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3/24/2022 April 2022St. Paul’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church
109 S. Elm, Kewanee, Illinois 61443 Newsletter Volume 34 April 2022 No. 4 O Death, Where Is Thy Sting? This sermon was preached by Pastor Eckardt at the Easter sunrise in 2017 and published in the Easter 2018 edition of Gottesdienst Alleluia! Christ is risen! O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Answer me! You, O death, who have paraded yourself and boasted that you were unstoppable, whom no one could undo, for whom no one had an answer, and thus you have brought anguish and grief to the hearts of many and unassuageable tears to their eyes; you, O death whose grim pall has been cast over all mankind, who have laughed in our faces, for we have been helpless and pitiful in your sight. Where are you now, O death? Where are you today? Or have you not yet heard that Christ is risen? But we have heard! And we know it! Christ is risen from the dead! O death, what do you say about this? Have you no reply? Have you lost your voice? Perhaps you are busy. Perhaps you are napping and must be awakened. No reply to this, O death? And grave, what of you? You were supposed to be the final resting place, the end of life, you were so sure you had the last laugh. But you are wrong! For Christ is risen from the dead! And your treasury has been emptied; you, O grave, have been robbed by our victorious Thief in the night; your victory has been snatched away from you, and today you have lost everything. You, O death! You, O grave! Today, you are utterly vanquished! And you are the ones who must languish while we celebrate. Today the pall is cast over you, and your power is taken away. And today, the victory we have gained is in fact eternal and impossible to undo. Just as you had made us helpless, now you are helpless and pathetic in our sight, and you have no answer; and our tears are being wiped away, and it is we who sit with our resurrected Lord in the heavens and shall laugh. We shall laugh in your face. For Christ is risen from the dead! O death, you ugly, detestable, deplorable thing: begone! Be forever gone! The sting of death is sin, which is to say, sin is death’s great weapon. For all have sinned, and there is none who is righteous. Therefore all are guilty and all must die; all are mortal. That’s what death had on us, this undeniable truth, that we have sinned and are therefore not only mortal, but under the wrath of God. All of us, that is, except for one: our Lord Jesus Christ was without sin, and he, for us, not only entered our mortal state—even from the point of his conception, he not only became incarnate, but became mortal; not only mortal, but actually suffered death, even Continued, next page Continued from front page death upon a cross. Death swallowed him up. Death, like a great sea monster with an insatiable appetite and mouth wide open swallowing everything in its path, also swallowed him: such a tender morsel, a delightful worm. Down the hatch he went. But in that worm was embedded and hidden a great divine hook, and the hook was set, and our Lord by his own divinity raised himself from death, and death was suddenly stopped in its path, and yanked, surprised, from its intention. And the predator had become the prey. Beloved, have you lost someone? Have you been mournful? Does your heart ache in the face of death? Here is immeasurable balm and healing for the mournful, and for the sick at heart: Christ is risen from the dead. For death is vanquished not only in Jesus’ case, but also in ours. Because he is our Brother, the bearer of our own flesh. In Christ, we have gained this victory: Thanks be to God, says the Apostle, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Let these words sink into your ears. Claim this! Seize it! Believe it! Be steadfast and unmovable. You are free now to mock death, and to laugh at the grave. But what if you doubt? What if you cannot bring yourself to this point? I am not calling upon you today to summon your will to believe, or to talk yourself into denying any doubts you might still harbor. Rather, here is what must be done with all such doubts and fears. Collar them and drag them to the tomb of Christ. Force them to look there. What do they see? He is not there. He is risen, as he said. Next, drag these fears to the upper room, and show them what is there. Put their nose in that scene. What do they see there? Jesus himself standing, saying, Peace be unto you, showing his hands and his side. Your doubts and fears must be taken to the evidence that demands to be seen and heard. They must hear these Gospel tidings. And in this way, let them be driven away. And this is no idle talk. This is the truth: Christ is risen from the grave! He stood before his disciples and showed himself alive. He declared peace to them. He talked with them. He ate with them. He proved to them that he was alive. And since he is alive, death is dead. Since he lives, not only is his own grave empty, but the graves of all his saints must give up their victims. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall rise, and we shall be changed. And all because Christ’s flesh is our flesh, his sacrifice is our sacrifice, his death is our death, and his resurrection is our resurrection. So today let us feast. Let us receive Christ here at the altar. This bread is his living flesh; this cup is his life-giving blood. If you need any further evidence—and we always do—that his resurrection is your resurrection, then be partakers in it here. And today let us rejoice. Set sorrow aside. This is the Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord. This is a time for a great celebration, than which none could be greater. This is a victory celebration which shall have no end. And today, let us mock. Let us laugh. Let us deride: O death, where is thy sting? Where are you now? Christ is risen! O death, what is your reply? Nothing to say? Has your mouth been stopped? Truly, you are gagged and silenced forever this day. And we confess the life everlasting. O grave, where is thy victory? Your coffins have been emptied and your coffers have been cleaned out; your victory has been turned into utter defeat, snatched away from you forever, and you have lost your prey. So get lost. You are nothing. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Alleluia! Christ is risen! Passion Readings during Holy Week As is our usual custom, there will be readings of the Passion accounts from St. Matthew on Palm Sunday, St. Luke on Holy Wednesday, and Good Friday. These readings involve the participation of the congregation, which is reminiscent of a common choral practice during Reformation times. The subdeacon reads the narrator’s part, the pastor reads the part of Christ, and the congregation reads the parts of groups or crowds of people. These readings are found in special booklets which are handed out with the bulletins. Holy Week and Easter Masses Holy Monday through Good Friday, 7 p.m. Great Vigil: Saturday, April 16th, 7 p.m. Easter Sunrise Mass: April 17th, 7 a.m. (Easter breakfast following) Easter Midweek Mass: Wednesday, April 20th, 7 p.m. Shut ins Emilie Ricknell at home; Dick Melchin at Hammond-Henry extended care in Geneseo; Emmy Wear at Williamsfield retirement home; Dale Baker at home; Grant Andreson, at Friendship Manor in Rock Island. First Tuesday Our First Tuesday events are scheduled for April 5th: First Tuesday Vespers between them, for all to attend, and Elders at 7:15 pm. The Triduum Sacrum The Triduum Sacrum (holy three days) are the deepest point of Lent, giving way all at once to Easter. It starts on Maundy Thursday with mass at 7 p.m. There is no benediction for this service, as it is understood to continue on Good Friday and until the Great Vigil. As soon as the last part of the Maundy Thursday mass is sung (the Benedicamus: V: Bless we the Lord. R: Thanks be to God), the pastor and subdeacon remove their sacramental vestments while the choir sings a psalm. They then strip the altar, pulpit, and lectern of all their paraments, remove the reserved Sacrament, take out the torches, and leave the sanctuary bare. Following the congregational singing of another psalm, all depart in silence. On Good Friday, there is an opportunity to pray the Litany at 12 noon, the hour of crucifixion. Then at 7 pm is the Good Friday Solemn Liturgy with Holy Communion. On Holy Saturday, the third day, the Great Vigil commences at 7 p.m. with a newly lit fire outside (near the kitchen doors), from which the new paschal candle is lit. The congregation follows into the church in procession. The Vigil is in four parts, the first three of which anticipate Easter: the Service of Light, the Service of Readings, the Service of Baptismal Remembrance. And then comes part four, when the lights go up, the pastor wears his white chasuble, and he announces, “Alleluia! Christ is Risen!” to which all robustly reply, “He is risen indeed! Alleluia!” This is an ancient versicle and response dating to the early church. It is still used around the world, in virtually all languages. April Anniversary 4/13/2002 Steve and Sheri Kraklow New Bible Class A new weekday Bible Class is tentatively to be scheduled Tuesday afternoons, beginning April 26th. The topic of this class is yet to be decided. The time of the class will probably be at 1:30 pm. Pencil it in on your calendars. Details should be coming in bulletins soon. Stay tuned! In Our Prayers Our list of prayer intentions at mass includes the names on the lists below. To update the lists please inform pastor.Bill Thompson, Emilie Ricknell, John Ricknell, Linda Rowe, Emmy Wear, Don and Sue Murphy, Dick Melchin, Bea Harris, Allan Kraklow, Sandra VerPlaetse, John Sovanski, Grant Andreson, Dale Baker, Jewneel Walker, Judy Thompson, Otis Anderson and beyond our parish: Anna, Katy, and Jody Rutowicz [Harris relations] Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter] Elizabeth Godke [Sharon Field’s mother] Oneida Hendrickson [Ricknell relative] Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister] Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson] Dennis Hoag, Tim Newman [Shreck relations] Theresa Moore [Ricknells’ niece] Kathy Boeger [re Harrises] Allison Leezer [relative of the Kraklows] Everly Stoner Marvin Brown Shannon Watson [Jim’s daughter] Debra Dawson Maxine Bitting [Judy Thompson’s sister in law] Loren Hartz [Sharon’s brother] Yvette Baker [Dale Baker’s daughter-in-law] Karen Parker Rosemary Bloome [Don Murphy’s cousin] Richard Heiden, Carol Eckardt’s father Troy Kelly [friend of the Murphys] Candace Gehrke Pastor Jacob Sutton Pastor Justin Kane [relative of Diana Shreck] 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 [rel. of Kris Harden] Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson] Jake Mahaffey, Trevor Shimmin, Shad Draminski James and Ann Lee Armstrong in trouble: especially any unborn children in danger of abortion those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Nigeria, Algeria, Sudan, Madagascar, Iran, Iraq, Syria, India, China, Vietnam, North Korea, Finland, Canada, elsewhere. Easter Preparations 1) Volunteers needed to help with Spring cleaning on Saturdays at 9 am. 2) Extra volunteers needed to help with Easter Breakfast preparations on Holy Saturday, April 3rd, beginning at 9 am. First, we need volunteers to help with preparations on Holy Saturday, 3) Items you are bringing for the breakfast. See the sign-up sheet in the gym. Everybody may bring something, but sign up for something in particular, so we don’t have everyone bringing the same thing. 4) Easter lilies: find a sign-up sheet in the narthex or on the table in the hall. $15 each. 5) Choir members, please make an extra effort to come to any remaining rehearsals. 6) Ladies, remember your hats! 7) Invite your families! 8) Let us know you’re coming! Judy, Our Volunteer Secretary Since Judy Thompson broke her leg, she has been out of commission for several weeks, and is expected to be back in early May. The secretarial duties she performs are all the more appreciated. During her absence, Pastor has been taking care of the mail, bills, bank balances, and other of her duties, at least the minimum of what has to be done. It’s a temporary solution, of course, and we are glad to hear she’s on the mend! Three cheers also for Michelle Armstrong her daughter who has been doing a lot of what is needed for her care. April Birthdays 4/3 Adam Shreck 4.14 Emmy Wear 4/19 Luke Wells 4/22 Grant Andreson 4/25 Mason Dooley Easter Lilies There’s a sign-up sheet in the narthex. Cost. $15.00 apiece Easter Hats Ladies, remember our hats tradition! Easter is the time to wear your best, and if you are able, set it off with a handsome hat! And by all means, leave them on for the Easter breakfast. Robin Sighting The winner of this year’s robin sighting contest is Steve Kraklow, who saw one on Ash Wednesday, March 2nd. This is his third time as winner. The eligibility is limited to people in Illinois extending as far south as Peoria. As promised, as winner, he might get a check for $10,000 a month for the rest of his life. He might. Maybe. 2022 Steve Kraklow 2021 Andy Eckardt 2020 Michele Keehner 2019 Steve Kraklow 2018 Steve Kraklow 2017 Barbra Kraklow 2016 Judy Thompson 2015 Carol Eckardt 2014 Michele Keehner April Ushers Jim Hornback, Steve Kraklow, Tom Wells Church Council to Meet Wednesday, April 20th The monthly meeting of the Council is scheduled, as usual, for the third week of April, which is the 20th. at the usual 5:30 Altar Guild Notes
St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church 109 S. Elm Street Kewanee, IL 61443 3/24/2022 March 2022St. Paul’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church
109 S. Elm, Kewanee, Illinois 61443 Newsletter Volume 34 March 2022 No. 3 THE LENTEN DOWNWARD TREK It’s a very good thing to be in touch with the sanctoral cycle, better-known as the church year, a year superimposed on the calendar year. We generally manage our lives according to the calendar year, which counts onward year after year since our Lord’s coming and looking toward his return. This is why this year is called A D 2022. A D stands for anno domini, which is Latin for “the year of our Lord.” This is the year of our Lord 2022, counting that many years we have been waiting for our Lord’s return in glory. It’s a rough count, since the beginning of that counting was not altogether accurate, but the letters A D are a subtle reminder, all the same, that we’re still counting, and patiently waiting. Society doesn’t look at it that way, of course, but we Christians certainly do. A D is a subtle confession that Christ shall come again in glory to judge both the quick and the dead, as we confess every Sunday morning. That’s the calendar year, which, aside from that, we all understand pretty well. Then there’s the church-year, the sanctoral cycle. Many people have little idea about this, generally paying attention only to its highlights, Christmas and Easter. But the Church does well in ordering our days around the year according to these high Feasts. Hence we count Advent as the season leading to Christmas and Epiphany the season after Christmas. And then there come the seasons surrounding the high feast of Easter. Eastertide itself is seven Sundays, preceded by Lent, the season of penitential preparation and fasting. Lent itself is also preceded by Septuagesima, also called pre-Lent, a season of three Sundays prior to Ash Wednesday. Those Sundays are Septuagesima (70th), Sexagesma (60th) and Quinquagesima (50th) named for the days (approximately) remaining before Easter. The emphasis during this season is on the Word of God and its power, and it is the season we begin as it were to march downward into the recesses of Lent. The somber season of Lent is itself subdivided, with the last two weeks designated as Passiontide, and the images are veiled. This two week period is itself subdivided, because the second of those two weeks is Holy Week, the most important week of the entire year. And Holy Week is then subdivided, because the period from Maundy Thursday until the Vigil of Easter is called the triddum Sacram, or the Holy Three Days of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, the very deepest part of Lent. All this leads to the sharp and immediate contrast with Easter, which is ushered in at the Vigil itself. Moving directly from the throes of Lent’s deepest moments to the heights of Christianity’s most joyous day, we can the more easily recall the great wonder and joy experienced by the apostles upon suddenly seeing the risen Christ, as he stood before them, alive. All of this teaches us that the Christian faith is rooted in real-life events, things that actually happened, and have made all the difference to us, sealing our eternal salvation. + Pastor Eckardt Still No Robins? As it did last year, the robin sighting contest continues into March, since no robin sighting has yet been reported. Who can find the first robin of spring? Call Pastor if you see and can verify one. This is the ninth year of the contest. Past winners: 2021 Andy Eckardt 2020 Michele Keehner 2019: Steve Kraklow 2018: Steve Kraklow 2017: Barb Kraklow 2016: Judy Thompson 2015: Carol Eckardt 2014: Michele Keehner A sign of spring, the robin may also help us think of the approach of Easter! Remember, the winner of the contest might get a check for $10,000 a month for the rest of his life. March Birthdays 3/1 Barbra Kraklow 3/25 Carol Eckardt March Anniversary 3/19/1977 Jeff and Diana Shreck Church Council Council