Your Weekly E-Newsletter -- Thursday, March 30, 2023

“Then Jesus told his disciples, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” 

Matthew 16:24-25  

I hope this finds you well.

Jesus spoke these words, according to Matthew, just before he was transfigured on the mountain.   Some say this is the first time Jesus appeared to his disciples in his heavenly glory – a fact supported by the fear expressed by the three men who were with him.  Lost on most readers, and for sure lost on those disciples, was that Jesus' glory is the cross, not the heavenly light in which he was bathed along with Moses and Elijah.  When Jesus predicted his death and then called on his followers to “take up their cross”, he was saying any glory they would find would come the same way Jesus found His.   

Dietrich Bonhoeffer found his glory that way in April 1945, when, at the age of 39, he was executed at Flossenburg Concentration Camp in Bavaria under the charge of treason against the Nazi regime.  He had been arrested in 1943 and his death came just days before the camp was liberated by allied soldiers.  Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor and teacher whose most important and influential books were “The Cost of Discipleship” (1937) and “Life Together” (1939).  Bonhoeffer was involved in the creation of the so called “Confessing Church” in Germany, which distanced itself from the compromises of the more established state churches of Germany who’d largely given in to the demands of the Nazi regime, and even collaborated with it.  Bonhoeffer was also part of the German resistance movement, to which several other family members belonged, and, who like Dietrich, were executed shortly before the war.

Bonhoeffer’s writings continue to influence the church today, and for that reason, the Men’s Ministry of Calvary is hosting a showing of a 90-minute documentary on his life and legacy on Thursday, April 20.   All Calvary members are invited to attend – and we encourage you to invite others as well.  There will be a light supper served at 6:00 p.m., followed by the film and brief discussion time afterwards.  We hope to conclude the evening by about 8:15 p.m.  

“It is right and fitting that such a life gets our attention” wrote a reviewer in the Washington Post. The Minneapolis Tribune wrote “An inspiring portrait of one of the great moral heroes of the 20^th Century.”  But Bonhoeffer would have dismissed such – as we will see in the film. To him, as the Apostle Paul wrote, “to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”   He saw himself as no moral hero, but as a disciple of Jesus, taking up the cross of courage in the face of tyranny. His faithfulness as a servant of the servant king stands in contrast to the cult of personality that infects so many in our world today.  Yes, Bonhoeffer lived and died nearly a century ago, but the challenges to the church that he faced, while less obviously evil, are nonetheless just as fatal to our witness if not confronted and repented of.   

I am sure you will find this a fitting accompaniment in April to the celebration of the Easter season, which includes the Ascension to heaven and the commission to the church to “go and make disciples of all nations.”   Do join us for this extremely well-done presentation of the life of one of those disciples.

Because of a cross,

Pastor Ken Nelson 

On Maundy Thursday, we will hear two different settings of an ancient Latin hymn, “Ubi Caritas.” The choir will sing a beautiful composition by Bryan Sharpe in three parts, and then the congregation will be able to sing a simple version found in our blue hymnal, WOV.

“Ubi Caritas” is one of the most familiar of the ostinato chants use in the daily common prayer of the Taizé Community in France. As an ostinato, the chant is repeated at the discretion of the leaders as a prayerful meditation.



The text has a long history, possibly extending as far back as the fourth century, predating the formulation of the structure of the Catholic Mass. The text is an antiphon or refrain for a Latin hymn that was traditionally sung during the Eucharist for the Maundy Thursday foot washing rite in the Mass of the Last Supper.

The text of the antiphon translates literally as follows: “Where charity and love [are], God is there.” You can read more here.

We have two worship options for Good Friday, April 7

Traditional worship service at Noon

"7 Last Words of Christ" with string quartet at 7 p.m. (more info below)

In 1786, Franz Joseph Haydn received an unusual commission from a Spanish priest. It was for an orchestral work to be performed for the Good Friday service at the Oratorio de la Santa Cueva, an underground church in the city of Cádiz. Haydn was asked to compose a series of slow, meditative “sonatas,” each relating to one of the seven last words of Christ during the crucifixion, as outlined in the Canonical Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John.

