Dear Brothers and Sisters at Messiah,
As July winds into August, there's plenty of news to share!
PASTORAL VACANCY & CALL PROCESS UPDATE
Thanks to Rev. Jason Peterson of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Rockford for agreeing to serve as Messiah’s day-to-day vacancy pastor. Pastor Peterson will be helping us with spiritual care (visitation and counseling), administration and other areas as necessary. He will be in the office at Messiah on Tuesdays from 8:15 to 11:00 am, beginning on August 1st. You can also contact Pastor Peterson any time, by phone at 734-645-4353 or by email at revjpeterson@yahoo.com.
Rev. Randy Johnson of the Michigan District-LCMS will return to Messiah for a Special Congregational Meeting on Wednesday, August 2nd at 6:30 pm, to be held in our fellowship hall. At this meeting, Pastor Johnson will review a draft of our Pastor Profile with us, taking further comments and tweaking it as necessary. From that point on, the finalized Pastor Profile will be available in the Church Office and at the Welcome Center. From August 3rd through 16th, members will be able to submit names of pastoral candidates for us to pass along to the district. If all goes well, this schedule should put us on track to receive a pastoral call list around four weeks after the deadline for submitting candidates. We hope that you can participate in these essential steps toward calling our next pastor!
Also, don't forget that the president of the Michigan District-LCMS, Rev. David Davis, will be visiting Messiah for a Bible Class presentation and the Divine Service on Sunday, August 6th.
WORSHIP AND CLASS SCHEDULE
This August and continuing into the fall, there will be one Divine Service held at 10:00 am on Sundays, with Bible Class beforehand at 9:00 am. Watch for more information regarding Sunday School coming soon. Divine Services will also be held through August 28th on Mondays at 7:00 pm. The Sunday service is scheduled to be livestreamed at
Our website www.messiahgr.org
Our Facebook page www.facebook.com/messiahgr.
Bulletins formatted for use with our livestream are available for downloading and/or printing at home. These are posted at least two days before each service at www.messiahgr.org/worship-resources
Readings and hymns for each service are also listed in the informational note found on the same pages as our livestreams.
Bible Class is also livestreamed at www.messiahgr.org/adult-bible-class.
Thanks to Pastors Daniel Gruenwald, Terry Hoese, David Davis & James Blain for leading our Divine Services and Bible classes in late July and early August.
AUGUST NEWSLETTER (PLUS WHAT'S NEW, WHAT'S NEXT)
Our August 2023 newsletter is now available online! Click here to preview or download it in its entirety. A reminder that:
Paper copies of the newsletter are available for members and guests at the Welcome Center. We also continue to mail the newsletter to homebound members. If you want to continue receiving the newsletter, please contact the church office to make arrangements.
We also post the newsletter (including monthly calendars) online at www.messiahgr.org/news; calendars are also online separately at www.messiahgr.org/calendar.
The newsletter (and upcoming weekly announcements) have further details on these upcoming events:
Join me for "Not Choir" on Wednesdays at 7:00 pm on August 16th, 23rd and 30th for conversation, singing tips, skill building and previews of the music for the following weekend.
NEW! Lutherans in Fellowship Together will meet after the service on Sunday, August 20th to finalize plans for Community Picnic and plan more fall events.
Our annual Community Picnic sponsored by the Board of Outreach will be held on Sunday, August 27th after the Divine Service.
NEW! Senior Choir practices resume Wednesday, September 6th at 7:00 pm in the sanctuary.
NEW! Preschool Movie Night Friday, September 15th. Watch for more details soon!
Pastor Steven Mahlburg, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod missionary, and his family will visit Messiah for a Mission Festival on Sunday, September 17th.
LOOKING AHEAD
My lead article in the August newsletter zooms in on three questions at the core of a new book from Concordia Publishing House: first, how do we see the Church? Next, how does Jesus see it? And finally, how can we see it the way Jesus does? Here's a taste:
"While we might see the Church as full of unlovable sinners – true, including ourselves! – Jesus sees her as one, a communion of saints, washed by His blood, made pure and blameless. While we might see the Church as threatened by an unbelieving world – also true! – Jesus sees the Church as holy, faithful and triumphant in Him, already the new creation He has promised with certainty. And while we easily see the Church as defined by what we do as church members – like any other human organization -- Jesus sees her as unified in Him, defined by what He has already done through His perfect life, death and resurrection."
I hope that you'll read the rest of the article. And I pray that, as we continue walking together by faith, we continue to grow in the grace of Jesus Christ, knowing that no matter our path to the future, our Lord's hand is leading us and His love is supporting us.
Yours in Him,
Rick Krueger, Parish Assistant