meets Wednesday, March 16th, at 5:30. This is the fourth Wednesday of the month. March Ushers Jim Hornback, Steve Kraklow, Tom Wells 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: Bill Thompson, Emilie Ricknell, John Ricknell, Linda Rowe, Emmy Wear, Don and Sue Murphy, Dick Melchin, Bea Harris, Allan Kraklow, Sandra VerPlaetse, John Sovanski, Grant Andreson, Dale Baker, and Jewneel Walker and beyond our parish: Anna, Katy, and Jody Rutowicz [Harris relations] Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter] Elizabeth Godke [Sharon Field’s mother] Oneida Hendrickson [Ricknell relative] Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister] Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson] Dennis Hoag, Tim Newman [Shreck relations] Theresa Moore [Ricknells’ niece] Kathy Boeger [re Harrises] Allison Leezer [relative of the Kraklows] Everly Stoner Marvin Brown Shannon Watson [Jim’s daughter] Matt Verplaetse Maxine Bitting [Judy Thompson’s sister in law] Loren Hartz [Sharon’s brother] Yvette Baker [Dale Baker’s daughter-in-law] Karen Parker Rosemary Bloome [Don Murphy’s cousin] Richard Heiden, Carol Eckardt’s father Troy Kelly [friend of the Murphys] Pastor Jacob Sutton Pastor Justin Kane [relative of Diana Shreck] 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 [relatives of Kris Harden] Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson] Jake Mahaffey, Trevor Shimmin, Shad Draminski James and Ann Lee Armstrong in trouble: any unborn children in danger of abortion; those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Nigeria, Algeria, Sudan, Madagascar, Iran, Iraq, Syria, India, China, Vietnam, North Korea, and elsewhere, also Paivi Rasanen and Bishop Juhana Pohjola of Finland. Trial of Räsänen and Pohjola Continues The Finnish trial of Dr Päivi Räsänen and Bishop Juhana Pohjola resumed on Monday February 14th. The essence of this trial is that our Christian confession of faith according to Scripture is itself on trial, since these stalwart Lutherans have been charged with “hate speech” because of their public confession that Scripture’s teaching on human life, sexuality, and marriage is true and correct, meaning that homosexuality is sinful, as Scripture also teaches. Dr. Räsänen was awarded the Gottesdienst Sabre of Boldness in January, and Bishop Pohjola had been awarded the Sabre in 2006. The Prosecutor General of Finland had charged Dr. Räsänen and Bishop Pohjola with hate speech for openly confessing the faith, and for insisting on freedom of religion. The latest news comes from a report that emerged on February 16th from the resumption of the trial on the 14th. It was announced that the verdict would be reached and announced on March 30th. Bishop Pohjola, using a megaphone to address a large crowd of supporters after the session on the 14th, also spoke to reporters, and his remarks were published in English two days later. by the Diocese News of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Finland. Here is what he said: “The prosecutor’s primary idea seems to be that, in public, one’s own understanding of the Bible may not be taught, and that freedom of religion does not give one permission to voice aloud a teaching if it is considered to discriminate against a minority group. Therefore, in line with this view, the biblical teachings on marriage, sexuality, sin and grace could not, according to the prosecution, be preached in public. This is an attack on religious freedom.” The demonstrators had gathered outside the courtroom to show their support for the defendants, as this trial has quickly gained international interest. Catechism Schedule and Confirmation The schedule for catechesis this season are as follows: Adult catechesis Mondays at 1:30 pm Junior catechesis on Tuesdays at 5:00 pm. A New Study in Sunday Bible Class Beginning sometime in March, depending on when our study of Hebrews ends, we will begin in our Sunday morning Bible Class to consider the book of I Samuel. We began this study at our Day of Reflection, held on Saturday, February 5th, when we looked at the first two chapters. A brief review will be followed by a study of the remaining chapters of I Samuel. Join us for breakfast and an invigorating study hour that always begins after Sunday mass, in the parish hall. Choir rehearsals again! In preparation for special music during Holy Week and Easter, choir rehearsals have started up again. The first Wednesday in March will have to be skipped, as Pastor and Carol plan to be visiting her father in Florida for a few days that week, so we plan to resume rehearsals on Wednesday, March 9th at 5:30 pm. That is a relatively new time, as the choir members seem to find it easier to attend at the earlier hour. Check the calendar and make a special note of it: March 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th, and April 6th. We will not rehearse after that unless we decide we need it. Midweek Lenten Services Following an old Lutheran custom, we suggest people to make a little more effort to come out for midweek masses during Lent, as another laudable way of observing the season. It’s a good part of the Lenten season. 7:00 Wednesday evenings. St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church 109 S. Elm Street Kewanee, IL 61443 1/27/2022 February 2022St. Paul’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church
109 S. Elm, Kewanee, Illinois 61443 Newsletter Volume 34 February 2022 No. 2 Candlemas The Feast of Candlemas is upon us again, so-called because of the custom of distributing, blessing, and lighting of candles during the service. It is one of the more beautiful occasions we celebrate at St. Paul’s. Set on February 2nd, this year it falls on the first Wednesday of February. February 2nd is the fortieth day from Christmas. A woman who gave birth to a son was required by Levitical law to come for the rite of purification. Thus the Blessed Virgin Mary came, and when she came she presented her first born Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, as she was also required to do by the law. When Jesus was presented in the temple, the priest Simeon also came in and declared, in the words of the Nunc Dimittis, “Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy word, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.” This declaration of the Christ Child as a Light is the reason for the ceremonial use of candles at this Mass. The use of these lights in connection with the Blessed Sacrament emphasizes the analogy of Simeon’s jubilation on receiving the Child with our own reception of Christ at the altar. This connection is made at every Mass, of course, in our own recitation of the Nunc Dimittis. At Candlemas, the connection is highlighted because the Gospel appointed for the day is this very Gospel. The name of this Feast, Candlemas, also subtly provides a link to the Feast from which it springs, that great feast of forty days earlier, namely Christmas. Hand-candles are used twice in this service. First, at the opening, in a procession toward the altar and back to the pews, all the while singing the Nunc Dimittis (the song of Simeon). Second, the hand-candles are re-lit, when the Sacrament is consecrated. + Pastor Eckardt Also called Groundhog’s Day The reason for the legend of the groundhog who comes out, sees his shadow, and goes back into hiding for another six weeks off winter, is probably the fact that we are nearing the season of Lent, which is also (roughly) six weeks long. But that’s just trivia. More seriously, this year we begin pre-Lent on Septuagesima, February 13th. So Ash Wednesday will fall on March 2nd.Easter comes on April 17th. Septuagesima February 13st. On Septuagesima Sunday we turn our gaze toward Easter, though liturgically it is still off in the distance. This Sunday marks the first day of pre-Lent (also called the Septuagesima season), a period of preparing our minds for the coming of Lent. A few liturgical matters are noted: we bid the Alleluias farewell, for we will not sing them again until Easter. The choir sings The Depositio, which is a “farewell to the alleluia” at the opening of the service. In addition, and we have changed the color to violet, also the color for Lent. The Septuagesima season is observed in three Sundays: Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima. These Latin terms mean 70th, 60th, and 50th, for we pass, roughly, the 70th, 60th, and 50th days before Easter. Following Quinquagesima comes Ash Wednesday, the first day of the 40 days of Lent. Lent itself was once called Quadragesima, which means 40th. In the middle ages Septuagesima Sunday was also seen as New Year’s Day, because of this shift in our focus: we had been living, as it were, in the wake of Christmas, since the Epiphany season is an extension of the Christmas season. On Septuagesima Sunday we live in the first stages of preparation for the coming of Easter. Shrove Tuesday March 1st A good opportunity to make confession privately in preparation for Lent. Pastor is available Tuesday afternoon until 5 pm and, as always, by appointment. Ash Wednesday March 2nd On Ash Wednesday, February 17th, we will congregate at 7:00 pm to mark the beginning of Lent. The rite of imposition of ashes precedes the Mass. Lent The season of Lent emphasizes penitence, in preparation for Easter. Its span is forty days, like the forty days in which Jesus fasted in the wilderness, in fulfillment of the fast of Moses and Elijah on Mount Horeb. The Apostles themselves left the specific manner of observance to Christian liberty, saying, Let each be convinced in his own mind. Leaving aside the question of what things one should fast from (whether sweets, or meats, or milk products, etc.), what is clear is that the custom of fasting itself is quite biblical. If Moses, Elijah, and Jesus himself fasted, certainly it must be a good practice. Indeed, on Ash Wednesday we hear Jesus saying, “When ye fast, be not as the hypocrites,” etc. Luther’s Small Catechism also declares, “Fasting and other bodily preparation is indeed a fine outward training.” Therefore we conclude two things: first, that fasting is a good thing, and second, that it is a matter left to Christian liberty. Liturgically the Church fasts during Lent (as Israel fasted forty years in the wilderness). The color is penitential violet. Alleluias are not sung, and there is less music; flowers are absent, and weddings are not to be scheduled. Then, the last two weeks of Lent are designated as “passiontide,” when statutes, images, and crosses in the churches are veiled, and no Glorias are sung at all, except in the Gloria in Excelsis on Maundy Thursday. But in the midst of this penitential mood there is joy, especially at Laetare, the fourth Sunday in Lent (Laetare means ‘rejoice’). The entire penitential season is not to be sad, but joyful. For true joy of heart, born of the suffering and resurrection of Christ, transcends all parts of Christian life, even the deepest of sorrows, as we confess with David that weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Thus the forty days of Lent is followed by a contrastingly festive forty-day season from Easter until Ascension Day. Annual Voters’ Assembly Set for February 6th After several weeks of unforeseen delays, we finally have a scheduled date for the annual voters’ assembly, namely the first Sunday of February, which is February 6th. As usual, this meeting will take the place of Bible Class during the hour from 10:30 to 11:30 am. A Day of Theological Reflection February 12th Our annual Day of Reflection had a hiatus last year. We haven’t had one for two years, but now at last we are scheduling another. On Saturday afternoon, February 12th we will be having a seminar. This marks the 22nd year we have done this. This year’s theme is “THE NATIVITY, EARLY YEARS, AND CALL OF SAMUEL” We will open with midday prayers and continue into the afternoon with the seminar. Here is the schedule: 12:30 pm: Midday prayers 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.: Seminar (day of reflection) The nineteenth retreat in the Theological Reflection series is entitled, “THE NATIVITY, EARLY YEARS, AND CALL OF SAMUEL” Samuel is a pivotal figure in the history of Israel, being both the last of the judges and the one to anoint the first king. What is the significance of his nativity and childhood, and what do the details of his call signify? Questions like this will all be discussed and addressed. .+ Pastor Eckardt Choir Rehearsals Choir rehearsals will be starting again this month, beginning on Wednesday, February 2nd. Since the 5:30 hour seemed to work well late last year, we’ll schedule it that way again. We will only be able to meet three times in February, since Pastor will be gone the fourth week. Then we will resume in March. But let’s get started; see you there! February Birthdays 2/2 Mindie Fisher2/4 Joshua Kraklow2/5 Tom Wells2/23 Carol McReynolds February Anniversaries None First Tuesday The first Tuesday events (altar guild, vespers, elders) will be held, God willing, on Tuesday, February 2nd. 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. No February Council Meeting As is customary, the church council does not meet in the month of our annual voters’ assembly. Since voters will meet on February 6th this year, there is no need for the council also to meet. Ushers Jim Hornback, Steve Kraklow, Tom Wells The Bible on Trial in Finland The case of Païvi Räsänan and Bishop Juhana Pohjola is being tried in a Finnish Court. Dr. Räsänan, who is a physician, is on trial for hate speech because she, who is a sitting member of the Finnish Parliament, wrote a pamphlet in 2004 about the Biblical view of marriage between a man and a woman, and has since then been criticized for insensitivity toward the LBGTQ community for nothing other than her view that the Biblical view is correct. She received the Sabre of Boldness from the Gottesdienst editorial board last week and has communicated with us her gratitude for our support, which joins a widespread international voicing of dismay over the persecution she and her compatriot, Bishop Juhana Pohjola, who also received Gottesdienst’s Sabre award in 2009, have suffered. The trial goes on throughout February and may be decided by early March. Dr. “Räsänen has claimed that the Finnish church has ‘elevat[ed] shame and sin to a point of pride’, according to the indictment. According to Euronews.com, “Prosecutors say that her remarks are an ‘affront to the equality and dignity of homosexuals’ and have called for the MP to be fined up to €13,000. . . . “The landmark case on hate speech and religious freedoms has been described as ‘shocking’ by Finland's Christian community. The former minister has denied the charges and says she acted in the name of ‘freedom of expression and religion’. She remarked on the first day of the trial, “I hope it will be clear today that I do not wish to offend any group of people, but that it is about saving people for eternal life.” We will keep her and Bp. Pohjola in our prayers. Robin Sighting Contest Who can find the first robin of spring? Call Pastor if you see and can verify one. This is the ninth year of the contest. The eligibility is limited to people in Illinois extending as far south as Peoria. The winner of the contest gets a check for $10,000 a month for the rest of his life. Maybe. Past winners: 2021 Andy Eckardt 2020 Michele Keehner 2019 Steve Kraklow 2018 Steve Kraklow 2017 Barbra Kraklow 2016 Judy Thompson 2015 Carol Eckardt 2014 Michele Keehner 2020 Michele Keehner 2019: Steve Kraklow 2018: Steve Kraklow 2017: Barb Kraklow 2016: Judy Thompson 2015: Carol Eckardt 2014: Michele Keehner A sign of spring, the robin may also help us think of the approach of Easter! 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: Bill Thompson, Emilie Ricknell, John Ricknell, Linda Rowe, Emmy Wear, Don and Sue Murphy, Dick Melchin, Bea Harris, Allan Kraklow, Sandra VerPlaetse, John Sovanski, Grant Andreson, Dale Baker, and Jewneel Walker and beyond our parish: Anna, Katy, and Jody Rutowicz [Harris relations] Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter] Elizabeth Godke [Sharon Field’s mother] Oneida Hendrickson [Ricknell relative] Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister] Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson] Dennis Hoag, Tim Newman [Shreck relations] Theresa Moore [Ricknells’ niece] Kathy Boeger [re Harrises] Allison Leezer [relative of the Kraklows] Everly Stoner Marvin Brown Shannon Watson [Jim’s daughter] Matt Verplaetse Maxine Bitting [Judy Thompson’s sister in law] Loren Hartz [Sharon’s brother] Yvette Baker [Dale Baker’s daughter-in-law] Karen Parker Rosemary Bloome [Don Murphy’s cousin] Richard Heiden, Carol Eckardt’s father Troy Kelly [friend of the Murphys] Pastor Jacob Sutton Pastor Justin Kane [relative of Diana Shreck] 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 [relatives of Kris Harden] Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson] Jake Mahaffey, Trevor Shimmin, Shad Draminski James and Ann Lee Armstrong in trouble: any unborn children in danger of abortion those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Nigeria, Algeria, Sudan, Madagascar, Iran, Iraq, Syria, India, China, Vietnam, North Korea, and elsewhere, also Paivi Rasanen and Bishop Juhana Pohjola of Finland, who are on trial and face possible conviction and imprisonment for their confession of faith. St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church 109 S. Elm Street Kewanee, IL 61443 12/20/2021 January 2022
 God rest ye merry, this Christmas 2021 and always!
