Family Prayers
 
We of course understand that weekly worship is critical for Christian people, and we assemble every Sunday for just that reason, Sunday being the best day on which to do it because that is the day on which Jesus rose from the dead.
 
And some of us take advantage also of Wednesday evening masses here at St. Paul’s, a second opportunity in the week to hear the word and receive the Blessed Sacrament.
 
But Christian habits pertaining to the necessity that the Word of God should always be on our hearts, in our minds, and on our lips need to take it further than that, as also every Christian should know.
 
It is critical to send time every day paying heed to the Word of God, as the Psalmist also says, “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice” (Psalm 55:117), and again, “Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever” (Psalm 145:2). There is also an entire Psalm—the 119th—that dedicates eight lines to each of the 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, and drives home how high and noble and worthy of continual meditation is the Word of God. There the Psalmist waxes eloquent about the value of the Word, repeating the point in a myriad of ways: “I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word. . . . Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counselors. . . . I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved. . . . My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes. . . . How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! . . . I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. . . .” The Psalmist goes on and on about the inestimable value and riches of the Word of God.
 
That is why, in practical terms, Christian people need to form some good habits that have them returning daily to the Word of God and prayer.  Sundays only are not nearly enough.
 
So, as I have put forth on other occasions some simple orders of family prayer to use at home, the most traditional being a simplified order of Matins or Vespers that is found in the hymnal. One person alone may follow the order, or a family together.
 
Or, here’s another idea: this is a basic outline that
plays off the Morning and Evening Prayer section we find in the catechism. There we simply have this:
 
Morning Prayer
 
In the morning, when you get up, make the sign of the holy cross and say:
 
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
 
Then, kneeling or standing, repeat the [Apostles’] Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. If you choose, you may also say this little prayer . . .
 
And then follows what is commonly known as “Luther’s Morning Prayer.”
 
Evening Prayer is identical, except that the little prayer at the end is “Luther’s Evening Prayer.”
 
In addition, once a day, either of these simple forms can be expanded.
 
At our home, Carol and I sit down every morning and expand the Morning Prayer, by inserting after the opening invocation the words of a Psalm, a section of Scripture, and one of the meditations in my book Every Day Will I Bless Thee, which provides an appointed psalm and reading (copies are available for purchase at church). 
 
Or you could simply add to your prayers a chapter of the Bible every day, following the chapters in order.
 
You may also add a hymn. Choose, for a suggestion, the Hymn of the Day from Sunday and sing that, right out of your home hymnal.
 
It’s important to choose your order and follow it every day, because that way you get in the habit; we are all creatures of habit. So let’s cultivate the best of habits in our daily prayers.
 
For, as the Psalmist says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”
+ Pastor Eckardt
 
All Scheduling Tentative, Pending Pastor’s Test Results and Scheduling
 
Due to the pending results of Pastor’s MRI procedure, we will await confirmation of all scheduled events in September. As most of you know, the initial diagnosis is of a pinched sciatic nerve, the result of which is impaired ability to walk. At this point we are unsure of whether there  will be a need for surgery, and if so, what the scheduling will look like.
 
Our hope and expectation, and prayer, is that the condition can be corrected, but we do not know whether, if there is surgery, there may be a weeks-long recovery process.
 
Special Voters Assembly
 
The Council has scheduled a Special Voters’ Meetijng for Sunday, September 10th, as the first portion of Bible Class hour, to decide on the matter of the church’s sign.
 
Our Ushers: Jim Hornback, Tom Wells, Steve Kraklow.
 
September Anniversaries
 
9/18/1976 Tom and Sue Ann Wells
9/19/1993 Jeff and Tara Wagenknecht
 
Wednesday Evening Masses
 
We observe Holy Cross Day (September 145h) on Wednesday, September 13th; and St. Matthew’s Day (September 21st) on Wednesday, September 20th.
Wednesday masses are scheduled every Wednesday at 7 pm.
  
Sources of Western Culture
By Stefan Gramenz, at Gottesblog (www.gottesdienst.org) August 11, 2023
 
I think it’s a fairly common occurrence for anyone who has spent a great deal of time and energy in a particular field — any field, really — to wonder, after a while, if he has really just been wasting his time. When you focus intently on something so seemingly minute for so long, it can be quite difficult to see how it fits into the broader world and the wider scope of reality. After spending years sifting through sometimes nearly indecipherable documents with frustrating lacunae and unspoken underlying assumptions, and subsequently comparing lectionary and textual traditions across countries and centuries, the whole endeavor of liturgical scholarship can seem a bit feeble in the face of the daunting challenges in front of us, both within the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and in the Church and world at large.

But then you stumble across something like this:
“The history of medieval liturgy must be treated as one of the main sources of western culture." This judgment, by eminent contemporary liturgists, must be endorsed by all who deal with the medieval world. Christian civilization and devotion were based on and inspired by the liturgy: the development of chivalry and ethics to some extent stems from the 12th-century growth of Marian worship. 'The clergy ... absorbed all the functions of a literary class’ since the arts of drawing, writing, and painting were confined almost exclusively to liturgical books prepared by clerics, and since medieval writers examined the principles of thought, language, speech, and grammar through the exegesis of liturgical texts. The influence of the Franciscans on poetry, at least in England, has been widely explored; largely unknown is the influence of truly liturgical poetry in such genres as the prosa and rhymed office. Education began with the Psalter, and readings and chants were carried into daily life to inspire love songs and epics: computation, formula, and calculation derive from work with problems of the calendar. From the need to explain and summarize the increasing complexity of the services, the principles of organization, abstraction, and generalization were worked out. Whether cloistered or not, man ordered his day by the services and the church bell signalling them, and his year by the succession of church feasts, and he examined all his actions and related them to his religion.” (Medieval Manuscripts for Mass and Office: A Guide to their Organization and Terminology by Andrew Hughes, par. 10)

The western world, as we know it, finds much of its origin in not only a generic Christian faith, together with a conscience informed by that faith, but also in the lived reality of that faith, ordered and structured and governed as it was by the liturgical life of the Church. And while this could lead simply to a nostalgia for “a loveliness irreparably lost,” it is also, I think, a reminder of what could be. I don’t expect that the 21st century western world will suddenly turn on its heels and once again order its life around the ebb and flow of the Church’s life, but I do think that Christian life and culture, lived in their fullness, can have an extraordinary influence on the course of the world once again, even as we have seen in the past.

The end of all liturgy is to do just this — to bring people to Christ, to open up for the people of God His saving works, and then to order their lives according to this faith, whether in the daily rhythms of the Divine Office, the weekly ritual of the Sunday mass, or the times and tides of the Church’s year. To put it quite simply, the telos of the liturgy is making Christians and preserving them in the faith. That is why, of course, we have such battles over the liturgy and various forms and manners of worship — because we all know implicitly that Prosper of Aquitaine’s maxim is true, and that the real concern is never really what kind of songs we are going to sing, but what kind of Christians we are going to form and what kind of lives those Christians will lead. The foundational question is finally not about what we are going to pray, but about who we are going to be. That, as Hughes makes rather clear, is the outcome of all the church’s worship, whether we realize it or not.
 
Pastor and Carol to Family Reunion September 6-9
 
An Eckardt family reunion in Wisconsin is planned, meaning that Pastor and Carol will be away from Wednesday September 6th to Saturday September 9th. there are no activities Wednesday, and no Bible Class on Saturday.
September Elders, Vespers
 
First Tuesday Vespers and Elders is scheduled for September 5th, with Vespers at 6:45 (for anyone who wants to attend) and the meeting following.
 
Shut ins
 
Emmy Wear at Williamsfield Home in Williamsfield; Jewneel Walker, at Kewanee Care; Bea Harris and Jim Watson, from time to time, at home.
 
St Michael Conference
 
The annual St. Michael Conference is scheduled in Detroit on Monday, September 25th. Rev. Dr. Karl Fabrizius is to be the keynote speaker, speaking on “Water Flowing from the Temple: Bringing Life to Every Creature”  Fr. Fabrizius will explore and expound on the importance of Ezekiel's river from the temple in connection with your preaching.  The preacher should not be content with the stagnant pools at the edge of the river of life, but swim in the rushing currents that bring life to the nations. As usual, our pastor is scheduled for a workshop as well, leaving Sunday afternoon the 24th and returning on Tuesday.
 
Catechism is canceled on Tuesday, the 26th.
 
Altar Guild
 
Sundays in September are all GREEN.
 
Wednesdays
    September 7th, GREEN
    September 13th, RED (for Holy Cross Day)
    September 20th, RED (for St. Matthew’s Day)
   
September Birthdays
 
9/1 John Ricknell
9/10 Jan Schoen
9/19 Jaclyn Kraklow
9/19 Jamie Kraklow
9/20 Derrick Baker   
 
September Council Meeting
 
The September Council meeting is set for the third Wednesday (as usual), which is September 20th, at 5:30 p.m.
 
In Our Prayers
Our list of prayer intentions at mass includes the names on the lists below.  To update the lists please inform pastor.in our parish:
Sharon Hartz, Bea Harris, Don and Sue Murphy, John Sovanski, Sandra VerPlaetse, John Ricknell, Linda Rowe, Jewneel Walker, Emmy Wear, Jim Watson, Bill Thompson and Father Eckardt
            and beyond our parish:
Jude Clapper, Anna, Katie, and Jodi Rutowicz, Julie Ross, Elizabeth Godke, Oneida Hendrickson, Janice Hart, Tim Newman, Theresa Moore, Kathy Boeger, Allison Leezer, Shannon Watson, Karen Parker, Richard Heiden, Brock Tumbleson, Jeanna Moore, Deloris Bitting, Jane Mueller, Jessica Wetzel [Kris Harden’s Daughter], Megan Rowe [Linda’s daughter-in-law], Pastor Justin Kane
            in the military:
John Eckardt, Richard Heiden, Eli Wetzel, Traven Wetzel, Eric Verplaetse, Jake Mahaffey, James and Ann Lee Armstrong, Marcus Prentice
            in trouble:
unborn children in danger of abortion; Debra Reeves’s children Rae Beth and Drew Wayne, that they may be reunited; those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Pakistan, Belarus, China, North Korea, and elsewhere.
 
Persecution Details
 (from www.persecution.net)

PAKISTAN: Mass Violence After Blasphemy Accusations
24 August 2023
 
On August 16th, thousands of people stormed a Christian colony in Jaranwala, a town located in the Faisalabad district of Punjab. Angered by allegations of blasphemy, and spurred on by urgent announcements that had been broadcasted over mosque loudspeakers, the incited mob either damaged or utterly destroyed up to 26 church buildings and as many as 400 homes. Thankfully, there were no reports of casualties following this recent attack. Please take the time to view the informative video alert that VOMC released the next day, which includes footage of the actual attacks.

This incident was sparked after two Christian brothers, named Rocky Saleem Masih and Raja Amir Saleem Masih, had been burning waste paper. Accusations that they were desecrating pages of the Quran ensued. Three local men also produced a letter that allegedly contained blasphemous comments about Muhammad. The brothers have been detained and charged under Pakistan's blasphemy laws.

Members of the military and police force were called in to stop the rampage, and their emergency intervention eventually settled the protestors. While the violence had abated in the days that followed, underlying tensions remain. The government has publicly condemned the attacks, and more than 100 warrants of arrest have been issued against the rioters. Governing leaders have promised to help the victims rebuild, but the survivors are sceptical.
 
BELARUS: More Harassment and Sentences for New Life Church
24 August 2023
For several years, the New Life Church in Minsk has faced opposition from the government, including the complete destruction of their place of worship on June 20th. (For more details, click here.) That act of destruction, however, did not stop ongoing harassment from government officials.

Each summer, the church organizes camps for children. Unfortunately, on July 10th, a bus carrying 50 children overturned on a poorly maintained road. Thankfully, there were no serious injuries nor any
complaints. Even the state-controlled media published a report blaming the poor road conditions for the accident.
However, the next day, the district tax office demanded financial reports from the church, along with any records between the church and the bus company. It is believed that the accident is now being used as an excuse to further harass the church.

On July 25th, the church's website was blocked by the government without warning. It was discovered that the prosecutor has banned the website for six months, alleging that the church was publishing "extremist" information, along with inciting threats to national security. A hearing regarding this case was scheduled for August 25th.

The government's opposition continued on August 14th when Pastor Vyacheslav Goncharenko's house was searched by officers from the Organized Crime and Corruption Department. The pastor, along with his son-in-law, Ilya Budai, who serves as the church's youth pastor, were arrested. The next day, Pastor Ilya was sentenced to five days' detention for allegedly waving his arms and swearing at the police – an accusation strongly denied by a witness. The sentencing for Pastor Vyacheslav's detention was ten days. The authorities gave no explanation for the senior pastor's arrest, but it is believed that his detention may have been extended in order to keep him from attending the August 25th hearing in regards to the alleged publishing of "extremist materials."
 
CHINA: Infirmed Pastor Handcuffed in Hospital
24 August 2023
Pastor Ru Zongren, who suffers from kidney failure, was in the hospital for kidney dialysis on July 30th when police handcuffed him to his bed. He was detained in the hospital for five hours before finally being released.
Originally from a rural area of Anhui Province, Pastor Ru came to faith in Christ at an early age through the Christian witness of his parents. He eventually went on to study theology, graduating from seminary in 2007, prior to returning to his hometown where he has compassionately served the community since. Through his faithful ministry over the years, the Chengxi Christian Church has grown to establish a membership presently consisting of about 400 believers.
In May 2015, when local urban management officials entered the community, they destroyed the church's building. As Pastor Ru attempted to stop them, he was strangled and badly beaten. His injuries resulted in the permanent kidney damage he is dealing with today. The reasons behind his recent detention in the hospital are unclear.
Over the years, Pastor Ru has frequently encountered harassment from government officials, including added surveillance during times that were considered by authorities as "sensitive."

