The Old Rugged Cross
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Volume 5, Issue 8 MARCH, 2017 Contact Information From Pastor . St Paul’s Lutheran Church 101 W Chandler Ave Arlington MN 55307 PREPARING FOR LENT Website: www.stpaularlington.com WELS website: www.wels.net “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt Pastor Matthew C. Rauh offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O 507-964-2731 God, you will not despise.” Psalm 51:16-17 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] When you think of Mardi Gras, you think of parades, costumes, feasting, and drinking. Lots of drinking. But did you know that Mardi Gras actually has a religious background (at least Church Assistant Don Koch not the drinking)? Another name for Mardi Gras is “Fat Tuesday.” It is a day you are to eat 507-964-5452 / 507-964-2731 all of the sweets and good stuff because the next day, Ash Wednesday, when you didn’t eat Email: any sweets or desserts until Easter. Over time it turned into an even more self-indulging [email protected] event which we witness in New Orleans. Principal Eric Kaesermann 507-964-2397 For thousands of years God’s people have fasted. Fasting was practiced in the Old Email: Testament. The early Christians fasted. Paul and Barnabas fasted and prayed before [email protected] appointing elders in the churches they founded. The early Christian Church fasted during the season of Lent. Lent is a time when people would reflect upon their own sinfulness. Ashes would be placed on the forehead. Ash reminded the people that one day some pastor I NSIDE T HIS I SSUE would say at their graveside, “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” We die because we are sinners. 1 From Your Pastor To help, Christians would fast. Some would not eat any meat during Lent. Others would avoid any pleasant things like sugar and desserts. Others would fast in other ways, not 2 Spotlight on a Hymn/Lent Season eating after the noon meal, for example. Fasting, denying sweets, a growling stomach, this self-affliction seemed to help the Christian say to the Lord, “I am penitent; please have 3 St Paul’s School News mercy on me.” I remember how my Lutheran grandmother would not bake pies during Lent. 4 Miscellaneous Is there anything you give up for Lent? Don’t worry if you don’t fast. I don’t. My craving for an afternoon Snickers bar is satisfied during Lent, too. Fasting is purely optional. 5 Mission Society Minutes But there is one way we can observe Lent, and on all the weeks and Sundays before and 6 This ‘ That after. David explained it to us in Psalm 51. Offer to God a broken and contrite heart. A broken heart understands it is lost and condemned, useless and hopeless. It is sad, contrite, 7 WELS Commission Evangelism over who we are and what we have done. But the Lord will not turn away a broken and contrite heart. Rather, he knows that is all we can give him. David wrote elsewhere in this Psalm, “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” He washes us clean, as holy as he is, whiter and without any blemish as pure, virgin snow. He does this through Christ, slain for our sins, raised for our justification. There is no better way to prepare. Have a blessed Lent. 1 HYMN THE OLD RUGGED CROSS Yep, this isn’t in our hymnal. But it is a hymn that we hear. It is one of the most popular American hymns that has been written. It was written by a Methodist minister by the name of George Bennard. He was born in 1873 in Youngstown, Ohio. As his father passed away while he was a teenager, he at first became a coal miner to provide for his family. After his marriage, he and his wife worked for the Salvation Army. Later he became a Methodist preacher spending some time in Canada and the northern states and finally in Michigan. He wrote the music first for this hymn. He had a just the first few words of the hymn in mind, “On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross…,” and was somewhat stymied for the rest. He was preaching at a revival when some youths heckled him. After this experience, the words came to him quite freely. It appears this hymn was first sung at the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Pokagon, Michigan on June 13, 1913, by a choir of five, accompanied by a guitar. The hymn was published in 1915. Following the writing of “The Old Rugged Cross,” Bennard ministered another forty years. During this time he wrote about 350 hymns, none of which were as popular as his first