the - wordpress.com john terry 30 kyle schroeder december 9 curt & charlene glatfelter 23 paul...

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The monthly newsletter of Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA)

8154 Atlee Road, Mechanicsville, Virginia 23111 804-746-7134

DECEMBER 2017/JANUARY 2018

A look inside.... German Christmas, Epiphany. .….P. 2 Pastor’s Letter ……..…….....…….. .P. 3 Celebrations ..…..…………………....P. 4 Prayers ……………………………….. P. 5 Calendar of events …...…….…..P. 6—8 Financial Peace University….….... P. 8 VA Synod news, “Women & the Refor-

mation” speaker ..…..……………. P. 10

Share our journey through Advent to Christmas and beyond… “This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:12) — All season, drop off disposable diapers of all sizes at Messiah. We will be collecting for needy neighbors and clients of MCEF and Lu-theran Family Services of Virginia. 12/3 First Sunday in Advent, Holy Com-munion at 10:45 am – Messiah will also give thanks for Pastor Lou’s ten years of ordained ministry AND kick-off its mark-ing of 50 years in ministry! 12/10 Second Sunday in Advent, Holy Communion at 10:45 am – Messiah mem-bers are asked to remain for its annual business meeting following worship. 12/17 Third Sunday in Advent, Lessons & Carols with Nativity Play at 10:15 am. Join All Souls Episcopal for a full morning of fun and worship! At 9:15 am, come with your entire family to help sing carols and decorate our sanctuary tree. Refreshments

will be offered, along with a festive com-bined choir and worship service. if your child would like to participate in our Na-tivity Play please contact our office or speak with Lois Schroeder (Messiah) or Donna Haynes (All Souls) Please note the important differences between our two worship services of-fered on this day: 12/24 Fourth Sunday in Advent, Service of the Word at 10:45 am (No Sunday School will be held.) 12/24 Christmas Eve Service with can-dlelight ceremony and Holy Communion at 7:00 pm! This is our primary Christmas celebration and includes special fun for younger children (along with a small gift) as they gather around our tree with Pastor Lou. This year’s theme: Hark! the Herald Angels Sing!

December 2017/January 2018 Messenger page 2

The Messenger

Published monthly by Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church ELCA 8154 Atlee Road, Mechanicsville, VA 23111

Church Office: (804) 746-7134 FAX: (804) 746-5579

Rev. Louis A. Florio, Jr., Pastor Pastor’s email: [email protected]

Davina Winn, Administrative Assistant Office email: [email protected]

Susie Weaver, Newsletter Editor Ph: 804-559-3503

Email: susiew [email protected]

VISIT OUR MLC WEBSITE: http://www.messiahmech.com

Your 2017 Church Council And Associate Members

Dean Gustafson …….. Council President

James Anderson ……..Vice-President Sally Bennett …… Secretary

Sharon Addair Becky Collie Steve Gilnett Cheryl B Griffis Donna Shaw Susie Weaver

Council Liaisons Christian Education ……….Donna Shaw Evangelism …………....James Anderson Finance ……………………... Becky Collie Property ……………………..Steve Gilnett Social Ministry ……………Sharon Addair Stewardship ………………..Susie Weaver Worship ……….…………….Sally Bennett

Bill Weaver ….…..Treasurer Jake Addair ……. Financial Secretary Sue Gilnett, RN...Parish Nurse

Trustees: Leroy Albertson,

Pat Hubert

On January 6 at 6:30 pm, join All Souls Episcopal and Messiah Lutheran as we close out the 12 Days of Christmas with a vesper service of light, bonfire and celebration! As the Magi were said to bring gold, frankincense and myrrh to honor the newborn king, attendees are invited to honor the Jesus found in our neighbors in need by donating hats, scarves and gloves. Bring a sample of your Christmas greens to burn in our bonfire. Children will be able to share Epiphany cupcakes. Those children who find the chocolate gold coins win prizes. Fun and meaningful for all ages!

Kaffeeklatsch & German Christmas Service You are invited, by a local German Club, to come to Messiah on Sunday, December 17th. At 4:00 pm, it will start with Kaffee-klatsch (coffee hour) in the fellowship hall with German Christmas goodies. At 5:00 pm, Messiah will again host a German Christmas service with German readings and hymns. The sermon will be in English for everybody to understand. Pastor Vic Schmick will do the sermon and Pastor Lou will assist. It is free and everybody is invited to join. For those who have not attended in the past it, will be wunderbar!


Pastoral Letter… Walking with Jesus. Walking with you.

