109 S. Elm, Kewanee, Illinois 61443
Newsletter
Volume 31                                   March 2019                                       No. 3
     
            The season of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, has for centuries been a season of emphasis on fasting, penitence, and preparation for the celebration of Easter.  The definition of the fast has changed over the years.  There was a time not so long ago—and there still is in some parts of Christendom—in which the fast involved a putting aside of all meat, dairy products, and eggs.  It was out of this tradition that the Easter egg arose, for the coloring of eggs was a celebration of the ending of the fast. 
            The custom of fasting 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.  So Luther’s Small Catechism declares, “Fasting and other bodily preparation is indeed a fine outward training.”  Therefore we conclude that fasting is a good thing, though the particulars or degree of the fast is a matter left to Christian liberty. 
            The purpose of the fast is disciplinary; as the Apostle says in the Epistle for Septuagesima Sunday (which serves as a preparatory explanation, two and a half weeks prior to Lent): “I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway (I Co. 9:27).”
The fast is the opposite of self-indulgence or self-gratification.  The heaping up of pleasures is a dangerous thing for the Christian, and self-indulgence is certainly not desired behavior; therefore the fast is a means of training the body to be content with less than it desires. 
            The span of the fast is forty days, like the forty days in which Jesus fasted in the wilderness.  By Jesus’ forty-day fast the word of Sacred Scriptures was fulfilled, saying that Moses was with the LORD on Mount Sinai forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread nor drink water.  So also, to the same Mount Sinai (which is also called Horeb), Elijah came, when he had eaten and drunk, and he went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights.  So these two were seen with Jesus on his mountain, the mount of Transfiguration, just before his suffering in Jerusalem.  How fitting, then, that for the first Sunday in Lent, the Gospel centers on Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness, the first part of his ministry, in deep humiliation. 
             The Church also observes a liturgical fast during Lent, even as Israel fasted forty years in the wilderness. This is why the color for Lent is the penitential violet.  Alleluias are not heard during Lent, and there is less music (fasting of the ears); flowers are absent, and, during the last two weeks of Lent, statutes, images, and crosses in the churches are veiled (fasting of the eyes).  No weddings are traditionally permitted during Lent, as feasting would be in principle contrary to the fast.  As the season moves on toward Easter, the fast becomes deeper in stages.  The traditional season of pre-Lent merely hints at the fast to come; then Lent itself begins; then come the last two weeks of Lent, called Passiontide, during which no Glorias are sung at all (canticles and psalms are sung without them); and within that span comes Holy Week, and finally within Holy Week the Triduum Sacram, that is, the Sacred Three Days: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. 
                 Yet in the midst of our fast we still have joy, which is always right for Christians.  Thus even the fourth Sunday in Lent—in the midst of Lent—is called Laetare, which means “rejoice.”  For we always expect and know the joys of Easter and eternal feasting in the life of the world to come.
                  +Pastor Eckardt

Ash Wednesday
As usual, Mass will be offered twice on Ash Wednesday, at 7 am and 7 pm, with the imposition of ashes immediately prior.A Scheduling checkerboardDuring March a number of scheduling conflicts will require a close look at the calendar, as there have been some necessary changes (for this month only). The reason for these changes is that Pastor plans to be out of town twice during the month: first, for doctor’s appointments at Mayo Clinic on March 4th and 5th; second, for a trip to the east coast from March 13th to the 19th. The following articles reflect these changes.
 
Lent Midweek Masses
Usually when Pastor is away, Midweek Masses are simply cancelled. But since we will be in Lent, when more members make it a point to attend for midweek, the elders approved moving one of the Midweek Masses from March 13th to March 12th, a Tuesday. It will be preceded by a Lenten Supper. Make sure your calendar is clear: No Mass on Wednesday, March 13th; instead, Mass on Tuesday, March 12th. Same time, 7 pm.

Lenten Suppers
We will begin our Lenten soup suppers during the first full week of Lent. They will be held on Wednesday evenings except for the first one. Since Pastor and Carol are planning a trip out east beginning on March 13th, the midweek service and supper are moved to Tuesday the 12th. In the following weeks we will be having suppers as usual on Wednesdays: March 20th and 27th, and April 3rd and 10th. There will be no supper on Ash Wednesday or during Holy week. Hence a total of five suppers, all on Wednesdays except the first, on Tuesday March 12th. All suppers begin at 5:30 p.m. Lenten masses follow, at 7:00.  This gives roughly one hour for fasting before mass.
 
First Tuesday meetings moved to March 26th.
Since Pastor will not be back in town in time to make first Tuesday meetings on the 2nd, and since the following two Tuesdays are also unavailable, the Altar Guild and Elders’ meetings are scheduled for March 26th. As it happens, this should work out well, since the weather did not permit our February meetings until February 19th anyhow; and we will also not have to have the April meetings until after Easter, on April 23rd. March 7th, Altar Guild is at 6 pm, Vespers is at 6:45, and Elders is at 7:15, as usual.
 
Catechism Schedule
The weather has wreaked havoc on our catechism schedule this year, so we can’t afford to lose any more times. The class talked it over on February 19th, and the following changes were agreed upon.

Tuesday, February 26th, 5 pm as usual
Thursday, March 7th, 5 pm; no class on Tuesday the 5th because Pastor will be away.
No class the week of March 10-17.
Thursday, March 21st, 5 pm; no class on Tuesday the 19th because Pastor will be away.
             (This change was added after class discussion; please note)
Tuesday, March 26th, 5 pm as usual
Tuesday, April 2nd, 5 pm as usual
Tuesday, April 9th, 5 pm as usual. Last class.
Saturday, April 20th, 7 pm Great Vigil of Easter: Elizabeth Dooley first communion

March Anniversary
3/19/1977 Jeff and Diana Shreck

March Ushers
Allan Kraklow, Steve Kraklow, Tom Wells
 
March Birthdays:
3/1      Barbra Kraklow
3/25    Carol Eckardt
 
Church Council
Council meets Wednesday, March 20th, at 4:30 pm, to accommodate the Lenten Supper at 5:30.

Altar Guild Notes
·         The paraments color for the entire month of March is VIOLET, except
·         Wednesday, March 20th when we will observe St. Joseph’s Day: WHITE, and
·         Wednesday, March 27th when we will observe the Annunciation: WHITE
 
Next meeting is not until Tuesday, March 26th.
 
Shut ins
Mary Hamilton at her son’s home in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Joyce Long at home
Emilie Ricknell at  home
Dick Melchin at Hammond-Henry extended care in Geneseo.
Emmy Wear at Williamsfield retirement home
Dale Baker has been at home during the winter

St. Joseph’s Day and the Annunciation
Our midweek services during Lent will include observances of St. Joseph, Guardian of Our Lord, on March 20th, and the Annunciation, on March 27th. These important feast days are moved to Wednesday from the 19th and the 25th respectively, to coincide with midweek mass.
 
Pastor’s Travel Plans 
Pastor has doctor appointments at Mayo Clinic on March 1 and 2, and plans to be in the D.C. area from March 13-19. Pastor Jeff Anderson from Bethel in Morton will be filling in on the 17th.

In Our Prayers
              The afflicted, in our parish:
Emilie Ricknell, John Ricknell, Linda Rowe, Mary Hamilton, Emmy Wear, Sue Murphy, Don Murphy, Joyce Long, Steve Peart, Bea Harris, Derrick Baker, Dana McReynolds, Dick Melchin, Jim Watson
            and also:
Anna Rutowicz [granddaughter of Harrises]
Katy Rutovicz [granddaughter of Harrises]
Jodi Rutowicz [daughter of Harrises]
Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter]
Pastor Kenneth Wegener
Elizabeth Godke, Sharon Field’s mother
Jesse Armstrong
Brandt and Oneda Hendrickson [Ricknells’ relatives]
Linda Anderson
Helen Woods [Sue Murphy’s sister]
Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister]
Ken Hart [Judy Thompson’s brother-in-law]
Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson]
Dennis Hoag [Adam Shreck’s father-in-law]
Shawn Golden [Jim Watson’s son-in-law]
Angela Golden [Jim Watson’s daughter]
Kenneth Hampton [Don Murphy’s son-in-law]
Sue Harris [Steve Harris’s sister-in-law]
Nancy Callahan [Don Murphy’s sister]
Pastor Peter Eckardt
             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]
Traven Wetzel [at request of Kris Harden]
Shawn Wetzel
Eli Wetzel
Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson]
Jake Mahaffey
Trevor Shimmin
            in trouble:
any unborn children in danger of abortion
those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Kenya, Sudan, Nigeria, China, Vietnam, North Korea, and elsewhere
 
Voters Approve Pastor’s Mission Trip to Nigeria
In a special voters’ assembly meeting held February 17th, the congregation unanimously agreed to send Pastor to the seminary in Nigeria to teach an intensive two-week course of study in early May. The costs of the trip are covered, except that St. Paul’s will need to cover the cost of guest preachers for the first three Sundays of the month. Sharing Pastor in this way provides the congregation to have a personal involvement with this important mission work.
 
Renovation Continues: Looking Toward Returning to Worship in the Church
We have been steadily making progress toward completion of the chancel of the church, phase III of our renovation. The walls and ceiling have been repaired and repainted, now featuring a lustrous dark blue canopy built into the architecture of the church. A smattering of stars can be seen in the ceiling/canopy, suggesting the canopy of heaven. Sharon Hartz recently completed the delicate painting on the back wall of the Holy Spirit descending like a dove. This is rich in symbolism, as it is essentially a declaration that the Holy Spirit is operating in this place where the Gospel is proclaimed and the Sacraments are administered. Here is where the Church of Jesus Christ is found, created and sustained by the Spirit through these means of grace.

Soon the shields symbolizing the twelve apostles will be mounted in the great arch that frames the entire chancel. This declares, similarly, that the Apostles’ doctrine, the Holy Scriptures they wrote, is centered in Jesus’ death and resurrection (seen in the crucifix and the risen Christ), and is preached here. Also, by this Apostolic Doctrine, the Sacrament of the Altar delivers to us Christ’s true Body and Blood, the very elements of his crucifixion for us.
 
