Church News: March 2005 [PDF]

Lent Services until Easter every Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at the Church!

06. März
Laetare
English 9:45 a.m.
German 11:00 a.m.
Pastor Stefan Wolf

13. March
Judica
English 9:45 a.m.
German 11:00 a.m.
Pastor Stefan Wolf

20. March
Palmsunday
English 9:45 a.m.
German 11:00 a.m.
Pastor Stefan Wolf

24. March
Maundy Thursday
German 7:30 p.m. (!)
Pastor Stefan Wolf
With the Celebration of Holy Communion  

25. March
Good Friday
English 9:45 a.m.
German 11:00 a.m.
Pastor Stefan Wolf
with Church Choir
With the Celebration of Holy Communion  

27. March Easter
-Easter Sunrise Service
English 5:00 a.m. (!)
-Ostergottesdienst
English & German 10:00 a.m. (!)
Pastor Stefan Wolf
with Church Choir and Sunday School

We express our thanks for all donations and for the active attendance of our Church Services, and cordially invite you to stay for a while after the Services for a cup of coffee!

Our Groups and Circles

Lent Services take place on  March 2, 9 and 16, at 7:00 p.m. respectively, at the Church.

The World Prayer Day takes place on Friday, March 4, at 2:00 p.m at the Deutsche Evangeliums Kirche, 20 Glebe Road.

Board of Directors  of the Nursery meets on Tuesday, March 8, 6:00 p.m. at the Church.

The Ladies’Group  invites on Wednesday, March 9, after the Lent Service at the Church.

The Church Council  meets also on Wednesday, March 9, after the Lent Service at the Church.

The Literary Circle takes place on Tuesday, March 15, 4:00 p.m., at the parsonage, 3203 Gatliff Ave., Mississauga. –Please read the book „A Complicated Kindness“ by Mirjam Toews, so that we can talk about it that afternoon!

The English speaking Bible Discussion Group  meets on Tuesday, March 15, 7:30, at the Church.

The Visiting Service Group  meets on Sunday, March 20, after the German Service, at the Church.

The German speaking Bible Discussion Group takes place on Wednesday, March 23, 1:30 p.m., at the Church.

The Seniors’ Circle meets on Wednesday, March 30, at 1:30, at the Church.

Further Dates:

• Confirmation Instruction
   begins on Monday, 04. April, 7:00 p.m., Parsonage!

• Congregational Picnic: Sunday May 29th, 2005

• Camp Lutherlyn:
  Sunday July 31st to Saturday Aug 6th, 2005
   

Radio Dedication in German
every Sunday 9:30 a.m. Ciao Radio AM 530. Any donations for this program would be welcome - please indicate your envelopes  "for radio program".

Please send us an email, if you want to receive our newsletter regularly.

Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness should be preached in his name to all nations.
Luke 24, 46+47

Devotion on the Verse for the Month of March 2005

Dear Congregation,
some people find books too long. Why would one spend so many hours reading? It should always be like this, as in this verse of the month, which offers a summary of the events in two sentences! Jesus has suffered, has risen from the dead, and the preaching, which is going out to all the world, is for repentance and forgiveness of sins among all peoples. Actually, everything is said here, is it not? – I do not want to convince anyone to forego the reading of the gospels, for it is important indeed, that we not only know the result of Jesus' work and life in the short form.. The gospels are really so much more than is said here in two sentences. However, it is important, I think, that we know what our faith is good for and what it contains. It would be nice, if Christians could, indeed, say in two sentences what they believe. Time and again, I notice that people find this difficult. Some are strangely speechless when it is about faith. Originally, the Creed was actually intended to be a synopsis of Christian faith, however, as time went on, it has been reduced to a part of the liturgy, and for many people of our time, it has become rather a temptation than a confirmation of what is believed, because of the statements about the virgin birth and the kingdom of death, as, unfortunately, the knowledge and the context are missing. It is the same with sentences like this verse for the month. Basically, one does know this, even though we often miss the exact context and the foundation of such sentences. I regret this, because faith, just as our life, has often also become superficial. Who does actually make the effort, after having completed confirmation instruction, to take the Bible in hand? Who does not merely read and wonder, but goes right to the bottom of things? Why do authors sell so well, who time and again promise legendary „disclosures“ about faith, based on pseudo-theological theses? Just because the average believer is, to the greatest extent, uninformed and cannot contradict these theses and inferences! On the other side, particularly on the North American continent, a naïve Biblicism is spreading, which claims, that true faith is only that which adheres to every letter of the word, and which instantly leaves the reader with the uneasy feeling, just don’t question the text of the Bible and totally refrain from having your own thoughts about it, which is nothing but a new legality, from which Jesus actually wanted to set us free. What kind of weak faith is this, which does not stand up to the debate with other ideologies or can be put out of commission through people’s queries? – Faith in God, which comes from God himself, makes debates possible, indeed, and searching, questioning, inquiring, pondering, without having to lose the essence of faith. God has given us reasoning power, so that we may use it. Of course, it will always be the case, that we, as Paul says, will hunt after the truth. It must be clear to us that it is as it says in a song: “Our knowledge and minds are shrouded in darkness…”  We can never understand God 100%, as long as we live on earth. Therefore, I think, that we must approach the Bible with our reason, but still, with humility, too. What we can say, is temporary. And yet, we can say with certainty that Christian faith is always an Easter-faith, a faith which speaks of life after death. A faith that wants to bring about hope, also and foremost, in the face of death, and which becomes apparent to us in Jesus Christ, as faith of love for God and our neighbour. That shall lead us, as followers of Christ, to repentance, that means turning back. If we truly read the Bible, it will be clear to us, that we can always improve our life. It will be clear to us that we are far from a life style devoted to our neighbour. It will, however, be clear, too, that others, even in the circle of the friends of Jesus, have struggled with the same problems. That shall comfort us. For it is God’s love which takes form in Jesus Christ. It is God’s love for us, which goes so far as to send his son into death for us, so that his resurrection gives us a hope which we cannot give to ourselves. To know this is good. It is nice, when we can believe this with all our heart. Here, the verse of the month as a synopsis can be a start for us – but not more.

