Hope Lutheran Chapel

April 2012 VOL. 12 No. 4

PASTOR'S CORNER

Read Mark 12:13–27

Mark 12:24-27 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? (25) For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. (26) And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? (27) He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”

As we enter April we also are encountering Easter and Spring. With Spring everything that was dead is coming back to life again, but in the same order of things. It’s the same every Spring. But with Easter, well that’s a whole different ball game (spring training pun intended). In the resurrection, we have a whole new order of things. Things and us don’t just come back like we were, things will be really different. The text above clues us into it a little.

There are two misconceptions that people have that Jesus is correcting and one that is caused by this lesson. We’ll take on first the ones corrected and one cause by it together. First, much to the chagrin of many couples who are waiting to be reunited with their spouses in eternity, you won’t have the status of married at the resurrection. That order of things is done away with. Will you know your spouse(s) in the world to come? Sure, but they won’t be your spouse. They’ll just be Bob, Sue, Kate or Tom.

Secondly, we don’t become angels. The point of comparison is that angels don’t marry. In the resurrection of the body, like the angels, we won’t marry. Jesus came not only to redeem our souls/spirits but also to redeem our bodies. Jesus rose with his body. You’re going to rise with yours. As Job says, “With my own eyes and in my own flesh I will see my Redeemer.”

Thirdly, if you are Christian, you don’t die. Sure your body may experience death, but you died back when you were baptized. You died with Christ. Your spirit which was dead previously was raised to life. That’s why Abraham, Isaac and Jacob weren’t dead when Jesus was talking to them. They were Christians. They believe in the one who would come from their loins who would save all humanity through his death.

The day Adam and Eve ate the fruit they died. Not physically, though that process began. They died spiritually. So St. Paul says, we were dead in our trespasses and sins. Your unbelieving neighbors already are zombies, they’re just not of the human flesh eating kind. But Baptism into Christ Jesus cures them. Because Baptism gives us faith in Christ and the Holy Spirit. And that is eternal life. If you have eternal life you can’t die. So Jesus says to his favorite two sisters (not his biological sisters, just two sisters who happen to be his favorites), If you die and believe in me you will live, in fact if you believe in me you will never die.

That really helps us make sense of that passage in the Creed when it says Jesus comes again to judge the living and the dead. Why judge dead people? What good would it do? Instead we should understand it as saying the believers and the unbelievers as both are raised from the dust on the last day. So are you alive or are you a zombie. If you are a zombie we have a cure: You have been saved from death by Christ Jesus’ death. Believe this and you are cured.

Lord, help us ever to believe that to have faith in you means we have eternal life and let us be living when you return for us. Amen.

Pastor Guillaume Williams, Sr.

FROM THE BOARD OF ELDERS
Your Elder, listed by your name in the directory, is available for you both spiritually and otherwise. We prayerfully assist the pastor in looking after the welfare of Hope members. If the Pastor is not available, and you need spiritual help, experience a serious illness, or a death in the family, or for any reason, should you feel the need, please contact your Elder.

In service to our Lord, Your Board of Elders
Gene Scheiter,Chairman, Don Hunkeler, Gary Staerkel,Tim Otten, and Chuck Kiel

ADOPT A STUDENT
Dear Friends in Christ: During this Lenten Season as we focus our hearts and minds on Christ's journey to the cross, it is also appropriate to think about those who "are" Christ to us. And, certainly you are! The entire family offers a greeting of thanksgiving and appreciation for your support and your prayers! After communicating via phone and email with many of our friends and family we discovered that many of our mailings that we had sent over the holiday season had been lost! This was a frustrating discovery to say the least, so we have changed our method of mailing (taking the letters directly to the post office) in hopes that we can avoid further gaps in communication. Your support and prayers are simply an amazing blessing and we want you to know that. We hope this situation didn't impact our mailings to you in November and December. If you didn't get these, send me an email at hunsakerm@csl.edu and I'll send the documents right away. From my correspondence with Don Hunkeler it sounds like some did not reach you.

