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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On Sunday, July 19, 2020, Bishop Jamison J. Hardy had the pleasure of worshipping with the members of Hope, Bellaire, MI and welcoming the congregation into the English District.
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It is with a mix of joy and sadness that I share the planned retirement of Rev. David Thiele as District Vice President for the English and SELC districts.
David has served the English District 40 years; pastoring two congregations, serving as Mission Executive, and then moving to LCEF District Vice President ten years ago. While doing such a great job for the English District, Dave added the duties of serving the SELC District as their
LCEF District Vice President (DVP)
the last four years.
Dave brings a joyful smile and creative attitude to his work. He has faithfully served the LCMS these many years and now desires a new adventure with his family. He would note their numerous sacrifices over his 40 years of ministry.
LCEF and the English and SELC Districts have begun the process to identify a new DVP to serve the two non-geographic districts of the LCMS. The position is posted
here
.
Dave’s retirement will be effective December 31.
Bishop Jamison Hardy
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Mission Grant Application
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Supporting Clergy Families - Spouses
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We would like to provide clergy spouses an opportunity to be specifically supported during this time of Covid-19. Wives of English District pastors are invited to a private Zoom session with Dr. Beverly Yahnke, similar to the session that was offered to church workers recently but focusing on the unique needs and situations that clergy wives encounter in their daily lives.
If you are the spouse of an English District pastor, please send your email address to
Holly Scheer
. Holly is a confidential contact who works very closely with me at the District office.
We continue to keep all our church workers and their families in prayer as they make decisions and movements toward returning to worship and ministry activities or not, depending on the context of their ministry. We remain vigilant to care for our church workers, their spouses and their families as an English District. We pray for God's continued peace, protection, and guidance.
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Concordia Plans Town Hall
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English District & Concordia Plan Services (CPS) invite you to a Town Hall meeting to discuss the changes coming to the Concordia Health Plan (CHP) in 2021. These changes are the result of feedback you and other employers have provided CPS. The meeting should last around 60 minutes; 30-40 minutes to outline changes with ample time for questions and discussion.
- CHP rate increases
- CHP plan design changes
- New Vision and Dental offerings
- New Wellness Offerings
- OE Timeline
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Professional Church Workers Conference
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The Professional Church Workers Conference (PCWC) will be held October 5-7, 2020 in Akron, Ohio:
Fairlawn Lutheran Church
3415 W. Market Street, Fairlawn, OH 44333
Lodging: Holiday Inn – Akron West
4073 Medina Road, Akron, OH 44333
Find more information and a link to register on our
website
.
Mark your calendars now and complete the registration by August 30.
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The LCMS is hosting an online workshop for church musicians. Details
here
.
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How can you guide your people to get involved with multiple areas of ministry in your church? Learn about Ministry Menus
here
.
If you are interested in moving your ministry forward with ideas like these, please c
ontact David Thiele, English District LCEF Vice President, by
email or phone
517-980-2857.
LCEF is here to support you and your congregation.
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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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Livestreamed/Recorded Services
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We encourage everyone to take advantage of alternative opportunities to hear God’s word and to be blessed by the Divine Service. We have compiled a
list of opportunities
on the English District website that is continually updated.
If your congregation is recording or live streaming and is not included on this list, please email us at
[email protected]
and let us know how people can access it.
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To access the recording, please click
here.
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PPP Loan Forgiveness Requirements
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The Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 has amended The CARES Act. The amendment now allows 24 weeks to use proceeds of the loan for qualified forgiveness purposes (some borrowers can still use an 8-week period), an increase in forgivable non-payroll expenditures to 40% of the forgiveness amount, and several other modifications.
Links to additional information on CARES Act amendments are available on the
PPP Loan Information
page of our website.
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Ministerial Health Commission
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Hello, and prayers and blessings to you that you are safe and well in this time of lockdowns, isolation, and uncertainty. In these unprecedented times we desperately need our pastors to share the Good News and support us in strengthening our faith. We also need the wisdom and experience of health professionals to share clear, concise guidelines for us to follow.
We know that we all have had times of worry, doubt, and, yes, even fear. However, as Christians, we all have the joy and peace knowing that our Lord is with us, and He will strengthen us with all that we need. Our future is not known to us; but, praise God, we know that HE knows! We ask God to protect us; yet, we must do all that we can to grow in our faith, follow good health practices, and promote patience as we ask for His mercy and accept His plan for our future.
We live in a broken world full of all kinds of sin, and we are now experiencing the sin of the coronavirus pandemic. Folks, just as the coronavirus is alive and well and we must use all of our resources to combat this evil, the devil is also alive and well and we MUST use the power of our Lord and Savior Jesus to combat Satan. Just as we may not get a second chance to fight the
coronavirus
if infected, we may also miss the chance to know, go, and share the Good News of Jesus to our world.
If there are concerns or questions please let me know.
Blessings,
Parish Nurse Sue Neff, on behalf of the MHC
If you have questions or concerns, please contact:
Assistant to the Bishop and Mission Executive
1-800-755-9335 x 311 or 248.476.0039 x 311
416-320-6366 (Canadian cell)
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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).
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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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The 2019 - 2020 LCMS School report is available on
LuthEd.org
.
The full Supreme Court ruling on the support of religious scholarships and tax credits is
here
.
Please keep our school and school faculties in your prayers as they work to plan to restart classes in the fall. With so much changing day-to-day, it is a difficult task. Many families are still undecided and uncertain about enrolling their children, which can create unsettling times for our school leaders. Thanks be to God that we have outstanding leadership in our English District schools, who fully rely on the grace of God to guide them through the hills and valleys of Christian education.
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Bethesda International, Chicago, IL
The end of summer camp.
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Grace Beginnings, Wyoming, MI
The end of summer camp.
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LCEF District Vice President
The English and SELC Districts, in partnership with the Lutheran Church Extension Fund, are filling the role of LCEF District Vice President to develop and nurture strong relationships with the pastors, ministers and key lay leaders in the English & SELC Districts for the purpose of promoting, cultivating and capturing loan opportunities. The Vice President will assist LCEF National Lending in developing and maintaining tangible relationships with key Recognized Service Organizations, educational ministries and other LCMS affiliated ministries that fall under the authority of the National Lending team.
More information is available
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 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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