Grace Lutheran Church and School Midweek Advent Service 9 December 2015.
TheL amp · News from Advent Lutheran Church Vol 65 Advent Lutheran Church 1508 Valley Avenue P.O....
Transcript of TheL amp · News from Advent Lutheran Church Vol 65 Advent Lutheran Church 1508 Valley Avenue P.O....
L The amp
News from Advent Lutheran Church Vol 65
Advent Lutheran Church
1508 Valley Avenue ● P.O. Box 3204 ● Winchester, VA 22604 540-313-4912
adventlutheranwinchester.org
Calendar Serving Schedule Our serving schedule is temporarily on hold until we are no longer social distancing during worship.
September
Birthdays
Joe Kordella 1
David Hall 4
Ben Burkhart 15
Christopher Porter 20
Greg Frye 20
Kimberly James 24
Anniversaries
Shannon & Marshal
Nuckles 3
Nancy & Wayne
Underwood 15
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From the Pastor:
Vade mecum is Latin for go with me (it derives from the Latin
verb vadere, meaning “to go.”) In English, “vade mecum” has been
used (since at least 1629) in manuals or guidebooks sufficiently
compact to be carried in a deep pocket. But from the beginning, it
has also been used for such constant companions as gold, medica-
tions, and memorized gems of wisdom.
Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, s.v. “vade mecum,” accessed September 10, 2020, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vade%20mecum.
“Go with me,” that’s the wooden translation of one of the near-ancient
terms for a manual, or guidebook. The Church made use of the term to
describe the book that contained her “Occasional Services”. The idea being
that the rites (which would typically not be contained in the average par-
son’s memory) could then go with the pastor to places and “occasions”
that were beyond the confines of the Sunday liturgy in the Church building.
Regarding the term “Occasional Services”, we should not think first of the
frequency of the performance of such a Service of the Church, although
some may indeed be infrequent. We should think of their being distinct
from the regular and always normative Services of the Christian Church – the
Sunday Divine Service of Holy Communion and the Daily Prayer of the
Church. These Services are constant and do not depend on any extraordinary
life event of a Christian person or community. The Occasional Services are
usually tied to significant and sometimes unrepeatable Churchly Acts. The
principal examples of such events are Baptism, Individual Confession and
Absolution, Confirmation (Affirmation of Baptism), Marriage, and Christian
Burial. Other Occasional Services include: Holy Communion in Special
Circumstances, Distribution of Holy Communion, Commendation of the
Dying, various blessings, Laying a Cornerstone, Opening Synods, Ringing
Church Bells, Farwell and Godspeed, Excommunication, Restoration of a
Member under Discipline, and other rites and Services unique to particular
church bodies.
Advent Worship Schedule
Sundays at 9 am Holy Communion follows
Service of the Word
I am going to offer a class on the major Occasional Services with special
attention to Marriage, Individual Confession and Absolution, and the
Service of Christian Burial (Funeral). I plan to go over the particulars of
each rite while highlighting the theology that inform them. I will also
provide criteria for determining what is appropriate to each Service, and
what a congregant may legitimately expect from their pastor regarding
their performance.
There will be ample time for questions and discussion.
Please join me for what I think will be an enjoyable and illuminating journey
through the Church’s Occasional Services!
We will “meet” via ZOOM Mondays’ at 10 am.
Come with questions and concerns. . .
Prayerfully,
Pastor Porter
Joshua
Joshua, the son of Nun, of the tribe of
Ephraim, is first mentioned in Exodus 17
when he was chosen by Moses to fight the
Amalakites, whom he defeated in a brilliant
military victory. He was placed in charge of
the Tent of Meeting (Exodus 33:11) and
was a member of the tribal representatives
sent to survey the land of Canaan (Numbers
13:8). Later, he was appointed by God to
succeed Moses as Israel’s commander-in-
chief. He eventually led the Israelites across
the Jordan River into the Promised Land
and directed the Israelites’ capture of Jericho. He is remembered especially
for his final address to the Israelites, in which he challenged them to serve
God faithfully (Joshua 24:12-15), concluding with the memorable words,
As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord(24:15). September 1
Jonah
A singular prophet among the
many in the Old Testament, Jonah
the son of Amittai was born
about an hour’s walk from the
town of Nazareth. The focus of
his prophetic ministry was the call
to preach at Nineveh, the capital
of pagan Assyria (Jonah 1:1). His
reluctance to respond and God’s
Council Meeting Notes
Due to Covid-19, Council has
decided to not have any joint
services with Lebanon at this time.
We will be having a Christmas Eve
and Christmas Day service, details
coming in later months. Also
tentatively we will host our Advent
Celebration this year, without the
fellowship (unless circumstances
change!).
August Offerings: $7,285
Building Fund: $213,459
General Fund: $80,000
Thrivent Fund: $147,155
— Sally Coates
Speaker: Thomas Glessner,
Founder and President,
National Institute of Family and
Life Advocates
Abba Care is hosting their annual
banquet and this year there is a
virtual event as well. The RSVP
was Friday, September 11 but if
you are interested you can
contact them directly.
A donation is always appreciated!
