We begin the month of May triumphantly in the church season of Easter. Now, the day of “Easter” may be past, but the season of Easter in our church calendar year predominates in this month where all of life seems to “spring” before us! What this season reminds us of is “renewal.” Life, from the budding of trees and the growth of plants, the greening of the grass and even our ability to leave the protection of our houses from the dark and bitter weather point to a renewal of life.

Forgiveness is also a “renewal” of life. The cross of Christ is the most prominent symbol of forgiveness and renewal. We need not search for any other iconic representation for renewal. Look again at the cross of Jesus who was nailed to the cross by the sins of men and you begin to understand how hard it was for God to forgive humanity for their trespasses against him.

Forgiveness comes hard because it hurts, true, but this is not all. Forgiveness comes hard because it demands that you sacrificially give yourself in part or in whole to the one who sinned against you. This takes trust as you not only forgive the sinner, but forget the sin done against you. It is this way because God gives us His “All” in order truly to forgive us our sins.

Therefore, the cross of Christ is a wonderful symbol of forgiveness. When you forgive somebody who has hurt you with a slanderous tongue, you crucify any bitterness that you have toward that person. When you crucify that bitterness, it will become dead to you! You will be cleansed in the very process of your forgiving. To forgive another from the heart often hurts, because it is in opposition to our sinful nature. Forgiveness is difficult.

The season of Easter reminds us once again that you have experienced forgiveness through the redeeming death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through this forgiving act God brought you into His family. By this same activity in His Son, God will give to you the strength to forgive others, especially those who you find it very hard to forgive and those loveless acts that you find harder to forget.

Dear friends, look to your renewal. Seek the cross of your Savior and you will find renewal for living. The cross of Christ is the most prominent symbol of forgiveness and renewal. We need not search for any other iconic representation for renewal. You will find your “way” to forgiving others, and you will find the “renewal” you need to live a forgiven child of God.

In His forgiving grace,

Pastor Young

“Be of one mind and in prayer.” This is the message for our consideration this month as this is part of the text for May 20, the 7^th Sunday of Easter. Each post-Easter season, the First Reading is drawn from the book of Acts, telling us the acts of the Holy Spirit as He empowers the disciples to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus. Yes, the resurrection of Jesus is the “R” word we can speak at any party. (Now, for those not in the Tupperware® circles, it is not proper to say the “R” word (that is, the name of their competitor, which is ‘Rubbermaid’) at any of their parties. But Christ is risen! (And I heard you say, “He is risen indeed! Alleluia! as you read this!) We are bold to say that resurrection word as we believe, teach, and confess that Christ’s resurrection is our resurrection by virtue of our baptism into Christ.

Jesus unites us. He prayed to His Father in His great High Priestly Prayer in John 17. A portion of that Gospel is also read on the 7^th Sunday of Easter. We see how that unity is fulfilled by God’s Spirit in the life of the Early Church in the very first chapter of The Acts of the Apostles. (Now, there is the humorous line about the disciples driving a Honda, for they were all in one Accord. Have no fear, I won’t give up my day-job!)

Jesus continues to unite His Church on earth. But we also know Satan to set up his little workshop right next door. The one harassing enemy Satan uses is ‘disunity,’ throwing the mud of malcontent, selfishness, and idolatry against the clean windows of the Gospel. When we try to open those windows to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus, we get our faces smeared with that mud, and all too late realize we have been afflicted with Satan’s snares, for instead of proclaiming the grace of God, we harbor guilt and dish out hatred to others, including the members of the household of faith.

But God calls us back to repentance to be washed through the forgiveness of our sins through Jesus’ shed blood on the cross. He feeds us with His holy meal to strengthen us in faith to fervently love and serve one another. He puts His Word into our ears to hear His salvation. He blesses us so as to keep the trustworthy and true Word of grace in our ears and minds and hearts. Alive in Christ, we can walk in the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Our Board of Elders works to serve Christ in maintaining that unity and peace here at St. John’s. They make sure that our services are done to the glory of God. They concern themselves with the members in their charge, praying for them—praying for YOU—that God’s grace defends you from Satan’s mud-throwing attacks.