Dear Friends in Christ: During this Lenten Season as we focus our hearts and minds on Christ's journey to the cross, it is also appropriate to think about those who "are" Christ to us. And, certainly you are! The entire family offers a greeting of thanksgiving and appreciation for your support and your prayers! After communicating via phone and email with many of our friends and family we discovered that many of our mailings that we had sent over the holiday season had been lost! This was a frustrating discovery to say the least, so we have changed our method of mailing (taking the letters directly to the post office) in hopes that we can avoid further gaps in communication. Your support and prayers are simply an amazing blessing and we want you to know that. We hope this situation didn't impact our mailings to you in November and December. If you didn't get these, send me an email at hunsakerm@csl.edu and I'll send the documents right away. From my correspondence with Don Hunkeler it sounds like some did not reach you.

I look forward to visiting your congregation again this summer and, with Pastor's permission, having the opportunity to share a message. My letter is running long, so it is best to close now. Thank you again for everything and we look forward to the possibility of seeing you this summer...

Mark's address is:
Mr. Mark Hunsaker
Box 101
801 Seminary Place
St. Louis, MO 63105-3196

Please keep Mark in your prayers – send a card or note of encouragement.

LWML NEWS
The Guild is asking the ladies of the Congregation for their assistance in making egg casseroles and sweet treats for the Easter breakfast. We need eight of each, there is a signup sheet on the credenza. The ladies are helping Gary Staerkel and his able bodied male chefs in continuing this tradition.

Now is also time to see which of your clothes shrunk in your closet during the winter. The Guild can make wonderful use of your past favorites for our rummage sale which will be on April 20th and 21st. We will also be taking any good saleable items that you no longer need. We will take household goods, books, toys, shoes, purses, some furniture, but no mattresses or hide-a-beds.

The group will be visiting Windsor Nursing home on April 10th, where we will hold a devotion session, with hymn singing, and we will also be making placemats with the residents.

We wish everyone a blessed Easter season.

Lois Grawe –LWML secretary

LIVING WAY
LWBS meets on Mondays at 9:30 am at the church and 7:00 pm at the Staerkel’s Home. Everyone is welcome to join us at anytime.

SUNDAY SCHOOL NEWS
SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHEDULE for April

Weekly assignments - Must recite the following week Date: 04/01/2012
Memory Work: All Ages: The Creed – Page 15
Lesson: Peter Denies Jesus

Date: 04/08/2012
Memory Work: All Ages: The Creed – Page 15
Lesson: Jesus Dies and Lives Again

Date: 04/15/2012
Memory Work: Little Ones: 1st Article
1st Grade and up: 1st Article Paragraphs 1 & 2 – Page 15
Lesson: Jesus Reinstates Peter

Date: 04/22/2012
Memory Work: Little Ones: 1st Article
1st Grade and up: 1st Article Paragraphs 3-5 – Page 16
Lesson: Paul’s First Missionary Journey

Date: 04/29/2012

Memory Work: Little Ones: 2nd Article 1st Grade and up: 2nd Article Paragraphs 1 & 2 – Page 16
Lesson: Paul and Timothy

FEBRUARY SUNDAY SCHOOL OFFERINGS collected $91.96 for our adopted seminary student. April offerings will benefit Lambs of Hope. Please place your offerings in the jar or basket during the Sunday School hour.

Meet your Sunday School Student/Teacher
Who Am I:
Who is your favorite Bible character and Why? It is Jesus, because he saved us from our sins.
What is your favorite dessert of all time? My grandma makes the best pumpkin pie and I just love it.
What would you like us to know about you? I really don't like dark chocolate. Actually I am not really a fan of chocolate. I would rather chew gum or eat jelly beans.
Who Am I? ____________________
Last Month’s Who Am I? Jayden Seberger

Mary Ellen Staerkel,Sunday School Superintendant

LAMBS OF HOPE
Daycare - Preschool - Afterschool Care
With the weather as nice as it’s been, we’ve been able to go outside quite a bit. We flew kites one day and we’ve done some chalk drawings. The kids have really enjoyed the warm weather. We are looking forward to more of it. Some of our new things have started to arrive, making Lambs of Hope look a little different. It’s coming along very nicely. We’ve started thinking about summer and would really like to do some projects that helps the community. We have a couple of things, but more ideas would be helpful.

Brenda Adams, Director

Hello everyone! We had another great month in preschool! Our themes for March were weather and the ocean. We also did some fun crafts for St. Patrick's Day. We focused on the letters U, V, W, and X. Our Bible verse was, "Do not be afraid for I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said." We are very excited to spend April learning about and celebrating Easter and Spring time. It's hard to believe the end of the school year is growing near, but we will continue to learn and enjoy all of our time left in preschool!