Back in 1994 when I served as a volunteer with the Ecu menical Com- munity of Taizé in Burgundy, France, the founder of the community gave me a birthday

present. It was a copy of an ancient Egyp-tian icon commonly called “Jesus and his friend.” [The original is actually from the 8th century in and depicts Christ and Abba (Abbot) Mena (285-309 AD). It cur-rently hangs in the Louvre in Paris.] As people gaze upon this icon during prayer and meditation, they often imagine, as I do, this friendly looking Jesus with his arm around them, talking about the cares of the day or hopes for the future. Walking together, the saint and Jesus seem to be moving toward the future, a future filled with hope. After ten years serving at Messiah (and with my birthday just ahead), I’ve been thinking about this image a lot. I’m re-minded to look for where Jesus has been walking with me and how, and the an-swers so often include you. We have been through many challenges together: lean economic times, personal loses and grief, even my own cancer diagnosis. Your prayers and support, your gifts of time, treasure and talent, have helped me and the congregation walk on right through these times. You have helped me see the light of Christ at work, and as I walk, even on darker days, I can find the peace and joy Christ promises. What’s the future to bring? We are cele-brating our 50 years as a congregation in

2018, so that is an appropriate question. Yet, I don’t fully know the answer any more than you – at least not in any detail or with certainty. What I do know is that I love you, and I give thanks to God for you. I appreciate your walking with Kristine and I through these ten years and toward the future. Through you and your shared love, Christ is seen and made known. I trust that whatever happens in the future, Jesus will walk on with us, faithfully lov-ing us all the way. Each of us (and our congregation as a whole) will get to where we need to be. It may not always be easy, but our path will be blessed. On behalf of Kristine and I, thank you for the many gifts and letters during the re-cent pastor appreciation month. It was quite uplifting and much appreciated. I also especially wish to thank Cheryl Griffis and Sally Bennett for heading up the 10X50=500 celebration and all those who have been coming together to make this day special. I look forward to rejoicing with you on December 3rd and throughout our Advent and Christmas season ahead. Merry Christmas and a blessed New year to you all! Pastor Lou


December 10 Pastor Lou Florio 10 Gordon Gunn 14 Curtis Pfohl 16 Marilyn Gunn 16 Sandy Sauer 16 John Terry 30 Kyle Schroeder December 9 Curt & Charlene Glatfelter 23 Paul & Victoria Knab January 4 Karen Umberger 4 JoAn Firebaugh 11 Erna Jung 14 Max Williams 15 Grayson Starret 22 Bill Hatfield 23 Brandi Hendrickson 31 Mary Grace Delph If you would like YOUR birthdays & anniversary included in the newsletter, please send an email to [email protected] or call Davina (746-7134).

Revised Common Lectionary Returns On December 3, 2017, Advent begins, and we will return to the more widely used Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) after our four year cycle with the Narra-tive Lectionary. The RCL follows a three-year cycle: Year A (Matthew), Year B (Mark), Year C (Luke). The Gospel of John is interspersed throughout each year. In addition to the assigned Gospel text, a Hebrew text and New Testament letter or other writing is heard each week. These additional readings are usually selected based upon themes covered on any Sun-day and reflecting the liturgical calendar. Since 1994, the RCL has been the pre-dominant, ecumenical lectionary used across the globe. (The Ordo Lectionum Missae, on which the RCL is based, is used in the Roman Catholic Church.) We will be rejoining the RCL as Year B (Mark) begins. Want to learn more about the RCL? Visit elca.org/Lectionary.

Sermons online Don't forget, recent Sunday sermons are being posted each week at Messiah-Mech.com and our MessiahMech YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2fCNdhDR_Ey20lQjswhitw

@MessiahMech

Greatest worth

He came a babe of lowly birth. He was God’s Son of greatest worth. We, like the angels, sing with mirth because God sent his Son to earth to ransom us and claim our worth. Praise God this babe of lowly birth!

