And Jesus stopped and called (the two blind men), saying, ‘What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, ‘Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes and immediately they received their sight and followed him. Matthew 20:32-34
In ongoing reflection, prayer, and conversation, our church council has voted to join with members of the leadership of the North American Lutheran Church in seeking an integrative approach to our congregational assessment, evaluation, and renewal.
Working together, Assistant to the Bishop for Missions, Dr. Gemechis Buba, Assistant for Domestic Missions Pr. Phil Gagnon, Director for Renewal Ministries, Pr. Brad Hales and Assistant to the Bishop for Ministry, Pr. David Wendel have developed such an approach, appropriately titled, the “Fresh Eyes for Mission Summit!”
The goal of the summit is to involve appropriate leadership in the NALC, together with the Congregation’s pastor and leaders, praying first, “Lord, let our eyes be opened!” We then trust that the Lord will give participants fresh eyes to receive new insight and understanding, all aimed at new or renewed direction for mission and ministry as the congregation seeks to follow Jesus firmly and faithfully!
Each summit begins with pre-work by pastor and congregational leaders, which is reviewed by NALC leaders who bring varied experiences and expertise. An on-site visit is scheduled at St. Jacob’s with an NALC facilitator who will then join two or three of our congregational leaders in a tour of the local area and neighborhoods, surrounding the church, neighborhoods bordering the congregational service area, and making visits, where appropriate, to neighboring congregations, community offices and locations. The goal is to look with “fresh eyes” at the congregation, context and community and develop a strategy for renewal of ministries and growth.
The NALC facilitator then meets with the pastor and summit participants, which should include those currently on council and serving on ministry teams, as well as others who have served in the past and may serve in the future, to review pre-work, asking, “What have we learned? What is a surprise? What pre-conceived ideas were supported or dispelled?”
On Saturday, March 11th, a workshop is scheduled that will be led by the NALC facilitator, involving all members of the congregation who desire to participate in learning more about how to renew the mission and ministry of St. Jacob’s.
ALL MEMBERS OF ST. JACOB’S are encouraged and invited to participate in this Saturday Summit Workshop. Many congregations in the Carolinas have hosted Fresh eyes Summits in the last year, and have found them to be very helpful in learning more about how to renew their church’s ministry and create a vision for future growth.
Archive for February, 2023
Fresh Eyes for Mission Summit – March 11th
Posted February 22, 2023 By adminShrove Tuesday Pancake Supper
Posted February 17, 2023 By adminShrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, is observed in various Christian denominations. The name “Shrove” Tuesday is derived from the Old English verb “shrive,” It refers to the confession of sins as a preparation for Lent, a usual practice in Europe in the Middle Ages. Although the day is sometimes still used for self-examination and introspection, Shrove Tuesday eventually acquired the character of a carnival or festival (Mardi Gras) in many places and is often celebrated with parades. As the final day before the austerity of the Lenten fast, Shrove Tuesday (also known as Fat Tuesday in Latin America) also has many customs pertaining to food. Pancakes are traditional in a number of countries because eggs, sugar, and fat, commonly forbidden during the Lenten fast, are to be used up so they will not go to waste or become a temptation to break the fast.
Also a part of the ritual of Shrove Tuesday, is the burning of the previous year’s Holy week palms, finalizing the previous year’s Lenten sacrifice. Shrove Tuesday marks the beginning of the forty Day season of Lent. This it the time when we contemplate the 40 days that Jesus spent fasting in the desert where he resisted the temptation of Satan.
As is our tradition, our Lutheran Men’s group will serve up a delicious pancake supper with all the trimmings featuring their homemade pork sausage for us to enjoy. We will also observe the ritual of burning last year’s palms to make the ashes for our Ash Wednesday imposition of ashes. The burning of palms will begin at 6:30PM on February 21st, with our pancake supper immediately following. Come enjoy this night of fellowship with your church family.