More information can be found
at abbacare.org/banquet
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insistence that his call be heeded is the story of the book that bears Jonah’s
name. Although the swallowing and disgorging of Jonah by the great fish
is the most remembered detail of his life, it is addressed in only three vers-
es of the book (Jonah 1:17; 2:1, 10). Throughout the book, the important
theme is how God deals compassionately sinners. Jonah’s three-day so-
journ in the belly of the fish is mentioned by Jesus as a sign of his own
death, burial, and resurrection (Matthew. 12:39-41). September 22
2020 NALC Convocation Report
This year, due to COVID concerns, the NALC Convocation was held
virtually. Overall, given that it was the first attempt to hold a Convocation
in this format, I think it went fairly well. What was missing was the feeling
of community and knowledge-sharing that you usually find in an event like
this. The speakers were great, but again, limited severely in content and the
ability for discussion and feedback afterwards.
There were several issues to vote on and all were tabled until the next in
person Convocation. There was a great deal of discussion on the amend-
ments, and none were approved. Because of discussion running way past
the time allocated, the Convocation extended well into Saturday evening,
about 3 and a half hours past the slated ending time, despite severely limit-
ing the various reports from the Committees. This was disappointing as
the Convocation is the one time that these Committees can reach the
NALC as a whole.
Here are the Constitutional Amendments proposed at the meeting:
Proposed Amendment I (in two parts):
1-A. The constitution refers to the “annual” convocations in 22 places. In
each of these cases it is proposed that “annual” will be replaced by
“biennial.” See Articles 6, 7, 9, 10, 15, 17.
1-B. Since the election cycle of Executive Council and Court of Adjudication
members is tied to “annual” convocations, it is proposed that Articles 7.02
and 15.01 be changed to accommodate elections biennially with flexibility
during the transition concerning the timing of elections.
(I voted yes on this but due to overwhelming majority of no votes, the
amendment was tabled until the next in person Convocation. It seems that
in order to address the monitory issues around in person Convocations,
which is a particular burden to the smaller congregations, that this is a
practical solution: one year in person, one year virtually. I didn’t understand
this to be controversial)
Advent Worship:
Service of the Word,
followed by
Holy Communion:
9:00 am Sundays
† Online Service of the
Word, Lebanon’s
Facebook page:
11:00 am Sundays
C-CAP Corner
It has come to our attention at
CCAP that there is a need
for umbrellas, (they could be
used but in good condition or
new.) and poncho’s for our
homeless population. This will
go a long way to help keep
them dry in inclement weather,
particularly now that fall and
winter are fast approaching.
We continue to collect flip top
cans of food, plus soup and
box cereal. A list was distribut-
ed at church on this past Sun-
day.
Advent is starting our annual
Calendar collection. Calendars
are in great need for our most
needy neighbors. Please consid-
er donating calendars and
pocket planners that come to
your mailbox from various
charities. They are most appre-
ciated by our CCAP clients!
Many thanks for your continued
support for CCAP!
— Jan Calamari C-CAP Representative
The Treasurer’s Report for 2020 and budget for 2021
may be found online: https://lutheranweek.com/
portfolio/report-of-the-treasurer-proposed-2021-
budget/
The election results are as follows:
Executive Council, Clergy (4 year term): Rev. Carl
Rasmussen
Executive Council, Lay (4 year term): Lynn Kickingbird
Court of Adjudication (4 year term): Samuel Duncomb
Board of Regents (6 year term): Rev. Dr. Eric Waters,
Rev Paul Krueger and Rev James Lehmann
Approvals:
● Confirmation of 2021 Nominating Committee
● Second Constitutional Amendment: Apportion-
ment of Lay Delegates
● Third Constitutional Amendment Biennial Consti-
tution and Election Cycles (Approved as Amended)
● Resolution to Endorse NALC 2020 Vision
● Treasurer’s Report and 2021 Budget
While overall the virtual attempt was a good one, I
would not recommend that for all future gatherings.
Interim meetings it would make sense, but there is a
need to meet in person, at least once a year. I under-
stand that it potential is an undue burden on smaller
congregations to send a pastor and delegates annually,
but perhaps some of the Convocation can be aired
online during the in-person meeting, with voting
capabilities for the business part of the meeting.
Given that so much was tabled for the next in person
Convocation, I am sure there will be a great deal of
ongoing discussion on this format.
More information on the Convocation is available at
this site: https://lutheranweek.com
Respectfully Submitted,
Carolyn Frye
Advent Lutheran Church Delegate
Proposed Amendment 2:
At Article 7.02, the Constitution specifies 750 baptized
members as the number beyond which the Executive
Council apportions additional lay delegates from
congregations to achieve an equal balance of lay and
clergy delegates. The number was based on the
number and size of congregations expected to be in
the NALC in the first couple years after its formation.
The NALC now has a far greater number of congre-
gations with a very different mix of sizes. With those
changes, the number 750 does not work. In recent
years, the Executive Council has apportioned additional
delegates using a lower number of baptized members.
Rather than set a specific number in the Constitution,
the proposed amendment would allow for the
Executive Council to use a number based on the
current congregational membership leading up to a
convocation.
Proposed Amendment 3:
Finally, it is proposed that Article 11 and its three
sections use the term “Mission District(s)” in the
place of “regional group.” The Constitution does not
name regional subdivisions as Mission Districts, a
term that we have used for almost 10 years.
(This particular amendment had the most discussion.
Since we have informally been using the Mission
District terminology for the past year, I found it
astonishing that there was so much discussion and a
vote to table this for the next in-person Convocation. I
am in favor of this amendment, given that it is basically
technical and just a ratification of what was decided over
a year ago)
There was a motion to amend proposed changes to
10.05l. The language was changed:
Motion to amend the proposed changes to 10.05.l by
substituting the following language. The duties and
function of the Executive Council shall be to: l.
Report all actions quarterly to the congregations
and clergy of the NALC, as well as to each Con-
vocation.
This was approved.
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