Christmas Service Schedule

Join us to Celebrate our Lord's Birth!



Christmas Eve
7:30 PM Service of Lessons and Carols at Trinity Lutheran, Elgin
9:00 PM Candlelight Service at Grace Lutheran, Neligh

Christmas Day
9:00 AM Service of Lessons and Carols at Grace Lutheran, Neligh

Grace Lutheran Children's Christmas Program

Here are some pictures of the Grace Lutheran Children's Christmas Program, Sunday, December 20.

Special thanks to Lisa Hansen for Directing the program, Jill Bates for playing the piano, and all the teachers and helpers: BrenDee Reinke (Sunday School Supt), Nicole Parker, Jenny Furstenau, Keely Hildebrand, Lisa Vraspir, Paige Furstenau, Danae Smith, Vicar Hildebrand, and Pastor Kuhfal.

LCMS Focus on National Witness

Making Ornaments and Christmas Caroling

This year for Christmas Caroling Lorna Boggs came up with a fantastic twist.  The Weekday School and Confirmation Class first made Christmas ornaments that illustrate the true meaning of Christmas -- Christ in a manger.  Then we enjoyed Pizza and Pop before delivering the ornaments to the residents of Golden Living Center in Neligh and Antelope Memorial Hospital.  While delivering we sang Christmas Carols to those gathered there.  Below are some pictures of the fun, fellowship and food.  This was a Thrivent Action Team project applied for and led by Lorna Boggs.

Up on the Rooftop

That's not Santa up on the roof of the church.  Trustee Roy Urbanec is up looking for a leak in the church roof, with Randy Reinke running equipment from below.

After School Care Art Display

Stop by Grace Lutheran Fellowship Hall and check out the display of the After School Care Artwork!

Advent Midweek Services

Away in a Manger

This year's Advent Midweek Series "Away in a Manger" draws upon the themes found in the popular carol, "Away in a Manger," pairing them with the Second Article of the Creed and Scripture to teach the reality and need for a Savior who is Christ, the Lord.

7:30 PM Wednesday, December 2 - Who Lies in the Manger? (Isaiah 11:1–10)

7:30 PM Wednesday, December 9 - For What Has He Come? (Isaiah 2:1–5)

7:30 PM Wednesday, December 16 - How Has He Saved Us? (Isaiah 35:1–10)

These same sermons will also be preached on the following Thursday nights at Trinity Lutheran, Elgin.

Baptism - Gage Michael Kallhoff

Heavenly angels rejoiced as Christ poured out His gracious water of Baptism upon Gage Michael child of Vince and Nikki Kallhoff on Sunday, November 29.  Sponsors were Jaquelyn Kallhoff and Landon Koehler, witnesses are Samuel Kallhoff and Kyle Pelster.

Thrivent Action Team - Orphan Grain Train Hygiene Kits

After Wednesday Morning Bible Class, Bible Class members stayed and packed hygiene kits for  the  Orphan  Grain  Train.  The kits purchased with Thrivent Action Team dollars and organized by Doris, included; towels, wash cloths, combs, band-aids, and toothbrushes.  Below are pictures of the members assembling the kits.  Following the assembly, Doris provided banana nut cake and apple raisin cake for the team.  Thanks for your help team!

Logan Pelster Benefit

20th Annual Grace's Gracious Giveaway - 8AM-12Noon Saturday, October 14

20th Annual Grace's Gracious Giveaway
8AM-12Noon Saturday, October 14

Grace Lutheran Church is hosting its twentieth annual Grace’s Gracious Giveaway this Saturday, November 14 at Grace Lutheran Church.  Members of Grace Lutheran and others in the community donate clothing to the giveaway, bringing it this week prior to the giveaway. Donations of clean usable clothing items are accepted through Friday from 8AM-4PM.  Donors are asked to place their donations on the sorted tables.  On Saturday from 8-12 noon anyone in the community is invited to receive whatever they can use.  Clothing not taken at the Giveaway will then be given to the Norfolk Rescue Mission.  Pastor David Kuhfal said, “God graciously provides us with all that we need and more.  To see people give their “more” to others is great.  And seeing others being able to benefit from others grace is really special.”  Grace Lutheran Church is located at 508 K St in Neligh.  For questions call 887-4791.

Pictures of a previous Grace's Gracious Giveaway

Confirmation and Weekday School News

Confirmation and Weekday School will be 1:30-3:00 this Wednesday, November 4, due to school getting out early for Football Playoffs.  Congratulations Warriors!