The flooring is yet to be determined: when the chancel carpet is pulled back, we will be able to see what we have to work with and proceed from there. The flooring plan does not include carpet in the chancel but a hard surface yet to be determined. This implies an important and subtle feature of our belief in the real presence of Christ’s Body and Blood. If there should ever be a spill—something we take the utmost pains to prevent—we would be able to clean it appropriately and with reverence. In addition, a hard floor in the chancel will bespeak a majestic holy place, and will be a restoration of what was formerly seen in all churches of the Reformation,
 
We will look to replacing the carpet in aisles of the nave, back, and balcony after we have returned to the church.
 
Our target date of Easter remains in view, and we are still on schedule.
 
Two new pillars framing the wall behind the altar will be going up soon, with new capitals on top of them.
 
Exciting times!
 
Choir rehearsals again
In preparation for special music during Holy Week and Easter, choir rehearsals are starting up again, beginning Ash Wednesday, March 6th. Check the calendar. We will skip next week, and then begin in earnest every week until Holy Week. Tune up your voice and join in!
 
St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church
   109 S. Elm Street
   Kewanee, IL 61443

A request has come from Fr. Charles Wokoma, the Academic Dean of the seminary for the Lutheran Church of Nigeria, for me to teach two intensive courses to seminarians there during the month of May. The details have yet to be worked out, but the intensive classes would require me to be absent for three Sundays during May, probably the first three.
 
I me  ntioned this first at Bible Class on January 20th. The approval and encouragement of the congregation is important to me, for a number of reasons. The only expense to this congregation would be paying for guest pastors during those three Sundays, because this trip is being funded by the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. But since there is a cost to you, it requires your approval.
 
Secondly, I am your pastor, and my vocation is to serve you. My time away would be in essence your sending of me to do this. I would be serving in a missionary capacity and should have your blessing to do that.
 
Third, and most importantly, this is an opportunity for you to have ownership in my work for this seminary that teaches between 80 to 100 seminarians annually. The Lutheran Church of Nigeria has recently been making great strides in returning to a solid confessional, sacramental, and liturgical foundation. 
 
Fr. Wokoma has been bold and faithful in the face of constant challenges to him because of his confession, as he guides the seminary, seeing that the men become pastors who are as solid and faithful as the best of our confessional young pastors in the Missouri Synod, theologically and liturgically, with full liturgical vestments.
 
The courses I have been asked to teach are in Medieval History and Christian Worship, in addition to a regimen of daily preaching.
 
I met with Fr. Wokoma at Fort Wayne in January, and he introduced me to Bishop Christian Ekong of Nigeria. Both men are eager to have me there. I also met briefly with Rev. Albert Collver, assistant to LCMS President Harrison, who gave his approval for the funding of my trip.
 
The church is impoverished and in constant need of American help. St. Paul’s can look for ways to direct mission dollars or goods their way.
 
I plan to make a request for permission to do this at the Elders’ meeting this month, and I anticipate the congregation will need to hold a special meeting to provide formal approval for this.
 
+ Pastor Eckardt

Renovation News
As you may be aware, we are looking toward the conclusion of our renovation undertaking. Bob Harrison has been hard at work, as has Sharon Hartz. Bob is almost finished with the painting, and Sharon’s work on the shields is complete and they are ready to mount. She is also preparing the dove for the back wall. Meanwhile our custom-made capitals are nearing completion: two of them, to sit atop two new pillars framing the altar on either side of the back wall.
 
We are looking toward the installation of a new sound system. A consultant from West Music in Moline has already made a modest proposal that we believe is quite doable.
 
The floor must be laid, either using stone or hardwood.
 
As soon as these steps are complete, and the furniture replaced, we can move back into the church, perhaps even before every detail is finished. At this point we are hoping to be back in church by Easter at the latest; hopefully much sooner.
 
Our constant prayer is that Almighty God would establish the work or our hands, toward his glory, toward the edification of his people, and toward doing what we can to burnish this church as a place where the grace of God in Christ shines forth as a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of his people Israel.
+ Pastor Eckardt
 
February UshersOtis Anderson, John Ricknell, Bill Thompson; Jim Hornback in Reserve.
 
February Birthdays
2/2      Mindie Fisher2/4      Joshua Kraklow2/5      Tom Wells2/17    Monroe Kemerling2/23    Carol McReynolds 
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:
Emilie Ricknell, John Ricknell, Linda Rowe, Mary Hamilton, Emmy Wear, Sue Murphy, Don Murphy, Joyce Long, Dick Melchin, DeAnne Anderson, Bea Harris, Allan Kraklow, Father Eckardt, who is having tests
and also:
Anna Rutowicz [granddaughter of Harrises]
Katy Rutovicz [granddaughter of Harrises]
Jodi Rutowicz [daughter of Harrises]
Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter]
Pam Helmkamp
Pastor Kenneth Wegener
Elizabeth Godke, Sharon Field’s mother
Jesse Armstrong
Brandt and Oneda Hendrickson [Ricknells’ relatives]
Linda Anderson
Teresa Robertson [Carol Eckardt’s niece]
Sarah Corzine
Helen Woods [Sue Murphy’s sister]
Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister]
Ken Hart [Judy Thompson’s brother-in-law]
Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson]
Dennis Hoag [Adam Shreck’s father-in-law]
Greyson Dana Gilbert [McReynolds]
Shawn Golden [Jim Watson’s son-in-law]
Angela Golden [Jim Watson’s daughter]
Kenneth  Hampton [Don Murphy’s son-in-law]
Sue Harris [Steve Harris’s sister-in-law]
Nancy Callahan [Don Murphy’s sister]
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]
Traven Wetzel [at request of Kris Harden]
Shawn Wetzel
Eli Wetzel
Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson]
Jake Mahaffey
in trouble:
any unborn children in danger of abortion
those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Kenya, Sudan, Nigeria, China, Vietnam, North Korea, and elsewhere
             (for details, see back page)

Robin Sighting Contest Already Over: Steve Kraklow Defends His CrownSteve Kraklow has already reported a robin sighting in Peoria on January 22nd.  He was there for a Bob Seger concert and says he saw them in the parking lot. A photograph verifies his record-setting find. Never in the entire history of our contest (six years) has a robin been spotted this early. And this year’s prize for the first sighting has been set at $10,000 per week for life, tax free! Or not. So Steve Kraklow is a very rich man. Or not.
 
In any case he is now the winner for two years in a row, also a first. Last year was a photo finish. He reported a sighting on February 27th at 1:30 pm, and Diana Shreck came in a close second, reporting a sighting a just few hours later.
 
In 2017 it was Barbra Kraklow, who, as you may know, is Steve’s mother. So we are witnessing the emergence of a Kraklow Robin Dynasty, or KRD for short. Other members of St. Paul’s will need to step up their game in 2020.
 
In 2016 the winner was Judy Thompson
In 2015, Carol Eckardt
In 2014, Michele Keehner
 
The robin, of course, is something we regard very highly because it is a sign of spring; and the approach of spring is also the approach of Easter; and the approach of Easter is enough to cause us abiding joy.  So rejoice in the robin, O Christian!
 
And know this: as sure a thing it is that the robin comes, even more sure is the Resurrection of our Lord.
 
New Organ Arrangements as Ryan Van Wassenhove moves on
On Sunday, January 27th, we are bidding bon voyage to Ryan Van Wassenhove, who has been our organist for eight years. He is moving to the Quad Cities for the continuation of his college education, and has taken a position as organist there as well. We wish him well and thank him for his many years of faithful service to us here.
 
He has informed us of his availability to play for special occasions that do not occur on Sundays, so we hope to see him from time to time.
 
Our temporary plan for accompaniment going forward includes having Pastor play the organ for Prelude, Opening Hymn, Hymn of the Day, and Closing Hymn. This will involve a few moments of waiting here and there as he gets seated, as well as a cappella singing of other parts of the mass, and distribution hymns, with assistance from Diana Shreck on the violin.
 
Shut-ins
Mary Hamilton is at home. Emilie Ricknell is at home; Joyce Long is at home; Emmy Wear is at Williamsfield Retirement Center; Dick Melchin is at Hammond-Henry Hospital in Geneseo.
 
Altar Guild Notes
 
Altar color is white until February 17th, which is Septuagesima Sunday, when it turns to violet, and remains violet throughout February.
 
Soup Suppers Again?
Our Lenten soup suppers would begin the Wednesday after Ash Wednesday (March 13th) if we choose to have them again. There would be five on the schedule, since there is no supper scheduled for Holy Week. Let’s discuss this informally during February.

Candlemas
February 2nd is Groundhog’s Day, which is actually “Candlemas.”  We will observe it on Wednesday, January 30th, at our usual 7 pm time.
 
The legend of the groundhog’s fear of his shadow probably comes from the fact that candles were lit on that day in the churches as tokens of Christ “a Light to lighten the Gentiles.” The candles were lit because the day was from antiquity called Candlemas, the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord and the Purification of Mary, which comes 40 days after Christmas.  This commemorates the day on which the Blessed Virgin came for purification after she gave birth, and to present the Christ Child, according to the law of Moses.  The priest Simeon then took Him up in his arms and declared Him “a Light to lighten the Gentiles.”  At the Feast of Candlemas, therefore, everyone participates in a procession of candles, and will also relight the candle during the Mass, from the Preface through the Consecration, a visually moving way of signifying the high point of the service. 
            Since Candlemas falls on a Saturday this year, we will observe it on Wednesday night, to give more people the opportunity to attend.February Council MeetingThe February council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 20th, at 5:30 pm.
 
February Anniversaries
None
 
First Tuesday
The first Tuesday events (altar guild, vespers, elders) will be held, God willing, on Tuesday, February 5th. Altar Guild at 6 pm; Vespers at 6:45; Elders at 7:15. All members are always encouraged to join us for First Tuesday Vespers, as you are able.
 