– the Eckardts St. Paul’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church 109 S. Elm, Kewanee, Illinois 61443 Newsletter Volume 34 January 2022 No. 1 Master of Disguise (Excerpts from an article in the Christmas 2021 issue of Gottesdienst by Pastor Eckardt) Christmas is a great time to consider the humility of Christ and then to apply what we know about it to everything else in life. Everyone knows about and loves the lowly stable (most likely it was a cave), the ox and ass, the manger, and the simple shepherds at the simple birth of Christ. It’s worth pondering not only for its simplicity but also for the realization that these were the most dreadful of conditions. It was most likely in the middle of winter and, therefore, cold. British poet Christina Rosetti, one of the Victorian age’s finest, had it right: In the bleak midwinter / Frosty wind made moan / Earth stood hard as iron / Water like a stone / Snow had fallen, snow on snow / Snow on snow / In the bleak midwinter / Long ago. Gustav Holst famously and marvelously set this to music to make it a most beloved carol. Added to this cold winter night was the frantic situation in which Joseph found himself with a pregnant wife soon to give birth and nowhere to turn in. Roman law required them to go to Bethlehem at once, at the worst of possible times for them. Though the lineages of both Joseph and Mary were the line of David, there were evidently no family members or relatives for them to count on when they arrived, already at the last minute. Mary’s cousin Elizabeth lived in the hill country, not near enough by. The Child was ready to be born, but they were clearly not ready for it to happen. There was no room for them in the inn, as we are all aware. We are told of no friendly innkeeper to offer them his barn. I’ve always been amazed at the suggestion that such an innkeeper could be called friendly, but none is mentioned anyhow. The only innkeeper mentioned in the Bible is in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Popular belief that there was an innkeeper likely arises from children’s Christmas plays. In reality, however, there was nowhere to go, and lest she give birth in the street, they seem to have had no choice but to turn in at the nearest shelter they could find. It was cold, it was dreary, they were alone, it was night, and there was no room anywhere. Those were the desperate circumstances of Jesus’ birth. Meanwhile, the glory of the Lord shone round about the shepherds in a nearby field, though it did not shine round about the creche. The shepherds had quite a sight to see that night, but not this poor fledgling family. And speaking of those shepherds, they were already lowly men, in a sense themselves possibly the emblem of the despised caste that all Jews were in the eyes of the other nations, dating back to the days of the Egyptian farmers who, in spite of anything they respected about Joseph, would not have wanted shepherds anywhere near them (“every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians,” Gen 46:34). If the legend that shepherds were universally despised isn’t true, we can at least say this much, that they were essentially peasants. They weren’t aristocracy or nobility. But on Christmas Eve they became the most privileged of all men, for they saw a countryside filled with angels singing the premiere of the opening words of the Greater Gloria. Yet what is startling is that the sign given to them by which they would find the newborn Christ the Lord was no such glorious sight, but its virtual opposite: a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Consider the sign: it betokens dearth, not majesty. It is meager, not mighty. It is all disguise, marvelous disguise. The marvel of the disguise is magnified when we consider who is disguised here, namely the Almighty God in the flesh. This reality is commonly missed by the general public who, while they know and love the simplicity of the lowly birth, do not quite know whose birth this is. Even many brands of Christians do not quite know. For although they will readily confess that Jesus is God, they are not so swift to confess that this humility is not merely the humility of Jesus but the humility, therefore, of God.. . . He, and no other, is the Master of Disguise here. That this Child is the Almighty Creator of all certainly magnifies the marvel of His nativity. And therefore, it is appropriate and helpful to apply this truth to everything in Christian life. The balm and comfort of the Gospel is not only to know the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation—though, to be sure, that is the heart of the matter—but, in addition, to see this disguise for what it is. For to see that this is God’s way of revealing Himself to us, is to begin to understand why Christian faith is never the way of despair. The circumstances in which Mary and Joseph found themselves were certainly desperate, but they were not an occasion to despair. They were ordained of God; they were His manner of working with us. They are His manner of working with us. This is what Luther would call the theology of the cross. In his Heidelberg Disputation of 1517, Luther spelled out four important things that comprise this theology of the cross: 19. That person does not deserve to be called a theologian who looks upon the invisible things of God as though they were clearly perceptible in those things which have actually happened [Rom. 1:20]. 20. He deserves to be called a theologian, however, who comprehends the visible and manifest things of God seen through suffering and the cross. 21. A theologian of glory calls evil good and good evil. A theologian of the cross calls the thing what it actually is. 22. That wisdom which sees the invisible things of God in works as perceived by man is completely puffed up, blinded, and hardened. (AE 31:40). . . . Simply put, since the cross of Jesus is not evil but good, as every Christian knows, therefore the suffering of the Christian is also not evil but good since it is the means by which God brings him to the humility of seeing his worth only in Christ and not in himself. . . . And so the theology of the cross, of the manger, is a most comforting thing to learn, especially when shameful, difficult, or dreadful circumstances in life arise, whether they be personally difficult, liturgically difficult, societally difficult, difficult in any way at all. Dreadful circumstances tend to elicit sorrow and despair, as they suggest that God is not here, and there is no help. But all such suggestions vanish with a reminder that the Almighty God is the Author of the theology of the manger and the Master of Disguise. First Tuesday events Our First Tuesday Elders meeting is scheduled as usual. Tuesday, January 4th after First Tuesday Vespers which is at 6:45 pm January Anniversaries None Altar Guild Notes Altar color is white through January until the 31st, which is Septuagesima Sunday, when the color changes to violet. No Council Meeting in January The January council meeting is unnecessary this month because of the annual voters’ assembly to be held January 2nd. Annual Voters’ Meeting Our Annual Voters’ Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, January 2nd, 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 Jim Hornback, Tom Wells, Steve Kraklow Shut ins Emmy Wear is at Williamsfield Home in Williamsfield; Emilie Ricknell is at home; Dick Melchin is at Hammond Henry Extended Care in Geneseo; Dale Baker is at home; Jewneel Walker is at Kewanee Care; Bea Harris is occasionally at home. The Bell Does Not Toll On the last Sunday of the year (next Sunday) we would remember the members who fell asleep in Christ during the year, but this year there were none, for which we thank God. Annual Voters’ Assembly Our Annual Voters’ assembly is on January 2nd at 10:30. 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: Bill Thompson, Emilie Ricknell, John Ricknell, Linda Rowe, Emmy Wear, Don and Sue Murphy, Dick Melchin, Bea Harris, Allan Kraklow, Sandra VerPlaetse, John Sovanski, Grant Andreson, Dale Baker, and Jewneel Walker and beyond our parish: Anna, Katy, and Jody Rutowicz [Harris relations], Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter], Elizabeth Godke [Sharon Field’s mother], Oneida Hendrickson [Ricknell relative], Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister], Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson], Dennis Hoag, Tim Newman [Shreck relations], Theresa Moore [Ricknells’ niece], Kathy Boeger [re Harrises], Allison Leezer [relative of the Kraklows], Everly Stoner, Marvin Brown, Shannon Watson [Jim’s daughter], Matt Verplaetse, Maxine Bitting [Judy Thompson’s sister in law], Loren Hartz [Sharon’s brother], Yvette Baker [Dale Baker’s daughter-in-law], Karen Parker [Dale Baker’s sister], Rosemary Bloome [Don Murphy’s cousin], Richard Heiden [Carol Eckardt’s father], Troy Kelly [friend of the Murphys], Pastor Jacob Sutton, Pastor Justin Kane [relative of Diana Shreck] 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 [relatives of Kris Harden], Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson], Jake Mahaffey, Trevor Shimmin, Shad Draminski James and Ann Lee Armstrong In trouble any unborn children in danger of abortion those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Nigeria, Algeria, Sudan, Madagascar, Iran, Iraq, Syria, India, China, Vietnam, North Korea, and elsewhere. Christmas Program Includes Music from a Play Written and Composed by Pastor in 1988 Under the direction of Cantor Peter Eckardt, the first-to-third-graders at St. John Lutheran School in Mattoon, Illinois, presented a Christmas program on December 14th that was first sung in 1988 by the grade schoolers at St. John Lutheran Church in Berlin, Wisconsin, as part of a musical play “The Christmas Nobody Noticed,” entirely written, composed, and directed by Pastor in 1988 in Berlin, Wisconsin, where he served as Associate Pastor at St. John Lutheran Church and School. The play was performed there also in 1990 under his direction, when his son Peter participated as a preschooler, and again at Our Father Lutheran School in Greenfield, Wisconsin a few years after that. After a 31-year dormancy, this year the music from that play was discovered in the Eckardt basement and dusted off for use in the program. Pastor and Carol were present at the performance, which may be viewed at https://www.facebook.com/stjohnslutheranmattoon/videos/398277582082667 St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church 109 S. Elm Street Kewanee, IL 61443 12/20/2021 December 2021St. Paul’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church
109 S. Elm, Kewanee, Illinois 61443 Newsletter Volume 31 December 2021 No. 12 Preparations, Secular and Spiritual December is always a time of preparing. Most people have extra to do. Shopping, cooking, Christmas cards, parties, etc. For some it is a time of greater stress, largely on account of this. Some recall tragedies or sorrows that have descended upon them during these days, and hence find them dark and depressing. And that, while certainly understandable, is truly a shame. What can be done? Here’s a suggestion. Advent, of course, ought to be a time of anticipation and of penitential preparation in particular. The older traditional understanding of the season of Advent was that it was a time of fasting, similar to the time of Lent, if a bit less pronounced. The seasons surrounding Christmas have less longevity than the seasons surrounding Easter, for the simple reason that while Easter goes back to the time of Jesus’ resurrection itself, Christmas. There is even some evidence to suggest that the first two centuries of Christianity were times of strong opposition to the recognition of the birthdays of saints and martyrs in general, since their dates of martyrdom were considered the time of their birth in the Church Triumphant. How much more then, the reasoning went, should the date of Jesus’ birth not be observed. Of course, this reasoning is weak, and soon replaced with the greater importance of having a time to emphasize and rejoice in the incarnation of our Lord. But it was not until the third century that the date of December 25th began to be recognized and observed as the date of Jesus’ birth, held then in conjunction with the winter solstice, under the view that it was fitting that the birth of the Son of God in the flesh be observed when the ‘birth’ of the sun occurred, the date when the days began to get longer again. In this way the Church could also supplant the pagan festivals that occurred on the solstice with a better one of her own. There is a second view that the date of Jesus’ conception in the womb was a fitting feast to observe on March 25th because it was the time of the spring equinox, which of course also puts his nativity at December 25th, nine months from that date (For details, see Britannica.com under “Christmas”). As the celebration of the Nativity grew popular, so also did the preparation by fasting and penitence also accompany it, appropriately. Hence arises this recommendation: if we can recover in some respects the need of spiritual preparation for the great Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord, we might at least consider the strains added to our schedules, the stresses added to our lives, and the sorrows added to our minds as being in themselves another type of fasting, in a way. We do these things because we must, or because we have no choice, according to the time of year; but we can perhaps learn to do or endure them cheerfully if we consider the goal: a fitting celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord. How do we celebrate that? First, by attending the Christ Mass, certainly, and in preparation for that by attending Advent Masses and learning again of the importance of penitence, much as we do during Lent. Second, by preparing to make that day of Christmas a noble time of great joy and gladness. This we do by exchanging gifts, having festive meals, and joining with family to do these things. And to this, of course, we must enter into all of our other preparatory arrangements of all kinds, in advance of Christmas. In short, it might be helpful to put our secular preparations into a spiritual perspective. Consider them additional preparations to make the appropriate joy of Christmas all the greater. But some of use cannot do any of this. For those who, say, are alone at Christmas, it can mean that we simply have less of the trappings of Christmas, but not that Christmas itself should be lost on us, as to its meaning. It is still, for all of us, a time to rejoice in the incarnation of our Lord. And since he came for all, therefore none of us need feel left out, or unable to rejoice. Since his incarnation is a permanent coming of our Lord in the flesh, prerequisite to his death and resurrection in the flesh, and since it means that he has bound himself to us poor Christians forever, therefore there is always reason to rejoice, no matter how many or how few the accompanying frills. Remember first of all, to come to Mass, both on Christmas and during Advent. During Advent, find some ways to fast. And remember also, in your private devotion, your need of penitence. Come to confession during Advent; it’s a most fitting time to do so. And pull out your hymnal. Read and sing the Advent hymns and the Christmas carols. The secular need not be wholly separated from the sacred, in your preparations. Think of the secular preparations as being in some way preparations for the sacred day. + Pastor Eckardt Two Christ Masses There are two Christ Masses at St. Paul’s. The first is on Christmas Eve at 7:00, and the second is on Christmas morning at 10:00. Since Christmas Day is on a Saturday, the very next day will also have Mass. This year, that day being December 26th, will be the Feast of St. Stephen the Protomartyr. Then on Wednesday night the 29th we will observe Holy Innocents’ Day. First Tuesday Dec. 7 On Tuesday, December 7th, First Tuesday Vespers will be held at 6:45 pm, and Elders will follow at 7:15 pm. All members invited and encouraged to come 0to vespers. The Sunday Epistle is normally read and preached on. Choir Rehearsal Time Change Choir rehearsals are scheduled in preparation for Christmas, and by mutual agreement, the time of rehearsals has changed on Wednesdays. Rehearsals ae now scheduled for 5:30 pm except on December 15th, when we intend to go caroling (see below). Choir members, please put these Wednesdays in December on your calendar: December 1st , 8th, and 22nd before rather than after midweek mass. This should make traveling easier for out-of-towners Caroling and Party Dec. 15th We plan to go caroling on Wednesday, December 15th. Meet at the church at 5 p.m. We will visit some shut-ins, and end up at the church for Mass at 7. Afterwards all are invited to the Eckardts’ annual Christmas Party at their home. Shut ins Emmy Wear is at Williamsfield Home in Williamsfield; Emilie Ricknell is at home; Dick Melchin is at Hammond Henry Extended Care in Geneseo; Dale Baker is at home; and Jewneel Walker is at Kewanee Care. Cookie Walk Sunday Dec. 12th Bring a batch of cookies to Bible Class on the 12th of December, and prepare to exchange for others. Cookie walk after church! Bible class follows. The Bell Tolls On the last Sunday of the year, we customarily toll the bell at prayers for each member of our parish who has died during the year. This year there were no deaths at St. Paul’s, so the bell will not toll, unless there are any deaths between the time of this newsletter’s printing and the end of the year. Last year this newsletter had mentioned just one one member who fell asleep in Christ, Mary Hamilton, but since two members died after the December newsletter was printed: Monroe Kemerling and DeAnne Anderson. We therefore tolled the bell three times last year. Special Masses Wednesdays Our 7 p.m. Wednesday masses during Advent will be emphasizing the narratives of St. Luke 1 that are written in preparation for the nativity of our Lord reported in St. Luke 2, except for Mass on the 22rd . on which we will observe St. Thomas the Apostle’s Day. Come prepare for Christ’s coming at Christmas, at the End of the World, and at the Altar. Wednesday Advent masses:
