ALL HANDS ON DECK!
Oktoberfest! is right around the corner, and the small size or our
parish makes it difficult when the bulk of the work falls on just a few. If
everyone can pull together, the whole project gets a lot easier, so here’s a
special plea to the membership to get involved!
This year’s Oktoberfest! (the Eighteenth Annual), and Gottesdienst Central, is
scheduled for October 13-15, (Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday), and will be hosting
Pastor Todd Wilken of KFUO radio and
Issues,Etc. A number of the editors
of Gottesdienst ― as many as seven or eight of us ― will be
there too, as always.
TAKE NOTE: Members of St. Paul
Pastor Wilken, who also has a
popular blog, “The Bare Bulb,” will provide the guests with his insights on
this conference’s theme:
“What’s So Special about Being
Lutheran?”
The event begins Sunday with
choral vespers at 5 pm. Following the
service is our annual bratwurst banquet.
When everyone has had their fill of brats and beer, Pastor Wilken will
give a synopsis of his Monday seminar.
Following the banquet is the after-the-party party, at Pastor Eckardt’s
home.
On Monday October 14th, the day
begins with mass at 9:00 a.m. Following mass and a continental breakfast,
Pastor Wilken will hold (continued, next
page)
(continued from page one)
forth for the rest of the day, in
two sessions running until about followed by vespers.
On Tuesday October 15th, the conference
will continue without Pastor Wilken, as those who remain will discuss the use
and purpose of the Lord’s Prayer in the Liturgy of the Divine Service. The Tuesday sessions, will be framed by
morning low mass (spoken Divine Service) and Vespers.
Support your congregation! Set aside Sunday and Monday, October 13th
and 14h for Oktoberfest! And Tuesday too, if you can do it!
Volunteers sought! If you are able, we could really use your help. We are a small congregation, and this year’s
Oktoberfest promises to be a big one, with lots of folks attending. So please step forward and offer your help:
everyone pulling together makes the preparations a lot easier. We need volunteers, volunteers, volunteers!
Rally Day and Autumn Catechesis
On
Sunday, September 1th,
the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, we’ll be starting over all over again. First, a new Sunday school term starts
up.
Also a new catechetical cycle begins—for
our young people, for prospective new members, or for current members who want
to review—scheduled to begin on Saturday,
September 7th, at 9 am.
ANYONE may attend. Bring your
friends, bring your family, or come by yourself if you want.
September
Ushers: Alan Kraklow, Steve Kraklow, Tom Wells
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
A Thank-you letter
from Cheryl and Don Moe for the gifts given in memorial of Cheryl’s
mother Crystal Stoll is posted on the bulletin board in the hallway. They also provided us with a substantial gift
in memory of her parents.
Kewanee Food Pantry
letter
Thank you for your
support to the Kewanee Food Pantry with your donation of four bags of
food. This gift supports the continuing
work done in our community. As you may
be well aware, the Kewanee Food Pantry depends on private donations in order to
continue offering our current services. Last year 5487 families were assisted. We are encouraged by
the help we have been able to provide to those in need. Your generosity is much
appreciated.
Kewanee Food Pantry Board
Member
Sandy Hill
Shut ins
Mary Hamilton at home; Mark Baker at home; Anna Baker at home; Mirilda
Greiert at Kewanee Care; Ruth Snider at Hillcrest Home in Geneseo; Emmy Wear at
Williamsfield Home in Williamsfield.
No activities Wednesday, August 28th: pastor will be spending a couple days visiting his
mother.
Altar Guild News
We welcome Jennifer Madsen as our newest
member! Jewneel was inducted on July 14th.
Altar guild members, remember to check the wicks of the candles: not too
long or bent over, not too short!
Notes for September:
There are five Sundays this month.
The first four are green, but September 29th is the Feast of
St. Michael and All Angels (Michaelmas), and the color is white.
No mass on Wednesday,
August 28th; pastor will be visiting his mother for a couple of
days.
Wednesday, September 11th we will
observe Holy Cross Day, and Wednesday, September 18th we will
observe St. Matthew’s day. Color for
both days is red. The other Wednesdays
in September are green.
Pastor’s Travels
On
Sunday the 29th Carol and I will be leaving in the afternoon for the
annual St. Michael conference the next day at Zion
in Detroit ,
where I will again be a speaker this year.
