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MARTIN LUTHER'S PRAYER FOR GOOD GOVERNMENT
We pray especially for the government under whose care and protection you have called us. Bless it with success and prosperity. May the word of God, decency, and all honesty be advanced; may all of the offense of which there is so much be prevented; and may the common welfare be properly and peaceably provided. Make us obedient and devout. Amen.
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UPDATE: BATON ROUGE AREA FLOODING
Camp Restore Baton Rouge has been established at Trinity Oaks. Through partnerships with organizations like Camp Restore New Orleans, Orphan Grain Train, Lutheran Church Charities, and many others, they are able to provide volunteers the food, lodging, and work-sites needed. They are currently taking volunteer groups of all sizes and skill levels. If you wish to receive more information about volunteering, contact DCE Nick Butcher at
nick@camprestore.org
or check out
Camprestore.org.
There is still a need for donations -- Nick has set up an Amazon wish list for Camp Supplies (
http://a.co/1gEBn2W) and is always in need of staple supplies such as chips, sweet snack foods, granola bars, and Gatorade. If you would like more information about the needs of camp or would like to donate in other ways, please contact Nick Butcher.
These can be delivered to the Southern District Office at 100 Mission Dr., Slidell, LA Monday through
Thursday,
8 AM to 5 PM or sent directly to Camp Restore, 15160 S Harrell's Ferry Rd, Baton Rouge, LA 70816.
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ANCHORS AWAY! 
Greetings to all cruisers!
Cruise documents are now ready to print.
With Your Booking Number follow this link and complete all required information. Then print your boarding documents and luggage tags. You must complete this information before printing documents.
Other items to remember:
Once you board the ship please proceed immediately to the Lido Deck - deck #9 by the glass elevators and look for the District Hospitality Table where you will pick up the conference schedule before the muster drill.
If you are interested in meeting with Rev. Dr. Rick Armstrong onboard the ship of the Ministerial Assistance Program be sure and contact him to arrange a time that works for you both. You can schedule ahead of time by calling him at 407-644-4692 or email at raarmstrong@LCSFL.com. He will be in Cabin #9222 which you can call on the ship or put a note under his door as well.
Presenters are Jock and Gail Ficken of PLI. Come and be inspired and re-energized.
Be sure and take your Travel Insurance with you on the cruise.
Also remember an extension cord and/or power strip for CPAP's etc. A different colored highlighter for each person cruising is helpful to track the activities in Carnival Fun Times news daily.
Did you forget to secure a hotel room? This saves cost of parking at the dock. Please contact Ginger if last minute availability is needed. Optional discounted parking at http://www.machupicchutours.com/cruise-ship-parking is available as well with a free shuttle.
Have you looked at Shore Trips options ? Shore Trips (www.shoretrips.com) has put together some special group pricing if you are interested. I had them send a special email to you with these options for your review. Use your email you registered with to be taken directly to the options available.
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CANDIDATES & VICARS FOR PLACEMENT
This spring St. Louis and Fort Wayne Seminaries will have the following number of candidates and vicars available for placement.
Candidates Vicars
St. Louis - 56 St. Louis - 46
Fort Wayne - 48 Fort Wayne - 39
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OUR STEWARDSHIP OF HIS RESOURCES
District Mission Support Trends
2014 2015 2016
Total Budget
$1,100,000 $900,000 $900,000
Budgeted Income $1,008,333 $825,000
$825,000
through 12/31
Actual Income $846,549 $807,979 $741,045
through 12/31
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| SPIRIT OF SOUTHERN SUBMISSIONS  Remember that submissions for the January/February issue of SOS are due by January 15. The preferred means for receiving submissions is by email (sos@southernlcms.org). Please send photos as JPEG files, attached to the email. Congregational news that is received but exceeds space in the printed SOS will be published on the "Around the District" blog of our website. Thank you for sharing your news! (click on image for the current issue) |
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DATES FOR 2017
January 22-28, 2017
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National Lutheran Schools Week |
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January 30-February 4
2017 |
Southern District Pastors' Conference Cruise |
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NATIONAL LUTHERAN SCHOOLS WEEK
January 22-28, 2017 is the week to celebrate
National Lutheran Schools Week! Please share the following information with schools and encourage them to celebrate the week and connect with other schools around the country who are doing the same.
* Sing-Along Information: One of the fun events planned is a live sing-along with the author of the NLSW Theme Hymn "Christ Is Our Rock", Dr. Jeff Burkart. This will be streamed live on the LCMS Facebook page on Thursday, Jan. 26 (11 AM CST) for schools to tune into or watch later.
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CONGREGATION STATISTICS DUE!!!
Each congregation in the Southern District should have received information from Synod regarding your Congregational Statistics Form and Lay Leader From. Instructions for completion are included. These forms are due in Synod's Office of Rosters and Statistics by
February 28,2017.
