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Church News: June 2004 |
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Last updated: Sunday, September 11, 2011 48th Year June 2004 |
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Church Services: 06. June 13. June 20. June 27. June 04. July
Registration Form For Confirmands [pdf] Our Groups and Circles The Board of Directors of the Nursery meets on Tuesday, June 8, at 6:00 p.m., at the Church. We invite cordially to a BBQ and Meet-the Parents Night beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Church. The Women’s Group invites for Wednesday, June 9, at 7:00 p.m., at the Church. The Church Council meets on Wednesday, June 9, at 7:00 p.m., at the Church. The Senior Care/Senior Residence Committee will take place on Monday, June 14, at 7:00 p.m., at the Church. The Literary Circle will take part in an Author Reading at Harbourfront Centre, Burgundy Room on Wednesday, June 16, at 7:30 p.m.; tickets cost $ 8.00, please register soon if you want to participate! The event is called: The Stories of Morley Callaghan. The Visiting-Service Group meets again on Wednesday, June 23, at 7:00 p.m. at the Church. The Seniors’ Circle meets on the last Wednesday of the month, June 30, at 1:30 p.m.
Radio
Dedication
in German
Church Choir |
Be watchful, stand firm in
your faith, be courageous, be strong. Meditation on the Verse for the Month of June
Dear Congregation, · You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect... (Matth. 5, 48) · ...put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. (Col. 3, 14)
That has made me think. The
idea is that faith shall develop people further. It is correct that God
loves us as we are, but this does not mean that he still wants us to
remain as we are. What sense would it make to read the Bible and to pray,
and, yet, nothing changes and all the bad habits, familiar to us, stay the
same? Then one needs to ask oneself, whether the relationship with God has
no effect on our life whatsoever, is this not so? Time and again, Paul
says quite clearly: Do better, make an effort. In the Letter to the Romans
he writes: “...do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the
renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is
good and acceptable and perfect.” I do not want to bombard you with Bible
verses, I just want to make it clear that the idea of perfection, the idea
of growing in faith, the idea of improving one’s conduct and of practicing
love, are Biblical ideas. And: They are fundamental for our faith. “Be
watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong...” It seems
to me as if Paul urges us on, on our way through life, so that we will not
forget what is important. Like a trainer, he stands at the edge of the
field and calls out to us that which we should not forget. – I am thinking
of the confirmands these days, who are confirmed on May 30th.
To what kinds of influences will they be exposed during their life?
Perhaps they will, as actually everyone, be in situations, where their
Christian conviction, where faith will be tested. I hope that they will
then have the strength to withstand the pressures from outside. What did
our Bishop, Micheal Pryse, recently relate in a sermon? When he and his
friend, as young adults, wanted to go out on Saturday nights, the mother
of his friend did not hold long lectures about: Don’t do this and don’t do
that...”, but she simply said: “Always remember who you are.” Bishop Pryse
said with a smile, that the mother had no idea, how many Saturday nights
she ruined for these two with this sentence. But it is really true: He
wants to show who we are, more precisely, that we are God’s children. I
hope that we all take Paul’s words truly to heart and strive, wherever we
are, to be steadfast, to remain watchful, courageous and strong in faith.
Hopefully, we succeed often to set signs of love! Let us be an example to
the young people in our congregation. We are called to live according to
what Christ expects of us. And also, even though all this is strenuous, it
is the way which is indicated to us in faith – whether we like it or not!
Therefore: “Be watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be
strong...” Congregational Picnic on June 6th at Camp EdgewoodThe time has come again: Our congregational Picnic is imminent. This year, too, a great program for all ages is awaiting you:
11:00 o’clock Service for the whole Family
“A Fiery Story” 12:00 o’clock Joint Lunch 1:00 o’clock A Game for all Participants!
1:45 o’clock Games, arts and crafts,
singing, going on 3:00 o’clock Refreshment Break 3:15 o’clock Puppet Theatre 4:00 o’clock Joint, brief (!) Conclusion! The Picnic brings us together as a congregation and, therefore, it would be nice if we could spend and experience the day together. It is a wonderful opportunity, to get to know each other better and to have a lot of fun together. Last year, the joint game after lunch was very funny. Please take part this year as well. Please do not forget your food, plate, cutlery and also a cup for tea or coffee. Coffee and tea will be served. Could you donate a cake?
