmermann (Emeritus), and the members of Prince of Peace, Menomonee Falls, WI on the occasion of the church’s 60th anniversary.
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Call Returned
The Rev. Eric R. Andrae has returned the call to serve as Pastor for College and Young Adult Ministry of First Lutheran Church, Boston, MA (New England District).
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The English District office will be closed on Monday, July 5, 2021 in observance of Independence Day (USA). The office will reopen on Tuesday, July 6, 2021. Happy Birthday, America! |
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Disaster Relief & Human Care |
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Dear friends in Christ in the English District,
Friday evening, June 25, southeastern Michigan sustained very heavy storms. Detroit was hit very hard, especially along the I-94 corridor, which recorded 7" of rain. This means lots of damage. LERT teams right now are working to help the many homes affected. Also affected was our English District's Zion Evangelical-Lutheran Church where Pastor Mark Braden is pastor and Bishop Emeritus Stechholz is archdeacon.
Both the church and rectory basements were flooded by 3' of water and sewage. This has caused damage to walls, boiler and electrical rooms, vestments and Altar frontals stored in the church basement, and to the pastor's office/library and the chapel in the rectory basement.
The church has been hard at work cleaning up ever since, along with the proper authorities. LERT teams have been contacted as well as LCMS Disaster Relief. As of this writing, power restoration is in process, and then crews will be able to begin necessary demolition.
Please keep Zion Church in your prayers, and if you are able, please consider financial assistance. In anticipation of restoration costs greatly exceeding any insurance coverage, Zion has opened a Go Fund Me page. You can also watch for updates at the church Facebook page.
Rev. Brian P. Westgate
English District Disaster Relief & Human Care Committee Chair
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English District congregations - Please make sure your historical documents are protected. Congregations do well to preserve their history so that future generations may learn from them including bulletins, newsletters, and other documents. Keep them in a vault room, or if they must be in a basement or other place, keep them higher up so that floodwaters will not be able to destroy them. Another option is to scan and preserve them digitally.
Rev. Brian P. Westgate
English District Disaster Relief & Human Care Committee Chair
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$25,000 Matching for New Mission Gifts |
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God has lifted up a donor who wants to match new money given for our new missions. The gift will match $25,000. If you would like to have your gift matched, dollar for dollar, this is your opportunity.
Every circuit in our District is being challenged to identify new mission possibilities. Some possibilities are:
- New church plant where there is no Lutheran church
- New satellite congregation developing from a mother congregation
- New campus ministry at a college
- New ethnic congregation
- New mission we haven’t even thought of yet
We know God is continuing to open doors of opportunity. This new collection will be used to provide the resources to advance these new identified opportunities.
Gifts can be given online through the English District website or by direct mail to our District office. Please designate your gifts as being for “New District Missions”. |
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He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. Ps. 111:5 (ESV)
With the coming of summer, Czechs rejoice in the temperate weather and they flock to the countryside. All around this city they are on the go, even here in our neighborhood of Bubenečská. They truly love nature. Our calling here is to introduce them to nature's Maker and Lord. Read our newsletter and see how we are serving the people who are here. And please, as always, pray for the conversion of Czechs!
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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 July 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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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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Christ Our Redeemer, Allen Park, MI
The members of Christ Our Redeemer Lutheran Church celebrated the 45th Ordination Anniversary of their pastor, Rev. Joel M. Holls. He was ordained on June 20, 1976 at Messiah, Fitchburg, MA. We ask the Lord’s continued blessings on Pastor Holls and his ministry.
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St. Luke's, Toronto, ON
Rev. Capt. Greg Lutz and his family were released to their new assignment with the Canadian Armed Forces to CFB Dundurn, in the province of Saskatchewan. Capt. Lutz remains as an Associate Pastor of the congregation and a member of the English District LCMS. Rev. Justin Laughridge officiated the service of sending with Rev. Derek Mathers, Assistant to President/Bishop Hardy, sharing God's word as preacher and representing Bishop Hardy as travel across the Canadian - US border remains restricted. Also participating were Pastors Jung Hun Park and Dereck Pillay.
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Peace, New Berlin, WI
Peace was blessed with 34 Vacation Bible School students who experienced God’s powerful love through skits, songs, Bible stories, crafts, games and snacks. They were thankful for a small, but mighty, crew of volunteers who served with God’s help. Peace is served by Pastor Greg Michel.
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St. Mark, Sheboygan, WI
St. Mark recognized their high school graduates, shown here with Pastor Brett A. Matz.
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Martin Luther Chapel, East Lansing, MI
In April, MLC conducted a fundraiser for FAME. It is a resource center for students who were in the foster care system, kinship care, have experienced homelessness, or are otherwise independent. During COVID, many of the students were not able to leave their on-campus homes and faced additional challengers with having to shift to remote learning. The center offers unique community programs that emphasize service deliver, teaching, and research. Volunteers are trained to work with these students in several ways and MLC’s Campus Ministry Pastor, Rev. James Robinson, has volunteered to help with the program.
The idea for fundraising for FAME was bolstered by Gary Lange. Gary’s idea was to work with U.P. Pasties. Pasties (pronounced PASS-TEEZ) are delicious meat pies that have few ingredients but which make a hearty meal. The word was spread through the congregants of MLC. They were able to raise $1366. This is just the start of a future of continued work to help those who have had extraordinary challenges.
From left to right: Rev. James Robinson, Gary Lange, Rev. Curt Dwyer, Andrea Martineau (Program Coordinator of FAME).
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Prince of Peace, Medina, OH
The congregation honored DCE & Vicar, Jim Bretthauer, with cake and coffee between services in celebration of National DCE Day on June 26.
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Grace, Elyria, OH
Grace Lutheran Church had a blessed week with over 70 volunteers and kids participating in Rocky Railway Vacation Bible School. They learned to "Trust Jesus" when things don't go as planned. Pastor Robert Weldon loves playing the main character each year and had fun being Cam Track!
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Trinity, Scarsdale, NY
Trinity Lutheran Church has had two events for homeschoolers in the community; a Recognition Day for students and a Book Swap day. The building and grounds are very accommodating for large groups. It is recognized as a hub for the community, particularly, as in this past year, when such events have been limited.
The book swap event was well attended and Trinity used the opportunity to put "stored away" items on display for people to take away for a donation. These events showed a welcoming side of the church's face, to both the homeschooling group and to the community as a whole as it was very visible from the street.
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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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