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Parish Newsletters

Our Saviour Parish News, September, 2022

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OUR SAVIOUR LUTHERAN CHURCH

3301 The Alameda
Baltimore, MD 21218
410.235.9553

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Mark your calendar now! At long last we will be able to rededicate the bells which were placed in the church tower in 1934. This will take place on the first Sunday in October. This will also be a celebration of the 92nd anniversary of the dedication of the church and it will be Family Day. Lunch will follow Divine Service. So that we know how many to prepare for, please sign the sign-up sheet on the piano at church or call the church office ((410) 935–2553) no later than September 25. This will certainly be a happy occasion and I hope that many will attend. Our guest preacher will be the Rev. Carl Kruelle who grew up in Our Saviour Church and was ordained here.

Two of our members celebrated significant birthdays in August. On August 16 Robert Siperek celebrated his 90th birthday and on August 18 Frank Ford celebrated his 93rd birthday. We congratulate them both and pray for God’s richest blessings in the days to come.

On Sunday, September 4, Wayne West was confirmed. Jean West and Justin Ricci, having been confirmed some years ago, were formally received as members of our congregation. We pray that the Holy Spirit will guard and keep them in faithfulness to Christ and His church.

In last month’s newsletter Judy Volkman asked for volunteers to take over some of the responsibilities she has faithfully fulfilled for many years. At the end of this newsletter she gives us an update on responses to her request. Wayne and Jean West have agreed to take care of ordering the poinsettias at Christmas and the lilies at Easter and will see to it that items donated for the Helping Up Mission will be taken there. Bernie Knox has agreed to send the ALDI gift certificates to needy families at Thanksgiving and Christmas, but we still need someone to contact Waverly School to get the names of needy families. And we still need someone to take over the job of financial secretary and someone to deliver food to the GEDCO food pantry. Be sure to read Judy’s update.

Remember that our next free flea market will take place on Saturday, September 10, 9:00 AM–12:00 PM. This will be our last flea market until next spring. We always need volunteers. About 40 people came to the August flea market.

Paul Techau and I have met with three applicants for the position of organist. We expect to be able to announce the name of our new organist very soon. We have substitute organists for every Sunday through October 9. This is vacation time and substitutes are in high demand, and there has for some years now been an unfortunate shortage of organists. We are very grateful to Elaine Schwab for helping us the last two Sundays in August. She will be with us again for the last two Sundays in September and on October 2. She and her husband, retired Pastor Guenter Schwab, are members of Immanuel Church where she sings in the choir and serves as substitute organist.

Please remember to pray for all those for whom our prayers are desired: James Bauman, Louis Bell, Dana Carmichael, Lucille Carmichael, Maggie Doswell, Quilla Downs, Albert Ford, Frank Ford, Iris Ford, Yolanda Ford, Sean Fortune, Helen Gray, Queenie Hardaway, Gloria Jones, Althea Masterson, Julia Silver, Robert Siperek, 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. Quilla Downs’s new address is 1000 Brightseat Road, Apt. 462, Landover, MD 20777.

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 charles.mcclean42@gmail.com. If you are in need of transportation to church, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will be glad to make arrangements for that purpose.

The beating heart of the Church’s life is the Divine Service in which God comes to us in His grace and mercy through His holy Word and Sacrament and in which we offer to Him our praise and thanksgiving and prayer—our prayer for the whole Church and for the whole world. The Divine Service is among other things a pattern for our whole life as Christians: and so, just as in the Holy Liturgy we pray not only for ourselves but also for the whole Church and the whole world, so also should we pray every day! I often think that one of my favorite psalm verses is the ninth verse of the 145th psalm: “His tender mercy is over all that He has made.” In prayer we claim God’s mercy for “all that He has made.”

Affectionately in our Lord,

Pastor McClean

UPDATE FROM JUDY VOLKMAN

Last month, a listing of positions was published in the newsletter and Jean and Wayne West have stepped up to take responsibility for the Flowers and the Helping Up Mission. Bernie Knox has volunteered to send the ALDI gift cards to the recipients of the holiday baskets. However, we still need someone to get in touch with the school to obtain the names of the recipients.

The financial secretary position is still open.

Not listed last month was the collection and delivery of food items to CARES, which takes place approximately every other month. This would include checking the donations and determining when a delivery needs to be made (usually 4 milk crates of items). They can be delivered to the CARES office on York Road Monday through Wednesday. If you can help with this task it would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks to Jean and Wayne for volunteering to take on these tasks. I now rest a little easier!

