Fwd: LCMS MO district Encourage Newsletter - April 19, 2018

A weekly message of encouragement from President Lee Hagan.

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"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Volume III, Issue 14

April 19, 2018

Encourage Newsletter

Rev. Dr. R. Lee Hagan

A Message of Hope

But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:23-24

One of the places where the contrast between Lutherans and other denominations is most stark is at funerals. I was recently offering my condolences to a friend after the death of his mother. This layman told me that he attended another funeral the same day as his mother's funeral and that it was the first non-Lutheran funeral he had attended in quite a while. He spoke about how comforting the funeral for his mother was because of the focus on Christ and how, sadly, the other funeral placed the focus on the deceased. I don't mention this as a source of boasting, but rather a reminder that the only comfort and encouragement we have to offer is Christ and Him crucified and risen again from the grave.

It is certainly challenging for our congregations to reach the lost in our communities. For many of them, the Church has nothing to offer. They see the Church as out-of-touch with the world today. But funerals provide the opportunity for us to show exactly what the Church has to offer: Jesus. The effects of sin are on display for all to see as a casket stands before the assembly. But there is a message of hope that the Church has to offer as the pastor proclaims Christ's victory over sin and death. This is the message of hope that is proclaimed in cities where the murder rates continue to escalate. We proclaim this message at nursing homes and day-care centers. We do have something to say and it is about Jesus!

Pastors are not called to be cool or hip. They are not called to follow the latest trends or to tell people what they want to hear. They are called to preach Christ crucified! But we can't sit around and wait for the next funeral to bring the unchurched back into the congregation. Pastors are teaching and equipping God's people to be faithful witnesses who intentionally go out into their communities with a message of hope. Pastors preach that message from the pulpit, but laypeople speak that message over coffee with co-workers and over drinks with friends. The Church still has a message and there is an urgency for the saints of God to proclaim Christ and Him crucified wherever we live and move and have our being. May we be faithful witnesses as we keep Christ crucified and risen again as our central message.

Prayer – Savior of the nations, come and inspire Your people to be faithful witnesses to Your great salvation. The harvest is indeed plentiful and the laborers few, so begin with me, Lord, and hold before my eyes the challenges and the needs of a world without Christ. Never let me wear of proclaiming the crucified and risen Christ. Amen.

Fraternally in Christ,

President Lee Hagan

Call Day for both Concordia Seminary in St. Louis and Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, Ind., will be here next week. Even if your congregation is not calling a candidate or expecting a vicar or intern, Call Day services are very exciting to watch and see the new pastors and deaconesses who soon will be entering the mission field.

Both seminaries livestream the services on their websites and provide frequent updates on social media. Below is information about all of the services, including links to make it easy to watch online and follow via social media.

Concordia Seminary in St. Louis - April 24

Assignment of Vicarages & Internships - 3 pm (CDT) Assignment of Calls - 7 pm (CDT)

Watch the livestream and find out more at

callday.csl.edu

. Share in the celebration by using hashtags #CallDay2018 and #CallDayWatchParty and follow along on social media.

Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, Indiana – April 24 & 25

Vicarage & Deaconess Internship Assignment service - Tuesday, April 24, at 7 pm (EDT) Candidate Call service - Wednesday, April 25, at 7 pm (EDT)

Both services will be livestreamed at

www.ctsfw.edu/daily-chapel

and

www.facebook.com/ctsfw

. For more information, visit their Call Day webpage at

http://callday.ctsfw.edu/

Convention Update - Registration Deadline May 9

The 2018 Missouri District Convention is fast approaching. Please make sure all pastoral and lay delegates are registered and have completed all necessary certification forms and lodging reservations as soon as possible, if you haven't already.

As a reminder, attendance is required for all rostered church workers. If you cannot attend for any reason, please complete the

excused absence form

in writing and return it to the District Office at events@mo.lcms.org.

Below are important steps for both pastors and lay delegates to follow and complete to make sure they are properly registered for all aspects of the convention. Please complete all forms and return them according to the directions on each. Forms and webpages are linked below for your convenience.

Steps for pastors:

Convention registration

Pastoral delegate form

Link to lodging registration

Steps for lay delegates:

Convention registration

Lay delegate form

Link to lodging registration

Steps for advisory delegates:

Convention registration

Link to lodging registration

The

convention workbook

is now available online. Please download it and either print a hard copy or bring a digital version on your laptop or tablet. Click

here

to visit the convention page on our website.

