Trinity Lutheran Church in Lowden

On Sunday, September 12, Trinity Lutheran Church, Lowden held its first ever Trinity Tailgate party! The tailgating celebrated Rally Sunday and the “kick off” of a new year of Christian Education. The afternoon included a group Sunday School lesson, delicious food and fun games. It was a great day of sharing God’s Word, fun and fellowship with everyone!

Trinity Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids

Rev. David Miller was ordained at Trinity, Cedar Rapids held on August 22.

St. Paul Lutheran Church in McGregor

A BUDDING ORGANIST?

On a recent Sunday when my husband Rev. Dr. Gary Arp was conducting services at St Paul Lutheran Church, McGregor, IA for Pastor Zimmer, I spotted the great granddaughter of the organist watching intently as her great grandmother played the organ after church was over. It appeared she wanted to try it for herself. When she was placed on the bench and allowed to play she was able to make very heavenly sounds on the organ and did not want to quit playing. The only camera I had with me was my iPhone and she was very happy to pose for a picture.

Marjorie Arp

St. Paul's Chapel in Iowa City

Here Come The Hawkeyes Black and Gold and Lutheran!

Black and Gold are decidedly the autumn colors of downtown Iowa City. Shops and University buildings are decked out in their Hawkeye best to welcome students from around Iowa and from across the globe. St. Paul’s is an active part of the University’s Welcome Week, hosting incoming freshmen, returning students, their roommates and hall mates, and new international students and families.

Welcome Week is a busy time in campus ministry. St. Paul’s began its Welcome Week activities with the International Student Ministry Pot Luck on the Friday of opening weekend. Favorite dishes from home countries were sampled as volunteers and internationals renewed friendships and formed new ones. The Divine Service on Sunday is always the highlight of opening weekend. Upper classmen did a tremendous job welcoming freshmen, helping them navigate the quirky staircases and half-hallways in search of the sanctuary. A picnic on the chapel front lawn is always a favorite activity, and this year’s Welcome Picnic on Monday evening was a huge hit. Chicken dinners were devoured, a football was tossed around, and acquaintances began to grow into friendships. Even the weather was welcoming, and the coolness of the evening invited everyone to linger outdoors. Welcome Week activities wrapped up Friday afternoon with the annual “Softball ‘n Slop” event, a perennial favorite of the chapel crowd. The group played blooper pitch softball (which is not as easy as it sounds) and then headed over to Pastor Mons’ home for a sloppy joe feast.

Welcome Week is an important time of campus ministry. The activities center on fun, but they also provide a foundation for future relationships. There’s a lot of joy in celebrating being Black and Gold and Lutheran, but most importantly, the goal of campus ministry remains to reach as many people as possible with the Gospel message during their time in Iowa City.

Trinity Lutheran Church in Guttenberg and St. Paul Lutheran Church in McGregor

The Mission Float that participated in 5 area parades sharing the Good News in surrounding communities.

Trinity Lutheran Church in Guttenberg

Trinity Ladies Aid took a trip on the Mississippi River for their June meeting. Pastor and Julie Zimmer hosted them on their pontoon boat. The group enjoyed lunch on a sandbar while Pastor Zimmer lead Devotions followed by the monthly meeting .

Trinity Lutheran Church in Osage and St. John Lutheran Church in Osage

On May 2, Emily Valasek, Dianna Huisman, Sam Steart, Jaide Cornwell, Zach Anderson, Chandler Banta, Ben Winkels, and Cassidy Mohl were Confirmed. The class is pictured with the Rev. Bruce Kaltwasser.

Congregations Serving the Deaf Community in IDE

God’s Word for a Deaf World

Willard J. Madsen, formerly a professor of sign language at Gallaudet University, wrote a classic poem in 1971 on the experience of being deaf. The end of that poem reads as follows: What is it like to comprehend


Some nimble fingers that paint the scene,
And make you smile and feel serene
With the "spoken word" of the moving hand
That makes you part of the world at large?

