21. February 2012
Shrove Tuesday
Funeral of Henry C. Klopp
Romans 8:14-23

Dearly beloved—Mary and Christine, spouses, grandchildren Lisa, Kayla, and Sara, great-grandchildren, dear sister Esther, nieces and nephews, Betty, friends, and fellow redeemed—grace, mercy and peace be to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The text for our meditation is the St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter eight, especially these words placed upon Henry at his confirmation: “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” In Name of the Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sons of God. Sons and daughters of the King. Children of the heavenly Father. Little lambs. Faith like a child. It may seem odd for us to refer to our beloved Henry as a child. To us he is father, brother, companion, grandpa, friend, or fellow member of the body of Christ, the church. It may seem odd to speak of Henry, an eighty-seven year old, as infant cradled in our loving Savior’s arms.

Yet, it is true. I am fond of reminding young and old alike that they are always children of their parents. Those who procreated us through their blessed marital union—freely receiving children as a blessing from God—they are and always will be our parents. Thus, the fourth commandment “honor your father and your mother” is a command for both this life and into eternity. In this life, we honor our parents by being obedient children, serving, loving, and cherishing them both while they live and even when they die.

That is to say, even when you “flew the coop,” Mary and Christine, you still were dutiful children of your father Henry. St. Paul explained why. The command to honor your mother and father has attached to it a promise, “that it may go well with you and you may live long on the earth” (cf. Ephesians 6:1ff). Even now, your father will continue to provide for you, even in death, as you honor, obey, serve, love, and cherish his memory.

God gave us parents and marriage as the highest example of the Father’s own love for you, his children. From Henry’s own faithful calling as Father, he taught you how it is to be patient and kind. He taught you how Fathers do not provoke their children to anger, but instead bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. So also, in faithfully loving his beloved wife Catherine, even as she suffered and died at a young age, we learned how Christ loves His church, suffering with us patiently as we all journey towards death.

Henry gladly would give his life for his beloved. We know this well, for he served faithfully in his duty in service to His country. He joined the ranks of warriors, there sheltering Catherine, Mary, Christine, and indeed all his friends and neighbors. So, Henry taught us how our God willingly laid down His life for the sake of the whole world, sheltering us from the bombardments of sin and death, sent by the evil one to destroy us.

Henry learned this noble trait from His own heavenly Father, who also brought him up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Our heavenly Father rescued Henry from death 87 years ago when He brought Henry safely from death to life in the waters of the Holy Baptism. He nurtured Henry through the His Holy Word, the pure spiritual milk and meat of salvation. He instructed Henry to fulfill his vocations of citizen, neighbor, husband, father, and most of all Christian. Henry cherished these things, honoring his heavenly Father.

Henry, or Mike, as the family calls him, loved and honored his heavenly Father not merely in good times. He honored his Father even when He spoke with a strong Word of rebuke. Henry loved and still loves his heavenly Father for discipling him with both the rod and the staff. It is true. None of us like it when our Fathers rebuke us, tell us where we’ve gone wrong, or even help us understand the severity with a bit of physical pain. Its hard to imagine actually cherishing the discipline of God.

We know that for the faithful this is true. How could Henry persevere through the pacemaker and rehab, stroke and more rehab, finally succumbing to pneumonia? How could Henry know that this even in pain and sickness, the Lord was training him in righteousness? Henry knew because this discipline came each week to him in the Divine Service.

Today is Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. Sometimes it is called Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, or Pączki day. No doubt, here in the region, if you eat a bunch of those delicious fried pastries, you’ll end up with a few pounds to show for it. Yet, the older name is Shrove Tuesday. To shrove is to present oneself to their pastor or priest for confession, a practice now usually moved to the beginning of Ash Wednesday services.

This was the case for Henry, too. Each week he confessed his sins before his heavenly Father. Each week Henry faithfully admitted that he had not honor his Father in heaven as he knew he should. He had not always been faithful to his children, perhaps at times even provoking them to anger. He had not loved his spouse perfectly, perhaps with a wandering eye or a unclean thought. Henry confessed these things out loud before the altar of the Lord, knowing full well that he deserved punishment.

