God in All Things - Without Borders

January 19, 2024

Ministerial Candidate James Bowes was ordained on Sunday, January 14, 2024. Following his ordination, Bishop Jamison Hardy installed him as Sole Pastor of Peace Lutheran Church, Palm Desert, CA.

On Saturday, January 13, 2024, Rev. J. Derek Mathers, Assistant to the Bishop and Mission Executive, visited with the members of Bethany, Ewing, NJ. In addition, Rev. Mathers spent time with Rev. Dr. Martin Erhardt, Circuit Visitor, and Rev. Howard Alexander, who will serve Bethany Lutheran during their vacancy.

Rev. William Carl Beckmann, Jr.

March 30, 1934 – January 14, 2024

The Rev. William Carl Beckmann, Jr. was called to glory on Sunday, January 14, 2024. He was preceded in death by his wife Beverly Beckmann (nee Bublitz) and is survived by his second wife, Gail, his two sons, Peter and Mark, stepson Ken, stepdaughter Laura, three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Visitation will be held at Moss Family Funeral Home, 209 S. Batavia Ave., Batavia, IL 60510, on Sunday, January 28, 2024, from 2:00 PM 6:00 PM. A Funeral Service will held be at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 950 Hart Rd., Batavia, IL 60510, on Monday January 29, 2024, at 11:00 AM. 

Obituary - Rev. William Carl Beckmann, Jr.

Please keep the Beckmann family in your prayers.

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. Revelation 14:13

2024 Professional Church Workers Conference, Board of Directors meeting and Circuit Visitors Conference

Advent Lutheran Church

11250 N. Michigan Rd.

Zionsville, IN 46077

"GO and tell what you have seen and heard."

Matthew 11:4

Board of Directors – April 29 (1:00 p.m.) – April 30 (12:00 p.m.)

Conference – April 30 (3:00 p.m.) – May 2 (11:30 a.m.)

Circuit Visitors – May 2 (12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.)

Please enjoy the January 2024 Evangelism Team newsletter, focusing this month on Reaching Out in Different Languages.

Click here to download.

REMINDER: Lutheran Witness renewal forms are due back to the district office by January 31. They only need to be returned if there are changes. If there are no changes, the subscriptions will automatically be renewed.

Contact the district office if you have any questions: info@englishdistrict.org or 248-476-0039.

Nuer Language Fellowship - St. Mark, Mississauga, ON

For the 2023-2024 one of the Dollar for Missions recipients will be Nuer Language Fellowship. For more than 10 years, the Nuer-speaking fellowship has called St. Mark Lutheran Church their home. Many parents are confirmed members of this church, and many children have been baptized and confirmed here.

Worship Service

The Nuer-speaking fellowship at St. Mark's Church is composed of dedicated and faithful members who worship every Sunday afternoon. The worship service format is similar to the church’s English divine service which uses the LSB divine service setting, but it's shorter, typically about one hour long. Pastor Philip Gai leads the Nuer service, preaches the Word, invites everyone to confess their sins, after which he announces the absolution and administers the sacraments. They use the Nuer Hymnal and Bible. The hymns are selected to coordinate with the weekly readings in the LCMS liturgical calendar, and everyone is familiar with the Nuer songs which are stored on a keyboard. While there is no music director, occasionally there is someone who helps the pastor in this regard.

Children’s Program

Pastor Gai and others are working with the youth to establish a Sunday school program for the children. As a youth mentor in the congregation, Pastor Gai spent a considerable amount of time praying and listening to the young people. He made an effort to visit them in their homes, universities, and workplaces and called them weekly to check in. He also made sure to celebrate their special occasions such as birthdays, game times, and any victories they achieved.



Special Events

The congregation holds a special event called Family Sunday on the last Sunday of each month where everyone is encouraged to bring food to share. It's a time for everyone to come together and enjoy each other's company after the Sunday service and hear each other’s testimonies and encouragements. The English service pastors at St. Mark and their spouses are encouraged to join them.

Saturday, January 27    

9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Ascension Lutheran Church

28081 Lorain Rd, North Olmsted, OH, 44070

Join us in Cleveland!!

God’s richest blessings to you and those that you serve in this new year of 2024. Our District’s Mission Action Team has been hard at work in recent months and is very excited to share a growth and learning opportunity with you. Many pastors and church workers have already heard about Church Planting Simplified (CPS), a particularly helpful collection of guiding principles and ideas that can benefit you and your congregation as you begin a new ministry in your local context. This new ministry could be a new outreach, a new ethnic ministry, a new congregation – CPS can be applied in those contexts and more!

Thanks to the generous hospitality of God’s people at Ascension Lutheran Church in North Olmsted, OH, our Mission Action Team will be hosting a workshop for lay leaders and clergy from the area. This invitation is open to English District congregations as well as neighboring districts' congregations and anyone whom God might lead to attend. The goal is to explore and learn more about what Church Planting Simplified is all about.

