January 2020

St. Paul’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church
109 S. Elm, Kewanee, Illinois 61443
Newsletter
Volume 32                                   January 2020                                            No. 1
 
EPIPHANY: A DAY OF WORSHIP AND REFLECTION
             
January 6th is Epiphany Day. This year we are planning a special event. It’s a Monday, but it’s a special Feast Day of Our Lord. So we’re scheduling Mass at 2:00 pm, and following with our annual Day of Reflection. This is a change in our original schedule. A day of reflection had been scheduled for Saturday, January 4th. This has been moved to Monday, January 6th, Epiphany Day. Members are encouraged, as you are able, to come out for Mass at 2:00 pm. Following this we will be having our annual seminar.

Here is the schedule:
2:00 p.m. Mass: the eleventh day of Chistmas
3:00 p.m. – noon: Seminar (day of reflection)
The nineteenth retreat in the Theological Reflection series is entitled,
“THE NATIVITY OF MOSES”
Why is the nativity of Moses reported in such great detail in Exodus 2? What is the significance of these details? Questions like this will all be discussed and addressed
.+ Pastor Eckardt
 
For home devotions, you may use matins or vespers, or the following short form and the appointed selections for the day, written below:
25 December: Christmas Day
Psalm 110
Reading: St. Luke 2.1-14 or 2.8-14
Meditation: Christ was born at night, because He who is the light of the world, which shines in the darkness.  The angels of the Lord appeared to faithful shepherds, because all faithful pastors are hearers of the angelic voice of God. But they were greatly afraid, for who can stand when He appears?  Yet the angel spoke the Gospel to them: Do not be afraid!  Why not?  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  For this is the day which the Lord hath made; therefore we will not fear, but rejoice and be glad in it.  And the selfsame Lord, who has made the day, and whose glory shone around them, He it is, and not another, who is found wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.  See, He who for ages past was wrapped in Moses and the prophets is now wrapped in swaddling clothes.  He who is the Bread of Life for us who are the sheep of His pasture lies in a manger for feed. So let all behold Him at the holy feeding place, the Christ-mass, where He will be found, and nowhere else; and so let us feed on Him, singing the Gloria like the angels from whose lips it was first heard; and hearing again their announcement of peace; for He is our Peace, who brings to all the earth the goodwill of God toward men.
Hymn: TLH 94
Collect for Christmas Day: Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that the new birth of Thine only-begotten Son in the flesh may set us free, who are held in the old bondage under the yoke of sin; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
 
26 December, St. Stephen the Martyr’s Day
Psalm 119.III (v17-24)
Reading: Acts 6.8-15 and/or 7.54-60
Meditation: St. Stephen’s Day is observed on the second day of Christmas, for the revelation of God in the flesh is shrouded in poverty. What did the shepherds see in the poor manger?  Did they not see God Himself in the flesh, and that the majesty of Christ is found hidden in His humble appearance?  So also in the humility of all Christian suffering and martyrdom is the majesty of Christ hidden.  For the holy saints of God were citizens of the kingdom of heaven, which is not of this world; therefore the world does not receive it.  Neither did it receive St. Stephen, nor see him for who he was, as it is written, They have eyes but they see not.  Rather, they gnashed at Him with their teeth.  But what did Stephen himself see?  He saw the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.  But they did not hear his Gospel, for they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord, as it is written, Ears have they but they hear not.  So they stoned him to death; but Stephen’s mind was at peace, consumed in the holy wounds of Christ, as he cried in likeness to his crucified Master, receive my spirit, and, do not charge them with this sin.   For martyrdom is the most holy of experiences of Christ our incarnate Lord.
Hymn: TLH 77
Collect for St. Stephen’s Day: Grant, O Lord, that in all our sufferings here upon earth for the testimony of  Thy truth we may steadfastly look up to heaven and by faith behold the glory that shall be revealed; and, being filled with the Holy Ghost, may learn to love and bless our persecutors by the example of Thy first martyr, Saint Stephen, who prayed for his murderers to Thee, O blessed Jesus, who standest at the right hand of God to help all those that suffer for Thee, our only Mediator and Advocate; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
27 December: St. John the Apostle and Evangelist’s Day
Psalm 92
Reading: St. John 21.19-24
Meditation: Since it was the Holy Evangelist St. John who wrote that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, therefore he also calls himself the disciple whom Jesus loved. He also was the disciple who loved Jesus, for he leaned on His breast at the supper.  Now in this he provides an example for faith.  For those who believe that Jesus loves them will do well to lean on His breast at the Holy Supper.  For the breast of Jesus is known there, where He gives Himself to His people and holds nothing back.  It is most fitting to receive the Sacrament on Christmas Day, for Christmas means Christ-Mass, as the manger of Christ is surely the holy paten and chalice; and the sheep of His pasture receive the Bread of Life there.  So too, there they proclaim His death till He come, which is why Jesus says, If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?  You follow me.  For the Apostle knew that he would indeed abide eternally with Jesus if he had partaken in Him, and that his word was divinely inspired, for he testifies in the plural, saying, We know that His testimony is true.   Surely even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written, for the works of Jesus continue to the present day, most especially at the Holy Altar.
Hymn: TLH 271
Collect for St. John’s Day: Merciful Lord, we beseech Thee to cast the bright beams of Thy light upon thy Church that it, being instructed by the doctrines of Thy blessed Apostle and Evangelist Saint John, may attrain to the light of everlasting life, though Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
 
