Parish Newsletters

Our Saviour Parish News, March, 2017

OUR SAVIOUR LUTHERAN CHURCH
3301 The Alameda
Baltimore, MD 21218
410-235-9553
www.oursaviourbaltimore.org
March 2017

 

Wednesday, March 1
ASH WEDNESDAY
6:30 P.M. Soup Supper
7:30 P.M. DIVINE SERVICE WITH
IMPOSITION OF ASHES

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The beginning of March brings with it the beginning of Lent. “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,’ he meant that the whole life of believers should be repentance.” This first of the 95 Theses which Dr. Martin Luther nailed to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg on October 31st 1517 reminds us that repentance is by no means confined to one season of the Church Year. In his Small Catechism Dr. Luther asks, “What does such baptizing with water signify?? It signifies that the old Adam in us should through daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die together with all sins and evil desires, and again a new man daily come forth and arise who shall live before God in righteousness and purity forever.” Nevertheless the Church has from ancient times set aside the forty days of the Lenten season as a time when we are especially conscious of Christian life as one of repentance. In preparation for Easter we meditate on the sufferings and death of the Lord Jesus for our sins, we confess our sins and are strengthened by the daily forgiveness He extends to all who with penitent hearts place their trust in Him. It is a very serious error so suppose that God somehow needs our Lenten observance: it is rather you and I who need this holy season. And so I hope that everyone will make a sincere effort to be present in church as we begin the Lenten season on Ash Wednesday with Divine Service and Imposition of Ashes. Receiving the ashes we hear the words God spoke to Adam after he had fallen into sin: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). And “the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). On each of the following Wednesdays of the Lenten season there will be Lenten Vespers at 7:30 P.M. with meditations on the Passion of our Lord. A simple soup supper precedes these Lenten services at 6:30 P.M. 

Included with this newsletter is a copy of a letter from the President of Synod, Pastor Matthew Harrison, on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the founding of our congregation. It was on March 10th, 1892 that twelve members of Immanuel Church, then on Caroline Street in east Baltimore, founded our congregation under the leadership of Pastor William Dallmann who was then the Pastor of English Emmanuel Church in west Baltimore. Emmanuel Church had been founded in 1888. So these two congregations were the beginning of the English work of the Missouri Synod in Baltimore. The name of our congregation has changed through the years. It was at first known as Jackson Square Lutheran Church because of its location. When in 1919 the old church was sold to Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church (which still worships in the old church) and the Church moved to its present location, the name was changed to The Church of Our Saviour. Then upon the merger of Our Saviour and Saint Matthew’s Church in April 1973 we became Our Saviour Lutheran Church. 125 years is a significant milestone which we will celebrate on Sunday, April 30th. The preacher for this occasion will be the Rev. Christopher Esget, Pastor of Immanuel Church in Alexandria and one of the five regional vice-presidents of the Missouri Synod. Do note this date in your calendar and plan on being present. You might also inform former members of our congregation about this celebration.

I think that everyone thoroughly enjoyed the potluck lunch on Sunday, February 12th, and the film on the life of Rosa Young, her remarkable work among the African American community as a confessor of the Gospel as proclaimed by the Lutheran Church. Mary Bridges, one of our older members, was in fact a student of Rosa Young. We give thanks for Rosa Young’s faithful witness as we continue to confess the same saving Gospel of Christ.

More than twenty people came to the meeting here at Our Saviour on February 18th to lay the foundation for a chapter of Lutherans for Life here in Baltimore. Hilary Haak, the Mission and Ministry Director of the national organization, led us through a very enlightening presentation on the basics of founding a chapter. We also were honored with the presence of the Rev. Everette Greene, vice-president of Lutherans for Life, a Baltimore native who is now Pastor of Immanuel Church in Cincinnati. There will be a follow up meeting here at Our Saviour on Saturday, March 18th, at 10:00 A.M. Everyone is welcome to attend. We are very much in just the beginning stages of this effort.