Please also note Confirmation and Weekday School will be 1:30-3:00 on Wednesday, November 18, due to a teacher in-service.

There will be no Confirmation and Weekday School on Thanksgiving Eve, November 25th.

LCMS Focus: Mercy in Action

Dancing on the Devil's Grave

An article from the Lutheran Witness that is worth reading.



William M. Cwirla

Halloween has become a major commercial holiday in this country, second in potential profit making only to the Christmas season. The average American family now spends well over $100 each year in tricks, treats, and scary decorations.

What do we Christians do with Halloween? Is it innocent fun or something to avoid?

HISTORY

Halloween is short for All Hallows Eve, that is, the evening before All Saints Day, a Christian holy day on which Christians honored the saints (the “hallowed” ones), the heroes and martyrs of the faith. For Lutherans, All Hallows Eve is also Reformation Day, the day Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses for debate on the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg.

In the Middle Ages, people had a profound sense of the demonic. Just think of Luther’s Reformation hymn, “A Mighty Fortress:” “Though devils all the world should fill, all eager to devour us.” People believed that the demons were especially active on the eve of All Hallows. People carved gourds with ugly faces and set them out to guard their homes. This was similar to the practice of carving grotesque gargoyles on the drain spouts of cathedrals to ward off devils. People paraded in the streets dressed up in costumes and masks to confuse the demons and confound their schemes.

The holy day of All Saints has all but died out, especially in Protestant Christianity, which barely recognizes the saints let alone honors them. Popular culture has latched on to All Hallows Eve and turned it into another money-making gimmick. Much of the fun is innocent, albeit bad for the teeth. Children dress up as Power Rangers, ballerinas, and SpongeBob SquarePants and gorge themselves with candy begged from the neighbors under special dispensation from parents and dentists.

There is a darker, more sinister side to Halloween, however. Satanic and pagan groups have made Halloween their own special “high holy day.” Animal shelters warn owners of black cats to keep them indoors so they are not harmed. A night that was once a confrontation with the devil has become a celebration of all things devilish. The old nature always prefers the darkness to the Light.

Ought Christians participate? The easy answer would be a flat out, fundy “no.” But every road has two ditches, and Halloween is no exception.

ON THE ONE SIDE

There is the danger of taking death and the devil too lightly. Make no mistake: The devil is real. He isn’t some red guy with a pointy tail and a pitchfork. He is a liar, the father of lies, and a murderer. He masquerades as an angel of light, appearing to be very religious in order to deceive people and draw their focus away from Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 11:14).

A baptized believer belongs entirely to the Lord and has no fellowship with the devil and his demons. So when Christians take part in the darker side of Halloween, they may create the false impression that death and the devil are not serious business, or that it’s okay for Christians to dine with the devil once and a while, as long as their spoons are long enough. No faithful Christian who takes sin, death, and devil seriously would want anything to do with that.

ON THE OTHER SIDE

There is the danger of taking the devil too seriously. Contrary to what some impressionable types seem to believe, the devil is not all-powerful, all-knowing, almighty, or present everywhere. He is a fallen angel, a creature of God turned against his Creator. He stands chained and defeated by the death and resurrection of Jesus. He is a liar and a loser, and his only hope with the short time that he has left is to convince the world that Jesus’ death on the cross isn’t enough to save us.

Jesus Christ has conquered death once for all people, once for all time. He has defeated the devil by His death on the cross. We can live in confidence, free from fear of death and the devil, knowing that God is at peace with us in the death of Jesus, that Jesus is risen from the dead and that we, too, will rise. Christ has conquered. The devil is defeated. “He’s judged, the deed is done.”

THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD

Jesus didn’t hang on a cross so that His Christians could go around with a dour look on their faces judging everyone around them. When Christians become overly critical of Halloween, they may create the false impression that Jesus does not reign now over all things, including the devil, that He has not conquered death by His dying and rising, or that the devil is to be feared more than God.

Sour pietism on the part of Christians confirms the world’s mistaken notion that Christianity is nothing more than a religion of rules ruled by moral nannies who want to suck the fun out of everything. Martin Luther reminded us that we need to spite the devil every chance we get. Luther sure did, often in rather colorful ways. Halloween certainly affords the opportunity to sass the “old, evil foe.”