For questions about the convention workbook, please contact Michelle Christ at 314-590-6200.

If you need assistance with registration, please contact Sue Thompson at 314-590-6200.

We look forward to seeing you at the convention. Please continue to pray for our district as we prepare for convention.

Events and Resources

A Message from Concordia Plan Services

On Tuesday, April 3, 2018, an email was sent to your ministry's primary contact from your CPS account manager/representative with the subject line "Your Action Needed Today".

This email pertains to the introduction of the new benefits portal. Simply click on the "Learn How and Act Today!" button, insert your temporary portal password (located in the email) and pre-register.

Early this June you will receive a second email with instructions for portal access that will allow you to view both your current CHP plans and NEW offerings for 2019. However, to access to this information you are required to pre-register. If you have misplaced the email or did not receive it, please contact CPS Customer Care at 888-927-7526 and they will resend the information.

CFNA Freedom Run

April 28

It's the Freedom Run! Don't miss the fun! Join us for the Christian Friends of New Americans' 5K run and fun walk.

Saturday, April 28 - Register at 9 am - Start at 10 am

At Concordia Seminary in St. Louis - 801 Seminary Place, St. Louis, Mo., 63105

Bring your family and friends. Sponsor and run with a refugee child. Wheelchair accessible. Register by Friday, April 13, and get a free t-shirt. This benefit supports CFNA's work with refugees and immigrants from around the world. Go to

www.cfna-stl.org/walk/

for all the details. PRIZES and SURPRISES GALORE!

Southwest Missouri Lutheran Night with the Springfield Cardinals

June 1

Southwest Missouri folks, don't miss this chance to cheer on the Springfield Cardinals with your fellow Lutherans.

June 1 – Game time: 7:10 pm – Gates open: 6:10 pm

Tickets are only $15 and include the following:

Reserved field box seat Voucher for a FREE Springfield Cardinals hat Cardinals/Lutheran red t-shirt Post-game fireworks Groups of 20+ have church name listed on back of t-shirt

Deadline for orders and t-shirt sizes is May 10

^th

. Order today by contacting Teresa Calhoun at 417-832-3031 or tcalhoun@cardinals.com. T-shirts are available in sizes youth small - adult XXXL. ($2 more for XXL & XXXL)

Plus One Participation Forms

Many congregations are turning their attention to our community outreach effort, the Plus One Initiative. Congregations are encouraged to complete a Plus One participation form and either mail it to the district office or email it to

plusone@mo.lcms.org

. If you want additional information about Plus One or a copy of the Plus One participation form, go to

http://mo.lcms.org/plus-one/

This message was sent to revklaus@hotmail.com by lee.hagan@mo.lcms.org

660 Mason Ridge Center Drive #300, St. Louis, MO, 63141

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Daily Email: Thursday, April 19, 2018

DEVOTION: John 10:11-18 English Standard Version (ESV)

¹¹I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹²He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ¹³He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. ¹⁴I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.¹⁶And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. ¹⁷For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. ¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father."

Share!

https://www.facebook.com/jeremy.klaustermeier/videos/10155466037443803/

___________________________________________________________

CALENDAR:

Thurs- Teresa Scott visitation 10-11 and funeral at 11 at church; Confirmation make up 6:30; Karate 6:15

Sat- Men's Breakfast 8am; Worship 5pm

Sun- Worship 8:30; Sunday school and Faith5 training 9:45 ; Worship 11

_____________________________________________________

WORSHIP WORKERS:

Acolyte- 8:30- Nova Luebke; 11- Cameron Faerber

Ushers- Sat- Charlie Figura; 8:30- Rich Talbert, Tom Linke, Don Hance, Kent Jacobsmeyer; 11am- Jason Figura

Altar- Set up- Terry McKenzie; Clean Up- Paul and Teresa Brockfeld

Communion assistant- Sat- Roy Bohning; 8:30- Rich Talbert, 11- Al Benton

Greeters- 8:30- John and Joanne Hachtel; 11- Doug and Ruth Walters

Projectionists- Sat- Perricone; 8:30- McKenzie, 11- Addie Hoelscher

Lay Readers- Sat- Roy Bohning; 8:30- Erv Yoder, 11- Ben Hoelscher

Pianist- Sat- Kathy Barrow

Organist- Pat Golden

________________________________________________________________

YESTERDAY'S QUIZ What did David order be done that caused a three day plague of death to sweep across Israel?

