September 2010 Anchor Line

A Word from your Pastor—

May the fullness of the Word Made Flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord, dwell in you richly!

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the

Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

The forgiveness of sins . I've said it many1

times (perhaps you've heard me say it)... that the

Church is all about the forgiveness of sins.

Consider, for example, the Third Article of the

Apostles' Creed wherein we confess how the

forgiveness of sins lies at the very heart and

center of the Holy Spirit's work in Christ's Church:

"I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Christian

Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness

of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life

everlasting."

By the grace of God, the Holy Spirit is forever

delivering the precious gift of the forgiveness of

sins to blood-bought souls through the wonderful

power of God's mighty Word. We know that

because a central truth of the Christian faith is

that God's Word does what it says. When God

says something, it happens. When God says "let

there be light," well... there is light. His very Word

is reality. Whatever He speaks springs into

existence by Word alone.

The same thing holds true when we talk

about the forgiveness of sins. Whenever we hear

the Gospel Word and believe it, we have exactly

what it says: "In Christ, God was reconciling the

world unto Himself, not counting their trespasses

against them and entrusting to us the message of

This month's article owes a profound debt of1

gratitude to an essay entitled "Individual Confession—Personalized Forgiveness," by Rev. Harold L. Senkbeil,Associate Professor, Pastoral Ministry and Missions, ConcordiaTheological Seminary

THE ANCHOR LINE

September 2010

Hope Lutheran Church

and

Angels of Hope Preschool

700 S. Superior St. De Pere, WI 54115 ~ (920) 336-9843

On the web: www.hopedepere.org ~ e-mail: [email protected]

Matthew Christians, pastoroffice: 336-9843, home: 336-9582

emergency cell: 615-5136e-mail: [email protected]

Gail Thiel, preschool directoroffice 336-9843

e-mail: [email protected]

Our Vision at Hope: that we would be a growing, vibrant, praying, caringcongregation– boldly reaching out with Jesus Christ in word and deed.

reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5:19). Think about that!

God has entrusted to us that powerful message of

reconciliation. That means that God has given to

His Church on earth (that's us!) the special power

to forgive sins in Jesus' name and stead. In Dr.

Senkbeil's words, this is really a kind of spiritual

"power of attorney" by which you and I can

receive Christ's forgiveness from His called

servants, "not doubting but firmly believing that

with these words we are indeed forgiven before

God in heaven" (Sm. Catechism).

Hopefully, this news about the forgiveness

Jesus won for us and gives to us is not news to us.

Jesus Himself teaches us to ask God for our

forgiveness in the Lord's Prayer and encourages

us to confess our sins to our neighbor when have

done him or her wrong....

But besides these two kinds of confession,

did you know that there is a third kind?

This third kind of confession (which is

unfortunately not well known among Christians)

is the confession we

can make directly to

our pastor. Now,

we're used to hearing

him say in church:

"As a called and ordained servant of the Word I

therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of

the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

We call this the general absolution. It's valid and

effective, since it has the command and promise

of Jesus Christ Himself. But did you know that you

can also receive individual absolution, that is

forgiveness, custom-made just for you? In the

Large Catechism, Martin Luther writes :2

We strongly urge you by all means to make

confession of your need, not with the

intention of doing a worthy work by

confessing but in order to hear what God has

arranged for you to be told. What I am saying

is that you are to concentrate on the Word, on

the Absolution, to regard it as a great and

precious and magnificently splendid treasure,

and to accept it with all praise and

thanksgiving to God.

So magnificent is this splendid treasure of the

Word of absolution, Luther writes, that :3

If you are a Christian, then you ought to be

happy to run more than a hundred miles to

confession and not let yourself be urged to

come. You should rather come and compel us

to give you the opportunity.

But wait! "Pastor, I understand about confession

and absolution and what a great treasure it is, but

what's the big deal about individual confession?

Isn't general confession and absolution just as

effective?" The answer is: Yes, certainly! That's

why individual confession should never be

required; it is not required, but it IS beneficial.

Individual confession is the opportunity to

receive the forgiveness Jesus earned for you, but

to receive it in a pointedly and personally way—

not in a general way, but forgiveness for the

specific sins that burden your conscience. Just

think for a minute: which e-mails are you more

likely to open? Those from trusted friends with a

personal message just for you, or some electronic

spam sent randomly? This is the advantage of

individual vs. general confession— it's the gift of

forgiveness customized for you and for the guilt

weighing you down.

Individual confession is a remarkable gift (one

that I, Pastor Matt personally make use of with

Concordia, The Lutheran Confessions: a Reader's2

Edition of the Book of Concord, (St. Louis: ConcordiaPublishing House), Large Catechism V(22), p. 469. Ibid, V (30), p. 470.

3

This is the advantage of individual vs. general confession— it's the giftof forgiveness customized for you and for the guilt weighing you down.

another area pastor). Sadly, however, this gift of

God has fallen into wide-spread disuse in recent

generations. Therefore most people have some

very practical questions when they consider going

to confession the first time:

1. How do I know my pastor will keep my

confession confidential?

Answer: in the Lutheran Church, one of

the pastor's solemn vows and promise is a

pledge never, ever (for any reason) to

divulge sins privately confessed to him.

2. What will my pastor think of me when he

hears what I've done?

Answer: he will respect you for your

confidence in the power of Christ's

forgiveness. Besides, sins absolved in

Jesus' name don't exist any more and

therefore won't affect how he relates to

you in the future.

3. How do I start?

Answer: start with reviewing "Confession"

in your Small Catechism. Then set up an

appointment with your pastor and ask him

to help you understand how Confession

works. He will guide you and —when the

time is right for you— hear your

confession and absolve you in Jesus' name.

You've got nothing to lose but guilt and shame...

and a clean conscience and joyful spirit to gain!

(Psalm 51:10)

Yours, humbly, in Jesus' name,

Pastor Matt

"Hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, sothat [you] may be able to give instruction insound doctrine and also to rebuke those whocontradict it." (Titus 1:9)

The Catechism CornerThe Introduction to the Lord's Prayer

Hallowed be Thy Name.

What does this mean?

God's name is certainly

holy in itself, but we pray in

this petition that it may be

kept holy among us also.

How is God's name kept

holy?