Having defined the ditches, let’s get back to the question that started this whole discussion. Ought Christians participate in Halloween? It all depends. Of course, I don’t expect baptized believers in Jesus Christ to be dancing in the woods around bonfires while chanting pagan prayers to the mother goddess or sacrificing black cats, ecumenical liberalism notwithstanding. On the other hand, the devil’s chief work is to draw us away from Christ’s death and resurrection and have us focus on our works, prayers, and piety. He seems to be doing a pretty decent job of that in mega-Christianity. Generally speaking, the cultural silliness associated with Halloween has about as much to do with the devil as Christmas has to do with the incarnation of the Son of God.

HOW DO WE DECIDE?

Love of neighbor and concern for his or her salvation will give us pause for a few questions. What will your neighbor, your family, your children, your brother or sister in Christ think of your Halloween celebration? Will it help or hinder their faith in Jesus? Does your Halloween fun witness to the victory and freedom of Jesus’ death and resurrection, or does it lift up the powers of darkness and death? Does it draw undue attention to the dark and demonic, or does it poke fun at those things that already stand defeated? Are you able to talk frankly about the reality of death and the devil with your children and tell them of the victory of Jesus?

Freedom in Christ is always tempered by love for your neighbor. You are completely free in Jesus to serve your neighbor in love (Rom. 14:1–23).

In the end, you must decide for yourself how and to what extent you and your family will participate in Halloween festivities. Context is important. Local mileage may vary. The best advice I can give is to spite the devil, honor Christ, and wipe that sour look off your face. Remember who you are in Holy Baptism: a baptized priest in Christ’s holy priesthood “that you may declare the wonderful deeds of Him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

—

About the Author: Rev. William M. Cwirla is pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hacienda Heights, Calif.

October 2010

Law Enforcement Recognition

It has not escaped our notice that it is getting harder and harder to serve in Law Enforcement.  The climate of our government, media, and nation has lost a healthy respect for those in positions of authority.  God has given Law enforcement the important role of making and keeping peace.  It is almost as if Jesus foresaw this day, for He said in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.  Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:9–10).

We also see what Law enforcement do in our community.  We know they put their life on the line each and every day, to do what God has called authorities to do, namely to arrest those who do evil and protect and praise those who do good.  As Peter writes: “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.” (1 Peter 2:13–14).

It is for these reasons Grace Lutheran on Sunday recognized those who serve in Law Enforcement in our community. Eleven persons representing Neligh Police, Antelope County Sheriff's Department, and Nebraska State Patrol attended the dinner (see picture below). Grace Lutheran Christ Care and Thrivent Groups combined to make the Pork Roast and potatoes. Members brought dishes to share. A representative from each Law enforcement group shared what they do and each person present introduced themselves and said something. It was a very special day.

Rally Sunday tomorrow September 13

All students, parents and congregation members are welcome to attend.  Breakfast will start at 9AM followed by Sunday School and Adult Bible Class, worship service and a family potluck dinner.  3rd graders will receive a Bible and Cradle Roll Prisms will be given out.

LCMS Focus: Chaplains

Watch to see the work that LCMS Chaplains do.



     Mercy through military chaplains and specialized pastoral ministers
     The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s Specialized Pastoral Ministry and Ministry to the Armed Forces military chaplains deliver Christ’s mercy through their words and service, providing much-needed spiritual care for His people in unique and challenging environments.
     SPM includes ordained and commissioned church workers who bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ into institutions and emergency contexts, serve hurting and broken people who are often in crisis and are trained to minister to those desiring to live as God’s redeemed children.
     LCMS military chaplains serve in similar ways, although their work looks different, occurring in ever-changing, pluralistic and increasingly dangerous environments. While they are non-combatants, chaplains still eat, sleep, train, work and exercise with their flock, both in combat and in garrison.
     Whether serving through SPM or Ministry to the Armed Forces, LCMS chaplains are eager to bear witness to Christ and His forgiveness, coming alongside people of all faiths or no faith: listening to what burdens hearts, praying for troubled souls and asking Christ’s mercy for all.

Prayer
     O Lord almighty God, as You have always granted special gifts of the Holy Spirit to Your church on earth, grant Your continual blessing to all who minister in Your name in the armed forces, in institutional and emergency services chaplaincy, in pastoral counseling and clinical pastoral education, that by Your grace, they may honor Christ and advance the good of those committed to their care, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Congratulations: Former Vicar Stephen Manz Engaged

Congratulations to former Vicar Stephen Manz engaged to Maxine Pinedo on Saturday, August 15.