With best wishes for a blessed Easter Season,
I remain with kind regards, your Pastor Stefan Wolf

On Sunday, February 20, the General Annual Meeting took place. This time, 76 voting members were present. The individual reports, except the Pastors’ reports, were not read out loud. The year 2004 was an eventful and good year for the congregation, which was confirmed through the report of Mr. Arndt (Financial Secretary). Thanks to a testamentary arranged donation to the congregation, larger repayments on the mortgage of the parsonage could be made. The congregation has again raised somewhat more than 10% (app. $ 25,000) for local and world-wide aid, which is, considering the total higher income, very remarkable. This shows that we have also supported aid organizations outside of our own congregation, besides the many intern projects within the congregation. We have also been able to fulfil our responsibilities towards the Synod. All were expressly thanked who have contributed to the management and success of the work. As new members of the Church Council were voted in: Stefan Grammenz, Ron Mayer, Keith Rabey and Edmund Scholz. Mr. Ernst-August Wienecke was confirmed in his office as President, Vice-President is Mr. Edmund Scholz. The remaining offices are as before: Rendant: Mr. Karl Kriese, Secretary: Ms. Heidi Jonuschies, Financial Secretary is Mr. Hans-Joachim Arndt. He was thanked again for his conscientious and good execution of his office. We thank the retiring Church Council members Matthias Gutsch, Dan Sommerfeld, Melvin Zabel and Horst Zimmer for their co-operation within and outside of the duties of the Church Council! The new Church Council was introduced to the congregation and inaugurated into their offices in a Joint Service on February 27, 2005. We wish the ladies and gentlemen of the council all the best and God’s blessings for their work. Property Managers are Mrs. Else Weigelin and Mr. Eugen Pahnke. Mr. Horst Zimmer and Mrs. Peggy Seifert-Rabey were voted as auditors.

It was decided

·        to set up a fund for a Seniors Home,

·        to renovate the kitchen along with the adjoining room completely and to put in a new kitchen

The Meeting was harmonious and ended at 5:10 p.m.

Once again, we invite to the World Prayer Day on March 4, 2005 at 2:00 p.m.. The order for this year comes from Poland and bears the title: “Let us be light”. The Church Service takes place at the Deutsche Evangeliums Church, 20 Glebe Road! It would be nice if our Martin Luther Church would be represented in large numbers.

Until Easter, we continue our series of Lent Services every Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.  This year, it is about the sermon series “The Man from Galilee” and comprises texts from the gospel of Matthew.

02. March       Jubilation under Burdens                              Matthew  11, 28-29

09. March       Knowing what will come                                 Matthew  20, 17-19

16. March       The long Road from Lament to Praise         Matthew  23, 37-39

As usual, there will be Communion Services on Maundy Thursday (24.03) and Good Friday (25.03) in the German language. Then, on Easter Sunday (27.03), we invite to the “Easter-Sunrise-Service” at 5:00 a.m. (!) at Humber Bay Park West (west of “Parklawn”). Please keep to the right and drive to the last parking lot! Following the Service, there will be a joint breakfast. At 10:00 a.m. (!), the bilingual Easter Service (Family Service) for the entire congregation will take place with the participation of the Church Choir and Sunday School. Please note the detailed program in this Bulletin.. 