On December 15th we will also have caroling and a party, as explained in a nearby article. December Anniversaries none December Ushers Steve Kraklow, Tom Wells, Jim Hornback. December Birthdays 12/11 Kris Harden 12/13 Michael Eckardt Decorating During Advent As is our custom, we decorate little by little during Advent, until finally all is complete for Christmas. This year we plan to put up the Advent wreath on Saturday, November 27th, for Advent I. Then on Saturday, December 4th we will put up the Christmas tree (extra volunteers are sought for this), for Advent II. On Saturday, December 11th we will put up any remaining decorations needed, for Advent III, except that the array of poinsettias will not be set out until Christmas Eve. Advent III (Sunday, December 13th) is also called “Gaudete” or Joy Sunday, set in the midst of Advent. Roses are customarily set in place if available, and the pink candle on the wreath is lit. If you can, please put Saturday December 4th on your calendar to help with the tree. It’s an opportunity for gathering with your fellow members for a little project. Church Council by Email A number of conflicts have brought on an attempt to deal with Church Council matters by email for the month of December. If we find that this will not suffice, especially in advance of the annual voters’ assembly in January, a special date and time will be chosen. Trustees and the Building In November, some lights were replaced in the school, and the roofer came to fix some areas in the school ceiling that had begun to leak. 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: Bill Thompson, Emilie Ricknell, John Ricknell, Linda Rowe, Emmy Wear, Don and Sue Murphy, Dick Melchin, Bea Harris, Allan Kraklow, Sandra VerPlaetse, John Sovanski, Grant Andreson, Dale Baker, Jewneel Walker and beyond our parish: Anna, Katy, and Jody Rutowicz [Harris relations] Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter] Elizabeth Godke [Sharon Field’s mother] Oneida Hendrickson [Ricknell relative] Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister] Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson] Dennis Hoag, Tim Newman [Shreck relations] Theresa Moore [Ricknells’ niece] Kathy Boeger [re Harrises] Allison Leezer [relative of the Kraklows] Everly Stoner Marvin Brown Shannon Watson [Jim’s daughter] Matt Verplaetse Maxine Bitting [Judy Thompson’s sister in law] Loren Hartz [Sharon’s brother] Yvette Baker [Dale Baker’s daughter-in-law] Karen Parker Rosemary Bloome [Don Murphy’s cousin] Richard Heiden, Carol Eckardt’s father Troy Kelly [friend of the Murphys] Pastor Jacob Sutton Pastor Justin Kane [relative of Diana Shreck] in the military John Eckardt Donny Appleman [at request of the Ricknells] Richard Heiden [at request of the Eckardts] Luke Van Landigan [grandson of Dick Melchin] Jaclyn Alvarez [daughter of Kris Harden] Eli Wetzel, Traven Wetzel, Shawn Wetzel Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson] Jake Mahaffey, Trevor Shimmin, Shad Draminski James and Ann Lee Armstrong in trouble: any unborn children in danger of abortion those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Uganda, Sudan, Nigeria, India, China, Vietnam, North Korea, and elsewhere. Details may be found at www.persecution.net. New Year’s Mass New Year’s Eve mass is 7 pm on December 31st. We observe the Circumcision and Name of Jesus (January 1st). Saints’ Days in December St. Nicholas Day (December 6th) and St. Lucia’s Day (December 13th) fall on Mondays this year, and therefore will not be observed with masses. Below are devotional guides. St. Stephen’s Day will be celebrated on Sunday, December 26th, the day after Christmas, and Holy Innocents’ Day will be observed on Wednesday, December 29th. St. John the Apostle and Evangelist’s Day (December 27th) falls on Monday, and therefore will not be observed with mass. A devotional guide is on the back page. Altar Guild Notes Advent begins the last Sunday in November. The four Advent Sundays’ color is violet. If roses are obtained, they may be placed for the Third Sunday in Advent, December 12th. For midweek masses, the color remains violet, except for December 22nd, when the color is red for St. Thomas, and December 29th, also red, for the Holy Innocents. For Christmas Eve, the first Mass is at 7 p.m., and the color is changed to white. There is no Midnight Mass. On Christmas Day there is a 10 am mass. Color is white for both. The Feast of St. Stephen is held on the Sunday after Christmas, December 26th. Color is red (which remains for the following Wednesday, Holy Innocents). New Year’s Eve mass is held at 7 pm on the 31st. Color is white and remains white in January. No mass is scheduled for St. John (27 December) this year. Some Saints’ Days for which We Are Not Having Masses This Year Saint Nicholas, December 6th Psalm 92 with Gloria Patri Reading: Hebrews 13:7-17 Hymn and meditation, see nearby. Saint Lucy, December 13th Psalm 45 with Gloria Patri Reading: II Corinthians 10:17 – 11:2 Hymn and meditation, see nearby. Saint John, December 27th Psalm 92 with Gloria Patri Reading: I John 1:1 – 2:2 Hymn and meditation, see nearby. Saint Stephen is Sunday, December 26th; Holy Innocents is to be observed on Wednesday, December 29th. We will be holding masses at the usual times on those days. Hymn: From All Thy Saints in Warfare (TLP 350) From all Thy saints in warfare for all Thy saints at rest To Thee, O Blessed Jesus, all praises be addressed For Thou hast won the battle that they might conq’ers be Their crowns od living glory are lit with rays from Thee [insert appropriate stanza] Then praise to God the Father and praise to God the Son And to the Holy Spirit Eternal Three in One Till all the ransomed number fall down before the throne And honor, praise, and glory ascribe to God alone. St. Nicholas, Bishop and Confessor A bishop for the children, and sailors on the sea: Who made the good confession of Thy divinity O Lord, may we be steadfast as Nicholas, we pray, In kindness and in mercy and faithfulness alway. St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr Saint Lucy, chaste in body, this honor her renown; Was faithful unto death and received her glorious crown For she refused her torturers by faith’s virginity, So lighten Thou our darkness, in faithfulness to Thee. St. Thomas, Apostle All praise for Thine apostle, whose short-lived doubtings prove Thy perfect twofold nature, the fullness of Thy love. On all who wait Thy coming shed forth Thy peace, O Lord, And grant us faith to know Thee, true Man, true God, adored. St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church 109 S. Elm Street Kewanee, IL 61443 10/27/2021 November 2021St. Paul’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church
109 S. Elm, Kewanee, Illinois 61443 Newsletter Volume 33 November 2021 No. 11 The End of the Church Year In November we always come to the end of the church year. This is reflected in the readings and propers for the Sundays approaching the last one, which is the Sunday before Advent. The church year marks its new beginning on the first Sunday in Advent. However, thematically it’s difficult to distinguish the thematic emphases for the last Sundays and the emphases for the Sundays in Advent. Both seasons have a heavy emphasis on the coming of the very last day, the day when Christ shall return in glory, according to his own words. This is probably because in the Middle Ages there was one unbroken season of preparation for Christmas that was about seven weeks long. This is borne out by the fact that in the Middle Ages St. Martin’s Day, November 11th, was the day of a great carnival, called “Martinmas” just prior to “St. Martin’s Advent,” a period of 43 days of fasting prior to Christmas. St. Martin’s Advent was the pre-Christmas season similar to Lent, which is of course the pre-Christmas fast prior to Easter. (Incidentally, the reason the reformer Martin Luther was so named is that he was born on November 10th and baptized the next day, St. Martin’s Day.) This explains the thematic connections that can be seen in the propers themselves. Not only do the Gospels seem to have a rather unbroken emphasis on the last things, the collects also do. The “Stir Up” prayers are peppered throughout. The collect for the First Sunday in Advent begins with the words “Stir up, we beseech Thee, Thy power, O Lord, and come.” The Fourth Sunday in Advent begins in virtually the same way: “Stir up, O Lord, we beseech Thee, Thy power, and come.” And the collect for the 24th Sunday after Trinity, the fourth from the last, also begins with “Stir up, we beseech Thee, O Lord.” It continues, “the wills of Thy faithful people,” but the first seven words are identical. Further, the Gradual for the Third Sunday in Advent also includes the words, “Stir up Thy strength: and come and save us,” which is from Psalm 80, a prominent Psalm during Advent, used also in the Introit for the Second Sunday in Advent: “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel: Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock.” The Fourth Sunday in Advent contains the words of Psalm 19:1: “The heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament showeth His handiwork,” which is thematically similar to Psalm 50:4-6: “He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people . . . and the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself, ” seen in the Gradual for the 26th Sunday after Trinity. In short, the November Sundays, which use the propers for the 24th through the 27th Sunday after Trinity were once joined to the four Sundays in Advent as a unified preparation for Christmas. A great part of that preparation is the recollection that the coming, or Advent, of Christ was first celebrated when he was born, and will again be celebrated, eternally, at his return in glory. It is now the time to ponder that truth. + Pastor Eckardt What Is a Confessional Lutheran? by Pastor Karl Fabrizius Most of us are familiar with the numerous Lutheran denominations in the United States, but since the 1980’s there has also been the rise of “Confessional Lutheranism” within the Missouri Synod, Wisconsin Synod, and the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (“Little Norwegians”). Before then, the divisions were between “liberal” and “conservative.” Liberals, such as the ELCA, were those who rejected the Scriptures as the inspired Word of God and only followed the Lutheran Confessions in so far as they agreed with them which led to all manner of departures from the faith. Conservatives had been those who defended the Scriptures as God’s Word and desired to uphold them because they agreed with the Lutheran Confessions. But the conservative side became divided over faithfulness to the Lutheran Confessions on the issues of Liturgy (worship) and the Sacrament of the Altar in particular. Confessional Lutherans argued that true conservatism would preserve the good things of the historic Church while always being faithful to Scripture and the Confessions. The time of COVID has drawn a sharp line between the two factions, even as it points to a growing need for us to work together in the externals against the rising tide of persecution of the Church of Christ. So how should we identify Confessional Lutherans, that is, the real Lutherans? A good place to begin is with these words from the Preface to the Book of Concord: In these matters (as we have mentioned earlier), this has always been our purpose: in our lands, dominions, schools, and churches no other doctrine should be proclaimed and accurately set forth except that which is founded upon God’s Word and contained in the Augsburg Confession and the Apology (when properly understood in its genuine sense). Opinions conflicting with these are not allowed. … But we wished indeed to lead our churches and schools, first of all, to the fountains of Holy Scripture, and to the Creeds, and then to the Augsburg Confession (which we have mentioned before). We most earnestly encourage that the young men be instructed in this faithfully and diligently, especially those who are being educated for the holy ministry of the churches and schools. Then the pure doctrine and profession of our faith may, by the Holy Spirit’s help, be preserved and spread also to our future generations, until the glorious advent of Jesus Christ [Titus 2:13], our only Redeemer and Savior. Confessional Lutherans rely on the fountains of Holy Scripture and will not accept opinions that conflict with the Lutheran Confessions because the Confessions are a true exposition of the Word of God. While conservatives have been influenced by so-called evangelical churches in America, Confessional pastors seek to be faithful to the Lutheran Confessions. For example, we confess that: Our churches are falsely accused of abolishing the Mass. The Mass is held among us and celebrated with the highest reverence. 2 Nearly all the usual ceremonies are also preserved, except that the parts sung in Latin are interspersed here and there with German hymns. These have been added to teach the people. 3 For ceremonies are needed for this reason alone, that the uneducated be taught ‹what they need to know about Christ›. AC XXIV:1-3 To be faithful to our Confessions, it is necessary to conduct the service reverently and we confess that the Lord’s Supper is celebrated every Lord’s Day and on the festivals (Apol. XXIV:1). The ceremonies (genuflecting, bowing, chanting, kneeling, etc.) associated with this are also maintained to teach the people what we believe about Christ and His holy Sacrament. The Liturgy of the Church provides the framework for confessing the truth of God’s Word and teaching us each time we gather as His people. Lutherans do not seek to reinvent the wheel, but desire to learn from the faithful who have gone before us in the Church. Along with the Liturgy, we see the hymnody of the Church as being an essential means of confessing the Truth. We believe that there is a difference between so-called “contemporary” songs and historic Lutheran hymnody. You are what you eat. If your diet is the fluff of lyrics that focus on feelings, you will soon become fat and flabby in your confession. In particular, contemporary American Christianity rejects the truth that Baptism saves and that the Lord’s Supper is the true Body and Blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins. The modern American Christian is not taught these things in their hymns and their rejection of the liturgy also destroys these truths. In [the] month of the Reformation, it is good that we once again realize that the key points of confession in Luther’s day and after his death are still important today. In some ways, nothing has changed for the devil is always attacking the truth of God’s Word. The attack on the true Confession of the Lutheran faith is still centered on the Sacrament of the Altar and the ceremonies. Of course, this is because men reject the Scriptures which so clearly present this doctrine. Confessional Lutherans can never tire of fighting for this truth against the dangerous false teachings that surround us. Many thanks and kudos Jeff Wagenknecht painted the church doors with painstaking care and diligence, just in time for the big wedding on October 16th. What great work. Thank you! Choir Rehearsal Again! Calling all choir members! We’re going to start meeting for rehearsal again on Wednesday nights, in preparation for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s a great time, as members will remember. Want to join us? Please feel free. Wednesday nights after Mass, usually around 8 pm, and finished by 9 at the latest. Altar Guild Notes