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1st Annual SDCL Conference
The Intersection of Liturgy and Catechesis
January 22-24, 2017
St. Paul's Lutheran Church-Cullman, AL
Sunday, January 22
7:00pm-Opening Divine Service
8:00pm-Depart for hotels
Monday, January 23
8:30am-Matins
9:30am-Donuts & Coffee/Fellowship
10:00am-Pr. Burnell Eckardt: "Considering and Parsing the Center of the Liturgy:
Part 1 - Preface and Sanctus"
A consideration of the integral connection of the chief parts of the historic mass to each other, from a Biblical and liturgical point of view, and why this matters in catechesis.
11:30am-Q and A
11:45am-Announcements/Prepare for lunch at the church
1:00pm-Pr. Burnell Eckardt: "Considering and Parsing the Center of the Liturgy:
Part 2 - Our Father and Verba"
2:30pm-Q and A
3:30pm-Vespers
4:00pm-Depart for Goat Island Brewery tour
6:00pm-Dinner (Pastors and spouses are invited to Dinner at Pr. Bussman's house)
Tuesday, January 24
8:30am-Matins
9:30am-Coffee & Donuts/Fellowship
9:45am-Pr. Larry Beane: "Reformation vs. Revolution: Year 501 and Beyond"
11:15am-Q and A
11:45am-Announcements/Prepare for lunch at the church
1:00pm-Pr. John Bussman: "From Font to Feast: Reclaiming Lutheran Identity through
Liturgical Catechesis"
2:30pm-Q and A
3:30pm-Closing Divine Service
After Closing Service*:
4:30pm-Depart for Ave Maria Grotto or the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament
7:00pm-Dinner together at a local restaurant
8:00pm-Pastors are invited to return to the church for camaraderie
*We will conclude our formal activities with the Divine Service. We certainly invite all to stay the evening for camaraderie and fellowship, but you are free to depart for home as necessary. If you are able to stay the night, you will be free to leave first thing in the morning.
Registration Information:
Full Conference Registration: $50 per person
Register online at
sdconfessionallutherans.wordpress.comRegister by email at
sdconfessionallutherans@gmail.com Or register by phone by calling 337-375-6288. Online registration is preferred.
A block of rooms has been reserved at the brand new La Quinta Inn & Suites in Cullman at a special discounted rate of $89. When you call to reserve your room, indicate that you are with "St. Paul's Lutheran Church."
La Quinta Inn & Suites
2054 St Joseph Dr NW, Cullman, AL 35055
Phone: (256) 775-9500
We have worked to keep the conference costs low to make this opportunity accessible to as many people as possible. The offering from the two Divine Services will help offset additional conference costs.
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| IN TRANSITION: CALLING CONGREGATIONS Christ the King - Natchitoches, LA Grace - Huntsville, AL
St. James - Gonzales, LA St. Paul's - Decatur, AL
Trinity - Monroe, LA
St. Paul's - Cullman, AL
St. Paul - Shreveport, LA
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~ CALLED TO SERVE ~
Rev. Aaron Kretzschmar, St. John's, LaPorte, IN to St. Paul's, Decatur, AL ~ Pending
Rev. Bruce Hanson, Our Savior, Mobile, AL to First, Blytheville, AR ~ Accepted
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| ~MILESTONE ANNIVERSARIES~ Celebrating the Ministry of Pastor and People Anniversary of Ordination Rev. Collis Parham, Sr. (Epiphany - New Orleans, LA) 5 years ~ 2012-2017 |
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Celebrate the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation in Germany
Join Pastor Keith and Diana Ringers on an Enchanting Rhine and Reformation Tour Nov. 11-20, 2017.
Fly to Amsterdam and board a luxurious river cruise ship for five days down the Rhine and Rhine Gorge, stopping at Cologne, Koblenz, Mainz, Worms, Speyer, and Heidelberg. Then spend four days on the land tour visiting Wartburg Castle, Erfurt, Eisleben, and Wittenberg. The guest speaker on this EO faith based trip is Lutheran pastor, Rev. Keith Loesch,
founder and past director of the Wittenberg English Ministry in Germany. For more information, click here for a brochure or contact Keith Ringers
at
dringers@gulftel.com
This is the Ringers' third trip with EO (Educational Opportunities), the Holy Land in 2016 and the Footsteps of St. Paul cruise in 2013 and they recommend this travel company highly.
Thank you!
Diana Ringers
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/enchanting-rhine-and-reformation-tour-with-rev-keith-diana-ringers#eotours |
| "The Greatest of These Is Love"
LWML Retreat
The Louisiana-Mississippi LWML District is sponsoring a weekend retreat on
April 28-30 at Rosaryville Spirit Life Center in Ponchatoula, LA. The theme for
the retreat is "The Greatest of These is Love". Pastoral Counselors Pastor Bill
Vogt and Pastor David Hartung will lead participants through the many aspects
of love as found in Scripture and show how we can reflect them in our lives.
There will be opportunities for fun and relaxation as well.