God's name is kept holy

when the Word of God is taught in its truth and

purity, and we, as the children of God, also lead

holy lives according to it. Help us to do this, dear

Father in heaven! But anyone who teaches or

lives contrary to God's Word profanes the name

of God among us. Protect us from this, heavenly

Father! (submitted to "The Anchor Line" by Pastor Matt)

Life Quote

"People of all ages need to be

touched, but sexual touching

is reserved by God for the

commitment of marriage. God

helps men and women keep

their desires under control by

reminding them that their

bodies are 'temples of the

Holy Spirit who lives within you' (1 Corinthians

6:19). What we do with our bodies should

bring glory, not to self, but to God!"

—Lutherans for Life brochure

(submitted to "The Anchor Line" by Pastor Matt)

Patristic Quote of the Month"You, O Jesus, have

redeemed us all with

Your blood; and by Your

death You have bound

the powerful adversary.

Release me from the

fetters of the evil one; break his shackles and

bonds."

— Ephraim the Syrian (AXD ca. 306–373)

Hymn-writer and theologian


Old Lutheran Quote of the Month

"On the other hand the

Word of God is such a great

treasure, that no one can

sufficiently comprehend its

worth. For God himself

considers his treasure immensely great, and

when he visits us with his grace, he earnestly

desires that we should gladly and freely

accept it, and does not compel us as he is

able to do, but it is his will that we should

gladly obey it from choice and love. For he

does not wait until we come to him, but he

comes first to us. He comes into the world,

becomes man, serves us, dies for us, rises

again from the dead, sends us his Holy Spirit,

gives us his Word, and opens heaven so wide

that all men can enter; besides he gives us

rich promises and assurances that he will

care for us in time and in eternity, here and

there, and pours out into our bosoms all the

fulness of his grace. Therefore the acceptable

time of grace is now at hand. Yet, we neglect

it, and cast it to the winds, so that he will not

and cannot give it to us."

— Dr. Martin Luther (AXD 1483–1546)

Lutheran church leader & professor


New Lutheran Quote of the Month

"The Reformation recovered

Scripture's truth that there are

not higher and lower ranks in

God's family, but that we are all

brothers and sisters together

before God our Father. This fellowship is one of

the greatest things expressed in congregational

singing. When we as a congregation sing to the

Lord, we do not sing as individuals, but the voice

of each of us is blended into the one voice of

God's family, giving glad answer to our Maker's

message of love. -- Dr. Norman Nagel."

— Dr. Norman Nage, M.Div., Ph.D., LL.D., D.D.

Professor at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis


Every Sunday Sermon PrepPreparation

To help you prepare for

worship, here are the weekly

readings for Divine Services

in September:

September 5 & 8. . . . . Deuteronomy 30:15–20

Philemon 1–21

Luke 14:25–35

September 12 & 15. . . . . . . . . Ezekiel 34:11–24

1 Timothy 1:5–17

Luke 15:1–10

September 19 & 22. . . . . . . . . . . . . Amos 8:4–7

1 Timothy 2:1–15

Luke 16:1–15

September 26 & 29. . . . . . . . . . . . . Amos 6:1–7

1 Timothy 3:1–13

Luke 16:19–31


The Biblical View of Worship (part 3 of 3)

by Dr. John W. Kleinig, Professor

Emeritus, Australian Lutheran College


C. Transmission

1. A television set does not remain inert as it

receives its transmission. The same electricity

that transmitted the vision helps it receive and

reflect the transmitted vision. We, too, cannot

remain passive and inert in worship. We are

affected by God's impact on us. We are, in fact,

bound to react and respond either negatively or

positively to God's dealings with us. That's rather

obvious, even though the priority of divine

activity does not always receive enough emphasis

in our understanding of worship. We tend to

emphasise the human side of worship too much

to the detriment of the divine side, which should,

however, always receive most weight. What we

do in worship stems from what God does and

corresponds with it. We don't take the initiative

in this, but merely go along with Jesus; we follow

his lead. He's our leader in worship, our chief

celebrant. What's more, we can't do this by

ourselves without the help of the Holy Spirit, any

more than the television set creates its vision by

itself without the help of the electricity which can

alone enable it to receive and transmit its vision.

Our service of God in worship depends on his

service of us. It is empowered by the Holy Spirit.

2. Our order of worship makes this quite clear

to us. In it we first react to God's invitation by

gathering in his presence; then we react to the

offer of forgiveness by confessing our sins; we

react to God's acceptance of us by singing the

great Gloria and other hymns of praise; we react

to God's speaking by listening faithfully to him

and confessing our faith; we react to God's

generosity by offering ourselves and some of our

money to him; we react to God's offer of help by

asking him for help in prayer; we react to our

entry into the presence of our heavenly Father by

joining together with the heavenly hosts in

singing the Sanctus; we react to the gift of Christ's

healing body and cleansing blood by gratefully

receiving these gifts and surrendering our lives to

him in the Song of Simeon; we react to God's

blessing by going out into the world and serving

him in our daily lives. So our order of worship not

only tells us how to respond, but also helps us to

respond appropriately to God's presence and

grace.

3. We aren't left to our own devices in all this.

We join in with our fellow Christians and are led

by the Holy Spirit who prompts us and empowers

us in our worship of the Father through the Son

(Eph 2:18). The Holy Spirit helps us react

appropriately and respond properly. He directs

our worship, so that it lets God be God and is

rightly attuned to the ongoing ministry of Jesus.

What's more, he turns our whole life into a single

act of worship, a continual song of praise about

our gracious heavenly Father for the whole world

to hear. So by helping us receive God's heavenly

transmission, the Holy Spirit makes us into living

transmitters of that transmission.

There are many people who participate

faithfully in worship but complain that they don't

get anything out of it. I guess we've all felt that

way at times. What we forget is that the work of

God is invisible to us. We don't notice it, but only

know about it, because he himself tells us about it

in his word. We may sense the results of it, as we

sense the results of our nourishment from

breathing and eating, but we don't see it

happening. I feel that it is just as silly to complain

about how boring, useless, and unpleasant church

worship is as to complain about how boring good

food is, or how useless sleep is, or how

unpleasant medicine is. Like good food, proper

worship is not meant to entertain but to nourish

us, and we can often be best nourished by what

we most dislike, like broccoli or liver. Like sleep,

worship may seem dull and its benefits often

escape our attention, as they can be as much

physical as mental or emotional. After all, God

instituted the Sabbath in the Old Testament for

physical, and not just spiritual rest, refreshment

and fellowship. Like medicine, worship is at times

unpleasant and uncomfortable, just because it

attacks, destroys, and heals the evil in us. God

does not necessarily give us what we want, but

what we need in worship. So, though I, for one,

am always grateful if I feel that I have got some

blessing from worship, I am not unduly disturbed

if I feel that I've got nothing. The benefits of

worship are a matter of faith and not of sight.

