Calendar for
December 2009
[PDF]
Calendar for
January 2010
[PDF]
Dear Fellow Christians !
“Living
Mangers“ are something very beautiful. Perhaps you, too, take
the time during Advent to admire such a „living manger”. Most of
all, children are fascinated by them when they can observe real
live animals near the manger, donkey, ox, sheep and sheep dogs.
Yes, the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem, to whom the
Christmas message is told first, also bring their animals to the
Saviour; animals, too, enjoy the splendour of the Holy Night.
Do
you know who designed the first „living manger’? That was in the
year 1223 by Francis of Assisi. He was well-known for his love
of creation and of animals. His famous Canticle of the Sun
bears witness to this, and it is told that he had also preached
to the birds of the love of God, who had listened to him
attentively. Francis arranged a living manger in the Grotto of
Grecchio (north of Rome) with ox and donkey
and sheep, and thereby brought about a twofold effect. It was
placed vividly before people’s eyes what the Christmas story
means,
how rich and poor, children and adults, find their way
to Jesus, the light of the world. They experienced that the love
of God, the Creator, is also meant for the animals. And they
realized that faith also includes the responsibility for God’s
good creation. So it is very fitting when on October 4th
the World Animal Day is observed, on the Day of Francis in the
Catholic church calendar.
In the
watchword for the month of December, Zechariah 8, verse 13, it
is written:
God says: I
will save you and you shall be a blessing. Fear not but let your
hands be strong!
This
is what we celebrate at Christmas: God comes to save the
creation, to reconcile humans with humans and to bring about
peace between humans and animals. At Christmas we feel something
of the peace, which is God’s will for creation. A peace which
will be stronger than hostility and war, which threaten our
earth at the present, a peace which challenges us to work
against indifference and insensitivity, against waste and
exploitation, against torment and abuse. Hopefully, we can carry
some of the peace of Christmas into our daily life! Hopefully,
fear is taken from us and our hands are strengthened to do good
deeds!
In
this sense, I wish you a blessed
Christmas Season and God’s good
guidance in the New Year!
Your Pastor Alexander Mielke
During the
Christmas Season we cordially ask you to support our local
Foodbank.
Donations of Christmas Cookies and Bakery for our
Advent Events would be very much appreciated!
December
6, 2nd Advent Sunday
Christmas Craft Bazaar and
Advent Get-Together
after the Joint Service
which starts at 11:00 a.m., with English & German Carols, Christmas
Stories and Cookies (in support of Children's Work in Sao
Paulo/Brazil)
Christmas Candlelight Service of Hope and Remembrance
Wednesday, December 9, 7:30 p.m., Wesley Mimico United Church
...for those who are finding the Christmas season difficult and are
grieving the loss of a loved one
with Martin Luther Church, Mimico Baptist Church, M.Presbyterian Ch.
cooperating in the liturgy
MLC
Social Activity: "The Fiddler on the Roof", Dec 12, 1:30
p.m., Canon Theatre, 244 Victoria St. Please contact Dina Wancar,
Gisela Wilhelm or Heidi Jonuschies.
Advent
III Sunday, December 13
Joint Service, 11:00 a.m.
with
Christmas Play
of the Sunday School
A warm welcome to join
the Kids in their practising on the Sundays before (during Sunday
Schools on 9:45 a.m.)
Dress Rehearsal will be
on Friday, Dec 11, 6:00 p.m., with Pizza!
4th
Advent Sunday, December 20
Candle Light Service for the Young and the Young at
Heart
We celebrate an
English Candle Light Service at 5:00 p.m. for young people
and those still young at heart. Joyful and meditative, in the glow
of the light of the candles, we want to enter into the days of
Christmas.
Christmas
Eve, Dec 24, 5:00 p.m.
German Christmas Eve
Service, with English translation
Thursday,
December 24, 6:30 p.m.
English Christmas Eve
Candle Light Service with reflective Guitar Music
Unfortunately,
ValuMart on Superior Avenue has made it very clear to us that
absolutely no unauthorized parking on their large parking lot is
acceptable – please take notice of this, in order to avoid
unnecessary annoyance.
However, we want to point out that
there is a public parking lot on the northern corner of Lake
Shore Blvd W und Superior, at the rear of the Hardware Store.
Give this also a try, it costs only $1 per hour!
December 31, 5:00 p.m.
German New Year's Eve
Service with Holy Communion
New
Year's Day, January 1, 2010
Once again, we
can look forward to a
Jazz-Service on
New Year’s Day, which is arranged by the guitarist Magnus
Hjerpe and his friends. This joyous English church service with
jazz and swing melodies begins at 5:00 p.m.
Together
with Wesley Mimico United Church we have prepared a flyer, which
invites to the Christmas events of our two congregations. It would
be best if you could bring this personally to the attention of your
friends and acquaintances and invite them. Please take some
flyers and pass them on. Many thanks for doing this important
service by inviting others to our church!
You are cordially invited to the
Photo Presentation “Israel – the Place Where Three World Religions
Meet”. Three years ago, Pastor Alexander Mielke was able
to travel through Israel, from the farthest north, the Golan
Heights, to the south, to Eilat at the Red Sea. You can experience
his impressions and ideas of the land of the Bible after the Joint
Service on January 17.
Welcome
to enjoy the Toronto Conference Christmas & Epiphany Concert,
on Saturday, January 16, 3:00 p.m. in the Agricola Finnish Lutheran
Church !