Yet, for Henry, there was no hope in merely confessing. Throwing yourself to the feet of God, pleading for mercy, has no guarantee or hope attached to it, unless this repentance is grounded in the promise of the forgiveness of sins. So also for us today—to shrove has yet a second component. It is not simply to confess before the pastor or priest but it is also to receive absolution from the pastor as from God himself. Absolution. Forgiveness of Sins.

By the blood-bought forgiveness of sins of Jesus Christ we are brought back into the loving embrace of our heavenly Father. Henry now rests in from all his labors, from his struggles, from his pain and grief, not by his effort or worthiness. No, Henry placed his hope in nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. He was led by the Spirit of God through waters of Holy Baptism to be God’s own child.

Henry approached his death not with fear. No, his every confidence was in the adoption of sons, received by the Spirit, by whom [Henry] cried “Abba, Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 

There is no doubt that Henry suffered with our Lord in those last days. He bore the cruelty of sickness and death, finally giving up his spirit with a dying gasp, just as our Lord breathed his last from the cross. We grieve today with the whole creation waiting to finally be set free from the bondage to decay. We mourn the loss of a dear father, brother, companion, uncle, and friend in Henry.

We know and Henry knows fully the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Henry knows now what is like to be set free from slavery to sin. Henry’s eager groaning has finally reached its fulfillment in death. A death like Christ’s that will be but a blink of the eye. Yes, we will lay Henry in the tomb but only for a brief moment.

Then our Lord will call out with the voice of the trumpet and the sound of many rushing winds to Henry. He will call out Henry from tomb and raise him and all the dead. He will give unto Henry and all believers in Christ eternal life. It is true that this is a time for sorrow and grief, for mourning and even groaning.

We too, like Henry, will find these brought to an end in Jesus. The time of discipline will be complete in death. Then, in Jesus, we are made heirs with Him of crowns of victory, songs of triumph, and feasting with joy. We are, even now, adopted children of our heavenly Father, forgiven saints of God. We may wait eagerly now, living a life of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. For Henry this labor and warfare is over and He has already received what was promised to him so many years ago—For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Thanks be to God!

In Name of the Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Rev. Christopher R. Gillespie
Grace Lutheran Church
Dyer, Indiana

St. Paul’s second epistle to Corinth confesses with great boldness how our God loves us. He is patient and kind. He does not boast or envy. He suffers all and endures all. Knowing this love is difficult. Our lives rarely reflect the perfect love of our God. We must hear and learn it again. Thus, today begins our final preparations for the blessed season of Lent. We will see and know the love of our God most graciously shown in His holy Passion. He opens our deprived eyes to see once again His death for us. From this love, we learn how to love God and to love each other.

Emmanuel Press offers a free download of the Beichtspiegel (confession mirror) as published in The Brotherhood Prayer Book. A Beichtspiegel is a tool used for reflection and self-examination in preparation for private confession and absolution or for the Divine Service.

Download Link: http://emmanuelpress.us/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/BPB-Beichtspiegel1.pdf

The season of Lent is a particular time of repentance for Christians. Ash Wednesday represents the beginning of a forty-day journey into the wilderness that ends with Jesus leading us into the promised land of heaven by His perfect death and sacrifice. In baptism, our Lord Jesus Christ began in us a living faith, and we return to the promise of our baptism every time we confess our sins and receive forgiveness. Thus the purpose of a Beichtspiegel is to help us reflect upon our individual sins and lead us to the soothing balm of the absolution. True repentance is both sorrow over sin and faith in Christ’s forgiveness.

A Beichtspiegel helps us to consider our sins according to the Ten Commandments. As stated in its introduction:

The Small Catechism urges us to consider our place in life according to the Ten Commandments. The Commandments act as a mirror to reflect our sinful thoughts, words, and deeds. This honest reflection, on account of God’s holy Word working in us, will bear the fruit of repentance. In private confession and absolution we repent before our pastor of those sins which we know and feel in our heart, and he, in turn, grants us Christ’s forgiveness individually.