5. Our worship of God here on earth is

unfortunately always rather clumsy and

inadequate. Our reception is poor and our

transmission is poorer. Our worship is more like

learning to play a musical instrument than playing

a symphony. But that does not matter. The

validity of it does not depend on our ability and

performance but on Christ's expertise and skill.

What matters is that he gets it right for us. We

won't be able to get it all right this side of

eternity. Our whole life then is a matter of

earning, bit by bit, how to appreciate, enjoy and

worship God. None of us is an expert in worship;

we are all beginners. At best we can support and

encourage each other as we learn to worship by

worshiping together.

Conclusion: To conclude, let me tell three stories

to illustrate the purpose, nature and importance

of worship.

1. First a story about the purpose of worship.

The story is told about Prince Vladimir of Kiev in

Russia. At about 1000 AD he decided that the

ancestral religion of his people was no longer

good enough. So he sent ambassadors around the

world to assess the claims of various great

religions. First they went to Mecca where they

examined the worship of Islam. But they found it

too severe, drab and gloomy for their liking. Then

they went to Rome where they learned about

Roman Catholicism. They found it better than

Islam, but it lacked a sense of heavenly mystery

and beauty. Then finally they went to

Constantinople where they experienced Orthodox

worship in the great Cathedral of Holy Wisdom.

They came back from there, all excited, and

reported to their King:

We did not know whether we were in heaven

or on earth, for surely there is no such splendor

or beauty anywhere upon earth, We cannot

describe it to you only this, we know, that God

dwells there among men and their service

surpasses the worship of all other places.

So Orthodoxy became the religion of Kiev and

Russia. I like that legend, because it reminds me

about what worship is, the mystery of God's

heavenly presence with us on earth.

2. The second story comes from Luke 24:13-35.

It is the story of the appearance of Jesus to two

disciples on the road to Emmaus. You remember

how Jesus joined them as they traveled from

Jerusalem and discussed the events of Good

Friday and that Easter morning. They did not at

first recognize him. Even when he showed them

from the Old Testament that the Christ had to

suffer and die before his coronation as the

heavenly King of he world, they still did not catch

on. They only recognized him when he took over

the meal in their home, as if he were their host,

took bread, blessed, broke, and gave it to them.

Then their eyes were opened and he disappeared

from their sight. Luke calls this the breaking of

bread, which is his name for the Lord's Supper in

the book of Acts. He does this, because he wishes

to suggest that we are in the same boat as those

two men that Easter Eve. Like them we have

heard about the resurrection of Jesus but are

unaware of his presence with us until he teaches

us about himself from the Holy Scriptures and

reveals himself to us in Holy Communion. So

every time two Christians meet together in the

name of Jesus, the risen Lord comes to them and

makes himself known to them. Every act of

worship is an Easter celebration where we meet

with our Lord and get to know him as he sets our

hearts aflame by his speaking to us and opens our

eyes to his presence with us by hosting his meal

for us. Every Sunday the risen Lord appears to us

as he did to them.

3. Lastly, an incident which illustrates the

importance of worship and the folly of its neglect!

Some time ago my wife met up with an old friend

whom she hadn't seen for years. In the course of

their conversation my wife discovered that she

was living with her two children in Adelaide, while

her husband lived more or less permanently in

Canberra. They saw each other occasionally, but

they lived mostly apart. It occurred to me that

many Christians are like that. They are like a

married couple that refuses to live together after

marriage and so does not share a common life.

These Christians are baptized and confirmed but

seldom worship, pray, or receive the Lord's

Supper, because they regard all that as an

unnecessary business and burdensome

obligation, rather than a marvelous privilege and

the highlight of the Christian life. Surely a

Christian who doesn't interact with God and

doesn't enjoy the lively intimacy with him that

comes from worship is as stupid as a married man

who lives apart from his wife.

Ultimately, worship is nothing but our

enjoyment of God. The Westminster Catechism

begins with the question: “What is the chief end

of man?” The answer is apt: “The chief end of

man is to worship God and enjoy Him forever.” In

the final count, they amount to the one and the

same thing. #

Green Bay Area Lutheran

Confessions Discussion GroupMark your calendars now— Pastor Matt

and Maggie are organizing a Lutheran

Confessions reading group. Tentatively set to

meet (starting in

October) on the first

Monday of each

month, 6:00 – 8:00

p.m., this will be an

opportunity to read

together the Lutheran

confession of faith as it

is contained in the

Book of Concord. In

other words, the

confessions will be our guide to reading and

studying what God's Word says to us in Holy

Scripture.

# Will it be kid-friendly? YES (of course!) –

we'll put a movie on for kids to watch

# Will there be food? YES (we'll eat dinner

first before we read)

We already have preliminary interest from

members of three area Lutheran

congregations (Pilgrim, Redeemer, and

Hope); for more information, call Pastor

Matt (336-9843 office; 336-9582 home) or e-

mail him at [email protected].


Real Reformation Radio

Issues, Etc. is a radio talk show

hosted by LC–MS Pastor

Todd Wilken and produced by

Lutheran Public Radio. Topics

include: Jennifer Aniston on

Fatherless Motherhood, the

Secularization of the Church, the Dangers of

Hipster Christianity, Repentance, Justification and

more. You can listen to what you want when you

want at www.issuesetc.org.


Pastor's Matt's Office Hours

Pastor is changing his office hours slightly

starting in September (the day after Labor Day).

What are office hours?

Pastor Matt is in and out

of the office throughout the

week. But he does his best to

always be in the office (excepting

vacations and emergencies) at

certain times for office hours.

Office hours are a good time to

drop in and catch pastor if you

would rather not make an

appointment. Of course, he is

available at all times by appointment; just e-mail

or call him at [email protected] or

336-9843 (office); 336-9582 (home).

