special ministries stewardship of talents preschool end of ... · or back in civilian life, through...

June 2018

Inside this issue:Special Ministries page 1Stewardship of Talents page 3Preschool End of the Year Blessings page 6The Trip to Israel page 10

St. Peter Lutheran Church Mission StatementAs people saved by God’s undeserved love, we want to share the Word of forgiveness and tell of Jesus Christ. Remembering Jesus’ love, we seek to strengthen and serve each other and our neighbors daily, acting through faith in our Lord Jesus, as guided by the Holy Spirit.

3461 Merle Ave., Modesto, CA 95355Phone: 209-551-0563 FAX: 209-551-8827

Website: stpetermodesto.org

Pastor Daniel Schroeder(email: [email protected])

Sunday Morning Worship: 9:00 am

Bible Class and Sunday School: 10:30 am

Saturday Evening Worship: 6:00pm (First Saturday of the month)Slate, April 2018 Edition

On the CoverEven when watching the entertaining antics of a squirrel stealing the food from a bird feeder we can see the marvel of God’s hand in his creation. It takes only a short time of observation to notice the agility of such an animal. Over time these wild animals become so friendly that they will stop and stare at you for a while before continuing their thievery. They can even give you looks that appear to say they deserve the treat and expect you to provide it. Then thinking beyond this we can remember with thankful hearts that the Lord cares for us, his children, more than these small creatures.

Slate Page 1 June 2018

St. Peter Lutheran Church Mission StatementAs people saved by God’s undeserved love, we want to share the Word of forgiveness and tell of Jesus Christ. Remembering Jesus’ love, we seek to strengthen and serve each other and our neighbors daily, acting through faith in our Lord Jesus, as guided by the Holy Spirit.

Did you know that the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod has over 360,000 members in 1300 congregations located in the United States and Canada? With that many people involved in our church body, there is bound to be lots of interesting things happening throughout the synod. If you have ever browsed through the synod’s website, at wels.net, you would certainly have run across listings of special ministries carried out by called workers and lay members. Three areas of ministry of our synod that I found interesting were Military Services, Mental Health, and Prison Ministry.

With Memorial Day and the Fourth of July approaching, we think of the freedoms that we have because of our country’s military. We are thankful for those people who serve in the military and risk their lives for our country. Our synod is working on ways to support them and their families, while they are on active duty, in the reserves,

or back in civilian life, through WELS Military Services and Lutheran Military Service Group. This special ministry makes use of WELS chaplains, a ministry-by-mail program, and support groups.

Another special area of ministry for our synod is that of Mental Health. The synod has developed a website called “Freedom for the Captives” which seeks to provide comfort and help to those Christians who have suffered abuse. Another website that the synod has created is “Conquerors through Christ” which is designed to help those struggling with addiction to pornography. And a third resource the synod has put together to help with mental health is a list of WELS/ELS Christian Therapists who do Biblical counseling to work with depression, schizophrenia, and other mental health concerns.

Prison Ministry done by our synod is one of the largest prison ministries in the country with work being done

Special Ministries

Special Ministries continued on page 2


at over 1300 facilities in the United States. WELS Prison Ministry includes Bible study correspondence courses, a pen pal program, face-to-face ministry, and mentoring.

It’s great to see these special ministries coming from our synod and knowing that money that we send to the synod from our church offerings makes us active partners in sharing the gospel in these ways. Please look for more details about these special ministries and others at wels.net. Deacon Schroeder

Special Ministries continued from page 1

Youth Group and PioneersIn May, Carol Coutrakis helped us put together flowers and vases for our mothers for Mother’s Day. She had this great idea of using a “recipe”, which was a series of pictures, to help guide the kids through each step of the project. The kids had a great time and created some beautiful arrangements to bring home for mom.

Pioneers and Youth Group will take a break this summer and resume in the fall.


When many people think of Stewardship, they usually think of it as a Christian duty to make sure they put some percentage of their hard-earned income into the offering plate on Sunday morning. But is this what Stewardship is really all about? When we look at Holy Scripture, we see something rather different when it comes to Christian Stewardship.