St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church
   109 S. Elm Street
   Kewanee, IL 61443

St. Paul’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church
109 S. Elm, Kewanee, Illinois 61443
Newsletter
Volume 35                                    July, August 2023                                      No. 7-8
               
The Great Commission and the Ordination of Women 
This is a blog post I published at Gottesdienst.org in May – Pastor
  
Evidently the Southern Baptists are still trying valiantly to hold the line against the ordination of women. The latest has been the expulsion of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, where Rick Warren took the brazen step of ordaining three women, in direct opposition to the Southern Baptist’s declaration, “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by scripture.” Warren’s response to the expulsion was to take to Tweet, “Friends worldwide: I’m so touched by your love! Kay and I love you back!” Whether that’s meant sarcastically for the leadership or as a thank you toward those who have reached out to them since their expulsion is unclear. What is clear is that Warren, who had previously opposed women’s ordination, changed his mind. And the reason, he said, is not that he had been “caving in to culture . . . becoming a liberal.” Rather, it’s because of the Great Commission. Here’s his view of Matthew 28:18:

"There are four verbs in the Great Commission: go, make disciples, baptise and teach. Men and women are to do all four things. Women are to go, women are to make disciples. Women are to baptise and women are to teach. You can’t say: 'Well, the first two are for men and women, but the second two are only for men.' The Great Commission was given to every person; not just men and not just ordained people."

So here’s a guy who claims he believes the Bible saying he’s convinced by the Bible that women should be ordained. The Southern Baptist Convention disagrees, and so far have held sway, but some pretty powerful voices are convincing a great number of people that the ordination of women is the right way to go.

And that kind of logic ought to make Missouri Synod Lutherans sit up and take notice.  

Because the very same kind of language has been central to Missouri Synod thinking for some time now. The Great Commission has for years been a kind of shibboleth for the Missouri Synod. It’s a trump card in debates; it overrides reasoned arguments and is almost ubiquitous in congregational statements about who they are. Virtually everybody bows and scrapes to the Great Commission. And the Great Commission itself is almost universally misunderstood and misapplied in the Missouri Synod, in pretty much the same way as Rick Warren has done. 

Warren’s fatal error is in his first assumption. The Great Commission was not given to every person. It was given to the Apostles. There was no multitude, no assembly of Christians. Not even the Blessed Virgin was present on the mountain where Jesus gave it. Only “the eleven disciples.” Strictly speaking, this is about His authority: “all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore . . .” He makes these specific disciples His sent ones, His Apostles, fully enduing them with His own authority. Specifically, His authority to teach, as He says here. And in that He says “lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world,” He clearly means that this teaching office and authority will continue through the ones they will ordain after them, and so also until the end of the world.

And so they themselves rightly determined, or rather assumed, that the ones they will ordain must be men like themselves, as the leadership of Israel were throughout history, going right back to the Creation, when God made Adam first, and then Eve out of his side. Since Christ also is male, being the Second Adam, any personal representative of Him could hardly be female, because that’s simply not the way things were made. Accordingly, St. Peter’s first requirement for a replacement for Judas was that it be a male: “Wherefore of these men (ανδρων) which have companied with us . . .” (Acts 1:21).

This interpretation is of course fully consistent with St. Paul’s strict proscription: “I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence” (I Tim. 2:12). Warren’s interpretation says nothing at all about the Pauline proscription, and not surprisingly, because it’s in direct contradiction to what he says.

But it doesn’t matter, because Warren played the trump card.

All this is recounted here to demonstrate how very vulnerable we have become in our own churches to similar forays of faulty logic.

Let the Great Commission govern everything, and soon you’ll find yourself ordaining women. Just follow Warren’s logic. It’s only a matter of time.
 
+ Pastor Eckardt
 
Wednesday Evening Masses
 
There is no mass scheduled on Wednesday, July 12t or July 19th. Pastor and Carol will be on vacation.
 
Tentatively Wednesday masses are scheduled at 7 pm on all the other Wednesdays in July and August.
 
July, August Anniversaries
 August:
8/1/2009 Chris and Trista Dooley
8/1/1981 Larry and Michele Campbell
8/13/2022 Derek and Felicia Baker
 
Altar Guild Notes
 

• Color is GREEN for all Sundays in July and August
• No mass on Wednesday, July 12th or July 19th.
• NO COMMUNION on Sunday, July 16th, when Pastor will be away, and we will hold matins that day, with no communion. After the service, altar guild may set up for communion on the following Sunday, as there will be no mass on Wednesday the 19th either.
• NO COMMUNION on Sunday, July 30h, when Pastor will be at the LCMS Convention in Milwaukee, and again we will hold matins that day, with no communion. After the service, altar guild may set up for communion on the following Wednesday, as usual.

 
Catechism Resumes in August
Junior Catechism will resume on Tuesday, August 22nd, at 5:00 in the afternoon.
 
Church Council
 The council will be meeting on July 26th, the fourth Wednesday in the month, as Pastor will be away on the 19th. In August, the scheduled meeting is for Wednesday, August 16th, the usual time. 
 
July and August Birthdays
July:
7/2 Dana McReynolds
7/4 Sarah Kraklow
7/5 Sandra Verplaetse
7/7 Stephen Harris
7/9 Michelle Armstrong
7/10 Otis Anderson   
7/13 Gayle Beauprez  
7/14 Father Eckardt
7/14 Elizabeth Dooley
 
August:
8/11 Sam Fisher
8/11 Judy Thompson
8/13 Donald Murphy
8/16 Trista Dooley
8/21 John Sovanski
 
On Vacation
I will be away for vacation from July 10th to the 21st. Matins will be held on Sunday the 16th, a service without communion. The subdeacons will lead the service which consists of psalms, hymns, canticles, readings, and the reading of a sermon by pastor. There is no mass on Wednesday  the  12t or the 19th. I return on Friday the 21st..
 
This matins service will again be offered on Sunday, July 30th, when Pastor will be at the LCMS Convention in Milwaukee.
 
+ Pastor Eckardt
 
In Our Prayers
Our list of prayer intentions at mass includes the names on the lists below.  To update the lists please inform pastor.
           in our parish:
Sharon Hartz, Bea Harris, Don and Sue Murphy, John Sovanski, Sandra VerPlaetse, John Ricknell, Linda Rowe, Jewneel Walker, Emmy Wear, Jim Watson, Bill Thompson
            and beyond our parish:
Jude Clapper, Anna, Katie, and Jodi Rutowicz, Julie Ross, Elizabeth Godke, Oneida Hendrickson, Janice Hart, Tim Newman, Theresa Moore, Kathy Boeger, Allison Leezer, Shannon Watson, Karen Parker, Richard Heiden, Brock Tumbleson, Jeanna Moore, Don Bitting, Jane Mueller, Jessica Wetzel [Kris Harden’s Daughter], Megan Rowe [Linda’s daughter-in-law], Pastor Justin Kane
            in the military:
John Eckardt, Richard Heiden, Eli Wetzel, Traven Wetzel, Eric Verplaetse, Jake Mahaffey, James and Ann Lee Armstrong, Marcus Prentice
            in trouble:
unborn children in danger of abortion; Debra Reeves’s children Rae Beth and Drew Wayne, that they may be reunited; those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Pakistan, Libya, China, North Korea, and elsewhere.
 
Church Picnic
 
Our picnic is scheduled for Sunday, July 9th, at Windmont Park. Same place as last year, and again a potluck.  Mark your calendar.
 
Our Ushers: Jim Hornback, Tom Wells, Steve Kraklow.
 
Elders
 
Our June elders meeting was late in the month, and July is looking very difficult for finding an open Tuesday, so our next elders meeting will not be until Tuesday, August 1st at the usual time. Vespers at 6:45 (for anyone who wants to attend); meeting at 7:15.
 
 Persecution Details
(from Voice of the Martyrs Canada www.vomcanada.com)
 
PAKISTAN
8 June 2023
A 22-year-old Pakistani Christian was sentenced to death for blasphemy on May 30th. Noman Masih was found guilty of blaspheming against the Muslim prophet Muhammad because of the pictures he was accused of distributing in 2019.
 
The incident began when Noman’s cousin, Sunny Waqas, was taken into custody on June 29th, 2019. The police claimed to have received “secret information” proving that Sunny had printed blasphemous sketches of Muhammad and was carrying them in a bag to show others. While under interrogation, Sunny allegedly told the police he had received the images from Noman through WhatsApp.
 
Police claim that Noman was sitting in a public park at 3:30 a.m. on July 1st, showing images to people gathered around him, when he was arrested. However, his father denies those allegations, stating that Noman was asleep in bed when police entered the home to arrest him.
 
All allegations against Sunny and Noman have been denied by their family members. Sunny was released from prison on February 3rd of this year since the trial had not concluded within the mandatory two-year period. Noman’s family intends to appeal the conviction.
 
Between January 1st and May 10th, 2023, at least 57 cases of alleged blasphemy have been reported in Pakistan, with four of the accused individuals having since been lynched or otherwise killed because of those allegations.
 
LIBYA
1 June 2023
Six Libyans may face the death penalty for converting to Christianity and encouraging others to do the same. The believers were charged under Article 207 of Libya’s penal code, which punishes any attempt to spread views that aim to “alter fundamental constitutional principles, or the fundamental structures of the social order, or overthrow the state, and anyone who possesses books, leaflets, drawings, slogans or any other items that promote their cause.”
 
The Christians, who are from western Libya, had been detained by the authorities in March. One of the believers is a 22-year-old woman who released a video explaining her conversion which took place when she was 15 years of age. In a statement from Libya’s Internal Security Agency, it was reported that the arrests were made to “stop an organized gang action aiming to solicit and make people leave Islam.”
 
According to the interim constitution of Libya, while Islam is the state religion and the principal source of legislation, non-Muslims in the country are guaranteed the freedom to practice their religion.
 
CHINA
8 June 2023
On May 24th, police raided the Shengjia Christian Education and Help Centre in Shunde City, which is located within the Chinese province of Guangdong. After forcibly entering the building, the authorities searched the premises and confiscated all the teaching materials. Pastor Deng was arrested, along with four of his coworkers.
 
The following day, the families of the detained Christians received official notifications stating that each believer had been given a 30-day detention for conducting “illegal business operations."
“When Pastor Deng’s wife, Shaoting, went to the detention centre on May 26th to bring clothing for her husband, she asked the police officers to pass along a Bible to him. They refused to do so. The officers also informed her that the pastor had blisters on his back due to an infection and the resulting inflammation. At the time, she was not told if Pastor Deng would be receiving any medical treatment.
 
Thankfully, Shaoting was able to deliver letters of encouragement to her husband. In one of them she wrote: “All [of this] happened to us with God’s goodwill and for the good of us. Honey, you retreat into God with peace and enjoy the rest while being detained. We can take good care of ourselves, strive to preach the Gospel, and wait for you to come back!”
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church
   109 S. Elm Street
   Kewanee, IL 61443
 

St. Paul’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church
109 S. Elm, Kewanee, Illinois 61443
Newsletter
Volume 35                                   May 2023                                           No. 5
               
It’s Not So Much that We Have to Go; We Get to Go!
 
It’s pretty common for people to think they need to attend Sunday worship at least once in a while if they’re members of the church. But that kind of thinking is at odds with the thinking of the first witnesses of the resurrection. They, says the very last sentence in the Gospel of Luke, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God (St. Luke 24:52-53). That doesn’t sound to me as though they worshiped out of obligation—though worship is certainly obligatory according to the third commandment—but out of joy, the joy of knowing and being convinced that their Lord Jesus, who was given into death, had been raised from the dead, and had appeared to them.
 
When my family was young, some of the children would ask on occasion whether they had to go to church on a particular Sunday; and they quickly grew to learn what my reply would be: “You get to go to church on Sunday!” Which, of course, is the point. It’s a privilege. While certainly we are supposed to do it, since we are to remember  the Sabbath (which is Christ) by keeping it holy, if that’s as far as the question goes for us, then we’re really missing the point.
 
No wonder, then, that people are often occasionally rather than regularly attending church on Sunday. For if it is merely the commandment that motivates you, then the motivation will be limited. For the law tells us what to do but doesn’t give us the power to do it. It produces guilt, so it is either that out of guilt that we go, guilt that we didn’t go last week, or it’s the desire to be free from guilt if we don’t go this week. You are supposed to go, after all, that is most certainly true; but there is much more to it than that.
 
There is the fact that Jesus rose from the dead, and lives and reigns to all eternity; and there is the fact that He, the living Christ, comes to us personally every Sunday in Word and Sacrament. You wouldn’t want to miss that, now would you, honestly?
 
So maybe a change in thinking is necessary, a new perspective. Think of the coming of Sunday morning as something to anticipate with joy, rather like the joy so many of us sense when Easter arrives, and we can’t wait to be there and hear and sing all the special music, and wear our Easter clothing, and be a part of the excitement. So perhaps next Sunday won’t have as many of the extra trimmings as Easter did, but those are indeed only extra trimmings. The reality is the same, the reason we are there, the heart and core of our faith and life. Christ is there, Christ Himself.
 
And it’s true what they say, that every Sunday is in a sense Easter. Every Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection of our Lord. Every Sunday He comes to us again. Remember this, that He appeared again on the Sunday after the first Easter, and again after that, and then on the first Pentecost, He “appeared” again, though that time it was a little different. That time, He returned through the preaching of the Holy Apostles who had tongues of fire on their heads. And from that point forward they went forth and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following (St. Mark 16:20).
 
And their preaching office continues until the end of the world, as the Lord also preaches through today’s preachers of the Holy Gospel, and through their administration of the Blessed Sacrament feeds His sheep.
 
So try to think of it that way: it isn’t so much that you have to go (though you do); it’s that you get to go.
 
+ Pastor Eckardt
 
Gottesdienst Fort Wayne
 
The annual Gottesdienst Fort Wayne event is scheduled for Monday to Wednesday, May 1st – 3rd, at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Details are at the www.gottesdienst.org website.
 
Pastor will be in attendance. Events here are cancelled on those days.
 
Shut ins
Jewneel Walker at Kewanee Care in Kewanee; Emmy Wear at Williamsfield retirement home; Bea Harris (occasionally) at home.

May Anniversaries
May 28, 1982     Chris & Garry Erickson
May 28, 1977     John and Charlene Sovanski
 
May Birthdays
5/2       Sheri Kraklow
5/10     Bill Thompson
5/24    Jeff Wagenknecht

No More Second Mortgage!
Some good news: The Church Council took the move of paying off our second mortgage altogether. It’s something we had been considering for some time, since we were blessed to have some extra funds.

This reduces our monthly obligations considerably, since we no longer have to pay interest on that mortgage either.
Our total indebtedness is now reduced to $81,000. That’s the lowest it’s been in years.

The faithfulness and love of the membership of our little parish is a large part of the reason we were able to do this. As you may be aware, the “stewardship” methods we employ here are rather different from what you’d see in most places. Put very crudely, those methods tend to focus on the fact that you should give, or on the importance of regular giving, etc. Sometimes the financial numbers made available every week or every month are compared with—more like, contrasted to—what is needed. And people are generally guilted into giving.

