OUR SAVIOUR LUTHERAN CHURCH
3301 The Alameda
Baltimore, MD 21218
410.235.9553
May, 2022
ASCENSION DAY
Festival Divine Service May 26, 7:30 PM
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
On the last Thursday in May we celebrate the Ascension of our Lord, because it was on the fortieth day after His resurrection that the crucified and risen Lord ascended into heaven in the presence of His disciples. From ancient times Ascension Day has been one of the great festivals of the Christian Year, for through His ascension Christ took the humanity that is yours and mine, the humanity He took from His blessed mother and has never put aside, into the very presence of God that He might make us “partakers of His divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).
Until Ascension Day we continue to celebrate the Lord’s resurrection. Easter hymns are sung and the Paschal (Easter) Candle burns at all church services. After the reading of the Holy Gospel on Ascension Day, the Paschal Candle is extinguished as a sign that in His ascension our Lord withdrew His visible presence from us. During the rest of the year the Paschal Candle stands next to the baptismal font as a sign that through our baptism we share in Christ’s death and resurrection. At funerals the Paschal Candle stands next to the casket as a sign that through Christ’s resurrection death has become for believers an entrance into eternal life. Many years ago Pastor and Mrs. Stiemke gave the beautiful candlestick which was hand carved in England.
Included with this newsletter is an article written by the Rev. Dr. Alvin L. Barry, who from 1992 until his death in 2001 served as the President of our Synod. In it he addresses the topic of Fellowship in the Lord’s Supper in accord with Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions—which we Lutherans accept as a true exposition of Holy Scripture. This article explains why the following notice always appears in our Sunday bulletin:
Holy Communion: We welcome you to this Divine Service in which our crucified and risen Lord speaks His Word of pardon and peace and comes to His people in the Holy Sacrament of His True Body and Blood. Because the pastors of Christ’s Church are, as Saint Paul writes, “stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1), and therefore accountable to Him for their administration of the Sacrament, visitors who are not members of this congregation yet wish to receive Holy Communion are asked to speak with the pastor before the Divine Service.
I am always happy to answer any questions you might have about this or any other matter of doctrine and practice.
Paul Techau’s father, Wallace Techau, fell asleep in the Lord early in the morning of Maundy Thursday and was given Christian burial on Easter Tuesday. May the Light perpetual ever shine upon him, and may the risen Lord comfort Paul and all who mourn his father’s departure with the sure and certain hope of the resurrection.
I am sure we are all glad that the bells in our church tower are ringing again! There will be a rededication of the bells on the first Sunday in October when we celebrate the anniversary of the dedication of this church
building. This is also Family Day. Do plan now on being present and tell your friends, especially former members of Our Saviour, about this happy occasion.
The first Free Flea Market of this year will take place on Saturday, May 14, 9:00 AM–12:00 noon. As always we are in need of volunteers to greet those who come and to help distribute the items they choose. I am not able to be present since a great nephew’s wedding will take place that day in Pennsylvania.
The Ednor Gardens-Lakeside Association will be using our parking lot for a Yard Sale on Saturday, May 21, from 10:00 AM-3:00 PM. This is an opportunity to meet and greet our neighbors, so—if you can—why not spend some time at the yard sale? Come when you can, leave when you must. The rain date is May 28.
I must thank Paul and Mary Techau, Bernie Knox, Richard Brown and Ben Orris for all their help in making this year’s Saint Mark’s Conference a success. A number of people who attended this year’s conference have written to tell me how much they appreciated it and that they look forward to next year. Dr. Stephenson of Concordia Seminary, Saint Catharines, Ontario, showed us how that great confessor of the faith, Dr. Hermann Sasse (1895–1976), responded to conditions in Hitler’s Germany and how Dr. Sasse continues to provide solid teaching and reliable guidance for us who are living in the church and in the world of the early 21st century. Our good friend Pastor Coats provided a vivid picture of the remarkable works of Pastor Frederick Roth Webber (1887–1963) who regarded our own church building as a superb example of what a church building should be. Next year’s conference may well be devoted to the topic of prayer.
Please remember to pray for all those for whom our prayers are desired: James Bauman, Louis Bell, Dana Carmichael, Lucille Carmichael, Maggie Doswell, Albert Ford, Frank Ford, Iris Ford, Yolanda Ford, Sean Fortune, Helen Gray, Queenie Hardaway, Gloria Jones, Althea Masterson, Julia Silver, Lawrence Smallwood, George Volkman, Dennis Watson, Gary Watson. Maggie Doswell remains at Cadia Healthcare, 4922 LaSalle Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782. Yolanda Ford remains at Future Care, 1046 North Point Road, Baltimore, MD 21224. Louis Bell remains at Autumn Lake HealthCare, 7 Sudbrook Road, Pikesville, MD 21208. Queenie Hardaway has been living at the Augsburg Home for some time now: 6825 Campfield Road, Baltimore, MD 21207.
I continue to bring Holy Communion to members who are unable to come to church. If you want me to visit or bring you the Sacrament, call me at (410) 554–9994 or email me at charlesmcclean42@gmail.com. If you need transportation, do not hesitate to contact me and I will be glad to make arrangements for that purpose.
Let us continue to pray for peace in the world, and especially for an end to the sufferings of the people of Ukraine. When in the Creed we confess that the Lord Jesus “ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father,” we are confessing our faith that our merciful Savior—though all unseen—rules all things for our true and eternal good. So let us then on Ascension Day come and worship Him with joy and with penitent and faithful hearts Him in His glorified Body and Blood!
Affectionately in our Lord,
Pastor McClean
WORKS OF MERCY
Saturday, May 14 will be our first Free Flea Market of the season. We have a great deal of household items and clothing, but we need volunteers. We will be open from 9:00 AM–12:00 noon. Each person attending will receive 10 tickets and can redeem them for 10 items. This is our way of sharing the bounty the Lord has given us!
—Judy Volkman