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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Pittelko Memorial Service |
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The memorial service for Bishop Emeritus Roger D. and Mrs. Beverly A. Pittelko was held on Sunday, August 15, 2021 at Trinity, Villa Park, IL. Bishop Jamison J. Hardy, Bishop Emeritus David H. Ritt, and Bishop Emeritus David P. Stechholz were in attendance. Many clergy were present, and others attended via livestream. It was a beautiful service celebrating two individuals who served the Lord in His Church through the faithful exercise of their gifts. The Body of Christ has been enriched by their faithfulness.
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2022 English District Gala |
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Dear Brothers and Sisters of the English District,
Greetings in the name of Jesus.
Please accept our sincere thanks for your participation in the 2021 English District Virtual Gala: Thy Strong Word. We are sure that all in attendance learned something new about the mission work going on in our district, and we rejoice that $36,743 was raised for the English District Endowment Fund!
Preparations are already underway for the 2022 Gala to be held in person at the English District Convention. Be on the look out for the date, theme, and other information in the coming months. As we look forward to our second Gala, we hope to greatly expand our online auction. We thank God for the generous organizations and individuals who donated the 20 items for this year’s Gala auction. Our goal next year is to have 60 or more items in the auction, but to do that we need your help! Please prayerfully consider…
- Purchasing a gift card as a congregation to be auctioned off at the Gala
- Appointing someone from your congregation to make a local gift basket
- Utilizing a skill (quilting, painting, etc.) or a resource (timeshare, cottage, etc.) that God has given your congregation for the auction
We are beyond excited to join in person for the 2022 Gala (the Gala will also be streamed) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. May God bless you and your congregation as you continue to believe, trust, and serve Him.
Peace!
The 2022 English District Gala Committee
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RELATIONSHIPS - THE “LIVED-OUT” GOSPEL
Jesus summarized the commandments talking about relationships: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.” Relationships are a polarizing topic these days - how do we relate to one another? It seems as though every facet of life enters into how we perceive and relate to each other as fellow human beings - race, creed, gender, ethnicity, gender identification, beliefs, opinions - and even vaccinated or unvaccinated. As we look at ourselves and our relationships in God’s scheme of things, we see that we are all indeed priceless treasures that Christ lived, died, and rose from the grave to save to be His Bride for eternity. God’s Word calls for us to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21).
Unless you truly live in a bubble, every person is engaged in a relationship or two or even thousands. Therefore, “living-out” the Gospel has a “life-changing” effect in these relationships. The Holy Spirit is active as Christians proclaim to the world the beautiful Gospel truth that God has a model for His people as reflected in His grand design for marriage - His pattern for one man and one woman that are to mirror Christ Jesus and His love for His Church as they become one - submissive to each other out of reverence for God. The Apostle Paul’s words in Ephesians 5:21 - 6:9 are a teaching tool for all our relationships and how we take care of each other - how we are mutually submissive to one another. God is concerned about relationships and so is your District Evangelization Team. Read more about how all your relationships are impacted by the Gospel.
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The English District Saga |
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The English District Saga, written by Bishop Emeritus David P. Stechholz, is now available through Amazon. Pictured here is LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew Harrison with his copy of the book.
Click here to order your copy. |
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Our current 1-1-1 designated mission recipients are the Campus Ministries of our English District. These ministries are:
- All Saints Lutheran Church, Slippery Rock, PA
- First Trinity Lutheran Church, Pittsburgh, PA
- Martin Luther Chapel, East Lansing, MI
- Philadelphia Lutheran Ministries, Philadelphia, PA
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·University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
The District office has received just over $40,000 in 1-1-1 gifts which will be used to support these Campus Missions. There are two months remaining in this current 1-1-1 cycle as it ends on August 31, 2021. Please send remaining gifts to the District Office prior to August 31, 2021.
We have heard that many 1-1-1 congregations have continued to gather gifts of 1 dollar per Sunday Per Member. We celebrate that COVID-19 has not hindered the mission heart of God’s people and our motto continues to hold true: “There is power and strength in many giving a little.”
The two missions that 1-1-1 will support for September 1, 2021 - August 31, 2022 are:
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Connecting Students with Campus Ministry |
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This fall, millions of students will make their way to the college or university of their choice. Moving to college is both an exciting and scary time, full of challenges and opportunities for students to grow as God’s people. This year is unique in that both first- and second-year students will likely be on campus for the FIRST time, as many colleges and universities held classes virtually last year.
LCMS campus ministries are strategically located at many colleges and universities for the express purpose of serving these students while they are in school. Campus ministries give students the opportunity to grow in faith and integrate what they are learning in the classroom with the faith they learned at their home congregations. The goal is that at the end of their college career, these students will go out into the world ready to be a blessing to God’s Kingdom as they pursue their chosen vocation.
LCMS campus ministries need your help to identify and connect with these students. Please take the time this summer to connect each of your college students with a campus ministry or local congregation in the community where they are studying. Call or email the campus pastor and give them your student’s contact information, so that the campus ministry can reach out to them yet this summer before they even arrive on campus. You can find a list of campus ministries here.
You can also help your students by giving them the information about your partner congregations and campus ministries. Encourage them to go visit and get involved.
If you have questions about campus ministry, or want to start a ministry to college students in your area, please contact any of the members of our English District Campus Ministry Task Force:
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2022 CHP Town Hall Webinar |
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Please click here for the link to the recording of the 2022 ALL District Town Hall for Concordia Plans.
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The Bible's promise is true: "If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us" (1 John 5:14).
District daily prayers for September 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.
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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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Peace, New Berlin, WI
Sunday, August 1, members of Peace Lutheran Church surprised Pastor Greg Michel with a simple celebration of the 25th anniversary of his ordination into the pastoral ministry. They are thankful to God for the gift that Pastor Michel is to their church.
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Fairlawn, Fairlawn, OH
Fairlawn Lutheran Church held a rummage sale with all proceeds going to the youth program which will allow them to continue to learn about their faith, serve others, and attend the 2022 National Youth Gathering and other faith-based events.
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Epiphany, Dorr, MI
Epiphany Lutheran Church recognized and celebrated Diane Scott for 20 years of serving as their organist and music director. In her years of service, Diane has been a tremendous blessing to Epiphany!
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Eternal Life, Mesa, AZ
On Sunday, August 15, Eternal Life Lutheran Church presented a certificate to Rev. Steven J. Resner, Vacancy Pastor, on the 30th anniversary of his ordination on behalf of Bishop Hardy. The certificate was presented by the Chairman of the congregation, the Vice-President and the Head Elder/Worship Assistant.
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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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Also, please share your congregation's or school's unique ministries with the rest of the District. Send pictures and stories for consideration to jmcgarr@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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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 info@englishdistrict.org and let us know how people can access it.
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If you'd like to share our emails, please forward
using your email's forwarding option.
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