Looking at Matthew 25:14-30 we see Jesus telling a parable about a man who entrusts a certain sum of money to each of his servants to manage while he is gone. Upon his return, two of the servants ended up doubling the money, while another servant buried his entrusted portion. The master of course commends the first two servants, and he has the money entrusted to the third servant taken away from him. The money in this parable is the estate of the master (who is God), and he is giving it to his servants (us as Christians) to manage in His absence. But what is God’s “estate?” We know that God certainly has no need for money, but what is it that God wants us as Christians, His servants, to manage and care for?

His Church. We, as God’s dear children, are entrusted by God to take care of His highly-valued estate: one another. Of course this is something that we can most certainly not do with our own strength. It is because of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, His forgiving of our sins solely because of His grace alone, that we can even begin to understand what it means to take care of His Church. He also doesn’t leave us to figure it out on our own, He gives us His Word and equips us by giving us gifts in order to be good Stewards of His kingdom, the kingdom of righteousness. We discussed one of these gifts in last month’s article about the time God gives us to use wisely. This time, I would like to mention a second gift that God gives us: our talents, or abilities.

Stewardship of Talents

Stewardship continued on page 4


These talents, or abilities, may be things such as having compassion on those who are hurting by visiting them, helping a member of the church with moving into a new home, or even teaching/leading a Bible study. Whatever your talents or abilities are, God has given them to you so that you would use them in order to build up His Church as one body with many diverse members. St. Paul speaks to this in 1 Corinthians 12:13,14, “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of the one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many.” Of course, we do need to point out that God is the only one who truly keeps His church in the one true faith, but we as members of His Church are tasked with helping to fulfill other needs, both material and spiritual.

Stewardship is not just about money and how wisely we manage it. It is far more than that. Stewardship is managing the Church, using the gifts, or resources, given to us by God Himself all the while knowing that Christ is the one who certainly keeps His Church sustained in His Word. With this we can agree with the Apology of the Augsburg Confession where it says about the Church: “This Church alone is the called Christ’s body, which Christ renews, sanctifies, and governs by His Spirit.” - Jared Johnson, Stewardship Elder

Stewardship continued from page 3

Thank you to all the members of St. Peter for your support and friendship. It has been a great blessing to be a part of the St. Peter family and the ministry here. One of the cool things that I will miss is how you show your love and excitement through clapping when there are baptisms and confirmations. Please keep us in your prayers as you will be in ours. May God continue to bless you as you encourage one another and reach out to others with the good news of our Savior!

Deacon Schroeder, Rachel, Grace, Maddie, David, and Andrew

Congratulations

Thank You


Congratulationsto our

High School and College graduates of 2018!

Those graduating from High School:

Tyrus Bulot is a graduate of Valley Charter High School. (Next year Tyrus will attend North Carolina State University.)

Taylor Coleman is a graduate of Enochs High School. (Next year Taylor will attend California State University, Stanislaus.)

Eamon Henderson is a graduate of Beyer High School. (Eamon plans on enlisting in the military the following year.)

Those graduating from College:

Jared Johnson is a graduate of California State University, Stanislaus with a Bachelor of Science in Physics. (Jared plans to enroll at Martin Luther College the following year for pastoral training.)

Kylah Schroeder is a graduate of Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN with a Bachelor of Science in Education. (Kylah and her fiancé Ethan Schultz, also a 2018 MLC graudate, will be married on June 16 in Watertown, WI. This next year they will live in Shenyang, China, as part of the WELS Friends of China program. Pastor Peter Janke will be their pastor in China. The following year Ethan will enroll at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary for training to become a pastor, and Kylah will look to be assigned as a teacher in the Milwaukee, WI area.)

May the Lord bless and guide these graduates as they continue into the future. Please keep them in your prayers. Ethan Schultz and Kylah Schroeder

at graduation


Prechool End of the Year BlessingsThe last month of school has been a busy one! The preschool children made scones, served tea and sang songs for their mothers at our annual Mother’s Day Tea Party. This was a special time to give thanks to God for giving us moms that love and take care of us.