From Pat King: I've been taking care of my sick dog. But since Don can't answer, here goes: Basically, he conducted a census. Which would have been okay, if they had just followed God's rules regarding censuses. But, of course, they didn't. Here's 2 articles about it:

http://literalbible.blogspot.com/2007/02/god-kills-70000-because-of-davids.html

http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=11&article=2237

_____________________________________________________________________________________

TODAY'S QUIZ: Name a Psalm in which King David cries out in anger or anxiety.

____________________________________________________________________

NEWS:

TERESA SCOTT FUNERAL TODAY @ 11

Visitation- 10-11

After the funeral, those who can and want to are going to do a run (Teresa's favorite thing to do), from church to Warrenton cemetery. After everyone arrives at the cemetery we will have the committal, and then those who can will run back for a luncheon at 1:30. Everyone is invited to the committal and lunch whether you run or not.

Linda Callies is in charge of the luncheon. Please call her at 456-4228 if you'd like to help in the kitchen and/or make food for it.

Christ is risen!

__________________________________________________________________________

FAITH5 TRAINING

Every Sunday at 9:45 April 15-May 27—For the next five weeks we will be digging deeper into the five faith practices of our Faith5 movement. Yesterday we did an overview and a quick practice of Faith5 with each other. This coming Sunday we are going to take a longer look at what "Sharing" our highs and lows is all about and why it is beneficial for us. (Please note that there will be no class on April 29 because it is 5^th Sunday or May 20 because of voters meeting)
Saturday, May 19 8-Noon- We are going to take one whole morning and have a crash course on faith5 and how we can get the most out of it. Registration and Sign up is greatly appreciated for this! Sign up sheet for it is on the counter in the narthex. You can also simply reply to this email, or you can call or text me at 636-359-1061 to let me know you'll be there.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

WOULD YOU LIKE AN EASY WAY TO HELP GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT OUR PREGNANCY OPTIONS CENTER? How about a sign in your yard?

It is a very basic sign that says, "Pregnant? Need Help? Call 636-235-1477"

Reply tot his email so I can sign you up or sign up on the sheet in the narthex

_____________________________________________________________________________________

LITTLE LAMBS ENROLLMENT IS NOW OPEN FOR THE 2018-2019 SCHOOL YEAR!!!

Call the church office to get registration forms. Any questions, talk to Lisa Rausch or Karin Klaustermeier.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

RETIREMENT SEMINAR SCHEDULED FOR TUESDAY APRIL 24 AT 6PM!!

Denny Hagan from Eldercare Associates will be here on April 24 to talk about how to get the most out of Social Security. ICE CREAM WILL BE SERVED!!

Please note: there will be no sales pitch or anything else offered on this evening. It is purely learning and informational.

Please sign up on the counter in the narthex or call the church office to let us know you will be there.

_________________________________________________________________

OFFERING ENVELOPES ARE ON THE SHELVES UNDERNEATH THE CHURCH MAILBOXES IN THE NARTHEX IF YOU HAVEN'T PICKED THEM UP YET!

_________________________________________________________________________

OUR LAST DIRECTORY (Last updated in August of 2016) has a lot of outdated phone numbers. If your number has changed, please call the office 456-2888 and let Terry know!

________________________________________________________________________________

DUE TO SOME TROUBLES WITH OUR CHURCH EMAIL ADDRESS WE HAVE HAD TO GET A NEW ONE

Our new email address is sjwarrlutheran@gmail.com. Please change it in your address books!!

Pastor's email, revklaus@hotmail.com will remain the same.

___________________________________________________________________________

LITTLE LAMBS IS STILL SELLING CANDY BARS AND COULD USE YOUR HELP!

If you'd like to help sell a box or two of candy bars as a fundraiser for Little Lambs preschool. Let Terry or one of the preschool ladies know. They'll hook you up right quick!

_________________________________________________________________________

DO YOU HAVE A THRIVENT FINANCIAL ACCOUNT OR POLICY?

You may be eligible to receive money for Little Lambs or Good Shepherd!! Go to www.thrivent.com/choicedollars to check it out!