Not here. Although it’s true that you should give, and that giving is important, what I have always preferred to emphasize is the evidence and the results of our faithfulness. We at St. Paul’s know what we have; we love what we have; and we want to see it flourish and grow. That’s who we are. Sort of, in a minor way, like the churches at Macedonia, whom the Apostle commended because of the evidence they gave of the grace of God bestowed on them, that in spite even of afflictions and deep poverty they still gave of themselves and their substance because of “the abundance of their joy” (2 Corinthians 8:1-2).  We of course have no affliction or great poverty like they had, but I find a favorable comparison in the reason for their generosity. It was out of joy more than out of obligation. And so also here, in spite of our small size, we love our parish, we love what we have, and we want to see it flourish.

And behold, it flourishes! Let’s keep up the good work!
+ Pastor Eckardt
 
Rogation Days Monday through Wednesday, May 15rd – May 17th
The rogation days are the traditional days of prayer leading up to Ascension Day, and following Rogate, the Sixth Sunday after Easter. Rogate means to pray.

Every one of these days is a good day to offer special prayers, and in particular to pray the Litany, which may be found in the hymnal on page 110. You may find the sung version listed as Hymn # 661. We will do this in church on Tuesday, May 16th, at 1 pm. A good tradition; join is in the church.

Ascension Day May 18th
Ascension Day is on Thursday, May 18th. Because of this, according to our usual practice, our midweek mass will be held that day at 7:00 pm, instead of the usual day for midweek mass of Wednesday. No mass is scheduled for Wednesday, May 17th. Instead, put May 18th on your calendar and come observe the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord.

Pentecost Ahead
Pentecost Sunday is on May 28th this year, and we look forward to it again as a celebration of the birth of the Church and the beginning of the Gospel going out to all nations.
 
Here at St. Paul’s we keep the tradition of
portraying the “other tongues” of Pentecost with the reading of the opening verse of the Gospel in eight languages.  The eight languages are Greek, Latin, Swedish, Spanish, French, Russian, German, and English, in which the entire Gospel will continue.
 
For the hymn of the day, “O Holy Spirit, Enter In,” Father Eckardt will sing stanzas three and six in German.
 
First Tuesday
Our First Tuesday events are scheduled for May 9th: First Tuesday Vespers for all to attend 6:45 pm, and Elders following.
 
 
In Our Prayers
Our list of prayer intentions at mass includes the names on the lists below.  To update the lists please inform pastor.            In our parish:
Derek Baker, Sharon Hartz, Kris Harden, Bea Harris, Don and Sue Murphy, John Sovanski, Sandra VerPlaetse, John Ricknell, Linda Rowe, Jewneel Walker, Emmy Wear, Jim Watson,
            and beyond our parish:
Anna, Katie, and Jodi Rutowicz, Julie Ross, Elizabeth Godke, Oneida Hendrickson, Janice Hart, Tim Newman, Theresa Moore, Kathy Boeger, Allison Leezer, Shannon Watson, Karen Parker, Richard Heiden, Brock Tumbleson, Jeanna Moore, Don Bitting, Jane Mueller, Pastor Justin Kane
in the military
John Eckardt, Donny Appleman, Richard Heiden,
Eli Wetzel, Traven Wetzel, Eric Verplaetse, Jake Mahaffey, James and Ann Lee Armstrong, Marcus Prentice
            In trouble
any unborn children in danger of abortion
those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Venezuela, Iran, Pakistan, India, China, North Korea, and elsewhere.
 
Church Council to Meet Thursday, May 18th
The monthly meeting of the Council is scheduled, as usual, for the third week of May, but on Thursday the 18th, at the usual 5:30 time. Our midweek mass is on Thursday this week, for Ascension Day
 
May Ushers
Jim Hornback, Steve Kraklow, Tom Wells
 
Altar Guild Notes

• Paraments WHITE throughout May except
• Paraments RED on Pentecost, Sunday, May 28th

Always check supplies. When wine supply (when the second to the last bottle is opened) or supply of hosts gets low (when the last sleeve is opened), please inform Pastor
 
Correspondence between Senator Duckworth and me over abortion:
Very recent communications between Senator Tammy Duckworth and me are a continuation of emails between her and me beginning early in the summer of 2021 when I sent here a letter urging her to vote against an abortion initiative that was before the senate. Here is a portion of her reply on August 2nd of that year, followed by correspondence between us in late April of this year.
 
Dear Dr. Eckardt,
Thank you for contacting me about the health and well-being of pregnant women. I appreciate you taking the time to make me aware of your concerns on this matter. 

Like you, I respect human life. I believe that we should invest in programs that empower woman to control their own family planning decisions and help reduce health risks to women that may require a medically-necessary abortion to save her life. The rule of law also requires respecting long-standing precedent established by the Supreme Court of the United States of America. This includes a woman’s constitutional right to make her own medical decisions in consultation with her doctor and in accordance with her religious beliefs.

Abortion is a difficult issue that elicits passionate disagreement among my constituents and I understand that you may strongly oppose my commitment to protecting the constitutional right of a woman to make individual healthcare decisions. . . .

I hope that you will continue to share your views and opinions with me and let me know whenever I may be of assistance to you.
 
Sincerely,
Tammy Duckworth
United States Senator
 
I replied on the same day (August 2, 2021):
 
Dear Senator Duckworth,
I greatly appreciate your taking the time to respond to my note. Thank you.
Where we differ, it seems to me, is on the question of whether abortion is fundamentally a matter of a woman’s health and her right to determine what is best for her own body. While I share with you the belief the everyone ought to be able to make his or her own healthcare decisions in a free society such as ours, I do not believe abortion to be a matter of a woman’s health, unless it were conceded that a fetus is not a living human being.

Many people on both sides of the debate fail to consider this carefully, and it makes all the difference. Biologically speaking, a fetus is more than a potential life. It is as much a person as you or I. As I am sure you are aware, it has its own DNA, its own blood, its own developing organs. It is not part of the mother who carries it. If it were, I would have no issue at all with the proponents of women’s rights who want to keep abortion legal, and in fact I could even sympathize. But inasmuch as the fetus has all the legal and biological attributes indicative of a living human being, the entire matter of a woman’s right to choose does not apply at all. Surely you agree that no mother has the right to choose to kill her children. Please consider this carefully.

Again, thank you kindly for taking the time. If you wish to discuss this matter further I would be most happy to oblige.
 
Sincerely,
Rev. Burnell Eckardt, PhD
Pastor, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Kewanee, IL
 
Senator Duckworth sent me another email on April 27 of this year. It must be a blanket letter sent to many pro-life advocates, since it refers to “our Nation’s Veterans,” a matter I had not at all addressed, and seems to be a reply to some other recent communication she had. I do not fault her for sending a blanket letter, inasmuch as she must receive thousands. Nevertheless she did not quite address or understand what I had previously written, either at the time a year and a half ago or recently.  Here are some excerpts of her letter. My response follows.
 
Dear Dr. Eckardt,
Thank you for contacting me about the health and well-being of our Nation’s Veterans. . . .

Abortion is a complex medical decision that a majority of Americans believe should be legal in the United States and accessible to patients, including in cases of rape and when a mother’s life is at risk, such as from an ectopic pregnancy or sepsis. Health care professionals have long affirmed that abortion is necessary in certain medical conditions. As medical research has advanced, the scientific facts of the viability of a fetus during certain stages of pregnancy remain unchanged. No evidence-based justification exists for eliminating a woman’s Constitutional right to make her own private medical decisions in consultation with her doctor and in accordance with her religious beliefs, which the Supreme Court upheld and reaffirmed over 30 years ago in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Unfortunately, despite this long-established precedent, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, stripping the right to legal abortions from millions of women, opening the door to a nationwide abortion ban and risking the lives of American women in the process. I strongly oppose the enactment of any State law that would force a woman or child to give birth against her will, including in cases of rape or incest, or when proceeding with a pregnancy would jeopardize a woman’s health. . . .

As your Senator, I recognize that abortion is a difficult issue that elicits passionate disagreement among my constituents . . .

Thank you again for contacting me on this important issue. . . .
 
Sincerely,
Tammy Duckworth
United States Senator
 
Dear Senator Duckworth,

I appreciate your taking the time to correspond and make an effort to address my concerns.

I shall make my reply as brief as I can. You reiterated to me your belief that abortion is a matter of a woman’s reproductive rights, and your letter also indicates a concern about cases of rape, incest, and when a mother’s life is at risk. 

With respect, I believe these are red herrings. Regarding the latter concern, less than 2% of abortions are due to the reasons you cite, but in any case, the question of reproductive rights or procedures is not at all at issue. You come close to acknowledging this when you admit that “the scientific facts of the viability of a fetus during certain stages of pregnancy remain unchanged.”  Indeed the scientific facts have not changed at all: what the woman carries, in every case, is alive, and is a life other than her own, whether “viable” or not. Where you veer off the issue is when you continue, saying, “No evidence-based justification exists for eliminating a woman’s Constitutional right . . .” How is it ever right to kill an innocent, living human being? This is not about “reproductive” rights at all. The reproduction has already occurred, and the prenatal child is already the result of that reproductive process. That is the only issue, and it ought to be the starting point in the debate. Please consider this one thing carefully before proceeding with any further discussion of the matter. It is always, 100% of the time, quite literally, a matter of life and death.
 
Sincerely,
Rev. Burnell Eckardt, PhD
Pastor, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Kewanee, IL
      
 St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church
   109 S. Elm Street
   Kewanee, IL 61443

St. Paul’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church
109 S. Elm, Kewanee, Illinois 61443
Newsletter
Volume 35                                   April 2023                                           No. 4
               
The Holiest Time of the Year

This article was written for the Kewanee Star Courier this year.
 
We have come to the holiest time of the year, for the last two weeks of Lent are traditionally called Passiontide, when extra emphasis is placed on the passion, that is, the suffering, of our Lord Jesus. The last of those two weeks, Holy Week, begins with Palm Sunday and each holy day of remembrance, until especially the so-called Holy Three Days of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, culminate in the Great Easter Vigil that marks the end of Lent.

This time is rich with reflection on the righteousness and the love of God. The love of God for the world is displayed in that Jesus consented to give His life into death as a sacrifice for the sin of the world. This is what it really means to believe in the love of God: Jesus gave Himself for us and held nothing back from us that He has not given us. For He is also righteous, which is why it was necessary for Him to do this in order to save us. Since He is righteous, God must require obedience from mankind, but mankind has fallen into sin, as Isaiah also says, every one to his own way. Therefore in order for the requirement of God to be fulfilled, Christ by His passion has done what we were unable to do, namely make atonement for our sin. The salvation of the world is therefore now freely available to all, having been accomplished for us by Jesus, in whom alone we have a gracious God. Every Christian may be glad, for this means that the gaining of God’s favor does not depend at all upon us, but only upon Christ our holy substitute. This is the sum and substance of the Gospel, which is why we are pleased to hear it over and over again our entire lives, and by the power embedded in that word of God, to believe it.

Hearing, reflecting, and meditating deeply upon these things is what makes Easter such a glad day for Christians. The resurrection of Christ from the dead is our guarantee that these things are true. It also tells us in no uncertain terms that death is undone, since the penalty that brought death into the world has been paid. Eternal life is seen nowhere more clearly than in the risen Christ standing before His apostles announcing peace to them. How rich is that peace to those who are acutely aware of its cost in the blood of Christ, its value in the divinity of Christ, and its accomplishment in the sacrifice of Christ!
 
-Pastor Eckardt

Opposed to a Pride Festival in Kewanee
​
We learned of the plans for a Pride festival to be held in Kewanee this summer, which of course I find to be a great disappointment. I hope they will reconsider. Kewanee is a traditional small town known for its simple adherence to traditional values, and doesn’t need to be infected with the destructive influences of a godless culture that has overtaken so much of our society. Gay Pride is a divisive and radical movement that is sharply divergent from what countless generations of citizens around the country and throughout the world have unanimously embraced up until very recently. It has confused and deceived young people in particular.
 
When Christians are maligned for opposing homosexuality, it is often with false claims that we harbor hatred for homosexuals. But we hate no one; in fact, we believe that it is a loving thing to hold fast to Sacred Scripture in opposing all forms of sin, not least our own (including, ironically, “pride”), so that we can begin to grasp what Scripture also teaches about the lovingkindness of our Lord who came to rescue us from all sin by His own sacrifice and resurrection from the dead. A Pride festival in Kewanee would be a very sad and disappointing thing for a great many Kewanee citizens.
 
Consider contacting the city council to urge them to reconsider this and set the plans aside.
  
Passion Readings during Holy Week
​
As is our usual custom, there will be readings of the Passion accounts from St. Matthew on Palm Sunday, St. Luke on Holy Wednesday, and Good Friday. These readings involve the participation of the congregation, which is reminiscent of a common choral practice during Reformation times. The subdeacon reads the narrator’s part, the pastor reads the part of Christ, and the congregation reads the parts of groups or crowds of people. These readings are found in special booklets which are handed out with the bulletins.
 
Holy Week and Easter Masses
​
Holy Monday through Good Friday, 7 p.m.
Great Vigil: Saturday, April 16th, 7 p.m.
Easter Sunrise Mass: April 17th, 7 a.m. (Easter breakfast following)
Easter Midweek Mass: Wednesday, April 20th, 7 p.m.
 
Shut ins
 
Jewneel Walker at Kewanee Care in Kewanee, Emmy Wear at Williamsfield retirement home.

First Tuesday

Our First Tuesday events are scheduled for the second Tuesday this year, due to Holy Week. We will meet on April 11h: First Tuesday Vespers for all to attend 7:15 pm, and Elders following.
 
The Triduum Sacrum
 
The Triduum Sacrum (holy three days) are the deepest point of Lent, giving way all at once to Easter. It starts on Maundy Thursday with mass at 7 p.m. There is no benediction for this service, as it is understood to continue on Good Friday and until the Great Vigil. As soon as the last part of the Maundy Thursday mass is sung (the Benedicamus: V: Bless we the Lord. R: Thanks be to God), the pastor and subdeacon remove their sacramental vestments while the choir sings a psalm. They then strip the altar, pulpit, and lectern of all their paraments, remove the reserved Sacrament, take out the torches, and leave the sanctuary bare. Following the congregational singing of another psalm, all depart in silence. On Good Friday, there is an opportunity to pray the Litany at 12 noon, the hour of crucifixion. Then at 7 pm is the Good Friday Solemn Liturgy with Holy Communion. On Holy Saturday, the third day, the Great Vigil commences at 7 p.m. with a newly lit fire outside (near the kitchen doors), from which the new paschal candle is lit. The congregation follows into the church in procession. The Vigil is in four parts, the first three of which anticipate Easter: the Service of Light, the Service of Readings, the Service of Baptismal Remembrance.  And then comes part four, when the lights go up, the pastor wears his white chasuble, and he announces, “Alleluia! Christ is Risen!” to which all robustly reply, “He is risen indeed! Alleluia!” This is an ancient versicle and response dating to the early church. It is still used around the world, in virtually all languages.
  
