November 2004

From Your Pastor

We live in a “dualistic society.” By that I mean we live both in the kingdom of God as it given to us to serve, love and obey God and, as Jesus quotes the Levitical Law, to ‘love your neighbor as yourself,’” and in a “secular” world that makes demands on our time, talents and spirits. To explain, we function in a secular society that is to be used by God to achieve his heavenly goals. Secular mentality in the business world looks at a business as a place where each individual need can be met. Workers work in order to get their pay; owners operate the business so that they can make a profit; stockholders invest in the business so they can make money off of their investment. But the workers don’t do their jobs with the owner’s profits in mind; investors don’t concern themselves with the wages of the worker (unless it affects the “bottom line!”) and business owners don’t own their business so that investors can maximize their investment returns! Yes, they all function together as a means to an end, but they all have individual goals. However, we have a problem.

Secular thinking, especially in our culture, places an emphasis on individualism. But since we spend more time in our secular lives and its demands than we do in our “church lives,” this secular mentality shrouds our church life like a pillar of cloud. It has changed our mindset not only on worldly things, but on how we view our church. This “individualistic” mentality has changed and perhaps even caused a division in our understanding of what “church” is. By this, I mean that there is a trend in American Christianity to no longer look at the church as “one body” in Christ, but rather as a gathered group of “individuals” who can only remain in the “body” if their personal needs are met. This mentality neglects to think about the church body as a whole, but rather views its purpose as a means only to develop “me and Jesus.” Herein lies the problem, friends. Church is NOT a means to an end; it is an end to itself.

You see, church is not only a collection of gathered individual believers; church is “God’s dwelling place!” The church is full of HUMANS, but God dwells in the church as well! It is not only a place where we can individually be strengthened and edified in our faith in Christ (which is an important function of our fellowship!) but also a place where God’s glory dwells among us! God is never separated; neither is the human and divine! The church is the means of the means of grace, the Holy Word and the Holy Sacraments! It is the place where God works his divine forgiveness, even through the use of human hands. Individuals cannot function and perpetuate and sustain the work of God without having a connection to the body of the church!

The Bible tells us that the church is the place where the Gospel of forgiveness is proclaimed; it is preached; it is heard, it, it is administered in Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; it is proclaimed through the Office of the Keys and Holy Absolution in worship. However, we must never miss the fact that it is through the mutual conversation of the brethren, through us men and women, that we provide a “listening ear” to keep this message alive! We are a community of believers, called to rejoice and serve together with grateful hearts. We are a community of believers, called to mourn together at our losses and to provide mutual consolation. It is why Jesus, our great Bridegroom, will soon and very soon come back to rejoin Himself to His Bride in her body the church. It is why St. Paul writes in Ephesians 4: “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ…speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

Beloved, God in his infinite wisdom has selected to use his human creation to accomplish his mission of forgiveness, mercy and love! And until Christ returns to join His bride for eternity, He continues His forgiveness through people like you and me.

Yet, we are only ONE generation away from missing the Bridegroom return (Matthew 25:1-13)! We are always just ONE generation of individual selfishness, neglect, apathy, or uncaring away from making our church extinct. Members of the body, members of St. John’s must depend on EACH OTHER to keep our mission alive.

May God continue to equip your individual needs at St. John’s with His divine gifts, so that as ONE BODY we may achieve the Kingdom’s goal!

Your fellow servant in Christ,

Pastor Young

“And Now, the End is Near…” so crooned Frank Sinatra. So also declares the Church Year. As we head into the month of November we see many things coming to an end. The harvest of crops is being gathered, signaling the end of the growing season. The voters cast their ballots, and we see the end of the campaign trail. High School sports compete in regional and state playoffs, a sign of the end of the regular season of football and cross-country.

The Church also heralds the end is near. Yes, you’re right. We’re coming to the end of the Church calendar as the Sundays remaining will count down to “The Last Sunday in the Church Year.” And yes, you’re right again, the Church proclaims that Jesus Christ will “come to judge the living and the dead.” Themes of judgment and the end of the world take a prominence in the readings for the month of November, but they are not the focus.

The focus is on faith in Jesus Christ. St. Paul writes, “We live by faith, not by sight.” The historic creeds, used each week, confess that it is Jesus who will judge all people. Even in the Te Deum, the Creed set to music, the Church sings, “We believe that You will come to be our judge.”