May God continue to keep you in faith, surrounding you with His grace and favor. Amen.

Pastor Ron Brauer

Matthew 11:28-30

This comes as a reminder to mark your calendars and prayerfully consider Thursday, May 17, 2007 at 7 P.M. for our Ascension Day worship. While many churches fail to gather for worship on this important Christ event, St. John’s will meet to affirm our believe in the ascension of Jesus Christ, who will go to prepare a place for us in the Father’s heavenly mansion. The Lord’s Supper will be celebrated.

5/2 Mother Daughter Dessert-Gym-6:30 PM

5/3 Grade 2 field trip-Field Museum 8:00 AM-4:45 PM

5/4 LILLY Event-Cheers-6:00 PM

5/5 Academic Bowl-8:00 AM-12:00 PM

5/8 Grade 5-Luhr Park

5/9 Grade 1-Valparaiso Airport

5/16-20 Grades 6-8-Washington D.C. trip

5/22 Bible Study, Grade 4-Spicer Lake, Grade 3-Planetarium

5/28 Memorial Day-No School

6/1 PS, PK, K Graduation-Gym-7:00 PM

6/6 Grade 8 Graduation-Church-6:30 PM

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1. Year end: We will hold classes June 4-8. We will have a 1/2 day on Thursday, June 7, with dismissal at 11:35. (No buses available). Our last day will be on Friday June 8 and will consist of an awards time, a closing Chapel service and a picnic at Fox Park. Graduation services will be as follows: PS, PK, K will hold their event at 7:00 in the gym on Friday, June 1. We will have the grade 8 graduation on Wednesday, June 6, 2007, as indicated on our yearly calendar.

2. Thank you to everyone who donated money to our Washington D.C. trip this year. We are grateful for your financial support for this event.

3. Thank you to all the volunteers who have taken so much time to promote and plan the 3rd Lily Event. Your time on behalf of the church and school is appreciated by many people. Your efforts offer financial support to the ministries of St. John’s Lutheran Church and School.

4. The school appreciates any and all support towards our computer lab. Please call Mr. Wippich if you are able to give a monetary gift to this project. Up to $600 can be given through Thrivent for a $300 gift match. Forms are available outside the school office. We would realistically need at least $15,000 for this venture. Thanks for you help.

May 2007 Message from The Board of Stewardship

The “M” month “May” also features a couple of other “M-days,” namely Mother’s Day and Memorial Day. A godly mother is one of His best gifts. We do well to honor our mothers and thank God for them. On or before Memorial Day we customarily visit the graves of loved ones and place flowers or wreathes in their memory. We also take time to give God thanks for those who have given their lives in defense of our freedom.

Some tombstones have inscriptions on them. Those include such messages as dear mother, father, child, grandfather or grandmother. Obituaries for loved ones normally include references to things that were so special to us. That raises an interesting question: How would you like to be remembered by your loved ones?

The eighth Biblical Stewardship Principle states that God’s stewards live with an awareness of the present and future, of time and eternity. This means that God’s stewards live intentionally in the light of God’s eternal purpose while being firmly committed to His rule here and now.

Now, what does that mean? It means that we as Christian stewards can remember that we are involved in something bigger than life and encourage other stewards to also remember that there are eternal dimensions involved with all we decide to do or not do. It is special to be able to rejoice in knowing that what we do now can have lasting benefits.

As a result, we are encouraged to remember we are not to be so intent on the here and now that we neglect the possibilities for extending the kingdom after our death or to become so intent on plans for the future that the possibilities for extending the kingdom here and now are neglected.

What would you like to have included in your obituary? Wouldn’t it be something that indicates how important your life was to someone else, especially family and friends? How about this one from Revelation 14:13: Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow [with] them.”

What we do right now does make an eternal difference! So we do well to heed our Lord’s counsel to “work while it is day before the night comes when no one can work.” (John 9:4).