New Office hours:

� Mondays 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

� Wednesdays 12:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

� Thursdays 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.


Youth Confirmation Begins

Reminder: Confirmation begins Wednesday

evenings starting on September 8th.

• 6th graders: 5:15 p.m. – 6:15 p.m. (once-a-

month on the second Wednesday)

• 7th/8th graders: 4:00 – 5:15 p.m. (weekly)

Parents, siblings, general church members all

welcome to sit in... anytime!


How to Read the Bible

We all know how to

read the Bible, right?

Many of us read the Holy

Scriptures every day.

Many more of us pull out

God's Word in times of

trouble and doubt and

uncertainty. The question is: do we always get as

much out of God's Word as we should? Is there

something in us (the "post-modern" man) that

stands between me and my understanding what

God is telling me? The answer is: yes!

We don't always get as much out of God's

Word because we don't necessarily read the Holy

Scriptures in the best possible way.

Our Adult Sunday School class (Sunday

morning Bible class) will start out this Fall by

discussing "How to Read the Bible." It's a timely

topic that should be of benefit to all of us in our

walk with Christ.

The class meets during the Sunday School

hour every Sunday 9:15 – 10:15 a.m. We will

begin at the same time the children's classes

begin, on September 12th. If that time doesn't

work for anyone and you'd like to suggest an

second alternative time, just call Pastor Matt and

suggest a time.

For those who've never been to a Bible

class before, the start of a new school is a great

And in pastor'soffice... the

coffee's always

on! (

time to try it out. No one is required to read or

speak or anything... just come and listen if you'd

like.

Parents with children in tow who are too

young to begin Sunday School are welcome too

(more than welcome!) Come join us.


Memory Verse of the Month

This year, the Sunday School is

starting something new that

they'd like to share with the

entire congregation. Each month

all the grade levels of the Sunday

School (including the adults!) will work at

memorizing a Bible Verse of the Month. Wouldn't

it be a neat thing if the entire congregation could

learn by heart this little bit of God's Word:

Memory Verse for September:

"The Lord . . . is patient toward you, not

wishing that any should perish, but that all

should reach repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)


Elliott Derricks, Missionary to

Slovakia

Here at Hope Lutheran Church, we are

currently supporting missionary Elliott Derricks

(member of Zion Lutheran Church in Wayside). He

left last month for a one-year commitment to

serve in Presov, Slovakia. We've received news

that he arrived safely and has been hard at work

sharing the great glad news of Jesus Christ the

Savior of sinners.

One copy of his August 2010 newsletter

will be pinned to the bulletin board if you'd like to

read it and several copies will be placed at the

wooden kiosk for your convenience. A few

excerpts from his newsletter are reproduced

below:

Hello everyone! Well, I'm finally here in

Slovakia! It was hard to say goodbye to all my family

and friends when I left, but when I met Neil, Ryan,

and A.J. at the airport, I immediately became

excited for this year and for doing the work of God

with such wonderful guys! All of our flights went

really smoothly. I had some wonderful witnessing

opportunities on my plane rides. One I especially

want to share with you is with a girl named Nikol

who I met on my way from Prague to Zilina,

Slovakia. She was 16 and coming home to the Czech

Republic from working all summer at a camp in

Maryland. We had a wonderful discussion about the

differences between America and the Czech

Republic. She also wanted to practice her English

with me as much as she could! She was very good

since she spent the whole summer in America! I was

able to share my faith with her and I could sense

God with me as I was witnessing to her. This was

definitely a wonderful start to a year I am so excited

to begin!

I want to thank you all so much for your

support of my mission trip! Without you, my work

here in Slovakia would not be possible! I thank you

from the bottom of my heart for your willingness in

partnering with me in bringing Jesus to Slovakia. I

had such a wonderful time at all the churches I

presented at about my mission work. I cannot wait

to come back and share my experiences with you

next year when I return! I am not 100% funded yet,

however. I have about $14,000 roughly of the

$20,114 needed to fully fund my mission work. If

you feel God moving you to support me I thank you

so much for that! Be sure that checks are written

out to the LCMS World Mission and have my name

(Elliott Derricks) in the memo line. They can be sent

to LCMS World Mission at: 1333 S. Kirkwood, St.

Louis, MO 63122-7295.


Stewardship

“The blessings of honest work”

On Monday, September 6, Americans and

Canadians will observe “Labor Day,” a legal

holiday set aside to honor labor. Work is often

thought of as drudgery – something that you

have to do to make a living. So we sometimes

call work toil, a chore, an obligation, or even a

necessary evil. The New World Dictionary does

not agree with that, but holds work up as

honorable and positive. Part of its definition

goes as follows: “work is physical or mental

effort exerted to do or make something and be

involved in purposeful activity.”

The Bible takes an even higher view of labor.

Labor is actually a gift from God meant to fill our

hours and days with meaningful activities that

honor God, respect His creation, and provide

blessings for others and ourselves. It was God

who put Adam in the

Garden of Eden to work it

and take care of it

(Genesis 2:15). This work

was given to Adam before

the fall into sin and thus

was a blessing from God.

It is true that after the fall

into sin, work became wearisome toil as the

ground was cursed so that sinful human beings

would have to earn their daily bread by the

sweat of their brows until their dying day

(Genesis 3:17b-19). But, in spite of that curse,

labor or work remains a blessing from God.

Dr. Martin Luther (who wrote much on the

subject of vocation) believed that vocation was

a calling, which encompassed the whole of the

life of the believer, and was NOT narrowly

defined as a job, trade, or even a religious

vocation. Luther believed that the honest work

of a janitor, maid or housewife was just as

important and pleasing to God as the work of a

president, pastor, teacher, doctor, scientist or

any other vocation held in high esteem.

Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 (NIV) reads: “A man can

do nothing better than to eat and drink and

find satisfaction in his work.”

This too, I see, is from St. Paul in writing to the

Ephesians and Thessalonians said: “He who has

been stealing must steal no longer, but must

work, doing something useful with his own

hands, that he may have something to share

with those in need.” (Ephesians 4:28 NIV). For

even when we were with you, we gave you this

rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.”

(2 Thessalonians 3:10 NIV).

