Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.
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District Office will be Closed
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The English District office will be closed on Monday, January 21, 2019 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The office will reopen on Tuesday, January 22, 2019.
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Joining us in 1-1-1:
Living Water, San Diego, CA – Rev. Steven Duescher (Circuit 22).
This brings us to 53 congregations participating in 1-1-1.
Won’t you join us today, so we can dream big together? The more congregations that participate the more support there will be for missions to touch lives with the Gospel of Jesus.
Currently, the Midwest Region has 42% of their congregations participating. Eastern Region has 41%, Lake Erie Region 26% and Western Region 26% of congregations participating.
For a list of participating congregations and to see how your region is doing click
here
.
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Call Received
The Rev. Peter M. Burfeind, Associate Pastor, Redeemer, Ft. Wayne, IN, has received a call to serve as Sole Pastor of Agnus Dei, Marshall, MI (English District) and Our Savior, Union City, MI (Michigan District).
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There is power in prayer. Your prayer concerns are important to the English District. When you submit a prayer request, it will be posted in our weekly eNewsletter, Servant to Servant. The Bible's promise is true: "If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us" (1 John 5:14). Please email
Holly Scheer
with your prayer requests.
The District
daily prayers
for February are available on our website. Please join us in prayer.
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Protect Your Church in 2019
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On January 16th, we celebrated Religious Freedom Day. Unfortunately, however, many churches across the country are experiencing legal issues that are challenging our constitutional protections. Churches are experiencing legal challenges relating to facility use, employment regulations, gender identity and sexual orientation laws, and more.
Most churches have governing documents like bylaws and constitutions, as well as policies that can help protect them in these challenging times. But these documents are often incomplete or need a legal guide to help ensure they are properly prepared.
Without sound legal advice, churches may be unnecessarily exposing themselves to legal risk.
You can help protect the religious freedom of your church by having an attorney review your governing documents, bylaws, and policies to make sure they are written in a way that provides legal protection.
We’ve partnered with ADF Church Alliance to make this easy and affordable! ADF Church Alliance is a membership program of Alliance Defending Freedom, the world’s largest religious liberty legal organization. Once your church joins, you can start taking advantage of the many benefits, including the document review.
This month we encourage you to take a stand for religious liberty with two simple steps:
- Become a member of ADF Church Alliance: Click here to apply and use our partner promo code ENGDISTLCMS for a 20% discount.
- After you become a member, send your church documents to ADF attorneys for a thorough religious liberty review.
Activate your membership and get the religious freedom legal help your church needs by joining ADF Church Alliance at
www.ADFChurchAlliance.org.
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LCMS Foundation—Smart and Easy Endowment Funding
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Congregations and LCMS ministries looking for a simple way to generate income from assets have asked for our help. Many organizational leaders find themselves without the resources to create legal documents, investment policies, choose investment accounts and review statements. The easiest solution has been to put assets in a savings account that provides very little income in today’s market.
The LCMS Foundation now has a new option! Ministries can endow assets (minimum $10,000) with the Foundation and receive a perpetual income stream while keeping the corpus intact. Additions may be made to the fund at any time.
Ministry leaders can then focus time and resources on the mission instead of spending time on policies and governance responsibilities.
To find out more, email
Ron Grimm, Gift Planning Counselor, or call 412-584-7039.
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Shepherd of the Pines, Payson, AZ
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Rev. Todd Arnold, Western Region Vice President of the English District, installed Rev. Larry Bell at Shepherd of the Pines Lutheran Church.
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UPDATE - NYG DISTRICT YOUTH EVENT
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All youth and leaders from the English District are invited to the district event on Sunday, July 14th from
5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Round trip transportation will be provided from the convention center as we head to Minneapolis Sky Zone—an indoor trampoline park. Once at Sky Zone we will have opportunity for several rounds of ultimate dodge ball (including an adult vs. student round and blacklight). Since we have the full facility, other opportunities such as sky climb, warrior course, foam jump, and sky joust are available. All you can drink soda on site and a meal are included.
