OUR SAVIOUR LUTHERAN CHURCH
in the City of Baltimore
October, 2019
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This coming Sunday, October 6, is Family Day. Following Divine Service there will be lunch in the undercroft. Sandwiches will be provided; you are encouraged to bring a side dish to share. Come and bring your friends!
From October 7 through October 21 I will be away on my trip to Germany. If you need a pastor while I am gone, you may call our good friend Pastor Coats at 443.745.9200. Pastor Noah Rogness will be here on the two Sundays I am away. You may remember that he preached on Family Day last year.
Voters Meeting will be held following Divine Service on Sunday, October 20. All members of Our Saviour, eighteen years and older, are invited to participate.
On the last Sunday in this month, October 27, Our Saviour will be the host for the Joint Reformation Service of all the Baltimore area congregations of our Synod. The service begins at 4:00 P.M. The Rev. Dr. Gregory N. Todd, Rear Admiral United States Navy, Chaplain of the Marine Corps, will be the preacher. A reception will follow. Plan now on attending this festival celebration.
Reformation Day always comes as an invitation to remember what it means to be Lutheran. None of the Lutheran reformers imagined that they were somehow “founding” a new Church. Rather they saw their work as reforming the one Church of Christ which will be and remain forever. As someone has said, the difference between the Church before and after the Reformation is the difference between a garden before and after it has been weeded: it is in fact the same garden, only the noxious weeds have been removed. The Lutheran Reformation removed only those teachings and practices which contradict the teaching of Holy Scripture, which obscure the Gospel of God’s free pardon through the life, death and resurrection of His only and eternal Son. And so as Lutherans we are heirs to the whole heritage of the Church through the centuries. We confess the three ancient Creeds: the Apostles, the Nicene, and the Athanasian. Our Divine Service is not something made up in the sixteenth century; it is essentially the same liturgy which has been in use from the most ancient times. Reformation Day always comes as an invitation to remember and give thanks, to repent of our sins of indifference and ingratitude and also as an invitation to fervent prayer that God would guard and keep His Church in all its struggles until the risen Lord appears in glory to make all things new.
Do remember to pray for those whose names appear each Sunday in the bulletin especially for our members who are shut in: Dorothy Bell, Charles Dowdy, Joyce Gillespie, Ethelyn Gosnell. Yolanda Ford has recently been hospitalized and Paul Techau is recovering from surgery.
I believe it cannot be said too often: Every Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Every Sunday the Church gathers to hear His word of judgment and mercy. Every Sunday the Church gathers to meet Him as He truly comes in the blessed Sacrament of His Body and Blood. Every Sunday is therefore a day of great joy.
Remember me in your prayers as you are in mine.
Affectionately in our Lord,
Pastor McClean
Works of Mercy
Our quarterly delivery of grooming items will be delivered to the Helping up Mission this week. Thankfully, this will be a larger than usual delivery of grooming products and wearing apparels due to the donation of a satchel full of coins. The coins were turned over to the Financial Secretary, Mrs. Judy Volkman, who undertook the herculean task of sorting and counting the stash which totaled some $60.00. The converted dollars were turned over to me; I in turn purchased multiple grooming products as well as socks, shorts, tee shirts, etc. Many thanks to Mrs. Bertha Buchanan for her generous donation which she made in memory of her late husband, Mr. Peter Buchanan. Another monetary donation was made from a donor friend outside of our church, thanks to Judy Volkman. The monetary donations, combined with the change collected from the Poor Boxes, and the usual church family grooming gifts, enables us to better bless the men and women who are in spiritual recovery. Jesus said, “When I was naked you clothed me, in prison you visited me, hungry you fed me… whatever you do for the lease of these you do for me.” (Matthew 25:3, 35-36). Many thanks to our church family and friends who consistently support the Helping up Mission. Your can read about the many stories of recovery on line and through the Mission’s Newsletter which we post on Our Saviour’s bulletin board.
– Qullia Downs