God’s redeemed people understand that

Christian stewardship is the free and joyous

activity of the child of God and God’s family, the

church, in managing all of life and life’s

resources for God’s purposes. Giving money to

support the work of the church and other

institutions, giving time to help with honest

efforts, and using our talents to bring glory to

God and blessings to others are all important

parts of Christian stewardship. This truth is

summed up beautifully in these words from 2

Corinthians 10:31 (NIV): “So whether you eat or

drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory

of God.”

This Labor Day and every day give thanks to God

for the blessing of work. Giving thanks for

honest labor is something that Christian

stewards can remember to do in their daily

thoughts and prayers. So, enjoy whatever you

are doing to observe Labor Day, and then

continue your daily work with joy and

enthusiasm.

Financial Figures

2010 average per week: $3,105.33

Budget per week: $3,765

Difference: ($659.67)

2010 20/20 offerings: $4,685.03

Those Who Serve in July

New sign-up sheets are available in the

coatroom for all positions. Confirmands will be

signing up for acolyte times at the first

confirmation class at 4:00 pm on Wednesday,

September 8 or parents may choose times now

on the sign-up in the coatroom.

Ushers:

Sun. 9am Wed. 7pm

9/5 Available Available

Sun. 9am Sun. 10:30am Wed. 7pm

9/12 Available Available Available

9/19 Jane &

Dan

Available Available


Flowers:

9/5 Available

9/12 Available

9/19 Dave & Mary

9/26 Randy & Michelle – birthdays

Greeters:

Sun. 9am Wed. 7pm

9/5 Available Available

Sun. 9am Sun. 10:30am Wed. 7pm




The church calendar for September 2010

through August 2011 is in your church mailbox.

Dates and times are subject to change and will

be announced in bulletins.

Thank You

Thank you to those who served in August.

Ushers: Dan & Jane, Troy, Paul & Nancy, Dennis,

Darryll, and Dave

Altar Aides: Elvera, Louann, Carol

Acolyte: Nikki

Readers: Christian

ABC Festival

Coming your way again on Saturday, November

6 from 3:00 until 7:30 pm. Silent auction, chili

dinner and bake sale. Donation slips are

available in the church office for anyone wishing

to donate items for the silent auction to benefit

the Hope Lutheran Youth and Angels of Hope

Preschool.

Church Council & Voters’

Assembly Mini-Minutes

Both meetings were held on Monday, August

9, 2010. Below is a synopsis of information from

both meetings; other info covered in the

meetings is covered in other articles of the

newsletter.

Bible Studies will resume in September.

Pastor Matt and Maggie will be attending the

third session of the Doxology conferences the

last weekend of August.

Matt and Chris will co-chair the Evangelism

Ministry committee.

A chairperson for the Stewardship ministry

committee is needed.

De Pere Christian Outreach has paid over

$150,000 on the building they purchased. Over

80 families are fed through the food pantry

each week. More volunteers are always needed.

$100 per month of the regular mission funding

that we send to Synod will be earmarked for

funding Elliot Derricks, missionary to Slovakia.

Elliot attends Wayside church and attended

NEWLHS; he made a presentation to Hope in

July.

Church office secretary applications have been

received and interviews will be set up.

A delegate to the Trinity Lutheran Elementary

School board is needed from Hope; we have

two delegates, Lynn continues as one delegate.

They are looking for people with a business

background as they are experiencing severe

financial needs.

The Voters did vote to guarantee (indemnify)

$5000 of the loan Our Saviour is giving to Trinity

(if Trinity is unable to repay the loan, we would

repay up to $5000). The alternative is being

liable for up to 1/4 of the $70,000 debt Trinity

currently has.

A bylaw change was presented: Change Article

IIA - Change from “regular meetings of the

Voters’ Assembly shall be held quarterly as

announced on the church calendar” to “regular

meetings of the Voters’ Assembly shall be held

in February and November as announced on the

church calendar.”

Financial reports are available throughout the

year; minutes of council meetings are provided

in the newsletter. Special meetings may be

called as needed by the chairman or pastor. A

vote will be taken on this bylaw change at the

November Voters’ Assembly meeting.

Nominating committee – David, Pastor Matt

and Helen. Positions available for next year

include: vice chair, three elders, two trustees,

recording secretary, financial secretary and an

appointed treasurer position.

Words from the chairman

Submitted by David

Summer is here. The weather is hot and we are

all happy that Hope has air conditioning.

I’ve been a little remiss in submitting articles

lately.

It is mainly due to my travels over the past two

months. Mary and I have been out of town

many of the past few weeks on vacation,

business, and at the LCMS Synodical

Convention. We have attended over a dozen

church services and five Bible studies at various

locations including St. Louis, MO; Houston,

TX; and Milwaukee. Services ranged from the

very traditional to the very nontraditional.

I spent 9 days in

Houston, TX at the LCMS

Synodical Convention as

the lay delegate for our

Green Bay area Circuit.

Just in case you missed

the news, the

Convention elected a

new President to lead

the Synod going forward. Pastor Matthew

Harrison was elected President on the first

ballot. Information about Pastor Harrison and

other Convention actions can be found at the

LCMS Website.

At the Convention I came to realize the

importance of making nominations for the

various synodical offices/positions as well as

making overtures of anything we feel the Synod

needs to take action on. The determination of

who appears on the ballots for President and

Vice-President positions is heavily dependent

on the number of nominations received. The

determination of which overtures to bring to

the convention floor is dependent on what is

submitted and how many similar submissions

exist. Therefore if we feel any nominations or

overtures are important, we have to make them

as the body of Hope instead of assuming

“someone else will do it.”

Hope’s VBS program went very well again this

year. Many thanks to Kim, Alice, and Beth for

their hard work in putting this together and to

the many volunteers who helped in many ways

including creating the ship and other settings,

leading a group of children, playing music,

bringing food, and assisting in many other ways.

Thanks again for all of your hard work – the

children were excited.

Education Ministry

The September education ministry meeting will

be changed from Monday, September 27 to the

following Monday on October 4 at 7:00 pm. The

October meeting will be Monday, October 25 as

scheduled.

Ya' all come to the all

church Family Fall Fest

and Hayride sponsored

by the Sunday School

will be at 12:00 noon

on Sunday, September

26 at the Loppnow

farm. It will begin with at potluck picnic so bring

a dish to pass and enjoy fun and fellowship with

our family from Hope.