—MaryAnn Sundby


We pray for each other: Charlie Absher; Ray Ash; Joan Barnes; Kenneth Deere; Adam Dworak, Sr.; JoAn Firebaugh; Elisabeth Gardner; Mac McAllister; Pat Motley; Ruth Schroeder; Marc Thomas. We pray for our extended family and neighbors: Cindy Bauer, sister of Lois Schroeder; Bill Brenzovich; Ross Butler, Jean Wight-man's friend's son; Stonewall Chappell, (child awaiting heart transplant); Linda Barnes-Depuy, daughter of Joan Barnes; Jeana Dickinson, sister of Donna Shaw; Kala Eckhart, cousin of Judy Schwerdtfe-ger; Alvin Morlan, father of Donna Shaw; The Rev. Samuel Mozolak, father of Karen & Michael Morris; Marge O'Connor, family friend of Jean Wightman; Evelyn Poulsen, mother of Roger Schroeder; Patricia Reed, neighbor of Annette Buck-holtz; Dee Schroeder, Roger's sister-in-law; Tim Schroeder, Roger’s nephew; Lorna Snook, mother-in-law of Jeff Weaver; Thelen Family, cousins of Judy Schwerdtfeger; Bill D. Weaver, son of Bill and Susie; Cary Wightman, family mem-ber of Jean Wightman; Jean Wright, mother of friend of Schwerdtfegers; Our veterans, their fellow soldiers & their wait-ing families, especially Andrew Addair, Ian Schw erdtfeger, & LJ Spray; Law en-forcement, firefighters and first re-sponders; The people of All Souls Epis-copal and our shared ministry; All those persecuted in any way for their faith in Christ, especially in Mexico, Comoros, Kazakhstan, United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Mauritania, Bahrain, Oman, and Colombia.

To add or remove a name from the prayer

list, please call the church office, 746-7134. If leaving a message, include your contact information for follow-up. Unless we hear otherwise, individuals will be re-moved quarterly. Memorial prayers will run a minimum of two weeks and then be in-cluded in our All Saints Sunday activities.

Year B – The Gospel of Mark Year B focuses on the Gospel of Mark with more selections from

the Gospel of John than any other year. The semi-continuous readings from the Old Testament focus on the covenant of David and Wisdom literature. The second, New Testament, readings are from 1 and 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, James and He-brews. Scholars believe the Gospel Accord-ing to Mark to be our oldest gospel wit-ness. It is also the shortest. You will not a quick tempo, as Jesus hastens toward his cross and the resurrection – “an eschato-logical urgency.” Mark emphasizes Jesus’ deeds over his words, and his account seems to have a special interest in Galilee. The author appears to assume the original audience knew something of the story and Christian tradition. This Gospel is said to have a motif of secrecy. People, including his disciples, don’t understand Jesus’ pur-pose, and Jesus often asks that miracles be kept secret. Mark highlights the hu-man-side of Jesus and the great fallibility of Jesus disciples. An ancient symbol for St. Mark is a winged lion. The lion is one of the four living creatures described in Revelation as being around the throne of the Lord, and early Christians saw a par-allel to the four evangelists. These "beings" were also described in Ezekiel. The lion symbolizes the power of his words, and the wings are said to represent spiritual elevation. When carrying a sword, the symbol represents public justice.


Calendar of events 1 Church Office Closed on Fridays Pastor's Day Off 2 Local Remembrance: Jean Donovan 3:00 PM Forwarding Faith Training * 3 Advent 9:15 AM All Souls Episcopal: Worship 9:15 AM Messiah Lutheran: Faith Formation for All Ages 10:45 AM Messiah Lutheran: Worship 11:00 AM All Souls Episcopal: Faith Formation for All Ages 12:00 PM Messiah's 50th Anniversary Kick-Off & Pastor Lou's 10th Anniversary Celebration 4 6:30 PM Girl Scout Troop 884 Meeting 5 6 Commemoration of Nicholas, Bishop of Myra 2:00 PM Daily Discipleship Bible Study 6:00 PM Centering Prayer (Atlee House) 7 7:00 PM Choir Practice 7:00 PM Speaker Series for the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation * 8 Church Office Closed on Fridays 9:00 AM Pastor @HCSO Training 9 10 Human Rights Day Martin Luther Burns the Popes Decree of Excommunication (1520) 9:15 AM All Souls Episcopal: Worship 9:15 AM Messiah Lutheran: Faith Formation for All Ages 10:45 AM Messiah Lutheran: Worship 11:00 AM All Souls Episcopal: Faith Formation for All Ages 11:45 AM Budget, Constitution & Bylaws Meeting.