April Anniversary

4/13/2002      Steve and Sheri Kraklow
 
In Our Prayers
Our list of prayer intentions at mass includes the names on the lists below.  To update the lists please inform pastor.            in our parish:
Don and Sue Murphy, Linda Rowe, Sharon Hartz, John Sovanski, Sandra VerPlaetse, Bea Harris, Jewneel Walker, and Emmy Wear, Kris Harden, Jim Watson, John Ricknell
            and beyond our parish:
Jude Clapper
Anna, Katie, and Jodi Rutowicz [Harris relations]
Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter]
Elizabeth Godke [Sharon Field’s mother]
Oneida Hendrickson [Ricknell relative]
Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister]
Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson]
Tim Newman [Shreck relation]
Theresa Moore [Ricknells’ niece]
Kathy Boeger [re Harrises]
Allison Leezer [relative of the Kraklows]
Everly Stoner
Shannon Watson [Jim’s daughter]
Karen Parker
Richard Heiden [Carol Eckardt’s father]
Brock Tumbleson
Jeanna Moore
Don Bitting [Judy Thompson’s brother]
Pastor Justin Kane
in the military:
John Eckardt
Donny Appleman [at request of the Ricknells]
Richard Heiden [at request of the Eckardts]
Eli Wetzel, Traven Wetzel
Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson]
Jake Mahaffey
James and Ann Lee Armstrong
Marcus Prentice [son of Felicia Baker]
            in trouble:
any unborn children in danger of abortion;
Debra Reeves’s children Rae Beth and Drew Wayne; those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Venezuela, Iran, Pakistan, India, China, North Korea, and elsewhere.

Ushers
Jim Hornback, Steve Kraklow, Tom Wells
 
Easter Hats
Ladies, remember our hats tradition! Easter is the time to wear your best, and if you are able, set it off with a handsome hat! And by all means, leave them on for the Easter breakfast.

Church Council to Meet Wednesday, April 19th
 
The monthly meeting of the Council is scheduled, as usual, for the third week of April, which is the 19th, at the usual 5:30 time.
 
Altar Guild Notes

• Paraments WHITE for Maundy Thursday
• Altar stripped after Mass on Maundy Thursday, and for Good Friday
• Fair linen and corporal only, wooden candlestands, black veil on Good Friday
• Paraments WHITE for the Easter Vigil and all the rest of April excepting
• Paraments RED for St. Mark’s Day, which we will observe on Wednesday, April 26th.

Always check supplies. When wine supply (when the second to the last bottle is opened) or supply of hosts gets low (when the last sleeve is opened), please inform Pastor.
 
Easter Preparations
 
Extra volunteers needed to help with Easter Breakfast preparations on Holy Saturday, April 8th, beginning at 9 am. 
 
Remember to sign up for items you are bringing for the breakfast. Everybody may bring something, but sign up for something in particular, so we don’t have everyone bringing the same thing.
 
Easter lilies: find a sign-up sheet in the narthex or on the table in the hall. $15 each.
 
Choir members, last rehearsals are Wednesday, March 29th and April 5th
 
Ladies, remember your hats! Invite your families! Let us know you’re coming!
 
April Birthdays

4/3      Adam Shreck
4.14     Emmy Wear
4/19    Luke Wells
4/25    Mason Dooley
 
Saturday Class Time Moved

The Saturday Bible Class, on the Gospel of St. Matthew, has been moved from its 11:00 time to 12 noon. Join us!

St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church
   109 S. Elm Street
   Kewanee, IL 61443

Volume 35                                   March 2023                                            No. 3

THE FAST

There are no specific instructions in Scripture about how exactly to fast. The Church has had much to say about it over the centuries, but none of that is a reflection of anything the Scriptures actually say.

So the restriction of meat has been a staple of fasting for a long time, but it’s nowhere commanded.

The Church of Rome has made it a “holy obligation,” which isn’t particularly helpful, since part of the very nature of fasting is that it’s voluntary, a self-imposed form of bodily discipline.

Yet one may choose voluntarily to follow Rome’s lead and limit or omit meats during Lent (for some reason fish is has not been considered meat in this sense, and one explanation for that is that the fishermen had a strong lobby in ancient times to keep the pope from declaring fasting also from fish). At least on Fridays it’s a helpful thing to  be more concerned about fasting, especially if we remember that Friday was the day on which Jesus gave Himself into death for us.

But for us there is no command, except for Jesus’ warning in the Sermon on the Mount, that “when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly” (St. Matthew 6:16-18). Hence, care must be taken in this and any spiritual exercise, that it be not undertaken as a devious means of impressing others. It’s between you and God.

And of course, some people would be better advised not to fast in the way Rome prescribes, if, say, they have a medical issue that keeps them from eating enough in the first place. So how you fast is up to you.

Jesus does assume that Christians fast, for He says (above) “when ye fast,” not “if ye fast.” And the apostles fasted, and the prophets, and the Israelites. And it’s a good thing to learn bodily discipline, and Lent is a good time to practice it.

And when we get to the end of Lent, we break the fast with a great feast, on Easter Sunday. The feasting includes the Easter Breakfast, with a reminder that the term breakfast, is, literally, breaking the fast.

So let’s look ahead to that, but meanwhile enter and benefit from Lententide and its emphasis on self-discipline, extra meditation on the Word of God—especially as it emphasizes our need for repentance and what our Redeemer has done to win for us undeserved salvation, as He willingly and without compulsion gave Himself into suffering and death for us.
 
+ Pastor Eckardt
 
Memorial Service for Grant Andresen Set for March 6th
Grant Andresen passed peacefully into the arms of Jesus on February 10th; the family, following his own wishes, has expressed a desire for a memorial service at St. Paul’s, which we have scheduled for Monday, March 6th, at 11:00 a.m., with visitation at 10:00 a.m. A catered luncheon will follow. The burial of his remains will take place in Iowa, at a date shortly afterwards. Grant was well known and loved at St. Paul’s for many years and will be missed. He was unable to attend for several years, living at a care facility in Rock Island. Arrangements were made for him to attend regular services at Immanuel in Rock Island, which is a few minutes from where he lived. Though he greatly appreciated that, his eager desire was to return to St. Paul’s which he had not seen since before the remodeling. He finally was able to attend one Sunday in January, which was a high point for him and for us. 
March Birthdays
3/1      Barbra Kraklow
3/25    Carol Eckardt

March Anniversary
3/19/1977 Jeff and Diana Shreck
 
Church Council
Council meets Wednesday, March 15th, at 5:30. This is the third Wednesday of the month.

March Ushers
 Jim Hornback, Steve Kraklow, Tom Wells.
 
First Tuesday
The regular schedule or the first Tuesday of the month (March 7th) includes Vespers at 6:45 pm (all are welcome) and Elders at 7:15.
 
In Our Prayers
Our current list of prayer intentions at mass includes the names on the lists here following.  Anyone wishing to update the list by addition or subtraction, please inform the pastor.in our parish:
Don and Sue Murphy, Linda Rowe, Sharon Hartz, John Sovanski, Sandra VerPlaetse, Bea Harris, Grant Andreson, Jewneel Walker, and Emmy Wear, Kris Harden, Jim Watson, John Ricknell

beyond our parish:
Jude Clapper
Anna, Katie, and Jodi Rutowicz [Harris relations]
Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter]
Elizabeth Godke [Sharon Field’s mother]
Oneida Hendrickson [Ricknell relative]
Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister]
Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson]
Tim Newman [Shreck relation]
Theresa Moore [Ricknells’ niece]
Kathy Boeger [re Harrises]
Allison Leezer [relative of the Kraklows]
Everly Stoner
Marvin Brown
Shannon Watson [Jim’s daughter]
Karen Parker
Richard Heiden [Carol Eckardt’s father]
Jeff Lewis [Carol Eckardt’s brother in law]
Brock Tumbleson
Jeanna Moore
Pastor Justin Kane

in the military:
John Eckardt
Donny Appleman [at request of the Ricknells]
Richard Heiden [at request of the Eckardts]
Eli Wetzel, Traven Wetzel
Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson]
Jake Mahaffey
James and Ann Lee Armstrong
Marcus Prentice [son of Felicia Baker]
 
in trouble:
any unborn children in danger of abortion; Debra Reeves’s children Rae Beth and Drew Wayne; those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Venezuela, Iran, Pakistan, India, China, North Korea, and elsewhere.
 
 
Woodpecker Inspires Designers, Knocks Evolutionby Brian Thomas, M.S., Ph.D.Dr. Thomas is a Research Associate at the Institute for Creation Research in Dallas, Texas. 
When boring into wood in search of food, a woodpecker exerts so much force with each strike that its beak should crumble, its skull should crack, and its brain should be reduced to mush. However, a suite of design features absorbs the shock and ensures that these tragedies do not happen. How are these features able to provide such effective protection?

Scientists have examined woodpecker design strategies to find the answer. In a study published in Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, Sang-Hee Yoon and Sungmin Park of the University of California Berkeley analyzed what makes the woodpecker’s shock absorbers work so well. They discovered a set of four essential features, which were described in a New Scientist article:

These are its hard-but-elastic beak; a sinewy, springy tongue-supporting structure that extends behind the skull called the hyoid; an area of spongy bone in its skull; and the way the skull and cerebrospinal fluid interact to suppress vibration.

The research duo set out to copy each of these features. They mimicked the beak’s resistant structure with an exterior metal cylinder. Inside that was a layer of rubber, inspired by the woodpecker’s hyoid, and then an interior layer of aluminum to imitate the interaction of the skull and cerebrospinal fluid. In the woodpecker, the nearness of the beak to the skull reduces vibration.

The cylinder was packed with beads in an arrangement intended to mimic the way the bird’s porous bone material absorbs impact energy. Yoon and Park nestled sensitive electronics within the beads, and then the whole device was fired from an air gun at an aluminum wall to see how well the electronics were protected.

Modern airplanes are equipped with flight recorders that capture important information. These devices are held in shock absorbers that can withstand 1000g, which is 1,000 times the acceleration force of an object near the earth’s surface. The new woodpecker-inspired shock absorber withstood 60,000g, thus offering possibilities for “remarkable improvement in the g-force tolerance”of man-made devices.

The woodpecker has long been considered a living refutation of big-picture evolution. In his book The Evolution of a Creationist, author and speaker Dr. Jobe Martin tried to imagine a Darwinian scenario whereby the woodpecker might have evolved from another type of bird:

Let’s suppose some bird decided that there must be all kinds of little critters, which would be good for lunch, hidden beneath the bark of trees. This bird decided to peck through the bark and into the hardwood tree. On first peck, this bird discovered problems with the way it was put together. Its beak shattered when it slammed against the tree, its tail feathers broke, and it developed a migraine-strength headache. With a shattered beak, the little bird was unable to eat and so it died.

Of course, a dead bird could not evolve any further.

Each feature that Yoon and Park mimicked includes specified material and arrangements, and all four are required for a woodpecker to effectively drill holes into wood. However, these remarkable structures are still not enough to enable the bird to extract its vital food from beneath tree bark. So, the woodpecker was equipped with an extendible, spear-shaped tongue, stiff tail feathers, and a specialized toe arrangement so that it can cling to a vertical tree trunk.

There is no natural way for a whole suite of required, specified features to just “get together” all at one time. Perhaps unwittingly, these University of California researchers corroborated that the only way to achieve all-or-nothing design is by purposeful intent. Thus, the woodpecker is a testament to the superior engineering skill of its Creator.
 
Catechism and Bible Class Schedule
 
The schedule for classes this season is as follows:
Junior catechesis on Tuesdays at 5:00 pm.
Adult Bible class on Saturdays at 11:00 am, in addition to Sunday mornings.

A Little Story about Bowing and Kneeling
 
The following tale is told about a coarse and brutal lout. While the words “And was made man” were being sung in church, he remained standing, neither genuflecting nor removing his hat. He showed no reverence, but just stood there like a clod. All the others dropped to their knees when the Nicene Creed was prayed and chanted devoutly. Then the devil stepped up to him and hit him so hard it made his head spin. He cursed him gruesomely and said: “May hell consume you, you boorish ass! If God had become an angel like me and the congregation sang: ‘God was made an angel, I would bend not only my knees but my whole body to the ground! Yes, I would crawl ten ells down into the ground. And you vile human creature, you stand there like a stick or a stone. You hear that God did not become an angel but a man like you, and you just stand there like a stick of wood!” Whether this story is true or not, it is nevertheless in accordance with the faith (Rom. 12:6). With this illustrative story the holy fathers wished to admonish the youth to revere the indescribably great miracle of the incarnation; they wanted us to open our eyes wide and ponder these words well.
 
(Luther’s Works, Sermons on John, Vol. 22, p105)
 
Choir rehearsals again!
 
In preparation for special music during Holy Week and Easter, choir rehearsals have started up again. The first Wednesday in March will have to be skipped, as Pastor and Carol plan to be visiting her father in Florida for a few days that week, so we plan to resume rehearsals on Wednesday, March 8th at 5:30 pm. Check the calendar and make a special note of it: March 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th, and April 5th. We will not rehearse after that unless we decide we need it.
 
Midweek Lenten Services
 
Following an old Lutheran custom, we suggest people to make a little more effort to come out for midweek masses during Lent, as another laudable way of observing the season. It’s a good part of the Lenten season. 7:00 Wednesday evenings.
 
Easter Preparations
 
Look for sign-up sheets that will be appearing soon in preparation for Easter: the opportunity to purchase lilies, and a sheet to sign up for the Easter breakfast. Mighty are the preparations!
 
   St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church
   109 S. Elm Street
   Kewanee, IL 61443

St. Paul’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church
109 S. Elm, Kewanee, Illinois 61443
Newsletter
Volume 35                                   February 2023                                            No. 2

FOR LIFE

We received a letter from the Alliance Defending Freedom last month; it is printed below. These people are hard at work speaking out and seeking to educate people on the truth of abortion, and why the church must always stand strong against it and against its legalization.

