July, August, September
St. John/St. Paul Lutheran Church
20L4
Messenger
Rev. Rlchard R. Gordon' Pastor Ann Streharsky' Office Secretary
FROM THE PASTOR My Dear Friends
in Christ, to
I begin this reflection offering for ihe grand effort and great success of our June L, 2Ot4 100'h Anniversary of our Building celebration. our theme was "A Century of Faithful Building." I thinl< it is important to note the i ntenti on of the pl anni ng commi ttee i n us-ing thi s theme. "Bui1ding" is a verb and not a noun' "Bui1ding" is something we do, not just a place or structure where we go. In the same way it is important to remember that "Church" is more about what we do than it is a place we 90. "Church" shoul d al so be thought of as not on1 y a noun, but my thanl<s
Mission Statement
God
also a verb.
In thi s 1-ight I thi nk of St. Paul ' s words , "Do you not l<now that you are God' s templ e and that God's Spir-it dwells in you?" (I Cor. 3:16)Here we are reminded that the "bui1ding" of a Church is not about the "bui1ding." To say it differently, the church is not about places, it is all about the faces. The people gathered make up "God's temple"
St. John/St. Paul Lutheran Church is a community of Christians bound together in joy and thanksgiving by God's saving gi'ace in Jesus Christ. Our mission is to grorv in faith, love, ancl obedience to God as we are empowered through the \\rord and Sacraments by the HolY SPirit. To carry out this mission, we:
.
Nurture one another in Faith,
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Evangelize all people,
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Worship God, and
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Serve those in need.
lnside this issue:
Pastor's Report
1_-3
Pr. William's Letter
A
News to the Pews
5
LUMA NEWS
6
Birthdays
7
Anniversa ries
7
Calendars
8-10
Schedules
TI
and His Church.
In the New Testament "church" is the Creek word ekklesia which Iiterally translates as "to be calIed out by Cod." So, "Church" is meant to be a gathering of warm, loving, gracious' welcoming, outreachi ng , Cospel procl ai m'ing peopl e "cal I ed out and together" by the Spir-it of God in Jesus Christ. So, "bui1ding" a church is buiIding and we1coming and gathering a people together in Christ. "A Centu ry of Fai thf ul BUILDINC" i s cel ebrat'i ng "bui'lding" as a verb, not a
noun.
the