Examining ourselves is not merely for the purpose of causing shame over our wretched sinfulness, but to focus us on the only source of comfort: Jesus. It is forgiveness that we Christians seek, not a perfect and exhaustive confession. Yet when we are able to better understand and articulate in what ways and how often we sin, the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross becomes a necessary and most precious thing.

After confessing the guilt of our trespasses against the Ten Commandments, the Beichtspiegel then closes with a clear proclamation of Christ’s grace and mercy:

Do I believe that my sins are serious in the eyes of God and believe that Jesus Christ died for all of my sins and gives forgiveness to me through His Word and through the Sacraments?

If you believe this, my dear brother or sister in Christ, then come and unburden your conscience before your pastor who has been placed in the stead of Jesus for your comfort. Your confession does not need to be perfect, for the Absolution that Jesus gives is.

May your meditation upon Christ’s suffering and death be to you a consolation and source of strength this Lenten season.

via Free Download: Beichtspiegel from The Brotherhood Prayer Book | Emmanuel Press.

Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” (Revelation 14:13)

UPDATED: Corrected location of visitation.

Philip Melanchthon (1497–1560) was a brilliant student of the classics and a humanist scholar. In 1518 he was appointed to teach along with Martin Luther at the University of Wittenberg. At Luther’s urging, Melanchthon began teaching theology and Scripture in addition to his courses in classical studies. In April of 1530, Emperor Charles V called an official meeting between the representatives of Lutheranism and Roman Catholicism, hoping to effect a meeting of minds between two opposing groups. Since Luther was at that time under papal excommunication and an imperial ban, Melanchthon was assigned the duty of being the chief Lutheran representative at this meeting. He is especially remembered and honored as the author of the Augsburg Confession, which was officially presented by the German princes to the emperor on June 25, 1530, as the defining document of Lutheranism within Christendom. Melanchthon died on April 19, 1560.

http://www.lcms.org/Document.fdoc?src=lcm&id=1679
ST. LOUIS—February 14, 2012—The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, issued a statement today in response to President Obama’s health plan “accommodation” for religious groups, which was announced last week:

“In response to President Obama’s announcement Friday concerning an ‘accommodation’ to a previous mandate that health plans must cover all forms of birth control (even those that can kill the unborn), The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) remains deeply concerned. We strongly object to the use of drugs and procedures that are used to take the lives of unborn children, who are persons in the sight of God from the time of conception. Drugs such as ‘Plan B’ and ‘Ella,’ which are still included in the mandate, can work post-conception to cause the death of the developing child, so don’t be fooled by statements to the contrary.

“We see President Obama’s action Friday as significant, in that it appears to have been prompted by the many voices united in concern over an infringement of our religious liberties. But the ‘accommodation’ did not expand the exemption for religious employers, nor did it restrict the mandate in any way. It simply described a temporary enforcement delay and a possible future change—a change that, unfortunately, would not adequately protect religious freedom or unborn lives.

“We remain opposed to this mandate because it runs counter to the biblical truth of the sanctity of human life. We are committed to working to ensure that we remain free to practice the teachings of our faith, that our religious rights are not violated, and that our rights of conscience are retained. Freedom of religion extends beyond the practice of our faith in houses of worship. We must be free to put our faith into action in the public square, and, in response to Christ’s call, demonstrate His mercy through our love and compassion for all people according to the clear mandate of Holy Scripture.

“The government has overstepped its bounds. This controversy is not merely about ‘birth control’ and the Catholic Church’s views about it. It’s about mandating that we provide medications which kill life in the womb. And moreover, and perhaps even more ominous, it is about an overzealous government forcing coercive provisions that violate the consciences and rights of its citizens. We can no longer expect a favored position for Christianity in this country. But we can, as citizens of this great nation, fight for constitutional sanity against secularizing forces. As we have vividly experienced in discriminatory state legislation with respect to homosexual adoption, we, and our institutions (and those of other religious citizens of good will), are being robbed of the right to the free exercise of religion absent government intrusion or threat. The next assault will come upon church-related retirement facilities. How much longer will it be legal in this country to believe and act according to the dictates of biblical and creedal Christianity?