2019 Sabre Goes to Rev. Douglas SpittelThe Gottesdienst Sabre of Boldness was awarded to Rev. Fr. Douglas Spittel of First Trinity Lutheran Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was recognized for his selfless dedication to the faith and your strong influence toward reverent and confessional worship in the city of Pittsburgh over several decades, effectively holding to the historic liturgy while fostering several outreach ministries including the establishment of the Lutheran Center for the Blind, a Hispanic mission, campus ministry, homeless ministry, and deaf ministry; he has been deeply involved with outreach in the city of Pittsburgh, and also over the years in the Eastern District (in which his congregation formerly held membership) a vocal supporter of historic Lutheran liturgical practice and the confessions.

Persecution news:
VIETNAM:
 
CHRISTIANS REPEATEDLY BEATEN AND ARRESTED
Source(s): International Christian Concern, Christian Post
Date: 17 January 2019
 
For many years, Christians living in the highlands of Vietnam have faced persecution and harassment from both government agents and fellow citizens. In this communist country, where Christianity is considered a threat to the regime, Hmong Christians face frequent discrimination – to the point of imprisonment and torture.
 
In the village of Phá Lóm, a group of 33 Protestant believers have experienced ongoing harassment from authorities during recent months. According to their pastor, Hoang Van Pa, they have been told to renounce their faith or suffer the consequences. When the believers refused, the raids took place repeatedly. In addition, four of the believers were arrested and beaten.

UNITED STATES:
COVINGTON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AT PRO-LIFE RALLY SMEARED OVER FALSE REPORT
 
Covington (Kentucky) Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann and his classmates have been attacked by everyone from respected journalists to celebrities, over a video from the National Right-to-Life rally in Washington, D.C. in January, that gave some critics an inaccurate impression that the teens were harassing a Native American man, Nathan Phillips, following the pro-life demonstration. The outrage was swift and harsh -- the Kentucky school was even closed due to safety concerns.
 
But a full viewing subsequently showed that this was a false narrative; it can be seen that the students were the ones who were accosted and yelled at before Phillips and other Native American activists approached them. Another group – the so-called Black Hebrew Israelites – were heard shouting abuse at the students for wearing “Make America Great Again” hats.
 
The shocking vitriol directed at the MAGA hat-wearing teens, at a Right-to-Life rally, from a Catholic school, before video evidence showed they were innocent of instigating the confrontation, has shown a disturbing willingness among a great many public commentators to demonize even children, as long as they are seen as conservative Christians.
 
 St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church
   109 S. Elm Street
   Kewanee, IL 61443

Renovation Phase III Underway
 
We began to worship in the gym last in early November as planned, and although we might be ready to move back into the church for Christmas, we know that’s ambitious. But Phase III of our project has begun.
   The scaffolding is up in the chancel, and repairing and repainting of plaster on walls and ceiling is underway. This is an exciting time in  the history of our church.
   Since our gym is now a multipurpose room, we are asking worshipers to remember this when they enter for mass. When you enter the gym for worship you will note the reserved Elements are placed on a ledge behind the altar, with a sanctuary light burning beside them. Please treat the room as a worship area during this time. Remember that congregants are preparing for worship in prayer and meditation; if you must speak, please do so in muted tones. The elements will be carried out at the close. If there is a postlude, please wait unto it is finished, at which point, the room reverts to its former use.
   This is less than ideal, of course, but in view of the planning and work that is underway, we expect that this temporary situation will be well worth it.
   The place of repose for the reserved elements is temporarily a tabernacle in the narthex, far from the workplace activity.
   The color scheme for the chancel has been decided. The canopy ceiling will be a very dark blue called loyal blue, simulating the canopy of a dark sky. We plan to place small white stars here and there within the canopy. The walls of the canopy will be a tan tone roughly midway between the darker tone of the pillars and the divine white of the nave ceiling. This color is called interactive cream. On the back wall above the cross, midway between the top of the cross and the point, will be a white dove highlighted in gold, symbol of the Holy Spirit. The style of this dove is different from the dove that currently is seen higher up, in the balcony. The stripes of gold accenting the walls of the nave will continue throughout the chancel and its canopy.
   We also plan to build two new pillars on either side of the back wall, to replace the pillars that had been removed in the 1960s. Atop these pillars will be new capitals, like those atop all the other pillars. The baseboard will be replaced with a baseboard more closely matching the baseboard seen throughout the nave.
   We hope to put up twelve shields in the great arch, with symbols of the Twelve Apostles on them. We will test this look with a template before the final installation, to ensure that it looks good. The color of the arch will be the same light blue (called Vast Sky) leading up from the floor to the arch.
   The floor of the chancel will not be carpeted. A hard material, probably slate, is to be installed. We plan meanwhile to have a new carpet in the nave.
  We hope and expect the members to bear with us and a little inconvenience for a number of weeks, eagerly anticipating a beautifully finished chancel. We plan to have a grand dedication when all is ready, thanking Almighty God for his bounty toward us.
 
+ Pastor Eckardt
 
The chancel and its color scheme:


On each shield in the Great Arch is a symbol of one of  the 12 Apostles. ​ Each symbol is different, each being the symbol of a particular apostle. The background of the shields is to be blue, symbolizing all the world to whom the Apostles went. White is the color of purity, and is used to convey the death or person of  the Apostle, glorified by the grace of God. Gold is the brilliant color signifying the Apostolic Office, and the great effect of the Gospel the Apostles preached.
   The dove to be painted on the back wall symbolizes the descending Holy Spirit.
 













Christian Freedom concerning the Difference between the Liturgical and Secular Customs of Advent
 
The season of Advent is unquestionably one of preparation.  Secularly, there are lots of things which need to be made ready for the great family gatherings at Christmas.  Liturgically, the preparations are of a different nature altogether.  Thus it happens that we are of necessity bound, as it were, to two different worlds during December.  (cont. next page)
(from prev. page)  As Advent comes prior to Christmas it has been understood since its first appearance in the church calendars as a period of penitential preparation for the great Feast of the Nativity of our Lord.  As Easter has its Lenten fast, so Christmas (which is of later origin liturgically) ought to have its fast as well.  The fast of Advent is not as profound as Lent, even as the period of preparation is not as long. 
            (Interestingly, some historians do see evidence that there was once a seven week season of Advent, and a look at the historic propers for the last three weeks of the Trinity season seems to bear this out.  It can readily be seen that the overall theme for all seven Sundays before Christmas—those of Advent and those of the end of the church year—is  the same, that of the return of Christ in glory.)
            The Advent season is not as profound a season of penitence, liturgically speaking, as Lent, due primarily to the fact that Easter is an older feast than Christmas, and that Christmas remains second in order of liturgical significance to Easter.
            This is coincidentally a bit helpful when it comes to our points of contact with popular culture. 
       Inasmuch as fasting is something freely entered, and not by constraint, it is of course a matter of Christian freedom.  Yet we do not wish to diminish hereby its importance.  Most people do not even know that Advent is historically a season of fasting, although less profound than Lent.  The Advent fast is part of the penitential preparations we enter for the coming of Christ—most especially for His coming in glory at the last Day.
            But what are we to do, when liturgically we are called to fast, but culturally we are expected—and may even have a strong desire—to participate in one of the remaining notably Christian vestiges of societal norms without damaging consciences which have us wondering whether we are doing something wrong by engaging in Christmas activities before Christmas?
            Our culture is inundated with Christmas customs which, secularly speaking, place the ‘celebrations’ of Christmas throughout the season of Advent, a phenomenon quite unlike the season predating Easter.  Some like to insist that Christians should have nothing whatever to do with cultural phenomena which are at odds with our liturgical tradition, and so to shun all Christmas celebrations until Christmas Eve is upon us, rather as if we had to reenact the very life of Ebenezer Scrooge, suddenly changing at Christmas. 
            We prefer, on the contrary, to make careful distinctions.  If certain cultural phenomena are not harmful to the Faith, we have no objections.  Certainly we ought not cry Bah, humbug! at the decorations of shopping centers during Advent, or Christmas decorations at our homes prior to December 25th..  Yes, it is very worldly.  So is the Incarnation, I recall: God became flesh.  And as far as the customs surrounding Santa Claus, we will do well to consider that the feast day of St. Nicholas—who was known among other things for the giving of gifts—happens to be December 6.   
            It is when we speak of what happens during Mass that we prefer to make certain restrictions.  These liturgical restrictions are not made to condemn, but to help our true Advent preparations, which after all are not merely looking forward to Christmas, but to the coming of Christ in glory.  The only proper preparation for this is Christian penitence, sorrow for sin, confession of sin, and reception of Holy Absolution.  Therefore it is laudable to require that the season liturgically ought to be a penitential season (hence the purple color).  No Christmas carols are sung at Mass until Christmas itself, even as we also omit certain other parts of the liturgy.  But it is not necessary on the other hand to refrain from singing Christmas carols at secular or social gatherings until Christmas; Christians are and ought to be free in such matters.
     + Pastor Eckardt

Caroling and Party Dec. 12
We plan to go caroling on Wednesday, December 12th. 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.
 
Christ Masses
As usual, we will hold three different Christ Masses this year: the first will be on Christmas Eve at 7:00; the second will follow at Midnight; and the third will be Christmas morning at 10:00.
New Year’s Mass:New Year’s Eve mass is 7 pm.
 
First Tuesday Meetings Dec. 4
On Tuesday, December 5th, Altar Guild meets as usual at 6 pm, and Elders at 7:15 pm.  Between them we will hold vespers at 6:45 pm.  All members invited.
 
Shut ins
Mary Hamilton at home; Emmy Wear at Williamsfield Home in Williamsfield; Emilie Ricknell at home; Dick Melchin at Hammond Henry Extended Care in Geneseo; Bea Harris at home; Joyce Long at home.
 
Special Masses Wednesdays
St. Andrew’s Day (November 30th) will be celebrated at our 7 p.m. mass on Wednesday the 28th of November.
St. Nicholas’ Day (December 6th ) will be celebrated at our 7 p.m. mass on Wednesday December 5th.
St. Lucia’s Day (December 13th ) will be celebrated at our 7 p.m. mass on Wednesday December 12th.  
St. Thomas’ Day (December 21st) will be celebrated at our 7 p.m. mass on Wednesday the 19th. 
St. Stephen’s Day is December 26th, the day after Christmas; since it is on a Wednesday, we will observe it at our midweek mass.
Members are invited to make an extra effort to attend these services as part of your Advent preparation for the coming of Christ at Christmas, at the End of the World, and at the Altar.
 
