Lutheran Church of the Redeemer THE LAMP Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105 Monthly Publication February 2021 Table of Contents Over the last 500 years the English language has been the uni- IN THIS ISSUE versal tongue and offi cial language in world politi cs. In many Message from Pastor ............. 1 parts of the globe, it has also become the primary or secondary Stewardship Report ...............2 language of the people. What propelled the English language Stewardship Thought ........2 -3 to such popularity? The rise of England to world power and Prayer of the Month ...............3 the global colonizati on is one logical explanati on. What is of- Music Ministry .........................3 ten overlooked is the power of England’s Bible, The King James Women’s Ministry ...................4 Bible of 1611. This Bible has infl uenced how we speak and the High School Youth...................5 phrases we use. Much of what we say can be traced back to the King James Bible. FOG .............................................5 This Lent our theme for the Wednesday services will be the “Expressions From the Men’s Ministry .........................6 Bible.” Library Lights ..........................6 Shelby NEXT .............................. 7 Feb. 17th: Ash Wednesday, “Ashes to Ashes” (of course) Feb. 24: “For Christ’s Sake.” Memorials ................................. 7 March 3: “A Litt le Bird Told Me” Scampers Camp ......................8 March 10: “Put it on My Tab.” Lenten Schedule ......................9 March 17: “As Good As Dead” Seder Meal ...............................9 March 24: “Stone’s Throw” Counseling Corner.................10 Upcoming Events ...................10 Intermixed throughout the sermons will be other sayings from the Bible. For ex- Sanctuary Decommission.....11 ample, “at wits end”, “gnash your teeth”, “God as my witness”, “fuel the fi re”, “the New Members .........................12 writi ng on the wall”, etc. Bible Study ..............................12 Wednesday Worship ..............12 I hope that this Lenten journey will be good for our souls and help prepare us for Pastoral Acts ..........................13 the Easter Celebrati on of our Lord’s Resurrecti on. Flower Charts .........................13 Advertisers ....................... 13-15 God’s Blessings, Birthdays .................................16 Pastor Randy Lutheran Church of the Redeemer Stewardship Thought 1800 West Maple Road • Birmingham, MI 48009 Phone: 248-644-4010 • Fax: 248-644-1471 e-mail: [email protected] The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod website: www.redeemerbirmingham.org Facebook: Lutheran Church of the Redeemer LCMS Stewardship Ministry Our mission is to faithfully communicate the love of God, nurture people in their Christian faith, and equip people “I am not commanding you, but I want to test to bring the love of Jesus to others. the sincerity of your love by comparing it with Rev. Randall J. Schlak (ext.119) ................... Senior Pastor the earnestness of others. For you know the Gary Priskorn (ext.123) ......... Dir. Men’s & Senior Ministry grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he Kitty Sweitzer (ext.111) .................Dir. Women’s Ministry was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so Nicole Olds (ext 124) ............... Dir. of Children’s Ministry that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians Steve SeGraves (ext.129).......................Director of Music 8:8-9). Laura Vowell (ext 121) ............Dir. of Family Life/Middle School/ ..............................................................Confirmation/Outreach Without commands or even arm-twisting, St. Paul encourag- Gia Scheidt (ext.120) ................... Director of High School Eric Wisniewski (ext.120) .........Assistant Dir. of High School es, even challenges, the Church in Corinth to demonstrate the Kim Davis ...................................Director of Fellowship sincerity of their faith by their generosity in giving. He does Jim Compton ............................ Handbell Choir Director this because giving generously is a gift of the Spirit given to us Pat Raezler (ext.126) ...............Dir. of Westmaple Nursery through the Gospel. Rose Kiehle (ext.116) ............................ Office Manager Pam Tyndall (ext 118).........Professional Staff/Office Liaison St. Paul wrote: “But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in Therese Scheidt (ext. 114) ...................Office Coordinator speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love Laura Jones (ext. 110) ..................................Accountant for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving” (2 Corin- Counseling Center ................................ (248) 568-6040 thians 8:7). In other words, just as we grow in faith and speech Our resident counselor’s: Dr. Sandy Pourcho 248.568.6040; and knowledge of eternal things by the Holy Spirit through the Dr. Travis Knight 248.677.1090; Anna Lewis 248.224.0383 Word of God, so also do we grow in giving from the same Spirit Fred Suczynski (ext.113) ..................Building Maintenance Rev. Milton Schemm ............................. Pastor Emeritus through the same Word. Vicar James Greenwalt ........................................ Vicar The problem is that the grace of generosity often grows cold in Worship Schedule us. It’s not so much that we stop giving, but we don’t put it first. Sundays - 8:00am (Chapel), *9:00, 10:30am (Sanctuary) We treat it like all the other bills that must be paid. It becomes Mondays - 7:00pm (Chapel) a chore, just one more thing to check off a list of things to do. * Livestreamed service That empties it of its spiritual power and robs us of the joy that Communion Schedule Christ and the Scriptures assign to it. 1st & 3rd Sundays - Sunday services; 9:00, 10:30am On top of that, since this generosity is linked to faith and knowl- 2nd, 4th & 5th Sundays - 8:00am Sunday and Monday 7:00pm edge of divine things, a lack of excelling in giving is sure sign that our faith and knowledge of God are under attack as well. Worship Attendance 600 Thus St. Paul points to the foundation of generosity: the gen- 500 erosity of Christ Himself. Even though He was rich, He became 400 poor so that we who are poor might become rich. Thus, the incarnation, suffering, and death of our Lord on the cross is the 300 reason, source, and driving force for our generosity in giving to 200 the church. (continued on page 3) 100 0 Stewardship Report 3-Jan 4-Oct 6-Sep 6-Dec 1-Nov 8-Nov 10-Jan 17-Jan 24-Jan Income and Expenses Dec 2020 Dec 2019 11-Oct 18-Oct 25-Oct 13-Sep 20-Sep 27-Sep 13-Dec 20-Dec 27-Dec 15-Nov 22-Nov 29-Nov livestream public Income received 283,159 229,863 Budget requirements 251,625 259,772 One view is defined as someone (or a family) watching any portion or all of the livestream worship during its LIVE session or watching General fund expenses 155,166 159,765 after it is recorded and posted to Livestream. This number counts YTD Fiscal-year income 725,251 770,673 those who watch it twice or log-out or log back in as two views. YTD Fiscal-year expenses 593,192 631,816 2 FEBRUARY Lamp MUSIC MINISTRY We extend a warm Redeemer welcome to Michele Fred- ericks and Julie Noe, our new singers in the Chancel Choir Quartet with Max Trombley and Steve SeGraves. We thank them for using their voices to enhance the worship experience at Redeemer. Julie is filling in for Ali- son until February 28th, and Michele will be with us up until the summer. Please make them feel at home! Julie Noe has been a kindergarten Michele is a soprano who received her teacher for the past 20 years. When Bachelor of Music degree from Wayne she is not sharing her love of music State University and a Master of Music with her children, she enjoys shar- degree in Vocal Performance from the ing it with adults. Julie sang in the University of Toledo, studying with Bar- oldies band, “Moose and Da Sharks” bara Rondelli-Perry. She has also earned for over 25 years and currently sings a Master in Education from Marygrove in a couple of other bands. She has College, including Teaching Certification sung in various vocal ensembles, lov- in Music K-12 and Elementary education K-5. ing vocal jazz the most! She performs in local communi- Michele has been a guest soloist with symphonies and or- ty theatre shows and is a soloist at several churches. Julie chestras. Michele also has been a guest clinician for mas- also sings in “Velvet,” a Christmas caroling trio, which also ter classes at universities and has been a finalist in presti- features Redeemer’s very own Alison Ristovski and Kate gious vocal competitions. She is also featured soloist of DeBoer. Julie has a 10 year old daughter who enjoys sing- the internationally award-winning Detroit Concert Choir. ing (and dancing) as well! Julie is thrilled to be part of the Singing pop, jazz, rock, and R&B, Michele is the lead vocal- Redeemer community! She will be stepping in on Alto for ist for Mainstream Drive, and formally sang back-up vocals Alison until late February. for the Kimmie Horne Show. She currently resides in Royal Oak, where she remains a freelance soloist, and teaches music in the public school system. (continued from page 2) And since Christ who was rich became poor so that we might be rich in His grace—of which generous giving is part—so we also who are rich in His grace can excel in pressing His grace into service toward the gra- cious work of the church. Pay attention to what you give to the church so that you may excel at it. And if you find that your heart has grown cold or indifferent toward it, immerse yourself in God’s Word. Read it at home. Attend Bible Class. Hear and listen to it preached in the Divine Service. Be reminded of what Christ has done for you in His incarnation, suffering, and death.