Confirmation classes for young people will be held on Tuesdays at 3:30 P.M. beginning February 28th. Dymond Hawkins and Ted Jones will be attending. Do let me know if there are other young people who might be invited.

The second Saint Mark’s Conference will be held on April 24 and 25 which is Saint Mark’s Day. Forty people attended last year’s Conference and we hope for a good response also this year. Although the Conference is chiefly of interest to pastors and seminarians, anyone may attend. The topic this year will be The Office of the Holy Ministry which will be considered in the light of Holy Scripture, the Lutheran Confessions, church history in general and the history of the Missouri Synod in particular. Publicity about this Conference will soon appear on our website.

We recently received the good news that, thanks to the generosity of Synod and Concordia Seminary in Fort Wayne, we will have a summer vicar. We will soon be able to announce his name. I know how much we all enjoyed the presence of Trent Demarest as our vicar together with his wife Maritza and his infant son John. Do keep the Demarests in your prayers as Maritza is expecting another child in early March.

Darlene Grant is still hospitalized at Johns Hopkins Hospital, James Gray is temporarily living at the Augsburg Home and recovering strength, Gabe Purviance is undergoing treatments. Remember to keep these fellow members in your prayers. 

I suspect most of us are familiar with the tithe as a guideline (not a law!) for giving in response to God’s gift of forgiveness, life and salvation. Less familiar perhaps is the idea of Lent as the “Tithe of the Year.” The year has 365 days, Lent has 40 days. There is of course no divine law that Lent must be observed and consciences must not be burdened with such a mistaken idea: God does not need our Lenten observances but you and I do. In His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6) our Lord speaks of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving which have always been understood as the traditional Lenten disciplines. I urge you to read and meditate on Matthew 6 as we begin the Lenten season. It is always a mistake to try to do too much by way of Lenten discipline. Consider your own spiritual health – or perhaps the lack thereof. For example, if you have been negligent in prayer for others you might make a short list of people who need your prayers. If you have been negligent in worshiping on the Lord’s Day, resolve to be present each Lord’s Day to celebrate the weekly memorial of the Lord’s resurrection and receive the precious gift of His holy Body and Blood. By your presence you also encourage your fellow Christians in their faith. I also highly recommend the use of “Portals of Prayer” which provides a fine brief meditation on Scripture and prayer for every day of the year.

As during this Lenten season we remember God’s great mercy toward us in His Son, let us pray for grace to be merciful to others, keeping our hearts free of all judgmental, condemning thoughts. In the words of that 4th century Syrian Christian, Saint Ephrem: 

O Lord and Master of my life,
Put far from me the spirit of pride, vainglory and hypocrisy,
But give rather to your servant a spirit of
humility, chastity, patience and love.
Yes, O Lord and King,
Help me to see my own faults and not to
judge my brother.
For you are blessed unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Affectionately in our Lord,

Pastor McClean

Parish Newsletters

Our Saviour Parish News, February, 2017

OUR SAVIOUR LUTHERAN CHURCH
3301 The Alameda
Baltimore, MD 21218
410-235-9553
www.oursaviourbaltimore.org
February 2017

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

When blessed Mary, the Virgin Mother of our Lord, and His foster father Joseph presented the forty day old Christ Child in the temple at Jerusalem, they were met by the aged Simeon and Anna (Luke 2:22-40) In the calendar of the Church Year February 2nd has from ancient times been kept in remembrance of this event. Saint Luke tells us that the aged Simeon took the Christ Child in his arms and prayed, “Lord, now you let your servant go in peace; Your word has been fulfilled. My own eyes have seen the salvation which You have prepared in the sight of every people…” We are told that the aged prophetess Anna, who was ceaselessly praying and fasting in the temple, spoke of the infant Savior to all the people. Early on Sunday morning, January 15th, the Savior called our beloved sister Myrna Curtis out of this earthly life to His nearer presence. Like Simeon she rejoiced in her Saviour and like Anna she was a faithful witness to Him. And so, although we mourn her passing from us, we give thanks that for her faith has now given way to sight. Many people came to her funeral service on Monday, January 23rd; she had clearly touched the lives of so many people and led both little children and adults to the knowledge of their Savior. Her faithfulness, her cheerful and humble presence, were a great blessing to all of us who were privileged to know her We shall miss her, nevertheless, we rejoice in the hope of a blessed reunion in the presence of the risen Lord. May she rest in peace and may the Light perpetuate ever shine upon her!