Decorating During Advent
As is our custom, we decorate little by little during Advent, until finally all is complete for Christmas. This year, due to our renovation, we will be decorating the gym where our worship is being held. Since there is a chance we will have the church ready for Christmas, we may be moving the decorations  there. Help put up the tree Saturday, Dec.  1st!
 
December Anniversary
12/13 Jim and Carol Watson
 
December Ushers
Allan Kraklow, Steve Kraklow, Tom Wells, Jim Hornback in reserve.
                       
December Birthdays
12/11 Kris Harden
12/13 Michael Eckardt
12/23 James Armstrong
 
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. We remember this year one member who fell asleep in Christ:

• Steve Peart

 
Coming Up:
Epiphany Seminar and Celebration, Saturday, January 5th, 2019
A day of reflection is planned for Epiphany Day, Saturday, January 6th, 2018.  To open the seminar we will have mass at 9:00 in  the morning. A seminar will follow. Here is the schedule:
9:00 a.m. Mass: the twelfth day of Chistmas
10:00 a.m. - noon Seminar (day of reflection):
            The eighteenth retreat in the Theological Reflection series is entitled,
            “THE OTHER EMMAUS DISCIPLE”
Who is the other disciple on the Emmaus Road (St. Luke 24)? Only one of them is named: Cleopas. There has been a long debate over the other’s identity. This seminar lays out an argument he must be Peter. But does the Evangelist’s report seem ambiguous? This will all be discussed and addressed.

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:
Emilie Ricknell, John Ricknell, Linda Rowe, Mary Hamilton, Emmy Wear, Sue Murphy, Don Murphy, Joyce Long, Dick Melchin , DeAnne Anderson , Bea Harris, Allan Kraklow

and also:
Anna Rutowicz [granddaughter of Harrises]
Katy Rutovicz [granddaughter of Harrises]
Jodi Rutowicz [daughter of Harrises]
Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter]
Pam Helmkamp
Dick Heiden [Carol Eckardt’s father]
Pastor Kenneth Wegener
Elizabeth Godke, Sharon Field’s mother
Jesse Armstrong
Brandt and Oneda Hendrickson [Ricknells’ relatives]
Linda Anderson
Teresa Robertson [Carol Eckardt’s niece]
Sarah Corzine
Helen Woods [Sue Murphy’s sister]
Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister]
Ken Hart [Judy Thompson’s brother-in-law]
Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson]
Dennis Hoag, [Adam Shreck’s father-in-law]
Greyson Dana Gilbert [McReynolds]
Shawn Golden [Jim Watson’s son-in-law, heart trouble]

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]
Traven Wetzel [at request of Kris Harden]
Eli Wetzel [at request of Kris Harden]
Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson]
Jake Mahaffey

in trouble:
any unborn children in danger of abortion; victims of California wildfires; those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Sri Lanka, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Kenya, Sudan, Nigeria, China, Vietnam, North Korea, and elsewhere
 
Altar Guild Notes
Advent does not begin until the first weekend in December. The four Advent Sundays’ color is violet.  If roses are obtained, they may be placed on the Third Sunday in Advent, December 16th.
For midweek masses, the color varies:
November 28th: red, for St. Andrew
December 5th: white, for St. Nicholas.
December 12th: red, for St. Lucia.
December 19st: red, for St. Thomas
For Christmas Eve, the first Mass is at 7 p.m., and the color is white. The three Christ Masses will be held as usual, 7 pm Christmas Eve, 12 midnight, and 10 am Christmas Day.  Color is white for all three.
St. Stephen’s Day is Wednesday evening, December 27th: Color is red.
The Sunday after Christmas is observed on Sunday morning the 30th. Color is white.
New Year’s Eve mass is held at 7 pm on the 31st. Color is white, and remains white in January.
 
St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church
   109 S. Elm Street
   Kewanee, IL 61443

Justification by Faith

According to Martin Luther and the 16th century reformers with him, the article on which the Christian Church stands or falls is justification by faith. This is also a hallmark of the Reformation. The major article in the Augsburg Confession, which is the chief document in the Lutheran Confessions, is Article IV, On Justification. It reads as follows:
“Our Churches teach that we cannot obtain forgiveness of sin and righteousness before God through our merit, work, or satisfactions, but that we receive forgiveness of sin and become righteous before God out of grace for Christ‘s sake through faith when we believe that Christ has suffered for us and that for his sake our sin is forgiven and righteousness and eternal life are given to us. For God will regard and reckon this faith as righteousness in his sight, as St. Paul says in Romans 3 and 4.”

It should be understood without question that our salvation does not depend upon anything that we do, because it depends upon everything that Christ has done.
 
To deny that a sinner is justified before God only by faith in Christ is to deny Christ himself, for whoever denies this is saying that justification happens some other way. What other way? By works? By love? By merit? Any of these put forward as that by which we are justified obscures the works and merit of Christ. He who denies justification by faith is saying that Christ did not need to atone for the sin of the world by his sacrificial death.

The Reformation—which is really all about justification—has been observed annually since sometime in the 17th century, and it is right that we do it, because it was a watershed time in the history of Christianity. The Church had veered off course in such a dreadful manner that a reformation was long overdue, and God saw fit to order it so in the early 1500s.

But it isn’t just nostalgia or mere history that we celebrate. It’s the heart of what we believe. It’s the article on which the Church—the Christian Church on Earth--stands or falls: that we receive forgiveness of sin and become righteous before God out of grace for Christ‘s sake through faith when we believe that Christ has suffered for us and that for his sake our sin is forgiven and righteousness and eternal life are given to us.  

+ Pastor Eckardt
 
Oktoberfest Total receipts
have not yet been tallied, but we have hearts of thanks to God for another successful festival, and thanks to all who have been working tirelessly to help our congregation, volunteering time, donations, and effort.
 
Renovation news
 
Phase Three of our renovation (the Chancel) began when we moved the altar rail below the steps and  removed the canopy.
 
As previously reported, now that Oktoberfest is over, we are looking toward completion of the chancel. Currently we are waiting for our key volunteers, who are farming, to finish their harvesting work, likely by some time in November. Our plaster and paint man, Bob Harrison, is ready. When we begin, we expect to remove of all the chancel furniture and set up scaffolding, while moving our worship to the gym for several weeks, as we did for the work we did on the nave in 2016.
 
The organ was tuned just before Oktoberfest, but our tuner has indicated that he needs to fix some areas, which will involve his return some time soon.
 
As previously reported, we are looking to have the chancel walls be the color of the nave ceiling, accented by the tan color of the pillars. A dove symbolizing the Holy Spirit will be painted on the wall above the cross (rather than in the ceiling as now). The ceiling is to be a dark blue hue, intended to bring out the fact that the ceiling itself is an architectural canopy over the altar.
 
Twelve shields with the symbols of the Apostles are to be placed up in the great arch (above the chancel steps). Sharon Hartz has drawn some sample shields with color considerations, and they have temporarily been taped on the walls of the doorway between the church and the school for viewing.
 
Of course we need to keep raising money, and figuring out how to do all this as inexpensively as possible. As we have been blessed thus far, we pray that God continues to provide us with our needs.
 
November Ushers
Otis Anderson John Ricknell, Bill Thompson

November Anniversaries
11/5 Steve and Berniece Harris
11/10 Gayle and Phil Beauprez
 
November Birthdays
11/13 Shannon Peart
11/19 Steve Kraklow
11/20 Jewneel Walker
11/30 Charlene Sovanski
 
Shut ins
Mary Hamilton at home; Emmy Wear at Williamsfield Home in Williamsfield; Emilie Ricknell at home; Joyce Long at home; Dick Melchin at Hammond Henry extended care in Geneseo; Bea Harris, often homebound.
 
Daily Prayer
For daily prayer in the homes of members, the following helps are offered:
As a minimum, when you rise in the morning and go to bed at night, follow the catechism.  That is, repeat the invocation (In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen), say the Apostles’ Creed, and Say the Our Father.  If you wish, you may add Luther’s morning or evening prayer.

It’s a good practice to set aside some time to read your Bible every day as well, at least a chapter.

You are encouraged to use your hymnal for a richer daily prayer.  The order of matins (morning) or vespers (evening) is easily adoptable for personal use.

The hymnal is also a good resource for a schedule of daily readings.  See page 161.  These readings correspond with the material in Every Day Will I Bless Thee: Meditations for the Daily Office, my book of meditations for daily use); to purchase a copy, see me. – Pastor
 
Gottesdienst news
Since August, the editorial staff at Gotttesdienst has been hard at work. This quarterly Journal of the Lutheran Liturgy, currently finishing in its 26th year of publication, is owned by St. Paul’s, and is headquartered right here. The financial part of  the enterprise is entirely separate, but your pastor is editor-in-chief, and several members of St. Paul’s volunteer with mailings. The journal is widely known and influential in Missouri Synod circles. Ten pastors make up the editorial team, and four new online bloggers, also pastors, have recently been added. Every time another issue comes out, free copies are available in the narthex.
 
The editors have recently begun to make some rather massive expansion efforts. For over two decades we made our presence known primarily by means of this print journal, but when the Internet came of age, we began to realize that we would need to keep up or go the way of so many other print periodicals and newspapers. Finally, in August of this year, we had an editorial board meeting at a retreat center in Racine, Wisconsin. We had come together with some definite items in mind. First is our new blogging traffic and format. Earlier this year, thanks to the able help of our new website designer Sarah Ludwig Rausch, we had reformatted the entire website and brought the blog under its umbrella. Now we have begun some serious blogging.
 
