September

Genesis
The plans for Sunday morning Bible class are to move to a careful study of the opening chapters of Genesis, early in September.
Although we’ve looked at Genesis before, it bears continual going over (much like the Gospels), since it is one of the most important books of the Bible. Generations of churches have used Genesis for catechesis in the church.
We also hope to have these classes made available in audio file, so that they may be accessed via the Internet at any time. Our new iPod Touch enables us to do this, so look forward to this capability.
For those who don’t know, we don’t bother with canned Bible study guides that ask you to look up certain passages, write them down, and then contribute your own thoughts. I’ve always thought such studies were, well, sot of boring. But the Scriptures are never boring or dull, when they speak for themselves. In our studies, we let them do just that. We don’t hold the Bible hostage to a pre-programmed booklet or packet. At St. Paul’s we ask you to bring two things: your Bible and your mind. We examine the Scriptures, and let them take us wherever they lead.
So make up your mind today: come to the study. It’s conveniently offered right after Mass on Sunday morning. In fact, you get to have some breakfast while you’re at it. Every week someone volunteers to serve, and some of the continental breakfasts we have received have truly been worthy of writing home about. There’s always a little time for people to visit and have a roll and some coffee, and then we settle down for a study. What would be truly good is if we could get even more of our members to take advantage of this great opportunity. Why not make a morning of it?

† Pastor Eckardt






Announcing the Sixteenth Annual
Oktoberfest
and
Fifth Annual Gottesdienst Central Liturgical Seminar
St. Paul’s Evangelical-Lutheran Church, Kewanee, Illinois
October 9-11, 2011 (Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday)
Conference theme: Baptism in the Gospel of John

This year we are pleased to welcome as our guest the Rev. Dr. William Weinrich, Professor at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Dr. Weinrich is renowned as a leading confessional Lutheran historian on early church history, whose scholarship and insights have been appreciated by a generation of pastors. Having recently returned from a several years’ stint as rector at the Lutheran seminary in Latvia, he has been welcomed back to the Fort Wayne seminary, where his reputation as a leading Lutheran scholar has been established for years. We are honored to have him return also to St. Paul’s to address our conference.
Sunday afternoon at 5 p.m. is our Autumn Choral Vespers, followed by our annual bratwurst banquet and partying into the night. On Monday morning, following Holy Mass at 9:30, the Gottesdienst Central seminar will feature Dr. Weinrich and run until 3:15 p.m.
On Tuesday, St. Paul’s Pastor Burnell Eckardt will lead a discussion and hands-on workshop on matters pertaining to the ceremonies of the Lutheran Mass.

Lodging: AmericInn, 4823 US Hwy 34. 800-634-3444
Super 8 Motel, 901 S Tenney (Rt 78). 309-853-8800
Aunt Daisy’s B&B, 223 W Central Blvd. 888-422-4148
Kewanee Motor Lodge, 400 S Main St. 309-853-4000
Days Inn, I-80 & Rt 40, Sheffield. 815-454-2361
Holiday Inn Express, I-80 & Rt 78, Annawan. 309-935-6565

REGISTRATION: $25 per person* (students $20) $40 per couple — includes Sunday banquet and Monday continental and luncheon; no charge for children with parents.

*NOTICE: Members of St. Paul’s special rate: $15.00 per person, $25 per couple (children free), includes all meals. (and special funding is available if you can’t afford that)
Name(s): Phone:
Circle days you can attend: Sunday Monday Tuesday
Offer to help (please circle):  volunteer set up  volunteer clean up
provide food  donaton ______  other_______________



Sesquicentennial Fundraiser

St. Paul’s is now selling Rada cutlery and gifts to raise funds for our Sesquicentennial projects. You can obtain quality Rada Cutlery kitchen knives, utensils, gifts sets and other merchandise by ordering through a family member or friends or directly from the manufacturer at VERY LOW PRICES. You can directly order through the internet by logging onto www.HelpOurFundraiser.com. Then use ordering #50355 and the password paul. The products ordered will be shipped directly to your address and 40% of all sales go directly to St. Paul’s. These items are great products at low prices. They make great Wedding, Anniversary, Birthday and Christmas gifts. You can also pick up a brochure and order form and buy for yourself and ask family and friends to order from you. Obtain an order form from Jean Russell.
September Ushers: Alan Kraklow, Steve Kraklow, Tom Wells, Bob Bock

