a publication of christ lutheran church, stevensville...

Christ Lutheran Church 1

What’s Inside

2 Christ First by

Pastor Quardokus

3 From the Principal’s Desk

4 In Our Prayers

5 News & Events

6 Rummage Sale

7 Birthdays & Anniversaries

8 Financials

9 April Calendar

A publication of Christ Lutheran Church, Stevensville, Michigan

The Christ Times APRIL 2017 Volume CIXI Number IV

Every time I do a committal I read the-

se words from St. Paul. He is mocking

death! How interesting that we say these

words as a body is about to be placed into

the grave. It shows the confidence we have

in our victory over death because of

Christ’s victory over death on Easter morn-

ing.

There was an early church father –

John Chrysostom – who preached an Easter

sermon on this text, which also mocked

death. This sermon is still read every Easter

in Eastern Orthodox churches. It is called

the Paschal Homily. It is a wonderful testa-

ment to the victory we all have over death

due to Christ’s resurrection.

“Let all pious men and all lovers of

God rejoice in the splendor of this feast; let

the wise servants blissfully enter into the

joy of their Lord; let those who have borne

the burden of Lent now receive their wage,

and those who have toiled since the first

hour, let them now receive their due re-

ward; let any who came after the third hour

be grateful to join in the feast, and those

who may have come after the sixth, let

them not be afraid of being too late; for the

Lord is gracious and He receives the last

even as the first. He gives rest to him who

comes on the eleventh hour as well as to

him who has toiled since the first: yes, He

has pity on the last and He serves the first;

He rewards the one and praises the effort.

Come you all: enter into the joy of

your Lord. You the first and you the last,

receive alike your reward; you rich and you

poor, dance together; you sober and you

Death is swallowed up in victory! by Pastor Measel “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Cor 15:55)

Maundy ThursdayMaundy Thursday

Communion ServiceCommunion Service

7:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m.

Good FridayGood Friday

12:00 noon & 7:00 p.m.12:00 noon & 7:00 p.m.

Easter CelebrationsEaster Celebrations

Easter SunriseEaster Sunrise——7:00 p.m.7:00 p.m.

Easter BreakfastEaster Breakfast——8:30 a.m.8:30 a.m.

Easter ServiceEaster Service——10:45 a.m.10:45 a.m.

weaklings, celebrate the day; you who

have kept the fast and you who have not,

rejoice today. The table is richly loaded:

enjoy its royal banquet. The calf is a fat-

ted one: let no one go away hungry. All

of you enjoy the banquet of faith; all of

you receive the riches of his goodness.

Let no one grieve over his pov-

erty, for the universal kingdom has been

revealed; let no one weep over his sins,

for pardon has shone from the grave; let

no one fear death, for the death of our

Savior has set us free: He has destroyed it

by enduring it, He has despoiled hell by

going down into its kingdom, He has an-

gered it by allowing it to taste of his flesh.

When Isaiah foresaw all this, he cried out:

"O hell, you have been angered by en-

countering Him in the nether world." Hell

is angered because it has been mocked, it

is angered because it has been destroyed,

it is angered because it has been reduced

to naught, it is angered because it is now

captive. It seized a body, and, lo, it en-

countered heaven; it seized the visible,

and was overcome by the invisible.

O death, where is your sting? O

Grave, where is your victory? Christ is

risen and you are abolished. Christ is ris-

en and the demons are cast down. Christ

is risen and the angels rejoice. Christ is

risen and life is freed. Christ is risen and

the tomb is emptied of the dead: for

Christ, being risen from the dead, has be-

come the leader and reviver of those who

had fallen asleep. To Him be glory and

power for ever and ever. Amen.” (John

Chrysostom, Easter sermon, circa 400AD)

Happy Easter! Pastor Measel


Christ First By Pastor Quardokus

God’s Answers to My Personal Christianity

Even if you haven‟t attended the earlier lessons please join us on Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m. for this in depth study of the Christian faith and its application in our lives. Each lesson is self-contained. Here are the lessons still to come.

Lesson 6—The Christian faith The meaning of faith The evidence of faith Using faith Testing my faith

Lesson 7—Prayer The definition of prayer Why I should pray? What is a true prayer? Is prayer answered? For whom should I pray? Where and when should I pray? The Lord's Prayer

Lesson 8—The Means of Grace Baptism Infant Baptism The Lord's Supper May we use grape juice? Close Communion

Lesson 9—The Christian Church Saints Is the Church catholic? Denominations Cults False prophets

.Book of the Month

From Atheism to Christianity The Story of C.S. Lewis

By Joel D. Heck

This is the story of how one of the world‟s most famous atheists became one of its most famous Christians. Clive Staples Lewis, a careful and thoughtful scholar, spent fifteen years journeying the long road from atheism to theism and, eventually, to Christianity. What attracted Lewis to atheism and eventu-

ally Christianity? How did he leave atheism behind? Why did his journey take fifteen years? Who influenced his thoughts during those

years? What authors did he read, and whom did he

interact with and confide in? “Remember, I had always wanted, above all things, not to be „interfered with.‟ I had wanted (mad wish) „to call my soul my own.‟” —C. S. Lewis

Dr. Joel D. Heck teaches courses on C. S. Lewis, Old and New Testament, and Refor-mation history at Concordia University Texas. He is the author or editor of fourteen books and dozens of articles, several of which are about C. S. Lewis. He also maintains a web-site on C. S. Lewis at www.joelheck.com.