Once again, I draw your attention to the beginning of Confirmation Instruction on April 4th, 7:00 p.m. at the parsonage. In case you want your child to take part in the one-year course, concluding with Confirmation at Pentecost 2006, please come or call Pastor Stefan Wolf: 416-567-2487! 

We say a heartfelt Thank-you to all who have made donations for the victims of the flood disaster. We have collected more than $ 5,600 and passed it on to the victims through the Canadian Lutheran World Relief. THANK YOU!

Lotte Arndt
Poul Flemming Nielsen
Heinz Zwatzl
Harald Bonkowski

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

As reported in February already, we want to produce a Martin Luther Church Cook Book with favourite recipes of your family, to preserve the many delicious recipe ideas for salads, entrees, desserts, cakes, cookies, or whatever you like. This great idea for gifts or for you to keep, can only be successful if we collect 150 recipes. Therefore, sit down right away and write down your recipe. If possible, we would prefer it typed, sent by email and in English. If that should not be possible for you, simply send it the way you can, to the Church or give it to me personally. Please take part! You can even dedicate the recipe to someone. To give you an idea for the format, please note the from at the end of the Bulletin, which you can also use for sending in your recipe. The 150^th recipe receives a prize! Deadline is March 31^st!

From April 16 to 25, Pastor Sigmar Reichel and his wife Gertrud will be our guests. We want to take advantage of his visit to hear about the work in Brazil and to introduce our guests to our congregational work. Furthermore, they shall have the opportunity to see something of Toronto and vicinity. It would be nice, if we could therefore co-ordinate invitations and dates, and plan ahead, when Reichels will be guests in our groups and circles. For this purpose, I will compile a plan and discuss it with those responsible for the groups. The Wieneckes are so good as to take the Reichels in. We are looking forward to getting to know them personally and hope to receive support for the Nursery Project in Guarulhos from other congregations as well.

We plan a Photo Directory of our Congregation on the occasion of the 50^th Congregational Anniversary and ask you, to enter your name in the list for photo sessions on the next few Sundays. It only makes sense, if almost all are in the directory. According to the photo firm, there is no obligation to buy. With this Bulletin, we are sending out general information. In the April Bulletin further points will follow. The photo sessions are on the following days:

Wednesday                   4. May             between 3.00 and 9.00 p.m.,

Thursday                       5. May             between 3.00 and 9.00 p.m., 

Friday                           6. May             between 3.00 and 9.00 p.m., 

Saturday                       7. May             between10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m.

Should you be away, we can arrange another date at another place. In this case, please notify us immediately. We still need a few volunteers to help with organizing! In May, at the Picnic, we want to take a large group picture. Therefore, please note down May 29 (picnic) at this time already!

In April, we want to go swimming in the Norseman-Pool with the children of the Sunday School and their parents and interested congregational members. We will inform you of the exact date in the next Bulletin.

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra will present Johann Sebastian Bach’s Matthew Passion on Saturday, March 26th, at 7:30 p.m. in the Roy Thompson Hall.

Mission Circle
every Wednesday morning from 9:30 a.m., except on 09.03!
Lent Services
Wednesday, March 2, 9 and 16, 7.00 p.m., Church.
Church Choir
every Friday  7:30 p.m., Church.
World Prayer Day
Friday,  04. March, 2:.00 p.m. 20 Glebe Rd. Toronto!
Board of Directors of the Nursery
Tuesday 08. March, 6.00 p.m., Church.
Church Council
Wednesday 09. March, 7.00 p.m., Church.
Ladies’ Group
Wednesday  09. March, 7:00 p.m., Church.
Anniversary Planning Circle
Monday 14. March, 9.00 a.m. Parsonage!
Literary Circle
Tuesday 15. March, 4:00 p.m., Parsonage!
English Bible Discussion Group
Tuesday 15. March, 7:30 p.m., Church.
German Bible Discussion Group
Wednesday 23. March, 1:30 p.m., Church.
Easter Concert
Saturday 26. March 19.30 p.m.,  Roy Thompson Hall
Seniors’ Circle
Wednesday 30. March, 1:30 p.m., Church.
Confirmation Instruction
 begins on Monday, 04. April, 7:00 p.m., Parsonage!

The resurrection of Christ reveals that we have a future. Suffering and death do not lose any of their bitterness through this, but they appear in a new light.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906 - 1945)