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ST. JOHN'S LUTHERAN CHURCH NOVEMBER 2008
20801 Forest View Dr.
Lannon, WI 53046
Phone: 262-251-2910
Fax: 262-251-3612
www.stjohnslannon.org
Pastor Koschnitzke:
gkoschnitzke@stjohnslannon.org
Pastor Duquaine:
jduquaine@stjohnslannon.org
Mr. Brands:
dbrands@stjohnslannon.org
From the Pastor’s Desk
Mrs. Urbanek:
curbanek@stjohnslannon.org or “Turkey Day or God for our physical day. The real issue
office@stjohnslannon.org and spiritual well- is what kind of stew-
Thanksgiving being. If God were to ards are we-- grate-
Day?” withdraw his hand of ful, generous and
blessing we would not productive or selfish,
Mission Statement If you were to ask peo- enjoy the bounty that stingy and non-
ple what they thought we now have. productive???
As a family united in faith
through the Holy Scrip- of when you mention
tures, we exist to give “November” some Most citizens of our Perhaps a better way
praise, honor and glory to might say “Turkey Day” country observe a na- to describe steward-
the Triune God, to nur- but many more would tional day of thanks- ship is with a defini-
ture the family of believ- probably say giving during Novem- tion like this: “God’s
ers through God’s Word “Thanksgiving Day.” ber. They may refer redeemed stewards,
and to reach out to the Early in the history of to it more as “Turkey in cooperation with
lost with the Gospel of our country most peo- Day” but they are at and encouragement
salvation as we await the least somewhat grate- from fellow re-
ple were directly in-
joys of heaven. ful for what they en- deemed stewards,
volved with agricul-
ture—farming and gar- joy. Christians are to freely and joyfully
dening. By November be moved with special manage God’s
Inside this issue: most, if not all, of the gratitude to celebrate blessings of life
harvest was safely “Thanksgiving Day” and life’s resources
Advent Tea 2 stored away and there every day of the year for HIS purposes.”
would be enough to as they pray “Give us
Church Library 3 feed them and their this day our daily Armed with a defini-
animals. It was a time bread.” tion like this we can
Thanksgiving 4 for thanksgiving! say with meaning the
Proclamation The truth is that we words of Dr. Martin
Message from WELS 5 Today most American are stewards of all the Luther’s explanation
President citizens are not directly blessings that God of the petition “Give
India Mission Update 6 involved in agriculture, has showered upon us this day our daily
yet we are all depend- us, the best spiritual bread: “God cer-
ent upon the fruits of blessings of forgive- tainly gives daily
agriculture for our ness of sins, life and bread to everyone
daily bread. Of course, salvation that we have without our
the real truth is that in Jesus as well as all prayers, even to all
we are all dependent the physical blessings wicked people, but
upon the blessings of that he generously we pray in this pe-
provides to us each
November Page 2
tition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with
thanksgiving.”
With our Moving Forward Together by Grace Campaign in full gear, I would like to share
with you a thanks-living thought from one of our members, Donna Kroening:
“I was fortunate to be blessed with a Christian home as a child and those blessings car-
ried me into adulthood with my own family. Our church life has always been our number
one priority. When Al was unemployed for 2 years when our
children were very small it was our Church that was always
there for us, helping us not only spiritually but also finan-
cially. Al and I are at a point in our life that we have been
richly blessed in so many different ways. It is our continuing
prayer that we can continue to give back those blessing in our
time, talents and finances to our congregation.”
The Lord bless each of you from his unlimited supply of grace!
Pastor Koschnitzke
Keeping Christ as the center of Christmas
Seeing Christ in the decorations of Christmas
Praising Christ with the carols of Christmas
Worshiping Christ in the joy of Christmas
All confirmed women of the congregation are invited to attend the Candlelight Advent Tea held in the church fellowship
hall in the lower level. Come and start the Advent season with fellowship, songs, and special refreshments. Reach out
and bring your guests (women) and friends to the tea. It will be held on Sunday, November 30, from 2:00-4:00 p.m.
To reserve a place for you and your guests, please sign up on the sheets in the mailbox area.
If you are willing to bring tea sandwiches or tea desserts for the occasion, also sign up on the Advent Tea Food Sign Up
in the mailbox area.
ALL FOOD MUST BE AT THE LOWER LEVEL CHURCH KITCHEN BY 11:30 AM. IT IS IMPERATIVE TO HAVE THE
FOOD THERE EARLY SO THE HOSTESSES CAN PREPARE.