We have taken on four new Gottesbloggers, whose opening posts have been brilliant. The editors of Gottesdienst welcomed these four Gottesbloggers: Rev. John Bussman, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Cullman, Ala.; Rev. Sean Daenzer, Peace Lutheran Church, Barney, ND and Trinity Lutheran Church, Great Bend, ND; Rev. Anthony Dodgers, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Charlotte, IA; and Rev. Stephen Preus, Trinity Lutheran Church, Vinton, IA.
 
Within the first month of their blogging and ours, our new blog posts have suddenly gone viral in the Lutheran world, with 12,000 readers of whom nearly 9,000 reacted in some way. Since then we have been blogging close to every day, and our posts usually reach over 1000 readers apiece.
 
Second, we’ve also added a new feature called The Gottesdienst Crowd, a Podcast that comes out every Wednesday for on-demand listening, hosted by Rev. Jason Braaten. He interviews one or two of the rest of us, and sometimes we even have a debate. These too have reached about a thousand listeners apiece.
 
All of this is free for the readers and listeners, but subscribers have responded with generous donations that have contributed mightily to making this possible.
 
Check it all out at www.gottesdienst.org.
 
Altar Guild News
The last Wednesday in October is red, to observe All Saints (which is November 1st). Then it turns to green for the rest of the month except for Thanksgiving, which we observe on Wednesday night, November 21st (color for Thanksgiving is white), and the following Wednesday night, November 28th on which will observe St. Andrew’s Day (color for St. Andrew’s is red). Following St. Andrew’s the color changes to violet for Advent, which begins the first weekend in December.
 
November meeting is November 6th, at 6 pm.
 
All Saints
 
November 1st, All Saints Day, will be observed on Wednesday, October 31st, at 7 pm.
 
First Tuesday
November’s First Tuesday events will be held on November 6th. Altar Guild at 6 p.m. Vespers is at 6:45, and Elders meet at 7:15.
 
Copies of Pastor’s new book available (Christmas gift ideas?):
Leave It Alone. You’ll Break It. Liturgical Observations                                                       $20.00
 
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
John Ricknell
Linda Rowe
Mary Hamilton
Emmy Wear
Sue Murphy
Don Murphy
Joyce Long
Dick Melchin
DeAnne Anderson
Bea Harris
Allan Kraklow
 
and also:
Anna Rutowicz [granddaughter of Harrises]
Katy Rutovicz [granddaughter of Harrises]
Jodi Rutowicz [daughter of Harrises]
Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter]
Bud Harfst [Sue Murphy’s brother]
Harold Woods [Sue Murphy’s brother-in-law]
Pam Helmkamp
Dick Heiden [Carol Eckardt’s father]
Pastor Kenneth Wegener
Elizabeth Godke, Sharon Field’s mother
Jesse Armstrong
Brandt and Oneda Hendrickson [Ricknells’ relatives]
Linda Anderson
Teresa Robertson [Carol Eckardt’s niece]
Sarah Corzine
Helen Woods [Sue Murphy’s sister]
Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister]
Ken Hart [Judy Thompson’s brother-in-law]
Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson]
Dennis Hoag, Adam Shreck’s father-in-law, who had a heart transplant.
 
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]
Traven Wetzel [at request of Kris Harden]
Shawn Wetzel
Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson]
Jake Mahaffey
 
in trouble:
any unborn children in danger of abortion
those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Sri Lanka, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Kenya, Sudan, Nigeria, China, Vietnam, North Korea, and elsewhere
 
Persecution details on the back page
 
Council Meeting Date
The Council meeting is set for Wednesday, November 21st, at 5:30.
 
Thanksgiving Worship
As usual, our Thanksgiving Mass will be held on Wednesday evening prior, which this year is November 21nd, at 7:00.  All members are encouraged to come.
 
 
St. Andrew’s Day
November 28th we will be observing St. Andrew’s Day (Wednesday evening at 7 pm.), though St. Andrew’s Day itself is on November 30th.
 
Choir!
The choir has begun rehearsing again: Wednesdays after mass, about 8 p.m. All singers come!  
Persecution Details  From prayer list above SRI LANKA: Violence Against Christians
Source(s): Morning Star News, Release International
Date: 25 October 2018
 
The church in Sri Lanka has been facing increasing violence and discrimination in the past year. Contributing to the problem has been a recent rise in Hindu extremism taking root alongside the long-time Buddhist aggression.
 
IRAN: Rapid Growth Despite Intense Persecution
Source(s): VOMC  Date: 25 October 2018
 
Iranian Christians are witnessing one of the fastest growing underground church movements in the world. Yet, along with this exponential growth are the fires of intense persecution. Any form of evangelism committed by Christians is considered illegal and, therefore, can even lead to the death penalty. Faith in Christ results in serious consequences and converts from Islam face arbitrary arrest and detention. In addition, they are often forced to divulge information on other Christians.
 
KENYA: Two Teachers Killed in Bombing
Source(s): VOMC  Date: 18 October 2018
 
Two Christian teachers in Kenya were killed when al Shabaab militants threw an explosive device at the house in which they were living. The two victims were staying in a home specifically for non-local teachers of the Arabia Boys Secondary School located in Mandera County near the border with Somalia.
 
VIETNAM: Church Faces Shutdown Order
Source(s): VOMC  Date: 18 October 2018
 
As believers met for worship on the morning of October 7th in Cuor Dang Commune, Daklak Province, local authorities entered the home where they were meeting, demanding that they stop all religious activities. Those present refused to leave, saying that any action would have to wait until after they were finished. Because the home was crowded, the officials were forced to wait outside.
 
NIGERIA: Aid Worker Killed; Leah "Slave for Life"
Source(s): VOMC  Date: 18 October 2018
 
"Islamic State West Africa Province" (ISWAP), the Boko Haram faction currently holding 15-year-old Leah Sharibu, has released a statement claiming to have executed a second Red Cross aid worker during the past month. In the statement, the group claimed that Hauwa Leman, along with Saifura Ahmed (who was killed in September), were apostates because they joined the Red Cross.

 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 30                                   September 2018                                      No. 9

O Little Flock, Fear Not the Foe

I’ve been thinking about this beloved hymn by Johann Altenburg (TLH #263) in connection with our little parish. Every  time we sing it, I can’t help but thinking of how appropriate it is for us. For without question over the years we have become a little flock by almost anyone’s calculation (I say almost, because if you measure our size against, say, the congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran, we would actually be counted as a large congregation).

Over the past 18 years we have seen a gradual diminishing of the size of St. Paul’s, due in large part to demographics. People have had to leave Kewanee to find work, and meanwhile a key factor that was once prevalent everywhere is gone, namely the abundant bearing and begetting of Lutheran children. With the cultural assault on marriage and the family came also the minority status of what used to be common: children of solid families filling our schools, pews, and Sunday School classes. Although we have welcomed a good number of new members, that number has not quite kept pace with our losses and deaths. Such are the circumstances.

And yet the comforting words of the hymn ring true: O little flock, fear not the Foe who madly seeks your overthrow; dread not his rage and pow’r. What tho’ your courage sometimes faints, his seeming triumph o’er God’s saints lasts but a little hour. We know this is true because of Christ’s death and resurrection. He has promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against His church, and that all things work out to the good for those who love him. Thus we agree with the hymnist who continues: Be of good cheer; your cause belongs to Him who can avenge your wrongs; leave it to Him, our Lord. Tho’ hidden yet from mortal eyes, His Gideon shall for you arise, uphold you and His Word. In this verse, “His Gideon” is Christ, of course, the greater Gideon, winning through to victory against the enemies of God’s people. As true as God’s own Word is true, not earth nor hell with all their crew against us shall prevail. A jest and byword are they grown, God is with us, we are His own; our vict’ry cannot fail.  As Gideon’s three hundred men conquered thousands of Midianites without even fighting, but by breaking the pitchers in their hands and confusing the enemy to cause them to start attacking one another, to the point of defeat (see Judges 7), so Christ our Lord became Himself a broken pitcher—crucified, dead, and buried, that is—and so earth and hell with all their crew were defeated by their own wickedness. For Jesus’ enemies and the devil saw to His crucifixion, the very thing that redeemed the world. Amen, Lord Jesus, grant our prayer; Great Captain, now Thine arm make bare, fight for us once again! So shall Thy saints and martyrs raise a mighty chorus to Thy praise, world without end. Amen. Clearly, with Christ we have nothing to fear, and we step forth in faith, knowing that we have already gained eternal victory in Him.
 
+ Pastor Eckardt

Project Moves On: Phase III Begins
 
Our final stage of renovation is about to begin, starting with the exciting step of installing air conditioning. Since he duct-work is already in place—a foresight that was thankfully envisioned many years ago—the process of installing four central air units is not too complicated. We have entered a contract with Woltil’s Heating and Air Conditioning.

The chief workman, Larry Rowe, who is Linda’s husband, has indicated a likelihood of the installation’s completion by the middle of September. For the first time in the building’s 115-year history, St. Paul’s will then have air conditioning. This is all thanks to a special anonymous $10,000 donation given during the summer that was given with a wish that it be used for this purpose. The voters determined, after some reasonable discussion, to go forward with the installation in accordance with the donor’s wish.

What remains is for the chancel and the flooring to be completed. Since much of what we are hoping to do is through volunteer labor, and since some of our volunteers are in the fields as farmers, we are hoping they can get back to the project soon after Oktoberfest which is October 7-9.

Meanwhile twelve shields have been purchased, on which will be painted the symbols of the twelve apostles. These shields are to be mounted in the Great Arch, which is the archway that is suspended over the chancel steps. This will be an attempt to restore what once graced the walls of this church many years ago.

When the time comes to repair and repaint the walls of the chancel, it is likely that we will be needing to meet in the gym for worship for several weeks, as we did in the summer of 2016.

It is difficult to put more of a precise time frame to the planning, and indeed we may find unforeseen twists in the road as we continue, but it is exciting to know that the project continues to move forward. Thanks be to God!

+ Pastor Eckardt
 
Choir Rehearsals

Regular choir rehearsals have resumed Wednesdays after mass. Calling all singers, to prepare for Oktoberfest.  We’ll have some new music, and, as always, have lots of fun.
 