Mercy Bags Ministry for We Care
Posted February 11, 2023 By adminWhat an amazing impact our congregation has made in helping families in need by providing meals to be delivered by We Care. Since we began this ministry less than a year ago, we have donated over 300 meals!! The Discipleship Team has organized volunteers into two groups that will meet only once a month (on the 1st or 3rd Sundays) to pack and distribute the meals to We Care on Monday morning.
There is room for more people to help with this! Do you have time to donate ONE hour of your time once a month to help shop for food, pack the bags with meals or deliver the bags on a Monday morning? Call or talk to Lynn and let him know!
Congregation Meeting
Posted February 9, 2023 By adminOur Annual Spring Congregation meeting will be held prior to worship on Sunday, February 19th, 2023. The purpose of the meeting is to receive and approve the 2022 Annual Report Book. Report books will be sent to the congregation electronically (email). Anyone who desires to have a hard copy for the report book should contact the church office to make arrangements for one to be provided.
Calling all St. Jacob’s Youth!
Posted February 7, 2023 By adminSuper Bowl Sunday is quickly approaching. Will your favorite team be one of the two playing for the title? Well, now you have a chance to cheer them on and be of help to your orphaned Christian brothers and sisters in Congo at the same time. The annual Souper Bowl of Caring involves youth church members all over the country in the mission of God. Here at St. Jacob’s you will collect a love offering in “Souper Bowls” marked with each team’s logo. The team that raises the most money for the Children in Congo will be declared the winner. The goal set for our competition is to raise a combined $200.00 for the Congo Mission.
If our “Souper” Bowl reaches the goal, all youth participating will be invited to provide “Head Coach” Pastor David Nuottila with the traditional Gatorade victory shower. So come on! Let’s have some fun and at the same time show the love of Christ Jesus to our far away friends and children who are in great need.
St. Jacob’s members, be sure to bring your spare change and loose cash to donate to this cause. Remember, the greater the gift, the wetter Pastor will get.
From the Pastor’s Heart
Posted February 5, 2023 By adminCreate in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Psalm 51:10
Remember, you are dust. As if we need a reminder. In the second chapter of Genesis we read that God created humankind from the dust of the ground. It wasn’t long after, that Adam and Eve fell into sin and God explained to them the consequences of their disobedience. In chapter 3, God said to Adam, “By the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” Genesis 3:19.
And so, since that time, God’s people have had to face the truth, you are dust, and there is nothing you can do about it. To dust you shall return.
Each year, about this time, Christians all over the world are confronted with the fact that, because we are sinners, we are deserving of God’s punishment and wrath. It is the reality we face on Ash Wednesday. Well, in truth, it is only a part of the reality we face on Ash Wednesday. The other part is that we receive the good news that God has provided for us the means to escape eternal punishment. God, who is rich in mercy, provides for his people a Savior who will spare us from the eternal death we so richly deserve.
Facing these realities, Christians all over the world begin the annual metaphorical pilgrimage to the cross of Christ where the victory over sin is won. The season of Lent is a somber time, a time for self-reflection upon our lives as sinners, yet also as God’s redeemed people through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ. The worship services of the Church are meant to provide people with an opportunity to reflect upon their need for a Savior, and to remind them that we indeed have one. He is Christ the Lord.
All that Christ endured, his pain, his suffering, he did so for our sake. As God’s incarnate Word, Jesus came into the world to fully identify with God’s created people who have fallen away from the Father’s intentions and expectations.
Centuries before Christ was born, King David, of all people, stood convicted in his sin. Just like every one else, King David was formed from the dust of the ground. David knew there was nothing he could do to erase the shame and guilt that he brought upon himself through his sin against Bathsheba and Uriah. Mercy could only come from the God whom he grievously disobeyed. And so, in his guilt and shame, he bore his heart to God.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit (Psalm 51:10-12). David’s prayer is our prayer too. Only through Christ are we saved. Even as we are dust, through God’s grace, mercy and love, Christ extends the promise of God’s kingdom to all who believe.