What an encouragement to know that what we do now is an investment in something eternal. It’s just another reminder that God’s stewards do the right things for the right reasons and strive for excellence in all they do!

The date of our anniversary is coming! Members will want to mark July 15 down as a weekend to remember. ONE worship service that weekend will be conducted at 10 A.M. that Sunday. Rev. Edward Meyer will be the preacher. A special banquet will be served—and YOU are invited. Please make sure you get your reservations in. “No tickie, no laundry” as they say at the Chinese Laundromat. Same thing here, so please, getting your reservations in will assist us in preparing food and seating. We will also have a program following the dinner, where congratulatory letters will be read. If you know of former members who may wish to come, please let them know and have them get their reservations to us.

There is also the 4^th of July Float that will see construction. Watch the bulletin for meeting times and places as construction begins.

We will also hope to plan a couple prayer vigils to thank God for His gifts prior to the anniversary date, as well as to implore His grace for the future. Dates and times will be announced as they are determined.

We also remind you of the thank offering gifts for our “Reaching Upward—Reaching Outward” theme. Reaching upward in praise to God as we encourage member families to donate toward the new hymnal. To date, 98 hymnals have been purchased through memorials and donations. Bookplates have been prepared to indicate the memorial or designation.

Also, we desire to reach outward, encouraging all to consider God’s faithfulness to you and how you can express that gratitude in your hearts through a thank offering gift observing a birthday, wedding anniversary, or simply to the glory of God as we support our Indiana District through a mission offering to help start 10 new churches by 2009.

The next Anniversary Committee meeting will be on Thursday, May 17, immediately following the Ascension Day service. At our last Anniversary committee meeting we were encouraged to memorize the verse for our 150^th Anniversary: 1 Peter 1:25: “The word of the Lord endureth forever.” Yes, it comes from the King James Version, and may seem strange to speak it, but it expresses the truth of the endurance of God’s Word through many events and times in life. May you be so blessed by that enduring Word of God!

If you are graduating from either High School or College this spring, please let Pastor Brauer know by the end of May so that you may be included in our prayers. While we may know of some of our graduates, we are asking your help to make sure you are included. If you have college plans for this fall, let Pastor Brauer know that as well.

Mark your calendars! On Sunday, May 20, the Sunday School Picnic and Fun Fair return! After the 10:45 AM service, there will be a potluck lunch in the school cafeteria, and then from 1-3 PM a Fun Fair will be held for all children of the school and congregation. Tickets (25 cents) will be available for games, face painting, toy raffles, cake walk, and more! The jumping area and slide will be back, too! It will be fun for children of all ages!

Last year, the Fun Fair was a success due to the generous contributions from the members of the congregation. If you would be able to donate your time to supervise a game, share your baking talents to make baked goods for the cake walk, provide toys for the raffle, or to make a monetary donation, please fill out the accompanying form and return it to the church office or any Sunday School teacher. Please call Maria Surma if you have any questions! Thanks in advance for your help!

We’re having a safari party. Join us and bring your camera for a photo-op. Desserts are delicious, entertainment fun, and the prizes are fabulous. Tickets are $4.00 for adults and $1.50 for children 12 and under, and are available from any Evening Circle member or the church office. Mark your calendars, it’s May 2 at 6:30 PM in the school gym.

If you are interested in summer childcare, we are now offering it here at St. John’s Daycare! Please contact our daycare director, Julie Vergin, if you have any questions. Call the school office at 362-6692..

Also, we are looking for daycare workers at least 18, preferably 21, years of age. Applicants must be able to work well with children, be trustworthy, responsible, and willing to work approximately 20 hours per week. Apply in person in the school office.

Now is the time to clean those closets and sort through the children’s toys. For only $7.00 you can be a part of the sale at St. John’s. It’s good fun, fellowship, and a chance to sell your unwanted “treasures”.