Cost is $45 per person
and includes bus transportation, entry to Sky Zone, meal, and a district t-shirt. For more information and to register, see
here
!
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It’s Time … to Meet 2019 Convention Deadlines
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The process for electing the Synodical President has changed. Each congregation/parish is entitled to one pastoral vote and one lay vote, and the names of these electors, chosen by their congregation, must be submitted to Synod by March 24, 2019. A registration form and a letter have been sent to each church office explaining the process. Congregations that do not register voters will not have a vote in this election.
Information on the convention itself is available online at
https://www.lcms.org/convention
.
I
mportant LCMS convention deadlines
are rapidly approaching for your congregation:
- Feb. 20, 2019 President and First Vice-President nominating ballots must be received by this date by the Synod’s auditor, Brown Smith Wallace. Official ballots must be used, signed by two congregation officers. Blue return envelopes were provided in your congregation’s nominations packet.
- Feb. 20, 2019 Regional Vice-President, nominating ballots must be received by this date by the Office of the Secretary of the Synod. Official ballots must be used, signed by two congregation officers. Yellow return envelopes were provided in your congregation’s nominations packet. [Note: If a nominating ballot has been spoiled or lost, a duplicate ballot must be obtained from the Office of the Secretary in sufficient time to meet the Feb. 20 deadline.]
- March 2, 2019 Overtures (proposed convention actions) are due to be received by the Office of the President signed by at least one officer of the congregation. Overtures received after the March 2 deadline are included in convention business only if judged to be a matter of overriding importance and urgency and not covered by overtures already submitted. [NOTE: An early deadline of Feb. 6 is recommended for inclusion in the 2019 Convention Workbook, due to printing timetable requirements.]
- March 24, 2019 Registrations for each congregation’s (or multi-congregation parish’s) presidential election voters (pastor and lay) must have been registered with the LCMS Office of the Secretary. If previously registered voters need to be changed, this may be done until June 15, 2019, by filling out the Voter Update Form or the Substitute Voter Form located on the LCMS website; https://www.lcms.org/convention/president-election.
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Come Serve at Camp Concordia!
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Camp Concordia's summer week-long camps offer a uniquely engaging environment where kids can unplug, develop life-skills, and grow a “sticky faith” they will
carry into adulthood. As a summer staff, you will grow spiritually,
strengthen your ministry skills, and be equipped for Christian service,
whether you support behind the scenes or sing on the stage. We help equip you to find your calling to serve in ministry, the marketplace or governmental service. We want you to use your talents to impact the Kingdom immediately!
For more information, see
here
.
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Grace Lutheran Church, Redford, MI
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The Rev. Timothy Halboth officiated the baptism of one of God's newest little lambs. The proud parents are Jeffrey and Kristina.
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Grace Lutheran Church, Wyoming, MI
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Mission trip team members receive a blessing for their upcoming
trip to
Haiti and prayers for safe travel from Pastor Diener and the congregation.
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Messiah Lutheran Church, Danville, CA
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Epiphany luncheon for the OWLS group.
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Hope Lutheran Church, Hastings, MN
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Installation and recognition of board members and church council members.
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Redeemer Lutheran Church & School, Oakmont, PA
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Fifth & sixth grade girls played their first basketball game at Hillcrest Christian Academy.
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Shepherd King Preschool, West Bloomfield, MI
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An indoor skating rink! Click
here to watch the video.
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Holy Cross Lutheran Preschool, Cleveland, OH
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Building towers and skills.
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Setting Your Church's Communication Priorities for 2019
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Does your church have communication goals for this year? How will you reach your parish? Find out some new strategies
here.
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Previous issues of the Servant to Servant eNewlsetter are available on the
English District website
.
You are encouraged to 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 link at the bottom right titled, "Sign up for our emails." 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
Holly Scheer
by Wednesday, 12:00 pm ET. We want to see how YOUR congregation or school is showing the love of God to those around you.
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A direct and compelling headline
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If you'd like to share our emails, please forward using your email's forwarding option.
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