On June 13, 1525, Martin Luther married Katharina von Bora, establishing a profound example of Christian marriage as a sacred vocation. Their partnership embodied mutual respect, faithful companionship, hospitality, and spiritual ministry. Luther emphasized marriage as a reflection of Christ’s relationship with His Church, calling couples to mutual love and support, grounded in God’s sustaining grace. As we commemorate the 500th anniversary of Martin and Katie Luther’s marriage, the North American Lutheran Church (NALC) renews its commitment to strengthening the vocation of marriage and supporting families in their journey of discipleship and honoring marriage as a spiritual vocation shaped by grace, while prayerfully supporting those experiencing separation or divorce.
This year, the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s marriage to Katharina von Bora was commemorated on June 13, 2025. Their marriage was an event that helped reform not only the Church, but the Christian household itself. Martin and Katie’s marriage became a living witness to faith, companionship, and the daily practice of grace.
To mark this historic anniversary, our congregation will join the NALC in observing a Vocation of Marriage Sunday during this Season after Pentecost. The NALC is inviting every congregation to take part in planning a special Sunday to honor the vocation of marriage, affirm the dignity of all Christian households, and strengthen the Church’s witness to covenantal love. St. Jacob’s is planning a unique Sunday service for July 6th, with special liturgical materials, Scripture reflections, prayers, and even a rite for affirming marriage vows during worship. Support and strengthening of Christian families is central to living in faith together. Therefore, whether you are young or old, married or unmarried, widowed or divorced, this Sunday is for you.
South Carolina Mission District Archive
The Vocation of Marriage Sunday
Posted July 1, 2025 By adminSummer Mission Trip
Posted May 14, 2025 By adminInquiries have been made to our North American Lutheran Church Disaster Response about scheduling a mission trip to the North Carolina Mountains this Summer. Per a conversation with others, it appears a good time to schedule such a trip is either the week of July 6th-12th or July 13th-19th.
We need to let the NALC Disaster Response coordinator know how may volunteers to expect, the type of service we could provide, and the dates we would be willing to serve. All housing accommodations would be arranged by NALCDR. Anyone interested in making a mission trip this summer should contact Pastor David so plans can be made.
Pastors Visit the Disaster Response Shed
Posted April 2, 2025 By adminOn Thursday, March 20th, several pastors and lay leaders of the South Carolina Mission District visited our NALC Disaster Response Shed. Many were glad to see the growing inventory and asked questions on how their congregations might help provide materials for those recovering from hurricanes, floods, and other disasters. Thank you to Don Dease for his leadership in coordinating and managing our disaster response shed.
NALC Mission Convocation
Posted July 31, 2024 By adminThe biennial online convocation of the NALC takes place this month on August 9th. Joining Pastor David Nuottila will be Sherry and Brandon who will participate as St. Jacob’s delegates. Please pray for the leadership of our denomination and for all delegates as they conduct the business of the NALC.
More Youth Group News
Posted June 17, 2024 By adminJust as the Carolinas Mission Region Convocation had an emphasis on Youth Ministry, this edition of our newsletter focuses on the activities of our St. Jacob’s Youth. Our youth are certainly a busy and active bunch. They enjoy providing music for our congregation, engaging in mission events, and leading worship on the last Sunday of those months with a fifth Sunday. Our Youth members will lead worship again on June 30th. Please support our youth members with your prayers and congratulate them by commenting on their dedication and love for the ministry here at St. Jacob’s.
Music Notes
Posted April 10, 2024 By adminPsalm 150
Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens!
2
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!
3
Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
4
Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
5
Praise him with sounding cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Teaching our children and youth to use their voices and instruments to praise the Lord is one of my favorite things. I think we can all agree that our youngest choristers did a wonderful job on Palm Sunday sharing the message, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We learned again the story of Palm Sunday as we got messy with paint and sang. They even started ringing bells. We look forward to them helping to lead worship through song in the future.
Our youth handbell choir are hard at work as well. We have been invited to participate in worship at the annual Carolina’s Mission District convocation the first weekend in May. The 2024 convocation
is being held at Holy Trinity in Little Mountain. Our youth handbell choir is playing the prelude for the Saturday morning worship service.
