New Project Manager
As our renovation project continues, we are settling into
some procedural grooves that we hope will make the progress easier.
First, we are thankful that Steve Peart has agreed to be the
Project Manager. Up to this point, Otis Anderson was trying to direct things and
lining up people’s schedules, etc., and finding it increasingly difficult to
do, since he is already juggling many things as a trustee, and he lives farther
outside of Kewanee. So Steve has graciously agreed to step up and help. He is
now in regular communication with our painter Bob Harrison, and arranges dates
for when it is time to move the scaffolding again. On Wednesday May 25, we
moved it again, toward the east wall.
You may have noticed that the scaffolding moves a little
from one side toward the other, incrementally, until we expect to have an
entire side-to-side section complete. Then we will move on to the next
front-to-back area.
It has become a project that we plan as we go. One great
benefit of doing it this way is that it saves the congregation a great deal of
money.
Web site upgrade in the works
I’ve been working on upgrading our web site and making it
linkable to facebook, so that our project and its progress can be more widely
made known, and so that should people desire to donate, they will have an easy
capability to do so. Right now the web site, www.stpaulskewanee.org is up and
running, and we also have a blog where our newsletter is routinely posted
online at another site, www.stpaulskewanee.blogspot.com.
Our Facebook page is St Paul's Lutheran Church-Lcms and is also being upgraded.
Check it out.
+ Pastor
Memorial Gift Received
Recently we received a very special donation from the estate
of Dick Melchin’s sister-in-law, who passed away last autumn. A check in the
amount of $13,000 was added to the offerings on May 17th
The funds are undesignated, meaning that we are free to use
them where most needed. The church council is in the midst deliberating on the
best way to use these funds, weighing the substantial needs of our regular
budget against our restoration project. On the one hand we must depend on
special offerings to meet our budget these days; on the other hand we have our
renovation project’s needs to consider.
We are thankful to Almighty God for his lavish providence.
Picnic to be at Kraklows’
The annual church picnic is to be held, God willing, at the
home of Allan and Barb Kraklow south of Toulon this year. The date is our
traditional last Sunday in June, which this year will be June 26th,
as soon after church and Bible Class as you can arrive. As usual, it’s a
potluck, and bring your own table service. The nearby map has arrows penciled
in, showing the way to the farm. Turn south off the main street in Toulon
(where the bank is) and follow the road as it leads out of Toulon, angling
slightly to the east and then turning south again. Within two miles there is a
dirt road that turns east to the farm. If
you get lost, call 309-238-7270 and Barb can guide you in. Everyone come enjoy
some summer fun you’re your beloved church family! Bring outdoor toys,
Frisbees, etc. if you want, or just bring a smile on your face.
First Tuesday Events Moved to Second Tuesday this Month
Our First Tuesday
meetings for June are moved to the second
Tuesday in June, to accommodate
Pastor’s schedule On Tuesday June 14th we plan to have Altar Guild,
Vespers, and Elders, beginning as usual at with Altar Guild at 6 pm, Vespers at
6:45, and Elders at 7:15.
Off to Florida
Pastor and Carol have planned a trip to Florida to spend
some time with her father who lives at a retirement village in Kissimmee. Plans
are to fly down on Thursday, June 2nd and return on Wednesday night
June 8th. Pastor Jeff Anderson from Bethel Lutheran Church in
Morton, Illinois is planning to fill in on Sunday, June 5th while
Pastor Eckardt is away. No Mass Saturday night. Come out on Sunday morning to hear Pastor Anderson preach and to
receive the Sacrament from him.
Concordia
Catechetical Academy
The Concordia Catechetical Academy is holding its annual
conference at Waukesha, Wisconsin, June 15-17.