Shut ins Emmy Wear at Williamsfield Home in Williamsfield; Emilie Ricknell at home, Dick Melchin at Hammond-Henry Extended Care in Geneseo, Dale Baker at home, Jewneel Walker at Kewanee Care, John Sovanski at home. November Ushers Jim Hornback, Steve Kraklow, Tom Wells. November Anniversary 11/5 Steve and Berniece Harris November Birthdays 11/11 Tara Wagenknecht 11/19 Steve Kraklow 11/20 Jewneel Walker 11/30 Charlene Sovanski Novemberfest and a Gottesdienst Conference St. John’s Lutheran Church, Mattoon, Illinois Sunday evening and Monday, November 14-15, 2021 Conference theme: Reactions to Persecution In an age of mounting animosity toward the Christian Church in our society, this conference aims to get pastors and laypeople thinking about how we might respond appropriately to such things. For the seminar we are pleased to welcome the Rev. Dr. Adam Koontz, Assistant Professor at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana as our keynote speaker. Dr. Koontz was recently added to our ranks as a Gottedienst blogger. He’ll be speaking on “Reactions to Persecution in the Early Church.” We’ll also hear from Rev. Jason Braaten, our editor known for producing The Gottesdienst Crowd, our weekly podcast. Pastor Braaten will speak on “Temptations amid Persecution: Distraction and Indifference" The day-long seminar on Monday will open with Divine Service at 9:00 a.m. at St. John’s. BONUS: This Conference will be sandwiched between two evenings of Novemberfest: starting Sunday night, when Gottesdienst will be hosting a Picnic, Biergarten, and Gemütlichkeit under a heated tent at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Tuscola, a half hour up the road from St. John’s, beginning at 5ish. And then on Monday after Vespers we’ll have a pizza party followed by more of the Biergarten and Gemütlichkeit. Registration is $50 per person — includes picnic, lunch, pizza dinner, and Gemütlichkeit. Log on at www.gottesdienst.org. 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: Bill Thompson, Emilie Ricknell, John Ricknell, Linda Rowe, Emmy Wear, Don and Sue Murphy, Dick Melchin, Bea Harris, Allan Kraklow, Sandra VerPlaetse, John Sovanski, Grant Andreson, Dale Baker, Jewneel Walker and beyond our parish: Anna, Katy, and Jody Rutowicz [Harris relations] Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter] Elizabeth Godke [Sharon Field’s mother] Oneida Hendrickson [Ricknell relative] Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister] Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson] Dennis Hoag, Tim Newman [Shreck relations] Theresa Moore [Ricknells’ niece] Kathy Boeger [re Harrises] Allison Leezer [relative of the Kraklows] Everly Stoner Marvin Brown Shannon Watson [Jim’s daughter] Matt Verplaetse Maxine Bitting [Judy Thompson’s sister in law] Loren Hartz [Sharon’s brother] Yvette Baker [Dale Baker’s daughter-in-law] Karen Parker Rosemary Bloome [Don Murphy’s cousin] Richard Heiden, Carol Eckardt’s father Troy Kelly [friend of the Murphys] Pastor Jacob Sutton Pastor Justin Kane [relative of Diana Shreck] in the military John Eckardt Donny Appleman [at request of the Ricknells] Richard Heiden [at request of the Eckardts] Luke Van Landigan [grandson of Dick Melchin] Jaclyn Alvarez [daughter of Kris Harden] Eli Wetzel, Traven Wetzel, Shawn Wetzel Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson] Jake Mahaffey, Trevor Shimmin, Shad Draminski James and Ann Lee Armstrong in trouble any unborn children in danger of abortion those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, India, North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Persecution Details INDIA: Pastors Charged Due To Anti-conversion Laws 21 October 2021 Seven pastors were arrested on October 10th in the Mau district of Uttar Pradesh, India. They were accused of violating the state's anti-conversion legislation, and subsequently charged with "illegal assembly." The pastors had gathered together for a prayer meeting when they were detained. Fifty other Christians were also detained at the time but later released, including two Catholic nuns who were merely waiting at a nearby bus stop and had no connection with the gathering. At last report, the pastors remained in custody, but their lawyer was working on obtaining bail. Anti-conversion laws have been widely abused throughout India. Hindu nationalists frequently accuse Christians to justify harassment. In the words of one pastor: "Police officials often don't bother to record our complaints. This further emboldens our attackers and we have to bear the brunt." CHINA: Evangelist released for the sixth time this year 2 Octrober 2021 Chen Wensheng has gained a reputation as a "Gospel Warrior" for his evangelistic work. After this former drug addict came to faith in Christ, he zealously desired to spread the wonderful news of the miraculous freedom he had experienced. Following examples of the disciples in the Bible, he travelled to many towns and cities preaching the Gospel and holding crosses with thought-provoking slogans such as "Glorious Saviour," "Repent," "Believe" and "Saved." So far, throughout 2021, Chen has been detained six times. On September 26th, officers took him to the police station to prevent him from attending a Sunday service. They hoped he would give up spreading the Gospel, but instead he shared the message with the officers. As a result, he was detained for a duration of 15 days. Upon his release on October 11th, he posted the following social media message: "Hallelujah! Thank You, God, for Your grace and presence. Thank you (friends) for your prayers.... Now I can go out to spread the Gospel again." From www.persecution.net. Gottesdienst Gets a Business Manager A few changes have come to Gottesdienst: The Journal of Lutheran Liturgy. As you probably know by now, this journal has been headquartered right here in Kewanee, with your pastor as the chief editor, since 1995, just three years after its inception. A few changes have been implemented recently, to the benefit of the membership here. The primary change is the addition of a Business Manager, Mrs. Grace Beane, who lives in Gretna, Louisiana. Mrs. Beane will be taking care of subscription and book order matters, enabling your pastor to be free from those things to handle editorial matters more easily. In addition, beginning with our Easter issue, the first of 2022, we have implemented some new ideas. The font for the name (Gottesdienst) will be undergoing a slight change, barely noticeable. The new font will add to the stylish look of the cover. The cover is already undergoing some improvements, under the capable artistic hands of Mrs. Meghan Schultz, who lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Some other changes are in the works too, all toward the betterment of this fine journal. St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church 109 S. Elm Street Kewanee, IL 61443 9/29/2021 October 2021Why Sunday is So Important
Because the French Revolution of the late 18th century had taken over France, and the blood of the rulers and priests was being shed unabated, it was alternatively called the Reign of Terror. The Goddess Reason was enthroned in Paris and the nation had taken a horrifying turn. What the revolutionaries were bent on doing was erasing all vestiges of Christianity from the memory of the collective population, on the belief that Christianity was oppressive and evil. Christianity was not merely disregarded; it was attacked, and its history deemed ugly and an impediment to true freedom. So the revolutionaries set about this task by tending to such things as changing the names of places which had been named to honor Christian saints or martyrs. No traces of Christianity could remain. (How familiar this is to us who have seen in our own land the cancel culture’s attempts to remove historical figures deemed impediments to true progress.) Thankfully the experiment failed, when ultimately the revolutionary fervor landed in the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte who ended up at least as great a tyrant as the former rulers had been deemed to be, and in the end Napoleon met his demise famously at Waterloo. Among the changes the revolutionaries tried to enact was also this: to change the number of days in a week, aware that the seven-day week came from the Bible and ultimately nowhere else. While the origins of months and years can be found in nature, by looking to revolutions of the moon around the earth and of the earth around the sun, no corresponding natural phenomenon can be detected regarding weeks. And so, the wild radicals determined, weeks had to go. This was too much for the peasants, the masses, the people. And so it failed. But the revolutionaries were right about something: weeks do come only from Scripture. And they used to be called sabbaths, since the seventh day of the week was the day of rest, the Sabbath Day. And the people of God learned to set that day aside for worship and rest, remembering the first Sabbath when God rested from his work of creation. And still to this day calendars count Saturday as the seventh day, a silent testimony to the Creator. And that brings us also to the importance of Sunday, since it is obvious that our special day of worship is no longer Saturday but Sunday. Why? What happened? Simply, the Lord of the Sabbath arrived. Christ Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath Rest in himself, and therefore freed his people from the strict observance of Saturday, precursor that it was to his coming. But why Sunday, then? The answer is easy. Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday, Easter Sunday. And he made his second appearance on the following Sunday, and he led his church to think of every Sunday as an easy reminder of his resurrection from the dead. There is no other reason for the importance of Sunday, to this very day. And so, as Saturdays are a silent testimony to the Creator, so now Sunday are themselves a silent testimony to the resurrection of our Redeemer from the dead. There is no other explanation for why the early Christians, most of whom were Jews, began to see Sunday and not Saturday as the greatest day of the week. So let us think this way about Sunday. Sunday is a day of great celebration, for the reality that no one can erase is this: Jesus rose from the grave on Sunday. So let us put on our Sunday best, and set aside our Sunday mornings, and do whatever it takes to make Sunday, every Sunday, another celebration of Easter. For Christ is risen from the dead. + Pastor Eckardt Michaelmas is Wednesday, September 29th. Mass at 7:00 p.m. Let’s make a special effort to observe Michaelmas, September 29th, which falls on a Wednesday night. It is called The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, and is a day on which we thank God for the protection and help of his holy angels. Come to mass! October Ushers:Jim Hornback, Otis Anderson, Bill Thompson October Anniversary 10/4 Linda and Larry Rowe October Birthdays 10/1 Richard Melchin 10/1 Sue Murphy 10/2 Diana Shreck 10/24 Eric Meaker 10/28 Carmen Sovanski 10/29 Svetlana Meaker 10/30 Sharon Hartz Clapper – Brandt Wedding at St. Paul’s All the members of St. Paul’s are cordially invited to the wedding of Drew Clapper to Lauren Brandt on Saturday, October 16th, at 2:00 p.m., followed by a cocktail hour at Best Western in Annawan at 4:30 with dinner following at 5:30. Your reply is requested. You may RSVP, as soon as possible, by calling or texting 309-525-2997 or by email to clapperdrew12@gmail.com Most of our members are aware that Drew and his family were faithful members here for many years until they moved to Springfield. Drews fiancée Lauren is from Michigan and is currently a member at Zion in Detroit where Fr. Mark Braden is the pastor. Fr. Braden, a longtime friend of St. Paul’s, will be participating with Fr. Eckardt in officiating at the wedding. We look forward with great joy and anticipation to this grand event, and hope many of our members can be part of the celebration. Novemberfest and a Gottesdienst Conference St. John’s Lutheran Church, Mattoon, Illinois Sunday evening and Monday, November 14-15, 2021 Conference theme: Reactions to Persecution In an age of mounting animosity toward the Christian Church in our society, this conference aims to get pastors and laypeople thinking about how we might respond appropriately to such things. For the seminar we are pleased to welcome the Rev. Dr. Adam Koontz, Assistant Professor at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana as our keynote speaker. Dr. Koontz was recently added to our ranks as a Gottedienst blogger. He’ll be speaking on “Reactions to Persecution in the Early Church.” We’ll also hear from Rev. Jason Braaten, our editor known for producing The Gottesdienst Crowd, our weekly podcast. Pastor Braaten will speak on “Temptations amid Persecution: Distraction and Indifference" The day-long seminar on Monday will open with Divine Service at 9:00 a.m. at St. John’s. BONUS: This Conference will be sandwiched between two evenings of Novemberfest: starting Sunday night, when Gottesdienst will be hosting a Picnic, Biergarten, and Gemütlichkeit under a heated tent at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Tuscola, a half hour up the road from St. John’s, beginning at 5ish. And then on Monday after Vespers we’ll have a pizza party followed by more of the Biergarten and Gemütlichkeit. Here’s a chance to spend some quality time with fellow Lutherans and pastors who have been missing District Conferences for up to two years. So join us for some good times! REGISTRATION: $50 per person — includes picnic, lunch, pizza dinner, and Gemütlichkeit. Additional information and registration through www.Gottesdienst.org. Altar Guild Notes