The reason is simple: every abortion kills an innocent baby. That’s it. The attempts by the pro-abortion advocates in our country to derail that conversation are many; they have been many ever since 1973 when the Supreme Court essentially ruled that the Constitution prohibits laws against abortion. Back then, as now, the focus of those advocates was on the right of a woman to do as she pleased with her own body.

The premise for this right, it was argued at the time, was the right of marital privacy, which the Court essentially invented in 1965, in Griswold v. Connecticut. In that case, the Court ruled that the Constitution did in fact protect the right of marital privacy against state restrictions on contraception. While the Court explained that the Constitution does not explicitly protect a general right to privacy, it argued that the various guarantees within the Bill of Rights create penumbras, or zones, that establish a right to privacy.

On the basis of this ruling, the Court ruled in 1973, in Roe v. Wade, that as this privacy was a matter into which the state could intrude, so also, in the matter of whether or not a woman could determine whether or not to end her pregnancy was also a matter into which the state could not intrude.

Last year the Court extraordinarily reversed the 1973 ruling and vacated it, and all the friends of life rejoiced; and again the pro abortion crowd began to complain about the violation of women’s rights.

Whether or not these rulings reflect what’s really in the Constitution (they don’t), this matter has nothing at all to do with the rights of women, and it never ceases to amaze me that people still think it does.

It has to do with babies. Real babies, living babies, inside of their mothers’ wombs. They are not potential babies, not entities waiting to be brought into the world. They’re already in the world. And that’s the only issue.

And since it is, therefore, let no one say that the government shouldn’t be involved in it. Because the first duty of any government is to protect its people. And its people include these little ones. To say that it’s not the government’s business would be the same as to say that murder isn’t the government’s business. Murder can never be allowed in a civilized society. Murder, as in, the unjustified killing of innocent people. And most especially the government’s protection is needed for people who can’t defend themselves.

And who is more innocent and in need of protection than a tiny baby? These, more than any of us, ought to be the special concern of the law of the land. They need the government’s protection just as much as we do, even more.
They’re people, living human beings. That’s the issue.

When I attended the Confessions symposia at the Fort Wayne seminary a couple weeks ago, I was again struck by the display they have on their lawn as you enter the campus: thousands of little white crosses in rows, a somber reminder of the thousands of infants abortion killed in Indiana in the past year.

And so we continue to pray, every Sunday at the altar, for those who are in trouble, “especially any unborn children in danger of abortion,” and for our society, that God might “beat down Satan under our feet” and bring us back to being a society, as it once was, that recognizes that abortion is not merely illegal but unthinkable.  

+ Pastor Eckardt

A letter from the Alliance Defending Freedom, January 5, 2023

Dear friend,

Every innocent human life-whether born or not-is valuable, precious, and worthy of full protection.
But, sadly, not everyone agrees. Those of us who are pro-life are told that "abortion is healthcare," that abortion is a "basic human right," that the unborn child isn't a person with dignity to be protected.

Let's be clear: Abortion has no place in a civilized society.

It's barbaric to pit a mother's interests against those of her unborn child. Killing a baby is a bad solution to any problem. And women deserve better than abortion.

As clear as right and wrong may seem to you about abortion, not everyone agrees. Maybe not even all your friends and family agree. That's why you need to be ready to defend life and dispel common pro-abortion myths in conversation and respond with truth and grace.

That's why ADF has created a short, free downloadable guide to help you be a voice for the voiceless: Life: 3 Myths & 3 Facts.

To get a free copy, click here.

Candlemas
The Feast of Candlemas, or the Presentation of Our Lord and the Purification of Mary, is upon us again, so-called because of the custom of distributing, blessing, and lighting of candles  during the service.  It is one of the more beautiful occasions we celebrate at St. Paul’s. Set on February 2nd, this year it falls on the first Thursday February, so we’ll observe it on its eve, Wednesday night the 1st at the usual time, 7 p.m.

When Jesus was presented in the temple, the priest Simeon also came in and declared, in the words of the Nunc Dimittis, “Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy word, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.”

This declaration of the Christ Child as a Light is the reason for the ceremonial use of candles at this Mass.  The use of these lights in connection with the Blessed Sacrament emphasizes the analogy of Simeon’s jubilation on receiving the Child with our own reception of Christ at the altar.  This connection is made at every Mass, of course, in our own recitation of the Nunc Dimittis.  At Candlemas, the connection is highlighted because the Gospel appointed for the day is this very Gospel. The name of this Feast, Candlemas, also subtly provides a link to the Feast from which it springs, that great feast of forty days earlier, namely Christmas. 

Hand-candles are used twice in this service. First, at the opening, in a procession toward the altar and back to the pews, all the while singing the Nunc Dimittis (the song of Simeon). Second, when the Sacrament is consecrated.

+ Pastor Eckardt
 
Septuagesima February 5th.
On Septuagesima Sunday we turn our gaze toward Easter, though liturgically it is still off in the distance. This Sunday marks the first day of pre-Lent (also called the Septuagesima season), a period of preparing our minds for the coming of Lent. A few liturgical matters are noted: we bid the Alleluias farewell, for we will not sing them again until Easter. The choir sings The Depositio, which is a “farewell to the alleluia” at the opening of the service.  In addition, and we have changed the color to violet, also the color for Lent. The Septuagesima season is observed in three Sundays: Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima. These Latin terms mean 70th, 60th, and 50th, for we pass, roughly, the 70th, 60th, and 50th days before Easter. Following Quinquagesima comes Ash Wednesday, the first day of the 40 days of Lent. Lent itself was once called Quadragesima, which means 40th.

In the middle ages Septuagesima Sunday was also seen as New Year’s Day, because of this shift in our focus: we had been living, as it were, in the wake of Christmas, since the Epiphany season is an extension of the Christmas season. On Septuagesima Sunday we live in the first stages of preparation for the coming of Easter.

Shrove Tuesday February 21st
A good opportunity to make confession privately in preparation for Lent. Pastor is available Tuesday afternoon until 5 pm and, as always, by appointment.

Ash Wednesday February 22nd
On Ash Wednesday, February 22nd, we will congregate at 7:00 pm to mark the beginning of Lent. The rite of imposition of ashes precedes the Mass.
  
Lent
The season of Lent emphasizes penitence, in preparation for Easter.  Its span is forty days, like the forty days in which Jesus fasted in the wilderness, in fulfillment of the fast of Moses and Elijah on Mount Horeb.

The Apostles themselves left the specific manner of observance to Christian liberty, saying, Let each be convinced in his own mind.  Leaving aside the question of what things one should fast from (whether sweets, or meats, or milk products, etc.), what is clear is that the custom of fasting itself is quite biblical.  If Moses, Elijah, and Jesus himself fasted, certainly it must be a good practice.  Indeed, on Ash Wednesday we hear Jesus saying, “When ye fast, be not as the hypocrites,” etc.  Luther’s Small Catechism also declares, “Fasting and other bodily preparation is indeed a fine outward training.”  Therefore we conclude two things: first, that fasting is a good thing, and second, that it is a matter left to Christian liberty.

Liturgically the Church fasts during Lent (as Israel fasted forty years in the wilderness). The color is penitential violet.  Alleluias are not sung, and there is less music; flowers are absent, and weddings are not to be scheduled.
Then, the last two weeks of Lent are designated as “passiontide,” when statutes, images, and crosses in the churches are veiled, and no Glorias are sung at all, except in the Gloria in Excelsis on Maundy Thursday.

But in the midst of this penitential mood there is joy, especially at Laetare, the fourth Sunday in Lent (Laetare means ‘rejoice’). The entire penitential season is not to be sad, but joyful.  For true joy of heart, born of the suffering and resurrection of Christ, transcends all parts of Christian life, even the deepest of sorrows, as we confess with David that weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.  Thus the forty days of Lent is followed by a contrastingly festive forty-day season from Easter until Ascension Day.
  
Annual Voters’ Assembly Set for January 29th
The annual voters’ assembly is set for the last Sunday of January, the 29th. As usual, this meeting will take the place of Bible Class during the hour from 10:30 to 11:30 am.

Choir Rehearsals
 Choir rehearsals will be starting again this month, beginning on Wednesday, February 1st at 5:30 p.m. Let’s get started preparing for Holy Week; see you there!  
February Birthdays
2/2       Mindie Fisher2/4       Joshua Kraklow2/5       Tom Wells2/23     Carol McReynolds 
February Anniversaries None

First Tuesday
The first Tuesday events (altar guild, vespers, elders) will be held, God willing, on Tuesday, February 7th. Vespers at 6:45; Elders at 7:15. All members are always encouraged to join us for First Tuesday Vespers, as you are able.
Ushers

Jim Hornback, Steve Kraklow, Tom Wells 
Tentative Plan
Pastor and Carol will likely be traveling to Florida this month for a few days to visit her father. Schedules are therefore pending that plan.
 

Robin Sighting Contest: Over Before It Begins
 
Every year we hold the robin sighting contest about this time, asking who can find the first robin of spring. But in this tenth year of the contest, just as this newsletter was about to be printed, Michele Keehner reported a robin sighing already! The eligibility is already limited to people in Illinois extending as far south as Peoria, but, wow, some robins like to get an early start!

We were all set to announce that the winner of the contest would get an all-expenses-paid dream vacation for two weeks in Hawaii. But, oh well, not now! Maybe next year? Our list of winners:

2023 Michele Keehner
2022 Steve Kraklow
2021 Andy Eckardt
2020 Michele Keehner
2019 Steve Kraklow
2018 Steve Kraklow
2017 Barbra Kraklow
2016 Judy Thompson
2015 Carol Eckardt
2014 Michele Keehner
 
A sign of spring, the robin may also help us think of the approach of Easter!

Saturday Bible Class Moves to 11 a.m.
In the interest of consolidating Saturday times, for the benefit of those who come both for the morning and for Bible Class, we have determined to move it from its 1:00 p.m. slot to the earlier 11:00 a.m. slot. Join us! We’re studying the Gospel according to St. Matthew.
 

In Our Prayers
Our current list of prayer intentions at mass includes the names on the lists here following.  Anyone wishing to update the list by addition or subtraction, please inform the pastor.in our parish:
Don and Sue Murphy, Linda Rowe, Sharon Hartz, John Sovanski, Sandra VerPlaetse, Bea Harris, Grant Andreson, Jewneel Walker, and Emmy Wear, Kris Harden, Jim Watson, John Ricknell
beyond our parish:
Jude Clapper
Anna, Katie, and Jodi Rutowicz [Harris relations]
Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter]
Elizabeth Godke [Sharon Field’s mother]
Oneida Hendrickson [Ricknell relative]
Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister]
Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson]
Tim Newman [Shreck relation]
Theresa Moore [Ricknells’ niece]
Kathy Boeger [re Harrises]
Allison Leezer [relative of the Kraklows]
Everly Stoner
Marvin Brown
Shannon Watson [Jim’s daughter]
Karen Parker
Richard Heiden [Carol Eckardt’s father]
Jeff Lewis [Carol Eckardt’s brother in law]
Brock Tumbleson
Pastor Justin Kane
in the military:
John Eckardt, Donny Appleman [at request of John Ricknell], Richard Heiden [at request of the Eckardts], Eli Wetzel, Traven Wetzel, Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson], Jake Mahaffey, Trevor Shimmin, Shad Draminski, James and Ann Lee Armstrong, Marcus Prentice [son of Felicia Baker]
in trouble:
any unborn children in danger of abortion; Debra Reeves’s children Rae Beth and Drew Wayne; those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Venezuela, Iran, Pakistan, India, China, North Korea, and elsewhere.

St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church
   109 S. Elm Street
   Kewanee, IL 61443
 
 
 

St. Paul’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church
109 S. Elm, Kewanee, Illinois 61443
Newsletter
Volume 35                                  January 2023                                            No. 1


God Is Pleased with MenThe earliest version of this sermon was preached in 1979 at my vicarage church in Lincoln Park, Michigan. It employs the alternate rendering of the angels’ message. The majority reading is “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” The alternate reading is a translation of some Greek manuscripts in which a single letter is added, thus rendering the reading, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased.” The two versions essentially say the same thing, but this sermon explains the second version.   I have been adapting and reusing it from time to time ever since.

Let us consider again the message from the angels to the shepherds. If you were one of them you would surely never have forgotten. You would have heard a message that would have been seared onto your memory forever. Because the grand proclamation made to those Judean shepherds was made by a multitude of angels. What sort of message could require all those angels? If on this one occasion, God sends not one, not two or three, but a multitude of angels, He must have something of utmost importance to say. In fact, it must be the most important thing He ever said to men, because nothing else ever required the presence of so many angels. What was the message of the unanimous and glorious chorus of heavenly messengers? Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men; or, to put it another way: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men, with whom He is pleased. The message from that multitude of the heavenly host of angels was clear and simple: There is peace on earth, dear shepherds, because God is pleased with men.

For thousands of years after this grand proclamation, men would go on supposing that peace on earth is something accomplished by the ending of all global conflict, when at last all weapons are laid down. If only they had heard and understood the message of the angels, they would have known that peace on earth has already been accomplished. It isn’t something to be hoped for, it is something that is. For the message of the angels was clear: God is pleased with men.

But at this point the objections of reason will sound forth at once. This can’t be right. Some men are wicked, heinous, tyrannical, cruel. Some are murderers, thieves, adulterers. How can anyone say that God is pleased with men, or that there is peace on earth? There must be some mistake. But even if one considers the absurd impossibility of an angel being mistaken, the message didn’t come from just one angel; it came from a multitude of angels. Could a whole countryside full of angels all bellowing out one unanimous message be mistaken? Listen to the angels, o shepherd in the field: God is pleased with men.

But Satan must also raise an objection to this: How can this be? I have done my work well, I have caused many to fall deeply into sin, I have made them all sons of hell; I have filled them with all manner of wickedness, so that their thoughts are only evil continually. I have trapped them in pride and self-worship; I have made them sell me their souls. This message can’t be right! It’s far off the mark! It’s foolishness! Don't listen to it! It must have come from the mouth of a lunatic!
But it didn’t. It came from the mouths of angels.

And thank God for those angels. For if there are some men with whom God is not please, then surely we are among them! And if you were one of those shepherds, you might easily find yourself wondering—in fact you might be wondering right now—whether these objections may have a point. What about me? I am not worthy of God’s good pleasure, am I? Conscience pricks, and I know I have sinned. I know I am guilty, foul, and unclean. A thousand years of tears would not suffice for once worthily lamenting my wretchedness. How much more am I poor wretched man, who daily sin, continue without amendment, and approach God in sin. And the truth is that if God is not pleased with all men, he could never be pleased with me!

