Easter 4
Announcements April 15th Our Savior Lutheran
Looking for new ushers and Altar Guild helpers
One way the members of Our Savior have an opportunity to serve in church is to be an usher or Altar Guild member. We are looking to expand the pool of helpers in both of these categories:
Ushers
For ushers we have had men serving in this role and plan to continue to have this be a men’s role. You see the ushers handing out bulletins and lighting the candles during worship, as well as ushering forward communicants to the front to receive communion. They will usually arrive at church about 30 minutes before the service begins. Typically the ushers serve for a month at a time.
Altar Guild
The Altar Guild takes care of preparing the elements for Communion before Sunday. There are also occasions for changing the paraments on the altar when the season changes. We are considering changing from serving for a month at a time to perhaps a weekly rotation. There are generally at least two people on duty at one time.
I strongly encourage everyone to consider if they are able and willing to serve in one of these two ways. The more people we have to draw from, the fewer times each individual person will have to be on duty. In addition, many of the same people end up serving over and over again. Neither of these roles represent a huge time commitment on their own, but it is something that is very helpful for the church. Please contact Pastor Helwig or Gary Morgan if you are willing to be included in the rotation.
A few changes on the horizon
One of the topics discussed at the Voter’s Meeting on April 12th was some possible changes to worship regarding both new resources and the communion schedule
Communion Schedule
My suggestion for the Communion schedule is that offering Communion in every service is a good practice. While it is important to acknowledge that Jesus does not give any kind of command about how often the Lord’s Supper is celebrated, there are several categories for why I’ve come to this opinion after much consideration. There are Biblical, Confessional, and Practical reasons why every Sunday communion can be a good practice.
Biblical reasons
When Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday, he simply says that Christians are to do it often in remembrance of him (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). We see in the example of the early church that the celebration of the Lord’s Supper was central to their worship life (Acts 2:42). Jesus promises blessings in the Lord’s Supper, as we confess in the Small Catechism: “This means that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.” These are the blessings we come to worship to receive every week through the proclamation of the Word, and we also are promised to receive them in Jesus’ body and blood.
Confessional reasons
In a similar way, our confessions as Lutherans do not specifically bind us to any specific schedule, but we find some statements that describe the Lutheran church’s practices at the times. Some examples:
The Apology of the Augsburg Confession Article XXIV
At the outset, we must again make this preliminary statement: we do not abolish the Mass, but religiously keep and defend it. Masses are celebrated among us every Lord’s Day and on the other festivals. The Sacrament is offered to those who wish to use it, after they have been examined and absolved. And the usual public ceremonies are observed, the series of lessons, of prayers, vestments, and other such things. [Note that the term mass is used to refer to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper as was common for them at the time.]
Augsburg Confession Article XXIV
Because the Mass is for the purpose of giving the Sacrament, we have Communion every holy day, and if anyone desires the Sacrament, we also offer it on other days, when it is given to all who ask for it. This custom is not new in the Church.
Practical reasons
A practical reason to always offer the sacrament is that some people may have various reasons for missing worship for one reason or another. Some professions have weekly work schedules that cause a person to miss Sundays every other week. This is common in the medical professions, where they may work 7 days in a row at time, and then have 7 days off. If the work schedule matches up with Communion Sundays, it is reasonable to imagine a situation where a person misses Communion for months against their will. Another (perhaps less serious) example is during the summer months when one might be up north for the weekend. While I encourage everyone to not use that as a reason to miss church regularly, I would hardly begrudge anyone a weekend at the cabin! Yet one might go without communion for a month even while only missing one church service.
Some important considerations
1. Distinguishing between Offering Communion every Sunday and Receiving communion every Sunday.
In no way should anyone be compelled to receive communion as though this is your duty. The Lord’s Supper is not to be twisted into a new Law ordinance to fulfill. Luther speaks of this in the Large Catechism: “Now, it is true, as we have said, that no one should by any means be forced or compelled to go to the Sacrament, lest we institute a new murdering of souls.” However, I consider it my duty as a pastor to Offer communion to anyone who wishes. From the perspective of the Pastor, I want to always give an opportunity to those who desire the Sacrament.
2. We should use the opportunity of every Sunday communion to continue to hold the Sacrament in highest regard.
One concern is that having Communion every Sunday may cause us to forget its specialness. The Augsburg Confession speaks of it in the opposite way in fact: “All those able to do so partake of the Sacrament together. This also increases the reverence and devotion of public worship. [6] No one is admitted to the Sacrament without first being examined. [7] The people are also advised about the dignity and use of the Sacrament, about how it brings great consolation to anxious consciences, so that they too may learn to believe God and to expect and ask from Him all that is good.” It is my prayer and desire that more frequent celebration of the Lord’s Supper increases our appreciation for worship.
It is possible for anyone to take the Supper for granted, whether it is celebrated every Sunday, every other Sunday, or 4 times a month. The flaw is in our sinful flesh, not in the frequency! I will be mindful for some time going forward about encouraging self-examination and preparation for the supper, all the more when receiving it more often.
Action being taken
It is not my desire to thoughtlessly change our practice. However, I believe I have done as much preparation and teaching as could be reasonably done. What the voters agreed to on April 12th is to celebrate Communion every Sunday during the summer months. Consider this a trial period. At the end of the summer I will be putting out an opportunity to give feedback on whether every Sunday communion is the practice we want to continue (along with some other feedback I want to hear after being the pastor here for three years now.) If you have any questions or concerns, I am happy to talk about this topic at any time!
Worship resources expanding (hopefully)
Another topic was the possibility of using the digital resources now available from the new hymnal in worship. My plan was to use some of the new services or hymns from the software available by printing out the service in full, as we have done sometimes when we use the services from Christian Worship Supplement (the blue books). This would mean we can use new hymnal resources without committing fully to new hymnals or abandoning the red Christian Worship hymnals. At the time of the meeting I believed that I could use a free trial of this software before committing to paying for a subscription. After investigating further I seem to have been mistaken, and I can’t actually print anything until the subscription is paid. Another meeting and voting would have to take place before money is spent on this. I would love to hear feedback about this idea from people in the meantime!