Several of our members are convalescing at the present time: Darlene Grant, James Gray, and Gabe Purviance. Remember them in your prayers that they may have a good recovery.

On Sunday, February 12th, we will – as usual on the second Sunday of the month – have a potluck luncheon which will then be followed by a short film called “The First Rosa” which presents the life of Rosa J Young: a teacher, a confessor of Christ, a church planter, a member of our Synod. With her passion for helping others, educating children and sharing the good news of Jesus, She accomplished extraordinary things for the African American community. I understand that at least one of our older members was in fact a student of Rosa Young. She is called “The First Rosa” by way of contrast with Rosa Parks who was such a fearless leader in the civil rights movement Both of them were used by God to touch the lives of many people Do plan on staying for lunch, invite your friends, and bring a dish to share.

On Saturday, February 18th, there will be a meeting here at Our Saviour for the purpose of organizing a chapter of Lutherans for Life in the greater Baltimore area This is a national organization which has as its purpose bearing witness to the sanctity of the life God gives from conception to natural death. Lutherans for Life speaks out against the scourge of abortion and seeks to help women who find themselves with unexpected pregnancies and those who are troubled by having had an abortion; it also speaks out against the growing support for euthanasia and insists on compassionate care for the dying. With other such groups Lutherans tor Life speaks for the Culture of Life in a world increasingly burdened with the Culture of Death. The meeting begins with Matins at 10:00 A.M. Lunch will be provided. All the Missouri Synod congregations in our area have been invited to send representatives. Mary Techau is coordinating this meeting,

I thoroughly enjoyed my week in Fort Wayne, attending the annual Symposium on the Lutheran Confessions. I heard some excellent papers and attended the services in the Chapel of Concordia Theological Seminary which are always marked by such wonderful music and solid preaching. A highlight was the presentation of J. S. Bach’s cantata based on Luther’s hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” I also saw many old and new friends. It was especially delightful to see our former vicar Trent Demarest, his wife Maritza. and their son John who is almost walking now and also expecting a little brother or sister in early March. They send their love to the people of Our Saviour. Keep the Demarests in your prayers. Trent continues to help with our website.

At the Voters Meeting on Sunday, January 22nd, it was resolved to give Don Weber the title of Organist Emeritus. Until we find a new organist we are being helped by Charles Ames who for many years was organist at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Annapolis and by Marie Herrington who is a student at the Peabody Conservatory. Don Weber will be a member of the committee to find his successor. The Voters also confirmed the appointment Of Merton Masterson as director of worship since Jake Mokris is now in Israel continuing to work on his doctoral studies in physics. Remember to keep Jake in your prayers.

The Rev. Christopher S. Esget has agreed to preach for the 125th anniversary of our congregation. He serves both as Pastor of Immanuel Church in Alexandria and also as Vice President of the East-Southeast Region of our Synod having been elected to that office during the Synodical Convention in Milwaukee this past summer. He preached for my installation as your pastor back in May 2013. The date for the anniversary service has not yet been set but will probably take place in the spring, We intend to invite former members of Our Saviour to join in this celebration,

February 18th is the 467th anniversary of Martin Luther’s death. The Church has always regarded the death of believers as their heavenly birthday. During this year of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation we Lutherans are especially conscious of the blessings which God bestowed on His Church through His faithful servant Martin Luther. His Small Catechism has formed the faith and life of countless children and adults. We are never finished learning all that the Catechism has to teach about the Six Chief Parts of Christian doctrine: the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, Baptism, Confession and Absolution, and the Sacrament of the Altar. Most of us have our own copy of the Catechism. If for some reason you do not have one, please let me know and I’ll be glad to give you one.