The Christ Times April 2017


October 2015 The Christ Times April 2017

In church on Sun-

day morning it was an-

nounced that Mandy

Neumeyer has received a

call to St. John Lutheran

School in West Bend, Wis-

consin. The members of

Christ lifted Ms. Neumeyer

up in prayer as she deliber-

ates this call as well as her

call here to Christ Lutheran.

What is a call for a teacher? In addition to

acquiring all the knowledge and training required

for certified public school teachers, our called

teachers (also known as rostered) are trained in

ministerial studies, religion, and the theology of the

Lutheran Church. As such, they are considered

"ministers of religion" and are seen as missionaries

of the church. In this way, each teacher at Christ

Lutheran School is more than a teacher.

From time to time, rostered teachers can re-

ceive a call to an area of need other than were they

currently serve. A lot of this takes place through

channels at the district, national, and even interna-

tional levels. This procedure has been put in place to

help churches fill needs both domestically and inter-

nationally. Rostered teachers do not "apply" for posi-

tions or even necessarily seek them out like in tradi-

tional public teaching positions. Nevertheless a call

is a serious time of reflection for that church worker.

What can we at Christ do? First, it is good

for us to keep Ms. Neumeyer in our prayers as she

deliberates God's will in this. At this time, Ms.

Neumeyer has both a call to St. John's, West Bend

and here at Christ, Stevensville. During this time of

deliberation, Ms. Neumeyer will be seeking God's

guidance as she attempts to follow His will in this. It

is good for us as fellow Christians at Christ to take

this time to reflect on what her ministry means to us

here. As you are so inclined, share with her your re-

flections, encourage her, and pray with all of us here

that it be God's will for her to remain in ministry

here at Christ Lutheran.

More than a Teacher By Neil F. Webb

Easter Egg Stuffing Fellowship at Coach's

Saturday, April 1st @ 4:30

Please join us for a fun time of fellow-ship and dinner. We will be filling Easter Eggs with candy that will be used during our first annual Easter Egg Hunt. Dinner and beverages will be available for purchase. Please see the sign up sheet near the entrance of the school to let us know if you plan to attend. Thank you.


HEALING Amee Mantei

Bill Spaulding Bob Ziebart Chuck Strohacker

Cindy Allen Dewayne Greening

Faith Timm Ferny Rantz Florence Wolfanger

Francis Krieger Gay Ross

Gerry Grau John Dorn Nate Gerken

Rich Ziebart Ron Schalon

Ron Szoke Shirley Selig Sylvia Kunde

Becky Wrobleski-friend of

Kevin Dixon

Bernice & Robert Mock-

sister of Margaret Gerber

Charles Wall – husband of

Erin Barricklow—wife of Josh

Barricklow

Ethan Koehn-nephew of

Kristy Koehn

Ginny & Shelby

Grinzinger-friends of the

Pieplows

Greg Nozicka-son of Joan

Nozicka

Jeff Matheny—father of Ste-

ve Matheny

Kim Wiliams—cousin of Doris

Beazley

Larry and Grace Gilmer-brother and sister-in-law of

Butch Ziebart

Maggie Reed—granddaughter

of Doris Beezley

Mary Sink—neighbor of Don &

Pat Hutter Pastor William Griffin

Phil Oberhaus-brother of Su-

san Jackemeyer

Pastor William Schmidt–former Pastor to Len &Faith Tim

Robin Greening Mandarino-

daughter of Dewayne Greening

Ronald Drews-brother of Al

Drews

Ron Hickman-friend of Barb

& Ken Mach

Ruth Brege-sister of Al Kase-

wurm

Tanya Prather—sister of Pat-

tie Allred

Ursul Stawski-friend of Joann

Ciboch

Virgie Bolli-friend of Mel &

Ellen Machemer

William Maul-brother of

Charles Maul

Births

Birthdays Lois Huff—90th

Anniversaries

Deaths

Andy Bickel

Judy Vieregge Deb Batey—friend of

Machemers

Servicemen

Brian Root

Alex Root Ray Hammer

Patty Schmaltz

James Vieregge

General =Our country, president, those in

authority, our current economic

situation & those recently out of

work

=Our church, school, Sunday

school, pastors, teachers & all

church workers. =Missionaries: BHLOM

Rev. Roger James – Sri Lanka

Caitlin Worden - Peru middle east,

and around world. =Success for Steven Ministry.

