CHRIST LUTHERAN NEWSLETTER

Official Newsletter of Christ Lutheran Church, Augusta, MO 63332

May 2009

"Celebrating 150 Years of God's Grace"

Bible Study/Sunday School:  9:00 a.m.                                                Church Phone:  (636)228-4642

Worship Service:  10:00 a.m.                                                   Pastor's Phone: (636)228-4773

Website:  http://clcaugustamo.org

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From the Pastor's Desk......

 

Do you recall hearing of the days when the Lord's Supper was offered rather infrequently...at one time in our Lutheran churches, only four times a year?  The argument was put forth that this number came from Martin Luther himself.  "Four times a year," is how often he was thought to have encouraged Christians to attend the Supper.  Not true!  Here is his actual wording:  "If anyone does not seek or desire the Lord's Supper at the very least four times a year, it is to be feared that he despises the Sacrament and is not a Christian, just as no one is a Christian who does not believe or hear the Gospel.  For Christ did not say, 'Omit this,' or 'despise this,' but 'This do as often as you drink it,' etc.  He most certainly wants it done and does not want it left undone and despised.  'This do,' He says." 

 

Luther goes on to say, "For a person not to prize highly the Sacrament is tantamount to saying that he has no sin, no flesh, no devil, no world, no death, no danger, no hell.  That is to say, he believes in none of these although he is overwhelmed by them and is the devil's possession twice over.  On the other hand, he needs no grace, life, paradise, kingdom of heaven, Christ, God, or any good thing.  Surely, if he recognized how much evil is in him and how much he needs all the good things he lacks, he would not neglect the Sacrament, which gives help against such evil and bestows so much goodness.  He will not need to be forced by law to the Sacrament but will himself come running in a hurry to the Lord's Table, constrained within himself and pressing (his pastor) to give him the Sacrament." 

 

I don't know the feeling, of course since I'm not a mother, of the satisfaction a mother has when her infant is nursing.  I do think, however, that it must be similar to the satisfaction a pastor has when giving his members the Lord's body and blood in the Sacrament.  When a mother's infant child is crying for her milk, she does not turn him away, but gives him what he needs.  Even if his cry comes in the middle of the night, she does not turn away from her child's cry.  Just so, it is a joy for your pastor to hear his members crying for the Sacrament of the Lord.  Even when that cry comes over and over again, it is a joy to hear.  A mother does not have to force her child to nurse, nor should a pastor need to force his flock to come to the Lord's Table.  But what satisfaction your pastor has in "nursing" you with the pure milk of the Word--your Savior's flesh and blood, for he knows that you are receiving the very best your God has to give.

 

In Christian love,

Pastor Bell

 

 

GIVING TREE

A tree has been planted and has blossomed in the education building at Christ Lutheran. Colorful envelopes hang from the tree designated with a “Special Need” of our congregation and the approximate cost of the item.  Members and friends of Christ Lutheran may choose to give a gift(s) in honor or memory of a friend or family member, for the occasion of a special anniversary or birthday, or just because you want too.  All of the items have been requested by a board or committee at Christ Lutheran and have been approved by the Voter’s Assembly. Many of the items would be nice to have prior to the 150th anniversary celebration in September.  If you are so inclined, pick an envelope(s) from the tree, place the cash or a check in the envelope, fill in the blanks on the outside of the envelope, and place in the offering plate. If you want your donation to appear on your quarterly contribution statement, write your contribution envelope number in the designated space on the envelope prior to placing in the offering plate.

One of the “Special Needs” is spring time floral arrangements for the dining tables in the Fellowship Hall. We are looking for donations of a variety of decorative cup and saucer sets to use as containers for these floral arrangements. No two sets have to be alike. We have a member that is willing to make the floral arrangements. If you can help with this project, bring your cup and saucer set to church in the near future and place under the Giving Tree.

A special thank you is extended to Carol Wissmann for her time and talents in preparing this tree and display table.

                                                                                                Board of Finance

 

AUGUSTA COMMUNITY FOOD DRIVE  - Easter to Pentecost (April 12 – May 31)

Let’s help stock the shelves for our Neighborhood Food Pantries. Non-perishable items only & No Glass Please. We will be collecting items in the Educational Building; or if you wish to make a monetary donation, please drop it in the collection can marked “Augusta Community Food Drive”.  We appreciate any and all donations, now more than ever!        ~ The Board of Lay Activity

 

Church Attendance

April 1 (Wed) - 35  April 5 - 70  April 9 (Maundy Thurs) - 49  April 10 (Good Fri) - 45 

April 12 (Easter) - 120  April 19 - 63  April 26 - 54  May 3 - 81

 

Christ Lutheran Ladies Aid  -

            Our Ladies Aid was organized in the year, 1886, then named, “Frauenverin und Jungfrauenverin”, when translated means “women and young women” and began with 23 charter members. These women were dedicated to serve faithfully with their time and talents to beautify their house of worship at every opportunity, and to perform the many tasks in the church that only a woman’s hand can do.

