+ + + + + The Spotlight July 2010 + + + +

From the Pastor's Desk:
Why isn't the Christ Candle being lit this time of
year? Some items of church furniture can be
puzzling when we see them being used at some
times and not others. Chief among these is the
Christ or Paschal Candle.
To understand the Christ Candle we need to
know something about the way our church year
is divided up—half the church year (the half with
Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, and Easter) is
spent meditating on the life and ministry of
Christ. During that time we consider His
teaching and how He came to us to give us life
and salvation. The other half of the year, the
Season of Pentecost (sometimes known as
Ordinary Time) is taken up with considering the
life of the Church after the Ascension. We
consider Christ's teachings and the life he has
given us, certainly, but we are looking back on
these things as a gift already received. If there is
something we are looking forward to, it's to His
Second Coming to judge the living and the dead.
The Christ Candle is a help for us in the first part
of the church year as we remember the physical
presence of Jesus among His disciples, at specific
times—Christmas, when we remember him newly
born; Epiphany, when we remember Christ's
manifestation of himself to the world as God in
the flesh; and Easter, when we remember Christ
restored to his disciples between the resurrection
and the Ascension. That physical presence among
them was a cause of great joy to them, but it was
not going to last forever. Christ would return to
the Father, and send the Holy Spirit to carry the
Church forward through all the ages.
But why leave the Christ Candle sitting in the
sanctuary during the other part of the year, if we
are not going to light it? Because, even unlit, it is
helping us to remember something. We are still
gathered together around Christ—but His bodily
presence is not the constant thing we would like
it to be. In the Lord's Supper we look at the host
and instead of our Lord we see a piece of bread,
He is there, but hidden from our sight. In the
same way, during this Time of the Church, Christ
is usually hidden from us, imperceptible, but not
absent. We long, in spite of his presence with us,
to see him face to face. That's the point of the
unlit Christ Candle, as well. We remember those
seasons of light that bring such joy—and we long
for them. We know what it is like to be with him,
because we have celebrated his immediate
presence among us in the Festival Season of the
church year, but now we live by faith, not by
sight! The time is coming when Christ will gather
us, just as the time is coming, in a more mundane
sense, when the Christ Candle will be lit again.
The unlit Christ Candle reminds us to rejoice,
because though now we live in a time of
separation, that time of separation really serves to
make the ultimate reunion all the more sweet!
Like so many things, the Christ Candle makes so
much more sense when we understand why it is
there, and what it is trying to tell us. Next time
you are in the church, and have opportunity to
consider the Christ Candle, standing there, unlit,
remember—these things, this separation from
loved ones who have gone before, this sadness
that comes so often in earthly life, is a temporary
thing. Christ will be restored to us, and with that
restoration will come all the joy, peace, and
permanence that we so often feel is missing. We
can be joyful in the midst of our sadness, “for our
light affliction, which is but for a moment, is
working for us a far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory.” (2 Cor 4:17) Christ has done it
all for us, and he is coming to take us to be with
Him! Rejoice, in Jesus' Name!

Christ Lutheran Church - Elkhart, KS + Faith Lutheran Church – Hugoton, KS
July Birthdays
7/03 Tammy Kepley
7/06 Christine O'Loughlin
7/08 Jarrod Moser
7/09 Thomas Frederick
7/12 Louise Kee
7/16 Luke Dobie
7/18 Saul Reza
7/21 Richard Harlow
7/26 Beverly Steitz
7/28 Verna Van Donge
7/30 Allie Hardy
7/31 Betty Sitz
July Anniversaries
7/06 Warren & Tracie Bowker
7/06 Mike & Diane Pomeroy
7/15 Mike & Bobbi Horton
7/24 Paul & Anna Dobie
7/27 Saul & Courtney Reza

July Baptisms
7/07 Lance Addington
7/07 Régan Nave
7/25 Tammy Kepley
7/30 Jarrod Moser

Schedule of Events
Faith
Divine Service – Sunday 9 am.
Faith Midweek Confirmation Class – Wed, 9:30 am.
Christ
Divine Service – Sunday 11 am.

Christ Lutheran Clothing Bank – open as announced.

Faith, Hugoton
The work day this past month was a great
success! Much of what needed to be done around the
building has been done. Thanks to all those who
pitched in and made the church building a better
place to be!