Do note that Ash Wednesday is March 1st. Plan now to attend Divine Service on that day and the Wednesday Lenten Vespers which follow.

Let me say again that I am always available to respond to your spiritual needs. It is easiest to reach me by calling my home telephone (which has an answering machine) – 410.554.9994 – or charlesmcclean42@gmail.com. I ask that you keep me in your prayers as you are in mine.

 Affectionately in our Lord,


Pastor McClean

WORKS OF MERCY

Due to donations from the Lenten soup suppers and gifts from our church family, we were able to provide turkeys and provisions to seventeen needy families between the thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. The families picked up their baskets from the church. We delivered baskets to two families due to disabilities. We continue to need your gifts of canned goods and nonperishable food items to fulfil our ongoing commitment to the community food pantry. On January 27, 2017 we delivered seven boxes of food. Please continue to remember our neighbors who are in need. Many thanks to the donors of food and to those who help with distribution and coordination, Judy Volkman, William Hawkins and Ron Lange.

We continue to remember residents of Helping up Mission; a February delivery is planned. We will be taking personal toiletry items: tooth brushes, towels, socks etc. Let me know if you have items you wish to include in the February delivery. Please remember to drop off any spare change in the Alms boxes. Any monies collected from the boxes will be used to purchase supplies for the residents of the Mission. Many thanks for your acts of kindness, and may God continue to bless and comfort you in the new year.
                                                              – Quilla Downs

 

Parish Newsletters

Our Saviour Parish News, January, 2017

OUR SAVIOUR LUTHERAN CHURCH
  in the City of Baltimore
www.oursaviourbaltimore.org
January 2017

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Here we are at the beginning of the year of our Lord 2017 which is both the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and the 125th anniversary of Our Saviour Church. I write these lines on December 28th which is the fourth day of the Twelve Days of Christmas and also the Festival of the Holy Innocents when the Church remembers the little boys of Bethlehem who perished in King Herod’s futile attempt to destroy the infant Savior (Matthew 2:13-18).

Our happiness on Christmas Eve was increased by the fact that Don Weber, our faithful organist, was able to play for the Holy Night Communion. He has served as organist in this Church since September 1959; this past September he had completed fifty-seven years here! In a day when commitments are hard to come by and people seem to move from one job to another, Our Saviour has been truly blessed to have Don Weber these many years. You realize how long Don has been here when you remember that when he began here Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House – and I had just graduated from City College High School! The Church Council and I truly wish that Don could go on for ever, but age with its infirmities has a way of catching up with us all. And so for reasons of health Don has announced his retirement. He will hold the title Organist Emeritus and he expects to play on occasion when he is able. I must say that as pastor I have been simply delighted with Don’s work: he is truly liturgical organist. He has a deep understanding of the worship of the Church in general and of its music in particular. We now face the challenge of choosing a successor. For the time being we have the services of several qualified organists. The Church Council has addressed all of these matters quite carefully and is certainly willing to receive input from our members. Don will be part of the committee which will look for his successor. We are of course going to have a grand recognition event for Don but that will take some time to put in place. In your prayers give thanks for Don and pray that our heavenly Father would continue to bless and keep him in all his ways.

We Christians celebrate the Twelve Days of Christmas through January 5th. The following day is the Festival of the Epiphany of our Lord, one of the great festivals of the Church in which we remember the coming of the Gentile wise men (Matthew 2:1-12) to worship the infant Lord. Epiphany has been called the “Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles” and the “Christmas of the Gentiles.” On the evening of Friday, January 6th, there will be a Festival Divine Service at which we’ll sing beloved Christmas carols which speak of the wise men: “The First Nowell,” “What Child is This?” and “We Three Kings of Orient Are,” together with Epiphany hymns. The Rev. Aaron Bueltmann, Pastor of Advent Church in Forest Hill, will be the preacher. The other congregations of our Circuit have been invited and there will be a reception after Service. The Epiphany Festival brings our Christmas celebration to a bright and joyful conclusion.