“Jesus bids us, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s’ (Mark 12:17). We will pray for and support our government where we can, but our consciences and lives belong to God.”

via Missouri Synod president says church remains ‘deeply concerned’ about health plan mandate – The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

ASH WEDNESDAY & LENTEN SERVICES

Wednesdays beginning February 22 at 2 pm & 7 pm.
We’ll celebrate the Lord’s Supper using Divine Service Three for Ash Wednesday. For following Wednesdays, the order of service for 2 pm is Vespers and 7 pm is Compline. The focus of our weekly Lenten meditation is Luther’s Small Catechism, each week considering one of the six chief parts.

HOLY WEEK DIVINE SERVICES

Palm Sunday and The Passion according to St. Matthew – April 1 @ 9 am
Monday of Holy Week @ 9 am – St. John’s Passion
Tuesday of Holy Week @ 9 am – St. Mark’s Passion
Wednesday of Holy Week @ 9 am – St. Luke’s Passion
Holy Thursday @ 2 pm and 7 pm
Good Friday @ 2 pm and 7 pm
Great Vigil of Easter – Saturday @ 7 pm
Easter Sunrise @ 7am
Easter Festival @ 9 am
Easter Week - Mon (4/9), Tue (4/10), Wed (4/11) @ 2 & 7 pm

Philemon was a prominent first-century Christian who owned a slave named Onesimus. Although the name “Onesimus” means “useful,” Onesimus proved himself “useless” when he ran away from his master and perhaps even stole from him (Philemon 18).  Somehow Onesimus came into contact with the apostle Paul while the latter was in prison (possibly in Rome), and through Paul’s proclamation of the Gospel he became a Christian. After confessing to the apostle that he was a runaway slave, he was directed by Paul to return to his master and become “useful” again. In order to help pave the way for Onesimus’s peaceful return home, Paul sent him on his way with a letter addressed to Philemon, a letter in which he urged Philemon to forgive his slave for having run away and “to receive him as you would receive me” (v. 17), “no longer as a slave, but as a beloved brother” (v. 16). The letter was eventually included by the Church as one of the books of the New Testament.

Collect: Almighty and everlasting God, You kindled the flame of Your love in the heart of Your holy martyr Valentine. Grant to us, Your humble servants, a faith like Valentine’s and the power of love, that we who rejoice in Christ’s triumph may embody his love in our lives; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Jesus speaking in parables usually does not bring clarity to the doubter, for “seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.” To the unbeliever, it appears His Holy Word is weak, subject to birds of the air, weakly rooting into rocks, and easily strangled by the thorns of this life. Yet, this is not true for the elect saints of God, for whom the Word breaks up the well-worn path, crushes the rocks into fine soil, kills the thorns, and thus makes our hearts into rich and fertile soil for His Word. He does this by the Word and for the Word. As a matter of fact, He does it all—start to finish. Listen to the sermon.

(My preferred sermon from Sunday was marred by a computer glitch. The provided sermon is strongly based up a sermon by Pr. David Juhl.)

Aquila and his wife Priscilla (Prisca), Jewish contemporaries of St. Paul, traveled widely. Because of persecution in Rome, they went to Corinth where they met the apostle Paul, who joined them in their trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:1–3). They, in turn, joined him in his mission of proclaiming the Christian Gospel. The couple later traveled with Paul from Corinth to Ephesus (Acts 18:18), where the two of them established a home that served as hospitality headquarters for new converts to Christianity. Apollos was one of their numerous Jewish pupils in the faith. An eloquent man, Apollos “spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus” (Acts 18:25). He later traveled from Corinth to the province of Achaia, where he “showed by the Scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus” (Acts 18:28). Aquila, Priscilla, and Apollos are all remembered and honored for their great missionary zeal.