June Volunteers
July volunteers at Faith are as follows:
Steven Lucas - Elder.
Larry Hickey - Usher.
Pam Hickey - Altar Care and Cleaning.
Pete Hickey - Mowing and Watering.
+++
Christ, Elkhart
Food Bank Donations can be made, any time it is
convenient for you, by taking them to the United
Methodist Church.
Clothing Bank Donations can be made any time by
bringing donations to the Christ Lutheran Church or
making arrangements with the pastor.
+++
Mission Giving Opportunities
Rev. James May's mission work based in Nairobi,
Kenya continues to move forward, and the channels
for his support have finally been put in place! This is
presented as an option for our mission giving, which
the voters decided to redirect a couple of meetings
ago at both Christ and Faith.

The Kurt Marquart Fund for Theological
Education in Haiti operates with an all-volunteer
staff for the purpose of providing funds for the
training of pastors for the Evangelical Lutheran
Church of Haiti. Before the earthquake in early 2010,
the ELCH had 102 congregations with more than
20,000 members, all of them served by seven ordained
pastors—14 congregations per pastor!

Donations to the fund are a gift that keeps on giving—
the fund itself remains intact, while its earnings are
distributed every year to provide for ongoing training
of men for the pastoral office, who will continue to
serve the people of Haiti. In the wake of the
earthquake, much of the work being done has been of
a more humanitarian nature, but this too is part of the
mission of the Church.



Upcoming Events
Open Doors Ministries Saturday, July 24, 10 am,
Trinity – Garden City.
LCMS Convention Sunday, July 11 - Saturday,
July 17. Houston, TX.
LCMS National Youth Gathering, Saturday, July
17 - Wednesday, July 21.
KS District Pastors Conference October 17 - 19

+ The Spotlight +

Christ Lutheran Church - Elkhart, KS

Faith Lutheran Church – Hugoton, KS

From the Pastor's Desk:
I have been thinking a lot lately what it means to be a
“church member”—probably because I am hard at the task
of sorting out the Church Register at Christ. At any rate, it
occurs to me that many people have mistaken ideas about
membership and what it means to have one's name written
down in this book that few of us ever see.
What does having our name in a Church Register do for
us, as far as the Kingdom of God is concerned? Absolutely
nothing! In fact, if we think that it does, it's probably to
our harm. How many names are written in this book
representing people we haven't seen or heard from in years
—people who rarely, if ever, darken the door of this church
or any other church? Plenty. But if they never get together
with other Christians, as God's word commands (Heb
10:25), then what? If they rarely hear God's word or
receive the Body and Blood of Christ in the Lord's Supper,
what is the likely condition of their faith?
Without the Word and Sacraments, any Christian, no
matter how strong their faith was once upon a time, will
slowly but surely weaken and starve to death spiritually.
Because God's word is the tool that God uses to create and
sustain faith in us (Romans 10:17), without God's word we
will drift away from faith and cease to be members of the
body of Christ. If that happens, what is the good of a
name written on a page in a book in the church office? As
far as God and heaven are concerned, none at all.
So what is the Church Register really for? It's simply good
practice to have a record of when people are baptized,
confirmed, married, and buried—not because God would
forget any of these things, but because, unfortunately, we
forget them, and writing them down somewhere simply
makes sense. The Church Register is not the Lamb's Book
of Life. God is the One who writes our names there, as He
is the One who saves us. And that happened, not when
our name was written in a book here on earth, but 2000
years ago on the cross. The work Jesus did there is applied
to us by water and the Word in baptism, by the Word of
God in our ears creating faith in our hearts, by the body
and blood of Christ in our mouths at communion, and by
the handshake or pat on the back from our brother or sister
in Christ down the pew from us.
Join us often in the gathering of believers, at church on
Sunday mornings. It's the place that Christ has promised
to be!
A blessed Pentecost to all of you!



On the Liturgy:
When the pastor greets the congregation (“The Lord be
with you!”) and the congregations responds, (“And with
thy spirit!”), why does the pastor bow his head?
In general, when the pastor bows from the waist or bows
his head during the service it is to show respect to God or
to places God has promised to be. At the salutation,
however, he bows for a different reason. The
congregation's response is actually a prayer. For what?
That the pastor would be strengthened by the Holy Spirit
for the task ahead, either for presenting the prayers of the
people in the Collect or for the celebration of the Lord's
Supper. The pastor is bows the head in response, not
precisely to show respect to the congregation, but just as
he bowed his head to receive the laying on of hands at his
ordination. It is a gesture that indicates that he is receiving
once again the congregations prayerful blessing, and in so
doing is willing to represent them before God. Even
though the Rite of Ordination may be in the distant past, it
is never really over—the congregation continues to choose
the pastor for his task every time they gather for the Divine
Service.