Rev. Derek Mathers (Assistant to the President and Bishop and Co-chair of the English District Mission Action Team) and Rev. Justin Laughridge (Co-chair of the English District Mission Action Team) will be leading the workshop.

Please give prayerful consideration to this opportunity for yourself and invite others you think would be interested in thinking about church planting. If you would like more information, please reach out to Pastor Derek Mathers at 1-800-755-9335. A light lunch will be provided.

Click here to register.

Each year, congregations in the United States commemorate Life Sunday close to the anniversary of the tragic 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Yet, every Sunday, and indeed every time we are in church, we receive God's gifts of forgiveness, life and salvation in Word and Sacrament, and it is by receiving these gifts that we are empowered to proclaim the sanctity of life from fertilization to forever. Indeed, every Sunday is Life Sunday! 

On that note, the LCMS Life Ministry is now accepting online applications for the next round of grants in the Million Dollar Life Match. For more details please click here.

Your English District Lifeline Team thanks God for all He is doing through you and prays His richest blessings on you as you continue to receive His gifts and reach out with His self-giving love to your neighbors.

Calling all adults ages 26+, this opportunity is for you! The application to serve as a Gathering Ambassador is now available.

Ambassadors commit to: 

• Paying a $400 volunteer registration fee 
• Staying in assigned Gathering hotel accommodations covered by the Gathering 
• Attending volunteer training July 16–19, 2025 in New Orleans
• Serving the Gathering July 19–23, 2025 in New Orleans 

Gathering Ambassador applications are OPEN NOW and will remain open until March 15, 2024. 



Click here to learn more and submit an application.

Our English District 1-1-1 serves as a model for other districts for mission funding. LCMS Central Illinois District has produced a frequently asked questions video about “A Dollar for Missions”, featuring Rev. Dr. Ken Schurb, which is worth watching. Dr. Schurb serves as Stewardship Executive for the LCMS Central Illinois District.

Click here to watch the video.

The Bible's promise is true: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us - 1 John 5:14.

Prayers to the Lord for Bishop/President Emeritus David Stechholz, recovering from surgery to relieve severe stenosis and right leg weakness and the accompanying pain and spasms.

Prayers for the family of Vicki Helmling at the passing of her mother, Dorothy Tetro, a former English District principal.



District daily prayers for February 2024 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.

Contact Ron Grimm, English District Gift Planning Counselor, 412-584-7039 or visit www.LCMSFoundation.org.

Ascension of Christ, Beverly Hills, MI

Pastor Nicholas Louis, from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of South Sudan/Sudan, delivered the homily on December 24 at Ascension of Christ Lutheran Church.

Pictured with Pastor Nicholas are Rev. Larry Loree, Rev. Daniel Grams, and Matthew Nelson, Concordia Lutheran Seminary student. 

St. John the Divine, Chicago, IL

Pastor Ike Nicholson, Sister Charmaine and Pastor Howell joined together at the MLK Service at Resurrection Lutheran Church, Chicago, IL.

Peace, Palm Desert, CA

Sunday, January 14th Peace Lutheran Church of the Desert ordained and Installed Rev. James F. L. Bowes. What a glorious day of worship and joy for the congregation. They had a wonderful service led by Bishop Jamison Hardy, followed in the afternoon by the ordination and installation. After the service, a reception was held with wonderful food and entertainment. 

It was a joy to have so many pastors attend on this very special day. The presence of God was evident the entire day. This little congregation has been blessed by God and can't wait to see how He works through their new pastor and congregation in the future. We serve an awesome God!

Our Savior, Hartland, MI

Did you know that Our Savior Evangelical Lutheran Church has a deaf ministry? For the past 20+ years Our Savior has offered Deaf Bible study and interpreted Divine Service. This past Christmas Eve, Our Savior hosted a Christmas Eve service for Michigan Deaf Lutherans and the southeastern Michigan Deaf community. This was a collaboration between the English and Michigan Districts. Pastors Thomas Dunseth and Tyler Walworth led the service of lessons and carols which included a deaf choir. Twenty-eight deaf people attended.

Little Lambs, Berwyn, IL

During a frigidly cold week, the students at Little Lambs Preschool are learning all about snowflakes and winter fun.

Immanuel Lutheran School, a mission of Immanuel, Alexandria, VA, is a Classical Lutheran school with a liberal arts curriculum for Junior Kindergarten through 8th grade. They are seeking a Headmaster for the school.



Click here for a compete job description, responsibilities, and necessary qualifications.

ENGLISH DISTRICT LCMS

248-476-0039

info@englishdistrict.org

www.englishdistrict.org

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