            We have seen many changes  - in the horse and buggy days, when it was difficult to get around, meetings were held once a month after church. This arrangement, after a number of years, met with change and inconvenience and quarterly meetings were held after the quarterly voters meeting. Later, we met once a month.

            Quiltings were held once a month in individual homes, each month one of the ladies served as hostess. The Matson ladies quilted in their area, while the Augusta ladies did the same. Years later, when space was provided in the church basement, we came together as one.

            In 1946, our Ladies Aid joined the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League. This organization helped in acquainting us in the involvement of the work of our church both home and abroad, and to better assist in bringing the saving Gospel of Christ to the many unchurched among all nations of the world.

            The ladies formed a “Service Committee” and were in charge of all funeral lunches, estate sales, applebutter cooking, many church dinners, and as Augusta became a tourist town, we served many lunches to bus tours visiting our town. Many ladies other than Ladies Aid members helped in all these endeavors.

            The proceeds from these many functions were used to help defray expenses of our church, and to meet the needs that occur in our church parsonage; such as modernizing the bathrooms, new windows, carpeting, and various other updates that arose.

            Many changes have taken place within our society. Our membership, which had reached about 30 members at its peak, began to decrease because of age and death, and also with the era of working women outside the home. It became difficult for young mothers to have a full-time job and quality time with family. Many helped with the tasks and the donations of food for the different functions, and were always willing to give of their time when they could. On April 14, 2009, we voted to close the chapter of our Ladies Aid Society. Time changes many things, and sadness comes with change. We must now meet the new challenges ahead and serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with our time and talents in various other ways.

 

 

Ladies Aid Roast Beef Dinner  - Sunday, May 17, immediately after church

 

On the menu: roast beef, potatoes & gravy, green beans, jello salads, bread, butter & jelly, desserts – pies, cookies, cakes

 

There will be a preview showing of a DVD that will be available at our 150th Anniversary of the history of our church.  Please plan to attend. A free will offering will go to the 150th Anniversary Fund.

 

 

            The business of our church is somewhat like that of a farmer, especially in this area where much farming is done in the river bottom.

            When Spring comes, with the high cost of fertilizers, chemicals, and seed, the farmer borrows money hoping to pay off his debt at harvest time.  Just as a church borrows money for needed repairs, upkeep and improvements, hoping for more donations or bequeaths.

            As the farmer’s crops continue to grow and become beautiful toward harvest, a flood may come along, and thus at harvest time there is little return.  Just as in church, the collections do not always meet our expectations.

            Does a farmer give up?  No!  He needs to borrow again, making his debt load even greater. And with a longer term to pay it off.  Just as in our church, not everything happens as hoped for, but we must continue to persevere.

            We cannot give up … we cannot be negative, as Christians we need to have faith. God cares for us everyday and asks for nothing.

            I think we need to pull together, and come together, and good things will happen as God blesses!

 

                                                                        Some thoughts from our Ladies Aid

 

 

Garage Pledges:  The final payment of any outstanding pledge is due prior to June 1, 2009.  If you have not already completed your pledge, please place your offering in a plain envelope, mark the envelope with your contribution envelope number, and place in the offering plate or mail to the church. Our garage loan with Lutheran Church Extension Fund is due to be liquidated in June, 2009. Once again, it is obvious that when members contribute collectively, much can be accomplished. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.”

 

Special Anniversary Envelope: You are encouraged to use the Special Anniversary envelope which was provided to each member/household in April. The committee members have spent many hours planning for this event and will be spending even more hours in the final preparations leading up to the celebration. Some of you will be asked to assist  in the final preparations. Please prayerfully considerer any request for assistance of your time and talents. However, the envelope is an opportunity for all members to give of their  treasures. Please refer to the April letter from the 150th anniversary committee for details regarding anticipated expenses. A supply of additional envelopes are located in the church vestibule.