Pastor is a scheduled speaker this year, and Pastor and Carol will be in
attendance at this two-day event, so there will be no mass here on Wednesday
the 15th. The theme for this year’s conference is “Keeping Our Children in the
Faith,” and Pastor’s topic is “The Liturgy is for Children.” Anyone interested
in details for this fine conference (which many lay people usually attend) log
on at www.peacesussex.org or consult
Pastor
Donations
and Expenses for our Project
Our renovation project is an ongoing step in faith, and one
thing we have done to try to keep the
membership apprised of our status is to post in the weekly bulletins a running
tally of our total donations, our expenses, and our balance. Right now we are
staying about $3000 ahead of our expenses.
Donations of time and energy are also not to be forgotten.
Members have taken time out of their busy schedules to help plan, move
scaffolding, repair lights, clean up messes, and take care of detail work. Our
work moves forward with the prayer that God will establish the work of our
hands (Psalm 90); and in Christ, we are confident that this prayer has in the
most important ways already been answered.
+ Pastor Eckardt
About 100 guests were in attendance at the one-day
conference held on Tuesday, May 17th at St. Paul Lutheran Church in
Hamel, Illinois (about a half-hour outside of St. Louis on I-55), featuring the
editors of Gottesdienst (including
your pastor), and Rev. Matthew C. Harrison, the President of the Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod. Many delegates for the upcoming LCMS convention were
present, as the conference focused on a key matter that will be brought up
there, namely the restoration in our churches of the Lutheran practice that
only called and ordained pastors preach and administer the Sacraments. The
Augsburg Confession declares that “no one should teach or administer the
Sacraments without a regular call” (Article 14), but in 1989 the LCMS approved
a practice of allowing unordained men to do this in certain places. The current
task force is recommending steps the LCMS can take to bring our Synod back into
conformity with its own confession while being sensitive toward those who find
themselves in positions needing adjustment. In particular, where laymen are
serving as pastors, we need to see them treated fairly, examined, called, and
ordained.
Gottesdienst Video
Project Underway
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is working together with Gottesdienst, which is technically owned
by this congregation, to produce a training video for seminarians and parish
pastors on how to conduct the ceremonies of the Divine Service. The raw footage
was filmed at the Gottesdienst St.
Louis conference, and we now will move to the editing and voice-over stage. We
expect the project will take several months to complete. It appears the first
stage went well.
June Birthdays:
6/5 Linda
Rowe
6/15 Jill Powers
6/16 Berniece Harris
6/29 Jim Watson
June Ushers: Allan Kraklow, Steve Kraklow, Tom Wells.
June Anniversaries:
6/17/1967 Robert and
Mary Beth Jones
6/18/1960 Sandra and
John Verplaetse
6/18/1977 Fr. Burnell
and Carol Eckardt
6/18/1966 Don and
Sue Murphy
6/19/1977 Dana and Carol
McReynolds
6/19/1966 William and
Judy Thompson
6/24/1989 Tony and
Mindie Fisher
6/27/1954 Monroe and
Lucille Kemerling
6/27/1981 Steve and Gail
Peart
Pastor in Delegate Preparation
The Missouri Synod’s
triannual convention will be held in Milwaukee, beginning Saturday, July 9th,
and running until Thursday the 14th. Pastor Eckardt is the Peoria
Circuit Pastoral Delegate, and must travel to Springfield for a Central
Illinois Delegate preparation meeting on Saturday June 18th. There
is no Mass that Saturday evening.
Always Remember Saturdays
Every
Saturday the church needs a crew of volunteers to help with cleaning, yard
work, mowing, etc. If we get a nice group, we even like to enjoy a coffee break
and lunch together sometimes. Join us if you can; the help is always welcome,
and the more, the merrier.
We
are always thankful for the volunteer spirit of our members, who put in so much
of their time and treasure to help maintain the vibrancy of this little
congregation.