Silas, a leader in the church at Jerusalem, was chosen by Paul (Acts 15:40) to accompany him on his second missionary journey from Antioch to Asia Minor and Macedonia. Silas, also known as Silvanus, was imprisoned with Paul in Philippi and experienced the riots in Thessalonica and Berea. After rejoining Paul in Corinth, he apparently remained there for an extended time. Beyond that there is little further mention of Silas and his association with Paul.

Pastor’s Annual Report – 2011

The year 2011 was the 51st year that our Lord Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit gathered to His heavenly Father a community of Lutheran Christians at Grace in Dyer.  We are a community that gathers regularly to receive our Lord’s gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation. In receiving we rejoice and sing our praises to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all the days of our life.

January began a new calendar year in God’s grace. On the first Sunday of January, we rejoiced in the richness of the Epiphany season, celebrating the visit of the Magi and the Baptism of Jesus. It is always a joy to wind down from the busy Christmastide with an annual trek to Fort Wayne for the Symposia at the seminary where I am refreshed with God’s Word taught and preached.

On February 13^th, we doubly rejoiced as we celebrated the Transfiguration of our Lord and as Eric Donner (Rick) Deam was confirmed in the Evangelical Lutheran faith and officially joined our fellowship.  In March, we received the Botkin family and in September the Kerstetters as transferred members. Our newest members are a great blessing, serving the congregation in many ways.

Many beloved of the Lord completed their baptism journey. Lila Corman, mother of Gene Corman, was received into glory and buried on February 23 where she is resting in peace until the resurrection of the dead. In the next month, the Lord received her sister Lucille Berg also into His loving hands. Their congregation had recently gone vacant and was without a pastor. As we are one body in Christ, I served our fellow members by consoling the family and conducting their funerals. Shortly after Easter, our dear brother Raymond Gollnick departed in peace according to the Word of the Lord. He was laid to rest on May 5^th and now dwells in eternal bliss with our Lord. On October 29, Joseph Koch, husband of Marion Koch, was laid to rest. Blessed are the dead for they have rest from their labors.

During the three weeks between Epiphany and Lent, we considered the threefold emphasis of our Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod: Witness, Mercy, and Life Together. Each week considered the theme in preaching and Bible study. Knowing what we believe and why we believe it is critical. To further our life together, fourteen members of Grace graciously volunteered their time in a strategic planning workshop on February 25-26. We discussed the six chief duties of a Christian congregation and our strengths and weaknesses. Over the following months we developed and implemented strategies to react and act. We have already seen an increase in financial stewardship, more regular attendance numbers, and the return of a few inactive members.

Grace received a generous gift in March designated by the donors for sanctuary improvements such as lighting and painting. Donors also paid to have the parsonage downspouts buried, replace the wireless microphone in church, and add outdoor LED lighting to church, sign, and cross. Monies were donated for future organ replacement. These generous offerings over and above the weekly tithe are a cause for rejoicing.

Lententide and Eastertide bring us to glorious climax of the festival half of the church year. We rejoiced in the service of Corporate Confession and Absolution on Ash Wednesday. Each midweek we sang the service of Evening Prayer and considered the confession of LCMS founder CFW Walther. This Lenten journey culminated in Holy Week, with Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, two (!) Good Friday services, Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunrise and festival services. We even continued the celebration with Easter Wednesday midweek service. What a wonderful gift it is to receive Jesus frequently and to have him dwell richly among us!

One of the greatest joys of the Christian community is to witness another sinner reborn into the life of faith. We were blessed as a congregation to share in this join with Abel Maluchnik, family, and friends on May 22. Baptism is central to the Christian life, wherein you received adoption in Christ to be a child of God. The Holy Spirit abolished Satan and his host. The atonement of Christ was freely given to you for your justification.