If you have any questions, please contact Sandy Lemke (262) 250-0748; (262) 251-4145; email: sandy.lemke@wlc.edu
or Donna Dale (262) 251-8905; email: wiscograd@hotmail.com
Start Advent out right – Keep Christ in
Christmas !
November 2008 Page 3
Items of Importance
grace; salvation in Jesus.
Off the Shelf Church Cleaning
How thankful we can be for
The church is in need of more
volunteers for campus ministries! They are a
cleaning on the haven for young adults in a
Check out the Mar- Wednesday morn- faith challenging environment.
riage, Family, Parent- ing teams and the
ing section of the Wednesday afternoon/
evening teams. If you can
church library! spare about 2 hours a month, Wise Sayings - Do You Get
please consider volunteering. the Message?
Topic: Look in: There is a sign up sheet on "What goes around comes
Dating 204 the kiosk. Please put your around." "Laughter is the best
Pre-Marriage 208 name, telephone number, and medicine." "Spare the rod,
Personalities/ time of day that you can help. spoil the child." These and
Humor 220 You can contact Dennis Wilm other wise sayings had their
General Marriage 235 at 262-372-4708 or Ginny Ol- beginning in the Bible book of
Men 245 son at 262-251-1131, if you Proverbs. Beginning in Octo-
Women 247 have questions. ber 2008 six WELS preachers
Marriage Crisis 251 will explore and explain what
Divorce 253 LWMS Mission Corner God says about these sayings,
Grandparenting 257 Outreach to College and the benefit of applying
Pregnancy 304 Students them with Christian wisdom.
Infertility 306 The publicity flier showed a The sermons will be available
Infants 314 pastor in an at www.
Toddlers 324 inflated sumo messagefromthemaster.com.
Preschoolers 334 wrestler cos-
Children 344 tume. Curi- Message from the Master is a
Sex Education 402 ous WELS women gathered at WELS sermon series ministry
Drugs 460 the fall LWMS Rally on Satur- that offers internet and CD
Teens 470 day, October 18, and learned audio as an option for listen-
Parenting Crisis 510 about Milwaukee area cam- ing. Anyone around the world
Discipline 576 pus ministry. Pastor Limmer may receive the sermons on
General Parenting 602 (no longer in costume) and the web site, on CD, e-mailed
Special Needs 714 Patrick Behringer from Point as a document, or printed and
Blended Families 730 of Grace shared what is being mailed to your home. For
Single Parenting 742 done at the campus chapel to those interested in further
Dads 832 share Jesus within the uni- meditation, supplemental Bi-
Moms 842 versity community which in- ble studies are also available.
Family Fun 850 cludes an international com- Visit www.
Adult Children 861 munity as well. Through Pas- messagefromthemaster.com
tor Limmer, God’s Word is for more information or call
touching souls and a congre- 414-259-0654. The program
gation is being established. also broadcasts its messages
The message is proclaimed in in Milwaukee each Sunday on
ways geared to students, yet WJYI-AM Joy 1340. A musical
grounded in the Word to introduction begins at 7 a.m.
bring souls to the point of before the message is aired at
7:15 a.m.
November 2008 Page 4
George Washington’s Thanksgiving
Proclamation And also that we may then unite in most humbly
offering our prayers and supplications to the
New York, 3 October 1789 great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech
him to pardon our national and other transgres-
By the President of the United sions--to enable us all, whether in public or pri-
States of America: a Proclama- vate stations, to perform our several and relative
tion. duties properly and punctually -- to render our
national government a blessing to all the people,
Whereas it is the duty of all Na- by constantly being a Government of wise, just,
tions to acknowledge the provi- and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully
dence of Almighty God, to obey his executed and obeyed--to protect and guide all
will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as
implore his protection and favor--and whereas have shewn [sic] kindness onto us) and to bless
both Houses of Congress have by their joint them with good government, peace, and con-
Committee requested me `to recommend to the cord -- To promote the knowledge and practice
People of the United States a day of public of true religion and virtue, and the encrease [sic]
thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by ac- of science among them and us -- and generally
knowledging with grateful hearts the many sig- to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of tem-
nal favors of Almighty God especially by afford- poral prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
ing them an opportunity peaceably to establish a
form of government for their safety and happi- Given under my hand at the City of New-York
ness.' the third day of October in the year of our Lord
1789.