-
Pastor
First Tuesday
First Tuesday Altar Guild and Elders meetings will
be held on September 3rd.
Altar Guild at 6 p.m.; Vespers is at 6:45, and Elders meet at 7:15.
In
Our Prayers
Our
current list of prayer intentions at mass includes the names on the lists here
following. To update the list, please
inform pastor.
In our parish:
Emilie Ricknell, Linda Rowe, Sharon
Hartz, Chris Harden, Don Murphy, Sue Murphy, and our shut-ins: Mirelda Greiert,
Mark Baker, Ann Baker, Ruth Snider, Mary Hamilton, Emmy Wear, Sara Bidni
Outside
our parish:
David Dakin [req., Harrises], Anna Rutowicz
[req., Harrises], Julie Ross [Svetlana
Meaker’s daughter, cancer], Caleb Cleaver [req., Ricknells],
Pam Mansnarus [req., Ricknells], Christian Johnson [req., Kemerlings], Madison Lindsay [req., Andersons], Tom Fornoff [Jean
Russell’s brother-in-law], Rev. Don Chambers [from Manito], Stacie Liese [wife
of Rev. Michael Liese ], Michelle
Steuber [req., Fischers], Marilyn
Johnson [req.,lative of the Kemerlings], Richard
Day [req., Harden], Jill Matchett [req., Shreck], Chad Winegard, Katy
Verplaetz, [Sandra’s granddaughter], Terry
Shreck [Diana’s brother in law]
in
the military:
John Eckardt, Donny Appleman [req.,
Ricknells], Thomas Kim [req.,
Shrecks], Jaclyn Harden Alvarez [req.,
Hardens], Michael Creech [req.,
Murphys]
in trouble:
especially any unborn children in danger of abortion, and those suffering from
unrest, persecution, and imprisonment in Egypt, Eritrea, Khazakstan, Sweden, Guinea, and elsewhere.
Persecution details:
A candidate for baptism at the
International Church of Helsinki was arrested by the Finnish police for
deportation. A friend of the candidate has been condemned to death by hanging
by the authorities in their home country for converting to Christianity.
Unfortunately, this is all too common, especially in Sweden Church of Sweden ’s
bishops even issued a letter in March 2011 advising CoS
pastors to withhold baptism from Muslim refugees who convert to Christianity.
(persecution details continued on back page)
The New Testament in His Blood
This series contains brief
liturgical explanations which appear in Pastor Eckardt’s book The New Testament in His
Blood (Gottesdienst, 2010).
The Lavabo and the Ablutions
There
are a couple of traditional washing rituals which have been largely ignored in
Lutheran Churches, but which we would do well to recover in our day. One has to
do with the preparation of the altar for the Holy Sacrament, and the other,
with the care of the Sacrament after the distribution.
The
first ritual is called the Lavabo, which means “the washing” (literally, “I
will wash”). This occurs before the Prayer of the Church, after all else has
been prepared, all vessels and linens put in place, and the veil removed from
the chalice. When all this is finished, the celebrant turns to a server who is
ready with a bowl (called the Lavabo bowl), a towel, and a cruet of water. The
celebrant holds his index fingers and thumbs over the bowl as the server pours
a little water over them; then the celebrant dries them on a towel which has
been draped over the server’s arm. From this point throughout the distribution,
these four fingers touch nothing but the sacred Hosts. As the celebrant is
doing this, he prays the “Lavabo,” a portion of the 26th Psalm:
I
will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O LORD: that
I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous
works. LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where
thine honour dwelleth. Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody
men: In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes. But as
for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me. My
foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the LORD.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the
beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
The entire prayer is said
silently, excepting the last phrase, which is uttered aloud but sotto voce,
in response to which anyone nearby utters a barely audible “Amen.” The
celebrant’s rubrics historically prescribe that following the Lavabo he hold
the thumb and forefinger of each hand together whenever they are not being used
to take, hold, or distribute the Host. After each table of communicants
receives the Body of Christ, the celebrant gently rubs his thumb and forefinger
together over the chalice, to let any sacred particles fall into it. Moreover,
even the chalice is carefully held by the wrapping of the other three fingers
of the hand around the knop. When the distribution to all communicants is
completed, and all the Hosts consumed or put away, the celebrant then takes the
empty chalice in both hands, using only the last three fingers of each, and
extending the thumb and index fingers over the bowl of the chalice, turns to
the server again. This time the washing is called “taking the ablutions.” He
presents these fingers to be rinsed, and then takes, i.e., drinks, all that has
been rinsed. Next, he takes the water
cruet and pours water into
the sacred vessels needing rinsing, drinking the water again. This he does
twice, so that in all, three ablutions are taken.