June Birthdays
6/04 Sue Frederick
6/12 Greg O'Loughlin
6/15 Amalia Bowker
6/29 Cassidy Reed

June Anniversaries
6/02 Bob & Ramona
Johnson
6/22 Greg & Christine
O'Loughlin
6/25 Christopher & Rebecca
Fincher

Schedule of Events
Faith
Divine Service – Sunday 9 am.
Faith Midweek Confirmation Class – Wed, 9:30 am.
Christ
Divine Service – Sunday 11 am.
Christ Lutheran Clothing Bank – open as announced.

Faith, Hugoton
The Volunteer Schedule at Faith is empty this
month under acolyte and cleaning! Please sign up to
serve your brothers and sisters in Christ in one of
these practical ways!
The Voters' Meeting at Faith has been scheduled for
June 6. We are holding this meeting after service at
the regular time, and it should be brief. Get any
pressing business to the president before the meeting.
A Work Day at Faith has been scheduled for June 12.
Meet at the church at about 10 am, burgers will be
grilled for lunch around noon. There are a number of
jobs on the list in the narthex—if you know of others,
please write them on the list so that they can be dealt
with when the day arrives!
Afraid of Commitment? We need to know for
sure who will be present at the above-mentioned
work day at Faith, in order to buy enough food
for all of us. Please sign up on the sheet in the
narthex so that we can plan accordingly.
June Volunteers
June volunteers at Faith are as follows:
Paul Dobie - Elder.
Josh Lucas - Usher.
Kepleys - Altar Care.
Tammy - Mowing and Watering.
+++
Christ, Elkhart
June is another month of getting things done
around Christ, Elkhart. The kitchen has been cleaned,
the windows and curtains are done, weeds have been
dug and the north door has been repaired—but that
doesn't mean that there is not a whole lot more to do!
Food Bank Donations can be made, any time it is
convenient for you, by taking them to the United
Methodist Church.
Clothing Bank Donations can be made any time by
bringing donations to the Christ Lutheran Church or
making arrangements with the pastor.
+++

Camp Lutherhaven at Knowles Lake, OK
The time has come for 2010 Camp Lutherhaven
Registration. Junior Camp (Grades 5-8) will be from
July 11-15 at Knowles Lake, and Senior Camp (Grades
9-12, with a topic of Sex, Love, and Relationships)
from July 25-29. Cost is $50 plus one five-gallon bottle
of purified drinking water per camper. If this is a
matter of interest, please contact the pastor for more
information.

Mission Giving Opportunities
Rev. James May's mission work based in Nairobi,
Kenya continues to move forward, and the channels
for his support have finally been put in place! This is
presented as an option for our mission giving, which
the voters decided to redirect a couple of meetings
ago at both Christ and Faith.
The Kurt Marquart Fund for Theological
Education in Haiti operates with an all-volunteer
staff for the purpose of providing funds for the
training of pastors for the Evangelical Lutheran
Church of Haiti. Before the earthquake in early 2010,
the ELCH had 102 congregations with more than
20,000 members, all of them served by seven ordained
pastors—14 congregations per pastor!
Donations to the fund are a gift that keeps on giving—
the fund itself remains intact, while its earnings are
distributed every year to provide for ongoing training
of men for the pastoral office, who will continue to
serve the people of Haiti. In the wake of the
earthquake, much of the work being done has been of
a more humanitarian nature, but this too is part of the
mission of the Church.



Upcoming Events
Circuit Forum Sunday, June 20 at 3 pm at Trinity
– Garden City. Delegates to Synodical Convention
will be present for discussion on business that will
be taken up by the Convention. This is your
opportunity to make yourself heard!
Open Doors Ministries Saturday, July 24, 10 am,
Trinity – Garden City.
LCMS Convention Sunday, July 11 - Saturday,
July 17. Houston, TX.
LCMS National Youth Gathering, Saturday, July
17 - Wednesday, July 21.
KS District Pastors Conference October 17 - 19