Church Extension Fund

Ms. Chris Anderson is the new executive director of the Church Extension Fund for The Central Illinois District, and recently she reminded me that investments with the C.E.F. are a blessing to both the investor and the loan recipient, with the investor not only receiving a financial blessing but also a spiritual one in knowing that he is playing an important role in expanding God’s kingdom. Brochures are available in the narthex for more information.
+ Pastor Eckardt
 
Oktoberfest!
October 7-9, 2018 (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday)

The Twenty-third Annual Oktoberfest! and Gottesdienst Central will be hosting the Rev. Dr. Thomas M. Winger, president of Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary (CLTS), St. Catharines, Ontario. Dr. Winger is the author of dozens of articles, many published in Lutheran Theological Review. He is the (co)editor of three books and a contributor to The Lutheran Study Bible. He has written studies for the theological commissions of Lutheran Church–Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of England (ELCE). He also served as a member of the liturgy committee of Lutheran Service Book. He is a recognized authority especially in liturgy and in Ephesians.

His topic will be “Hints of the Liturgy in the Epistle to the Ephesians and other New Testament Texts”

The event begins Sunday the 7th with Vespers at 5 p.m. Following the service is our annual bratwurst banquet. When everyone has had their fill of brats and beer, Dr. Winger will give a synopsis of his Monday seminar. Following the banquet is the after-the-party party, at Father Eckardt’s home, where a gaggle of the editors of Gottesdienst is milling about.

On Monday, October 8th, the day begins with Mass at 9 a.m. Following Mass and a continental breakfast, Dr. Winger will hold forth for the rest of the day, in two sessions running until about 2:45, followed by Vespers.

On Tuesday, October 9th, the conference will continue in the same format, with a special focus on the themes of our current and previous issue of Gottesdienst, namely: Weddings and Funerals, with Father Eckardt, pastor at St. Paul’s, holding forth. The Tuesday session will be shorter, framed by morning low Mass (spoken Divine Service) and Mid-day prayers.

REGISTRATION: MEMBERS OF ST. PAUL’S GO FREE. For others, $50 per person, $70 per couple, students $25 — includes Sunday banquet and Monday brunch; no charge for children with parents. To register, click here.

Pastor to Speak in Detroit
 
Every year Zion Church in Detroit holds its St. Michael conference on the last Monday of September, and Pastor Eckardt is always one of the speakers at the conference. This year, Dr. Naomichi Masaki is the Keynote Speaker. Dr. Masaki is a systematician with an outstanding knowledge of the Lutheran Confessions, and a noted Luther scholar, with a special interest in the Words of Institution and the Lord’s Supper.  His Keynote paper will be titled “Luther and the Lord's Supper: The Verba Domini as the Mandating Words".  His paper will set the theme for the 2018 Conference. Dr. Masaki serves as Professor of Systematic Theology and Director of the STM and PhD in Theology programs for Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne. For information consult Pastor.
 
September Birthdays
9/1 John Ricknell
9/10 Jan Schoen         
9/15 Chuck Russell
9/17 Mary Beth Jones
9/18 DeAnne Anderson
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

September Ushers: Allan Kraklow, Steve Kraklow, Tom Wells.
 
Shut ins
Mary Hamilton at home; Emmy Wear at Williamsfield Home in Williamsfield; Emilie Ricknell at home, Joyce Long at home, Dick Melchin at Hammond-Henry Extended Care in Geneseo.
 
Altar Guild News
Sundays during September, the color is green.
Wednesdays are also all green. Although Holy Cross Day (14th), St. Matthew’s Day (21st) and Michaelmas (29th) are in September, they fall on Fridays and a Saturday, and therefore we will not observe  them.
 
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, John Ricknell, Linda Rowe, Mary Hamilton, Emmy Wear, Sue Murphy, Don Murphy, Joyce Long, Dick Melchin, DeAnne Anderson, Bea Harris, Allan Kraklow
 
and also:
Anna Rutowicz [granddaughter of Harrises]
Jodi Rutowicz [daughter of Harrises]
Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter]
Annie Eastman [at request of Svetlana Meaker]
Steve Draminski [friend of Jim Watson]
Kathy Nussear [Joyce Long’s daughter, cancer]
Bud Harfst [Sue Murphy’s brother]
Harold Woods [Sue Murphy’s brother-in-law]
Pam Helmkamp
Dick Heiden [Carol Eckardt’s father]
Pastor Kenneth Wegener
Elizabeth Godke, Sharon Field’s mother
Jesse Armstrong
Michael Nelson
Brandt and Oneda Hendrickson [Ricknells’ relatives]
Linda Anderson
Teresa Robertson [Carol Eckardt’s niece]
Everly Stoner [relative of Murphys]
Sarah Corzine
Helen Woods [Sue Murphy’s sister]
Jamie Knapp, Emmy Wear’s cousin, who has cancer
Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister]
Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson]
 
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]
Traven Wetzel [at request of Kris Harden]
Shawn Wetzel
Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson]
Jake Mahaffey
 
in trouble:
any unborn children in danger of abortion
those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Nigeria, China, North Korea, and elsewhere

Details on Persecution:

China demolishes hundreds of churches and confiscates Bibles during a crackdown on Christianity

Locals in Henan stated concerns of a move by the atheist ruling community party to control Christianity. Residents were asked to replace posters of the cross and Jesus Christ with portraits of President Xi Jinping. Experts say the government is waging the most severe systematic suppression of the religion since 1982. Chinese leaders have 'always been suspicious of the political threat' that Christianity poses to the regime  - by Associated Press and Kelsey Cheng for Mailonline August 2018
 
Concerns have been raised over China's apparent crackdown on Christianity as the ruling community party continues to intensify its control over religious freedom in the country.

Churches were raided and demolished, Bibles and holy books were confiscated and new laws were established to monitor religious activities in the country's province of Henan, which has one of the largest Christian populations in China.

Under President Xi Jinping, China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, believers are seeing their freedoms shrink dramatically even as the country undergoes a religious revival.
Experts and activists say that as Xi consolidates his power, he is waging the most severe systematic suppression of Christianity in the country since religious freedom was written into the Chinese constitution in 1982.

​A DOZEN CHRISTIAN VILLAGES IN NIGERIA WIPED OUT IN FOUR-DAY KILLING SPREE
June 29, 2018 by Lindy Lowry in Africa, Stories of Persecution

Most of the victims were in their homes sleeping when the attacks began … when Muslim Fulani militant herdsmen began their killing spree in Nigeria that lasted four days, Thursday through Sunday evening and into Monday.

The Fulani are a large ethnic group in West Africa. A third of all Fulani people are pastoralists, making them the largest nomadic community in the world.

In only days, a dozen villages in Nigeria’s plateau state were wiped out. The affected communities surround the city of Ios—known as the epicenter of Christianity in northern Nigeria’s middle belt.

As many as 200 Christians had been killed, however, some residents fear the death toll may be even higher, as more bodies are yet to be recovered, while others were burned beyond recognition. On Sunday, 75 of the victims were buried in a mass grave.

We are still gathering information about the violence, but the details we have so far reveal the scale and brutality of the attacks: 120 people who were attending the funerals of an elderly member were hacked to death as they returned home.

In another attack, in Gana Ropp Village, a pastor, Rev. Musa Choji, was killed, as were his wife and son.

In Gidin Akwati, the whole community was burned down. Local sources say that some of those displaced are still hiding in the bush, as they haven’t yet been able to find their way to a safe haven.

A pastor with the evangelical church Winning All (ECWA) denomination, who wanted to remain anonymous for security reasons, said that following an attack on Saturday, his entire village was reduced to ashes, and more than 100 people lost their lives.The ECWA pastor said more than 50 heavily armed Fulani herdsmen surrounded the village of Nghar, at around 3:30 a.m. They burned down all the houses, as well as two churches. Only a few people were able to escape. His wife’s family was decimated. The assailants killed 14 members of her family, including her mother and sister. Others who had come to visit them were also killed. In total, 27 people lost their lives in the same house. They were all burned to death. Only one person—his wife’s younger brother—survived, as he managed to escape through the roof.

World watch monitor reports that on the day of the attack in Nghar, only two soldiers and one policeman were in the village, but they reportedly ran for their lives when the herdsmen launched their attack.

Reportedly, the violence in the attacked areas has been happening for the last two weeks. Over the weekend, the violence reached a peak. Pastor Steve Kwol, chairman of the Pentecostal federation of Nigeria for plateau north, which includes the attacked areas, said that herdsmen were ambushing people going to their farms or traveling on their motorbikes.

Since Thursday, the herdsmen had launched “very serious attacks” on the whole communities, he said. Despite the current dusk-to-dawn curfew and the presence of military, the attacks are still ongoing, he says. Two villages—Kwi and Dorowa—were badly damaged on Monday.

In Dorowa, most of the properties were burned down, including four church buildings. The adjoining buildings, such as pastors’ houses, were also destroyed by fire. In Kwi, a number of buildings, including churches, were also set on fire. The exact number of people killed there is not yet known, but many were displaced and are now living in camps in neighboring villages.

“We’ve been living peacefully with [Fulani herdsmen]” pastor Kwol said. “since this crisis started in Plateau in recent months, our people have not killed one Fulani man. Instead, they have been killing our people one by one. We just buried them and carried on.” He said. As a result of the ongoing insecurity, there are places where people can no longer go to farm,” he said, “because when they go, the Fulani will come and take their cows, or attack them.”

The attacks have some local sources saying that the ongoing violence is part of a “grand plan to Islamize Nigeria. . . . The killings are becoming no longer herder and farmer clashes” but a “deliberate attempt to conquer and occupy the land of the people’s ancestral heritage,” said Dr. Soja Bewarang, who also denounced the attack on a Bible school that trained African missionaries in Gana-Ropp village.

Reverend Gideon Para-Mallam, of the international fellowship of evangelical students in Jos and founder of the citizens monitoring group working with Christians and Muslims in Nigeria, notes that the violence is part of a pattern, an emerging agenda, saying that it is “another Boko Haram, in disguise.” The same Fulani people who have been living in peace with farmers suddenly have changed from using sticks to tend their cows, all of a sudden going to the farmlands, killing Christian farmers. Their wives and children, surrounding whole villages. It’s a pointer … because Plateau state is the epicenter of Christianity."

