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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Bishop Jeff Miskus presided over the installation of Reverend Dr. Douglas H. Spittel as Associate Pastor of Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, Alexandria, Virginia. Rev. Dr. Spittel also serves as the missionary chaplain at St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Chapel in Chincoteague, Virginia.
“Let it be to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38
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Call Received
The Rev. Jonathan A. Torreson (Ohio District) has received a Divine Call to serve as Sole Pastor of St. Mark’s, Janesville, WI.
Call Received and Accepted
The Rev. Paul A. Wolff (Michigan District) has received and accepted a Divine Call to serve as Sole Pastor of Redeemer, St. Clair Shores, MI.
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We pray for the family of David Hoff, (brother-in-law of English District staff member Kathy Stanis), who entered eternal rest.
We pray for the family of Rev. Marvin R. Hinkle, Emeritus, who was called to glory.
We pray for the family of Rev. Glenn A. Mertz, who entered eternal life.
District daily prayers for January 2026 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.
| | English District Endowment Fund | | | |
Your faithful tithes and offerings to the English District Endowment Fund enable us to continue to be a source of hope and opportunity for people who need us. Please prayerfully consider joining us in ministry so that the English District can continue its work in spreading the message of Christ. The English District Endowment Fund was established to provide support to current and new missions and ministries, church workers and seminary students, and campus ministries in the areas where our congregations live and witness.
Every gift matters. Whatever God leads you to give will be a great blessing as we all work together to plant new missions and schools, and provide resources to existing ministries and church workers across the United States, Canada, and around the world.
Click here to give now.
| | MinistryFocus Grants for Rostered Church Workers | | | |
Applications for church worker financial assistance in 2026 are now available. All rostered church workers of the LCMS are eligible for these grants. Since 2015, MinistryFocus has awarded more than $1.1 million in financial assistance grants to 392 LCMS church workers.
Additionally, in a partnership with LCEF and MinistryFocus through a matching fund from the Lilly Endowment, the English District is pleased to announce that applications for up to three (3) Ministry Excellence Fund grants are also now available at MinistryFocus.org for pastors and deaconesses in the district. These grants include an online financial education course from Concordia University Wisconsin in addition to a financial assistance grant. The application for all grant programs is the same and MinistryFocus will determine eligibility for the respective grants. Grant applications are due December 31st and award announcements will be made in late January 2026.
If you have any questions, please email Rev. Ken Krueger.
| | Time to Update Your Photo? | | | |
Did you know that the English District posts Daily Prayers on Facebook and Instagram? Every day, a congregation, church worker, school, or ministry is lifted in prayer. If the congregation, school, or ministry has a Facebook page, the prayer will be "tagged" (connected) to that page. In addition, we post pictures of those congregations and church workers, as well as ministry logos.
If you are a church worker and would like us to update the photo we have on file, just email a new photo. The same goes for your church building or ministry logo.
Don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
| | Contact John Hoover, LCEF Vice President, by email or phone 314-276-3370 for more information. | | Lutheran Federal Credit Union | | | For more information, please contact our Operations Department at 314-394-2790. | | |
St. Luke’s, Chincoteague, VA
Pastor Doug Spittel and members of St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Chapel welcomed Lt. Charlie Hoffmann, a Naval Aviator training at Wallops Flight Facility, to join them in worship. We give thanks for this growing ministry!
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Shepherd King, West Bloomfield Township, MI
Pastor Tim Holzerland and members of the Lutheran Church of the Shepherd King delivered 64 Christmas stockings to Head Start of Farmington Hills, Farmington, MI. Head Start has been a mission of the church for over 10 years. The congregation shares Christ with the children and parents of this program at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.
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St. Luke, Toronto, ON
Pastor Justin Laughridge and members of The Church of St. Luke - Lutheran hosted a Christmas concert featuring the church's choir and musicians, along with members of their Arts Ministry. M.J. Koh shared her world-renowned talents on the violin for the concert. The following weekend, the congregation enjoyed a Saturday Christmas breakfast with the Men's Bible Study participants, their families and friends, as well as a Living Nativity Service.
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West Portal, San Francisco, CA
Members of West Portal Lutheran Church welcomed Tabitha Joy, daughter of Jacob and Faith, through the waters of baptism. Pastor Jacob Swenson, Associate Pastor, officiated the service.
| | Concordia Center for the Family | | | |
Concordia Center for the Family, a Recognized Service Organization of the LCMS, is uniting homes and congregations in making lifelong disciples of Jesus. Through foundational training events, Family Discipleship Facilitators are being equipped and inspired to strengthen the marriages and families served by our LCMS congregations and schools. CCF wants YOU as a Family Discipleship Facilitator! This training opportunity is for called and commissioned leaders of LCMS congregations and schools, along with lay family ministry leaders. MORE trainings have been recently added! Find out about our 2026 trainings here. Also consider CCF's Faith & Life Survey tool to assess how well you're serving families. Find out more here. Find resources and sign up for our weekly emails by going to our website here.
| | Lenten Preaching Workshop | | | |
Join the Rev. Dr. Todd Peperkorn for the Lenten Preaching Workshop on January 19, 2026. This year’s theme is “For Us,” drawn from the hymn “O Love, How Deep” (LSB 544). This sermon series draws from the Scriptures and from the hymn to confess the wondrous reality that our Savior became one of us, for us, so that we might share His life.
For workshop materials or more information, click here.
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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 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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