Customers have flocked to our past sales due to the highly visible location with multiple sales. We do the advertising and bring in the customers, you sell from your van, truck or bring your own tables and chairs. Refreshments will be available.

The time and date is Saturday, June 16, 2007, from 8:00 AM-1:00 PM. For more information, call Ellen Heidel.

First of all, we thank all who attended the Lenten Soup Suppers; the Family Circle for preparing sandwiches; and individuals who donated brownies, cake, and cookies for dessert.

The Spring Progressive Dinner was a success. Everyone in attendance had a great evening of fellowship, food and fun. Watch for news on the Fall Dinner in October and make plans to attend.

Our May special event during Fellowship Coffee Hour will be a "Pineapple Fest" May 20 between services. Come, enjoy the fellowship, pineapple treats, and most of all Bible study. Anyone having an outstanding pineapple treat they would like to share, please call Marilyn Boardman or Marilyn Sawyer to let either know.

June will feature "Strawberry Shortcake" on June 10 between services. Many parishioners are wondering if the Hog Roast/Picnic will be held in conjunction with the Outdoor Service this year. The answer is "yes;" it will be held on Sunday, August 26, 2007. Mark your calendar for these upcoming events and join us.

In honor of our 150th anniversary, the Family Circle is working to create a cookbook. They are hoping to collect cherished recipes from the great cooks in our congregation. Everyone is encouraged to submit a recipe of which they are particularly proud. Recipes handed down through generations are especially welcome as are traditional German ones. We also encourage submission of photographs and/or a brief remembrance of the author.

If you are computer savvy, you may go to www.typensave.com to submit your recipe. The Group Login is (omitted online), and the password is (omitted online). If you'd rather, you can leave a photocopy of the recipe and your name in the church office. Please do not leave original handwritten recipes or photographs - copies only. The deadline to submit recipes is May, 24th. Any questions or comments, please contact Kami Alexander.

Sunday, May 6, is Confirmation Day. We will be welcoming 8th grade students from our school and the public schools to join us as members of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. We will welcome:

Hannah Marie Looney           Scott Joseph Vaughn

We also recently welcomed the following adults into membership:

Newsletter Birthday Lists:

There have been some concerns about incorrect or missing information on the monthly birthday calendars. The birthday calendar is entirely computer generated with the church membership software we have. If your information is incorrect, or if your birthday is not listed, please call the church office. It is our desire to have accurate and complete membership information for our church records and birthday lists, but we need your help.

In addition, if your personal information (address, marital status, phone, etc.) has changed please contact us as well. Thank you.

Please keep saving your aluminum cans. We will have another can recycling day on June 16, the sane day as the parking lot sale. All the money will go toward our 150th Anniversary Fund.

We have a Remington camouflage jacket, adult size medium, in the church office. If you have lost one, please stop in the church office to see if it belongs to you.

We also have a gold “Mother’s” ring.

Why do we ring the bells in our church one half hour before each church service?

This is an old tradition at St. John's that was started when most of the people who attended our church lived in nearby neighborhoods. The bells were rung one half hour early to remind them it was time to head over to the church. We have decided to keep up the tradition.
 

It is called the "Dresden Amen". It was started in Dresden, Germany, to represent the official recognition of the official start of the service, and we have continued the tradition. (It follows the announcements and greetings.) The bells are proclaiming "A-A-men", "A-A-men",

"A-A-men". They were rung three times in honor of the Trinity.

This is another tradition we have decided to continue in memory of our heritage.

Why is our church bell rung three times during the Lord's prayer?

In the Middle Ages, the monks in the monasteries would recite the Lord's Prayer once every hour. (Remember, Martin Luther was also a monk.) The workers in surrounding fields would be notified each time the prayer was said by tolling of the bells. When the first bell rang, it meant they were to stop work, as the Lord's Prayer had begun. The second bell tolled at the fourth petition, so if they were behind in reciting the prayer, they could catch up. The third bell signaled the prayer was over, and all could go back to work. We at St. John's have decided to keep this tradition.

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