English District of
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
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Living Our Baptized Life in Christ
Galatians 2:20
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Call Accepted
The Rev. Bradley P. Urlaub has accepted the Divine Call to serve as the Sole Pastor of St. Mark, Mendon, NY (Eastern District).
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Lake Erie Pastors Conference | | |
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The Lake Erie Pastors Conference was held October 21-23 at Ascension Lutheran Church in North Olmsted, OH.
The conference guest speaker was Rev. Dr. Thomas M. Winger, president of and professor at Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary, St. Catharines, ON, Canada. TED Talks were presented by Rev. Dr. Matthias Benfey, Rev. Ryan Beffrey, and Rev. Dr. Terry Hursh. Bishop Jeffrey Miskus preached and served in the Divine Service that was led by Rev. Jonathan McCall, with Rev. Derek Mathers, Rev. Bob Tauscher, Rev. Zachary Marklevitz, and Mr. Terry Leu assisting.
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Ministerial Health Commission | | |
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October is Church Worker Appreciation Month
A church worker’s vocation is filled with both blessings and hardships. One of the top priorities of the LCMS is to promote and nurture the spiritual, emotional and physical well-being of pastors and professional church workers. An important way to show love and support is to encourage those who are called to serve. Click here for resources and ideas for showing appreciation for the church workers in your life.
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We encourage congregations to reproduce and share the following message with your members. Click here for Lifeline's "Reformation Day -- Proclaiming the Sanctity of Life" reproducible file in .pdf format. Click here for more information on Lifeline. | |
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Greetings in Christ!
I am blessed to share with you that as of October 1, 2024, I have been serving in the position of Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) District Vice President (DVP) for the English and SELC Districts.
With my experience and having served within our church, I have learned so much that will assist me in my role as District Vice President. I look forward to meeting you and establishing a long and fruitful relationship as we strive to bring Christ to the people living in our district. If you wish to know more about me, your LCEF partner in ministry, you can view my LCEF website page by clicking here.
Blessings,
John Hoover
District Vice President
English and SELC Districts
314-276-3370
john.hoover@lcef.org
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1-1-1 A Dollar for Missions | | |
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Thank you to all those who joined in supporting our two 1-1-1 identified missions this past year. One dollar, placed into your congregation’s collection receptacle, gathered with all the dollars from individuals in other congregations across our district has raised $31,653.62.
“Many doing little can accomplish much.”
This amount gathered has been distributed 50/50 between the Church of St. Mark – Lutheran: Nuer Congregation in Mississauga, ON and Eastern Washington University LCMS-U, connected to Blessed Sacrament Lutheran Church in Hayden, ID.
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Pastor Philip Gai, associate pastor at St. Mark, writes: “The Nuer-speaking fellowship at St. Mark’s is composed of dedicated and faithful members who worship every Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The worship service format is similar to the 11:00 English service, which uses the Lutheran hymnal, but here, we use the Nuer hymnal and Bible. While working full time, I lead the Nuer service. During the week, I continue with the ministry by returning calls, visiting the sick and homebound, and praying with those who need prayers on the phone. Sometimes, I must leave work to attend to those needing pastoral care.
I would like to acknowledge the excellent support I continue to receive from our Nuer and English congregation. Without their support, I don’t know how I would continue to do this ministry.”
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Pastor Marc DiConti, associate pastor of Blessed Sacrament Lutheran Church assigned to campus ministry, shares: “Friday, September 27, LCMS-U hosted an ‘exhibit table’ at Eastern Washington University's largest student body event – ‘Neighbor Fest.’ I engaged 100+ students, and 80 of them took our 6-question Bible quiz. I ran out of the quizzes, or we'd have given more. They were enticed to take the quiz knowing they could pass with a 50% chance of winning a prize. The quiz was a great way to meet new students, discuss Jesus, share that ‘absolutes’ and ‘truth’ do exist, and it served as a means to invite them to our weekly gatherings for ‘Christianity101’ teaching, discussion, singing, and free lunch. It was especially heart-warming to reconnect with numerous students from last year, some who never came to our home gathering but remembered receiving our weekly campus cider serving on 'Warm Wednesday'.”
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Through the gifts of 1-1-1 during the 2023-2024 collection season, both these missions received significant additional support which they will use to strengthen their outreach to those still outside of a living relationship with Jesus, our only Savior.
Again, a BIG thank you for the 31,653 times a member or friend of our district placed a dollar in the 1-1-1 container at their congregation.
Coming soon: announcement of the 2024-2025 identified 1-1-1 recipient missions.
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We lift in prayer the parents, family, and friends of Matthew Cassel that God will grant them His comfort and peace.
District daily prayers for November 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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Lutheran Federal Credit Union | | |
For more information, please contact our Operations Department at 314-394-2790 | |
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Shepherd of the Mountains, Pinetop, AZ
The congregation of Shepherd of the Mountains recently hosted its annual Octoberfest. The event included German beer, a pie auction, and whole-bean coffee personally roasted by one of the members. The pie auction brought in $1400 towards replacing the ceiling tiles in the sanctuary. Good food, good beer, good pie, and good coffee made for a winning combination and a successful afternoon.
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Catalina, Tucson, AZ
Catalina Lutheran Church hosted the Concordia Seminary Faculty Workshop "What Does It Mean to be Lutheran in America? Discord in the LCMS in the 1960s and 1970s", presented by Rev. Dr. Gerhard H. Bode, Professor and Chair, Department of Historical Theology and Director of the Center for Reformation Research, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.
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Calvary, Mechanicsburg, PA
Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church's Clothing Closet began in 2010 with several congregational members coming together to form the Clothing Ministry Committee. They began gathering, advertising, and distributing clothing to local families in need at no charge. This program has grown over time and now receives donations from the community at-large. In addition, the program has expanded to being an event that occurs several times a year. We pray for God's continued blessing upon this ministry that demonstrates a true love for neighbors through outreach.
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Chapel of the Cross, St. Louis, MO
Kids, youth, and adults came together for a Vacation Bible School party this summer at Chapel of the Cross. At Celebrate the Savior Vacation Bible School, kids experienced the joy of knowing Jesus through interactive Bible accounts, awesome music, cool crafts, yummy snacks, great games, and amazing science demonstrations. A wonderful group of adult and youth volunteers from Chapel of the Cross, Blessed Savior, and Grace Chapel made this VBS a success!
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Redeemer, Oakmont, PA
The beginning of the school year at Redeemer Lutheran Church and Redeemer Lutheran School includes the fall athletic season! Pictured here are the middle school volleyball team, the middle school soccer team, and the high school cross-country team. We pray for a successful and fun season for participants and supporters.
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West Portal, San Francisco, CA | |
Eighth graders from West Portal Lutheran School recently visited Washington D.C. While there, they had the honor of laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. We pray that this experience was a blessing for them. | |
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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.
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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 llinthicum@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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