Welcome Juliette Elizabeth Jukola!

Congratulations to former Vicar Matthew and Coly Jukola.  Juliette was born at 2:40PM, Wednesday, August 19.  She was 8.8 lbs and 19 inches long.

Baptism - Madelyn Soper

Madelyn Soper was baptized in the service on June 14, 2015.

Baptism - Tabitha Dewey

Tabitha Dewey was baptized in the service on August 16, 2015.

‘We are for life, no matter the cost’

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We logged on to the Internet and Facebook yesterday only to be hit with a sickening story: undercover video footage seemingly implicating Planned Parenthood in the sale of the body parts of aborted children.

In the video, Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s Senior Director of Medical Services, Dr. Deborah Nucatola, discusses how she adjusts abortion procedures to procure certain parts of a child’s body, even as she notes that “we’ve been very good at getting heart, lung, liver.”

Listen long enough, if you can handle it, and you’ll hear her suggest that such items could eventually be listed on a Planned Parenthood “menu” for affiliate organizations to purchase for a price.

Later in the day, Planned Parenthood released a “nothing to see here” kind of statement, asserting that the discussion was merely one revolving around a patient’s right to donate tissue, as with any medical procedure. But why does Nucatola then mention the costs of body parts (“Thirty to one hundred dollars,” she says)?

Lord, have mercy.

If what Nucatola says is, in fact, the truth, we as Christians cannot allow this story to go untold or be buried by the media. We simply cannot remain silent while the reprehensible act of killing a child in the womb is made even worse by selling portions of that child’s dismembered body simply because there is a market for them.

Speaking up about the shameful act of killing children — as well as harvesting their body parts — may be uncomfortable. We may lose friends and create awkward tension at work. Our professors may mock us, and our family may roll their eyes at us. If that is the case, so be it. Because as Lutherans, as Christians, we are for life, no matter the cost.

As Lutherans, we confess that every life has value, that it has worth, that it matters … from the moment of conception until natural death occurs. We confess that what Nucatola calls “17-weekers” are actually children — with beating hearts and little moving fingers and toes.

We confess that even the tiniest of humans are just that — regardless of what scientific term the culture uses to make them seem like something less. We confess that they are created in the image and likeness of our Lord Himself. And we confess that because of Him, their hearts and lungs and livers matter, no matter how small they might be.

We also admit our own failings in this regard. Where we have failed to speak and act for life, we repent. Where we have not cared for mothers in crisis-pregnancy situations, we ask for forgiveness. Where we have thought more of ourselves than giving to an organization that can assist those moms and babies, we are sorry. Where we have been apathetic to this pandemic of death, we grieve.

But we are not without hope, because our Lord is for life too.

He is so pro-life, in fact, that He has given His own life for us, even as He has laid it down for these tiniest of children. Where their short lives are taken, He offers up His willingly. Where their little bodies are sold, He gives His freely to us at His holy table for the forgiveness of our sins.

Today let us confess life with renewed vigor — to our friends over supper, through letters to the editor of our local paper, by writing our congressmen, in tweets and emails to Planned Parenthood, on our Facebook pages.

Let us pray that our Lord would bring an end to abortion altogether and that He would stop the horrible sale of infant bodies.

And let us pray that He would forgive us, renew us and bolster us to make a good confession in season and out of season: one that is always, no matter what, for life.

Rev. Bart Day, executive director
Life and Health Ministries
LCMS Office of National Mission

Resources

• Two-hour video footage of Planned Parenthood executive’s discussion regarding infant body parts
• Eight-minute video clip version of the above
• Written transcript of the video footage
• “Planned Parenthood exec, fetal body parts subject of controversial video”(CNN)
• “Planned Parenthood sells dead baby parts” (Fox News)

LCMS, partners break ground for Ferguson ‘Empowerment Center’ | LCMS News

LCMS, partners break ground for Ferguson ‘Empowerment Center’ | LCMS News

By Paula Schlueter Ross (paula.ross@lcms.org)

FERGUSON, Mo. — Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, this beleaguered city in North St. Louis is on the road to renewal and rebirth, thanks to the efforts of numerous community and business leaders, and The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

Representatives of the Synod and three partners — the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis Inc., Provident Inc. and Better Family Life Inc. — donned hard hats, grasped shovels and ceremoniously turned the dirt at the oft-mentioned “historic” July 9 groundbreaking for the proposed Community Empowerment Center of Ferguson, a St. Louis city- and countywide effort to change lives for the better.

