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OCTOBER
2004 ======================================================================================= FROM
THE PASTOR: Lutheran people are taught from little on to ask: “what does this mean?” Lutherans are taught to think about things, talk about things and pray about things to discover the will of God in life. In some ways Lutherans are complicated people for they live with three books – Bible, Catechism, Hymnal – and one Lord. And if this were not enough they live in three worlds: church, state, family. Let’s take a keyword for the reformation, righteousness/ justification, and ask what does this mean? In the three worlds we are placed in by God, to be righteous or justified means to be “ in good standing” or to be a good fit with the world around us. The reformation teaches us that justification or righteousness before God is by faith alone – trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (Romans 3). So at the communion table one is righteous and worthy because of “faith in these words, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins” (Small Catechism). Before Jesus Christ we are believers: Believers are members of the church. When you cross the Peace Bridge into or from Canada the customs people do not ask if you are a believer. They ask a simple question: citizenship? How do you remain a righteous citizen and thus enter the country? Not by faith in Christ but by works – by keeping the law of the land and if you break the law of the land by speeding, for example, you become righteous again by the works of paying and doing good and right acts. We know there are many good, righteous citizens who are not believers and there are sadly some believers who are not good citizens or foolish citizens. Faith does not automatically result in wisdom or responsible citizenship. Now let’s approach the third world the one between church and state – that all people live in. A man returns home after a business trip and goes to a woman’s house and desires to eat of her table and sleep in her bed. She does not ask, like the customs agent, citizenship? She does not ask, like the pastor and church leaders, (con’t. next page) =============================================================================== Salem Lutheran Church10 McClellan Circle
- Buffalo,
New York 14220
Rev. David F. C. Wurster, Ph. D. – Pastor
Lois
L. Jones, Director of Music
Ernelle L. Poinivas, Secretary Stephen
Jarmusz Sr., Custodian
Claire Carlson, ‘Dove’ Editor Rev. Richard E. Blemaster, Pastor Emeritus
e-mail:
salemoncircle@yahoo.com
website: www.salembuffalo.com = = = Misson: SALEM/Peace -
As the Father sent me I send you.
= = = Vision:
Preach – Teach – Heal – doing what Jesus
does (con’t FROM THE PASTOR) believer? She ought to ask, husband? – are you my husband? What makes him righteous, justified, or fit to share her table and bed is loyalty as husband and the commitment of a husband to her and their children if so blessed. As you know this last question is not “politically correct” to ask in our world. This is to the detriment and pain of children, women and also men. Just watch TV for a while and see how many main characters are married. I read somewhere that it is now the policy for the BBC not to use the words husband or wife since it gives the message that marriage of man and woman is a superior relationship to other types of relationships. By the way, we also know that unbelievers can have very good marriages and family life and that some believers have very broken marriages and family life. A Lutheran is a believer, a citizen, a husband, wife, son, daughter or mother, father – a family member that is either male or female and in the passing generations. What does this mean? It means a lifetime of prayer and thought to live well in the three God – instituted worlds of our life. It means we should be serious about attending church and Bible study, learning from our extended family, and going out into our world to learn about politics and citizenship in sports, school, and neighborhood activities. It means thinking about another reformation word – vocation. Vocation is our calling in life to be a son or daughter, a student or teacher, a mayor or policemen, etc. Vocation is where faith, works, and commitment come together in one heart and flow out through the mouth and hands in service and praise. What
does this mean? I’ll share a couple of thoughts. In
the fall of the year lots of people, including
the pastor feel a weight coming down on their shoulders
as schedules get busy. Sometimes the weight gets very
heavy for the devil gets into the equation and whispers,
“You are responsible to save this group or
congregation.” It dawned upon me one day that I cannot
save Salem from even dying if God wanted that. Then I
realized that no leader of Salem can save the
congregation. Yes, leaders can indeed do foolish and
anxious things and make things worse. This is a
liability of leadership. And if leaders get into
“saving” any congregation they will probably make a
contribution toward the stagnation or even death of a
congregation. This also applies to family and country
leadership. Technically this even applies to doctors.
A doctor cannot heal anyone.
She can make mistakes that kill people.
But only God can heal and save life;
a doctor is only the servant in the process.