The end is near. That reality is present every day. But that also marks a beginning—the beginning of your life in eternity. Where you spend eternity depends on your focus. Are you focused on the things of this earth driven by selfish desires? Or has your countenance been lifted—your face raised—your eyes fixed—on Jesus the Author and Perfecter of your faith? By God’s grace it has as you gladly hear the Word of God and keep it; as your sins are washed away and forgiven; as your faith renewed and strengthened in the Sacrament. May you be prepared and ready for our Savior’s coming, being found faithful and wise. May you hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

6^th, 7^th, and 8^th graders:

Please note your calendars for November 26-27. This is the date for our ‘Jr. High Lock-In’ to start with supper at 5 pm on Friday, and conclude by 9 am after breakfast on Saturday morning. Yes, you get to sleep, too. Bible study, games, an art project, snacks, and fun are on the agenda. Adult volunteers are needed as well to help out. Announcements will be made in the regular weekly Bulletins, so be sure to stay connected at worship and watch for more information.

I. CALENDAR ITEMS:
11/9 BAT, Grade 4...School Board...Karla
11/10 Seniors Lunch, Grades 2 & 3 perform...eat in classrooms
11/12 Book Fair begins and goes through 11/19 with 11/22 pick up
11/18 Chapel, Lutherans for Life (moved from 10/17) 8:10
11/19 Midterm
11/24 Midterms due out
12/6 Salvation Army Bell Ring
12/10 Grade 2 Barker Mansion
12/15 School program 6:30...eat in classroom
12/16 PTL Craft Fair
1/12 Lutherhaven presents chapel
3/10 Health Fair during NLSW 3/6-3/11, 6:30-8:30-gym reserved all day
3/22 Steven's Puppets 1:00, “Beauty and the Beast”

II . Enrollment:

10/15/04 is 165, PS 8th

III. Other notes:
1. We were reimbursed by Title 1 grant for workshop events that Marlene Will and Lois Krider recently attended. The amount was $872.49. This would normally come out of the line item in the church budget for continued
education. Just another example of how we continue to educate our teachers at no extra cost to the church.

2. Innisbrook results:
Top 3 sellers:

1. $50 cash prize to Sam Chlebek
2. $25 cash prize to Grant Holt
3. $10 cash prize to Tyler Richie
Top selling classroom: Pizza party to 1st Grade
Top participating classroom: Pizza party to 8th Grade
Top 5 sellers go out to breakfast with Mr. Wippich. Party and prizes provided by Innisbrook

Total profits from sale: $4972.00. This amount continues to purchase desks from grade 5 and down. Compared to profits of $4022 last year.

3. Jan Martinsen will be teaching Title 1 remediation after school here
for our selected K-3 graders. This program will begin shortly.

4. Doug Larson was here to present his music ministry on Thursday, October 14.

5. Two payments were recently made to the church:

There are a select few who already know of what I now share openly. I have debated within myself as to when might be the proper time to share this with all members of St. John’s.

I have made application to Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN to study for the pastoral ministry. Suffice it to say, that God has been leading me towards this for at least the last 30-years. It will then be by the hand of God alone, that I will one day be called and ordained as a pastor in His church.

To say that this will be a radical change for Diane and I would be an understatement. In lieu of our advancing years, our retirement, eventual relocation, and a whole host of other changes that were considered, Diane has been richly supportive of me in this as have our two pastors, and some of our previous ones who have come to hear about this as well. She realizes that it has been nearly a life long ambition, and that purely by God’s direction alone, a door of opportunity was opened some 9 months ago.

There is so much more that I could tell you regarding this journey, and what finally led me to this decision, but that will have to wait for now. I wanted to inform you of this, as I will appreciate your prayers, as I continue to prepare myself. As an example; In one recent weekend visit that my wife and I made to the seminary geared for those prospective students, I secured a book entitled “Fundamentals of Greek Grammar”. I am attempting to get a head start on learning of it what I can.

You must also know that there is a selection process. One does not just go to the seminary because “they” feel that it is what they should do. All of the letters, the application, the autobiography, the interviews, the General Records Exam, and all those preliminary requirements required of an applicant, have been completed. I must now wait until sometime in March of 2005 to hear of my selection status. If among the chosen, I would begin by taking a 10-week intensive course on New Testament Greek in June of 2005. Upon successful completion of that, I would begin the schedule of classes in September.

I approach this with a humble heart, and approach this with the vision that it must be by the hand of God alone that I should be selected. I’m excited about the prospects, but would be remiss if I were not to tell you, that there is also some degree of fear. Remember Diane and I as we prepare our hearts and our minds for what we “together” have positioned ourselves for. I ask you to remember also those who are currently studying, and for those professors and staff who teach, that the ministry of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ would continue through His called servants until such time that Jesus will one day return as He has said. God’s blessings to each of you.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Pictorial Directory:

The pictures for our new directory will begin to be taken at the end of this month. Please, lets all support this project and have the biggest and best directory ever! Each person or family that has a picture taken will receive a free 8x10 color portrait and a free directory, with no obligation to buy more pictures. Best of all, pictures will be delivered in time for Christmas giving!