September Anniversaries

9/18/1976 Tom and Sue Ann Wells
9/24/1977 Dennis and Janice Schoen
September Birthdays
9/1 John Ricknell
9/10 Jan Schoen
9/15 Chuck Russell
9/17 Mary Beth Jones
9/18 DeAnne Anderson
9/19 Jaclyn Kraklow
9/19 Jamie Kraklow
9/24 Stephanie Davis
9/28 Allan Kraklow



Altar Guild News
Altar Guild meetings have been permanently changed to the first Tuesday of each month. The meeting for September will be on Tuesday, September 6th, at 6 pm.

There is a change in scheduling for the last Wednesday in August (August 31st): we will be observing the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist (actual feast day is August 29th. Color: Red for the 31st only)

September colors:

All Sundays in September are Green.

No mass Saturday, September 24.

No mass Tuesday , September 27.

Wednesday, September 14, Holy Cross Day (color: red).

Wednesday, September 28: Michaelmas (actual feast day is September 29th. Color: white for the 28th only)


First Monday is now First Tuesday
A consensus among altar guild members and the elders has resulted in a permanent change from First Monday meetings and Vespers to First Tuesdays.
The First Tuesday events are scheduled for September 6th: Altar Guild at 6 pm; Vespers at 6:45; Elders following.
Sesquicentennial in 2012
The congregation’s 150th anniversary is next year. Our latest planning meeting was held on Tuesday, August 23rd. Among the items discussed was the plan to have a float in the 2012 Hog Days parade. We talked extensively about preparing a historical booklet, to be available by the middle of the year.
We hope to have a new pictorial directory in the making this fall.
Next meeting on a Wednesday in October. Stay tuned.

Why?
This series, containing brief liturgical questions and Pastor Eckardt’s answers, began to appear in 1995, as a regular feature in this newsletter. It was then published, about ten years ago, as a Gottesdienst book.

THE PREFACE

Why does the celebrant say “Lift up your hearts” while lifting his hands during the Preface?

During the Mass, the Preface comes after the Prayer of the Church, when we begin to turn our attention directly to the Sacrament of the Altar. The celebrant first says, “The Lord be with you,” because it is a prayer that the Lord would be merciful in granting His people the faith needed to benefit from this great feast of the Lord’s Body and Blood. Then he says, “Lift up your hearts,” and the people respond, “We lift them up unto the Lord.” This is based on Lamentations 3:41-42: “Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven. We have transgressed and rebelled.” So the lifting up that takes place, both of the hearts and of the hands (as the celebrant lifts his hands at this point), is in effect an acknowledgment that we have transgressed; we need to be cleansed of our sins. How fitting, therefore, that we should repeat these words prior to our reception of the Sacrament, by which we are cleansed and forgiven. Since we know that this is about to happen, we say immediately following, also during the Preface: “Let us give thanks unto the Lord, our God. It is meet and right so to do.”

THE SANCTUS

Why does the Sanctus blend two separate parts of Scripture?