Search the web and earn 1 cent

for each search. Designate Hope

Lutheran Church De Pere as

the cause you support. Goodshop

for you’re online shopping.

Proceeds benefit Angels of Hope Preschool.

Participating stores are listed in the Website and

you can still use other coupon codes.

www.goodsearch.com

Funds raised in 2010: $41.43

Funds raised since we first registered: $125.22

Lambeau Concessions

Sign-up sheets for the

next games are on the

bulletin board. Thanks

to all who have worked

so far!

All funds raised from

Lambeau concessions goes toward the payment

of the building loan – last year it was over

$9,000.

LEVY Online Alcohol Training – Non-Profit

Groups:

Instruction sheets are on the bulletin board.

This training must be completed before working

any Packer games. It’s basically the same as last

year but, of course, a bit different. Remember

to e-mail Judy so we also have a record of

who has completed the training. Thanks.

Evangelism

Our Evangelism committee

has regrouped and we are

looking forward to a year

of progress in our ministry.

Our committee members

include: Paul (Elder), Matt (chair), Chris Below

(secretary/co-chair), Pastor Matt, Maggie &

Nancy.

We have several existing projects to review and

are looking forward to implementing other

ideas for outreach to our members at Hope as

well as our community. We are currently

revisiting our greeters program and publicity

options to communicate “who we are” in the

community. Please mark your calendars for our

next “New Member Recognition” on Sunday,

October 10, 2010. We will have a potluck

luncheon after the 10:30 am service.

Look for more details in the upcoming weeks.

Our next meeting will be Saturday, September

25 at 8:30 am. If anyone would be interested in

joining our Evangelism ministry please contact

one of our current members. New hands and

new ideas are always welcome.

2010-2011 Sunday School Year

First day of Sunday School will be Sunday,

September 12.

As we say good bye to summer, we are set to

begin our new Sunday School year for 2010-11

at Hope Lutheran Church. Our theme this year is

“Come and go with Jesus to my Father’s

House.” We have an exiting day planned for our

first day of Sunday School on September 12th.

Sunday, September 12

Worship at 10:30 am where kids willsing VBS songs.

Carnival and cookout following thechurch service sponsored by the Hope

Lutheran Youth.

Proceeds from the carnival andcookout will benefit the Hope

Lutheran Youth program.

Check out our schedule:

• 9:15-9:30 am – opening devotion (ages 3

to high school)

• 9:30 -10:15 am – children return to

Sunday School

• 9:35-10:10 am – parents meeting &

social

• 10:30 -11:30 am – worship with VBS

songs

• 11:30-12:30 am – carnival

Our Hope Lutheran Youth will sponsor the

carnival with games and food for sale. Since our

youth, senior high and 8th graders will be

involved with the carnival, they will start bible

study on September 19.

On September 12, parents and students should

locate their children’s classroom and meet their

teachers. We will then convene in the

fellowship hall for an opening devotion.

Students will return to their classroom and

parents will stay in the fellowship hall for a

calendar of events and a morning social.

2011 Registration Forms:

We like to make sure we have correct

information going for the new year, therefore,

please complete the form in this newsletter and

return to church before September 12, 2010

Installation of Sunday School Teachers:

Our teachers will be installed on Sunday,

September 12 . We thank all of our teachers for

their willingness to serve. Your gifts are truly a

blessing to all of our children and parents.

Vacation Bible School Missions:

We are so thankful for all that attended and

assisted with VBS. It was an awesome week of

sharing Jesus' love and the mission will extend

beyond our church home.

Over 50 pencils, scissors, glue sticks, notebooks

and markers were collected by the VBS children

and donated to local De Pere Schools who will

share them with families in need for school

supplies. Our financial donations for VBS from

the children and the congregation totaled

$500.00. This will be split and sent to Alyssa

Stone, an LCMS missionary in Haiti and to

Friends of Haiti, a local medical and mission

group who will travel to Haiti October 16-30,

2010. Thank you to all who shared and gave.

Angels of Hope Preschool

Let the school year

begin!!!

Our preschool will be back

in session on September

7th. We are near capacity

with 16 three year olds

and 16 four year olds

registered for the

2010-2011 school year.

We are anxious to meet many new families as

well as welcome families from the past.

We are looking for someone that may be

interested in building a sturdy wooden cart on

wheels to hold the new office laminating

machine. The dimensions of the cart would be

30’’x45” and about 28” tall. It would need to be

strong enough to hold a 100 pound machine. If

you have the interest and ability to accomplish

this task for us please contact Gail Thiel.

We are also looking for donations for the

preschool. Please read through the list below to

see if you can help us out with any

of them. We will be placing a

giving tree in the narthex

containing apples with these items

on them. If you plan on donating one of the

items, please take the apple from the tree. We

would like all of the donations to be to us by

September 15, 2010.

• cotton balls (3 bags)

• plastic spoons (100)

• ziplock baggies (2 gallon size)

• ziplock baggies (sandwich size)

• ziplock baggies (snack size)

• ziplock baggies (quart size)

• ziplock baggies (gallon size)

• white yarn

• white reinforcement stickers

• Q-tips

• blue rick-rack

• a small cross stamp

• flat lollipops (20)

• bingo dabbers (3 blue, 3 red, 3 purple, 3

green)

• coffee filters

• curly blonde hair (for crafting)

• face paint pens

• green cellophane

• bag of white balloons

• bag of purple balloons

• bag of green balloons

• plain white paper bowls

• small white paper plates

• muffin cup liners

• foil star stickers

• circle rummage sale stickers (primary

colors)

• a bag of white polyester fill

• colored sand for the water table (can be

found at Menards)

As we begin our new school year we want to

once again invite you to stop in any time to give

us a visit and see our program. It is never an

interruption to have visitors.

In His Service,

Mrs. Thiel and Mrs. Thompson

National Lutheran Youth

Gathering

The LCMS National Youth Gathering was held on

July 17- 21, 2010 in New Orleans.

The theme of the Gathering was We Believe.

“But these things are written that you may

believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,

and that by believing you may have life in his

name.”