=Success of Grief Share Ministry

=LWML grants-Healty Families—

Lutheran Family Services of Ne-

braska

= Lutheran Bible Translators

=Lutheran Hour Ministries


News & Events for April RUMMAGE TEAM MEETING

The first team meeting for the rummage

sale is Wednesday, April 12th. Come

at 6:30pm here at church to share your

ideas with the rest of the rummage squad.

New and former members are needed to

make this a successful sale!

THANK YOU

Thank you for your generous support of

the “undie” collection for Berrien County

Foster Program. The results were 132

packages of new “undies” for the children

in the program. Donations to the March 8

and 15 Lenten Suppers totaled $476.80 .

READING THE BIBLE IN 2017

Hope everyone is enjoying “Reading

through the Bible in a year for Refor-

mation.” Please continue to put your

names in the draw box located on the visi-

tors center desk. The winners so far are as

follows: December – Steve Matheny &

Thelma Szoke, January – Suellen Klein &

Loretta Olmstead and February – Bob Dix-

on & Pastor Measel.

INVITATION BOOKMARKS

Do you have family or friends you would

like to invite to church. We have a little

help for you to do just that for Holy Week

and Easter. You will find bookmark invita-

tions with all the times of services on the

welcome center. Please take as many as

you need. May God Bless all who join us.

GRIEF SHARE PROGRAM -

Lost a loved one? No need to journey

through the grief process alone. We offer

a Grief Share program at Christ Lutheran

Church. We meet in a small group once

weekly for 13 weeks. Each week we ob-

serve a brief video that highlights a differ-

ent type of grief. We also use a workbook

that has scripture to encourage and guide

you through your unique grief journey.

Participants are free to engage in group

discussion or simply listen to what others

members share. Our group will meet on

Tuesdays, and the date will be announced.

We would love to have you join us. For

more information or to register please

contact:

Carol Farrand 269-944-9714

Becky Russell 269-429-8770

.

Vacation Bible School—2017

July 17—20

Please mark your calendars for the 2017

Vacation Bible School. Planning is in the

preliminary stages. Volunteers will be

needed.

Contact Meredith Sgambelluri at 269-281-

6626 for more information.


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The Christ Times April 2017

Nuechterlein, Aaron 4/2

Dorn, Jeffery 4/3

Root, Alexander 4/3

Klug, Kirt 4/4

Winter, Louise 4/4

Oeseburg, Beth 4/5

Robinson, Kathryn 4/5

Nuechterlein, Louis 4/6

Vieregge, Ken 4/7

Alles, Jared 4/10

Carpp, Alec 4/10

Quardokus, Timothy 4/10

Steffen, Harry 4/10

Ulmer, Laurie 4/10

Drews, Reinhold 4/11

Matheny, Carol 4/12

Mantei, Amee 4/15

Ross, Scott 4/15

Zombory, Dale 4/15

Appelget, Joseph 4/16

Clark, Walter 4/16

Pankratz, Paul 4/16

Nuechterlein, Alison 4/17

Strohacker, Charles 4/17

Johnson, Robyn 4/18

Kasewurm, Kathy 4/18

Rossow, Dr. Caren 4/18

Barricklow, Eileen 4/20

Damron, Kathy 4/21

Dunn, Ryan 4/21

Starkey, Heather 4/21

Bittenbender, Bruce 4/22

Karnik, Adam 4/22

Yeske, Donald 4/22

Cole, Andrew 4/24

Karnik, Andrea 4/24

Neumeyer, Amanda 4/24

Maul, Charles 4/26

Priebe, Norma 4/27

Terry, Christine 4/27

Drews, Gerald 4/28

Mach, Barbara 4/28

Bernard, Ryder 4/29

Huff, Fred 4/29

Malinasky, Gerald 4/30

Craig & Diane Lambrecht 4/1/1971 46

Chris & Kimberly Alles 4/3/1993 24

Jackie & Bob Mast 4/4/1992 25

Gerry & Jane Kabelman 4/5/1975 42

Darren & Leslie Priebe 4/6/1991 26

Roger & Pamela Seely 4/15/1983 34

David & Suzanne Steele 4/19/1997 20

Charles & Barbara Maul 4/20/1968 49

Richard & Susan Wandel 4/20/1991 26

Sam & Diane Satkoski 4/24/1976 41

Michael & Susan Jackemeyer 4/25/1992 25

Harry & Pat Jaeger 4/25/1970 47

Rebecca & Benjamin Harris 4/28/2012 5

If you find that your name is left off the

birthday and anniversary list, please contact the

church office so that

our records can be updated.

Thank you!


