The Lutheran Men will have its next regular meeting on September 17th at 6:00pm in the Fellowship Hall.
NALC Disaster Response
Posted September 7, 2023 By adminThe Carolinas Mission Region will host another opportunity for congregations to engage the mission of Disaster Response. This opportunity will see congregations partnering together to assemble “Kitchen Kits.” In many areas of recovering from floods or hurricanes, families often need to replace simple, basic kitchen supplies. NALC Disaster Response has put together a list of items to be included in disaster response “Kitchen Kits” to assist families in their recovery.
Beginning on Sunday, September 3th, St. Jacob’s will Be collecting kitchen hot pads and dish towels. We will collect these items until Sunday, October 22 and will deliver them to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Troutman, NC, where the kits will be assembled. We would also like as many members of St. Jacob’s as possible to volunteer in this activity. As always, it will be a time of fun, and fellowship as we work together to share the compassion of Christ for those in need. The project is scheduled for Saturday, October 28th.
COUNCIL BRIEFS FOR AUGUST MEETING
Posted September 6, 2023 By adminGood Things at St. Jacobs:
• Office Renovations Completed
• Sunday Visits to Generations is a special time for residents and St. Jacob’s members
Pastor’s Report – Pastor gave recap of Congo trip. An estimated 600 children were fed on this trip.
Report of Ministry Teams:
• Staff Support – Annual reviews of staff will be done the month of August.
• Congregation Care – Homecoming is October 15.
• Building & Property – Church Office renovations are complete. Plans continue for the parking lot renovations.
• Worship & Music – Youth handbell retreat to Salisbury NC is August 26. Choir rehearsals will resume August 30.
Old Business:
• NALC Disaster Relief – St. Jacob’s approved to move forward with plans to use the bus shed to store supplies for the NALC Disaster Relief Program.
New Business:
• There will be a church wide workday on September 30. More details to follow.
Filed in Council Reports, Other Happenings
Mid-Week Bible Study
Posted September 6, 2023 By adminOur Wednesday Morning Bible study met on Wednesday, August 23 at 9:30a.m. The Bible study will meet in the newly renovated Church Office.
All are welcome to join in. Please invite others who may enjoy reading and learning more about the Scriptures while discussing them in fellowship with others. No special materials are needed, just you, your Bible, and a desire to meet with others while hearing of God’s promises and love for his people.
Pastoral Devotion for September – Disciples Follow
Posted September 6, 2023 By adminRead: Matthew 4:17-22
What was it that Jesus noticed about Simon and his brother Andrew? They were merely simple fishermen casting their nets. The same might be asked of James and John. They were not doing anything out of the ordinary. They were going about the work of fishermen also, mending their nets. Why did Jesus choose these four out of the crowd? We can only speculate, but Jesus surely knew more about their character than we, or they ever could have known.
Upon hearing Jesus’s call, Simon and Andrew, and James and John immediately left their nets and their lives behind. Following Jesus, they learned from their teacher what it means to love God and to love their neighbor. They followed Jesus doing the things he taught them in the way he showed them.
Jesus continues to call ordinary people into his service. In fact, Jesus calls all Christians to be his disciples. He calls Christians to follow him, learn from him, and do the things as he has shown them to do. What has Jesus noticed about you? Why did he choose you out of the crowd? The truth remains, if you are a baptized follower of Christ, he has called you, an ordinary person, to follow him and be his disciple. How will you respond?
Prayer: Give me the will and desire to follow you, Lord Jesus, that I may be your disciple. Amen.
Celebrating Holy Baptism
Posted September 6, 2023 By adminDuring our service of worship on August 13, 2023, MacKenzie and Owen were Baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit receiving the full measure of God’s grace that come through the waters of Holy Baptism.
We rejoice that God has made them members of His family of faith and inheritors of His kingdom. We rejoice also that, through their Baptism, they have become members of our St. Jacob’s church family. Congratulations and welcome MacKenzie and Owen!
Filed in Fellowship, Other Happenings
Choir Notes
Posted August 23, 2023 By adminMusical Mondays
It’s hard to believe, but our musical Mondays are about to come to an end. Our youth handbell choir has worked hard this summer, building their music reading and bell playing skills.