During May, I met with the parents for parent/teacher conferences. The conference involved going through the development (social, emotional, physical, academic and spiritual) of their child. Each child had a binder that contained observations made by the teacher and aides through note taking, photos and work samples. These observations showed the developmental stage of each child along their path of learning. The parent/teacher conferences also provided a wonderful opportunity to talk about the importance of continuing to grow in God’s Word.

As mentioned in the notes and news, this year the preschool gave devotions and Bibles to the departing preschool children. The reception of these devotions was very positive. Parents loved the devotion, and many said they would use it often!

The last event in May was our end-of-the-year program called “Moving On With Jesus.” We have 10 students returning, 8 students moving on to kindergarten, 4 going to Transitional Kindergarten and 1 child moving out of town. With many of our preschoolers going different directions, we like to send them off knowing that Jesus will be with them always. Our program’s play,


David and Goliath, focused on how God is always with us and we never have to be afraid. Each child received a certificate. Pastor gave a special message about the importance of continuing to stay connected to Jesus by being in His Word. The program was ended by watching a slide show of our progress through the year.

Throughout all the May events, God has poured out His blessings! Please continue to pray that our preschool may be a blessing to many more preschool children and their families. Thank you for all your support this year with your prayers, gifts, time, and talents!

Prechool End of the Year Blessings


“Escaping the Deathtraps” (Words Bringing Wisdom Facebook Study Group)With so many different Christian churches just in the Modesto area, we might wonder if there is a big difference. Using a story, Escaping the Deathtraps is a book that will help us answer questions like why does there have to be so many different kinds of churches? Does it matter that they teach different things? Read about 30 pages a week, respond to questions in a private Facebook group, and grow in understanding what can be a difficult topic. To participate, you will need to purchase a copy of this book from Northwestern Publishing House. Ask Pastor Schroeder to be admitted to this private Facebook group. You can still catch up and join in, if you’d like.

Christianity 101—People Close to God (Sunday Morning Bible Information Class)

It’s always good to get back to the basics, especially the Bible. It gives you a foundation on which to build. It’s a foundation that we want to shore up. If you haven’t taken a class in 5 years or more, it will be a good review. For those who are interested in possibly joining St. Peter, this class helps them to check out what we teach. (This study meets on Sundays at 10:30am, in the Fellowship Hall.)

Thursday Morning Bible StudyThis Bible study will not meet during the summer months, but will resume in September.

Opportunities to Grow in God’s Word

2nd Quarter Adult Bible Studies


James: How Faith Works (Monday Lay-Led Bible study)What’s the relationship between faith and good works? Often we are tempted to say that it is not really imporatant what we believe but that we do good for others. Others try to pull us in the opposite direction: it is not what we do that counts but only that we believe the right things. James in his epistle sets the record straight. In a small group setting, grow in understanding this New Testament book (This study meets twice a month at the home of Kevin & Monica Hejnal; check the calendar for meeting dates.)

Peter—Bold Disciple (New series begins June 5)(Tuesday Men’s Breakfast Bible Study)

Peter—the brash, self-styled leader often betrayed his own insecurity and confusion—is one of Scripture’s most endearing characters! In Peter’s extremes we can see our own weaknesses, our quickness to judge, and our slowness to grasp divine truth. Yet in Peter’s life we also see overwhelming evidence of God’s abundant grace. Grow with Christian men in this study that takes place at Perko’s on Tuesday mornings. (This study meets every Tuesday at 6:30am at Perko’s Restaurant, 3500 Oakdale Rd., Modesto.)