Now therefore I do recommend and assign
Thursday the 26th day of November next to be George Washington
devoted by the People of these States to the
service of that great and glorious Being, who is Thanksgiving History link – www.
the beneficent Author of all the good that was, allabouthistory.org/thankgiving-history.htm
that is, or that will be -- That we may then all
unite in rendering unto him our sincere and
humble thanks -- for his kind care and protection
of the People of this Country previous to their
becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold
mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his
Providence which we experienced in the tran-
quility, union, and plenty, which we have since
enjoyed--for the peaceable and rational manner,
in which we have been enabled to establish
constitutions of government for our safety and
happiness, and particularly the national One
now lately instituted -- for the civil and religious
liberty with which we are blessed; and the
means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful
knowledge; and in general for all the great and
various favors which he hath been pleased to
confer upon us.
November 2008 Page 5
From the Office of the President (Wisconsin Ev. Lutheran Synod)
Dear Members of St. John’s Lutheran Church,
The Apostle Paul had appealed to the Christian in Corinth to gather a special offering to
assist needy Christians in Jerusalem. He appealed to them not on the basis of need alone,
but reminded them of their opportunity to show their love and thanks to God for all he
had done for them. With Christian joy and thanks they responded. Paul wrote to them, “Because
of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that ac-
companies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and
with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the sur-
passing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:13-
15)
As you know, in the summer of 2007 our synod was facing daunting financial challenges. It
seemed that limited financial resources would require cutbacks in a number of vital areas. But at
that convention, your delegates resolved not to retreat from those challenges. Trusting in God and
I his promises, they resolved not to scale back, but to expand your synod’s efforts in sharing the
gospel at home and abroad, and to maintain our system of training workers to go into those ripe
harvest fields. In order to do that, the convention added $2.6 million to the second year of the
synod’s biennial budget (2008-09). This decision was made in spite of the projections that there
would not be sufficient funds to do this. Instead, trusting in God, the delegates moved forward
with the confidence that God, working through his powerful gospel, would move his people to re-
spond with faith, with joy, and with commitment.
The Lord has moved you to do just that. In the calendar year of 2007, Congregational Mission Of-
ferings increased by 6%, even though commitments indicated that only a 1.4% increase was ex-
pected. In addition, I just received the results for the synod’s budget year which ended in June.
Those results show that God has moved you to respond with great generosity. Many congrega-
tions made significantly larger commitments for the work of the synod, and, in most cases, met or
even exceeded those commitments. Gifts from individuals also increased significantly. The synod
ended the year with a budgetary surplus of $3.4 million. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
As we all praise God, I would also like to thank you. My thanks focus not so much on your con-
gregation’s generosity (which is real) or on financial reports (which contain very good news). My
thanks center on how your support for the work of your synod reflects the faith and commitment
that has been worked in you by the good news of God’s forgiveness in Jesus. Thank you for hear-
ing God’s Word. Thank you for responding to the grace of God. Thank you for recognizing the
wonderful things that can be done when God’s people walk and work together to spread the mes-
sage of Christ.
I am confident that the positive results from last year will not lead anyone to say, “Now we can re-
lax.” Much of the surplus I mentioned earlier may be needed in this second year of the synod’s
budget (the year in which the convention added the $2.6 million and in which $500,000 was re-
stored to Home Missions for planting new congregations). In view of the past blessings from God,
I’m confident that congregations will meet or even exceed their support pledged for 2008. More
important, the synod’s commitment to expand mission and ministry efforts requires the ongoing
generous support of God’s people. I knew that these difficult economic times will present real chal-
lenges to your congregation. But I am also confident that our gracious God will provide you with
the ability to support his important work.
Thank you again. And join me in thanking God everyday for his amazing grace and blessings in
Jesus.
Serving with you in Christ,
Mark Schroeder, WELS President
ST. JOHN'S LUTHERAN CHURCH
NOVEMBER 2008
Smile for the Month
Pastor Larry had been watching too much "Seinfeld."
India Mission Update
as of October 31, 2008
India Mission Collection
$15,000
Goal
1
$7,500.00
Collected
$0.00 $2,000.0 $4,000.0 $6,000.0 $8,000.0 $10,000. $12,000. $14,000. $16,000.
0 0 0 0 00 00 00 00