The Rev. Steven Schave, director of LCMS Urban & Inner City Mission and LCMS Church Planting, addresses some 300 people at the July 9 groundbreaking for the Community Empowerment Center of Ferguson. Schave said the Synod considers itself "blessed to be called a partner in the community of Ferguson — to help bring peace, and hope, and a brighter future for generations to come." (LCMS/Frank Kohn)
The Rev. Steven Schave, director of LCMS Urban & Inner City Mission and LCMS Church Planting, addresses some 300 people at the July 9 groundbreaking for the Community Empowerment Center of Ferguson. Schave said the Synod considers itself “blessed to be called a partner in the community of Ferguson — to help bring peace, and hope, and a brighter future for generations to come.” (LCMS/Frank Kohn)
The site of the new center — which is expected to open its doors next summer — is significant: the burned-out QuikTrip gas station that served as “ground zero” for authorities after the police shooting death of Michael Brown Jr. on Aug. 9, 2014, ignited weeks of often-violent protests heard and seen across the country, and even around the world.

With the primary goal of helping the community’s young black men receive job and life-skills training in order to secure gainful employment, the center will show the world “how to turn a tragedy into a triumph,” according to Urban League of St. Louis President and CEO Michael McMillan.

In the wake of the violence here (in August and November of 2014), Urban League workers walked Ferguson’s streets, talking to residents about the problems and possible solutions. “Every one” of the young black men they spoke to “said they needed jobs,” McMillan said.

As a result, the League has provided so far more than 100 jobs to young adults in North St. Louis County — many of those through its Save Our Sons (SOS) program, which will be among the services offered at the new Empowerment Center.

In an emotional testimony, SOS graduate William Ruffin, a 20-year-old whose single mother worked long hours to support the family, said the program changed his life.

A high-school graduate, Ruffin said he was unable to find a job so he “always looked to the streets” for what he needed. After completing SOS classes — the program even provided two of the three suits he now owns — he got five job interviews and said he “rocked every one.” With several job offers on the table, Ruffin chose Dobbs Tire & Auto Centers and said he’s “loving it.” Now he thinks of himself as an example — and unofficial spokesman — for the SOS program, showing his peers how they, too, can turn their lives around.

‘An opportunity to change lives’

Addressing some 300 people at the groundbreaking, the Rev. Steven Schave, director of LCMS Urban & Inner City Mission and LCMS Church Planting, said the Synod considers itself “blessed to be called a partner in the community of Ferguson — to help bring peace, and hope, and a brighter future for generations to come.”

This summer the church body already has distributed nearly 13 tons of food to children in need in North St. Louis, he said to applause, and he invited those at the groundbreaking to a free vacation Bible school/school-supplies giveaway/lunch — planned for July 25 at the Ferguson Community Center — that’s intended to “feed children and their families both in body and soul.”

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod — noted on the handle of the shovel used by the Rev. Steven Schave at the recent groundbreaking — is one of four partners that will offer services at the new Community Empowerment Center of Ferguson, to open in summer 2016. (LCMS/Frank Kohn)
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod — noted on the handle of the shovel used by the Rev. Steven Schave at the recent groundbreaking — is one of four partners that will offer services at the new Community Empowerment Center of Ferguson, to open in summer 2016. (LCMS/Frank Kohn)
Schave introduced a “very special guest” — Remi (REM-ee), a 15-year-old from inner-city Cincinnati he had met years ago while serving as a pastor there. According to a local coroner, male students who did not pass the fourth-grade proficiency test had a “great likelihood” of dying young from street violence or ending up in prison. So Schave challenged his congregation to change that statistic, leading the way by asking the public elementary school near his church, “Can I work with a third-grader?” That’s when he met Remi, from a broken home, who was welcomed by the Schave family and spent time with them, taking part in family activities.

“We have an opportunity to change lives,” Schave told the gathering. “We have an opportunity to save lives. We have the opportunity to say, not one more statistic.

“I’m so happy and proud to be a partner here in this place, that we can work together as God’s children. And I ask that God would bless our efforts to empower and to strengthen every soul that walks through these doors.”

It’s ‘definitely needed’

The Synod’s contribution to the Empowerment Center — currently dubbed the “Lutheran Hope Center” — includes plans to offer after-school tutoring and mentoring for children ages 9 to 18, sports camps, character-building presentations, opportunities for town-hall meetings and programs such as DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), Bible studies, pastoral counseling for local families and police officers, a “share-a-ride” program to transport families to nearby Lutheran churches for worship and a food pantry to provide groceries for low-income residents.