For the month of February we ran a deficit of over $19 thousand. This leaves us with an eight month

deficit position of $9 thousand. Last year through the first eight months we had a surplus position of $48 thousand.

Our financial situation is much worse than at this time last year.

February receipts for faith promises were $19 thousand lower than last February. A small part of this differ-

ence is due to Lent starting earlier last year. Ash Wednesday and several weekly Lenten services were in February

last year. Church attendance, as has been the case for several months, was lower on Sunday‟s in February than it

was the previous year. Tuition receipts and Thrivent programs had a good month in February.

Spending for the first seven months of this year is $12 thousand higher than for the first eight months of last

year. Properties has had to deal with repair and maintenance issues in several areas. A mild winter has held down

utility and snow removal expenditures. Year to date total spending is under budget.

Our general checking account had a $6 thousand balance at the end of February. In comparison, at the end

of February 2016 the checking account balance was $53 thousand.

Financial UpdateFinancial UpdateFinancial Update———February, 2017February, 2017February, 2017

CHRIST EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH AND SCHOOL

Listing of Memorial Funds and Emergency Needs

Balance Last Activity/

FUND

February 28, 2017 Status

Bell Tower Replacement 51,600 Feb-17

Brochures for Evangelism 956 Jul-10

Capital Projects 12,298 Feb-17

Computers/Technology 973 Oct-16

Floor Coverings for Entire Facility 23,130 Feb-17

Fricke Memorial for Organ Concerts 4,150 Mar-14

Organ Console 22,260 Feb-17

Radio Broadcast Funding 2,400 May-16

Reformation - 500th Anniversary Activities (NEW) 705 Feb-17

Sanctuary Cross 1,000 Nov-16

Staffing 150,000 Jul-16

Unallocated 2,607 NA

Total Memorial Funds 272,079

Emergency Needs Fund 11,430

Total Account Balance 283,509

Financial Comments -

During the month of February the memorial fund received contributions for the bell tower

replacement, capital projects, floor coverings, the organ console and Reformation activities.

Capital projects is funded with monthly savings from lower mortgage pay-ments, which will continue through April, 2017.

No payments were made out of the memorial fund in February.

April 2017 Christ Lutheran Church Calendar of Events

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1

2 8:00 am Contemporary

Worship Service 9:30 am Bible Class 9:30 am Sunday School 10:45 am WORSHIP

SERVICE

3 SPRING BREAK WEEK

7:00 p.m. All Boards Meeting 8:15 Parish Planning Meeting

4 7:00 pm Bible Class

5 9:30 am Bible Class 11:15 am SOUP KITCHEN 4:30 pm Lenten Worship

Service 5:30 pm Lenten Supper 7:00 Lenten Worship

6 10:00 am Bible Class 7:00 pm Choir

7 8 10:00 am KITCHEN/ALL

PURPOSE ROOM IN USE BY TERRI GERKEN

9 8:00 am Palm Sunday

Communion WS 9:30 am Bible Class 9:30 am Sunday School 10:45 am Communion Worship

Service

10 11 7:00 pm No Bible Class

12 9:30 am No Bible Class 6:30 pm Public School

Confirmation

13 10:00 am Bible Class 6:00 pm Choir 7:00 pm Maundy Thursday

Worship Service

14 12:00 pm Good Friday Noon

Service 7:00 pm Good Friday

Service

15

16 7:00 am Communion Sunrise

Easter Service 8:30 am Easter Breakfast 9:30 am Bible Class 9:30 am Sunday School 10:45 am Communion Easter

Worship Service

17 18 7:00 pm Ladies League

Mtng. 7:00 pm Bible Class

19 9:30 am Bible Class 6:30 pm Public School

Confirmation

20 10:00 am Bible Class 7:00 pm Choir 7:00 pm Communion

Worship Service

21 22

23 8:00 am Communion

Worship Service 9:30 am Voter’s Meeting 9:30 am Sunday School 10:45 am Communion

Worship Service

24 25 CHRIST TIMES WEEK

7:00 pm Bible Class

26 9:30 am Bible Class 6:30 pm Public School

Confirmation

27 10:00 am Bible Class 7:00 pm Choir 7:00 pm Worship Service

28 29 Kitchen, Gym, All

Purpose Room in use

30 8:00 am Worship Service 9:30 am BC/Sunday Sch. 10:45 am Contemporary WS 2:00 pm LWML SPRING

RALLY - Use of Kitchen, APR,


Join us During Holy Week

Maundy Thursday—April 13—7:00 p.m.

Good Friday—April 14

Noon & 7:00 p.m.

Easter Sunday

Join us April 16 at 7:00 a.m. or 10:45 a.m.

Breakfast served between services

Contemporary Services

April 2—8:00 a.m.

April 30—10:45 a.m.

The Christ Times, April 2017 Volume CIXI Number IV

a publication of christ lutheran church, stevensville...

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