We continued our celebration of Eastertide for seven Sundays, ending with the annual joint circuit Ascension service, this year at Trinity Hammond. Pastor had the privilege of preaching and many of our members received the Lord’s gifts with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. The dinner was lovely, the choir sung with gusto, and Pr. Davies celebrated the Lord’s Supper reverently. As is the custom of the church, we celebrated Pentecost and Holy Trinity as high festivals, thus concluding the festival half of the church year.

The summer months are a time of reflection upon the teachings of Jesus Christ, specifically oriented toward our life individually and together. Even so, during this “Time of the Church,” we had opportunity for a few minor festivals. We remembered the mother of Our Lord, St. Mary, on August 15. St. Michael and All Angels received special recognition on September 29. As with the year past, we conducted a Narrative Divine Service on the weekend of September 3/4. This provides us yearly with an opportunity to receive our Lord’s service in Word and Sacrament but to learn more about the “what,” “how,” and “why” of the Divine Service.

Grace continues its active service to community and world. We hosted a Pancake Breakfast and bake sale to benefit Kids Against Hunger on September 10. We delivered food baskets for Thanksgiving and Christmas to needy families both here and in our community. Even so, evangelism remains one of our weak points. An ad-hoc committee of Betty Natzke and the Kolarczyks have begun to address this and will hope to do more in the year to come.

The needs of the congregation received specific attention in September. The Constitution revisions that were completed in the Summer of 2010 were approved by the Indiana District and accepted by the congregation’s voters.  The Strategic Planning report challenged pastor and congregation to consider our wealth in a God pleasing way. As a result of our intensive catechesis and pledge drive, we received offering commitments of $75,000 for 2012 from half the contributing households. We rejoice in this act of faith and hope for more participation in the future.

In conjunction with this program, we offered a 13-week course called Financial Peace University. Everyone who attended benefited from the wisdom of Dave Ramsey in managing their household well. The course even impacted the way we approached the 2012 budget discussions. I hope we can offer this course in the future as both a refresher and for new attendees.

The financial status of the congregation was a great concern in the final quarter of the year. Our projections were for a significant shortfall. Through the stewardship program and some difficult cuts to the 2011 budget, we ended the year with a shortfall around $5000, much lower than expected. We thank God for the offerings of our members and the mercy of our God. He truly “knows our needs and well provides them.” The budget for 2012 reflects adjustments and cuts of nearly 20% over 2011. We pray this responsible stewardship is pleasing in God’s sight.

Our church anniversary is annually commemorated with the festival of the Reformation (October 31). It is fitting to rejoice in the reclamation of the Gospel by the Reformers and to celebrate the founding of our congregation together. All Saints’ Day (November 1^st) is our opportunity to remember all the dearly departed and give thanks for their life and resurrection received in Christ. Thanksgiving Even (Nov 23) rounds out the non-festival half of the year by thanking God for all our blessings.

The festival half of the church year began anew with Advent on November 27. Our midweek services considered the three emphases of witness, mercy, and life together in the context of the Christmas story. The rejoicing continued through our Christmas candlelight and festival services. We even continued the festival into the three days following Christmas. Our final services of 2011 coincided with the feast of the Circumcision and Name of Jesus. It is a blessing to serve the congregation in this way, so that the Word of God truly dwells with us richly.

On My Own Preschool remains a keystone to Grace’s outreach efforts. We hosted an open house in January to try to reach the needs of the community. Our staff puts on a number of events throughout the year, including Men’s night in February and a closing picnic in May. We rejoice that these children, many of whom come from non-liturgical churches, are willing and able to sit quietly in church, to hear God’s Word, to sing hymns of praise and confession, and to intensely learn and study the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Ten Commandments.

As a congregation, we began serious efforts to reach inactive and former members, encouraging them to hear and receive more frequently. This is a serious matter. Many delinquent members were sinned against by this congregation or a former pastor. Others preferred to follow their own itching ears and listen to false teachers. Some were challenged by the death of a spouse, the divorce of their marriage, old age, or sickness. Whatever the reason, it is our duty to care for them just as Jesus came to us while we lay beaten and left for dead in the ditch of our sin.