This year, as we make our annual Lenten journey to the cross together, we will do so following a particular journey. I will be preaching a series of sermons entitled “The Journey of Stones.” Each Sunday during Lent we will hear messages meant to reveal the hardness of our hearts, hearts as hard as stone. By journey’s end, we will leave this hardness of heart where it belongs, at the foot of the cross of Christ.
I invite you to commit to weekly worship during Lent and to make this journey with the rest of your church family. It begins with worship on Ash Wednesday, February 22, when we are marked with the ashen cross of Christ, the symbol of our mortality blended with the symbol of our salvation. Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return. God’s grace and peace be unto you all during this season of Lent and forever and always.
Blessings,
Pastor David Nuottila
Choir Notes
Posted February 3, 2023 By adminThe Hymn Of The Month
In January we began singing a hymn of the month during Holy Communion. In the hymn for January, O Love How Deep, we have each week recounted the story of the Gospel in song. We have sung that in Jesus’s deep love for us he chose to come to earth, take on our frail body and give his life as a sacrifice for us. Our natural response to this amazing gift of love is our adoration of Jesus which we will sing in February with the hymn Thee We Adore, O Savior.
In January we sang:
O Love how deep, how broad how high,
He wore the robe of human frame,
And to this world himself he came.
And now in February we praise Christ:
Thee we adore, O Savior, God most true,
Our hearts to thee in true devotion bow
In humble awe we hail thy presence now.
For us, in crown of thorns arrayed,
He bore the shameful cross and death,
For us he gave his dying breath.
And now in February we beseech Christ:
Fountain of goodness, Jesus, Lord and God
Cleanse us, O Christ with thy most cleansing blood.
Increase our faith and love that we might know
The hope and peace from which thy presence flow.
For us he rose from death again;
For us he went on high to reign;
And now in February we long for Christ:
Jesus by faith we see thee here below
Send us, we pray thee what we thirst for so
Someday to gaze upon thy face in light.
As Pastor David said in his sermon on January 22nd, there are so many ways to fish for men. All we need to do is share the story of what Jesus Christ has done for us and for humanity
We practice telling this story each week in the songs that we sing. I encourage you to read through both hymns and reflect on the beautiful message in each. Hopefully as we sing the gospel story it will help the words flow from our lips as we go out into the world.
In Christ,
Angela
Worship at Generations
Posted February 1, 2023 By adminEvery other Sunday, Pr. David leads worship for the residents of Generations Assisted Care of Chapin. This ministry has made a great difference in the lives of many folks who are not able to attend worship at their home church. The congregation is invited and certainly encouraged to share this experience with our friends just down the road. Our next worship opportunities will be on Sunday, February 5th and February 19th at 1:00PM. Join us in the lobby at Generations.
News from Up and Going
Posted February 1, 2023 By adminThe Up and Going began the new year of 2023 on January 12th at 11:00AM in the Fellowship Hall. Decorations of snowmen greeted thirteen members and guests. Lunch was the Soup Pot, served by Ann Lindler and filled with delicious vegetables and beef, Appropriate side items and wonderful desserts, all provided by attendees.
Team Leader, Helen L. Lindler welcomed everyone and gave a devotion from the book, Faith Alone, by Martin Luther. Devotions ended with prayer. The treasurer’s report was given by Gary. Business was conducted and prayer was requested for the sick, our church and church family.
We were honored to have Administrative Assistant Jean join us for lunch. During lunch, we discovered that Jean is kin to a large number of our Up and Going members.
After lunch, Joan and Gary hosted Bingo, gifts were provided by those attending. Bingo was fun and opening and choosing gifts was a hard decision. The laughter and comments were the highlight of the day. All agreed that the Soup Pot lunch was especially delicious, and the Bingo games were a tremendous hit. A motion was made and an affirmative vote was taken that every January meeting will consist of a Soup Pot lunch and Bingo games. Members and guests will provide items for the Soup Pot and prizes for Bingo.
We decided to once again prepare and provide Easter bags for hospice patients. See Joan Marco for items needed. This is a project especially dear to the Up and Going and we look forward to providing these Easter bags for our hospice friends. God richly blessed our meeting.