-Judy Volkman

Parish Newsletters

Our Saviour Parish News, June, 2018

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Our Saviour Lutheran Church
3301 The Alameda
Baltimore, MD 21218
410-235-9553
June, 2018

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

During the past month we celebrated the ascension of our Lord, the great Feast of Pentecost – the coming of the Holy Spirit, the birthday of the Church, and the Feast of the Holy Trinity, commonly called Trinity Sunday on which we rejoice in God’s revelation of Himself as one God: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. And on Pentecost three fine young men, having completed the study of the Catechism, were confirmed: Dominick Carmichael-Myrie, Elijah Carmichael-Myrie, and Theodore Jones. Remember these young men in your prayers that they may always remain faithful to Christ and His Church.

Our dear sister in Christ, Mary Bridges, fell asleep in the Lord on Monday, May 28th, following a lengthy illness. May the Light perpetual shine upon her and may the risen Lord comfort her daughter Lynetric and all who mourn her departure. As of this writing, funeral arrangements are incomplete.

Remember also to pray for all those whose names appear in the Sunday bulletin. Helen Gray was recently hospitalized but is again at home. Our dear organist emeritus, Don Weber, is now a patient at Franklin Square Hospital.

Every Sunday morning we have Bible class and Sunday School at 9:45 A.M. Mary Techau has been teaching the little ones and the not so little ones. And for that I am very grateful! During the past year the Bible class has studied some of the Scripture lessons assigned to the Sundays of the Church Year, the Augsburg Confession, and the use of the psalms in the New Testament. We are now beginning a study of the Letter to the Hebrews which was addressed to Jewish Christians in danger of falling back into Judaism. God’s written Word is always timely, but I think that Hebrews is perhaps especially timely in a time when the Church is increasingly under pressure from a society which has ceased to be – if it ever really was! – in some sense Christian and in which the whole Judaeo-Christian tradition no longer forms the world we live in. Our Sunday Bible classes are quite informal. Questions are very welcome. Come join us!

  We have now been using our Synod’s new hymnal, Lutheran Service Book, for a month. I think that it has been well received. We have been using what is called Divine Service III which is the same liturgy that is found in The Lutheran Hymnal, the “red book.” Beginning on the first Sunday in July and continuing through August and September, we will be using Divine Service I which is the same liturgy that is found in Lutheran Worship, the “blue book.” I am happy to report that we have received so many offerings from members and friends of Our Saviour that these books have cost us very little. You can still give a book or books in honor or in memory of loved ones. The cost is $30.00 per book. By the way, we have numerous copies of the two older hymnals. You are certainly welcome to take one or more for your own use. The Church’s hymns are intended for use not only in public worship but also in family and private devotion.

 You may or may not have noticed that in the Lutheran Service Book there is a small triangle before the beginning of the last stanza of those hymns which conclude with a doxology, a stanza in which we give glory and praise to the triune God. The triangle is there to remind us to stand for these stanzas. It will no doubt take time before we all become familiar with this custom. Do remember that as we worship our heavenly Father we are not a regiment on parade but are the children of God in their Father’s house. 

 The new Church Council will be installed during the Divine Service on June 10th.  They are:  Paul Techau’ President; Dana Carmichael, Secretary; Bernie Knox, Treasurer; Mary Techau, Director of Education; Merton Masterson, Director of Worship; Gary Watson, At Large.

 Sunday, June 24th, is the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, the Forerunner of our Lord. Saint Luke tells us of this in Luke 1:57-80. Since John was born six months before the Savior, the Church has from ancient times remembered John’s birth six months before Christmas Eve.

 Enclosed with this letter is a tract which addresses the question of Fellowship in the Lord’s Supper. The Holy Sacrament is the Sacrament of Unity. The faithful Lutheran Church has always so understood it and has insisted on unity of faith on the part of those who receive Communion. The fact is that Christians are sadly divided in what they believe, teach and confess. Until these doctrinal differences are resolved, the common reception of Communion by Christians who are divided in  doctrine would suggest a unity which does not yet exist and for which we must all fervently pray. I am always happy to prepare people for the reception of Holy Communion.

 Do not forget that every Lord’s Day is a celebration of the Lord’s resurrection when Christians gather to hear His Word and to receive Him in the Holy Sacrament of His Body and Blood. Continue to pray for one another and for me your pastor.

Affectionately in our Lord,


Pastor McClean

Ordination Anniversary Celebration:
As you know, Pastor McClean will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination this June the 23rd.  In honor of this occasion, we will be having a celebration of thanksgiving on June 23rd at 10:00 AM with Divine Service and a luncheon to follow.