From Toronto: · Highway 401 West · Guelph Line 1, exit northbound · Through town of Brookville · Stay on Guelph Line until you come to a 4way stop (huge stop-sign) · Turn left to Eden Mills and follow signs to the Camp Come and bring along your Family!!! Visiting Service News„And who visits me?“ The Visiting-Service Group has made it their responsibility to visit congregational members. Therefore, if you wish to receive a visit from us, do not hesitate! Simply fill out a note with your name and your address and put it into the Visit-Wish-Box. You can, if you like, also call in your wish to me by telephone: Tel: 905-275-7084. Someone from the Visiting-Service team will call you as soon as possible.
Whoever likes to take on
visits in our congregation, is invited on June 23 at 7:00 p.m. in
the basement of the Church, to join the Visiting-Service Group. You find
further information in the “Letter to those interested in the
Visiting-Service Group”. Open Letter Dear Ladies and Gentlemen interested in Visiting-Service, at the first meeting of the Project Visiting-Service Group, it looked very promising. Twelve interested people attended, and others, too, expressed their interest. We agreed that visiting older, lonely and sick congregational members should be the aim of this circle. Jointly, we agreed upon how to proceed and set dates. Yet, I had to discover that, concerning the agreed upon proceedings, there were differing ideas, which have not, unfortunately, been expressed at the first meeting. At the next meeting, we were only four, to the third meeting one person came. My impression is that the purpose and aim of this undertaking are not yet clear to everyone. I hope to add clarification with this letter, so that we can realize the project together. According to the word of Paul in 1. Corinthians 12, our Church congregation is the body of Christ with many members. Paul describes very vividly, that this body only functions, when all individual members work together. It is the task of each congregational member to take care, with all his strength, of the body in its entirety and of the individual members. Particularly older, lonely and sick congregational members are in need of this loving care and attention . When we offer a Visiting-Service in the congregation, it is, therefore, not just a private matter. We rather recognize a responsibility within the congregation, which concerns the whole body. For – thus Paul explains – “...if one member suffers, all suffer together(...)” (1. Corinthians 12, 26) For the success of the project “Visiting-Service Group”, the following points are to be observed: 1. Co-ordination and Arrangements: We need them to help effectively as many people as possible . Otherwise, it can easily happen that some congregational members receive several visits and others none. The meetings are there to make such co-ordination possible. 2. Reliability and Respect: - during visits: The private sphere of the people we visit must be observed. Therefore, it makes sense to set dates for the visits beforehand. These dates must absolutely be kept (or cancelled in time). The visited person has to be treated with respect. Confidential conversations during visits shall not “make the rounds”. - in the group: The agreed upon dates and arrangements must be kept. It is annoying for everyone who comes, if the group is too small to accomplish anything. If you cannot come, I ask you for a brief call or a note per e-mail. Differences of opinion should, if possible, be openly communicated, so that we can clear the air. The group also exists for this reason that we are honest with each other. No one in this group should have the feeling to be not “good” enough or not to be taken seriously. Conversations in this group are confidential. 3. Information and Sharing: It was planned that during the different meetings there would also be information given, which is helpful in certain situations during congregational visits. Certainly, there is no “Patent Recipe” for visits, as every person is individual and different. However, through background knowledge, many misunderstandings and uncertainty can be avoided. If you are confronted with difficult questions during visits, the Visitng-Service Group offers a place to receive advice and help. Of course, Pastor Wolf and I are available in such a case with pastoral care. The Meeting on June 23rd takes place as agreed upon. For the future planning and organization of the Visiting-Service Group, I am grateful and open to all suggestions for improvement. Visits within the congregation are an important matter. Each one of you can contribute so that Martin Luther Church fulfils this mission as “The Body of Christ”. We can trust that God gives us his blessings.
Greetings, P.S. This letter will also be printed in the next Bulletin. Special Collection begins immediately!
Camp Lutherlyn - please register!!The registration form is available at the Church. We gladly mail it out or send it per email. Please contact Pastor Wolf (Cell: 416-567-2487; email: fralupus@rogers.com ). Costs for the camp will be app. $ 225 per person. There is a discount for families. We will, as we did last year, have a bus for the trip there and back. Camp Lutherlyn Registration Form 2004 More information.
Radio Devotion an AM 530 - Differt
Time!
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cordially invite you to stay for a while after the Services for a cup of
coffee!
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Martin Luther Church
is a member congregation of the
Toronto Conference of the
Eastern Synod of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Canada, the
DELKINA
(Deutsche Evangelische Lutherische Konferenz
in NordAmerika / German Evangelical Lutheran
Conference in North America), and the
EKD (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland /
Protestant Church of Germany). |