Miss Amanda, 3 and 4 yrs old Preschool Teacher

THANK YOU!
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for the continued prayers and support during my illness. Thanks also to Pastor for his visits and comfort. ~ Dorothy Champley

BOOK ENDS

LUTHER'S WORKS There were other editions of collected works by Luther - some as early as the century but the need for more of Luther's works in English resulted in this American edition of Luther’s works. There are two indexes in this set of works. The first is a subject index,¬ the second index covers Scripture passages. Volume numbers are underlined with the page number following. If you read the foreward, it will give you a much better understanding. We are so fortunate to have these volumes in our library. It is truly a wealth of information. Special thanks to our anonymous donor for this wonderful gift.

Jean Hunkeler, Librarian DRIVE IN
DRIVE IN SERVICES will be here soon! Please prayerfully consider volunteering to help with the numerous tasks associated with providing this special ministry. Particularly parking attendants, as several that were able to do it in the past, are unable to this year. There is a volunteer sign up sheet on the credenza if you would like to help this year.

If you are interested in being on the committee, we need leaders for Kitchen, Parking, Music, and Greeters. Please see Don Hunkeler or Kathy Heinemann if you would like to lead one of these areas, or have questions.

GIFT/CARD SHOP
Easter cards are in! Also it is confirmation and graduation time; we have them too! Check out the selection. There are some cross gifts and bibles available, but if you have a special request, it can be ordered. Thanks to all of you who saved the upc codes from Best Choice products. The guild has received $60 for our efforts. The box for the labels are in the coat room by the card shop.
BR> If you have any questions or requests, please let me know. We appreciate all who use the card shop.
BR> A Blessed Easter to all.

Doris Meyer HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU,HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR –

4/1 Danielle Civey
4/7 Shirley Stojeba, Charles Lashley
4/14 Kara Haynes
4/15 Richard Topel, Bill Sulze, Jr.
4/16 Tammy Lee, Todd Lashley
4/17 Kathy BukowskiDon Glawe
4/19 Michael Rascoe
4/23 Mike Loman
4/26 Christina Williams
4/30 Danny Bowers

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

4/8 Rob and Kim Cox
4/12 Tim and Ellen Glascock
4/30 Harry and Dorothy Champley THOSE WHO SERVE

Altar Guild
4/1 Sonja Howard
4/5 Fran Carlson/Jean Hunkeler
4/8 Jean Hunkeler/Debbie Thompson
4/15 Doris Rich
4/22 Joyce Trost
4/29 Ruth Glawe

Candle Fillers
4/1 Louise Kemp
4/8 Dorothy Champley
4/15 Louise Kemp
4/22 Jean Hunkeler
4/29 Jean Hunkeler

Elders
4/1 Chuck Kiel
4/8 Gene Scheiter/Gary Staerkel
4/15 Don Hunkeler
4/22 Chuck Kiel
4/29 Gary Staerkel

Counters
4/1 Gary Staerkel/Karen Brown
4/8 Chuck/Karen Kiel
4/15 Dave Brown/Jerol Laughlin
4/22 Chuck/Karen Kile
4/29 Paul/Betty Merli
Acolytes
4/1 Brittany and Blair Kurtz
4/8 Gui and Marie Williams
4/15 Adam and Gabrielle Hill
4/22 Shelby and Gabe Kurtz
4/29 Gui and Marie Williams

Greeters
4/1 Pat Erlmann
4/29 Don and Ruth Glawe

Fellowship Hosts
4/1 Dorothy Champley
4/8 Staerkel Crew/LWML
4/15 Charlie and Fran Lashley
4/22 Gene and Margaret Scheiter
NEWSLETTER DEADLINE FOR MAY ISSUE ~FRIDAY,APRIL 20th at Noon.
Articles for the church newsletter, “The Anchor” may be put in the in-box on the church secretary’s desk or sent by e-mail to: HopeChapelLCMS@att.net

ALWAYS REMEMBER - SHARE YOUR LORD ! - YOUR SMILE ! AND YOUR HEART WITH OTHERS!
GOD LOVES YOU!