Living Our Baptized Life in Christ

Galatians 2:20

June 5, 2026

At the recent English District Professional Church Workers Conference, Bishop Miskus said he would share the PowerPoint presentation highlighting God’s work through the English District as we serve together in mission.

Many people in the English District may not realize all that we do together in mission for God’s Kingdom. Click here to view the PowerPoint celebrating what God is doing through the English District.

Call Accepted

Ministerial Candidate David O. Christensen has accepted the Divine Call to serve as Sole Pastor of Good Shepherd, Toledo, OH.

Call Returned

The Rev. Kirk S. Hulvey (Northwest District) has returned the Divine Call to serve as Sole Pastor of Prince of Peace, Menomonee Falls, WI.

"Is death the solution to the problems of life? Our culture, our government, basically the whole world answers yes. For them, death is the compassionate relief of suffering; it is a way of having some control of your own life, to have freedom, to be dignified, as they say. This way of thinking is so pervasive that many Christians are influenced by it, so that the baby in the womb is seen as nothing more than a clump of extra cells, or sending grandma early to see Jesus is the right thing to do..." Rev. Ling Pui Yeong, Trinity Lutheran Church, Toronto, ON.

Read the rest of Rev. Yeong's sermon from the Toronto March for Life here.

The recent Toronto March for Life, held in Queen's Park just outside the Ontario Parliament Building, was the best attended so far... even with the steady rain during the speeches and the march. The rain was a drizzle, but the temperature was 60 degrees and actually was refreshing! 

Pictured: Several march participants from Trinity Lutheran Church, Toronto, the Stratford Right To Life Association, and members of the English District.

We read in Romans 4: 7-8, “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”

How many people view the above statements as a certainty in their lives? We know that apart from knowing Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, this cannot be the case. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, with His means of grace, Word and Sacrament, our Mission 1-1-1 dollars aid in fueling this purpose as Jesus laid it out in His Great Commission. Our faith and belief in our purpose motivate our actions because life outside these truths can only ultimately lead to a life of desperation, deception, and emptiness.

In Romans 10:14, Paul asks, “How can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”

If you are reading this, and your church has yet to participate in Mission 1-1-1, the message below is for you.

All the information your congregation needs to get started in contributing to the Mission 1-1-1 ministry can be found on the district website. It is the goal of this campaign to saturate our efforts with Scripture, through where the Holy Spirit moves us.

Meet a member of the Ministerial Health Commission

Rev. James Bowes 

Palm Desert, CA 

Cell: (951)535-9374 

pastorjamesbowes@gmail.com 

After spending 20 years in the Navy, deploying to Iraq, Afghanistan and many other interesting places around the world, Pastor James began feeling the call in the ministry. James was ordained in January 2024 after graduating Concordia University Irvine, at the Cross-cultural Ministry Center, receiving a divine call and currently serving as Pastor of Peace Lutheran Church of the Desert in Palm Desert, California. James was also awarded a graduate certificate in Pastoral Counseling (Military Resiliency) and has returned to pursuing his Doctor of Ministry in Pastoral Counseling from Liberty University. James was awarded his B.S. (Health Care Management) from Trident University International. 

In the Navy, James served as a Hospital Corpsman, Fleet Marine Force Corpman, Preventive Medicine Technician, and Instructor of Microbiology and Entomology at the Medical Education and Training Campus affiliated with Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, College of Allied Health Sciences. 

After retiring from the Navy, James began education and training for the ministry serving as vicar at Promise Lutheran Church in Murrieta, California. During his time in the Navy, he volunteered with the youth at Promise and then King of Glory in Williamsburg, Virginia, and also had the opportunity to teach and lead adult Bible studies at Shepherd of the Hills in San Antonio, Texas. With the help of the Holy Spirit, he prays that he will continue to fulfill what God has called him to do. 

James is married to his supportive wife Lauren and blessed with two wonderful girls, Bella and Lilia. When not studying or working, James enjoys spending time with his family, camping, watching science fiction and military shows, or just relaxing. 

With the celebration of Pentecost, we have passed through most of the Festival Season of the Church year. It began in Advent as we thanked the Father for sending His Son. It continued in Epiphany, Lent, and Easter when we saw the saving love of Jesus. And we gave thanks for the gift of the Holy Spirit, without whom we could not have faith. Read our most recent newsletter here.

God bless you as you stand firm in the faith of the God of our salvation,

Rev. Dale and Suzanne Kaster

We join Deaconess Jennifer Schmidt in celebrating her graduation from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. She completed her Master's degree exactly 40 years after earning her Bachelor's degree from Concordia University Chicago. We pray that God will continue to bless her and her ministry in serving His Kingdom.

We lift in prayer the family of Brett Scrogham. Brett was gathered from this life and granted eternal rest around the altar and throne of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He rests from his labors and awaits the Resurrection and a glorious reunion to come. A GoFundMe has been established in his honor.

We ask that you join us in praying for the family of Amy Mathers, daughter of Pastor Derek and Deb Mathers, who was taken into the arms of Jesus and now awaits His promise of resurrection. Despite being born with a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy, Amy was a fighter throughout her life. She was the grateful recipient of three gifts of life: a liver at age 5, a heart at age 27, and a kidney at age 40. Our hearts go out to the Mathers family, but we grieve in hope. Read Amy's obituary here.

District daily prayers for June 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.

The English District Endowment Fund is to provide God’s People with a unique opportunity to participate in a perpetual fund which assists congregations in supporting ministries and missions such as Campus Ministries, Human Care & Disaster Relief, and New Missions. There are earnings available for grants. Please visit the website for more information.