 

150th Anniversary Pictorial Directory: this unique copy designed especially for
the 150th anniversary year is complete and ready for distribution. The process
will be the same as we use for the newsletter (Name & address labels). Our goal
is to ensure each family receives a copy. The voters approved a motion for each
family to share in the cost of $6.55 per copy. Simply place your offering in a
plain envelope marked “ Pictorial Directory” include your assigned church
envelope number. Your financial support in this project will help our congregation
celebrate this milestone without additional cost to our current budget.

150th Anniversary Committee.

 

 

 

The Rev. Dr. Robert Rahn will be our guest preacher Sunday, May 24.  He will also be leading our Bible Study that morning.  As the founder of the Lutheran Heritage Foundation, we are excited to welcome Dr. Rahn to Christ Lutheran Church.  The following  paragraphs will inform you about their mission which we are privileged to be a part of.

 

WORKING IN 80 COUNTRIES COVERING 70 LANGUAGES

 

The Lutheran Heritage Foundation has a history that goes back to its formation on November 10, 1993 working out of the basement of Rev. Rahn’s home. There were three members of the staff those first months- Mrs. Donna Rahn served as the “Executive Volunteer” and son Jeff came home on weekends from Concordia-Ann Arbor to set up the data entry program. Today Rev. Rahn serves as Founder and has handed over the leadership reins to the Rev. James Fandrey, Executive Director.  Currently the LHF works with nine full time staff and four part time. The Rev. James May was the most recent staff addition and is located in Nairobi, Kenya where he serves as Asst. V.P. for Africa. We also have seven part time Regional Representatives, 200 native translators/reviewers and over 100 volunteers that assist in our quarterly mailings.

 

SUDAN BISHOP CALLED HOME AT THE AGE OF 43

 

You may have been familiar with the name of the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sudan, the Rev. Andrew Mbugo Elisa. His death, December 31, 2008,  came as a shock to all of us and we thank the many people and congregations who stood by to assist LHF with hospital and funeral expenses. New leadership for the church is being formed with a four-member Council of Pastors providing transitional leadership.

 

The Seminary continues to be a shining light demonstrating to the church that work can proceed. The LHF provides a global faculty for the 14 students now in their second year of studies. The late Bishop said: “If we had the manpower and money we could open a new church every month.” The interest in the Gospel remains high in this Muslim-oriented part of the world. Pray that the interest remains and that these men might all finish their training and open those new congregations.

 

BOOKS IN RECORD NUMBER

 

The mission of the LHF is to translate, publish, distribute and introduce Lutheran confessional books and materials that are Christ-centered, Bible-based and Reformation-driven. A record pace in production was set when just a few months ago Rev. Rahn toured LHF bases in India, Ukraine, Latvia and Russia. On that two-week trip we released 13 new volumes that included the Book of Concord in Tamil, Luther’s Small Catechism in Telugu, Marathi, Hindi and Gujarathi languages of India. These are part of the 485 titles that have been released thus far. The 500 mark should be celebrated by the middle of the year.

Go to our website and see the trip report featuring the above releases: www.LHFmissions.org

 

BISHOP’S SERVICE RECOGNIZED

 

Rev. Slavik Horpynchuk, Bishop of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church, was recognized by LHF for his ten years of service as Pastor of Resurrection Lutheran Church, Kiev, and for his ten years of service as Bishop of the church. The Bishop was surprised by the unveiling in his presence, a book containing sermons he himself preached.

 

MORE AMBITIOUS PROJECTS COMING

 

Rev. Ted NaThalang, another LHF staff who resides here in the St. Louis area, just returned from Southeast Asia where there are few Lutheran churches but a strong interest in Lutheran books and materials, especially those that have been released for children. A Child’s Garden of Bible Stories is a very popular volume and has been released in Thai, Bahasa (Indonesian),  and Khmer (Cambodian). Your gifts will help to publish it in Chinese, Hmong, Vietnamese, and Lao.

 

 

GOOD NEWS JOINT VENTURE

 

The LHF works closely with the Rev. Dr. Wallace Schulz, LHF Evangelist, in the publishing of the GOOD NEWS MAGAZINE , highly acclaimed here in the U.S. and globally. A number of LHF translators and distributors assist in getting the magazine into a variety of different languages.

 

 

 

SPANISH BIBLE WITH CATECHISM

 

15,000 copies of the Spanish Bible with Catechism are being distributed in South and Central America, Spain, many U.S. locations and now 3,500 copies in Cuba. Some are also going to new mission work in the Dominican Republic. A second printing may soon be necessary.

 

THANK YOU

 

Thank you for your interest in this global mission.

Lutheran Heritage Foundation

51474 Romeo Plank Road

Macomb,  MI  48042