Please plan on attending this very special event. If you could please, respond by calling the church office (410-253-9553) and leaving a message or signing the sheet on the piano in the church by June 9 so that we can properly plan for the luncheon, it would be most appreciated.
– Our Saviour Church Council

Free Flea Market
As you change the clothes in your closet for the warmer weather, remember the Free Flea Market at Our Saviour. We can always use men’s clothing, housewares, and other items of interest. We will also gather coats for Waverly Elementary/Middle School, so you can bring them in now. This will be the 5th year that we have held this successful outreach to the community. Items can be dropped off in the room next to the Multi-Purpose room. Let Judy Volkman know what you are leaving. The first Free Flea Market will be June 9th and every second Saturday through September. Volunteers are needed to greet visitors and welcome them to Our Saviour.
– Judy Vokman

 

Parish Newsletters

Our Saviour Parish News, February 2016

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February 10 – Ash Wednesday
Soup Supper, 6:30 PM
Divine Service with Imposition of Ashes, 7:30 PM

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Because Easter Day is so early this year, March 27th, we already find ourselves at the beginning of Lent. I hope that everyone who is able to do so will make the effort to be in God’s house on Ash Wednesday, the First Day of Lent. Lent has been kept by Christians since ancient times: then it was the final period of preparation of adult converts for baptism which took place at the Vigil of Easter Eve. Holy Scripture teaches that in baptism we are made one with Christ in His saving death and resurrection, are born again of water and the Spirit, receive the forgiveness of sins and are made members of Christ’s mystical body, the Church. And because we have been baptized we are called to daily repentance. As we learned in the Catechism, Baptism “signifies that the old Adam in us should through daily contrition and repentance die and be drowned with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.” That is the daily life of Christians. Lent is simply a time of intensified effort to do just that through the discipline of prayer, fasting and almsgiving which the Lord Jesus assumes His followers will be engaged in as He says in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6: 1-21). God does not need our Lenten discipline but we do – so that we may grow in likeness to Him. I am always glad to answer any questions you may have about the observance of Lent. My telephone number is 410.554.9994; my email address is charlesmcclean42@gmail.com.

Again this year we will have the Wednesday evening Lenten Vespers at 7:30 PM preceded by a simple soup supper at 6:30 PM. The meditations this year will focus on the Passion of Christ as seen in the Book of Psalms. When our Savior appeared to His disciples on the evening of His resurrection He said, “These are my words which I spoke to you while I was with you, that everything written in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled. Then he opened their minds of understand the scriptures” (Luke 24:44t). All Scripture speaks of Christ. As we reverently and intently listen to God’s Word written, our sin is uncovered, we see the greatness of Christ’s forgiving love, and His mind is increasingly formed in us.

And speaking of Holy Scripture I should also mention the adult Bible Class which meets every Sunday morning at 9:45 A.M. We study the appointed readings– the Old Testament Lesson, the Epistle and the Gospel– for the day. Come and join us!

During the third week of January Vicar Trent and I attended the annual Symposium on the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Fortunate we were to arrive home just before the blizzard really took over! And speaking of our Vicar, he and his wife eagerly await the arrival of their first child early in March. The Baptism is tentatively set for Saturday, March 19th, at noon. Let us keep both parents and child in our prayers. There will be a Baby Shower on Sunday, February 21st.

In reviewing the annual parish report which is sent to Synod each year I was happy to note that in 2015 four people were confirmed in our congregation and both an infant and a young person baptized. We also received two new members by letter of transfer. The Lord continues to build His Church in this place and throughout the world.

Now we begin our annual journey to Easter, the glad feast of the Lord’s Resurrection. I hope and pray that this Lent will prove to be for each one of you a time of renewal in faith and hope and love.

Alfectionately in our Lord,

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Pastor McClean

Holy Week Services:

Maundy Thursday
Divine Service, 7:30 PM

Good Friday
Liturgy of Good Friday, 7:30 PM

Easter Eve
The Easter Vigil, 7:30 PM

Works of Mercy

A word of thanks to our church family for the generous outpouring of nonperishable holiday food items and for the donation of eight frozen turkeys which we provided to designated families in our community. The turkeys were provided by individual member donations and from a Thrivent Gift. Because of the abundance of canned and packaged food donations, we were able to deliver several extra boxes to GEDCO’s community food pantry where there is always great need.

The process of assembling and labeling individual baskets went swiftly and smoothly thanks to our team of volunteers: William Hawkins, Mary Techau, David West, Judy Volkrnan, and James Smallwood. Please continue to support our food outreach to our neighbors.

– Quilla Downs