11 12 Happy Hanukkah! 6:00 PM Shop with a Cop Event * 6:15 PM Council Meeting 7:00 PM Women's Bible Study 13 Commemoration of Lucy, Martyr 2:00 PM Daily Discipleship Bible Study 6:00 PM Centering Prayer (Atlee House) 6:30 PM Girl Scout Troop #557 Meeting 14 7:00 PM Choir Practice 15 Church Office Closed on Fridays Pastor's Day Off 6:00 PM Foster Children’s Christmas Party 16 17 9:15 AM Carols & Christmas Tree Decorating 10:15 AM Worship Service & Christmas Pageant (Messiah Lutheran & All Souls Episcopal) 4:00 PM Kaffeeklatsch 5:00 PM German Church Service 18 5:00 PM Stevie B night for MCEF 6:30 PM Girl Scout Troop 884 Meeting 19 20 Commemoration of Katharina von Bora Luther 2:00 PM Daily Discipleship Bible Study 6:00 PM Centering Prayer (Atlee House) 21 First Day of Winter 7:00 PM Choir Practice 22 Church Office Closed on Fridays Pastor's Day Off 23

Congregational business meeting, Dec. 10 Please make every effort to attend our annual business meeting on Sunday, De-cember 10, 2017 following our 10:45 am service. We will seek to approve our new constitution and bylaws, elect new council members and a new trustee, and approve our 2018 budget. We need everyone’s as-sistance in reaching our quorum.


24 9:15 AM All Souls Episcopal: Morning Prayer (4th Sunday in Advent) 10:45 AM Messiah Lutheran: Service of the Word (4th Sunday in Advent) 5:00 PM All Souls: Christmas Eve Worship 7:00 PM Messiah Lutheran: Christmas Eve Worship 25 Christmas Day Our family of faith at Messiah wishes you a blessed Christmas! 26 Feast of Stephen, Deacon & Martyr 27 Feast of John, Apostle & Evangelist 6:00 PM Centering Prayer (Atlee House) 28 Feast of the Holy Innocents Continued 29 Church Office Closed on Fridays Pastor's Day Off 30 31 Have a safe & happy New Year's Eve! 9:15 AM All Souls Episcopal: Worship 9:15 AM Messiah Lutheran: Faith Formation for All Ages 10:45 AM Messiah Lutheran: Worship 1 Feast of the Name of Jesus The members of Messiah Lutheran wish you a year full of blessings! 2 Commemoration of Johann Konrad Wilhelm Loehe, Renewer of the Church 3 2:00 PM Daily Discipleship Bible Study 6:00 PM Centering Prayer (Atlee House) 4 7:00 PM Choir Practice 5 Church Office Closed on Fridays Pastor's Day Off 6 6:30 PM Epiphany Party

7 9:15 AM All Souls Episcopal: Worship 9:15 AM Messiah Lutheran: Faith Formation for All Ages 10:45 AM Messiah Lutheran: Worship 11:00 AM All Souls Episcopal: Faith Formation for All Ages 8 9 7:00 PM Women's Bible Study 10 Virginia Lutheran Items Due 2:00 PM Daily Discipleship Bible Study 6:00 PM Centering Prayer (Atlee House) 6:30 PM Girl Scout Troop #557 Meeting 11 7:00 PM Choir Practice Time TBA: Financial Peace University 12 Church Office Closed on Fridays 12 Pastor's Day Off 13 14 Commemoration of Eivind Josef Berggrav, Bishop 9:15 AM All Souls Episcopal: Worship 9:15 AM Messiah Lutheran: Faith Formation for All Ages 10:45 AM Messiah Lutheran: Worship 11:00 AM All Souls Episcopal: Faith Formation for All Ages 15 Commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr., Renewer of the Church & Martyr 6:30 PM Girl Scout Troop 884 Meeting 16 Religious Freedom Day 10:30 AM Pastor @LFS Board Meeting 6:15 PM Council Meeting 17 Commemoration of Antony of Egypt, Renewer of the Church 2:00 PM Daily Discipleship Bible Study 6:00 PM Centering Prayer (Atlee House) 18 Feast of the Confession of Peter Pastor Off in Afternoon Start of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 7:00 PM Choir Practice 19 Church Office Closed on Fridays Commemoration of Henry, Bishop and Martyr Pastor's Day Off 20 Continued on page 8