The Sanctus, so named because it is Latin for “Holy,” as in “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth,” appropriately precedes the words of Christ’s institution of the Sacrament, precisely because it serves to blend two parts and themes of Scripture together.
The first part is the vision of Isaiah, in which the seraphim cry “Holy, holy, holy” to one another, smoke arises, the lintels shake, and the prophet is overawed in his confrontation with the majesty of the Triune God. So ought we to be overawed by an awareness that we here are in the presence of Almighty God.
The second part is from the procession of Palm Sunday, when the children joyously cry out “Hosanna” to Christ, who rides a donkey into Jerusalem to do the work of our salvation. So ought we joyously cry, for in the Supper Christ comes to us to save us.
The blending of these two disjunct passages provides a poignant reminder to us that at the altar the majesty of Almighty God is bound to the Sacrament, which is given for us and for our salvation.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Why does the pastor hold his hands up high over his head for the Lord’s Prayer?
Following the Preface at Mass, the pastor turns to the altar and intones the Proper Preface, that is, the “seasonal” preface in preparation for the Supper. Following this in some traditions is an Epiclesis, or prayer for the Holy Spirit, and then, as the highest of these consecutive prayers, the “Our Father,” which is the Lord’s Prayer. Traditions which employ the Epiclesis generally have the Our Father after the Words of Institution (the Verba) are spoken; indeed the placement of the Our Father after the Verba has much greater historical precedent. Newer traditions which do not employ the Epiclesis at all generally place the Our Father before the Verba, in which case, the Our Father serves as the Epiclesis, which calls upon God for His blessing. This prayer is not only the highest of the prayers at Mass, but of all prayers, since it is the prayer our Lord Jesus Himself taught us to pray. Therefore it is most fitting that, in recognition of this, the celebrant should extend his hands higher than he had been extending them for the other prayers. The extension and raising of the hands is the ancient posture of prayer, and normally during Mass the pastor so prays. To distinguish the
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Our Father alone above all the others, here he raises his hands higher. For no other prayer in the service does he raise his hands this high; it is therefore a subtle reminder of the fact that when we pray the Our Father, we are praying the very best prayer we could possibly pray.

Why does the pastor alone say the Lord’s Prayer sometimes?

The Lord’s Prayer (the “Our Father”) is the most excellent of all prayers, being so called because the Lord Jesus gave it to us Himself, and told His disciples to pray saying precisely these words (“When you pray, say: Our Father,” etc.). Therefore it ought to be first on the lips of every Christian, day and night. In addition to this, an ancient and venerable custom elevates its significance during the Mass, by providing the rubric that has the celebrant alone chanting or saying these words aloud, while the congregation prays them silently. This distinguishes the Mass from the prayer offices of Matins and Vespers, which have the congregation saying all the words of the Lord’s Prayer together.
The custom provides a special adornment for this prayer at a time when it is used in connection with the Sacrament, a connection which can be discerned quickly by virtue of the celebrant’s chanting or saying also the Verba (the Words of Institution) in immediate proximity, either following or preceding. By this practice, the Our Father is seen as the central, and indeed only indispensable, ingredient in the canon of the Mass, that prayer of the celebrant which from antiquity was woven together with the Verba.
Both the Our Father and the Verba come from Christ Himself, with His expressed intention that they be repeated (in the case of the Sacrament, this intention is expressed by the words “This do”). They thus stand side by side as the most distinguished words in the entire service, with the implied message that the petitions of the Our Father are answered by the Sacrament. Herein is the heart of our faith expressed.

THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION

Why does the celebrant look up during a part of the Words of Institution?

During the Mass, when the Words of Institution (also called the Verba) are repeated, the celebrant engages in certain actions, in repetition of the actions of our Lord in His institution of the Supper. During the words “took bread,” he takes the bread, and during the words “and when He had given thanks,” he looks up in thanksgiving. This looking up is the ancient gesture of thanksgiving, which we see in Jesus Himself. St. Matthew (14:15-21, the feeding of the five thousand) records that “looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves.” By “looking up to heaven” while “blessing” (that is, giving thanks) He means to acknowledge the source of the bread, and of every good gift. St. James also indicates this truth, saying, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).
The Roman liturgy goes so far as actually to say that Jesus “looked up” as He gave thanks at the Supper, but the Lutheran Church’s version is a verbatim (word-for-word) conflation of the Eucharistic texts. It is nevertheless safe to assume that Jesus did in fact look up at this point, in accordance with His custom.
When the celebrant repeats the gesture of Jesus during the consecration of the elements, especially the words “when He had given thanks,” he gives a visual reminder that here he is actually standing in for Jesus, in His stead, and by His command. We are not merely “acting out” the scene here; rather the very same Supper is being continued here. We may know that here, through the ministry of His humble servant, truly Jesus Himself is the One who is active, giving to us again His own Body and Blood, just as He once gave it to His twelve disciples.


St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church
109 S. Elm Street
Kewanee, IL 61443