Haydn wrote this description of the project for the preface of the Breitkopf & Härtel edition, issued in 1801: Some fifteen years ago I was requested by a canon of Cádiz to compose instrumental music on the Seven Last Words of Our Savior On the Cross. It was customary at the Cathedral of Cádiz to produce an oratorio every year during Lent, the effect of the performance being not a little enhanced by the following circumstances. The walls, windows, and pillars of the church were hung with black cloth, and only one large lamp hanging from the center of the roof broke the solemn darkness. 

This article continues HERE.

Palm Sunday

April 1-2, 2023

Are human beings sinful by nature? Or is it, rather, that human nature is essentially good, but has become corrupted by sin? Do we actively participate in our conversion to faith, or are we purely passive recipients of salvation from God? If Jesus is the incarnate Son of God, “of one being with the Father,” then is it correct to say that, on the cross, God died? And if so, how can God be God if he is vulnerable to suffering and death?

In a new 5-6 week study throughout the season of Lent, we’ll be taking a look at these and other fundamental questions about the Christian faith as they’re presented to us in the Lutheran Formula of Concord. The Formula is one of the foundational documents of the Lutheran Church and is a rich theological repository with enduring relevance for nurturing and sustaining the ongoing life of the church.

Please join us in the fellowship hall at 12:45 p.m. on Wednesdays immediately following the weekly Lenten services, which are at noon each Wednesday. Copies of the Formula of Concord (and coffee!) will be provided for participants.

For questions or additional information, contact pastoral intern Ben Blobaum at (224) 392-1834 or bblobaum@calvarylc.com.

Women’s Book Group – Monday, April 10

Harnischfeger Room -Brookfield Public Library

12:30 – 2:00 pm

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. 

But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen on the sidewalk, the three become the kinds of friends who rescue one another from the lives of isolation they have each been living. And it is Raymond’s big heart that will ultimately help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one.

March Mission of the Month

NALC Disaster Response

As you know, Calvary Lutheran Church is a congregation of the North American Lutheran Church. The NALC Disaster Response Fund provides resources for natural disaster victims in the United States.

When a disaster occurs, funds are used to:

• alleviate human suffering;
• provide transitional assistance;
• enable those affected to begin the rebuilding process.

In addition to funds received, the NALC Disaster Response team collects and distributes items that can be given out to disaster victims. We are currently collecting items for Health Care Kits. A tote bag for donated items will be provided. Please pick up the "shopping list" and empty tote bags from the table in the Narthex.

To support this important Mission of the Month, you may include it in your weekly offering envelope or designate the donation as "Mission of the Month" in your online giving.

Just a reminder that contributions to the NALC's 20/20 Vision Campaign need to be designated as "NALC" either on your giving envelope or on your check. If you have any questions, please contact Cindy Rooks at finance@calvarylc.com.

We invite you to provide

Hospitality Treats on Sunday

We invite you to stay after worship on Sunday mornings and enjoy fellowship time and a treat/cup of coffee in Fellowship Hall.

If you'd like to provide treats (donuts, bagels, etc.) for Sunday hospitality time, there is a sheet on the bulletin board in Fellowship Hall.  You may bring the treats (six dozen) and drop them off in the kitchen, or simply add a “P” behind your name, pay $30 to the church office and the treats will be purchased for you. 

The sign up sheet for 2023 has been posted on the bulletin board.  Thank you for your support!

If you watch our services via the Live Stream, please take a minute to let us know. There is now a link called "Online Worship Attendance" on the page where you access each week's service.

We appreciate you taking the time to complete this each week. It helps us know that our Live Stream is being viewed and by whom. 

Thank you!

CALVARY LUTHERAN CHURCH www.calvarylc.com

Regular office hours are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. - noon 262.786.4010

Questions or comments? Email Sue Rowe at communications@calvarylc.com