You have to be deaf to understand. In many ways, the deaf live in their own world defined by cultural and linguistic boundaries. Many of them prefer to associate with other deaf. They share a common language and values. They have experienced many of the same daily frustrations in trying to communicate with the hearing people around them. In coming together, the deaf find the same kind of understanding and acceptance that hearing people have among good friends. The deaf community is their home.

It was in that deaf world that our LCMS deaf churches began. In 1873, the Lutheran School for the Deaf began in Detroit. In 1894, a graduate of that school encouraged Rev. Augustus Reinke to begin serving the deaf in the Chicago area. Soon there were deaf congregations all around synod. These congregations were strongholds in the deaf community, places where the deaf, their language, and their community flourished. A fairly uniform system of education, a cohesive community, and mission-minded Christians created great opportunities to reach out to the deaf with the good news of Jesus.

Those were the good old days and those days are fading quickly. Today, the education system is not very uniform. Years ago, students went one state school for the deaf. Today, many students are mainstreamed through their local schools. Creating a strong community for the future is difficult when the students are spread out over hundreds of miles. Naturally, that creates a similar challenge for the church when our target population is scattered.

How should the church respond to these changing times? There is still an important place for deaf churches. Deaf people tend to congregate in cities where there are more job opportunities and deaf fellowship. Deaf congregations will usually be the most equipped to reach out to them. However, there are some deaf who, because of their education, personal or family reasons, prefer a hearing church. Hearing churches can meet this need with interpreters and loving members who are eager to embrace someone using a different language. Hearing churches are also well-positioned to help the smaller numbers of deaf in small towns and rural areas.

The future of the deaf community seems uncertain. The path for deaf ministry is a little more certain. God has put hearing churches and deaf churches in one body so that we can work together. Hearing churches with their physical presence can provide more outreach locations. Deaf churches offer training and expertise in working with the deaf. Together we can make a difference for the largely unchurched deaf community. Certainly the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you.” (1 Cor. 12:21) Rather, let us pray that God would establish the work of our hands (Psalm 90:17) to declare His salvation for the deaf. Please contact your district missionaries to the deaf to find out how you can bring God’s word to this population.

Rev. Mark Anderson, (866) 373-8480, or maandrsn@t6b.com.
Rev. Tim Eckert, (563) 359-7105, or DeafLutheran@q.com.

Rev. Dr. Dean Rothchild's Article

When People are No Longer There

I was never a big fan of the show “Cheers” when it was originally aired. Over the years I have watched a few of the re-runs. The neat thing of the program was the characters and the relationships they had with each other. You could walk into that tavern and people knew your name.

I got thinking about this after I stopped at my bank. Over the years there was one teller who actually would greet me by name. One day she was no longer there. I never did find out what happened to her.

Recently I was in the bank and looked over to where “Brandie,” the closest to a personal banker I have ever had, had her office and the sign on the cubicle no longer had her name on it. I asked the teller and she said that “Brandie” was no longer employed there. She was gone. She was the person who got me doing online banking and who helped me get my “debit card.” In the church, the same thing happens. There was a pew where certain people used to sit. It is no longer occupied. The people for whatever reason have become uprooted and disconnected from the body of Christ. They are suffering and we are suffering because they are absent. Read I Corinthians 12:12-26 for a Biblical understanding of this. We as the body of Christ sin in this matter when we don’t make any effort to help them return to the altar of grace. Too often we just think that is their problem and so we “do nothing.” In doing nothing we are failing to show the love and concern of Christ Jesus toward the absent brother or sister in the faith.

As we enter our congregation for each Divine Service we are gathering with fellow believers in Christ Jesus who confess and believe as we do. People may even know us by name. More important than that is the fact that Jesus knows us by name. He has placed the name of the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, upon us in the water and Word of Holy Baptism. We belong to Him. He is the Head of the Body we call the Church. It states in Isaiah 43:1, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!” What comfort it is for the believer to know who and Whose he is!