Our
Book Club is meeting again. Once a month we get together and
will read the following English books in the near future:
Susanna
Moodie, Roughing It in the Bush
(these memoirs of an English Canada immigrant in the first half of
the 19th century were honoured through a very interesting
exhibit at the McMichael Gallery with the co-operation of Margaret
Atwood and Charles Pachter);
Ann
Marie MacDonald, Fall on Your Knees;
Jane
Austen, Pride and Prejudice.
We
are very open to suggestions and ideas. If you are interested,
please contact Pastor Alexander Mielke.
Please find enclosed a Christmas Donation Envelope. We kindly ask
you to support our Martin Luther Church with a special donation at
Christmas.
Thank you very much!
You are
cordially invited to the Adult Retreat of Martin Luther Church 2010!
This
time we will be at a different conference centre, at the Mount
Alverno Retreat Center, a house of the Franciscans, near
Orangeville.
The price is somewhat higher than in
the last years. However, the accommodation will be mostly in double
rooms, the meals are also included in the weekend price of $118. We
will have a comfortable lounge to ourselves and can enjoy the
beautiful grounds.
We also are going to organize carpooling.
The theme is: “To live the Matthew
Gospel – the story of Francis of Assisi”. Texts from this Gospel
together with life events of this most lovable saint in the history
of Christianity shall give us suggestions for our every day life.
Allow yourself this weekend, experience the community and let
yourself be encouraged by God’s promises for the New Year!
January 29 – 31, 2010
Mount Alverno Retreat Centre
Friday 7:00 p.m. – Sunday 2:00 p.m.
Price per Person: $ 118.00
20704 Heart Lake Road, Caledon, Ontario L7K 2A2
(Close to Orangeville), Carpooling Will Be Provided
If you like to
participate in this retreat, please fill in the registration form
(last page of the newsletter) and send it to Pastor Alexander Mielke
by December 20.
In
a festive Joint Service on November 8th, the thank-you plaques for
the donations for the church windows were unveiled and we asked God
for his blessing, that the beautiful church windows as well as the
new showcase can invite to our church and invitation to a life based
on God's promises.
A heartfelt Thank You to
all who donated for the stained glass church windows and the
showcase, also to the EKD, Hannover. Thank you to the "showcase
committee" with the late Olaf Weigelin, with Edmund Scholz and
Pastor Mielke. A very special Thank You to Karen and Bob Hiscott /
Interface Marketing! And a big Thank You to Heinz Gutsch who was in
permanent contact with North York Trophies, Josef Koch, supported by
his daughter Sylvia too.
At the Christmas Market of the
Danube-Swabian Club, this year, we have again invited to the
Christmas events of the congregations of the German Contact Circle.
Many thanks to the congregational members who were there for the
shift of the Martin Luther Church on Saturday afternoon!
On
the 1st Advent Sunday the Edelweiss Choir was performing a
beautiful concert. Musical director was Richard Heinzle whose
son Benjamin impressed with his playing the violin.
Gunther Kunzelmann read reflective texts
and taught the audience the probably shortest Christmas song ever composed.
Watchword for the Year 2010 – John 14:1
Jesus Christ
says: Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Believe in
God, believe also in me.
God's
blessings for a peaceful Advent Season and merry Christmas!
Lutheran Holy Land Tour
(with Oberammergau Passion Play)
May 8-19, 2010
Join Dr. Tim Hegedus and Lorne Smith
for a tour of a lifetime
Deepen your understanding of the Bible with a visit to
Israel/Palestine and then experience the passion of Christ in
dramatic form in the world-famous Passion Play in Oberammergau.
This tour - planned particularly for, but not limited to, persons
from the Lutheran Church - will be led by Dr. Tim Hegedus,
Associate Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity
at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary.
Space on this tour is limited. For more information or to register
for this tour, please contact TourMagination at
1-800-565-0451 or
email
office@tourmagination.com
www.tourmagination.com
Martin Luther
Evangelical Lutheran Church
2379 Lake Shore Blvd. West, Toronto, ON
M8V 1B7
Telephone: 416-251-8293, Fax: 416-259-2889
www.martinluther.ca
Pastor
Alexander Mielke, Cell Phone: 416-567-2487
Email:
alexander.mielke@rogers.com
Radio
Devotion (in German) every Sunday 9:30 a.m. on AM 530
Sundays 9:45 English, 11:00
German Service
always with Sunday School and Open Nursery
Editor of MLC
Newsletter: Pastor Alexander Mielke; Translations: Kaethe Kleinau;
Homepage and List Administrator: Mona Frantzke; Mailing List: Anita Ratz
If you would
like to be added to the Martin Luther Church Email Distribution List
please contact: Mona Frantzke, List
Administrator,
webmaster@martinluther.ca or:
Martin Luther Church, 2379
Lakeshore Blvd West, Toronto, ON M8V 1B7
__________________________________________________________________________________-
Registration Form
Erwachsenenfreizeit der Martin-Luther-Kirche 2010
Adult Retreat of
the Martin Luther Church 2010
If you like to
participate in this retreat, please fill out the registration
form
and send it to
Pastor Alexander Mielke until December 20, 2009
(Cell Phone:
416-567-2487 Email:
alexander.mielke@rogers.com)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I / we
want to participate in the Adult Retreat of the Martin Luther
Church, Jan 29 – 31, 2009, in Mount Alverno Retreat Center.
My
name / our names
________________________________________________________________________________
Address
___________________________________________________________________
Phone ___________________________________________________
Email ____________________________________________________
I am
attaching a cheque of $ 118.00 (payable to"Martin Luther Church",
Purpose"Adult Retreat"): Yes/ No.
Special dietary and other needs:
___________________________________________________________________
Date and Signature