We are also gearing up for our summer handbell camp which will be held on Tuesdays this summer. There will be more information in the May newsletter
NALC Disaster Response Shed
Posted April 5, 2024 By adminOur NALC Disaster Response shed (our former bus shed) is up and running. So far, we have received flood buckets, Health and Hygiene kits, Kitchen kits, and School kits from neighboring congregations. Glenn Shealy has taken on the role of “warehouse manager” and is standing by to schedule drop off times and dates for those church groups who would have materials for us to store. Many thanks to Gerald, Robert, and Billy who constructed the necessary shelving for the response shed.
South Carolina Mission District Youth
Posted April 2, 2024 By adminPastor David Nuottila has been meeting with and working with the pastors of St. Peter’s, St. Paul’s, and Holy Trinity Lutheran Churches to establish a new Youth Ministry initiative among the NALC congregations for South Carolina. Such collaboration has proved beneficial for NALC congregations in North Carolina and we hope to replicate their success here. Gathering our youth members in grades 6-12, we will share the Gospel, grow in discipleship, and have loads of fun together. Our first project is to support We Care of Chapin. Each youth group is challenged to collect jars of peanut butter and jelly to donate to We Care. This is meant as a fun competition among our youth groups, but primarily we want to tend to the needs of our neighbors. The first gathering of our South Carolina Mission District Youth will be on April 28 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Pomaria. All youth members in grades 6-12 are encouraged to attend. More information will be given as the date draws nearer.
Solid Rock Day Camp
Posted May 20, 2023 By adminThis June, St. Jacob’s is partnering with St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Chapin, and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Little Mountain to bring summer camp to Chapin. The Solid Rock Day Camp (June 11-16) is for elementary school aged children (grades 1-5). They will have the full camp experience of games, fun, food and make plenty of new friends, all in a Christian atmosphere. This is a great experience and blessing for our families. Please take advantage of this day camp opportunity which is sponsored by the NALC Carolinas Mission Region. Cost of the camp is $50.00 per child payable at St. Jacob’s. Anyone requiring assistance to cover registration fees should contact Pastor David Nuottila to make these confidential arrangements. By the way, the Solid Rock Camp Counselors will be worshiping with us at St. Jacob’s on June 11, so your camper will be able to meet them. Contact Pastor David for registration information as it is done via email. Hurry, the camp will fill up quickly.
2023 Ministry-Mission Update #4 – 4/17/23
Posted April 28, 2023 By admin“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’” (John 20:21)
Worship – Attendance is up in our new church building; We had 53 on Easter Sunday and 45 this past Sunday, and we received a new member by Baptism on Easter Sunday! If you are in the area and have a chance to stop by for a visit, please do. God has been so good to bless us with this new space for worship, fellowship, and discipleship. We will have a service of dedication and thanksgiving one Sunday afternoon, most likely in June and will keep you posted.
Fellowship – Our folks enjoy spending time together! We have coffee and fellowship time each Sunday between Sunday school and the worship service and had a wonderful breakfast together on Easter Sunday. We are hoping to have a fish fry in the next couple of months and will be hosting an open house appreciation drop-in for the folks from Thompson Funeral Home as a way of saying “thank you” for their years of generous hospitality.
Discipleship – Sunday school and Wednesday Bible study continue in Egermeier’s Bible Story Book. Mon day Bible study meets twice a month and is currently studying Hebrews. Lutheran Men of Joy meet monthly and have been working hard to get the church property and grounds in order. Prayer ministry and Senior Ministry also continue to meet monthly, though we did not visit with our friends at Lakeside in March. Our April ministry of the month is Medicine Mart of Lexington. We are assisting them in providing prescriptions to our neighbors in need. Our May ministry of the month will be the Carolinas Mission Region NALC Disaster Response flood bucket build at Advent, Kings Mountain on May 20th. We hope to see you there!
Continue to pray for us as we adjust to our new home. It is definitely a process. Please also pray for God to show us opportunities to engage with our community. We appreciate your partnership. Thank you and God bless you!
In Christ’s service and to His glory,
Pastor Paulette D. McHugh
Pastor, Joy Mission Church (803)767-7231 pdmchugh@mac.com, www.joymission.church
OUR NEW ADDRESS: 179 Midway Rd. Lexington, SC 29072
CHURCH PHONE NUMBER: 803-399-8183
