English District of
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
|
|
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. |
|
On Saturday, June 19, 2021, Bishop Jamison J. Hardy had the pleasure of visiting with Rev. Christian G. Morales and members of Faith, Chesapeake, VA.
|
|
Call Received
Rev. Frederick M. Hoover, Jr. (Eastern District) has received a call to serve as Sole Pastor of Epic Church, Shelby Twp., MI.
|
|
June 26th will soon be here! You may be wondering what makes that date so special. Well, it is not National Donut Day, not National Go-to-the-Beach-Day, or even National Campfire Day. However, if you guessed National Director of Christian Education (DCE) Day, you are correct! We celebrate the DCE commissioned ministers of our English District. The date is still a little way off and we hope that every congregation with a DCE would celebrate them in some special way. Then we would really like to hear about that celebration with a short 2-3 sentences and, of course, a picture! We will be sharing these in S2S in the coming weeks. Please send your picture and words to Jill McGarr.
|
|
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
|
|
How do you see the world around you? The comments I now hear quite often are: “The end of the world just has to be coming soon.” “This world is hopeless.” “Our world is in a downward spiral.” Have you ever just glanced at a situation or even a person and declared them / it, “Hopeless”? In times of war, triage (sorting out) refers to the policy by which medical assistance was given. It was up to the doctors to "color-tag" the wounded, placing them in one of three categories according to their condition. One color meant hopeless - nothing we can do will save them. Another tag meant they’d survive whether they get help or not. The third color-tag indicated a doubtful prognosis - a chance to live only if medical assistance is given. Since there were severely limited medical supplies . . . assistance was being given only to this last group.
We live in a broken, wounded world - broken and wounded by sin. But Jesus was broken and wounded with His suffering and death on the Cross to heal the hurt the world is facing. We read in Psalm 30:2, “O LORD, my God, I cried to You for help and You have healed me.” We also read in Isaiah 53:5, “But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds, we are healed.” Therefore, we can “color tag” the world with HOPE and healing from our God. As we just celebrated Juneteenth and we look forward to our Nation’s Independence, we have the message of hope in Christ that gives the freedom that will never be taken away. Read more about the triage of hope found in Christ.
|
|
The English District wishes all of our Canadian friends Happy Canada Day on July 1! |
|
Thy Strong Word Virtual Gala |
|
|
Did you miss your opportunity to watch the Virtual Gala? A replay is available for you:
Watch the replay of the 2021 English District Thy Strong Word Gala.
If you haven’t had a chance to generously give as you are able in support of the English District Endowment Fund, the Thy Strong Word Gala giving link will remain open until the end of June. |
|
1-1-1 Focus on Campus Ministry |
|
|
Our English District identified recipients of 1-1-1 (A Dollar for Mission) for 2020-2021 are the campus ministries of our District. We want members of our District congregations, those who bring a (1) dollar per (1) person per (1) Sunday, to have a clear picture of how these gifts are being used to directly support the mission of our District. These gifts come together to fund important ministries across the District, like All Saints Lutheran Church and Student Center, $1 at a time.
Read more about the campus ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church and how they connect with students and faculty during this time of COVID-19 pandemic.
|
|
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.
|
|
For more information, contact the English District Gift Planning Counselor Ron Grimm by phone (412)-584-7039 or email.
|
|
News from Concordia Plans |
|
|
2022 CHP Employer Elections
Concordia Health Plan Employer Elections for 2022 will begin on Monday, August 2nd and end on Friday, September 3rd. There are nowhere near the number of changes for 2022 as there were in 2021. CPH is looking to host virtual CHP Town Halls beginning in July, along with providing each district with a recorded version that you can post/share with your respective ministries. More details to come.
New Calls and Worker Transfers/Retirements
This time of year marks the movement of workers within the ministries of the LCMS. Whether it be NEW Pastors receiving their first Call from the seminary, Teachers accepting Calls to new schools, or workers retiring after years of faithful service, CPS wants to ensure that the process goes as smoothly as possible. Please reach out to CPS if you have any questions during this process.
|
|
Livestreamed/Recorded Services |
|
|
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.
|
|
Fairlawn, Fairlawn, OH
Fairlawn Lutheran Church celebrated paying off the newer portion of their church building (built in the 90's) by burning the mortgage! They are grateful for generous giving, excellent financial stewardship and God’s grace for this gift. Now they look forward to what comes next!
|
|
Grace, Wyoming, MI
Kids and volunteers had a great time at God's Wonder Lab VBS. VBS was held as an outdoor event this year with Rev. Zachary Marklevitz keeping our campers educated and entertained.
|
|
Trinity, New Lenox, IL
God's Wonder Lab VBS had a fantastic Scavenger Hunt, a camper favorite event, on Day 3 at Trinity Lutheran Church.
|
|
Prince of Peace, Medina, OH
Thirty members of Prince of Peace enjoyed an evening of fellowship, food and fun while watching the English District Virtual Gala together.
|
|
 |
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!
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
If you'd like to share our emails, please forward
using your email's forwarding option.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