Our catechetical offerings included the regular children’s Sunday School opening, Saturday and Sunday Bible Studies studying St. John’s Apocalypse, weekly Preschool chapel studying the six chief parts from the catechism, youth catechism classes, and midweek study of the Lutheran Confessions. Our catechism class grew as we began study of the New Testament pericopes. Joining Ethan and Wyatt are Joseph Botkin, Elsie Gillespie, and guests Faith and Chloe Sikma. The congregation put on the annual Vacation Bible School from June 20 through the 24^th. It was well-attended with an average of 52 students. Everyone learned of their savior in Christ. We offered workshops throughout the year for funeral planning and the importance of a last will and testament.

The life of our congregation is blessed by frequent opportunities for friendship. We enjoy our Sunday morning “coffee and pastry” break before Bible class and Sunday school. We celebrated the anniversary of the congregation with a church picnic and barbecue. The ladies and their male tag-alongs enjoyed what looks to be our last Holiday Bazaar and Luncheon. The men enjoy their dartball league with other local LCMS congregations.

At the end of 2010, the baptized membership of Grace stood at 106. The communicant membership at 80.   The average attendance was 65 per weekend, which means that 60% of our active members are in attendance in Divine Service on a given week.

And so the civil year came to its end a month after the Church’s year had wrapped up.  Through all the changes, all the joys and all the sorrows, our faithful Lord continued to serve us His mercy, His forgiveness, His love both lavishly and freely.  He truly shepherds His people with tenderness from this passing age into the bright light and shining joys of that Age to come where with the Father and the Holy Spirit, He ever reigns in majesty and glory.  To the blessed Trinity be all the glory forever and ever!  Amen.

Respectfully submitted,

Rev. Christopher Gillespie , Pastor of Grace, in his 2nd year of the current pastorate

[gview file="http://gracedyer.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Statement_GvtAction_Religious_Freedom.pdf"]

While we might be tempted to think of our heavenly Father as a shrewd businessman, today’s parable paints a totally different picture. He is a generous landowner, who invites all sorts into his harvest field and rewards them all equally and bountifully. Therein we learn that our God is gracious, full of goodness and mercy. (Audio Only)

1 Samuel 1:21–28
Psalm 84 (antiphon: v. 4)
Hebrews 2:14–18
Luke 2:22–32 (33–40)

Collect: Almighty and ever-living God, as Your only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple in the substance of our flesh, grant that we may be presented to You with pure and clean hearts; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

From Aardvark Alley:

The Presentation of Our Lord at the Temple, one of the Christological feasts of the Christian Church, is Scripture’s final infancy narrative concerning Jesus. After the Presentation, the Bible says nothing more about Him until His twelfth year.

Many liturgical calendars name this the Feast of the Purification (of the Blessed Virgin Mary), emphasizing its Marian connection. Still another term used is Candlemas, drawing the name from the tradition of blessing the coming year’s church candles on this day.

Saint Luke is the only one of the Evangelists to describe the event (see 2:22-40), something likely unfamiliar to most of his Gentile readers. According to the Gospel, Mary and Joseph took the Baby to the Temple in Jerusalem forty days after his birth to consecrate Jesus to God and to complete the ritual purification of Mary, both of these because of the command of God’s Law (Exodus 13:1-2, 11-16; Leviticus 12).

Upon entering the temple, the family encountered the devout and holy Simeon. Luke records that he was promised that “he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. (Luke 2:26)” Simeon took Jesus into his arms, prayed the prayer that would become known as the Nunc Dimittis, or Canticle of Simeon, blessed the parents, and prophesied regarding Jesus and Mary.

The prophetess Anna (2:36-38) was also in the temple. She, too, offered prayers and praise to God for sending the Savior.

In the Western liturgical calendar, the Presentation of Our Lord falls on 2 February because this is the fortieth day of Christmas. It is the last festival determined by the date of Christmas and thus shows that the Epiphany season is drawing to a close. Most churches in the East observe the occasion on 14 February since they celebrate Christ’s Nativity on 6 January.