John 20:31

At the 2010 National LCMS Youth Gathering,

we focused on these words. What an awesome

experience to see over 25,000 youth and adults

who shared this faith. We asked each youth

three questions regarding the Gathering and we

share their responses below:

MEET: SARAH

ATTENDS: De Pere High School, senior

PARENTS: Dave and Kim

WHAT WAS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE PARTS OF

THE GATHERING? My favorite part of the

Gathering were the mass events. I love seeing

everyone there together worshiping God when

the band plays, everyone would stand up

excited to sing and clap, yet when someone

began to speak it became silent so everyone

could hear the Word.

HOW DID THE GATHERING STRENGTHEN YOUR

FAITH? My faith has grown because of the

Gathering. It is so reassuring to see and be with

so many people who believe the same things I

do.

WHAT IS SOMETHING NEW YOU LEARNED AT

THE GATHERING? I learned that it is not about

you. It is about Jesus. We are not the HERO of

the story, HE (JESUS) is.

MEET: KATIE

ATTENDS: Ashwaubenon High School, senior

PARENTS: John and Karen



Gathering was that there were 25,000 other

people celebrating and praising JESUS.


FAITH? This Gathering showed me that I

shouldn’t be afraid to share and express my

faith. I am now more confident to keep Him in

my life at all times.


THE GATHERING? One thing I learned here is

not to live 2 separate lives (one with you in the

center and one with Jesus). You need to live one

with Jesus in it and then everything will fall into

place.

MEET: EMILY

ATTENDS: De Pere High School, freshman

PARENTS: Scott and Lori


THE GATHERING? Bob Lenz was a speaker that

was one of my favorites of the Gathering

because he was so laid back and could really

relate to our lives as youth. Also, the mass

events were great to see all 25,000 of us all

singing and dancing to contemporary praise

music.


FAITH? Just seeing so many kids my age who

believe the same thing I do is so reassuring and

impactful.


THE GATHERING? I learned there are so many

ways to express our faith like servant events or

dancing around to upbeat praise music.

MEET: TRICIA

ATTENDS: De Pere High School, sophomore

PARENTS: John and Deb



Gathering was when we all helped out in the

school for our servant event. I like to help

people and it was a kind thing to do for others

that were truly in need. (Our servant event

involved our youth going to a school in

downtown New Orleans that had been failing

for the last 5 years. A new charter school and

group of teachers were taking it over and the

school was in desperate need of organization,

paint, clean up and more.)


FAITH? It helped me believe more. Because I use

to not really read the Bible but it has helped me

to be more confident and want to read it more

often.


THE GATHERING? I learned that we don’t have

to hide that we believe in JESUS. So we can

teach others what happened when Jesus was

alive on earth but He will always be with us.

MEET: SYDNEY

ATTENDS: West De Pere High School, freshman

PARENTS: Bill and Char



Gatherings was the mass events because I felt

really involved and they helped me strengthen

my faith the most.


FAITH? The Gathering impacted my faith by

making me feel really connected to God. It

strengthened my faith and expanded it.


THE GATHERING? At the Gathering, I learned

that people everywhere share our faith. Seeing

this and just hearing it helped me grow in faith.

MEET: KRYSTA

ATTENDS: West De Pere High School, freshman

PARENTS: Jeff and Dawn


THE GATHERING? My favorite part was the mass

events because I loved singing and dancing with

people that believe the same thing I do.


FAITH? It strengthened my faith and opened my

eyes more.


THE GATHERING? I learned that a lot of people

believe and there are many things that I can do

to spread the Word and I also learned that God

has a plan for everyone and that He loves every

single one of us.

MEET: BRIANA

ATTENDS: West De Pere High School,

Sophomore


THE GATHERING? The mass event because it

was cool to see thousands of Lutherans

gathered and having fun hearing God’s Word

and what Jesus did for us.


FAITH? It strengthened m faith and my

relationship with God.


THE GATHERING? I learned that God has a plan

for everyone and even in the darkest times we

should remember that there is a reason for

what we are experiencing.

MEET: BAILEY

ATTENDS: West De Pere High School,

Sophomore

PARENTS: Michele



Gathering was the mass events. I liked the mass

events because I liked singing and dancing with

everyone and praising God.


FAITH? The Gathering impacted my faith by

knowing that there are many others Lutherans

out there praising the same God and that you

can praise him with whomever and wherever

you are.


THE GATHERING? I learned that God is with you

through everything and things happen for a

reason not just to ruin your life. I learned that

anything is possible with God and that there are

many more people who believe the same thing

and you don’t have to be afraid to express your

love for God.

Youth News

“He who began a good work in you will

carry it out until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 1:6

It is the eve of another school year. It is time to

get ready for the work that is ahead, to practice

getting up early again, and to wake up that part

of your brain that has enjoyed vacation. Yes, it is

a time of mixed emotions. There is joy for a new

start to a new year mixed with sadness that the

fun frolicking days of summer are coming to a

close. No matter where your emotions are it is

here. I love this time of year. I love walking into

class on that first day of Kindergarten and

greeting both excited and nervous students. It is

like looking out at a garden one which God has

given me the tools to help grow and bloom for

that year. It is exciting as I prayerfully begin

another adventure. Although the calendar says

it is time to start, the work has already begun. I

am not just talking about the grunt work like

cutting out projects and writing lesson plans but

the “spiritual work” that began months earlier.

At the end of every school year we receive our

tentative list for the coming year. It is then that

my job as their teacher begins.

As I spend my summer thinking and preparing

what I will teach, I also spend it praying for the

students that will walk into my room tomorrow.

You see I have a gift that God entrusted me with

for the year. I have thirteen little hearts in my

care to help water the seed of faith which God

has planted in them. It is both exciting and at

the same time, a bit scary. Like my own

children, they will imitate what I say, what I do,

how I respond… and that leaves a big

responsibility. Some of you have embarked on

the same task here at church. Some of you will

be God’s outstretched hands teaching our

children on Sundays at Sunday School, or

volunteering in positions that help “water the

seeds of faith” already planted. What an

awesome gift God has given you.

Whether you are in classroom or not you are all

a valued part of God’s team. Together we

embark on a journey in service to Him. As

Christians it is our responsibility to help water

the seeds of faith in the lives of those around

us. How we live our lives, respond to others,

give of ourselves – all of it is opportunities to

share the Gospel – to share Jesus with another.

God has begun a good work in each of you and

He will carry it out to completion. As you think

back on your own life I am sure you can think of

people that “helped water your seed of faith”. It

may have been something they said, or

something they did for you but God was using

them to grow your faith. He wants to use you to

do the same for another! Are you looking for

those opportunities?

