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Easter
is Upon Us!
In the Christian
Church at this time of year, all our attention turns to Easter Sunday,
the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Rightly so! NOTHING
in the life of the Christian is more important than that, for in celebrating
Jesus' resurrection -- his victory over the powers of sin and death --
we also celebrate our own victories. The old, fearful ways of thinking
and living are no longer necessary, and in fact, are hurtful to us. Praise
God for the victory won for us in Christ!
Holy
Week Schedule
This week signals
the end of Lent and the final preparations for Easter. Palm Sunday
recalls Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem and his betrayal by those
who seemed to be supporting him. Maundy Thursday recalls Jesus' Last
Supper with his disciples and the institution of Holy Communion.
Good Friday brings us before the cross to witness Jesus' crucifixion and
death, beginning the wait until Easter. Finally, Sunday arrives and
with the women at the tomb we discover that Jesus has arisen and has defeated
the enemies of sin and death. Our worship schedule for that week
is:
Palm Sunday,
Holy Communion and Worship at 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
Maundy Thursday,
Holy Communion at 7:00 p.m. We also celebrate First Communion
that evening for those currently preparing to take the sacrament for the
first time.
Good Friday
(so called because it is good for us that Jesus gave himself to die on
the cross for us) worship is at 12:15 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
And finally, Easter
Sunday Celebration worship at 6:00 a.m.,
8:00 a.m. and 10:30
a.m.
Other
Important Issues
The Trinity Lutheran
"Growth Fund" (aka, Roof Repair Fund, Paint Fund, and l3th Month fund)
has reached more than half our goal for this year. The cost of reroofing
the AMC and the older classrooms on Inglewood Avenue is about $25,000.
Because of the urgent need to get the AMC finished, we spent $12,500 and
had that building reroofed, leaving roughly $4,625 in the account. The
cost to repair the roof on the old classrooms is another $12,500, so we're
about $8,000 short of what we need to accomplish this. Many of you
continue to support the Growth Fund on a regular basis, and we thank you
for that. If you are able to make an additional special gift to this
fund, we would be able to finish the project. The "Growth Fund" is
a way to help us maintain the facility and keep up with the growth that
our schools and church are experiencing. Growth is exciting, but it can
be expensive! Fifty-plus year old buildings need love, too!
ELCA
in crisis…
I have been writing/speaking
about this for several years, and things are now coming to a head.
The extremely liberal voices in our national church body have made changes
in the ELCA that put our Lutheran Confessions and the Scripture
in a distant second place behind their social and ecumenical agenda.
The latest well-engineered vote to deepen ecumenical ties with the Episcopalian
church has thrown many conservative churches and pastors in a theological
crisis. At the end of March, between 1200 and 1500 Lutherans met
in Mahtomedi, Minnesota, at the "Word Alone" Constituting Convention to
plan a response to the ELCA. Can the ELCA be fixed? We hope so, but
perhaps not.
I have enclosed
in the Caller an open
letter I received from two of my professors at Luther Seminary -- Dr.
Gerhard Forde and Dr. James Nestingen -- that really got my attention
and does a good job of outlining the basic problem. The increasing
disregard for our Lutheran Confessions and Scripture make it extremely
difficult to remain as a pastor in the ELCA given its current direction
(for example, the ELCA is embarking on a study to determine how many congregations
will leave and how much money will be lost when -- no longer if -- they
move to ordain openly gay pastors). For further information on this
important Lutheran reform movement on the internet, go to www.wordalone.org.
At this writing, over 150 congregations are affiliating with this movement,
and the number is growing daily. If you don't have internet access,
Pastor John or I can provide you with printouts of some of the issues dealt
with there.
Blessings and Peace
as we celebrate together our Lord's Resurrection
Pastor Larry Becker
If you need Acrobat Reader to view the open letter mentioned above, just click on the Acrobat Reader button below to download it for free.
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