Cost of the retreat is $64.00-$190.00. Full details, including a registration form are available on the retreat page of our LA-MS website. You may also contact your
LWML Society President for the
registration form and where to send it. All registrations should be in by March
31, 2017. Please click here for a printable flier.
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37th Biennial Convention of the LWML
"Jesus Christ Above All"
June 22-25, 2017
Join us as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the LWML!
Click here for a PDF of the convention registration form.
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REMOVING BARRIERS TO FAITHFUL STEWARDSHIP
Our personal and family of faith stewardship plans for this new calendar year are certain to meet both challenges and opportunities. As stewards of God's gifts of time, talent, treasure, and testimony, we will have to deal with the deep-rooted barriers that hinder our faithful service. See the
December 2016 StewardCAST for full article details.
"You and I are stewards. Each one of us was created for this task. The Lord formed us in order to be His hands and feet caring for the entire creation that He had spoken into existence. Humanity has been tasked by the Creator to work and keep the creation (Gen. 2:15) in such a way that it reflects the image of God. Being a steward is our identity. Stewardship is what we do. We all recognize that God is the only rightful owner of all things. Problem is that sinful human beings in the Garden of Eden and after reached out for what was not theirs in order to play the part of owner."
"This owner/stewardship relationship is really the single greatest barrier to faithful stewardship that continues to exist. When the steward claims ownership, he is appropriating title to that which belongs to another. If someone steals the car belonging to another, we don't call it poor stewardship. We call it theft. Yet this is exactly what we do when we assert our desires over God's when it comes to the use of His gifts. It is the Lord's desire to share the Gospel of Jesus. How might free flowing resources of God's people enable more sharing of the Gospel if they weren't held up by the barrier of the congregational desires to only meet their own needs? Another barrier to faithful stewardship is one of perception. Are the gifts God gives to the individual and the congregation being used in a proactive way that minimizes slavery to issues that will get in the way of opportunities for the Gospel?"
"Preaching and teaching are irreplaceable weapons in the arsenal of stewardship barrier removal. It is important for stewards and steward leaders to recall that they are simply stewards of the only thing that obliterates these barriers: the Gospel."
The new stewardship web pages include a section on
How We can Help. Here you will find a link to
StewardCAST in the Awareness Helps section that you can add to your available resources tool box.
StewardCAST
is a monthly e-newsletter with stewardship resources for individuals and congregations.
Subscribe online by choosing the "Stewardship" category and selecting StewardCAST.
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WE LIFT UP IN PRAYER. . .
Rev. Randal Ehrichs, Good Shepherd-Panama City, FL, and his extended family at the passing of his sister Judy in Iowa on Sat., Jan. 7.
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;..."
John 11:25 (NIV)
These brothers and sisters in Christ coping with cancer:
Rev. Jerry Conley (Emeritus - Marianna, FL)
Rev. Jack Betz (Emeritus - Miramar Beach, FL)
Mrs. Gloria Moritz, widow of Rev. Victor Moritz (Emeritus - Metairie, LA)
Rev. Sidney Ponseti (Emeritus - Baton Rouge, LA)
Rev. Ed Rogers (Emeritus - Ozark, AL)
Mrs. Doris Taglauer, wife of Rev. Jim Taglauer (Emeritus - Folsom, LA)
Rev. Dr. James Holowach (Christ - Jackson, MS)
Rev. David Robatzen (Lutheran Church of the Resurrection - Pensacola, FL)
These brothers and sisters in Christ coping with various health issues:
- Mrs. Melodie Rupp, wife of Rev. Bob Rupp (Emeritus - Pensacola, FL)
- Mrs. June Ring, mother of Rev. Marcus Ring (St. Paul - Shreveport, LA)
- Rev. Michael Shannon (Faith - Shreveport, LA)
- Rev. Rory Hermann (Good Shepherd - Gulf Breeze, FL)
- Rev. Brandon Simoneaux (Christ Our Savior - Harvey, LA)
- Rev. Dr. James P. Brown (Emeritus - Pensacola, FL)
- Dr. J. B. Marshall (Concordia College Alabama Board of Regents member)
- Rev. Dr. Edgar Homrighausen (Emeritus - Lacombe, LA)
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed. Thessalonians 2: 16-17
(NIV)
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THE GIFT OF GENEROSITY-Electronic Giving
A definition of generous includes this phrase:
Freely sharing valuable things.
Freely sharing
. . .no strings attached. . .no tit for tat. . .nothing expected in return.
Valuable things: your child. What is more valuable than a life of someone you love beyond measure? As we reflect on this message, remember
Those Who Don't Yet Know Jesus. Your continued support for the mission and ministry of the Southern District is requested.
If you need a convenient way to make regular offerings, we encourage you to look into our electronic online giving options.
Visit
here or contact Ronnie Giaise
at the Southern District office for more information --- r.giaise@southernlcms.org.
Illustration by Patti Miller, Member of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fairhope, Alabama.
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