O thank God for those angels! And thank God for all the lights and tinsel of Christmas, and all the carols and cheer, and all the bells which ring out the news which every sinner needs so badly to hear: Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled! Here we see the reason there is peace on earth, and why God is pleased with men. It isn’t because of what kind of men they are that God is pleased. In fact, it has nothing at all to do with the nature of man. The reason is this: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord. And He didn’t come to be Savior of part of the world; he came to save it all. And if He is Savior of the world, then it makes all the sense in the world to say that God is pleased with men.

Those Bethlehem shepherds undoubtedly never forgot the angelic message on that first Christmas Eve. Would that you might remember it as they must have; that it might be seared into your memory, your heart, and your conscience, that you too might never forget the grandest angelic proclamation ever heard on earth: Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace among men, with whom He is pleased!

​+ Pastor Eckardt

Christmas Cards from the Eckardts
 
This year the Eckardt family Christmas card has not been included in this newsletter. Instead, members will find the Christmas card itself at your mailbox in  the narthex. Merry Christmas!
 
First Tuesday events
 
Our First Tuesday events are scheduled as usual. On Tuesday, January 3rd, First Tuesday Vespers is scheduled for 6:45 p.m., and is followed by Elders at 7:15 pm.
 
January Anniversaries None
 
Altar Guild Notes
 
Altar color is white throughout January, and doesn’t change until Septuagesima Sunday, when the color will change to violet.

Annual Voters’ MeetingOur Annual Voters’ Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, January 29th at 10:30 a.m. (in the time slot normally reserved for Bible Class).
 
 
 
An Epiphany Celebration
 
Epiphany, January 6th, falls on a Friday this year. Our observance of this important feast day is scheduled for the following day, Saturday, January 7th, with Holy Mass and our 21st Day of Theological Reflection, continuing a long tradition here of such days. Here is the schedule:
 
9:00 a.m. Epiphany Mass
10:00 a.m. - noon Seminar (day of reflection):
            The twenty-first retreat in the Theological Reflection series is entitled,
 
“TO FULFILL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS”
 
A consideration of the Baptism of Our Lord
 
This seminar will consider the Gospel according to St. Matthew, where we left off at our Saturday class a few weeks ago. After a brief review of the second chapter with its account of the visit of the wise men and the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt, we will continue with a consideration of the Baptism of our Lord, which is the substance of the fourth chapter of Matthew. Join us for what is sure to be an edifying morning!
 
Plans are up in the air for after the seminar. Perhaps we all have lunch together.
 
The Bell Tolls
 
On the last Sunday of the year, which in 2022 is Christmas Day, we remember the members who fell asleep in Christ during the year, with a tolling of the bell after each is named in the prayers These blessed dead are
 

• Richard Melchin
• Allan Kraklow
• Emilie Ricknell
• Dale Baker

 
 
In Our Prayers
Our current list of prayer intentions at mass includes the names on the lists here following.  Anyone wishing to update the list by addition or subtraction, please inform the pastor.in our parish:
Don and Sue Murphy, Linda Rowe, Sharon Hartz, John Sovanski, Sandra VerPlaetse, Bea Harris, Grant Andreson, Jewneel Walker, and Emmy Wear, Kris Harden, Jim Watson, John Ricknell
            and beyond our parish:
Jude Clapper,
Anna, Katy, and Jody Rutowicz [Harris relations]
Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter]
Elizabeth Godke [Sharon Field’s mother]
Oneida Hendrickson [Ricknell relative]
Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister]
Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson]
Tim Newman [Shreck relation]
Theresa Moore [Ricknells’ niece]
Kathy Boeger [re Harrises]
Allison Leezer [relative of the Kraklows]
Everly Stoner
Marvin Brown
Shannon Watson [Jim’s daughter]
Karen Parker
Richard Heiden [Carol Eckardt’s father]
Jeff Lewis [Carol Eckardt’s brother in law]
Pastor Jacob Sutton, and Pastor Justin Kane
in the military:
John Eckardt
Donny Appleman [at request of the Ricknells]
Richard Heiden [at request of the Eckardts]
Eli Wetzel, Traven Wetzel
Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson]
Jake Mahaffey, Trevor Shimmin, Shad Draminski
James and Ann Lee Armstrong
Marcus Prentice [son of Felicia Baker]
            In trouble
any unborn children in danger of abortion
those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Nigeria, Algeria, Sudan, Madagascar, Iran, Iraq, Syria, India, China, Vietnam, North Korea, and elsewhere.
 

Caroling and Party a Great Success!
 
Our caroling on Wednesday, December 15th went well! We visited the residents at Kewanee Care, Liberty Village, and briefly at Parkside Apartments, before stopping in at the Murphys’ new digs, and ending up at the church for mass. Afterwards we enjoyed one another’s company at our annual Christmas party at the Eckardts. A good time was had by all!
 
Shut ins
 
Emmy Wear is at Williamsfield Retirement Center, 112 IL-180, Williamsfield, IL 61489; and Jewneel Walker is at Kewanee Care, 144 South Junior Ave, Kewanee, IL 61443. Grant Andreson is at Friendship Manor, 1209 21st Ave, Rock Island, IL 61201.
 
January Birthdays
1/1      Chris Erickson
1/13    James Hornback
1/15    Breann Dooley
 
January Ushers
Jim Hornback, Tom Wells, Steve Kraklow 
Poinsettias 
If you purchased a poinsettia, you may pick it up and take it  to your own home any time after Christmas Day.

Christmas Play Performed Again; Written and Composed by Pastor in 1988
 
Now in its second year of performance, again under the direction of Cantor Peter Eckardt, the first-to-third-graders at St. John Lutheran School in Mattoon, Illinois, presented a Christmas play on December 19th that was first sung in 1988 by the grade schoolers at St. John Lutheran Church in Berlin, Wisconsin, as part of a musical play “The Christmas Nobody Noticed,” entirely written, composed, and directed by Pastor in 1988 in Berlin, Wisconsin, where he served as Associate Pastor at St. John Lutheran Church and School. The play was performed there also in 1990 under his direction, when his son Peter participated as a preschooler, and again at Our Father Lutheran School in Greenfield, Wisconsin a few years after that. After a 31-year dormancy, last year the music from that play was discovered in the Eckardt basement and dusted off for use in the program. The play itself was not performed, but only the music was sung by the school children for their Christmas program. This year the program was expanded to include also the parts of the play as originally conceived. The play was held at Doudna Hall on the campus of Eastern University at Charleston, Illinois, on December 19th. The performance may be viewed at  https://fb.watch/hyYJDUtirE/

 
 
 
 
St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church
   109 S. Elm Street
   Kewanee, IL 61443
 

St. Paul’s  Evangelical-Lutheran Church
109 S. Elm, Kewanee, Illinois 61443
Newsletter
Volume 34                                   December 2022                                            No. 12
 
The Body of the Christian, Honored by the Incarnation, and as Temple of the Holy Spirit
          

One outstanding feature of the Christian faith is its emphasis on the reality of the physical universe. When we speak of spiritual life, the life of faith and the new creation, we are not saying that this spiritual life is opposed to the physical life. Often this is misunderstood even by Christian people, who suppose that at death we are freed from the material world, to live in eternity freed from all things material. This is a misunderstanding.
 
When St. Paul says that there is a natural body and there is a spiritual body (I Cor. 15:44), he does not mean to say that material things are in themselves opposed to spiritual things. On the contrary, this is his way of contrasting the sinful flesh we inherited from Adam with the spiritual Man who is Christ Himself. “The second man is the Lord from heaven” (I Cor. 15:47). The very fact that God became flesh, in the Person of Jesus Christ, means that the physical realm has been wedded to the eternal God. This is the joy of Christmas.
 
The Man Jesus Christ is our eternal God, and there is no other. When we observe and celebrate Christmas, we are rejoicing over the marvelous fact that God has so come to us, wedding His eternal, divine nature inseparably to a human, bodily nature, and that for all eternity. See how He has honored our physical being, then, and why it is important for us to confess the resurrection of the body in our Creed. It is our own bodies that shall be raised from the dead on the Last Day, and we shall be complete and perfect, body and soul.
 
And even now, we Christians consider our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul also says:
 
Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. (I Corinthians 9:8-20)
 
To glorify God, according to the Apostle, is not merely to pray, give thanks, worship, and live uprightly; it is also to glorify God in your body.
 
Therefore it is important for us to be mindful of how we treat our bodies, as temples of the Holy Spirit, being bound bodily to Christ, most especially in the Holy Supper, His Body and Blood.
 
Our flesh is therefore not something we ought to treat poorly or dishonorably. This is why we must abstain from sexual immorality, as the Apostle says. It is an affront to the body that God has given us. This is also why when we worship, we do so with bodily attention as well as bringing our minds to attention. We bow the head, bend the knee, stand reverently, and so forth.
 
This is why we ought even to be careful about making alterations to the body God gave us. Of course if we should become deformed in some way we may want to restore what has become deformed if we have opportunity, but we should take care, lest we begin to cross a line; if we should, say, dye our hair some color that is wildly unnatural, as has become the custom among certain young people, or be overly given to excess in piercings, jewelry, and the like. All things in moderation, as they say.
 
In addition to these things we see how faithful people treated the bodies of their loved ones who died with respect. Christian burial is itself a confession of the resurrection of the body, that is, with an awareness that this body shall rise again. While burial may be a bit more expensive than cremation, there are many things for which we Christian people are willing to spend our money to enrich our faith and the faith of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Cremation is not a Christian custom, and anyone who tells you that it is does not know the history of the Christian Church. Cremation came to popularity by pagan customs that deny the importance of the body.
 
In short, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, and as such, it is laudable for us to treat them as such, in accord with our most holy faith.
 
+ Pastor Eckardt

Ushers:
Jim Hornback, Steve Kraklow, Tom Wells 

First Tuesday Dec. 6
 
On Tuesday, December 6th, First Tuesday Vespers will be held at 6:45 pm, and Elders will follow at 7:15 pm. All members invited and encouraged to come 0to vespers. The Sunday Epistle is normally read and preached on.
Two Christ Masses
 
There are two Christ Masses at St. Paul’s. The first is on Christmas Eve at 7:00, and the second is on Christmas morning at 10:00. Although Christmas Day is on a Sunday, this schedule overrides the regular Sunday schedule, so Sunday mass on Christmas Day is not at the usual 9:00 time, but one hour later. There is no Bible Class on Christmas Day.
 
Choir Rehearsals Again
 
Choir rehearsals are scheduled in preparation for Christmas, and as we did last year, we will be scheduling these rehearsals at 5:30 pm on Wednesdays, except on December 14th, when we intend to go caroling (see below). Choir members, please put these Wednesdays in December on your calendar: November 30th, December 7th, and December 21st, before rather than after midweek mass. This should make traveling easier for out-of-towners
 
Caroling and Party Dec. 14th
 
We plan to go caroling on Wednesday, December 15th. Meet at the church at 5 p.m. We will visit some shut-ins, and end up at the church for Mass at 7. Afterwards all are invited to the Eckardts’ annual Christmas Party at their home.
 
 
Shut ins
 
Emmy Wear is at Williamsfield Retirement Center, 112 IL-180, Williamsfield, IL 61489; and Jewneel Walker is at Kewanee Care, 144 South Junior Ave, Kewanee, IL 61443. Grant Andreson is at Friendship Manor, 1209 21st Ave, Rock Island, IL 61201.
 
Grant Andreson called and said he appreciated the card we sent him in November (it was passed around at Sunday Bible class, and people signed it).
 
 
Cookie Walk Sunday Dec. 11th
 
Bring a batch of cookies to Bible Class on the 12th of December, and prepare to exchange for others.  Cookie walk after church! Bible class follows.
 
 
 
 
 
The Bell Tolls
 
On the last Sunday of the year, we customarily toll the bell at prayers for each member of our parish who has died during the year. This year there were four deaths at St. Paul’s. At the prayer of the church, the bell will toll once for each of our dear members who fell asleep in Jesus.

• Dick Melchin
• Allan Kraklow
• Emilie Ricknell
• Dale Baker

 
December Anniversaries
none
 
December Birthdays
12/11 Kris Harden
12/13 Michael Eckardt
​
Special Masses Wednesdays 
Our 7 p.m. Wednesday masses during Advent will each observe a special day in the church’s year.
 
Wednesday masses during Advent:

• November 30th St. Andrew’s Day

 

• December 7th St. Nicholas, observed (the actual day is December 6th)

 

• December 14th St. Lucia, observed (the actual day is December 13th)

 

• December 21st (St. Thomas, Apostle)

 
On December 14th we will also have caroling and a party, as explained in a nearby article.
 
Another special mass will occur on Wednesday December 28th, which is Holy Innocents Day. Our midweek mass will observe that feast.
 
Decorating During Advent
 
As is our custom, we decorate little by little during Advent, until finally all is complete for Christmas. This year we plan to put up the Advent wreath on Saturday, November 26th, for Advent I. Then on Saturday, December 3rd we will put up the Christmas tree (extra volunteers are sought for this), for Advent II. On Saturday, December 10th we will put up any remaining decorations needed, for Advent III, except that the array of poinsettias will not be set out until Christmas Eve.
 
Advent III (Sunday, December 11th) is also called “Gaudete” or Joy Sunday, set in the midst of Advent. Roses are customarily set in place if available, and the rose (pink) candle on the wreath is lit.
 
If you can, please put Saturday December 3rd on your calendar to help with the tree. It’s an opportunity for gathering with your fellow members for a little project.
 