St. Paul’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church
109 S. Elm, Kewanee, Illinois 61443
Newsletter
Volume 30                                   July - August 2018                                      No. 7-8
           
The Church

As every good Lutheran should know, there is only one Christian church on earth, as we confess in the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in the Holy Christian Church.” Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (St. Matthew 16).

What became problematic early on, in the church’s history, was the rise of false confessions, false teachers, and the need to confess that the church’s faith does not correspond to these. Hence the question arose: How can I know whether I am in the true Christian Church? For ever since the first century, there has been falsehood contending with the truth, as even the hymnist puts it: “Though there be those that hate her, false sons within her pale; Against both foe and traitor She ever shall prevail.”

Many have thought, and still think, that the true church can only be known by succession of the apostolic line. Tracing the popes through the centuries beginning with St. Peter, the church of Rome claims this apostolic succession; the Orthodox church does as well, by tracing its line through Constantinople. The Lutheran confessors, and Luther himself, easily poked holes in this idea by showing how councils and popes can and do err. There is no guarantee that any successor to the apostles is a guarantor of infallibly; no such promise from our Lord can be found.

What can be found from our Lord, however, is a prayer that his Father would keep his apostles themselves in the truth: “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world” (St. John 17:14-18).

Thus we have as our only touchstone the apostolic Scriptures: the Bible. All of the church’s teachings must come from it and be judged by it.

And by this token, however, we learn to know whether or not we have found the church. It is where the word of God is taught in its truth and purity. It is where the truth of Christ is proclaimed, and nowhere else. The sheep know the Shepherd by his voice.

If the truth is mingled with some falsehood, as is often the case, we may see the church there dimly, as it were, and this is where we distinguish Christian denominations from religious bodies that are not Christian at all. What every Christian should seek, however, is purity of doctrine, the Gospel in its sublime beauty.

Here we have a little parish in Kewanee where, by no strength of man, but by grace alone, the word of God does sound forth purely. This gift ought never be taken lightly. Pray for the church in this place; pray for me, that I may be a faithful steward of the gifts of God. For we do not exist as the church in this place except by his gift of the word and its attendant Sacraments.

+ Pastor Eckardt
 
June 24 Annual Church Picnic to be at Kraklows’
 
The annual church picnic is to be held, God willing, at the home of Allan and Barb Kraklow south of Toulon this year. The date is our traditional last Sunday in June, which this year will be June 24th, as soon after church as you can arrive. As usual, it’s a potluck, and bring your own table service.

Jazz on the Side at Wiley Park in Galva, June 24th, late afternoon
 
The Levitt AMP Galva Music Series will transform Wiley Park’s large underused lawn into a dynamic community hub for friends, families and neighbors to come together to enjoy a wide range of music genres, positioning Wiley Park to be a point of local pride that invigorates the local community and its surrounding areas. The headliners are the Sones de Mexico Ensemble at 7 pm, but among the local artists performing earlier will be Kewanee’s own Jazz on the Side, beginning at 4:30. Pastor is at the keyboard for the band.
 
NOTICE: Elders and Altar Guild moved to June 26th
 
The first Tuesday of July is the day before Independence Day, which may be problematic for some, so there is a change in schedule, since the regular June meeting was cancelled. ELDERS AND ALTAR GUILD IS NOW SCHEDULED FOR TUESDAY, JUNE 26TH. No meeting in July. Altar Guild at 6 p.m., Vespers at 6:45; Elders at 7:15.
 
Ephesians on Tuesdays: suspended during July
 
Our Tuesday Ephesians class is on the schedule for the remainder of June, but due to the checkerboard calendar of July, it is being suspended for the entire month of July. We will resume on August 7th.

July Ushers: Grant Andresen, Larry Campbell, Jim HornbackAugust Ushers: Otis Anderson, John Ricknell, Bill Thompson (Jim Hornback in reserve)
 
Catechesis to Resume in August
 
Saturday catechesis is set to resume the second Saturday in August, which is August 11th, at 9 a.m.
 
Altar Guild News
Wednesday masses cancelled July 4th, 11th, and 25th. The only Wednesday mass in July is on the 18th.  Wednesday masses scheduled throughout August. Color is white for August 1th (Dormition B.V.M.) and red for August 29th (Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist).
 
Color is Green throughout all Sundays in July and August.    

July, August Anniversaries
 
July:
7/1/1951 John and Emilie Ricknell
 
August:
8/1/2009 Chris and Trista Dooley
 
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   
7/10 Dale Baker         
7/13 Gayle Beauprez  
7/14 Pastor Eckardt
 
August:
8/2  Joyce Long
8/9  Donald Kegebein
8/11  Sam Fisher
8/11  Judy Thompson
8/13  Donald Murphy
8/16  Trista Dooley
8/17  Steven Peart
8/21  John Sovanski
8/24  Becky Russell
 
Shut ins
 
Mary Hamilton at home; Emmy Wear at Williamsfield Home in Williamsfield; Emilie Ricknell at home; Dick Melchin at Hammond-Henry extended care in Geneseo; Joyce Long briefly at her daughter Linda Jacobs’ house, then hoping to return home soon.
 
Vacationing
 
We have plans to take our summer vacation in Northern Wisconsin again this July, from the 21st to the 28th. As usual when I am away, there will be no mass on Wednesday the 25th. Pastor Mike Bahr from Springfield will again be here to fill in on July 22nd.
+ Pastor
 
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, John Ricknell, Linda Rowe, Mary Hamilton, Emmy Wear, Sue Murphy, Don Murphy, Joyce Long, Bea Harris, Dick Melchin, DeAnne Anderson, Svetlana Meaker
    and also:
Anna Rutowicz [granddaughter of Harrises]
Jodi Rutowicz [daughter of Harrises]
Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter]
Jill Matchett [at request of Diana Shreck]
Annie Eastman [at request of Svetlana Meaker]
Steve Draminski [friend of Jim Watson]
Kathy Nussear [Joyce Long’s daughter, cancer]
Bud Harfst [Sue Murphy’s brother]
Harold Woods [Sue Murphy’s brother-in-law]
Pam Helmkamp
Dick Heiden [Carol Eckardt’s father]
Pastor Kenneth Wegener
Elizabeth Godke [Sharon Field’s mother]
Kathy Hopkins
Jesse Armstrong
Michael Nelson
Brandt and Oneda Hendrickson [Ricknells’ relatives]
Bob Laskey [friend of Monroe Kemerling]
Linda Anderson
Teresa Robertson [Carol Eckardt’s niece]
Everly Stoner [relative of Murphys]
Sarah Corzine
    in the military, especially:
John Eckardt
Donny Appleman [at request of the Ricknells]
Thomas Kim [at request of the Shrecks]
Michael Creech [at request of the Murphys]
Katherine Creech [at request of the Murphys]
Richard Heiden [at request of the Eckardts]
Carter Wills [grandson of the Thompsons]
Luke Van Landigan [grandson of Dick Melchin]
Jaclyn Alvarez [daughter of Kris Harden]
Traven Wetzel [at request of Kris Harden]
Shawn Wetzel
Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson]
Jake Mahaffey
    in trouble: especially
any unborn children in danger of abortion
those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Pakistan, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, North Korea, and elsewhere.
 
CID Convention
 
The 59th Convention of the Central Illinois District of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield, Illinois, on July 8-10, 2018.  Your lay delegate is Steve Harris, who will attend, if able, with Pastor. The convention registrations are from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Sunday, July 8th, and the convention ssessions begin at 7:00 am on Monday, July 9th and conclude on Wednesday at midday.
 
Some details about the prayer list
 
·         The homosexual prime minister of Ireland has stated that all Catholic hospitals must perform abortions. Doctors, nurses, attendants must have the courage and faith to say no, whatever the consequences. Lord, have mercy.
·         North Korea has reportedly begun opening its borders to Christians. Thanks be to God.
 
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 29                                   June 2018                                           No. 6
               
The Holy Trinity
          
What the Doctrine of the Catholic Faith is Concerning the Trinity.
 
"All those catholic expounders of the divine Scriptures, both Old and New, whom I have been able to read, who have written before me concerning the Trinity, who is God, have purposed to teach, according to the Scriptures, this doctrine, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit intimate a divine unity of one and the same substance in an indivisible equality; and therefore that they are not three Gods, but one God: although the Father has begotten the Son, and so He who is the Father is not the Son; and the Son is begotten by the Father, and so He who is the Son is not the Father; and the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son, but only the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, Himself also co-equal with the Father and the Son, and pertaining to the unity of the Trinity.

"Yet not that this Trinity was born of the Virgin Mary, and crucified under Pontius Pilate, and buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven, but only the Son.

"Nor, again, that this Trinity descended in the form of a dove upon Jesus when He was baptized; nor that, on the day of Pentecost, after the ascension of the Lord, when there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, the same Trinity sat upon each of them with cloven tongues like as of fire, but only the Holy Spirit.

"Nor yet that this Trinity said from heaven, Thou art my Son, whether when He was baptized by John, or when the three disciples were with Him in the mount, or when the voice sounded, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again; but that it was a word of the Father only, spoken to the Son.

"Yet the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as they are indivisible, so work indivisibly. This is also my faith, since it is the catholic faith."
 
-- St. Augustine (ad 354-430), On the Trinity, Chapter 4
 
Note: St. Augustine here, and customarily, refers to the faith of the Christian Church as the catholic faith. This is because, as the word itself means, it is the  faith of the whole Christian Church. It is for this same reason that we declare in saying the Athanasian Creed (on Trinity Sunday) that what we are confessing is “the catholic faith, which, except a man believe faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved.”
+ Pastor Eckardt

Renovation News: Assembly Votes to Remove Canopy; Plans for Chancel Proceeding
 
On May 6th the voters elected to remove the canopy over the altar. We are planning to set up scaffolding to do this and to proceed with plaster repair and painting very soon.
 
