Pastor Joel's Mid-Week Reminders for 8/30/2011
This entry was posted on 9/1/2011 6:32 AM and is filed under Mid-Week Reminders.
'The commandments...are summed up in this
word: Love
your neighbor as yourself.' Romans 13.9
We usually attribute these words to Jesus,
and rightly
so. But St Paul takes up Jesus' words and reminds us that
this kind of
self-giving love finds it's source in the great act of love
of Jesus'
self-sacrifice on the cross.
We often speak in generalized terms of the importance of
love. It is
in 'walking the talk', however, that we find the completion
of Jesus'
love command to his followers. In our narcissistic culture,
where
people are encouraged in subtle and not-so-subtle ways to
"look out for
number 1", Christians have countless opportunities to
express God's
love to the neighbor. As I preached this past Sunday, it's
in the
little things that we are found faithful to this great love
commandment; the little things that mean so much to people
in need.
How are you doing in the challenge I offered you last
Sunday, to
practice the little things in your daily life?
REDEEMER
YARD SALE: On
Saturday, September 3,
we're
holding a big Yard Sale here on our campus. Lorene
Bartell
is
organizing it, so please contact her, offer your assistance,
and then
rummage through your unwanted items for stuff that you can
contribute
to our sale! Bring your donated items to the church as soon
as
possible, so we can get them all organized in time. All
profits will
go towards expenses for finishing our
upstairs "Redeemer Community Room". And thanks so much for
participating in this event!
CONGREGATIONAL MEETING, AUGUST
28:
The congregation has unanimously
approved an
additional $90,000 loan from Lutheran Church Extension
Fund to help us
complete the "Community Room". Redeemer is now at the
limit of our
indebtedness.
PASTOR JOEL'S ADULT
SUNDAY CLASS: I'm currently leading a
Bible study that
focuses on the assigned readings from the Bible for each
Sunday. Together we discuss the riches of our new life in
Christ as we grow in our understanding of how we can live in
such a way
that we witness the joy and hope of being Easter Christians.
Join us
in the Commons Room each Sunday from 8:50 - 9:45am. Coffee
and
refreshments are available.
DISASTER PREPAREDNESS
WORKSHOP:
Sunday, October 16, right after worship and potluck. Please
let Jonet
Schutz, our Faith Community Health Minister, know if you can
attend
this 90 minute workshop led by Arlene Janssens, former
Deaconness at St
John Lutheran Church. Look for more details in forthcoming
issues of
the Spirit Call newsletter.
FOOD WAGON: We are
most
grateful for your generosity in bringing food items to
church. Place
them in the red food wagon, and someone will take the items to
Marion
Polk Food Share for distribution among the many poor and
hungry
families in the Salem area.
FALLEN OFF THE EMAIL LIST? Occasionally
some names are
randomly eliminated by our computer server from the
congregational
email list. If you are no longer receiving regular emails
from the
office (including prayer requests, Midweek Reminders, etc.),
please
call the office. Otherwise, we have no way of knowing who is
and who
isn't receiving our emails.
DATES
AND
EVENTS TO NOTE ~
Sept
3-7...................Pastor and
Diane out
of town
Sept
6......................Redeemer
Preschool
1st day of class
Sunday, Sept
11...........Special remembrance
of
9/11 event
**Please see the weekly
bulletin, Spirit Call, and
master
calendar for a complete listing of dates and
events.
