Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo
October 2013 Newsletter Article
Rejoice in God’s saints today and all
days!
A world without saints forgets how to
praise.
In loving, in living, they prove it is
true:
their way of self-giving, Lord, leads
us to you.
-
Fred Pratt Green,
“Rejoice in God’s Saints,” ELW 418
Every year the transition from
October to November gives us two important festivals to commemorate in our
church. October 31st is Reformation Day, our remembrance of Martin
Luther inadvertently beginning the German Reformation by posting a series of 95
theses that questioned church practices of his time. We observe this festival
each year on the last Sunday in October, this year the 27th, generally
by singing “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” and reflecting how Jesus embodied a
new covenant in which God justifies us by grace through faith. This year we
will add to that celebration by honoring the 25th anniversary of the
founding of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the surprisingly young
denomination of which we are a part. I am excited to reflect on our place in
the history of reforming churches on that Sunday, seeing how God works in new
and unexpected ways to proclaim the gospel to the world.
November 1st is All
Saints Day, and we celebrate All Saints Sunday every year on the first Sunday
in November. We recognize the great cloud of witnesses God has sent ahead of us
to teach us the faith, from famous saints like Francis of Assisi and Martin
Luther to our grandparents, former Sunday school teachers, and spouses. At
Lutheran Church of the Savior each year on this Sunday we display our Tree of
Life banner with doves to bear the names of our loved ones, saints who have
gone before us. I greatly enjoy this tradition, and write in the names of
saints far and wide who have led me to know God’s love and then have eternally
returned to that love in death.
This year in addition to that
tradition we plan to unveil and commission a new, permanent Recognition Tree to
commemorate people in whose names memorials have been given to Lutheran Church
of the Savior. Memorial gifts are financial donations made in honor of loved
ones who have died, saints whose faith inspired us and whose contributions to
the life of this congregation continue even after death.
The church is made of people,
following Jesus and living out the gospel as God’s hands in the world. Our
building and the stuff we have inside it, from the altar to the silverware to
the bookshelves, are tools to help the church live out this mission. We use
memorial gifts to purchase some of these tools. When I arrived here four years
ago, we used memorial funds to purchase the laptop I’m typing on right now,
because the church needed technology to fulfill our ministry. Memorial funds
will buy new armless chairs for use by our worship musicians – do you know how
hard it is to play guitar in a chair with arms?
Memorial funds will continue
to fund this church’s mission through our new Memorials Subcommittee, forming
now under the oversight of our Stewardship Committee and with the help of
organizer Kay Landfair. This new group will create a book of tools the church
needs to fulfill our mission, from computers to chairs to new albs (the white
robes worship leaders wear) and so much more. In this way the legacy of beloved
church members can live on in gifts that aid us in our mission of loving and
serving God and one another. Each saint who has died and been memorialized in
this way will have a leaf with their name on our new Recognition Tree.
In the 40-plus years of the
life of this congregation, we have already received over 40 such memorials, so
the names of those saints will be the first to adorn our new tree of life. On
Sunday November 3rd, we hope to invite families of those whose names
will be the first on this tree, so we can thank them for the faithfulness of
their loved ones.
Following this article is a
list of the first set of names we will add to our tree. If you knew these
people, or know their families, please invite their families to attend this
worship service commemorating their loved ones at LCS, and please contact
Phyllis in our office to let her know who you’ve talked with. We plan to hold
our annual Harvest Bowl meal on this day as a way to provide hospitality to our
guests, and we hope this celebration will begin our new Recognition Tree and
Memorials Subcommittee in a spirit of thankfulness for all that God has done
for us through the lives of these saints of the church.
Thanks,
Pastor Andrew
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