The only expense to our congregation for this directory is for postage to send appointment reminders, and for extra activity pages in the directory. You can all help us with that expense by just coming in to have your pictures taken. (We get points, for every picture taken, that are good for free activity pages.) So, if enough people have their pictures taken, we will have a totally free directory and a fantastic piece of history for our church archives!

Please call the Church Office at 362-3726 to set up your appointment.

Pictures will be taken on November 26, 27, 29, 30, December 1, 2, 3, 4.

From the Board of Social Ministry: The Board of Social Ministry wishes to extend our thanks to the school children and congregation members for their faithful support of the food baskets which are prepared and picked up once each month. During the past few months four or five families have been helped each month. If you know of church individuals or families who are in need of some food assistance during the holiday season please notify the church office. Again we thank your for your continued support.

From the Board of Missions and Evangelism: At our October meeting, we decided on the missions we would like to support in 2005. We would like to focus on three distinct areas:

JUDEA (La Porte)-Hispanic Ministry/Duneland Lutheran High School

SAMARIA (Fort Wayne)-Burmese Ministry

ALL NATIONS (China)- Concordia Welfare and Education Society

St. John’s is so blessed with the love and true word of God, that it is our responsibility to help share this love and knowledge with our own community and the state and world as well.

The board would like to thank all those who have supported missions in the past and look forward to this support in the future.

Christmas Concert: Annual Christmas Concert Tickets are on sale now. Be sure to see a choir member, stop in the Church Office, Temple News, Covenant Book Store, Fenker’s Finer Furniture, or Grant Chiropractic for your tickets. Sunday, December 5 is sure to be one of the best concerts yet, bring a friend and share the real meaning of Christmas through music!

Help Needed: As part of National Lutheran Schools Week, and to support our school year theme of glorifying God in body, mind, and spirit, St. John’s School will be sponsoring a health fair in the gym on Thursday, March 10, 2005, from 6:30-8:30 PM We have begun to contact people who might volunteer to participate by having a booth, but we don’t know the expertise of all our church and school members. If you have not been contacted and would like to have a booth to address an issue of healthy bodies, minds, or spirits, please contact Jan Martinsen at school.

Soda/Pop Cans: Keep saving your empty soda cans! We will have a collection day on Saturday, November 6, from 7:00 AM-10:30 AM. in the

school parking lot. We will leave here at 10:30 (hopefully with several trucks full of cans) for the recycling center. The current rate for cans is 40 cents per pound for whole cans and 38 for crushed. Anyone who has a truck or SUV and would like to help, we could use you. If you have any questions please call the church office.

Fall Bazaar/Luncheon …………………....$1337.34

Thrivent……………………………………...250.00

2 Baskets donated by St. John’s School… ….97.00

St. John’s Youth………………………… ….27.00

$ 1711.34

Donations to H/C Fund (10/1-10/20) $26021.00

TOTAL $27732.34

Soda/Can collection and sale on November 6.

Poinsettia Coupon Sale, October 21-November 14. Sponsored by Activities Committee. Purchase a Poinsettia in a 6 1/2 inch pot for $10.99 and we get $5.20 credit. Purchase one in a 4 1/2 inch pot for $4.99 and we get $1.00 credit. Contact Linda in the church office or Imogene Dahl for more details.

Chili Challenge on Sunday, November 14, at 12 noon in the school cafeteria. Awards will be presented. All the chili that you dare to eat $5.00. Chili Challenge is sponsored by the Sunday School. Contact Rhonda McConnell, Sunday School Superintendent, at 324-7626 for more information

Losing Yucky Fat, November 1-February 9. Contact a Youth Group Member or call the church office to make a pledge to support Pastor Young in Losing Yucky Fat! The more Pastor Young is reduced, the more our debt is reduced! For example, if you sponsor him at $1.00 per pound and he loses 10 pounds, your faithful contribution will reduce our debt by $10.00. The more he loses, the sooner we can pay off our debt!

Profits from these events will be donated to St. John’s Heating & Cooling Fund. $30,000.00 is needed to bring the fund to zero.

If you wish to make a donation, please make checks payable to St. John’s Heating & Cooling Fund. In the memo, please indicate Thrivent. These may be left in the Church Office, offering plate, or with Imogene Dahl.

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