Sunday, January 1st, is of course New Year’s Day. In the calendar of the Church Year it is the Festival of the Circumcision and the Name of Jesus (Luke 2:21) and also the Eighth of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Should not we Christians wish to begin the New Year in the Lord’s House at the Lord’s Altar? Divine Service will as usual be at 11:00 A.M. but Sunday School and Adult Class will not meet.

Jake Mokris has been studying for a doctorate in physics at Johns Hopkins University. His adviser at Hopkins recently took a new job at the University of Haifa in Israel.  And so to complete his doctoral studies Jake must now follow his adviser to Haifa. On Sunday, January 8th, we’ll have a potluck luncheon to wish him well and thank him not least for his faithful carrying out of the duties of worship director following James Gray who served faithfully and well for so many years. Merton Masterson will be succeeding Jake in that capacity.

You may have noticed that the arch over the main door of the church facing The Alameda has recently been painted – thanks to the generosity of a member who prefers to remain anonymous. Such an arch is called a tympanum. It had been showing the wear of the 86 years since the Church’s dedication in 1930.

I must thank Joe Silver and William Hawkins for getting the Christmas trees and everyone who helped to decorate the Church. “Many hands make light work,” and so the whole task was finished in little more than an hour. Judy Volkman as usual took in hand the ordering of the poinsettias and their placement in the chancel. Our Church is always quite splendid in its Christmas finery. The decorations will be taken down on January 8th, the First Sunday after the Epiphany.

I have been remiss in not having thanked Paul Techau for serving as our cantor. He sings the variable parts of the liturgy which properly are sung: the Introit (entrance chant), the Gradual (between the Old Testament Lesson and the Epistle), the Alleluia Verse (before the Holy Gospel). These parts of the liturgy are largely taken from the Book of Psalms and have been in use in the Church for well over a thousand years. They compliment the Scripture readings of the Sunday or Festival. When the liturgy was revised at the Reformation these parts were retained.

I will be away from January 14th through January 20th attending the annual Symposium on the Lutheran Confessions at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. On Sunday, January 15th, Pastor Thomas Foelber, until his retirement Pastor of Saint James’s Church in Overlea, and now our Circuit Visitor, will be with us. If you need a pastor while I am away, call my home phone (410.554.9994) and there will be a message to help you reach a pastor.

There will be a regular Voters Meeting on Sunday, January 22nd, following the Divine Service. Members of our congregation, 18 years and older, are eligible to participate in the Voters Meeting.

I suspect that as we enter the new year we are full of hopes and also misgivings. Those hopes and misgivings we place in the hands of Jesus our Savior in the confidence that His forgiving love will sustain us all our days. Pray for this congregation and for me your pastor and for the whole Christian Church on earth with all its pastors and ministers. Pray for our country and for all the nations of the earth that we may continue to serve our Lord and Savior with glad hearts and live quiet and peaceful lives in all godliness and honesty.

Affectionately in our Lord, 

PastorMcCleanSig

Pastor McClean

Parish Newsletters

Our Saviour Parish News, December, 2016

oslcbwOur Saviour Lutheran Church
– in the city of Baltimore

December, 2016

 

christmas2016

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The calendar year 2016 is now rapidly coming to an end; soon we will enter the year of our Lord 2017 which will be marked by two anniversaries. With Lutherans throughout the world we will be celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, and here at Our Saviour Church will be celebrating the 125th anniversary of the founding of this congregation. Both anniversaries call us to remember, repent, and give thanks: to remember all God’s innumerable blessings, to repent of our indifference and ingratitude for those blessings, and to give thanks that God’s mercies are new to us every morning and that through His dear Son Jesus Christ our Lord He daily forgives our sins, sustains us by His Holy Spirit, and promises the light and joy of the world to come. Needless to say, we are beginning to make plans for the celebration of both anniversaries.