Shut ins Emmy Wear at Williamsfield Home in Williamsfield; Emilie Ricknell at home, Dick Melchin at Hammond-Henry Extended Care in Geneseo, Dale Baker at home, Jewneel Walker at Kewanee Care, John Sovanski at home. 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, Emmy Wear, Don and Sue Murphy, Dick Melchin, Bea Harris, Allan Kraklow, Sandra VerPlaetse, John Sovanski, Tara Wagenknecht, Grant Andreson, Dale Baker, and Jewneel Walker and beyond our parish: Anna, Katy, and Jody Rutowicz [Harris relations] Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter] Elizabeth Godke [Sharon Field’s mother] Oneida Hendrickson [Ricknell relative] Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister] Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson] Dennis Hoag, Tim Newman [Shreck relations] Theresa Moore [Ricknells’ niece] Kathy Boeger [re Harrises] Allison Leezer [relative of the Kraklows] Everly Stoner Marvin Brown Shannon Watson [Jim’s daughter] Loren Lindstrom [Alissa’s Grandfather] Matt Verplaetse Maxine Bitting [Judy Thompson’s sister in law] Loren Hartz [Sharon’s brother] Yvette Baker [Dale Baker’s daughter-in-law] Karen Parker Rosemary Bloome [Don Murphy’s cousin] Pastor Jacob Sutton Pastor Justin Kane in the military John Eckardt Donny Appleman [at request of the Ricknells] Richard Heiden [at request of the Eckardts] Luke Van Landigan [grandson of Dick Melchin] Jaclyn Alvarez [daughter of Kris Harden] Eli Wetzel, Traven Wetzel, Shawn Wetzel Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson] Jake Mahaffey, Trevor Shimmin, Shad Draminski James and Ann Lee Armstrong in trouble any unborn children in danger of abortion those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, India, North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Persecution Details NIGERIA: Pastor and Other Christians Killed 16 September 2021 On Saturday, September 11th, Rev. Silas Yakubu Ali left his home in the Zangon Kataf area of Kaduna, Nigeria, and set off for the town of Kafanchan, but was not heard from again. Early the next morning, a search party found his body, which was inflicted with bullet and machete wounds, less than a kilometre from his home.While the assailants and motives for Rev. Ali's murder have not yet been identified, thousands of Christians have been killed in Nigeria by Islamist militants. At least 11 other Christians were killed on September 12th in a separate attack on the village of Apyizhime Jim, including two pregnant women. According to one witness, the total number of victims from the subsequent attack has not been determined to date, since many others from the village remain missing. Of those identified, ten belonged to another church overseen by Rev. Ali, along with one member of a local Catholic church. It has been verified that the second attack was carried out by Fulani herdsmen. In response to Rev. Ali's murder, the governor of Kaduna State publicly expressed his condolences to the family and church members, then made an appeal for calm. He also called for intensified security efforts to apprehend the “perpetrators of the heinous killing.” CHINA: Christian High School Raided 16 September 2021 On the morning of September 4th, the Maizi Christian Music High School in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, was raided by police, religious affairs officials and local school district administrators. All staff and students present were arrested. Principal Xu had received a warning through his landlord the previous day, informing him that "a test" was coming. During the raid, the authorities confiscated various school possessions – including pianos, computers and documents. After 24 hours' detainment, the students and most of the staff were all released from custody. At last report, the whereabouts of Principal Xu were unknown. According to a friend of the principal, his home had been raided six months prior and his phone was tapped. Christians from various churches are working to obtain a lawyer to represent both the principal and the school. Potential accusations against the school may include financial charges of “illegal education” because tuition fees were charged to the students. Furthermore, since the students are under 18, there may also be charges of “enticing minors to religion.” SAUDI ARABIA: Christian Escapes the Country 16 September 2021 Over the past several months, Christians around the world have been following reports about a Saudi Arabian Christian referred to as “A” or “Adam.” For more information, see our previously published reports, which are available at our country report. In early July, it was reported that the immediate family members of the accused were able to relocate to a safe country where they are being protected. However, at the time, “Adam” had to remain in Saudi Arabia while appealing a conviction for allegedly attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity. A recently received report confirms that he has been able to join his family. According to Christian friends, even though “Adam” had become disheartened, he was determined to stay in Saudi Arabia in order to set a good example and demonstrate his willingness to suffer for his faith. However, these friends convinced him that taking care of his wife and sons was also a priority. According to one friend, “‘Adam’ felt that Saudi Arabia was his home, and it was there that he wanted to serve the Lord.” She added, “But if his departure appears to be a loss for the Christians of Muslim background in the country, he will continue to serve the Lord in his new country.” Source(s): Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Christian Post, The Guardian, Christianity Today, ChinaAid, International Christian Concern, Open Doors see www.persecution.net for more. St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church 109 S. Elm Street 8/25/2021 September 2021A Word about Finances and Donations
Dear members of the body of Christ at St. Paul’s, I’ve been asked to say a word to you about finances, something which, as you know, I rarely do. It’s not really on my radar. But finances keep the doors open, and so they are an important thing to be aware of. St. Paul’s has been shrinking as Kewanee itself has been shrinking, yet somehow we continue to keep on. From a human perspective, this is due to the selfless and sacrificial giving of so many of our members. It’s remarkable, really, and it provides no small affirmation for my decades’ long belief that people don’t need to be cajoled or ‘guilted’ into giving more; they need to be able to see what tremendous things their giving has produced. It is very common for church bulletins and newsletters to print out the amount of donations next to the amount that is ‘needed’, always a woeful difference and deficit. Week after week, month after month, what the people see leads them to think it’s hopeless. While I print the previous week’s total, I never print the need. It’s really kind of disingenuous to do so anyhow, because sometimes big donations come in, sometimes not, and other factors play a part too, so merely taking the budget and dividing it by weeks isn’t altogether accurate. Most importantly, somehow, somehow, for the entire 26 years of my tenure here, we’ve managed to get along. Well, how did that happen? I don’t know. Prayer has a lot to do with that, and, I believe, acknowledgment of what our gifts have helped to bring about: a vibrant, if small, beacon of the Holy Gospel in this place. Thanks be to God for that! But it is also good to remember that sacrifices are important for Christians to consider. They’re nothing new for the church, of course, which routinely celebrates the martyrdoms of saints, the ultimate sacrifice. In addition, more recently and perhaps personally, our forefathers left homes, fields, loved ones, and an entire way of life to immigrate to America and settle here on the frontier, all so they could worship their Lord aright, and receive His Gospel in its purity. They sacrificed considerably, and quite willingly, for that. We are vibrant in many ways, unified in confession and love. I thank God for all of you daily, as I am well aware of the lavish grace He has shown us here in our mutual confession and faith. Yet only a handful of members are actually giving an amount which comes close to an actual tithe, which is 10% of one’s income. It may surprise some of you to hear that although the tithe is not required of us, it was required of the Israelites, and it remains a good guideline for giving. I was raised with this idea; I have known and sought to follow it since childhood. Some of you may find the tithe impossible to meet, depending on your circumstances. OK, then, how about 5% for starters, or for now? One thing the Apostle St. Paul does declare is that each one should set apart a weekly offering in proportion to his income, though he does not say what proportion to give. At least we can say it ought be more than your pocket change. It ought to be more than a few dollars a week, unless you’re very poor. On the other hand, if you are blessed to be making a salary well above what most people make, you might consider an offering level more than 10%. The nearby chart gives some quick suggestions. If all our active members took this little encouragement to heart, we’d not only be able to pay our bills, but we might even have some to give to worthy missions which could use our help. My prayer is that we meet this challenge quickly; indeed it is my expectation, as I am aware of how blessed we are as a unified congregation, and how the love of our members one for another is so richly evident in so many ways. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. + Pastor Eckardt If annual family income is: 5% weekly is about: Or 7% weekly: Or 10% weekly: $20,000 $20 $25 $35 $30,000 $25 $40 $55 $40,000 $35 $50 $75 $50,000 $45 $65 $90 $60,000 $55 $80 $115 $70,000 $65 $90 $135 Persecution Details Be sure to check out the Persecution Details in this newsletter for an important matter of deep concern to the LCMS and St. Paul’s. Altar Guild Notes
Church Council The council will be meeting on Wednesday, September 15th which is the usual third Wednesday. September Birthdays 9/1 John Ricknell 9/10 Jan Schoen 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 9/19/1993 Jeff and Tara Wagenknecht September Ushers: Jim Hornback, Steve Kraklow, Tom Wells. Shut ins Emmy Wear at Williamsfield Home in Williamsfield; Emilie Ricknell at home, Dick Melchin at Hammond-Henry Extended Care in Geneseo, Bea Harris, from time to time, at home. Dale Baker, at home. Grant Andresen, at Park Vista in East Moline. Jewneel Walker, at Kewanee Care. 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, Emmy Wear, Don and Sue Murphy, Dick Melchin, Bea Harris, Allan Kraklow, Sandra VerPlaetse, John Sovanski, Tara Wagenknecht, Grant Andreson, Dale Baker, and Jewneel Walker and beyond our parish: Anna, Katy, and Jody Rutowicz [Harris relations] Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter] Elizabeth Godke [Sharon Field’s mother] Oneida Hendrickson [Ricknell relative] Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister] Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson] Dennis Hoag, Tim Newman [Shreck relations] Theresa Moore [Ricknells’ niece] Kathy Boeger [re Harrises] Allison Leezer [relative of the Kraklows] Everly Stoner Dieter Michaelsen Marvin Brown Shannon Watson [Jim’s daughter] Loren Lindstrom [Alissa’s Grandfather] Matt Verplaetse Maxine Bitting [Judy Thompson’s sister in law] Loren Hartz [Sharon’s brother] Pastor Jacob Sutton in the military: John Eckardt Donny Appleman [at request of the Ricknells] Richard Heiden [at request of the Eckardts] Luke Van Landigan [grandson of Dick Melchin] Jaclyn Alvarez [daughter of Kris Harden] Eli Wetzel, Traven Wetzel, Shawn Wetzel Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson] Jake Mahaffey, Trevor Shimmin, Shad Draminski James and Ann Lee Armstrong in trouble: any unborn children in danger of abortion the people of Haiti who suffered a great earthquake, those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Afghanistan, Finland, Iran, Syria, India, North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Persecution Details Finland (August 20, 2021): A brave Finnish Lutheran woman by the name of Päivi Räsänen received the prestigious Kåre Kristiansen Prize for her recent refusal to submit to Finnish authorities challenging her faith. The government is demanding her compliance with edicts that require her to renounce Christian and Biblical views against homosexuality. Miss Räsänen, a member of the Finnish Parliament, wrote a tract on the Christian view of marriage, and for her refusal to recant she now faces the possibility of jail time. But she has told the authorities that she will not reject St. Paul’s clear teaching on sexuality, “no matter the consequences.” Her (Lutheran) bishop is Bp. Juhana Pojohla, who also has been threatened with jail time over this matter. He stands solidly and publicly in agreement with her, and like her will not recant. In 2009 Father Pojohla received from Gottesdienst the annual Sabre of Boldness award for his courageous stance. I personally met with him at the time; he was deeply honored and encouraged, as were his fellow Lutherans in Finland, as we later learned. Earlier this year he was elected Bishop of the Independent Lutheran Church of Finland. Rev. Matthew Harrison, President of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, met with both of these faithful and courageous Christians in August to express the support and encouragement of their American brothers and sisters in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. -Pastor Eckardt Catechism Continues Catechism is on Tuesdays, at 5:00 in the afternoon; anyone may attend, and members sometimes do, for a lively discussion and learning opportunity. IN addition to studying the catechism, we are reviewing the Old Testament. Mystical Benediction By Karl Fabrizius Fr. Fabrizius is Pastor of Our Father Lutheran Church in Greenfield, Wisconsin, and a contributing editor of Gottesdienst. This article was posted at Gottesblog on Tuesday, August 24th. Before COVID, there were already casual Fridays, and in companies where it was mainly young people every day was casual. Even nicer restaurants are often full of casually dressed people. Now people may never dress for work when they work from home. This has affected the church as well. Few men wear suits to church, let alone dress clothes. Women rarely wear dresses. In many churches, the pastors do not vest in historic vestments or even preach from the pulpit. After all, if God is your good buddy, He surely would want you to be casual and relaxed in His presence. During the last year, the Sacrament fell victim to even more of the casualness of society as the abomination of disposable cups was taken one step further to a self-contained unit of a small wine cup packaged with some bread. This package could also be handled by one individual and then cast aside into the trash. In view of these things, it is time for a little reminder. The New Testament uses the term “Mysteries” to refer to the Sacraments that Christ has instituted for His Church on earth. Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD) frequently referred to the Lord’s Supper as a “mystical benediction.” Notice that he has combined the mystery of God’s gift to the Church with the term “Benediction” which refers to the proclamation of a blessing. Indeed, the Mystery of the Lord’s Supper is only understood through the Words which Christ has proclaimed at the institution of this Sacrament. Chrysostom writes that in the mysteries we must not look at the things set before us, but trust His Word which is of higher authority than our thoughts and senses. He then continues: How many now say, I would wish to see His form, the mark, His clothes, His shoes. Lo! thou seest Him, Thou touchest Him, thou eatest Him. And thou indeed desirest to see His clothes, but He giveth Himself to thee not to see only, but also to touch and eat and receive within thee. Let then no one approach it with indifference, no one faint-hearted, but all with burning hearts, all fervent, all aroused. For if Jews standing, and having on their shoes and their staves in their hands, ate with haste, much more oughtest thou to be watchful. For they indeed were to go forth to Palestine, wherefore also they had the garb of pilgrims, but thou art about to remove unto Heaven. [Homilies on Matthew 82:4, NPNF 10:495] This is nothing to be casual about. Do we not sing in the Liturgy the song of Isaiah, “Holy, Holy, Holy”? In the Blessed Sacrament, the Holy God who sent His Holy Son in flesh and blood, strengthens us by His Holy Spirit to draw us ever nearer to the Eternal Feast in Heaven. Solomon cautions us, “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.” (Ecclesiastes 5:1) Why are we so formal in the Divine Service: bowing, kneeling, wearing vestments, etc.? It is, as Chrysostom reminds us, that Christ comes to us so that we might see, touch, eat and receive Him as He prepares us to be removed into Heaven. Our Lutheran Fathers remind us that this is a great mystery, “a secret which ought and must be used with great circumspection and fear, not because the absent body and blood of Christ are signified, but rather because, as Chrysostom says, the Word teaches and faith regards it as certain that what is present in the cup of the Lord is precisely what flowed from the side of the Lord.” (Apology of the Book of Concord, p. 237) In a world where everything is casual and often very sloppy, the Church reminds Herself that Christ gives us His own Holy Body and Blood to eat upon this altar that we might eat and drink for the forgiveness of sins. That is His Word that is sure and certain. This is not the vain imagining of men which would make us ask how can these things be, but the infallible words of Christ. These things must be believed precisely because they are Mysteries. Faith then receives the Mystical Benediction imparted to all those who eat and drink believing in Christ’s Promise. This is not something to be received in disposable cups or throwaway containers for these are the Holy Things of God Himself according to His own Word. All that we do is to confess this. The silver or gold sacramental vessels remind us that this is the greatest feast of any on earth. The pastor is clothed in white with a royal looking chasuble as a servant of Christ who has received Holy Orders to administer the Blessed Sacrament according to the Word of Christ. The pastor kneels to adore the Sacrament because he believes the Word of Christ that this is the Body and Blood of the Son of God upon the altar. In this confession, we are reminded that through the personal union of God and Man in the one Christ, we are fed not only His spiritual Body, but His real Flesh and Blood, for the day of the Resurrection. Then, we come to the altar and kneel before the Son of God as He gives us the great gift of the forgiveness of sins, that our weak, doubting minds might cling by faith to the certainty of His Word of Truth. Our ears hear the Word of Benediction of our Lord, “This is My Body,” “This is My Blood,” “given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” Truly, this is not something of indifference, but causes hearts to burn with joy at the tender mercy of our God who has visited His people. Mini Oktoberfest? Last year we held a mini Oktoberfest, just for our parish, and it was a success. We hope to do the same this year, some time in October. However, we are also looking ahead . . . Wedding in October We are looking forward to a big wedding at St. Paul’s on October 16th. Drew Clapper, formerly of St. Paul’s, is to be married to Lauren Brandt here. Look forward to a grand event. Lauren is a member at Zion in Detroit, whose pastor, Father Mark Braden, and I will be officiating at this wedding together. St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church 109 S. Elm Street Kewanee, IL 61443 6/23/2021 July and August 2021How the Church Responded to Governmental Intrusion in the Fifth Century
Over the past year and more, a common refrain of churches who willingly and quickly obeyed governmental shutdowns was that they were obliged to keep the fourth commandment and remember St. Paul’s admonition that the governmental power is the servant of God to do you good and “to execute wrath upon him that does evil” (Romans 13:4). Jesus himself, they remind us, said we should render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s (St. Mark 12:17). Leaving aside that fact that Biblically speaking the power of the government is restricted to those matters which are legitimately within the government’s domain, it can also be helpful to learn from our ancestors, our fathers in the faith, who had to deal with such matters in the past. As it happens, the church of the fifth century can be our teacher. The Council of Chalcedon of AD 451 was one of the church’s ecumenical councils, having been given high status and honor in the church around the world to this day for that very reason. At that council, two heretics were condemned for their teachings against the truths of who Jesus is: one Person of the Godhead, with two natures, divine and human. Nestorius had been teaching that the two natures of Jesus were essentially two persons. The Council rejected this with clear and incisive language, saying such things as declaring Mary to be the Mother of God, which Nestorius could not say, so he was condemned. On the other side was Eutyches, who taught that Jesus did not have two natures, but only one, a mixture of the divine and the human. This was also rejected and condemned as false and contrary to the catholic (i.e. universal Christian) faith. But the followers of Eutyches did not disappear. Instead, they morphed into a movement called Monophysitism, holding that Jesus has only one nature. These began to take over churches around the empire. Within thirty years, a large number of churches and bishops had become openly Monophysite. There were in those days five centers of Christendom (called Sees or Archbishoprics): Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria. Of these, three—Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem—had become Monophysite. Over 500 bishops were open followers of Eutyches. When Zeno became emperor in 477, he had great reason to want to heal the breach in his empire. On the one hand he had many friends who were Monophysites; on the other, he had come to power as a champion of the catholics, because he had succeeded in unseating Basiliscus the protector of the Monophysites. Being pulled himself in both directions, as well as wanting to restore peace, he crafted the notorious “Henotikon” (plan of union). It can be seen as a deft and skillful document from a political point of view, but was in fact dreadful from a theological vantage point. The Henotikon reaffirmed Chalcedon’s condemnations of Nestorius and Eutyches, and declared that Jesus
Ah, doesn’t that sound wonderful? So it might seem at first, enough to satisfy both sides. But Eutyches and Nestorius were already dead, and closer inspection of the document leaves one wondering, one what? Person or nature? The document doesn’t say, which is, of course, intentional. While political compromises are often desirable, theological ones can’t be. Christian confessions must be precisely crafted, especially with regard to the very errors they address. Ever since those days, bad theology has often arisen from intentionally imprecise language precisely when it is needed. One thinks, for example, of the altered Augsburg Confession of the sixteenth century, or even more recently the Lutheran-Roman Catholic agreement on the question of grace. But Acacius the Archbishop of Constantinople was finally pressured into accepting the document after vacillating over it for a few years, whereupon Pope Felix II, to his credit, being utterly unwilling to accept the Henotikon, sent two legates to Constantinople to call Acacius to come to Rome to explain himself. Acacius refused, and Felix excommunicated him, setting in motion the so-called Acacian Schism which lasted until 518. So much for Zeno’s brilliance. When Anastasius succeded Zeno in 491, he kept the Henotikon’s policy in place, and again hoped to heal the breach. But when in 492 Gelasius became Pope, he, like his own predecessor Felix, wanted nothing to do with the Henotikon, and in 494 he wrote his famous letter (the ad Anastasium) to the emperor making this clear. In fact, I detect a bit of mockery against the Henotikon in his letter, which declares, “There are two (duo sunt), august Emperor, by which this world is chiefly ruled, namely, the sacred authority of the priests and the royal power,” but the priestly power is the greater. Here is a subtle and derogatory reference to the intentional vagary of the Henotikon’s use of the term “one,” but nonetheless in this case the duo sunt, unlike the Henotikon’s uno est, is utterly clear about what these two are: powers; and in any case the simple message of ad Anastasium to the emperor is clear: the Henotikon is dreadfully poor theology and will not be tolerated; you, dear Emperor (he condescendingly calls him “my son”) need to stay out of the Church’s business. Church leaders in our day will do well to take a lesson from the likes of Felix and Gelasius, and be encouraged speak to the government (and to our own people!) with the same kind of clear and unambiguous language. As we look back at the coronavirus and its draconian lockdowns, pastors and synod officials alike must remember first that the civil government has no business telling churches how to run their affairs; whether to open their doors, or how to operate, or whether to wear masks, or whether to sing aloud, or any such thing. The government has no authority over the church’s churchly matters. If a plague lurks, it is always going to be the tendency of governmental powers to insert themselves where they don’t belong. And they don’t belong in the pew. Except, if they desire, as respectful listeners, sons of the church. + Pastor Eckardt Wednesday Evening Masses There is no mass scheduled on Wednesday, June 30th. Pastor and Carol will be in Florida visiting her father. There is no mass scheduled on Wednesday, July 14th. Pastor and Carol will be on family vacation. Tentatively Wednesday masses are scheduled at 7 pm on all the other Wednesdays. July, August Anniversaries July: 7/1/1951 John and Emilie Ricknell August: 8/1/2009 Chris and Trista Dooley Altar Guild Notes
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 Father Eckardt 7/14 Elizabeth Dooley August: 8/11 Sam Fisher 8/11 Judy Thompson 8/13 Donald Murphy 8/16 Trista Dooley 8/21 John Sovanski Catechism Resumes in August Junior Catechism will resume on Tuesday, August 17th, at 5:00 in the afternoon. Church Council The council will be meeting on Wednesday, July 21st, which is the usual third Wednesday. In August, the scheduled meeting is for Wednesday, August 18th. Please make a note of it. President Harrison Signs Joint Letter to U.S. Secretary of Education On June 1, the Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, joined a diverse group of U.S. religious and legal leaders in writing to the U.S. Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, about the need to preserve federal regulations that protect religious freedom at public universities. The regulations, 34 C.F.R. §§ 75.500(d) and 76.500(d), state that public universities may not deny faith-based campus organizations any of the benefits given to any other campus student organization. In some cases, even with existing protections, faith-based student groups have been denied the right to require that their leadership share their convictions. Without sanctioned campus leadership, they may not have access to basic privileges such as on-campus meeting space. “Denying recognition to these groups because of their sincerely held religious beliefs is wrong,” write the signatories of the letter. “We urge you to preserve the legal protections provided in 34 C.F.R. §§ 75.500(d) and 76.500(d) for individual students and religious student organizations so that students of all faiths will continue to feel welcome on their public college campuses.” On Vacation I will be away for vacation from July 10th to the 17th. Matins will be held on Sunday the 11th, a service without communion. The subdeacons will lead the service which consists of psalms, hymns, canticles, readings, and the reading of a sermon by pastor. There is no mass on Wednesday the 14th. I return on Saturday the 17th, and normal activities resume. + Pastor Eckardt In Our Prayers Our list of prayer intentions at mass includes the names on the lists below. To update the lists please inform pastor. in our parish: Emilie Ricknell, John Ricknell, Linda Rowe, Emmy Wear, Don Murphy, Dick Melchin, Bea Harris, Allan Kraklow, Sandra VerPlaetse, John Sovanski, Tara Wagenknecht, Grant Andreson, Dale Baker, and Jewneel Walker, Otis Anderson and beyond our parish: Anna, Katy, and Jody Rutowicz [Harris relations] Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter] Elizabeth Godke [Sharon Field’s mother] Oneida Hendrickson [Ricknell relative] Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister] Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson] Dennis Hoag, Tim Newman [Shreck relations] Matthew and Yvette Baker [Dale’s son and wife] Theresa Moore [Ricknells’ niece] Kathy Boeger [re Harrises] Allison Leezer [relative of the Kraklows] Everly Stoner Dieter Michaelsen Marvin Brown Shannon Watson [Jim’s daughter] Trevor Lindsey [Otis Anderson’s relative] Lauren Lindstrom [Alissa’s Grandfather] in the military: John Eckardt Donny Appleman [at request of the Ricknells] Richard Heiden [at request of the Eckardts] Luke Van Landigan [grandson of Dick Melchin] Jaclyn Alvarez [daughter of Kris Harden] Eli Wetzel, Traven Wetzel, Shawn Wetzel Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson] Jake Mahaffey, Trevor Shimmin, Shad Draminski James and Ann Lee Armstrong in trouble: any unborn children in danger of abortion those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Burkina Faso, Iran, Syria, India, Myanmar, North Korea, and elsewhere. Persecution Details (from Voice of the Martyrs Canada) MYANMAR (BURMA) (17 June 2021): A coalition of more than 25 organizations has signed a joint statement expressing deep concerns over the violence committed by security forces in Myanmar against peaceful protesters. The global call to action follows the illegal coup d'état which overthrew the democratically elected government on February 1st. This signed statement especially spotlights how the military has been destroying places of worship in their crackdown. Religious and ethnic minorities have been targeted, resulting in an increasing number of internally displaced persons. BURKINA FASO: 17 June 2021 More than 130 civilians in Burkina Faso were indiscriminately slaughtered during an overnight raid on Yagha village on June 4th. Although no particular group has claimed responsibility for this most recent attack, government officials believe the devastating invasion was the work of one of several Islamic jihadist groups operating in the area. IRAN: Christians Ordered to Prison Date: 17 June 2021 Christian converts Homayoun Zhaveh (62) and his wife Sara Admadi (42) were on holidays with friends when they were arrested by Iranian intelligence officials. As a result of their house church activities, Homayoun was sentenced to two years in prison while Sara received a sentence of eight years. At last report, they were awaiting an order to report to prison. July Ushers Jim Hornback, Tom Wells, Steve Kraklow August Ushers Jim Hornback, Otis Anderson, Bill Thompson. July Altar Guild and Elders to meet July 6th, with Tuesday Vespers First Tuesday events for July are to be held on Tuesday, July 6th, the usual time. Please make a note of it. Listen at Home Our website, www.stpaulskewanee.org, has easy-to-find podcasts (recordings of studies) that you can access and listen to on demand. There are podcasts of St. Paul’s on the Air, recordings of sermons, and occasional Bible classes as well. These are also sent to Facebook to make it easy to access the website from there. Have a listen, and spread the word. Our Facebook page, St. Paul's and Friends, also regularly posts live streamed (audio and visual) services you may access at any time. There is also availability at YouTube, at the Burnell Eckardt channel. Check out Gottesblog Usually Gottesblog has a several posts per week, of matters pertaining to the church, her liturgy, and of course, the Gospel. You can even get an email notification every time there is a new article posted. Also, if you go to Gottesdienst, you can scroll to the bottom of the page, where you will see an opportunity to put in your email address and sign up to receive news, updates, and our latest blog posts. St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church 109 S. Elm Street Kewanee, IL 61443 5/26/2021 June 2021Volume 33 June 2021 No. 6