“We hope to ensure the basic needs of the poor in a way that is empowering,” Schave told Reporter. But even higher on that agenda, he said, is connecting people with nearby LCMS congregations: “We hope to bring the Gospel and to bring people into the life of the church.”

Although there are no LCMS congregations in Ferguson, five are in close proximity to the community, as is Lutheran North High School. All — and especially the LCMS Missouri District — are contributing to the Synod’s ministry in this community, notes Schave.

Retiring Missouri District President Rev. Dr. Ray Mirly, also at the groundbreaking, described the new center as “exciting” and said the district looks forward to “partnering with the Urban League here in order to work from our strength of working with youth, and education, and helping at-risk children to succeed academically and get jobs,” as well as sharing the Gospel.

“I think it has a lot of potential and it gives us an opportunity to do what the church should be doing — ministering to people,” Mirly told Reporter.

The Rev. Dr. Kevin Golden, pastor of Village Lutheran Church, Ladue, Mo., and a member of the Missouri District’s Ferguson Task Force, said the project allows the Synod and each of its partners to “walk hand in hand,” doing “what they’re really good at,” including, from the LCMS perspective, “serve the members of this community so that they might enjoy the Lord’s good gifts.”

The Empowerment Center “is a wonderful idea,” said Mattie Spearman of St. Louis, who attended the groundbreaking as an Urban League volunteer. The violence in Ferguson “really disturbed” her, she said.

“Why does it take somebody dying to make us realize we have a serious problem?” Spearman asked. “If the [St. Louis city] schools are closing, the jails are full and the churches are losing membership, that should tell you that we have a serious problem.”

Dellena Jones, owner of the 911 Hair Salon in Ferguson, said she expects the new center to “bring great building blocks to the community — for the businesses, for the residents.

“And it’s something that is definitely needed,” she added. “Our young black men definitely need the opportunity, need the encouragement, to persevere.”

Cora Anderson, 75, said the hourlong groundbreaking ceremony — with an agenda full of speakers (including St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger and Missouri State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, and acknowledgment of Michael Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, in the audience) — was “very emotional” for her and “the most awesome thing I’ve ever attended in my life. As old as I am, I’ve never seen this many people come together to do something good.”

But, she added, “more is needed. This is a great start.”

God, His Word will be ever-present

Project donors include QuikTrip, the Centene Charitable Foundation, Home State Health, Enterprise, Ameren, Emerson, Civic Progress, the Regional Business Council, Edward Jones, Starbucks, Altria, the Centric Group, the Ferring Family Foundation and the Greater St. Louis Community Foundation.

The architect, project manager and general contractor for the project are all African-American-owned companies, according to Kwame Building Group, St. Louis, which is handling construction management.

A highlight for many during the groundbreaking ceremony was a rousing — and moving — performance of “We Are the World” by preschoolers from a local Head Start program, who sang, perhaps prophetically: “We are the world, We are the children, We are the ones who make a brighter day, So let’s start giving. There’s a choice we’re making, We’re saving our own lives, It’s true we’ll make a better day, just you and me.”

God and His Word will be ever-present among the volunteers at the Lutheran Hope Center, Schave notes.

“The church can help a struggling community, we can care for basic needs, but through Word and Sacrament ministry we have that which is truly transformative and not just superficial,” he said.

“What is truly life-changing? It is Christ, where we find our true riches and our hope.”

For more information about the Empowerment Center, contact Schave at steven.schave@lcms.org.

Posted July 14, 2015

Seminary Response to SCOTUS Marriage Ruling

Sanctity of Marriage Ruling
June 26, 2015

Dear Friends,

By now, you have undoubtedly been reading and hearing much about today's Supreme Court ruling on marriage. While we continue to study what legal affects this decision may have on the congregations and institutions of our Synod, we do know that it is a disappointment to members of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and Christians who hold to the biblical definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

I am sure you have and will continue to be asked questions about this decision. To help prepare you to answer, Dr. Peter Scaer, associate professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW), has compiled some talking points concerning the decision. Peter is an outspoken supporter of marriage and the family and a leader within our community and the church-at-large. Some of his suggested guides for discussion include:

The Supreme Court decision changes nothing about our Christian faith. We believe that there is still a higher court and that Christ will be our final Judge. As Christians, we obey the government (Romans 13), but we recognize that our greatest allegiance is to God and His Word, and that in matters of conscience, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
We therefore will continue to support one man one woman marriage, as it is taught in Genesis 1 and 2, and as it is taught by Christ Himself (Matthew 19:1-9 and Mark 10:1-12).
True loves calls us to speak the truth so that all may know the forgiveness and love of Christ. We cannot celebrate that which God calls sin (Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9). By doing so, we leave people in their sin, and apart from Christ.
The Church will continue to be a place of healing and forgiveness, restoration and mercy. As our Lord has said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:31-32).
A complete list of these suggested talking points can be found here. I encourage you to read through them and share them as you deem appropriate with the members of your congregation so they, too, will be prepared to address this issue.

While we are disappointed in this decision, we find comfort in the knowledge that our God holds the deeds of all in His strong hands. We are strengthened by His unfailing presence and will move forward to share the message of the life-saving Gospel to a world that is so desperately in need of that simple and unchanging message.

I can leave you with no better words than this exhortation from St. Paul to the young pastor, Timothy. “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:1-5, ESV).

With you, in Christ's service,
Lawrence R. Rast Jr.
President

Synod President Responds to SCOTUS Marriage Ruling

God is our refuge and strength,
   a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
   though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
   though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
   the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
   God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
   he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
   the God of Jacob is our fortress (Psalm 46:1–7).

A one-person majority of the U.S. Supreme Court got it wrong – again. Some 40 years ago, a similarly activist court legalized the killing of children in the womb. That decision has to date left a wake of some 55 million Americans dead. Today, the Court has imposed same-sex marriage upon the whole nation in a similar fashion. Five justices cannot determine natural or divine law. Now shall come the time of testing for Christians faithful to the Scriptures and the divine institution of marriage (Matthew 19:3–6), and indeed, a time of testing much more intense than what followed Roe v. Wade.

Like Roe v. Wade, this decision will be followed by a rash of lawsuits. Through coercive litigation, governments and popular culture continue to make the central post-modern value of sexual freedom override “the free exercise of religion” enshrined in the Bill of Rights.

The ramifications of this decision are seismic. Proponents will seek to drive Christians and Christian institutions out of education at all levels; they will press laws to force faithful Christian institutions and individuals to violate consciences in work practices and myriad other ways. We will have much more to say about this.

During some of the darkest days of Germany, a faithful Lutheran presciently described how governments lose their claim to legitimate authority according to Romans 13.

The Caesar cult in its manifold forms, the deification of the state, is one great form of the defection from the [true] idea of the state. There are also other possibilities of such defection. The government can forget and neglect its tasks. When it no longer distinguishes between right and wrong, when its courts are no longer governed by the strict desire for justice, but by special interests, when government no longer has the courage to exercise its law, fails to exercise its duties, undermines its own legal order, when it weakens through its family law parental authority and the estate of marriage, then it ceases to be governing authority.

Raising such a question can lead to heavy conflicts of conscience. But it is fundamentally conceivable, and it has time and again become reality in history, that a governing authority has ceased to be governing authority. In such a case there may indeed exist a submission to a superior power. But the duty of obedience against this power no longer exists. [Hermann Sasse, “What Is the State?”(1932)]

As faithful Christians, we shall continue to be obedient to just laws. We affirm the human rights of all individuals and the inherent and equal value of all people. We respect the divinely given dignity of all people, no matter their sexual preference. We recognize that, under the exacting and demanding laws of God, we are indeed sinners in thought, word and deed, just as are all (Romans 3:9ff.). We confess that the “blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses us from all our sins” (1 John 1:7). We confess that God’s divine law of marriage and the entire Ten Commandments apply to all, and that so also the life-giving sacrifice of Christ on the cross is for all. It is a “righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Romans 3:22).

However, even as we struggle as a church to come to a unified response to this blatant rejection of the entire history of humankind and its practice of marriage, “We shall obey God rather than man” (Acts 5:29). Christians will now begin to learn what it means to be in a state of solemn conscientious objection against the state. We will resist its imposition of falsehood upon us, even as we continue to reach out to those who continue to be harmed by the ethic of radical sexual freedom, detached from God’s blessing of marriage. And we will stand shoulder to shoulder with Christians, churches and people of good will who are resolute on this issue.

God help us. Amen.

Pastor Matthew C. Harrison