28 December, The Holy Innocents’ Day
Psalm 9
Reading: St. Matthew 2.13-18
Meditation: Behold how Christ fights against evil: by humility.  Herod seeks the young Child, so He flees to Egypt.  Herod desires to destroy Him, so He hides until Herod is destroyed by death.  And thus the word of the prophet is fulfilled: out of Egypt I called My Son.  For it was in the same feeble way that Israel had been delivered from Pharaoh.  They who had no weapons saw their mighty enemies swallowed up in the sea, for God’s power is made known in weakness.  So Herod, like Pharaoh before him, is stricken with madness and a murderous mind, so he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem. But still he loses the battle to the poor Christ Child, whose response to this terror is to rest serenely in His mother’s lap.  Yea, terror and the holy blood of the Innocents drenches the homes of the poor people, that is, of Rachel weeping for her children.  But where is Christ?  In Egypt, in token of the great Passover when the firstborn of all the Egyptians were once likewise slain.  For Christ is our Passover, and His blood marks all His faithful, who await the Day of His Just Judgment, when the destroying angel shall vindicate them all, as He demonstrated ahead of time by the death of Herod.
Hymn: TLH 273
Collect for Holy Innocents’ Day: O God, whose martyred innocents showed forth Thy praise not by speaking but by dying, mortify all vices within us that our lives may in deed confess Thy faith which our tongue uttereth; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
First Tuesday events
 
Our First Tuesday meetings (Altar Guild and Elders) are scheduled as usual. Tuesday, January 7th
6 pm Altar Guild; 6:45 pm First Tuesday Vespers;
7:15 pm Elders
 
January Anniversaries None
 
Altar Guild Notes
 
Altar color is white throughout January.
No mass on Wednesday, January 22nd.
Altar Guild Meeting is on January 7th at 6 pm.

No Council Meeting in January 
The January council meeting is unnecessary this month because of the annual voters’ assembly to be held January 5th.

Annual Voters’ MeetingOur Annual Voters’ Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, January 5th, at 10:00 a.m. (in the time slot normally reserved for Bible Class).
 
January Birthdays
1/1      Chris Erickson
1/13    James Hornback
1/15    Breann Dooley
 
January Ushers
Grant Andresen, Jim Hornback, Larry Campbell (unless Larry is scheduled to sub-deacon, in which case Steve Harris is on the schedule)
 
Shut ins
Mary Hamilton has moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana; Emmy Wear is at Williamsfield Home in Williamsfield; Emilie Ricknell is at home; Dick Melchin is at Hammond Henry Extended Care in Geneseo; Bea Harris is occasionally at home; Dale Baker is occasionally at home.

Eckardt Christmas Greetings
 
Our fam’ly keeps growing,
It just doesn’t cease,
Its Giver bestowing
Life’s boundless increase.
 
Another was married
‘Twas Joe in July
To Emily, as we
All partied, oh my!
 
And now she is showing!
A baby is due,
But too soon for knowing
If pink or if blue.
 
Our number now, say we?
I count twenty-two,
Including that baby
Who’s still in the womb.
 
For Jesus, born for us
Thus counts us in love;
So come, join the chorus
With angels above.
God rest ye merry, this Christmas 2019
and always.

The Bell Tolls
On the last Sunday of the year we toll the bell at
prayers for each member of our parish who has died during the year. In 2019 there was one  member who fell asleep in Christ:

• Joyce Long

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, Dick Melchin, DeAnne Anderson, Bea Harris, Allan Kraklow, Jim Watson, Dana McReynolds, Mary Beth Jones, Sandra VerPlaetse
         and beyond our parish:
Anna Rutowicz [granddaughter of Harrises]
Katy Rutovicz [granddaughter of Harrises]
Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter]
Elizabeth Godke, Sharon Field’s mother
Brandt and Oneda Hendrickson [Ricknells’ relatives]
Helen Woods [Sue Murphy’s sister]
Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister]
Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson]
Dennis Hoag [Adam Shreck’s father-in-law]
Sue Harris [Steve Harris’s sister-in-law]
Nancy Callahan [Don Murphy’s sister]
Rachel Smith [Emmy Wear’s cousin]
Yvette Baker [Dale’s daughter-in-law]
Warren Williams [relative of the Kemerlings]
Bud Harfst [Sue Murphy’s brother]
Tony Stoner [friend of the Murphys]
Dylan Harden [Chris’s grandson]
Theresa Moore [Ricknells’ niece]
Carol Grigsby [friend of Jewneel Walker]
Tim Newman [Kemerling relation]
Karla Perkowski [Monroe Kemerling’s daughter]
Pastor Kenneth Wegener
Pastor Karl Fabrizius
Pastor Brian Feicho
         in the military:
John Eckardt
Donny Appleman [at request of the Ricknells]
Richard Heiden [at request of the Eckardts]
Luke Van Landigan [grandson of Dick Melchin]
Jaclyn Alvarez [daughter of Kris Harden]
Eli Wetzel
Traven Wetzel
Shawn Wetzel
Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson]
Jake Mahaffey
 
in trouble:
any unborn children in danger of abortion
those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Nigeria, India, China, Vietnam, North Korea, and elsewhere.
 
Our Sympathies
Derrick Baker’s brother Kenneth, who lived in the Chicago area, fell asleep in Jesus on December 9th. We mourn with him and his family, and find comfort in the nativity, life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus
 
St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church
   109 S. Elm Street
   Kewanee, IL 61443