Calendar Continued from page 7 January 21 Commemoration of Agnes, Martyr 9:15 AM All Souls Episcopal: Worship 9:15 AM Messiah Lutheran: Faith Formation for All Ages 10:45 AM Messiah Lutheran: Worship 11:00 AM All Souls Episcopal: Faith Formation for All Ages 5:00 PM Youth-Led Ecumenical Service * 22 23 7:00 PM Women's Bible Study 24 2:00 PM Daily Discipleship Bible Study 6:00 PM Centering Prayer (Atlee House) 6:30 PM Girl Scout Troop #557 Meeting 25 Feast of the Conversion of Paul 7:00 PM Choir Practice 26 Church Office Closed on Fridays Commemoration of Timothy, Titus, and Silas, Missionaries Pastor's Day Off Youth: Winter Celebration * 27 Commemoration of Lydia, Dorcas and Phoebe, Witnesses to the Faith International Holocaust Remembrance Day Youth: Winter Celebration * 28 Commemoration of Thomas Acquinas, Teacher Youth: Winter Celebration * 9:15 AM All Souls Episcopal: Worship 9:15 AM Messiah Lutheran: Faith Formation for All Ages 10:45 AM Messiah Lutheran: Worship e 11:00 AM All Souls Episcopal: Faith Formation for All Ages 11:45 AM Annual Reporting Meeting 29 6:30 PM Girl Scout Troop 884 Meeting 30 31 2:00 PM Daily Discipleship Bible Study 6:00 PM Centering Prayer (Atlee House) * Off Site

Please support Messiah’s ministry… Online giving – one time gifts or as re-peated donations scheduled by you – is now available at https://messiahmech.com/stewardshipdonate/ Thank you for your support!

Annual Reporting Meeting Come learn about the state of our congre-gation on Sunday, January 28th after the 10:45 am service. It will be a celebration of what God has, is and will do through our faith community to bless us and others. We will also swear in our new council members and give thanks for those com-pleting their terms.

Financial Peace University Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University will be offered once again starting on January 11, 2018, time TBA. The class’ proven biblical principles have helped peo-ple get out of debt. On average, partici-pants pay off $5300 in the first 90 days. “Learn to control your money and prepare for the future.” Please join us, or share the opportunity with others. Questions? Speak to Daren Williams or visit daveramsey.com.


Update

The Grand Opening of the One-Stop Shop, which was celebrated on Sunday, November 12, with about 75 persons in attendance, was a great success . A rib-bon-cutting ceremony with the Hanover Chamber of Commerce and a blessing ser-vice, with participating clergy from the three founding churches, were held. The first full month of operation assisted 201 households comprised of 425 adults and 226 children. Bags of food provided totaled 349 and 101 bags of clothing and linen were provided to those in need in Mechanicsville. Thank you for your dona-tions of food, funds and items for our clos-ets. They all make a difference for those who receive. Donations are accepted during hours of operation, Mon., Tues., and Thurs. morn-ings, 9:30 - 11:00 a.m.; Tues. and Thurs. evenings, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.; and the 1st and 3rd Sunday afternoons, 2 - 4 p.m. Please DO NOT leave donations at the door, it is a violation of the lease. Some of the ongoing needs are tuna fish, jelly and toilet paper. The closets needs are boys winter clothing, especially size 4T, ladies clothing size 2X and 3X, bath towels, hand towels and wash clothes. Keep in mind that the 3rd Sunday of each month is Messiah's Manna Sunday, dona-tions may be placed in the grocery cart in the narthex. Additionally, the third Mon-day of each month is Stevie B's Night for MCEF where a portion of each meal is des-ignated when you indicate that you sup-port MCEF at the cashier.

James River Ringers Concerts The James River Ringers is a Richmond area, non-profit handbell group, featuring advanced handbell performance in the Richmond area. This Christmas, we are pleased to offer “An English Christmas.” Come join us and get into the holiday spirit the weekend of December 8-10, with three opportunities to catch this out-standing handbell group! Friday, Dec. 8, 2017 - 7:30 PM Good Shepherd United Methodist Church 9155 Hungary Road Henrico, VA 23294 Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017 - 7:30 PM New Hanover Presbyterian Church 10058 Chamberlayne Road Mechanicsville, VA 23116 Sunday - Dec. 10, 2017 - 3:00 PM Lutheran Church of Our Savior 9601 Hull Street Rd. North Chesterfield, VA 23236


LARCUM Event The annual LARCUM (Lutheran-Anglican-Roman Catholic-United Methodist) retreat will be in Richmond this year on Decem-ber 1 and 2, 2017. Friday will take place at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church and Saturday will be held at St. Bridget Catho-lic Church. (Both are next door to each other.) Local Bishops from all four de-nominations will be in attendance, and you are invited. To learn more about the event and for registration, visit our up-dates page at MessiahMech.com.