________________________________________________________________________________

OPERATION BACKPACK DONATIONS FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL IS canned soup and ramen noodles.

____________________________________________________________________________________

PRAYERS:

For FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF TERESA SCOTT who went to heaven Friday afternoon.

For CAROL BRAZEE as she remains hospitalized trying to recover from pneumonia.

For BILL MCKENZIE, (Terry McKenzie's father in law), who is on hospice.

For JEANNIE SIEBOLD, DENISE HOOKER (Betty Tameler's daughter), GEORGE HOESCHER, and BUCK HAMPTON, as they continue to deal with cancer.

PRAYERS FOR OUR MILITARY PERSONNEL:

A prayer of thanksgiving that both DAN DREYER and SAM HARGROVE have returned home safely.

For COLTON FIGURA deployed to Turkey for five more months.

For DAVID TATE stationed in Japan, and ALEX WALTERS, stationed in Tennessee. That God would bless their service to our country and keep them safe as they all await possible deployment.

For CALEB FIGURA AND VINCE MASTERS who are both serving our country in the National Guard and take time out of their lives, jobs, and families to go on duty several times a year.

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Daily Email: Wednesday, April 18, 2018

DEVOTION: 1 John 3:16-24 English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁶By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. ¹⁷But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? ¹⁸Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

¹⁹By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; ²⁰for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. ²¹Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; ²²and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. ²³And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. ²⁴Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God,and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

Enjoy!

https://www.facebook.com/jeremy.klaustermeier/videos/10155464079778803/

___________________________________________________________

CALENDAR:

Wed- Dress Sewing 9:30-Noon; Ladies Aid meeting noon (bring your mite boxes); Choir 7; Teresa Scott visitation at Martin Funeral home 3-8

Thurs- Teresa Scott visitation 10-11 and funeral at 11 at church; Confirmation make up 6:30; Karate 6:15

Sat- Men's Breakfast 8am; Worship 5pm

Sun- Worship 8:30; Sunday school and Faith5 training 9:45 ; Worship 11

_____________________________________________________

WORSHIP WORKERS:

Acolyte- 8:30- Nova Luebke; 11- Cameron Faerber

Ushers- Sat- Charlie Figura; 8:30- Rich Talbert, Tom Linke, Don Hance, Kent Jacobsmeyer; 11am- Jason Figura

Altar- Set up- Terry McKenzie; Clean Up- Paul and Teresa Brockfeld

Communion assistant- Sat- Roy Bohning; 8:30- Rich Talbert, 11- Al Benton

Greeters- 8:30- John and Joanne Hachtel; 11- Doug and Ruth Walters

Projectionists- Sat- Perricone; 8:30- McKenzie, 11- Addie Hoelscher

Lay Readers- Sat- Roy Bohning; 8:30- Erv Yoder, 11- Ben Hoelscher

Pianist- Sat- Kathy Barrow

Organist- Pat Golden

________________________________________________________________

YESTERDAY'S QUIZ What did David order be done that caused a three day plague of death to sweep across Israel?

(Since no one answered it and it was sent much later than usual, I'll leave it up for one more day.)

Don Nolte's email has been down the last several days, so I'll need someone else to answer this. Where ya at Pat and others?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

NEWS:

VISITATION AND FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR TERESA SCOTT

Visitation-- Wednesday at Martin funeral home from 3-8pm

Funeral- Thursday at St. John's at 11.

Linda Callies is in charge of the luncheon. Please call her at 456-4228 if you'd like to help in the kitchen and/or make food for it.

Christ is risen!

__________________________________________________________________________

FAITH5 TRAINING

Every Sunday at 9:45 April 15-May 27—For the next five weeks we will be digging deeper into the five faith practices of our Faith5 movement. Yesterday we did an overview and a quick practice of Faith5 with each other. This coming Sunday we are going to take a longer look at what "Sharing" our highs and lows is all about and why it is beneficial for us. (Please note that there will be no class on April 29 because it is 5^th Sunday or May 20 because of voters meeting)
Saturday, May 19 8-Noon- We are going to take one whole morning and have a crash course on faith5 and how we can get the most out of it. Registration and Sign up is greatly appreciated for this! Sign up sheet for it is on the counter in the narthex. You can also simply reply to this email, or you can call or text me at 636-359-1061 to let me know you'll be there.