 
In Our Prayers
Our current list of prayer intentions at mass includes the names on the lists here following.  Anyone wishing to update the list by addition or subtraction, please inform the pastor.in our parish:
Don and Sue Murphy, Linda Rowe, Sharon Hartz, John Sovanski, Sandra VerPlaetse, Bea Harris, Grant Andreson, Jewneel Walker, and Emmy Wear, Kris Harden, Jim Watson
            and beyond our parish:
Jude Clapper,
Anna, Katy, and Jody Rutowicz [Harris relations]
Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter]
Elizabeth Godke [Sharon Field’s mother]
Oneida Hendrickson [Ricknell relative]
Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister]
Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson]
Tim Newman [Shreck relation]
Theresa Moore [Ricknells’ niece]
Kathy Boeger [re Harrises]
Allison Leezer [relative of the Kraklows]
Everly Stoner
Marvin Brown
Shannon Watson [Jim’s daughter]
Yvette Baker [Dale Baker’s daughter-in-law]
Karen Parker
Richard Heiden [Carol Eckardt’s father]
Jeff Lewis, Carol Eckardt’s brother in law
Pastor Jacob Sutton, and Pastor Justin Kane
in the military:
John Eckardt
Donny Appleman [at request of the Ricknells]
Richard Heiden [at request of the Eckardts]
Eli Wetzel, Traven Wetzel
Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson]
Jake Mahaffey, Trevor Shimmin, Shad Draminski
James and Ann Lee Armstrong
Marcus Prentice [son of Felicia Baker]
in trouble:
any unborn children in danger of abortion
Debra Reeves’s children Rae Beth and Drew Wayne
those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Venezuela, Iran, Pakistan, India, China, North Korea, and elsewhere.
 
Church Council
 
As usual, the Church Council will meet the third Wednesday in the month, which is December 21st, 5:30.
Church Council
 
As usual, the Church Council will meet the third Wednesday in the month, which is December 21st, 5:30.
 
New Year’s Mass 
New Year’s Eve mass is 7 pm on December 31st. We observe the Circumcision and Name of Jesus (January 1st).
 
Since New Year’s Day is a Sunday, we will also observe the Feast that Day. The difference in emphasis will be noted by two different sermons.
 
Altar Guild Notes 
Advent begins the last Sunday in November. The four Advent Sundays’ color is violet.  If roses are obtained, they may be placed for the Third Sunday in Advent, December 4th.
For midweek masses, the color changes each week: November 30th is red for St. Andrew (who was martyred); December 7th is white for St. Nicholas (who was not martyred); December 14th is red for St. Lucia (who was martyred); and December 21st is also red, for St. Thomas (who was martyred).
For Christmas Eve, the first Mass is at 7 p.m., and the color is changed to white. There is no Midnight Mass. On Christmas Day there is a 10 am mass, even though it is a Sunday.  Color is white for both.
Holy Innocents Day will be celebrated on the Wednesday after Christmas, December 28th. For New Year’s Eve (at 7:00 p.m.) and New Year’s Day (at 10:00 am, even though it is a Sunday) the color is white. The color remains white in January.
 
Poinsettias 
There is a signup sheet in the narthex for poinsettias for Christmas. Help adorn our chancel with poinsettias by purchasing one for $18.00. You may then bring it home after Christmas Day (or anytime until Epiphany.
 
 
Some Saints’ Days for which We Are Not Having Masses This Year
 
 
Saint Stephen, December 26th
Psalm 119:17-24 with Gloria Patri
Reading: Acts 6:8-15 and 7:54-60
Hymn and meditation, see nearby.
 
Saint John, December 27th
Psalm 92 with Gloria Patri
Reading: I John 1:1 – 2:2
Hymn and meditation, see nearby.
 
Holy Innocents is on Wednesday, December 28th. We will be holding mass at the usual times on that day.
 

Hymn:  From All Thy Saints in Warfare (TLP 350)
From all Thy saints in warfare for all Thy saints at rest
To Thee, O Blessed Jesus, all praises be addressed
For Thou hast won the battle that they might conq’ers be
Their crowns od living glory are lit with rays from Thee
 
[insert appropriate stanza]
 
Then praise to God the Father and praise to God the Son
And to the Holy Spirit Eternal Three in One
Till all the ransomed number fall down before the throne
And honor, praise, and glory ascribe to God alone.
 
St. Stephen, Protomartyr
Praise for the first of martyrs, who saw Thee ready stand.
To aid in midst of torments, to plead at God’s right hand.
Share we with him, if summoned, by death our Lord to own
On earth the faithful witness, in heaven the martyr’s crown.

St. John, Apostle and Evangelist
Praise for the loved disciple, exiled on Patmos’ shore;
Praise for the faithful record he to Thy Godhead bore,
Praise for the mystic vision  through him to us revealed.
May we, in patience waiting, with Thine elect be sealed.
 
St. Paul’s Receives Business Award 
Our friends at Abilities Plus, whom we hired to clean the church twice a month, have awarded their annual business award to us, in recognition of the special relationship we have developed with them. The award was received by Tom and Sue Ann Wells at a banquet held in Annawan in October. The award is a handsome glass trophy we have at the church. This event and award ceremony were  reported in the Geneseo Republic.
 
 
 

 
 
St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church
   109 S. Elm Street
   Kewanee, IL 61443

Sermon as a Sacramental Attribute of the New Testament
The keynote address I gave at the St. Michael Conference in Detroit had the same name as this, and it will also appear in the Christmas issue of Gottesdienst. Here are some highlitghts.
 
How did the sermon, as we know it today, emerge from the common synagogue practice seen in the Scriptures? What changed from synagogue to church? Why did it change? The data concerning the worship of the synagogue when Jesus was walking the earth are sketchy, but we can gain some insight into it from the Gospels themselves.
 
In particular, the fourth chapter of St. Luke gives us a special case in which Jesus was not only present, but the central participant. The account of Luke 4:14-21 tells us that immediately after His temptation He “returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.”
 
Jesus is here said to have “taught” in the synagogues, rather than that He “preached” there. The practice of rabbinic teaching was likely of the same nature as rabbinic commentary on the Bible, also called midrash. The rabbis would comment on the Bible verse by verse, in much the same way as a modern Bible commentary. These comments were sometimes found in the margins of the Bible scrolls themselves. Jesus, who was recognized as a rabbi, and widely known, was expected to teach in the synagogues to which He went.
 
But now we are told of what happened in particular in Nazareth on the Sabbath day. It was “his custom” to go into the synagogue on the sabbath day and stand up to read. Then, “he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” According to these words, what was customary was the reading of a section of Scripture, followed by teaching on that section, i.e., midrash. But in this case, “all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.” Here, not only is the word for preaching introduced, but “gospel” (ευαγγέλιο). So Jesus takes up the mantle of teacher, but begins to preach, and as He does so He announces that the day of fulfillment has come. Here the word for preaching is used the context of fulfillment. Fulfillment is the new theme, inaugurated by Jesus’ appearance to teach in the synagogue. Here midrash is replaced by the sermon.  Simply put, here He began to “preach” in the New Testament sense. Preaching begins with Jesus’ own preaching. Preaching essentially begins with the New Testament, first in the preaching of Jesus Himself, then in His apostles’ preaching, and thereupon in the phenomenon of preaching in the churches, it is fruitful to consider the place of the sermon as it became an integral part of the Divine Service.
 
Gospels, Epistles, and Sermons are all constituent parts of the Divine Service, and have been since Apostolic times.
 
The preaching of the Gospel was a radical departure from the worship life of Jews and of the synagogue. The New Testament is new, and this is according to Jesus’ death and resurrection, but also according to what he said. The Gospel is the opening and fulfilling of the Old Testament in the acceptable year of the Lord. The fulness of time has come (Galatians 4:4). The New Testament is that to which the Old Testament had been pointing and mysteriously portraying in advance. Now it has come, and is fully revealed.
 
When Jesus appeared to two of His disciples on the Emmaus Road (Luke 24:13-35), He expounded in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. He opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures. And sent them to preach, as his witnesses.
 
Much of patristic and medieval exegesis can be seen as a working out of how the concealment in the Old Testament and the revelation in the New are to be understood in accordance with the Messianic character of all Scripture. Fulfillment has come. The disciples exult about this, in John 16:29: “Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.”
 
The Apostles preached what they had from Jesus over the course of His three-year ministry. What the Apostles preached and wrote about was precisely the Christ revealed in the Gospels. The Epistles therefore depend on the Gospels for their own discourses and commentary, that is, on the events these Apostles themselves witnessed of Christ, the same events that are written in the Gospels. But they are authentic commentaries on the life of Christ. The fulness of the revelation has now arrived in Christ, and this has been made clear to them. This is the meaning of St. Paul’s words to the Ephesians: “By revelation he made known unto me the mystery . . . which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit” (Ephesians 3:3-5).
 
The same is true of the preaching of sermons today as is true of the Epistles, the only difference being that the authenticity of a sermon depends on its agreement with the apostolic words written. The difference between an Apostolic Epistle and a sermon is that a sermon is rightly called the Word of God if its content is consistent with the written revelation of God. It is called the Word of God in a derived sense, whereas an Epistle is the Word in a primary sense. In the early church, n many respects, the sermon was seen as being in the same genre as the Epistle.
 
Therefore what ought to happen in the crafting of a sermon is the continued passing on of the opening, teaching, and revealing of the full meaning of the Gospel, following this pattern, as well as a necessary verification that the sermon is fully in accord with the apostolic record. In this way we may rightly call the sermon the preached Word of God. This, then, makes it fitting that the sermon’s introduction and conclusion therefore be given the reply of “Amen,” which is the assertion of the hearers that they recognize the sermon for what it is.
+ Pastor Eckardt

Ushers:Jim Hornback, Steve Kraklow, Tom Wells 
October Birthdays
 
10/1 Sue Murphy
10/2 Diana Shreck
10/24 Eric Meaker
10/28 Carmen Sovanski
10/29 Svetlana Meaker
10/30 Sharon Hartz
 
November Birthdays
 
11/11 Tara Wagenknecht
11/19 Steve Kraklow
11/20 Jewneel Walker
11/30 Charlene Sovanski

In Our Prayers
Our current list of prayer intentions at mass includes the names on the lists here following.  To update the list please inform the pastor
 
in our parish:
Emilie Ricknell, Don and Sue Murphy, Linda Rowe, Sharon Hartz, John Sovanski, Sandra VerPlaetse, Allan Kraklow, Bea Harris, Debra Reeves, Grant Andreson, Dale Baker, Jewneel Walker, and Emmy Wear
            and beyond our parish:
Jude Clapper,
Anna, Katy, and Jody Rutowicz [Harris relations]
Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter]
Elizabeth Godke [Sharon Field’s mother]
Oneida Hendrickson [Ricknell relative]
Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister]
Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson]
Tim Newman [Shreck relation]
Theresa Moore [Ricknells’ niece]
Kathy Boeger [re Harrises]
Allison Leezer [relative of the Kraklows]
Everly Stoner
Marvin Brown
Shannon Watson [Jim’s daughter]
Yvette Baker [Dale Baker’s daughter-in-law]
Karen Parker
Richard Heiden [Carol Eckardt’s father]
Candace Gehrke
Jeff Lewis, Carol Eckardt’s brother in law
Pastor Jacob Sutton, and Pastor Justin Kane
in the military
John Eckardt
Donny Appleman [at request of the Ricknells]
Richard Heiden [at request of the Eckardts]
Eli Wetzel, Traven Wetzel
Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson]
Jake Mahaffey, Trevor Shimmin, Shad Draminski
James and Ann Lee Armstrong
in trouble
any unborn children in danger of abortion;
Debra Reeves’s children Rae Beth and Drew Wayne;
those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Iran, Pakistan, India, China, North Korea, and elsewhere.
 
Persecution Details: from www.persecution.net
 
Myanmar (Burma): As fighting between resistance forces and government soldiers in Myanmar intensifies, churches are frequently being targeted by the country's ruling military junta. In mid-September, the Mother of God Catholic Church in Mobye, Shan State, was seized.
 
Indonesia: Local officials have denied a group of Indonesian Christians the right to build a place of worship, even though the believers own the land. This situation has been taking place in a small city located near the capital.
 
Belarus: The New Life Church in Minsk has encountered opposition for many years since purchasing a former cowshed and converting it into a church building in 2002. After years of court battles, bailiffs forcibly entered the place of worship in February 2021 and evicted members who happened to be present during the raid. The building has since been sealed by government officials. Members of the church have instead met weekly in the parking lot outside the building, even during the coldest days of winter. Although officials had warned Pastor Goncharenko to cease the church's worship activities, the congregation members have continued to faithfully gather outside for the past 19 months. The Minsk City Administration and local police are now saying that the meetings are illegal, issuing new threats to liquidate the church in court. If that were indeed to take effect, the church would lose legal status and its leaders could face fines or up to two years in prison. Pastor Goncharenko has been summoned multiple times to have "preventative conversations" with officials, but both sides of this case stood firm. The pastor believes there is still hope. "I think that our situation is not without God's miracle, as so many times the authorities came and threatened us, but our church is still functioning," he affirms.  The Living Faith Church in Gomel has experienced repeated problems while trying to find a way to baptize its members. After using a local river, the church received an official warning in October 2021. Most recently, the church gathered at a private swimming pool on July 28th, 2022. A fine has since been issued, but Pastor Dmitry Podlobko was concerned that another official warning could result in the church being stripped of its legal status. Thankfully, action was not taken to remove the legal status of the church, which was a primary concern.

Shut ins
 
Emmy Wear at Williamsfield Home in Williamsfield; Emilie Ricknell at Allure Healthcare in Geneseo, Dale Baker at Liberty Village in Kewanee, Jewneel Walker at Kewanee Care, Allan Kraklow at home.
 
October Anniversary
 
10/4 Linda and Larry Rowe
 
November Anniversary
11/5 Steve and Berniece Harris
 
Reformation Sunday Matins (Pastor will be away)
 
Pastor and Carol have plans to travel to Maryland on Tuesday, October 25th, and return the  following Tuesday, November 1st, to visit son John and his family. By mutual consent, the subdeacons will conduct matins on Sunday, October 29th in Pastor’s absence. This Reformation Sunday will include the usual parts of matins, including familiar Reformation hymns, as well as a sermon written out by Pastor in advance. There is no mass scheduled for Tuesday, October 25th or Tuesday, November 1st. THIS IS AN ADDITION TO THE PRINTED NEWSLETTER.
 
Novemberfest and a Gottesdienst Conference
St. John’s Lutheran Church, Mattoon, Illinois, Sunday evening to Tuesday, November 13-15, 2022
We open Sunday night with a brat fry at the church. The conference runs all day Monday and ends Tuesday late afternoon. This year’s featured speaker will be the Rev. David Ramirez, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Union Grove, Wisconsin. His topic will be “The Three Estates and Resistance to Tyranny.” As the modern totalitarian state is ever grasping for more power, he will address how we as the Church can learn from our failures and by going back to God’s Word and seeking to gain a proper understanding of the three estates.
We’ll also hear from Rev. Dr. Burnell Eckardt, our editor-in-chief, on his “Liturgical Observer,” and from departmental editor Rev. Dr. Karl Fabrizius on “Musing on the Mysteries.” We’ll have plenty of discussion and Gemütlichkeit, as usual.
$40 per person until Nov. 1st. After that, $60; seminary & pre-Seminary students – Free. Register online at www.gottesdienst.org.
 