Engage (Friday Women’s Bible study)Faith, uncertainty, hope, grief, joy, loneliness, love—we all experience them. In this video-based series, unpack real stories that will challenge the way you think and may even question the way you feel, but with a purpose: so that you learn more about the profound love God has for you through his Son. (This study will meet through the summer at 10:30am)

As the summer months approach along with travel time for families please remember to continue regularly in God’s Word. Personal and family Bible reading and devotions along with regular worship and group Bible studies remain a constant comfort for the Christian. When traveling you can locate a local congregation to visit on the WELS.net website. May the Lord bless and protect you as you travel

Travel with the

Lord


In April, Pastor Schroeder, Kevin and Monica Hejnal, and Walt and Darci Luihn joined several other WELS pastors and members for a trip to Israel. Walt gives a vivid picture of the magnitude of this experience in this comment:

“Thanks for the invitation to write “a few comments” on our experiences in Israel. Unfortunately, that would be tantamount to trying to cram my size 13 into a baby bootie! Needless to say it was an emotional, exciting, informative and at times intense trip. To walk where Jesus walked, lived, grew up, taught, preached, and died so that we might be justified before God was an awesome experience.

I don’t believe I could point to any one site we visited (Bethlehem, Nazareth, The Sea of Galilee, The Garden of Gethsemane, Jerusalem, The Tomb where Jesus was laid and rose from, and many others) but I do believe I could point to the highlight of the tour... The devotions at each site led by Pastors Unke, Schultz, and Schroeder. To hear the Word as it related to the site you were visiting and then to sing a few verses of a hymn related to the scripture was indeed a highlight.”

Participants on this trip took many pictures. Several of these pictures are included on the next few pages. Look forward to a presentation of the trip during the Bible study time on Sunday, July 8, at 10:30am. There you will have opportunity to ask questions about the trip as you see several more pictures and listen to what the travelers have to say. Please enjoy these picture ...

The Trip toIsrael


Devotion in Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found

2000 year old Galilean fishing boat

3000 yr old olive tree in garden of Gethsemane

Jordan River, John the Baptist area

The Church Primacy of St. Peter where Peter was restored by

JesusComing out of walking through

Hezekiah’s Water Tunnel in Jerusalem


Where Jesus healed Centurion’s servant in Capernaum

Peter’s house in Capernaum

In the Dead Sea (Pastor covered in Dead Sea mud to get soft skin)

Sea of Galilee

At Jesus’ Baptismal Site at the Jordan River

Lunch at the Sea of Galilee


Faith boat on Sea of Galilee

Garden of Gethsemane Jerusalem - Mount Moriah where Abraham was to offer

Isaac as a sacrifice; also site of the Temple

Masada, built by King Herod the Great, where Jewish rebels

committed mass suicide

We thank the Lord for giving all who made this trip the opportunity to do so. Travel like this usually has a long lead and preparation time. As more opportunities arise to travel to other significant areas of interest as a group you may want to consider participating. Preliminary discussions are under way now to visit the sights where Martin Luther lived and worked. You may want to consider such a trip.

Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee

On the Palm Sunday Road, Jerusalem in the background


There is still time to help out with Vacation Bible School and Soccer Bible Camp. With only about a week remaining until this week packed full of activity and learning for the children, please consider how you may too be involved. Contact Deacon Schroeder to find out how you may still contribute to this outreach effort. Thank you in advance to all who will be part of making this a great event once again.

Vacation Bible Schooland

Soccer Bible Camp

Efforts have begun to develop a five-year plan for ministry here at St. Peter. No plan can be effective, however, without the participation of those for whom the plan is intended. Also, no plan can be sufficient without the input from those same individuals. Your input is extremely important to the discussions in the meetings leading up to the seminar on August 26 and the launch on October 28. For now, please contact Dan Kreger, Larry Ente, or Pastor Schroeder with any ideas you may have for the five-year plan. May the Lord guide us as we embark upon this huge endeavor.

Five -Year Plan Input

Festival oF Freedom and Friendship

On Sunday, July 1, we will host our second annual Festival of Freedom and Friendship. During the special worship service that day we will give thanks and honor those who have served or are currently serving in our armed forces or as first responders (police, fire, EMT, etc.), and who help to preserve the freedom we enjoy in our country. There is no Bible Study or Sunday School following the service, so we will head to the Fellowship Hall for a potluck meal. Please bring your favorite All-American dish to share with others.

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