The fact of the matter is that only Holy Spirit
can birth, nurture and save “anyone” –
congregations included. What does this mean? It means Jesus’ words in Matthew 11 are true: “Come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will given you rest.” Carrying our own backpack is right and proper but if we play god and try to carry his backpack we destroy ourself and the people around us. With this in mind I’ll share one last observation with you. On a normal morning – some have meetings early and are not normal – I come to the office at 9:30 am. By 8:00 am, I’m in my study where I read and study. I usually read some Old Testament, New Testament and a Psalm. Sometimes I look in the Greek or Hebrew texts. After time for prayer and mediation I came to the office where things can be busy. Normally I work longer days at the beginning of the week so things can slow down a bit at the end. Normally, I take Saturdays off. Notice I used the work, normal; sometimes where there is a crisis or extra things go on, normal fades out of the picture. That’s part of the vocation of the pastor. It’s a bit like canoeing on a river – there’s the white water part where things are fast and furious and then there are the calm places in the river where there is time to look and listen. Peace, Pastor Wurster
SUNDAY
MORNING ADULT
BIBLE CLASS Faith, Stories and Prayers Making peace with head, heart, tongue
and both hands Mission:
Peace/ Salem – As the Father sent me, I send you. Vision:
Preach, Teach, Heal/Care – doing what Jesus
does
Lutherans are people with One Lord and 3 books
(Bible, Catechism, Hymnal)
Hymns/ Prayers
Each week we will choose a hymn, prayer and/or
psalm
to begin the class. Bring a favorite to class and
we will
use it.
Date
Bible
Catechism
Oct. 3 Guest
Rev. Robert Rickus
Oct. 10
Jeremiah 5/6
Commandments 9-10/ Creed 1
Oct. 17 Jeremiah 7
Creed 2
Oct.
24
Jeremiah 8/9
Creed 3
Oct.
31
Jeremiah 10/11
Lord’s Prayer Intro. & Petition 1 BIBLE STUDY A Bible Study is at 1 pm on Tuesdays led by Sally McAlpine. All are welcome. A Bible Study led by Ruth Carr is on Thursdays at 9:30 am. All are welcome. ***************************************************************************************** SALEM
CHURCH PICNIC
With
not too many great Sundays, weather wise this summer,
we sure picked a nice day for the annual church
picnic. On
Sunday, August 8th
we gathered for an outdoor service and then
enjoyed a BBQ chicken dinner on the church grounds with
numerous side dishes and desserts.
My thanks to all who brought a dish to pass.
There was a bouncy house for the children and some baskets for the adults to win. We even caught two people with their hand in the candy jar – having a tie on the guessing of how many were in the jar! Many thanks to all the people that helped to make this a nice day for all who attended including: Fred Bartz, Monica Thomas, Nancy Thomas and Craig Miller (and his helpers) who spent the afternoon at the grill cooking our chicken. We had a great turn out selling over 130 dinners. Hopefully even more of our members will plan to attend this event next year.
Thanks again Mark Thomas In the Footsteps of St. Paul
Rev.
David and Ruth Wurster invite you to join them on a tour
to
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SUNDAY |
LITURGY |
1st Hymn |
Sermon Hymn |
Communion Hymns |
Last Hymn |
Text & Title |
|
Oct. 3 Pentecost 18 (green) LWML |
LW 158 Word Communion Gospel Procession |
LW 272 – “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” |
LW 509 – “Amazing Grace” |
SH 121 – “There Is A Balm in Gilead;” SH 102 –“My Jesus, I Love Thee;” SH 1 – “Alleluia” |
SH 111 – “Our Great Savior” |
Rev. Robert Rickus – Guest Pastor “If the Truth Be Told” LWML Sunday |
|
Oct. 10 Pentecost 19 (green) |
LW 158 Word |
LW 435 – “All People That on Earth Do Dwell” |
LW 438 –“Earth and All Stars” |
|
LW 166 –“Holy Spirit, Light Divine” |
Luke 16:19-31 – “Just Can’t Hire Jesus” |
|
Oct. 17 Pentecost 20 (green) |
LW 158 Communion |
LW 312 – “Jesus Shall Reign” |
LW 398 – “God of Grace and God of Glory” |
SH 32 – “Prayer of St. Francis;” SH 41 – “As the Deer;” SH 42 – “Break Thou The Bread of Life” |
SH 102 –“My Jesus, I Love Thee” |
Luke 17:1-10 – “Freedom of God” |
|
Oct. 24 Pentecost 21 (green) Oct. 31 Reformation (red) |
LW 158 Word LW 158 Word |
|
LW 394 – “Son of God, Eternal Savior” LW 297 – “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” |
SH 17 – “I Love You, Lord;” SH 20 – “Kum Ba Yah;” SH 29 – “Oh, How He Loves You and Me” |
LW 169 –“Come O Almighty King” LW 296 – “I Love Your Kingdom, Lord” |
Luke 17:11-19 – “Alien Vision” John 8:31-36 – “The Word of Freedom” |
Lutheran
‘30’ Broadcast Schedule:
34TH
YEAR – 2004-5
Each
Sunday at 9:00 am on WXRL (1300 AM), Lancaster, NY
Oct.
3 – Trinity, West
Seneca – “But How About…?” – 1 Timothy 2:3-4
Oct.
10 – Salem, Springville – “This is What it will
Take” – Luke 16:30
Oct.
17 – St. Luke, Cheektowaga – “So, Whom do you
Believe? – 2 Timothy 1:12
Oct.
24 – St. Mark, North Tonawanda – “This is What You
should do” – Romans 3:28
Oct. 31 – Redemeer, Colden – Reformation Theme – Guest: Dr. Cameron MacKenzie
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