 Now we find ourselves in the holy season of Advent, a time of self-examination and repentance, as we prepare for the celebration of our Saviour’s first coming in great humility as the Child of the Blessed Virgin Mary and also prepare for His coming again in glory to judge both the living and the dead. I suspect that we are all very much conscious of the devastating effects of human sin together with the wiles of the devil and of the despair which plagues countless human beings. In the light of those realities we Christians know that the hope which never puts to shame is found in the Saviour whose blood cleanses from all sin and through whose death and resurrection the door of heaven again stands open to all who place their trust in Him.

By way of contrast with the Roman Catholic Church the Lutheran Church does not require her members explicitly to confess their sins in the presence of the pastor. But the Lutheran Church does provide opportunity for the blessing of private confession and absolution. We learned in the Catechism: “Confession embraces two parts: one is that we confess our sins; the other, that we receive absolution, or forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself, and in no wise doubt, but firmly believe that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven. Which sins should we confess? Before God we should plead guilty of all sins, even of those which we do not know as we do in the Lord’s Prayer; but before the pastor we should confess those sins only which we know and feel in our hearts” (Luther’s Small Catechism) And we read in the Augsburg Confession: “It is taught among us that private absolution should be retained and not allowed to fall into disuse. However, in confession it is not necessary to enumerate all trespasses and sins, for this is impossible. Ps.19:12 ‘Who can discern his errors?'” (Augsburg Confession, Article XI). Dr. Luther himself regularly went to confession and said that without it the devil would easily have overcome him. The great blessing of private confession is the individual word of absolution. Consciences burdened with the memory of sin find release, peace, and hope. i am always available to hear confession. Since we now have a prayer desk with crucifix in the study we now have a place where confessions can be heard in strict privacy. If you have any questions about confession, do be in touch with me (charlesmcclean42@gmail.com, 410.554.9994). To prepare for confession one can examine one’s conscience by reflecting on the Ten Commandments and their meaning as found in the Catechism.

At the November Voters Meeting it was decided upon the recommendation of the Church Council that Our Saviour apply for Historic Designation from our City’s Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation. The application process will take a number of months but will almost certainly be complete before the end of the 125th Anniversary year.

Also at the Voters Meeting the Congregation accepted the Church Council’s recommendation for our Christmas services. Because Christmas Day and New Year’s Day come on Sunday this year there will as usual be Divine Service at 11:00 A.M. on both days, but the Adult Class and Sunday School will not meet. The Holy Night Communion of Christmas Eve will be celebrated this year at 7:30 P.M. The New Year’s Eve service will be omitted this year. And Christmastide will close with the Feast of the Epiphany of our Lord, Friday, January 6th; there will be a Festival Divine Service at 7:30 P.M. to which all the churches in our Circuit are invited. A reception will follow. There is a practical benefit in having Divine Service on Christmas morning and New Year’s morning. Some people are understandably reluctant to come out at night, so these daytime services provide them with an opportunity for worship. It surely goes without saying that every Christian who is able will wish to be at the Divine Service on the day of our Saviour’s birth: the Saviour once found wrapped in swaddling clothes now comes in the lowly bread and wine of His Sacrament.

Here are two passages from Christmas sermons of Dr. Luther.

“O thou boy, lying in the manger, thou art truly God who hast created me, and thou wilt not be wrathful with me because thou comest to me in this loving way – more loving cannot be imagined.”

“If you would truly love, let him be this way in your heart. If you regard the boy according to the flesh, he means nothing to you’ but much if this little Jesus is your God and Savior.”

Ponder these words of Dr. Luther as you prepare for your Christmas Communion and then come with joy to the Lord’s altar on the day of His birth.

Let us pray for one another, for the whole church, and for the whole world Christ came to save.

Affectionately in our Lord, 

PastorMcCleanSig

Pastor McClean