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
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
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