Rostered workers who are currently serving (called workers) in an English District LCMS congregation or school are eligible to apply for an education indebtedness grant. These grants are one aspect of the Endowment Fund currently being offered to Rostered Church Workers to assist with paying off their student loans.  

For a Church Worker (Student Loan) Debt Reduction Grant, we ask that you complete an Application for Church Worker Transitional Assistance. These forms will be available on our District website beginning May 25, 2026. The deadline for applications is Tuesday, June 30, 2026.

To support our congregations, ministries, and church workers through the English District Endowment Fund, click here to donate. 

If you have any questions, please contact Rev. Derek Mathers at 1-800-755-9335.

Contact John Hoover, LCEF District Vice President, by email or phone 314-276-3370 for more information.

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

For more information, please contact our Operations Department at 314-394-2790.

First Trinity, Pittsburgh, PA

Pastor Benjamin Janssen and members of First Trinity Evangelical-Lutheran Church welcomed new members through the confession of Christian Faith and Holy Baptism. Thanks be to God!

Mount Olive, Tucson, AZ

Pastor Isaac Wirtz and members of Mount Olive Lutheran Church were excited to welcome back a former member and current seminarian, Gabriel Baker. Gabe and his family originally came to Mount Olive a few years back, where the whole family involved themselves heavily in the congregation. Gabe is currently in his first year of Seminary at Fort Wayne and was invited to read a sermon with oversight and review by Pastor Wirtz. In addition to that, Vicar Samuel Ledford, also a student at Fort Wayne, joined the congregation that Sunday, having served as a summer vicar for some time at Mount Olive and currently serving Faith Lutheran Church as a full-time vicar. The congregation had a Baker "Baked Potato Send-off" where additional funds were collected to support the Baker family during their time in seminary.

Grace, Redford, MI

For the 15th year, Grace Lutheran Church, served by Pastor Tim Halboth, opened its doors for the annual spring concert of the Redford Civic Symphony.  In honor of the 250th anniversary of our nation, the symphony performed “An Americana Concert”. Hundreds from the community enjoyed a concert and a reception following the concert sponsored by Grace’s Women’s Ministries.

Redeemer, Oakmont, PA

Pastor Adam Koontz and members of Redeemer Lutheran Church recently welcomed the Morrison family to the church and three confirmands have been confirmed in the faith. Thanks be to God!

St. Thomas, Magnolia, TX

The congregation of St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church, served by Pastor Stanley Lacey, received five new members. After the service, the congregation gathered for a reception to celebrate the occasion and welcome the new members. The Lord has richly blessed St. Thomas over the past year, and the church continues to grow in faith toward God and fervent love toward one another!

Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary in St. Catharines is celebrating its 50th anniversary. It was founded by The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in 1976 to train future pastors from Canada and the nearby northeastern states in the US, and it continues to serve that purpose now under the aegis of Lutheran Church-Canada, a sister church body of the LCMS.

To celebrate this important milestone, the seminary will host a three-day (Monday noon to Wednesday noon) conference on 19-21 October 2026 in nearby Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. The conference will serve as the official pastors’ conference for the Eastern District of the LCMS, as well as for the corresponding pastoral conference on the Canadian side. But we welcome pastors, commissioned church workers, and interested lay people from anywhere to attend the event. 

Click here for more information and to register.

The congregation of Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, served by Pastor Luke Zimmerman, will be hosting "Treasured Themes in Philippians," presented by Dr. John G. Nordling.

With the writing of a commentary comes the opportunity to enter further and deeper into treasured themes in Paul's letter to the Philippians: partnership in the gospel; Christological preaching amid the imprisonment; the Christ hymn (2:5–11); apostolic use of Roman military language; intertextual themes; regarding all things as loss for the sake of Christ (3:7); and the nature of the Philippians’ gift and implications for their life together. The present course covers all these themes, and then some, and relates them to preaching, parish, and ministry.

This educational opportunity will be held August 4-6, 2026 at Calvary Lutheran Church, 208 Woods Drive, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050. Click here for more information. Register here.

Music lovers of all ages are invited to the annual Summer Carillon Concerts at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. Concerts are held at 7 p.m. CDT every Tuesday in June as part of the 2025-26 Concordia Seminary Music Series. For those who cannot attend in person, the concerts will also be broadcast live on KFUO Radio. All concerts are free and open to the public.

“Concordia Seminary’s carillon series each June is a gift to our neighbors and to the wider Lutheran community in St. Louis,” said Dean of Chapel Dr. Jon Vieker. “Our magnificent carillon is one of only 175 such instruments in North America, and it is a blessing to welcome world-class artists who make it sing!” 

Get Ready for LSM 2026! Lutheran Summer Music returns to St. Olaf College for its 2026 season, June 21–July 19, featuring more than 40 free concerts, recitals, worship services, and special events free and open to the public.

Highlights include the inaugural LSM Choral Gathering, guest performance by Cantus, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, the Bach Cantata Eucharist, and Festival Week concerts featuring LSM’s Festival Band, Choir, and Orchestra. Most events will also be available online via Live from LSM.

View the season brochure, explore events, and reserve free tickets here.

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, with follow-up cohorts and coaching options, 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. Upcoming trainings include August 6-8 in Irvine, CA and November 12-14 in Rockledge, FL. Find out about our 2026 trainings here. 

ENGLISH DISTRICT LCMS

248-476-0039

info@englishdistrict.org

www.englishdistrict.org

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