English District of
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
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Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.
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Bishop Jamison Hardy was pleased to worship with our English District workers and pastors in the Dominican Republic, including long-time friends, Rev. Dr. Jonathan and Deaconess Cheryl Naumann.
Thanks Rev. Ted Krey, LCMS Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, for all the wonderful work you do for the sake of the gospel.
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Dominican Republic FORO meeting in Santiago.
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Call Accepted
The Rev. Thomas P. Braun, River of Life, St. Peter, MN (Minnesota South District) has accepted the call to serve as Senior Pastor at Ascension, Tucson, AZ.
Calls Received
The Rev. John H. Diener, Grace, Wyoming, MI, has received a call to serve Trinity, Jackson, MI (Michigan District).
The Rev. Michael A. Johnson, Sr., Candidate Status (Southern District), has received a call to serve Faith, Arlington Heights, IL.
The Rev. Bruce J. von Hindenburg, Good Shepherd, Inglewood, CA (Pacific Southwest District), has received a call to serve Hope, Fremont, CA.
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Ministerial Health Commission
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All of us have our “down” days. All of us have our days (or more) where we “do what we don’t want to do and don’t do what we know we should.” Lord, have mercy! As your
Ministerial Health Commission
of LCMS English District, we know that our life journey is a struggle at times. What we want you to know is that we are here to be a
confidential
sister or brother in Christ, walking along side of you in your struggle. We strive to be a listening ear with a non-judgmental heart, supporting you where you are, not where ANYONE thinks you should be! We will encourage, not chastise, listen without advising, and pray without ceasing for you. May God grant you the strength to reach out if and when you need it.
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CONGREGATION STATISTICS INFORMATION UPDATE
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Thank you to the 25 English District congregations who have submitted their end-of-year statistics on the
LCMS Information Support Network (LISN) for Congregations. Those of you who have not done so, please access the page using the link and congregation ID and password sent to you in February and complete them as soon as possible.
If you have not received or cannot locate the letter, please contact Synod at 888-843-5267 or
rosters.stats@lcms.org
to request your login information. Deadline to submit the congregation statistics is Tuesday, March 31, 2020.
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Conference Registration Open
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Board of Directors: May 18–19
Professional Church Workers: May 19 (3:00 pm)–May 21 (11:30 am)
Circuit Visitors: May 21 (noon)–May 22 (11:00 am)
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Campus Ministry Breakout Session
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The Campus Ministry Task Force is looking for feedback on topics related to campus ministry you are interested in learning more about. Please take a moment to fill our their
survey
.
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The English District LCMS's new
About feature is now a drop-down menu with multiple choices. You can select: Circuit Visitors, Staff, Who We Are, History, Official Acts, Contact Us. Each of these now are full of information, set up around helping you! Please let us know if you can't find something that you need, and we will be happy to help.
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1-1-1 A Dollar for Missions
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Pictured is the 1-1-1 box at The Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Matthew, Scarborough, Ontario.
Contact our District Mission Executive, Pastor
Derek Mathers
or Pastor
Justin Laughridge
, Chair of the Missions Council, with any questions regarding 1-1-1.
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“Building Up the Body: Worker-to-Worker” is a series of church worker wellness devotions on t
he LCMS website. This week's devotion focuses on
Physical Wellness
. You can also find more wellness resources at
lcms.org/wellness.
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Illness Prevention Materials
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The LCMS has materials available
here
to help congregations prepare for widespread illness.
During the traditional cold and flu season as well as the spread of coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2) which is of concern to many, we ask that you join in partnering to provide the safest and healthiest environment for members, students, families, faculty, and staff at your church.
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Lutheran Bible Translators
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LBT's new article is titled
A World of Possibilities. Read it
here.
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Your prayer concerns are important to the English District. When you submit a prayer request, with your permission, it will be posted in this weekly eNewsletter. The Bible's promise is true: "If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us" (1 John 5:14).
Pray for Rev. Derek Mathers for healing and recovery.
Pray for Rev. Ben Eder for healing and recovery.
Pray for Nashville, TN, and all those affected by the tornado.
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Contact David Thiele, English District LCEF Vice President, by
email or phone
517-980-2857.
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For more information contact the English District Gift Planning Counselor Ron Grimm by phone (
412)-584-7039
or
email
.
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Naumann Family Update
The Naumann family is serving God in Latin America. Read about their work
here
.
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Kaster Family Update
The Kaster family is serving God in Prague. Read about their work
here
.
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Bethesda Lutheran Church and School, Chicago, IL
An English District grant, made possible by the generous members of Bethany Lutheran Church, who donated their building to the district, allowed Bethesda Lutheran Church and School to make significant upgrades to their gym facility. These updates will allow Bethesda to expand the use of its building in a variety of ways for the future and are greatly appreciated by the Bethesda church and school communities.
Bethany's gift to the district was a legacy that is furthering the work of the Gospel in the Chicago area. Bethesda is the second featured parish to receive funds from this gift.
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Martin Luther Chapel, East Lansing, MI
Teams of students from Martin Luther Chapel spent their spring break week working with the Pensacola chapter of Habitat for Humanity or with Camp Restore in New Orleans.
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Peace in the Valley, Benson, AZ
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Peace in the Valley Lutheran Church was blessed to participate in the Re:Vitality Serving in God's Mission Leadership Retreat which was held at the Holy Trinity Monastery in St. David, AZ. Lots of learning, sharing, strategic planning and fellowship!
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St. Mark, Sheboyan, WI
St. Mark Lutheran Church was honored to host the Concordia University Kammerchor choir for a concert that was open to the community.
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Our Saviour, Valley Stream, NY
Pictured is the children's Sunday school service.
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West Portal, San Francisco, CA
West Portal Lutheran Church hosted a fellowship luncheon for church and school families.
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West Portal welcomed new members by confirmation and baptism.
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St. John's, Clarksburg, WV
St. John's Lutheran Church rejoices with the celebration of its very first baptism since becoming a congregation of the English District in October 2019! Iosefa, son of Pastor and Britta Gandy, was baptized into Christ on Sexagesima Sunday, February 16, 2020. God bless him as he grows in the faith and embraces his identity in Christ.
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St. John's had an exciting morning when Pastor Gandy was joined by 14 new faces from the community for Matins. From this group nine attended Divine Service on Sunday. Because Matins is prayed every Tuesday-Friday at 8 a.m., it is a great opportunity for those from the community to visit and learn more about St. John's and our Lutheran heritage.
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Christ Our Redeemer, Allen Park, MI
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Rev. Joel Holls welcomed Oaken to the family of Christ through the waters of holy baptism.
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English District Financial Aid
English District Financial Aid information is available on the English District
website.
Please read the material carefully and note that the deadline for submission is
June 1, 2020.
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Christ the King, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI
The preschool class had a "Freaky Friday" celebration.
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Shepherd King, West Bloomfield, MI
A mystery reader came to read to the students.
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Grace Beginnings, Wyoming, MI
Painting all of the parts of flowers!
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Faith Preschool of Jacob's Well, Fort Wayne, IN
The preschoolers made leprechaun masks!
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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 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 in your community and around the world.
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If you'd like to share our emails, please forward
using your email's forwarding option.
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