Beth

Worship Service and Carnival:

On Sunday, September 12 we will have a

carnival following 10:30 am worship service.

Youth in grades 6 to 12 we will need your help

in organizing and running

our games and cook out

on this day. This is the

first day of Sunday School

and we will plan to meet

for our opening at 10:15 am and then prepare

for the carnival. If you are unable to attend the

August 30 planning meeting please contact Beth

or Kim about volunteering. We will need help

with game and serving food and this will be a

way to earn funds for your youth account.

Youth Servant Event:

Friends of Haiti is the

nonprofit group that will

make a medical and dental

mission to the mountains

of Haiti in October. The

group is in need of assistance to help pack pills

for the group. Our youth did this service once

before but we would like to help again. Please

sign up on the bulletin board to help serve by

packing pills on Wednesday, September 15,

2010. We would leave church about 5:40 pm

and return about 8:15 pm. All are welcome to

serve and share God’s love by giving your time

to help others.

Hayride:

On Sunday, September

26, following the 10:30

am church service,

come enjoy some fall

fun at the Hayride at

the Loppnow farm.

More details are

provided in another portion of the newsletter.

LCMS NYG Youth:

On Wednesday, September 29 from 6:30 to

8:00 pm we will have a follow up meeting to the

2010 National Youth Gathering. We will meet at

the Thompsons to see a follow up to Katrina and

New Orleans sharing in bible study and planning

for our church service to share the Gathering

with the Hope Family.

Calendar Preview:

• The ABC Festival is scheduled for

November 6, 2010. Plan now by

organizing items to sell at the auction.

This is a way for you to earn funds for

your youth account.

• The Christmas Program is scheduled for

December 18, 2010.

• Youth Winter Retreat at Camp Luther is

scheduled for January 21-23, 2011.

• Our Captive Free concert and youth lock-

in will be on February 18, 2011.

Thank YouHope Lutheran Church......

In July, 8 youth and 2 chaperones did travel to

New Orleans to the 2010 Lutheran Youth

Gathering. It was a great faith building

opportunity for all of us. What was extra special

about this trip is that we learned much about

"We Believe" in Jesus but we also learned about

New Orleans and the needs of this community.

Due to the great need still evident in New

Orleans following the recovery from Katrina,

the Lutheran youth were able to show Jesus'

love in many servant events. The attached letter

from Terry

Dittmer, Director

of Youth Ministry

for the LCMS,

highlights many

of the servant

events and also extends appreciation for all of

the support. We also want to thank all of the

congregation for their support. The youth will

be sharing a service in the future highlighting

the Gathering. We had hoped to do this on

August 22 but we will postpone it as we

are still waiting on some materials from the

Gathering to incorporate into our presentation.

Thank you to all of you that supported the Hope

Lutheran Youth that attended the 2010 National

Lutheran Youth Gathering,

In Christ,

Beth and Kim

Sarah, Katie, Tricia,Emily, Krysta, Bailey ,

Briana and Sydney

The Incredible Privilege of

Saying, “Thank you!”

The LCMS Youth Ministry Staff and Gathering

Executive Team thank God for the participants,

planners and volunteers at the 2010 National

LCMS Youth Gathering. We deeply thank the

participating congregations and the parents of

the youth for entrusting the spiritual nurture of

their youth at the Gathering for five days in July

and for providing the necessary spiritual,

personal and financial support along the way.

What a humbling privilege it is to organize the

Gathering.

Thanks also to the hundreds of Gathering

planners for their amazing creativity and

energy. Thanks to the awesome local

volunteers, the yellow-shirted Community Life

Builders and the “Orange Nation” of Young

Adults Volunteers.

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a month

since the 2010 National LCMS Youth Gathering.

There were 24,000 youth and adults in New

Orleans gathered to praise God and worship

Jesus. As we like to say, the Gathering is, first of

all, all about Jesus – how He loves us, how He

saves us, and how He inspires and encourages

us to serve Him by serving others. It is an

amazing story about how a Gathering can

impact a community. Check out this short

inventory of what was accomplished in Jesus’

name, over five days in July.

• About half of the 24,000 NYG

participants volunteered at 100 servant

events benefitting local churches,

schools, parks, cemeteries, summer

camp programs and other service

organizations, and individual

homeowners.

• Dozens of neighborhood prayer walks

where Gathering participants walked

through neighborhoods and prayed with

and for residents.

• Nearly $140,000 was collected for the

special Gathering offering, of which a

portion will go to provide grants for local

congregational youth programs doing

outreach to un-churched and

marginally-churched youth.

• 3,000 pounds of non-perishable food

items were donated for Second Harvest

Food Bank.

• 3,000 personal care kits were assembled

for area shelters and community

organizations through the District Care

Kit Scavenger Hunt with financial support

from our LCMS Districts.

• 2.000 placemats were created for local

nursing homes.

• 1,000 units of blood were donated for

southeast Louisiana hospitals.

• 400 fleece blankets were made.

• 50 participants received haircuts and

gave their hair for Locks of Love.

• 125 baptismal banners were created for

local churches.

• 665 handmade cards were created for

military chaplains, active servicemen and

military families.

• 200 batches of play dough were made for

local preschools and Boys & Girls Clubs.

• 2,000 thank-you notes were written for

local oil spill recovery workers

• In addition, the LCMS Youth Ministry

office sponsored an “Art4Haiti” project.

All told, 144 folk art crosses were

assembled and sold, raising nearly $5,000

for Haitian relief.

How amazing to see God working through the

Gathering and making such an impact in a

community! So many people in the city’s

neighborhoods saw the love of Christ shared

through the service of so many.

So many people point to a Gathering as one of

the most significant events in their lives.

Professional church workers – pastors, teachers,

DCEs – point to a Gathering as the event leading

them to pursue a church career. There are many

stories from those encouraged through the

messages shared by Gathering speakers and

performers. Many are led to celebrate their

faith and explore their gifts. The Youth Ministry

Office will share some of these stories in future

Gathering updates. What else is there to say.

Again, thanks be to God. It is His gift of faith that

enables us to confess, “WE BELIEVE!”

Dr. Terry K. Dittmer, Director

LCMS District and Congregational Services –

Youth Ministry

Documents

September 2010 Anchor Line