Changes in VA Synod staffing As announced by Bishop Humphrey, the Rev. Chris Price will be retiring effective December 31, 2017 as an Assistant to the Bishop. The Rev. Kelly Bayer Derrick has been called to serve as the new Assis-tant to the Bishop covering southwestern Virginia. (She grew up as a member of Messiah Lutheran.) Bishop Humphrey will help attend to the pastoral needs of cen-tral and northwestern Virginia, while a Di-rector for Evangelical Mission/Assistant to the Bishop (position yet to be advertised or called) will help cover the east. The Rev. David Delaney will continue to serve on staff, focusing on youth and young adult ministries. There are other changes to the staff reported in the announcement found at vasynod.org/virginia-synod-announces-new-staffing-plan-2018. Please pray for all those transitioning into and out of positions in our Virginia Synod.

Join Messiah on Facebook!

“Women & The Reformation” Our 2017 “500 Years of Reformation Speaking Series” has been sponsored by the following Hanover County congrega-tions: Messiah Lutheran, All Souls Episco-pal, Fork Church Episcopal, St. James the Less Episcopal, St. Paul’s Episcopal, and Church of Our Saviour Episcopal. The fi-nal event will be held at Fork Episcopal Church (12566 Old Ridge Rd, Doswell, VA 23047) on Thursday, December 7, 2018 at 7:00 pm. The speaker will help address the effects of the Reformation on women and culture through today.

The Rev. Deacon Katherine Dougherty’s Ordination On Saturday, December 9, at 10:30 am, you are invited to a service of ordination at St. George’s Episcopal Church (905 Prin-cess Anne St. Fredericksburg, VA). Deacon Katherine will be ordained into the priesthood with other candidates by the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Vir-ginia. Please congratulate Deacon Katherine on reaching this day, and we ask for your prayers for her and our partners in minis-try at All Souls Episcopal. We look forward to continuing to serve the Lord by their side.


widespread influence. He re-creates the spiritual setting of the sixteenth cen-tury, showing Luther's place within it and influence upon it. Richly illus-trated with more than 100 woodcuts and engravings from Luther's own time, Here I Stand dramatically brings to life Martin Luther, the great re-former. This book is available online at Amazon.com, Christianbooks.com, and Concordia Publishing House.

- Donna Shaw

CFFY Corner (Christian Formation for You) Help a child learn to pray with Vibrant

Faith Prayer Cubes. There are prayer cubes containing prayers for saying table grace, saying bedtime prayers, and one for saying prayers for friends. For pricing and ordering information, call Vibrant Faith: 1-877-239-2492 or go on-line at amazon.com to find Prayer Cubes made by Creator Mundi, the original prayer cube maker.

The book Broken: Seven Christian

Rules That Every Christian Ought to Break as Often as Possible examines seven of the most common spiritual traditions and how they use specula-tion, mysticism, and moralism to break Christianity. Author Jonathan Fisk calls them the seven “counterfeit Christian rules that every Christian ought to break as often as possible,” because they are seven myths that have infiltrated the churches in our age, seven teachings taught as if they were doctrine, but which are nothing more than the traditions of men. This book was published by Concordia Pub-lishing and can be found on ama-zon.com.

Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Lu-

ther is an acknowledged masterpiece of the art of biography. Written by Ro-land B. Bainton this is an authorita-tive, unforgettable biography of Martin Luther, the great religious leader, who entered a monastery as a youth and who, as a man, shattered the structure of the medieval church. With sound historical scholarship and penetrating insight, Bainton examines Luther's

Foster Children Christmas Party On the evening of December 21st, we will be hosting a Christmas party at our church for the foster children, their fami-lies, and the staff of Lutheran Family Ser-vices . The party will be from 6-9pm. - Social Ministry Team

Thanks! Thanks to Cheryl Griffis and all those

who arranged for our wonderful Thanksgiving Luncheon!

Thanks to Teresa Gigante for organiz-

ing the recent visit of Morningstar Lu-theran’s Youth Handbell Choir. They visited us from Matthews. NC. We also wish to thank the Gustafson family and Donna Combs for helping host the youth. And thanks to the youth and their adult leaders for sharing their gifts with us! (Samples of their music can be found on our Facebook page and Instagram account.)


Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church 8154 Atlee Rd Mechanicsville VA 23111

The DEADLINE for the February 2018

edition of The Messenger is Sunday, January 14, 2018.

Please call me with your

submission, hand me a written submission OR email

[email protected]

Messiah on Pinterest http://pinterest.com/messiahmech/ boards/

Pray for the persecuted Since 2012, Messiah members have prayed for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ with the 50 countries on the Open Doors World Watch List and throughout the world. (See our Sunday prayer list in the bulletin, and on the prayer list in this newsletter.) Each week you can learn more at: opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list.

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