one. He passed away at the age of eighty-five on October 9, 1958. He spent the last years of his life a few miles north of Reed City, Michigan. Near his home is a twelve-foot-high cross erected with a plaque saying, “’The Old Rugged Cross’ Home of George Bennard, composer of this beloved hymn. It’s interesting to note that this hymn has been a country gospel favorite since 1952 when Ernest Tubb recorded it for one of his albums. Since then many artists have recorded this hymn including Andy Griffith, Brad Paisley, Chet Atkins, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Oak Ridge Boys, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Alan Jackson, and Ronnie Milsap to name a few. Linda Dose will be singing this hymn for our last Lenten service on April 5. LENTEN SEASON Lent begins on Wednesday, March 1. Service times are 3:45p.m. and 7:00p.m. The overall theme of the sermons this year will be “Repent: Turn to Jesus!” This theme flows from the critical questions that occasioned the Ninety-five Theses and thereby the Lutheran Reformation: What is the essence of repentance? Is repentance the act of “doing penance”-making satisfaction for sin? Or is repentance entirely something else entirely? Repentance, Luther came to see, is God’s gracious gift to us. Luther proclaimed the biblical truth that the believer’s entire life is a life of repentance-a daily return to the saving waters of Baptism. We will have a rotation of area pastors again this year. The schedule is as follows: March 1 Pastor Rauh Turn to Jesus and Not to Yourself March 8 Pastor Reichow, Town Helen Turn to Jesus: He Changes Your Life March 15 Pastor Redfield, Belle Plaine Turn to Jesus: He Longs to Forgive You March 22 Pastor Fredrich,Lutheran Home Turn to Jesus: Do Not Turn Away March 29 Pastor Glowicki, Jordan Turn to Jesus: He Holds the Key to Heaven April 5 Pastor Rauh Turn to Jesus When You Face Temptations 2 Be a Saint Program Updates: The school office is beginning to scholarship donations for the next school year. If there is a congregation member who would like to anonymously sponsor a student’s tuition for the next school year 2017 – 2018 speak St. Paul’s Lutheran School Arlington, MN with Mr. Kaesermann. Open house is coming and “Preparing Children Now and For Eternity” we would like to have funds in place to share with families. Lutheran Elementary School Week: March 13- MARCH 2017 19 is Lutheran Elementary School week. We celebrate the wonderful blessing we have of CES Bingo and Friendship Sunday: Thank you for Christian Education using our elementary school. all those who set-up and cleaned up for Bingo Day. It was a fun time for us all to get together. Thank you to Here is the schedule for the week: all those who brought the delicious food too! Monday 13th: PreK-8th Grand. Day: (Sign up for lunch in narthex) CES Silent Auction: March 1st begins the silent Tuesday 14th: Author Visit 9:00 - Swimming @ basket auction items in the basement of church. SE in afternoon 12:30 Anyone who would like to donate a basket please Wednesday 15th: Mystery Readers all morning bring them to school office. All proceeds this year will Thursday 16th: Parent/Visitor Day (Sign up for go towards non-budgeted school items. If you have lunch in narthex) Sunday 19th: Reading Fair and School serves questions talk with Mrs. Petzel. Basket registration fellowship sheets are in the narthex. School will be collecting soaps, lotions, SAVE, SAVE, SAVE: Thank you for saving these toothpaste, deodorants, diapers, etc. for MN items. They can be dropped off at school or there use Valley Action Council. a collection bucket in the back of church. 1. Country Hearth UPCs Website and Facebook: Keep up-to-date with all 2. Campbell’s (Labels for learning) school events and happenings 3. Our Family UPC labels——> online. www.stpaularlington.com/school 4. Box Tops for Education Upcoming Events: 5. Aluminum Cans 6. Coborns/Cash Wise Receipt Points March 7. Kwik Trip Milk Moola 1 Silent Auction begins 8. Thrivent Choice Dollars 4 Parent Children Basketball Game 3:00 @ school gym 8 CES serves Lenten meal 5:00-6:30 @ church Basketball Note: It has been a fun year for the St. 13-19 LUTHERAN ELEMNTARY SCHOOL WEEK Paul’s basketball teams. Feb 24 our Aboys will begin 19 SERVE FELLOWSHIP PREK-8th SING at MVL 4:30; the girls will begin 5:30 at MLC. Come 28 MSU HISTORY DAY 6-8h graders and cheer us on! The players will finish the year 30 PREK-KINDERGARTEN ROUND UP 6:00 playing their parents on March 4th.