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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Calls Received
Rev. James L. Elsner, Emeritus, has received a call to serve as Associate Pastor of Peace, Fremont, IN.
Rev. Brett A. Matz has received a call to serve as Sole Pastor of Calvary, Princeton, WI (South Wisconsin District).
Call Returned
The Rev. Dr. Klaus W. Raab (Iowa West District) has returned the call to serve as Sole Pastor of Redeemer, North Tonawanda, NY.
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Ministerial Health Moment |
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Is it good to spend time alone?
by Pastor Tim Holzerland
The Lutheran Church of the Shepherd King, West Bloomfield, MI and Chaplain, West Bloomfield Fire Department
Pastors, especially sole pastors in smaller congregations, often spend portions of the day alone. I spoke with many brother pastors who tell me they don’t do well when they are alone. I hear comments like, “When I quiet down and try to enjoy the silence, all I do is hear the noise of my thoughts and worries.” “I ruminate over one offhanded comment from a member as they passed through the line.”
The reality is most of us hear noise in our minds all day long. Knowing this is helpful because it gives us some indication of the type of worries that may make us feel helpless or anxious.
Personally, I run through a series of questions while I’m alone in order to check my thoughts. The process only takes a few minutes.
- Do I get upset on a frequent basis at home or at church?
- Is there a large disconnect between the way I treat members and the manner in which I treat myself?
- Do I spend a great deal of time either in the silver casket of nostalgia or fantasizing about the future?
- Do I hear praise like a whisper and criticism as thunder?
- Do I consider the “problems” at church as an intrusion on my peace, instead of a teaching moment that carries valuable information for my growth as a pastor?
These are a few examples of the questions I use. These questions lead me to God’s Word, repentance, and prayer.
Time alone in useful reflection can catch our own negative tendencies in the midst of spiritual warfare. We may exaggerate the negative by letting one comment or encounter contaminate the whole week. We, therefore, discount other positive events of the day. We answer these thoughts with more accurate positive ones. For example, if you feel slightly depressed and check your thinking, you may see that because one thing went wrong today, you are saying to yourself that you are really a failure as a pastor. By recognizing this exaggeration as nonsense, you can tell yourself more correctly that you may have failed, but you are not a failure. Following this, you can then recall successes Christ worked through you and bring to mind the faces of those who have been grateful for your ministry. Spending time alone can be helpful! If Jesus did it, we need to do it as well. (Luke 5:16)
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HARD AGAINST IT? COME, LORD JESUS!
We’ve all most likely said the prayer so often we can race our way through the words (especially if the meal smells particularly good): “Come, Lord Jesus, be our Guest, let these gifts to us be blessed. Amen.” But the words, “Come, Lord Jesus,” are not simply words of a common table prayer, but rather they are THE prayer of a people in need, like you, like me, like those around us, who live in total dependence upon Jesus’ promise to be with us always - even and especially in the storms of life - like the disciples were facing in Mark 6:45-52.
My wife and I were watching the Christian movie, “Fireproof.” (Not because we are having marital problems. We just like Christian movies.) There is a point in this movie where the struggling wife says to her husband, “I want what you have.” What did he have? He had the promises of God and he trusted them - no matter what. The world is watching us live our lives as Christians. They are watching us in times like these when we are “hard against it”. Evangelism - sharing the Gospel that helps others - is living our lives trusting in what we have that will never be taken away - the promises of God. I pray that you will resonate with this article and the Holy Spirit will lead you to pray...and live out the prayer of complete trust: Come, Lord Jesus, be our Guest. Read more.
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An update from Terry Leu, English District Coordinator for 2022 LCMS Youth Gathering
Recently I have taken on the role of Regional Coordinator for the two non-geographical Districts of the Synod, the English and the S.E.L.C. As part my role with the district, I was invited to join other youth and adult leaders at the National Lutheran Youth Workers Conference (#National21) in Houston the second week of July. The main purpose of this trip was to explore and learn about Houston, but I was also able to attend learning sessions and share a lunch and some fellowship time with some of the great adults who will be leading youth groups from our District. This has been a blessing to me, other leaders, and the district youth. Click here to read about what I learned in Houston!
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Connecting College Students with Campus Ministry |
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This fall, millions of students will make their way to the college or university of their choice. Moving to college is both an exciting and scary time, full of challenges and opportunities for students to grow as God’s people. This year is unique in that both first- and second-year students will likely be on campus for the FIRST time, as many colleges and universities held classes virtually last year.
LCMS campus ministries are strategically located at many colleges and universities for the express purpose of serving these students while they are in school. Campus ministries give students the opportunity to grow in faith and integrate what they are learning in the classroom with the faith they learned at their home congregations. The goal is that at the end of their college career, these students will go out into the world ready to be a blessing to God’s Kingdom as they pursue their chosen vocation.
LCMS campus ministries need your help to identify and connect with these students. Please take the time this summer to connect each of your college students with a campus ministry or local congregation in the community where they are studying. Call or email the campus pastor and give them your student’s contact information, so that the campus ministry can reach out to them yet this summer before they even arrive on campus. You can find a list of campus ministries here.
You can also help your students by giving them the information about your partner congregations and campus ministries. Encourage them to go visit and get involved.
If you have questions about campus ministry, or want to start a ministry to college students in your area, please contact any of the members of our English District Campus Ministry Task Force:
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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:
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Congregational Treasurer's Manual |
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The LCMS Congregational Treasurer's Manual is a valuable resource for any church treasurer, no matter their level of expertise. The manual, organized into two volumes, contains six major sections: Employment Issues; Federal and State Tax Matters; Establishing and Administering the Organization; Supporting Organizations; Accounting and Finance; and Insurance.
The manual is available online FREE OF CHARGE and is updated yearly in the fall. Printed copies are only available through the district office and must be preordered. The cost for the printed manual is approximately $10-15, depending on postage and printing costs. If you would like to order a printed copy of the 2021 manual due out later this year, email Peggy Oke or call her at 800-755-9335 ext. 210 no later than August 5, 2021. |
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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.
Prayers to the Lord God for Zion Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Detroit and Christ the King Evangelical Lutheran Church of Grosse Pointe Woods, MI. Both churches sustained severe water damage in the flooding that has hit greater Detroit. Prayers are for God to grant His mercy and strength in the clean-up, recovery, disposal, and replacement processes.
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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Fairlawn Lutheran (Ohio) has 20 white robes and two red stoles available free to any church that can use them. 14 of the robes are between 38” and 42” long. The remainder are around 53” long, all in good condition. They would be good as choir robes, confirmation robes, first communion robes or even for angel costumes.
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Trinity, La Porte, IN
The congregation celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Ordination of Rev. Richard Ungrodt Sunday, July 11.
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Trinity, New Lenox, IL
Trinity Lutheran Church welcomed two sisters in Christ on July 18 through Holy Baptism.
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Immanuel, Orange, CA
Albert Amling visited Immanuel Lutheran Church and Preschool last week in his new role as Education Assistant to the President. The school and preschool have done a wonderful job with their outdoor classrooms and developmentally appropriate curriculum. A highlight of the morning was eating tomatoes from their garden and visiting their chicken coop! Mrs. Kristine Rohm and her teachers do an excellent job of guiding God’s little ones! Pastor Robb Ring and Mrs. Kristine Rohm are pictured below.
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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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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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