Dear Congregation,

Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he, who is coming into the world.
John 11, 27

the verse of the month is in a very dramatic story. If you make the effort and read the eleventh chapter of the Gospel of John, you will notice that it is about life and death of a person here. The story tells of Lazarus and his two sisters Mary and Martha. They live in Bethany, a suburb of Jerusalem. They are well acquainted with Jesus. In this chapter it even says that Jesus loves Lazarus and his sisters. Now, the following happens: Lazarus becomes seriously ill. Mary and Martha send a message to Jesus. Their expectation is clear: Jesus shall come and heal their brother. But – he does not do this, at least not immediately. He still remains two days longer where he was, and after that, he goes to a different region for another two days, before he finally arrives in Bethany. Too late! Lazarus has died in the meantime. Already four days ago. The funeral has even taken place. Mary is too sad and hurt, at first, she does not even want to talk to Jesus. Martha is honest and plain. She says to Jesus: “Had you been here, he would not have died.” There! That hit home. As the story progresses,  so it seems, the full extent of the human catastrophe becomes clear to Jesus by and by. He sees how sad the two sisters are, he sees the reaction of the neighbours and friends, he feels the disappointment that he, although he knew, had not helped. There is even one of the few emotional moments about which the gospels tell: Jesus cries. Well, had he gone there immediately and helped! It is understandable that we think like this. The way the story is told, one cannot but accuse Jesus. But stop! - Jesus now is indeed not someone who acts without considering. There must indeed be a reason for the delay. When one looks closer, one learns that Jesus knew the whole time that Lazarus was dying. As a friend, as a person, he himself suffers a loss, therefore he cries, too. The Jews, who notice his crying, say: “See how he loved him.” At the beginning of the story we hear what Jesus says concerning the message about Lazarus’ illness: This illness is not unto death, but for the “glory of God…” In plain language this means, that through the death of Lazarus and his raising from the dead, which is related at the end of the story, God’s power is made clear and he, God himself shall be believed as Lord over death. It may be that we still have a problem with this, as we think: “Well, does a person have to die first and other people mourn terrible, so that God can be glorified?” There is certainly no simple answer to this, only the reminder that God has ultimately chosen this path for his Son, for Jesus himself. And how else should we believe in something so unbelievable as the resurrection of the dead, if there is absolutely no indication at all FOR US, that this can indeed happen? Lazarus is reawakened to life, against all experience, he is dead for four days, “there will be an odour”, it says in the story. Jesus is reawakened to life, and he appears to his disciples, which we will remember again on Easter Sunday. The story of Lazarus is written for us. Only through such a drastic telling of events are we challenged to ask ourselves, whether we believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life and we receive eternal life. By the way, Jesus asks this of Martha in the face of all sorrow and hopelessness of that situation. Her answer is: “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world.” Her answer is not an irrelevant detail, but supposedly the statement at which we ourselves as readers should arrive.
With best wishes for March,
I remain with kind regards
Your Pastor Stefan Wolf

On Sunday, February 26th, the Annual took place. This time, only 68 voting members were present. To shorten the meeting, no longer were reports read aloud, but only the necessary items, like the financial report for 2005, the budget  for 2006 and new projects were discussed. Pastor Wolf thanked all members, however, this time he decided not to list all by name. As it said in his report, there would have been too many to give special thanks for the help during the anniversary year 2005. Much was achieved and the anniversary was celebrated with dignity. Mr. Arndt pointed expressly to the fact in his financial report that, if monthly mortgage payments remain the same, the credit would be paid off at the end of 2009. The congregation has again raised more than 10% of the household fund for local and world wide aid, including the support of the day care work in Brazil and the aid for the Tsunami victims. We have also been able to fulfill our obligations to the Synod. Voted as new members of the Church Council were Iris Schweiger, Gisela Wilhelm and Heinz Gutsch. Edmund Scholz was voted President of the Church Council and Ernst-August Wienecke as Vice President. The other offices are as follows: Rendant: Karl Kriese, Secreatary: Iris Schweiger, Financial Secretary is Hans-Joachim Arndt. He was thanked again for the conscientious and good execution of his office. We thank the retiring Church Council members Brenda Wilson, Ulrich Karthaus and Hans Vetter for their co-operation and their effort and help. Trustees are Mrs. Else Weigelin and Mrs. Inge Koo Tze Mew. As accountants, Mr. Horst Zimmer and Mrs. Peggy Seifert-Rabey were acknowledged.

The following Projects were discussed:

• The Acquisition of Song Books.   
• The Erection of a display case.
• New Roofing for the main Roof of the Church (the shingles are disintegrating!).
• Completion of the History Book of the Martin Luther Church in connection with the 50^th Anniversary.
• The Founding of a Senate, to which older congregational members should belong, who support the work of the Church Council, give suggestions and ideas, and could see projects through. The decision-making must remain with the Church Council, so that the congregation does not have two councils, but in this way, the Church Council could receive the necessary support. I propose that the Church Council names members and to try out this process for two years.
• The Hiring of a new Choir Leader (Mona Frantzke  is no longer available after the 1^st of July 2006)
• Setting up Care for small Children in the Sunday School.
• Forming a Working Group to develop a “Mission Strategy”.
• Forming a Working Group for the revision of the Liturgy in the English Service.
• A Planning Meeting at the beginning of each year, to co-ordinate important events and dates with all who are involved.
• The development of concrete Plans for the Founding of a Seniors’ Home.

The costs for the roofing of the Church roof amount to app. $ 25,000, and the erection of the display case between $ 2,000 and 4,000.

The meeting was harmonious and ended at about 4:00 p.m.

Dear Members of Martin Luther Church,

an eventful anniversary year lies behind us. To all who participated, once again, special thanks that we could achieve so much and that we could help so many people with our donations. As the Church Council, we want to express once again a thank-you to all the ladies, especially to the Ladies’ Group. This may have been overlooked somewhat during the Annual General Meeting.

This year, too, we count on your support again. Every year there are projects in order to keep our buildings intact. We are very thankful, that we, during the past years, could undertake important renovations through your donations and the grants for the nursery. This year, we have to carry out two building projects: One is the repair of our roof. The shingles are totally ruined. In a strong wind, pieces of the shingles are blown from the roof. It is high time to act; otherwise we risk more extensive damage on the wood underneath and water damage in the Church.

The display case is a project which occupies us already for a longer period of time. The Church is often overlooked. The display case is a window into the congregation, for that reason, our Church should not be beautiful inside only, but outside the door should also be a reference to the Church, to the necessary contacts and relevant events.

The total costs amount to app. $ 30,000, which we must raise in addition to our household expenses. Please help! We will send out donation envelopes in the next bulletin and hope, as last year, to have collected the greater part of the special collection until summer.

In the hope of your support,
Edmund Scholz