We are celebrating our hard work with a trip to see the Raleigh Ringers in Albemarle, NC on August 27. We will leave the morning of August 26 and travel to Union Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC. We will have a handbell clinic with the youth handbell choir at Union on the Saturday, staying overnight at the church, and playing in worship on Sunday morning. After lunch Sunday we will head to Albemarle for a Raleigh Ringers concert. This is such an amazing opportunity for our youth ringers.
Thank you to everyone who provided meals this summer for Musical Mondays. Your help is so appreciated.
Chancel Choir
Chancel choir rehearsals will begin Wednesday August 30. Please check upcoming bulletins for more information. It is never too late to join the choir. Please come add your voice to ours as we sing praises to God. No prior experience needed!
LUTHERAN MEN
Posted August 14, 2023 By adminThe Lutheran Men will resume its regular meeting on August 20th at 6:00pm in the Fellowship Hall.
LUTHERAN WOMEN
Posted August 14, 2023 By adminWe will be having an important meeting on August 20th at 4:00pm in the Fellowship Hall. Hope all of you will be able to attend this meeting. All ladies of the church are welcome!
From the Pastor’s Heart
Posted August 13, 2023 By adminFor everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1
Well, here we are at the beginning of August, the month that signals a change in the lives of people. With the impending conclusion of summertime, plans are being made for children to return to the classroom, vacation times are drawing to an end, and even for the church, we plan for the coming autumn months.
At St. Jacob’s, we find ourselves in the same pattern of life as so many other congregations. We have had a wonderful summer season. Our volunteers planned and hosted an amazing Vacation Bible School. Several of our children participated in the Solid Rock Day Camp. Sunday school attendance and participation has greatly increased. The Journey Sunday School class worked diligently in completing improvements to our church office building. Angela led another great time of Musical Mondays for our youth hand bell group. And on a personal note, I was able to participate in an amazing mission trip to Congo.
All in all, the 2023 Summer season at St. Jacob’s found our congregation quite actively engaged in the mission God has set before us. But now, it is time for a change in seasons. The author of Ecclesiastes, in his wisdom, reminds the people of God that there is a time and a season for every matter under heaven. Even as congregations conclude their summer programs, there are still many opportunities to serve our loving God. In the pattern of Christian life, there truly is a time and a season for everything.
Many of us enjoy hearing the words of Ecclesiastes 3 that speak of the times and seasons. Perhaps this is so because we remember the song that came out of the 1960’s that quoted these verses. But keeping the passage in context, the real blessing of the wisdom shared by King David’s son (also identified as “the Preacher”) comes to us in the verses following the identification of the times and seasons for all matters under heaven.
In Ecclesiastes 3:9-12 we read further: “What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live.” The Preacher’s observations on life convinced him that “the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to the men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all” (Ecc. 9:11). Man’s fate, the Preacher maintains, does not depend on righteous or wicked conduct but is a mystery that remains hidden in God (Ecc. 9:1). All attempts to unravel this mystery and thereby gain the wisdom necessary to secure one’s fate are “vanity,” or futile. In the face of such uncertainty, the author’s counsel is to enjoy the good things that God provides while one has them to enjoy, for man does not know his own time.
So what does this mean for the people of God today. Well, the same thing it meant for God’s people of all time. We are to live lives of thanks and praise to the God who supplies all that is
needed for daily life. We are to love God with our whole being, and our neighbor as ourselves. All the worries and cares of this life are placed well within the hands of the One who created and
sustains humanity and all that is captured within this world. Living as thankful people, we can find joy in learning from God’s Word together, while exploring the richness and blessing of the
relationship we share together in Christ Jesus.
For everything there truly is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. There is a time for us to worship together, a time for us to laugh and cry as a family of faith; a time for us to play, and a time for us to work in mission and ministry for the sake of others. There is a time to cherish our life together and a time to grow and share all these blessings with the community around us.
As the season of summer draws to its eventual close and the autumn of 2023 breaks in upon us, let us all give thanks to God for the times and seasons we have together in this place, and let us pray that God would continue to bless our congregation well into the future with a vibrant life together, inviting and welcoming others to become members of the family of St. Jacob’s here in Chapin.
Grace and peace,
Pastor David Nuottila