The
purpose of these ritual washings is twofold. First, the Lavabo insures that the
celebrant’s fingers are entirely free of all kinds of soil for the distribution
of the Body of Christ. He has, of course, already taken care to wash his hands
with soap before the Mass; this is a ceremonial rinsing of any foreign matter
which may have come into
contact with his fingers in
the meantime. Secondly, when he takes the ablutions, it is to prevent the
inadvertent mishandling of any particles from the Hosts, as well as the careful
rinsing of the vessels which
contained the Blood of Christ. Most importantly, both washings are subtle but
important ways of confessing the faith. We believe that the Body and Blood of
Christ are truly present, distributed, and received at the altar, in accordance
with His clear words, “This is my body,” etc. Therefore we take care to act in
accordance with our faith. We treat these Sacred Species as the most important
elements on earth.
Churches
all around are careless in regard to these things, and some even shockingly so,
who on the one hand say they agree that the Body and Blood of Christ are truly
present here, but on the other hand dispose of remaining elements as though
they were nothing more than ordinary bread and wine. Their actions belie their
confession. If one is truly aware that he is handling the Body of Christ, how
can he treat it as a common thing?
Therefore in our age in which
this carelessness seems to abound everywhere, it would truly be a fine and
salutary thing to recover the subtle but clearly confessional gesture if our
churches retained the Lavabo and the ablutions. The way we treat these Elements
speaks volumes about what we believe them to be.
Persecution details, continued (from
prayer list).
EGYPT
One of the challenges facing
Christian families, particularly in Upper Egypt ,
is the kidnapping of young Christian girls. It generally happens when the girls
enter their teen years. To help avoid this tragedy, some families relocate to
Christian villages. But that can present a whole new set of challenges. Last year, a Helsinki Commission hearing
revealed that the number of disappearances and abductions of Christian girls
has been increasing. Human trafficking expert Michel Clark told of more than
800 cases. Still, many Islamic leaders and government officials debunk claims
that Christian girls are being trafficked. They insist that the conversions and
marriages are not forced; they are simply the result of amorous love between
young people of different faiths.
ERITREA
Eritrean authorities are punishing 39 high school students for their
Christian faith, excluding them from a graduation ceremony and subjecting them
to beatings and hard labor. After completing a four-month military training
required in Eritrea, the students have been arrested for their "Christian
beliefs and for their commitment to Christ." According to a recent press
statement, "The youths are now enduring beatings, forced hard labour and
insufficient food and water" at the SAWA military training centre. Sources
add that "authorities are also threatening the students with long
imprisonment and exclusion from university should they 'fail to renounce
Christ.'" An estimated 3,000 mostly Protestant Christians were
incarcerated for their faith by the end of 2010. (It is estimated that the
figure is now about 1,200.) The prisoners are held in shipping containers in
desert camps, with some kept in underground cells. "The conditions are
inhumane: Children and the elderly are amongst the prisoners sharing skin
diseases, dysentery and other horrors in confined, unventilated spaces,"
reports Elizabeth Kendal of the Religious Liberty Commission. "Torture is
routine.... Several Christians have died in custody, and others have perished
in the desert trying to escape."
KAZAKHSTAN
Pastor Bakhytzhan Kashkumbayev, who leads Grace
Church in Astana, was arrested May 17th on criminal charges for allegedly
"harming health" and has subsequently been detained. The
"evidence" justifying his detention appears thin. Lyazzat Almenova,
on whose health the authorities claim to be basing their case, has written to
the Astana Prosecutor's Office to say she is psychiatrically healthy. "The
authorities forcibly put me in a psychiatric ward," Lyazzat says, "in
order to disregard my appeals and petitions in favour of Pastor
Kashkumbayev...who is totally innocent and has not harmed my health at
all." On July 18th, Pastor Kashkumbayev stated "They will inject me
with special substances. It will not take much for the authorities to make me a
'vegetable'.... I am begging you to protect me."
Judicial authorities in Guinea Nzérékoré Guinea
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