Reflections on Pentecost and the Holy Trinity This article was featured in the Kewanee Star Courier on Friday, May 21st, 2021. This year the Feast of Pentecost was on Sunday, May 23rd, being followed by Trinity Sunday, which as always is the next Sunday, this year on May 30th. The Church’s year is structured in such a way that we observe its three greatest Feast Days in connection with the three Persons of the Holy Trinity. That is to say, first, that on Christmas we celebrate the Father’s giving of His great Gift to the world in the sending of His Son. Second, Easter is when we rejoice in the resurrection of Christ, the Son Himself, from the grave. And then comes Pentecost, on which the Holy Spirit fills the Holy Apostles and they begin to preach the Gospel. All three of these Feast Days are really about Jesus, of course, since Christmas is about Jesus’ birth, Easter is about Jesus’ resurrection, and Pentecost is also about Him, because the coming of the Holy Spirit is specifically the day on which the Spirit gives power to the Apostles to preach about Jesus. By this understanding, Pentecost is really an outgrowth of Easter, as indicated by the final chapters of each of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. St. Matthew records immediately after Jesus’ appearance to His disciples that they should go and teach all nations. St. Mark likewise reports that Jesus’ Easter appearances to the disciples were followed by His command that they go into all the world and preach the Gospel. St. John’s last two chapters report three appearances of the risen Lord to His disciples, the second and third of which contain snippets of the Evangelist’s own preaching as he was commanded: first, immediately after Jesus’ appearance to Thomas, John writes, “These are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ” (John 20:31). and second, immediately after His appearance on the shore, he writes similarly, “This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things” (John 21:24). St. Luke is the only Evangelist who follows up His Gospel with an entire second book, the Acts of the Apostles, in which the details of Pentecost are given. Here we see the Spirit coming to the Apostles and filling them, whereupon they began to speak with other tongues (Acts 2:4). The tongues are listed by name, and the history of the birth and growth of the Church follows, beginning with Peter’s sermon about Jesus (Acts 2:14-26). All four of the Gospels therefore make it clear that the coming of the Holy Spirit is really the beginning of preaching about Jesus and the spread of this preaching to all the world. And therefore it is fitting that as soon as these three great Feast Days are observed, there immediately follows the Feast of the Holy Trinity, on the Sunday following Pentecost. What we learn from this is that Jesus is at the center of everything which has to do with Almighty God and His relation to His created world. Jesus is begotten of the Father and born for us; Jesus rises from the dead on Easter Day; and Jesus is preached in all the world beginning on Pentecost. It must be this way of course, since our salvation entirely depends on Jesus. Without His holy incarnation there could be no payment for the sin of the world by His holy crucifixion. Without His resurrection likewise His crucifixion could not be turned from defeat into victory and salvation. And without the preaching of the Gospel we would never have learned of this, and so it would all have been in vain. So let there be eternal thanks to God the Holy Trinity, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for His immeasurable grace and mercy. + Pastor Eckardt Our Personal Need for Christ and One Another by Burnell Eckardt. This article was printed in the newsletter one year ago; it’s from Gottesblog May 18th, 2020. It might be refreshing to read it again now, as coronavirus numbers and restrictions ebb and a return to normalcy is at last upon us. During these difficult days of the Coronavirus and its sad consequences, we will all do well to remember that the Lord Jesus will not leave his people in a state of isolation from one another indefinitely. He will not leave or forsake us, and has promised to help us in time of need. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. He will not leave us comfortless; of this we may be sure, for he cannot lie to us. Politicians and pundits may want to talk about a “new normal” that includes routine social distancing and awareness of the dangers of personal contact, and some people may even opine that this is somehow a good thing; but we Christians know otherwise, and we long for the day when this crisis is over. For we know that we are creatures of God, who himself entered our race in his holy incarnation. The Word became flesh; he did not despise the womb of the Virgin; and in our flesh he ransomed us from death and the grave by the shedding of his sacred blood. Not only so, but this same Jesus, in this same flesh, rose from the dead on the third day, and showed himself alive to his disciples. And he said to them, “Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have.” This same Jesus is he that took little children up in his arms and blessed them; he touched the eyes of the blind to make them see; he put his fingers into the ears of the deaf to make them hear. The Good Shepherd blesses his sheep by his warm embrace. And he feeds them his own Body and Blood in the Blessed Sacrament. And since we are creatures of the Word made flesh, therefore we not only need continually to be thus receiving him, but to be with one another as well, for this is our innate need: for gathering, and togetherness, and touch, and embrace. Love bears all things, and love never ends, says the Apostle. Thus while we may have to endure a period of trouble during which we find ourselves in greater or lesser degrees of isolation from each other (pity especially the poor elderly in nursing homes!), we also know that this crisis, this dreadful state of affairs, will pass; that it must pass. And we also know, because love never ends, that one day, hopefully one day soon, we will find ourselves free again just as we once were, free to be truly together again: free to mingle with one another, free to embrace our loved ones, free to find ourselves happily among excited crowds, free to visit the sick or the lonely, free to offer a hand to the weak, or personal service to someone who may need help with groceries, or the front steps, or the opening of a door, free even to walk with friends, to shake hands with people we meet, to play, to dance, to love. That day we await with fervent hope, confidence, and prayer. For Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! June Birthdays 6/5 Linda Rowe 6/16 Berniece Harris 6/29 Jim Watson Church Council The council will be meeting on Wednesday, June 16th the usual third Wednesday. Please make a note of it. June Ushers Jim Hornback, Steve Kraklow, Tom Wells. Altar Guild Notes
Elders and Altar Guild Moved to June 8th This month’s first Monday events are moved to the second Tuesday, June 8th, to accommodate Pastor’s schedule. Please make a note of it. 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 Bill and Judy Thompson New Members On Pentecost Sunday (May 23rd) we were pleased to welcome Jeff and Tara Wagenknecht as new members, by transfer. Jeff and Tara live in Walnut. We are pleased and delighted to have them join our parish. 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, Emmy Wear, Don Murphy, Dick Melchin, Bea Harris, Allan Kraklow, Sandra VerPlaetse, John Sovanski, Tara Wagenknecht, Grant Andreson, Dale Baker, Jewneel Walker and beyond our parish: Anna, Katy, and Jody Rutowicz [Harris relations] Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter] Elizabeth Godke [Sharon Field’s mother] Oneida Hendrickson [Ricknell relative] Janice Hart [Judy Thompson’s sister] Caleb Cleaver [Ricknells’ grandson] Dennis Hoag, Tim Newman [Shreck relations] Matthew and Yvette Baker [Dale’s son and wife] Theresa Moore [Ricknells’ niece] Kathy Boeger [re Harrises] Allison Leezer [relative of the Kraklows] Bud Harfst, Everly Stoner, Glenda Wallace Dieter Michaelsen Marvin Brown Shannon Watson [Jim’s daughter] Les and Trevor Lindsey [Otis Anderson’s relatives] in the military: John Eckardt Donny Appleman [at request of the Ricknells] Richard Heiden [at request of the Eckardts] Luke Van Landigan [grandson of Dick Melchin] Jaclyn Alvarez [daughter of Kris Harden] Eli Wetzel, Traven Wetzel, Shawn Wetzel Eric Verplaetse [Sandra’s grandson] Jake Mahaffey, Trevor Shimmin, Shad Draminski James and Ann Lee Armstrong in trouble: any unborn children in danger of abortion those suffering from unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Nigeria, Algeria, Sudan, Madagascar, Iran, Iraq, Syria, India, China, Vietnam, North Korea, and elsewhere. Once Creation Goes, Everything Else Falls Apart By John Bussman, posted at Gottesblog (www.gottesdienst.org/gottesblog) on May 14th, 2021. Fr. Bussman is the pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Cullman, Alabama. I was recently talking to several people in the church about an article I had read concerning The Rev. Dr. Juhana Pohjola of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland. You may have heard of his situation there in Finland. As the conversation carried on, I kept hearing over and over, “I can’t believe that so many Christians have strayed so far from what the Bible says.” It’s true, isn’t it? So many denominations today live by only one rule: “anything goes!” all in the name of being “nice” and “loving.” Everyone is allowed to do whatever he/she/they/them/… wants to do, and you have to go along with it—or else! I can certainly understand this from the world’s perspective. The ones outside the Church will assuredly descend into chaos, destruction, and despair. We’ve seen it in history over and over again. But why would these who believe so little of the Bible still confess to be Christian and send the body of Christ into such chaos as well? We have that issue with those who claim to be Lutheran but have forsaken Christ their Lord. It has all happened so quickly. That’s probably the most shocking thing about it. I’m even down here in the “Bible belt,” and it shocks me to see how many have begun to sacrifice to the gods of this age and how little they know about Jesus their Savior. As I commented on the Pohjola article to my people, I summed it up this way: “Once the doctrine of creation is lost, everything else goes with it.” The very first line in the Holy Scriptures says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” If that verse is quoted and a person says that they disagree, we have different Gods. It’s plain and simple. If from the very first verse we disagree, why should we ever expect to come to the same conclusion about the meaning of any other account in the Scriptures? The answer is very simply: “We shouldn’t because we won’t.” If you tell me that God didn’t create, you certainly won’t tell me that God literally sent a flood over the earth or that Jonah was literally swallowed by a big fish or that Adam and Eve were literally real people. (I seem to recall a controversy over this very matter…) This world is in a mess. I could cite numerous examples, but you already know this for yourselves. It’s in a mess because the masses have rejected the very God who created it all. We have seen this spill into the Church as we see denomination after denomination fall completely out of the kingdom because they, too, have forsaken the Creator. Once creation goes, everything else falls apart. We must guard and defend this doctrine lest we, too, fall like so many others have and go the way of the world. In guarding and defending, we are not locking it safely behind closed doors. We are proclaiming it to a world (and to many churches) who have lost it. Bear in mind: in the proclamation, they will come for you as they have Rev. Pohjola. You will probably become the “intolerant church” in town. But if the confession ceases, we will eventually lose Christ our Lord and everything will fall apart. Yes. That’s right. If God did not create, the whole purpose of sending Jesus is lost as well. If God didn’t create, there’s no reason to re-create. If the restoration of all things is not the goal of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, then why did He come? All of His healing, teaching, and miracles must take on a brand new interpretation. A God who doesn’t create would care nothing for re-creation or restoration. So at that point we have to come up with something completely new for the simplest thing the Scriptures teach! Jesus no longer comes to make all things new through the forgiveness of sins won on the cross. The new answers for Jesus’ coming are plenty: Jesus came “to teach me how I can live a meaningful life,” or “so that I am free to live how I want,” or “so that I don’t have to follow the Law,” etc. You’ve heard it all, I’m sure. We mustn’t lose creation lest we lose Jesus. It might sound shocking or excessive, but it is most certainly true and will happen more quickly than you can imagine. Simply look at the evidence and see what’s happened to all of the others who sacrificed it first. The cross is absent, and anything goes! Church Picnic in July, at Wells’ Home This year our church picnic will be on the 18th of July, which is a little later than usual, at the home of Tom Wells. Tom lives on the road north to Annawan. Take Hwy 78 north of town until you get to the last road that shoots off to the east before Annawan. You can see their blue house from the road; it’s pretty much the only house there. We’ll plan to go right after mass on Sunday, which is usual for Church Picnic Sunday. We get into our picnic clothes right after mass, bring a dish to pass, and maybe even bring some yard games to play. If you have no dish to pass, that’s fine; there’s always plenty. Arrive when you can; people will probably start showing up between 11 and noon. We should have some grilled meat etc. Bring your smiling faces and your summer hats! At last, a return to normalcy The table in the hallway has been removed. The mailboxes in the narthex are back in service. The table below the ramp for offerings has been removed. The offering plate is being passed after the sermon, as was formerly customary. Social distancing at the altar is no longer needed. Be on the Lookout (on your computer) This note comes from your trustees. If you are ever interested in surfing the internet, here’s something to consider: There are always gifts and grants available for church projects; it’s just a matter of finding them. For instance, we replaced the fluorescent lights in the school earlier this year by tapping into a grant that encourages people to get energy-efficient lights. It allowed us to purchase the lights at a net cost of just 33¢ apiece. Right now, in particular we are we are looking for windows for the classrooms. So a grant of some kind for that would be nice. You never know what you can find, but we won’t find anything if we don’t look for it. So, if you are ever in the mood, feel free to do some web browsing for your church, and see what you can find! Then just let Otis or pastor know. St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church 109 S. Elm Street Kewanee, IL 61443 |
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