English District of
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
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God in All Things - Without Borders | |
Anniversary Celebration and Bishop's Visits | | |
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On Sunday, January 21, 2024, Rev. Mark Braden was honored for his fifteen years of service to Zion Lutheran Church, Detroit, MI. Bishop Jamison Hardy attended this milestone celebration.
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On Wednesday, January 24, 2024, Bishop Jamison Hardy visited with Rev. Greg Michel and members of Shepherd of the Coast Lutheran Church, Palm Coast, FL.
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Faith Lutheran Church, Tucson, AZ celebrated its 75th anniversary on Sunday, January 21, 2024. Rev. Derek Mathers, Assistant to the Bishop and Mission Executive, was the guest preacher. In recognition of this historic occasion, Pastor Mathers presented a 75th anniversary certificate to the head elder. | |
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On Saturday, January 13, 2024, Rev. J. Derek Mathers, Assistant to the Bishop and Mission Executive, visited with the members of Messiah Lutheran Church, Princeton, NJ and Pastor Martin Erhardt. | |
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Martin Carl Duchow,
Commissioned Minister- Emeritus
October 11, 1941 to November 30, 2023
Mr. Martin Carl Duchow, Commissioned Minister-Emeritus, was called to glory on Thursday, November 30, 2023. A visitation and funeral service were held at Hales Corners, Hales Corners, WI on Saturday, December 16, 2023. Martin is survived by his wife, Carolyn Duchow (nee Oesterreich); son, Terry Duchow; daughters, Susan (Craig) Hafemann, Katie (Chad) Kogutkiewicz; and seven grandchildren. Please keep the Duchow family in your prayers.
Obituary – Martin Carl Duchow
“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord!” Revelation 14:13
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Call Received
The Rev. Dr. Dusan Tillinger has received a Divine Call to serve as Sole Pastor of Beautiful Savior, North Platte, NE (Nebraska District).
Call Returned
The Rev. Dr. E. Anthony Sikora (Michigan District) has returned the Divine Call to serve as Senior Pastor of Christ the King, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI.
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Save the Date for the 2024 Professional Church Workers Conference | | |
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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.)
Visit our website for more information.
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By baptizing us into Christ, God has adopted us as His children (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:5). We acknowledge this every time we pray the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9 [Luke 11:12]). It is hardly surprising then that throughout her history, the Church has taken the lead in the adoption of, and care for orphans. There are now more than 114,000 children in the United States and over 30,000 in Canada who are awaiting adoption. As Lutherans we can help! Lutherans For Life, Christian Life Resources, Lutheran Family Service of Iowa and LCMS Life Ministry are cosponsoring the Lutheran Adoption Conference on April 10-11, 2024 at the Hyatt Regency Intercontinental Airport in Houston, TX. Registration for the conference is now open. More information is available here.
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On Saturday, January 20, 2024, marchers gathered for the Walk for Life West Coast, their 20th Anniversary Walk. The pre-walk gathering began with fellowship and refreshments at West Portal, San Francisco, CA with the Walk for Life taking place at the Civic Center Plaza.
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Members of Arizona South Circuit congregations gathered with their counterparts from local Pacific Southwest District congregations for the annual Tucson March for Life on Saturday, January 20. Rev. John Stieve, AZ South Circuit Visitor, led a brief liturgy after which the participants joined in the roughly four-mile walk, proclaiming the sanctity of life from fertilization to forever in their community.
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National Lutheran Schools Week January 22-27, 2024 | | |
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National Lutheran Schools Week provides more than 1,800 preschools, elementary schools and high schools with the public opportunity to proclaim and celebrate God’s work among us in schools of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
We thank God for the opportunity to provide excellent academic preparation for the children we serve. We are most grateful for the opportunity to share Jesus’ amazing love with children and their families.
National Lutheran Schools Week gives us an opportunity to proclaim these great blessings within the communities we serve.
Our schools are amazing incubators for faithful witness of God’s love for us through Christ by teachers and students alike.
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Please click here for the January Convention Accent. It contains all of the information about the 2024 convention including registration forms. Come to the LWML English District 41st Biennial Convention April 26 - 28, 2024 in Detroit, MI.
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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.
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Worship Service
The Nuer-speaking fellowship at St. Mark's Church is composed of dedicated and faithful members who worship every Sunday afternoon. 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.
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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.
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Church Planting Simplified Workshop - Cleveland, OH Area | | |
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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.
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New Free Resource: Daily Lutheran Devotions for Spanish-Speakers | | |
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La Palabra del Señor Permance Para Siempre (“The Word of the Lord Endures Forever”) is now available from the Lutheran Heritage Foundation here. From the link, search by language or title to download the most recent edition. These quarterly collections of devotions are written by LCMS Latin American missionaries and by pastors of LCMS Latin American partner churches.
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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.
Prayers for the Chilman family at the passing of Norval Chilman. Norval served for many years as a Licensed Lay Deacon at Peace of the Desert, Palm Desert, CA.
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.
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.
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Contact Dan Lepley, DVP - English and SELC District Lutheran Church Extension Fund, for more information at 317-402-9401.
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Lutheran Federal Credit Union | | |
The high school youth helped unpack the newly refurbished bells with Mary Stahlke. They also had the opportunity to be the first to play them. | |
The youth also created cards to include in care packages made by kids at The Projects for people going through chemo treatments. | |
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Fairlawn, Fairlawn, OH
Students at Fairlawn Lutheran School are staying warm with their teddy bears. The bears got to hibernate in the classroom cave! Students also played inside with snow; painting it and making art with it.
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Shepherd King, West Bloomfield, MI
Students at Shepherd King Preschool loved Pizza week! They made little pizzas, played with pizza and even ate pizza. What a yummy way to learn!
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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 the unique ministries of your school or congregation with the rest of the English 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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