Altar Guild Notes
 

• Color is GREEN for all Sundays in October and November except:
• Color is RED for Sunday, October 30th,  Reformation Sunday.
• Color is VIOLET for Sunday, November 27th, the first Sunday in Advent.
• Color is GREEN for all Wednesdays in October and November except:
• Color is RED for Wednesday, October 19th, when we observe St. Luke’s Day (the actual feast day is October 18th.
• No mass on Wednesday, October 26th.
• No mass on Wednesday, November 2nd (THIS IS A CORRECTION FROM THE PRINTED NEWSLETTER).

Elders: The elders have elected not to meet in October. The November meeting will occur on the SECOND Tuesday of the Month, November 8th. THIS IS AN ADDITION TO THE PRINTED NEWSLETTER.
 
 
St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church
   109 S. Elm Street
   Kewanee, IL 61443

St. Paul’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church
109 S. Elm, Kewanee, Illinois 61443
Newsletter
Volume 34                                    September 2022                                      No. 9
               
The Image and Likeness of God
 
Several years ago I began a study on this subject that was published in the Concordia Theological Quarterly. I have been working further on the topic, to include it as a chapter in another publication due for release next year. Here’s some of what I’ve been working on, without footnotes and details, for your edification. – Pastor
 
It has long been my contention that something important has for a long time been lacking in our understanding of the image of God, perhaps driven by the emphasis we have placed on what man has utterly lost in the Fall. This necessary emphasis is reflected in the Lutheran Confessions, whose purpose in this regard has been, in confessing against their adversaries, to declare in no uncertain terms that there is nothing at all left in man of the righteousness he once had, in which he was created. So whereas once man was righteous because God is righteous, having “an even temperament of the bodily qualities,” as well as “a quite certain knowledge of God, fear of God, confidence in God, or certainly the rectitude and power to yield these affections” (Apology II, 17-18), this righteousness was entirely lost, when man did choose evil and fell. Therefore since then man has had “a deep, wicked, horrible, fathomless, inscrutable, and unspeakable corruption of the entire nature and all its powers, especially of the highest, principal powers of the soul in the understanding, heart, and will, so that now, since the Fall, man inherits an inborn wicked disposition and inward impurity of heart, evil lust and propensity” (FC SD I:10-11). So whenever reference was made to the image of God in man, it has exclusively been to his original righteousness which was utterly lost.
 
But whether for this reason or not, it ought not have to be said that every other remnant of the image of God was also lost and done away, or that the image of God in which man was created had to do only with original righteousness and nothing else. Were that so, then man would be no different than the beasts who were not created in the image of God. So in what else does the image of God consist? What have we missed? What’s left to be said?
In the first place we will do well to recall that the first use of the term image (Hebrew, tseled) appears in Genesis 1:26-27, and carries according to its seminal and normal usage the concept of something seen: a semblance, or a resemblance, something tangible. Indeed, in every other Biblical usage of this term we find a visible thing or a representative figure, such as, for example, the figure of an idol. The Philistines set the ark of the LORD on their cart with images of their tumors (I Samuel 6:11); Amos chastises Israel for their images of the pagan deities Sikkuh and Chiun (Amos 5:26); Moses is instructed to tell the Israelites to destroy all the molten images they find in Canaan (Numbers 33:52); images of the Chaldeans are portrayed on the wall (Ezekiel 23:14); every man walks in a vain show or appearance (Psalm 39:6); and Nebuchadnezzar makes an image of gold (Daniel 3:1).

The Hebrew term tseled itself is translated into Greek with the word eikon, from which, obviously, the English “icon” is derived.

It is remarkable, in view of this overwhelming Biblical evidence, that the great majority of modern interpreters of “image of God” as it is found in Genesis veer entirely away from anything visible, likely owing to the fact that the Creator is the invisible God. What is more than remarkable about this, but really quite unfortunate in my view, is that this prevents altogether the more likely reason for the use of image here, namely that what God is doing in creating Adam is providing the very first prolepsis, or preview, of the Incarnate One to come. This, in other words, is the way God Himself will one day appear. He will be bound to human flesh; He will look like Adam, He will be Adam’s Son. He will at last be seen as the One whom Adam’s creation portrays in advance. Adam is the first representative image of the fulfillment of all things in Christ, and an entire Old Testament that follows then gives countless more pictures of Christ, His Church, and His work of salvation.

Notably, there are some stellar interpreters who do see in the image of God the idea of some visible and tangible. Irenaeus (d. c202) certainly had the this most basic sense in mind, as did Tertullian (c150-225), and Basil of Caesarea (330-379), and to some extent Basil’s younger brother Gregory of Nyssa (c332-295). So there were some prominent early fathers that did see in the image of God a reference to the as then future Incarnation of God, and for them the fact that image in common biblical usage has to do with shape and form gives us ample reason to come to a rich understanding of what it means to be man. Martin Luther was on track to see this also, for he saw in his Genesis commentary some delightful ruminations on Adam before the fall, as having eyesight like the eagle, strength surpassing the lion, and enjoyment of goodness, tranquility, and utter contentedness. He could have gone further and said that man must also have been an utterly beautiful specimen, indeed the most beautiful of all the good things that God created, the things that God saw as very Good. Man was the very embodiment, or picture, of the invisible God. Indeed the term “embodied” is used in the Apology to the Augsburg Confession where it defines the image of God as having to do with wisdom and righteousness: “there were embodied in man such wisdom and righteousness as apprehended God, and in which God was reflected” (Apol. II:18). There term “embodied” here is a translation of the German “bildet,” literally, pictured.

This perspective, I submit, can be a powerful and comforting governing factor in our own enfleshed lives, as the Psalmist says, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” But we are fallen creatures, so that the image of God is marred in us: speech become lies (Psalm 116:11), dominion becomes tyranny, love becomes lust, and even flesh becomes ugly and ultimately grotesque in its mortality. But vestiges remain: we are still occasionally if minimally capable of integrity in speech, thought, self-control, and selfless love, and this becomes even more the case in our regeneration.

But as long as we live in our fallenness, we struggle with our immense distance from our ideal, from the image of God in which we were once created. Nevertheless, we remain even now, because we are still mankind, embodiments—pictures—of the invisible God. At least we still look like Jesus, and so we still retain a vestige of the image of God, even if it is only in this way. Not only so, but we also may look forward with joyful anticipation to the full restoration of that image in us, according the truth we confess daily, “I believe in the resurrection of the body”; at that Day when we, like Adam, shall see like the eagle, have the might of the lion, and enjoy the perfect righteousness, contentedness, and beauty not merely of Adam, but of the Man Jesus Christ, who is the eternal image of the Father, now risen from the dead, and ascended to His right hand on high.

+ Pastor Eckardt
 
Wednesday Evening Masses
 
We observe Holy Cross Day on Wednesday, September 14th, and St. Matthew’s Day on Wednesday, September 21st, and Michaelmas on Wednesday, September 28th (one day before Michaelmas which falls on the 29th). Wednesday masses are scheduled every Wednesday at 7 pm.

September Birthdays
9/1 John Ricknell
9/10 Jan Schoen
9/19 Jaclyn Kraklow
9/19 Jamie Kraklow
9/20 Derrick Baker    
9/28 Allan Kraklow
 
September Anniversaries
 
9/18/1976 Tom and Sue Ann Wells
9/19/1993 Jeff and Tara Wagenknecht
 
Our Ushers: Jim Hornback, Tom Wells, Steve Kraklow.
 
September Elders with Tuesday Vespers
 
First Tuesday Vespers and Elders is scheduled for September 6th, with Vespers at 6:45 (for anyone who wants to attend) and the meeting following.
 
Shut ins
 
Emmy Wear at Williamsfield Home in Williamsfield; Emilie Ricknell at Allure in Geneseo, Bea Harris, from time to time, at home. Dale Baker, moving to Courtyard Estates. Grant Andresen, at Park Vista in East Moline. Jewneel Walker, at Kewanee Care.
 
 
In Our Prayers

Our list of prayer intentions at mass includes the names on the lists below.  To update the lists please inform pastor.          in our parish:
Emilie Ricknell, Judy and Bill Thompson, Don and Sue Murphy, Linda Rowe, Sharon Hartz, John Sovanski, Sandra VerPlaetse, Allan Kraklow, Bea Harris, Grant Andreson, Dale Baker, Jewneel Walker, and Emmy Wear
            and beyond our parish:
Jude Clapper,
Anna, Katy, and Jody Rutowicz [Harris relations]
Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter]
Elizabeth Godke [Sharon Field’s mother]
Oneida Hendrickson [Ricknell relative]
Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister]
Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson]
Tim Newman [Shreck relation]
Theresa Moore [Ricknells’ niece]
Kathy Boeger [re Harrises]
Allison Leezer [relative of the Kraklows]
Everly Stoner
Marvin Brown
Shannon Watson [Jim’s daughter]
Maxine Bitting [Judy Thompson’s sister in law]
Yvette Baker [Dale Baker’s daughter-in-law]
Karen Parker
Richard Heiden [Carol Eckardt’s father]
Candace Gehrke
Bruce Hoernemann [Charlene Sovanski’s brother]
Jeff Lewis, Carol Eckardt’s brother in law
Pastor Jacob Sutton, and Pastor Justin Kane
            in the military:
John Eckardt
Donny Appleman [at request of the Ricknells]
Richard Heiden [at request of the Eckardts]
Luke Van Landigan [grandson of Dick Melchin]
Jaclyn Alvarez [daughter of Kris Harden]
Eli Wetzel, Traven Wetzel, Shawn Wetzel
Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson]
Jake Mahaffey, Trevor Shimmin, Shad Draminski
James and Ann Lee Armstrong
            in trouble:
unborn children in danger of abortion; Debra Reeves’s children Rae Beth and Drew Wayne, that they may be reunited; those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Iran, Pakistan, India, China, North Korea, and elsewhere.

Persecution Details (see www.persecution.net)
 
PAKISTAN: POLICE INTERVENE IN MOB ATTACK
On Sunday, August 7th, hundreds of Christian families in Lahore fled their homes when they saw a large mob marching towards their church building. It was only through the intervention of police that the building was preserved and an attack on the Christians’ homes had been averted.

Due to the officers’ swift intervention, the volatile situation had de‑escalated.

Tensions remain among those who strongly oppose the practice of Christianity in the community. As a result, many of the Christian men have sent their wives and children to stay with relatives until they are confident that the threat of danger is no longer a concern.

INDIA: SEVERAL CHRISTIAN WOMEN FACING CHARGES
On July 30th, six Christian women in the Maharajganj area of Uttar Pradesh, India, were taken into custody based on charges of forced conversions. The charges were laid after members of a Hindu nationalist group, the VHP, alleged that the women were inducing others to convert to Christianity during a birthday party.

At the celebratory gathering, the Christian women had paused to pray before cutting the cake. Ashutosh Singh, a local VHP leader, said: “They had raised their hands in the air as Jesus would. They were trying to convert Harijan women.” He continued with claims that the six believers were carrying out illicit activities, such as luring others with money. Bibles and other religious documents were confiscated and submitted to police authorities, who proceeded to make the arrests. The women were held in custody without bail.

All six of these women belong to the very poor socio‑economic Dalit community. One of them is physically disabled, as is the child of another woman in the arrested group. Included in the July 30th arrests was a widow with three young children, and an unmarried girl. Munish Chandra, a lawyer representing the six arrested Christians, stated that “the rest of their families are suffering enormously since they are all dependent on the women.”

IRAN: APPEAL DENIED FOR DETAINED CHRISTIANS
18 August 2022. Anooshavan Avedian is an Iranian‑Armenian Christian leader who was arrested for promoting “propaganda contrary to and disturbing to the holy religion of Islam” through the house church he operated in his home. He was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment, along with an additional ten years of “deprivation of social rights.” While two Christian converts, Abbas Soori and Maryam Mohammadi, were also sentenced with the same ten‑year deprivation term, they were spared the prison time.
 
During an appeal session that took place in May, there were no changes made to Anooshavan’s punishment. However, the deprivation term was removed from the sentences of Abbas and Maryam and replaced with a fine of six million tomans each (the equivalent of about $180). Following the appeal hearings, the three Christians petitioned Iran’s Supreme Court for a retrial. However, on August 2nd, the court rejected their requests without comment.

Altar Guild Notes
 
Sundays in September are all GREEN.
 
Wednesdays
    September 7th, GREEN
    September 14th, RED (Holy Cross Day)
    September 21st, RED (St. Matthew’s Day)
    September 28th WHITE (for Michaelmas) We will
    observe Michealmas the day before its day, the 29th.
 
Welcome, Debra Reeves!
 
Debra Reeves is the newest member of our congregation, having moved here from Iowa and transferring in. She’s already quite active and seems to be enjoying getting to know people here, and the feeling is mutual. Welcome, Debra!
 
New Adult Catechesis To Begin
 
A new course of instruction is tentatively set to begin on Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. for people interested in becoming members, as well as for any members who would like to refresh basic understanding of the Christian faith as we have learned it from the Small Catechism. First class, tentatively, is Saturday, September 10th.
 
Pastor Retires from Online Teaching
 
As many of you know, I have been teaching some online courses at John Wood Community College in Quincy, Illinois for some twelve years. Usually it involved one or two sections of Major World Religions or, more recently, Philosophy 101. This arrangement was approved by the Council and Voters, because people here understood it as a way for me to supplement my salary here and by our mutual agreement it has enabled the congregation to continue to pay me below the District scale.  
 
In August I decided, as I have reached the normal retirement age, that I ought to retire from this teaching, as a way for me to keep my schedule from getting too busy while continuing to serve faithfully here as pastor.
 
Congratulations, Derek and Felicia Baker!
 
Derek and Felicia were joined in marriage on Saturday, August 13th at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Chicago. Many of our members attended. Felicia is currently taking instruction here and plans to become a communicant member soon. Congratulations to both of you!
 
Church Picnic Is On!
 
Our picnic is scheduled for Sunday, September 18th, in the early afternoon, at Windmont Park. We’ll have bratwurst and other options, and figure out the other details as the date approaches. For now, mark your calendar and come to the picnic for some good old-fashioned fun in the afternoon.

​St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church
   109 S. Elm Street
   Kewanee, IL 61443