The Church Council on May 16th discussed a proposal for our chancel from Andrew Hattermann We have also heard from Andrew Hatterman, of Murals by Jericho in Peoria, who had a proposal for us. All agreed that although it was quite beautiful, including a new altar and altarpiece, as well as canvas artwork and design for the walls, the cost is prohibitive. We are in no position to spend tens of thousands of dollars, so the matter of whether or not to do something like this seems to have been decided for us. Therefore, there is no need for additional voters’ action at this time because the Council is not recommending the proposal.
 
At present we are looking instead to finish the work we began without making any changes to our current altar or cross. The funds we have can be used to pay Bob Harrison for plaster and painting, and possibly to install new chancel flooring and nave carpeting.
 
We are in the process of considering paint colors and shades that would best work to complement the rest of the church as well as to highlight the importance of the altar and chancel.
 
We also hope to restore the two capitals that were removed in the 1960s in the chancel. The capitals are the ornamented basses of the ceiling ribs that may also be seen throughout the nave. We may even build in columns at the two angled corners against the front wall, provided it is not too difficult.
 
If things go as planned, we would temporarily move the altar forward so as to put up scaffolding behind it. We would remain in the church for worship, but the appearance of the chancel wall would be a work in progress.
 
Pastor Completes New Book: Leave It Alone. You’ll Break It. Liturgical Observations.

For months I have been chipping away, little by little, at a project that has finally come to completion, a collection of Liturgical Observer columns I have written for Gottesdienst over the past  21 years, now under a single cover, entitled Leave It Alone. You’ll Break It. Liturgical Observations. This is another Gottesdienst book, retailing for $33.98, but it may be discount ordered at the printing house (www.lulu.com) for a 25% discount, bringing the price down to $25.49. But for an even lower cost, you can purchase one at St. Paul’s for just $20.00. All the proceeds will go to Gottesdienst, which is the liturgical quarterly owned by this congregation and having subscribers all across the country (and even abroad). Some of the things I noted years ago are just as worth noting again today, some ten or twenty years later. So here they are, observations from across the years, all of which have aimed, however inadequately, at supporting the Church and her historic liturgy.

The book is available for purchase, and a display is set up in the gym.
 
+ Pastor Eckardt
 
Picnic to be Last Sunday in June, Place TBA
 
The annual church picnic is to be held, God willing, on Sunday, June 24th, our traditional last Sunday in June, but the place has yet to be determined. Time will be as soon after church and Bible Class as you can arrive. As usual, it’s a potluck, and bring your own table service.

June Birthdays:
6/5 Linda Rowe         
6/15 Jill Powers
6/16 Berniece Harris
6/29 Jim Watson
 
June Ushers: Allan Kraklow, Steve Kraklow, Tom Wells.
 
June Anniversaries:
6/17/1967 Robert and Mary Beth Jones
6/18/1960 Sandra and John Verplaetse
6/18/1977 Fr. Burnell and Carol Eckardt
6/18/1966 Don and Sue Murphy
6/19/1977 Dana and Carol McReynolds
6/19/1966 William and Judy Thompson
6/27/1981 Steve and Gail Peart
 
Pastor’s Travel Plans in June
 
Pastor and Carol have planned a number of short trips in June.
 
First, Pastor and Carol will be leaving town on Tuesday, June 5th to visit Carol’s father in Florida, returning Saturday, June 9th. Therefore, per our usual custom there will be no mass on Wednesday night.
 
Second is a brief trip to Galena to see the hot-air balloon festival, June 15th-16th. Former members Jude and Scott Clapper will be joining us there. No worship schedule is affected.
 
Third is the annual Concordia Catechetical Academy symposium in the Milwaukee area from June 20th to the 22nd. This is always a worthwhile event for pastors and laity. If you are interested, see the note on page 4. On Wednesday the 20th there will be no midweek activities.

Tuesday Afternoon at St. Paul’s
 
Usually on a Tuesday at 5 p.m. a group of us meet in Pastor’s office to study Scripture. We have been studying Ephesians. Join us for a lively conversation.
 
Always Remember Saturdays
 
Every Saturday the church needs a crew of volunteers to help with cleaning, yard work, mowing, etc. If we get a nice group, we even like to enjoy a coffee break and lunch together sometimes. Join us if you can; the help is always welcome, and the more, the merrier.
 
We are always thankful for the volunteer spirit of our members, who put in so much of their time and treasure to help maintain the vibrancy of this little congregation.
 
Altar Guild Notes

• Color is WHITE for Trinity, May 27th.
• Color remains WHITE for midweek, May 30th.
• Color remains WHITE for the Octave of Trinity, June 3rd, then changes to GREEN for the Trinity season.
• No mass Wednesday, June 6th.
• St. Barnabas (June 11th) falls on a Monday. It will not be observed at Wednesday mass.
• Color is WHITE for Sunday, June 24th: the nativity of St. John the Baptist.
• Color is RED for Wednesday, June 27th when we observe SS Peter and Paul (transf., June 29th).
• Color is GREEN for Sunday, July 1st.
• Altar guild members are reminded to take a few moments when you prepare the altar to check candle wicks. Make sure they are not curled over. Also, when the teardrop oil lights are used, make sure the wick is showing.
• Sacred purificators should always be washed by hand in a dedicated bowl, from which the water is poured into the piscina. They are then hung to dry. DeAnne periodically takes these home to wash again in a dedicated load.

 
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, John Ricknell, Linda Rowe, Mary Hamilton, Emmy Wear, Sue Murphy, Don Murphy, Joyce Long, Steve Peart, Bea Harris, Dick Melchin, DeAnne Anderson, Svetlana Meaker
    and also:
Anna Rutowicz [granddaughter of Harrises]
Jodi Rutowicz [daughter of Harrises]
Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter]
Jill Matchett [at request of Diana Shreck]
Annie Eastman [at request of Svetlana Meaker]
Steve Draminski [friend of Jim Watson]
Kathy Nussear [Joyce Long’s daughter, cancer]
Bud Harfst [Sue Murphy’s brother]
Harold Woods [Sue Murphy’s brother-in-law]
Pam Helmkamp
Dick Heiden [Carol Eckardt’s father]
Pastor Kenneth Wegener
Elizabeth Godke [Sharon Field’s mother]
Kathy Hopkins
Jesse Armstrong
Michael Nelson
Brandt & Oneda Hendrickson [Ricknell relatives]
Bob Laskey [friend of Monroe Kemerling]
    in the military, especially:
John Eckardt
Donny Appleman [at request of the Ricknells]
Thomas Kim [at request of the Shrecks]
Michael Creech [at request of the Murphys]
Katherine Creech [at request of the Murphys]
Richard Heiden [at request of the Eckardts]
Carter Wills [grandson of the Thompsons]
Luke Van Landigan [grandson of Dick Melchin]
Jaclyn Alvarez [daughter of Kris Harden]
Traven Wetzel [at request of Kris Harden]
Shawn Wetzel
Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson]
Jake Mahaffey
    in trouble: especially
any unborn children in danger of abortion
those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Pakistan, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, North Korea, and elsewhere
 
Altar Guild, Elders 2nd Tuesday
 
The usual first Tuesday meetings for June are moved to the second Tuesday this month: June 12th.
 
Thanks Be to God for Sacrificial Giving and Volunteering
 
The members of this parish have always responded to the needs of the parish with dedicated, sacrificial giving of contributions and volunteering time, for which we are bound to give thanks to Almighty God. Our special spring cleaning day was no exception. Answering the call for special volunteer help on May 19th (and earlier that week) we had some 18 volunteers who worked feverishly to accomplish many needed items:

• Vacuuming, dusting, wet-mopping, and dry-mopping the church, the pews, under the pews, the carpet, the chancel, the balcony; also the gym, bathrooms, hallway, and offices
• Cleaning out leaves in the window-wells
• Mowing, raking, and tidying the yard in front of the school and to the west of the church
• Painting the railing at the ramp
• Painting the windowsills on the west side
• Painting the grates in front of the church

 
The weather cooperated and enabled us to go to the Eckardts’ backyard garden for a hot  dog roast Carol had set up.
 
The dedication of our membership is a testimony to the grace of God that has given his people thankful hearts and a willingness to keep this church in good order.
 
CCA’s 25th Symposium Features Pastor
 
The annual Concordia Catechetical Academy Symposium will be meeting in Waukesha, Wisconsin, from June 20-22. Its theme is The Gift of Creation and Her Redemption in Christ.  This year’s symposium is particularly intended “for parents, pastors, teachers, and homeschoolers: An exploration of Lutheran Catechesis materials for catechizing on God’s gift of creation and her redemption in Christ,” but is always a worthwhile event for anyone else. Pastor Eckardt is one of the speakers this year.
 
Details are posted in the hallway

Shut ins
 
Mary Hamilton at home
Joyce Long at home
Emilie Ricknell at home
Dick Melchin at Hammond-Henry extended care in Geneseo.
Emmy Wear at Williamsfield retirement home
 
Welcome Home, Mary
 
After a convalescence of several months at her son’s home in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Mary Hamilton has returned home again. Welcome back!

Recruiting for Catechesis
 
Catechesis concluded on March 17th; we now look forward toward the recruitment of new members. Do you know someone? A family member or co-worker, perhaps? The schedule is flexible for any adult who has interest. The best way to pick up new members is by personal invitation coming from you! That is, our members are our best resources when it comes to bringing new members in. Be sure to pick up a tract or two from the rack in the hallway to have available.
 
Church Council Moved to 2nd Wednesday
 
The Council meeting is moved to the 2nd Wednesday this month (June 13th), due to Pastor’s travel plans.

Illinois Family Institute

I recommend the Illinois Family Institute our members. It provides educational materials and is a strong advocate promoting the family, marriage, and pro-life causes in the State of Illinois. I will be making their occasional newsletter available in the narthex. You can check out their web site at www.illinoisfamily.org.
-Pastor

The Lighter Side
 
An Alternative Medical Dictionary

• Artery The study of paintings
• Cauterize Made eye contact with her
• Colic A sheep dog
• Dilate To live long
• Enema Not a friend
• Fibula A small lie

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