The Lighter Side
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 the pastor.
in our parish:
Denny Schoen, Sandra Verplaetse, Emilie Ricknell, Linda
Rowe, Don Murphy, Kris Harden, Mary Hamilton, Emmy Wear
and also:
Anna Rutowicz [granddaughter of Harrises]
Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter]
Jill Matchett [at request of Diana Shreck]
Lorene Foglesong [at request of the Kraklows]
Cathy Van Wassenhove [at request of Sandra Verplaetse]
Shelly DeBord [at request of the Watsons]
Robin Hampton [at request of the Watsons]
Maria Thorndike [at request of the Murphys]
Annie Eastman [at request of Svetlana Meaker]
Emily Corzine [Sarah’s sister]
Nancy Popejoy [relative of Sharon Hartz]
Jeff Autery [friend of Chris Erickson, with cancer]
John Molburg [friend of Sandra Verplaetse]
Dave Colgron [friend of Tom Wells]
Shannon Watson [Jim’s daughter]
Ray Zarvell [at request of Pastor]
Jim Bitting [Judy Thompson’s brother, hosp]
Noah Muske [relative of Kraklows]
Stacie Kendall [at request of Pastor]
Sabrina Armstrong and her friends injured in an
accident
in the military
John Eckardt
Donny Appleman [at request of the Ricknells]
Thomas Kim [at request of the Shrecks]
Michael Creech [at request of the Murphys]
Katherine Creech [at request of the Murphys]
Richard Heiden [at request of the Eckardts]
Carter Wills [grandson of the Thompsons]
Luke Van Landigan [grandson of Dick Melchin]
Jaclyn Alvarez [daughter of Kris Harden]
in trouble
any unborn children in danger
of abortion
those suffering from unrest,
persecution, and imprisonment in the Congo, Tanzania, North Korea, and elsewhere.
See persecution details at the bottom of this blog post.
Altar Guild Notes
• We meet the second Tuesday in June (June 14th)
• Color is GREEN for all weekends in
June.
• No mass on Wednesday, June 8th of
Wednesday June 15th.
• The color is WHITE for Wednesday, June
22nd as we will observe the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (moved
from June 24th)
• The color is RED for Wednesday, June 29TH
for St. Peter and Paul the Apostles’ Day.
• No Mass on Satuday June 4th
or Saturday June 18th.
Tuesday and Wednesday Afternoon at St. Paul’s
Usually
on a Tuesday at 5 p.m. a small group of us meet in Pastor’s office to study
Scripture at “Q and A on Jesus and the Bible.” It’s always a lively
conversation.
No
class, however, on June 7th.
On
Wednesdays at 2:30 the radio program is recorded, and this, too, is an
opportunity to gather and discuss the word of God. Right now we’re looking at I
Peter. Anyone is welcome to join us for this half-hour session.
Preparing for Worship
When you come to church
on Sunday morning, here are some things to bear in mind, that would be helpful
for you to prepare your heart and mind to receive God’s gifts.
·
Arrive early
if you can. Get yourself settled in your pew with plenty of time for
preparation
·
Avoid
chattering with people before worship. The moments before the service are
important moments of preparation, both for them and for you.
·
Pray. Take
the extra time you have allotted yourself to open your hymnal to the short
prayers on page 4; you can also find the collect for the day printed in the
bulletin.
·
Listen to
the prelude. Our organist pays special attention to his preludes he selects, in
hopes of integrating their sound with the hymns chosen for the day. Allow the
music to penetrate your thoughts, to calm you, and to prepare you for your most
important activity of the entire week: worship. The prelude is—and has
historically been—an excellent opportunity for the music of the organ to
prepare mind and heart for worship. With careful listening, the melody line can
be heard running among the organ’s embellishments, in a typical Baroque styling
technique.
Persecution Details
CONGO: Thousands Flee
Militant Islamist Violence
SOURCE(S): WORLD WATCH
MONITOR
19 MAY 2016
Islamist militants are
suspected to have killed between 20 and 40 villagers in the eastern areas of
the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Late in the evening on May 3rd, attackers
carried machetes and axes into a village located within the North Kivu
province. "Between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., the enemy managed to get past army
positions and kill peaceful residents in their homes," reports local
administrator Bernard Amisi Kalonda.
TANZANIA: Third Church
in Recent Burning Spree
SOURCE(S): WORLD WATCH
MONITOR
19 MAY 2016
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