For our lack of concern for the absent brothers and sisters, Christ Jesus calls us to repentance. St. John states in I John 1(selected verses): “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

We approach the absent with our own repentant and absolved hearts. We are reaching out to fellow sheep who need to hear, believe, and follow the voice of the shepherd. For is the Good Shepherd Jesus who forgives us all our sins and grants us eternal life for His own name’s sake. Jesus says: “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.” “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.” John 10:9,27-28. God help us to reach out to those for whom Jesus Christ laid down His life for their salvation as well. If your congregation desires training in how to do this, contact either President Brian Saunders or Dr. Dean Rothchild at the District Office.

St. John Lutheran Church in Clinton

Deaconess Sarah Joy Barkley was commissioned on August 4 and installed at St. John, Clinton as deaconess. Service participants included Pres. Brian Saunders and Rev. Dan Pool.

Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grinnell

June 6th was a long awaited, prayed for, worked toward day. The mortgage burning of Immanuel Lutheran in Grinnell was celebrated. A service of celebration took Lamentations 3:22,23 as the basis for the theme of “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” Without God’s faithfulness, this day of celebration would never have occurred. Certainly the gratitude of Immanuel congregation needs to be expressed to the saints of Iowa District East, the Mission Board of IDE who provided generous mission support over the years and also the Lutheran Church Extension Fund. Greetings and challenges from former pastors also were included. A potluck brunch concluded the time of celebration.

Trinity Lutheran Church in Dillion

Trinity LCMS of Dillon, Rural Marshalltown. will be celebrating its 140th anniversary as a congregation of Iowa District East: we bless our Lord for 140 years of His grace, for the preaching of His Holy Word and the Receiving of His Holy Sacraments. And would ask that the Congregations of IDE share in this celebration by including Trinity of Dillon in a thanksgiving prayer when the General Prayer is prayed in Divine Service on Sunday, Oct. 17th. Thank you. And thanks be to God our Father, through our Lord Jesus, in the Holy Spirit. The peace of the Lord be with you all.

St. John Lutheran Church in Victor

On August 8, Rev. Nicholas Huelsman was Ordained and Installed as the Pastor of St John Lutheran Church in Victor. Attending clergy included President Brian Saunders, Rev. Dean Duncan, Rev. Dale Huelsman (Nicholas' father and preacher for the service), Rev. Carl Cloeter, Rev. Michael Kolesar, Rev. Michael Holman, Rev. Ryan McDermott, Rev. David Lingard, Rev. Victor Young, Rev. Daniel Johnson, and Rev. Paul Nus.

District President Saunder's September Article

The Presidents Piece for Peace

Welcome back from a restful (and rather warm) summer. We left off in the spring time of the year talking about the Family Altar and in this edition we will hear about the “Vocational Altar”. The Vocational Altar is a topic that receives precious too little attention from the pulpit and from the teaching isle in a manner that brings forth the Gospel aspect of vocation. As we learned about the Family Altar, it is about the ways God comes to us in the immediate gathering of the family around His Word. With the Family Altar there is singing, Word and devotion, prayers and discussion. The gist of the Family Altar is what God is doing for you. The same applies to the Vocational Altar. Too often it is presented as something you are to do in your every day life when in reality the Vocational Altar is what God is doing for and through you in every day life. For example I ate food today. It is right to say that it was God who fed me. If I ate a piece of bread, it was God who generated the wheat to grow which He planted seed via the hand of the farmer. He also harvested the wheat and then ground it into flour using the hands and technology of the mill worker. When the baker used the flour and other ingredients along with an oven, God baked the bread so that it could be packaged and shipped by a truck driver and unloaded at the store. He then used my vocation as a means of income so that I could purchase the bread, put (fat free) butter on it and eat it. So you see, all-in-all, it is God who fed me today. He did it through the many vocations whereby He has matched up worker with work for the sake of my and your well being.

What does this have to do with you and the Vocational Altar? From the Divine Altar and the Family Altar, God has fed you and sends you out into the world so that you may be His hands, feet and face to the world which will see Him in and through what you say, think and do. While we are active in the Vocational Altar, it is still God doing what He does for us. It is still a matter of the Holy Gospel, not simply a direction from the Law. When the community around you sees a loving husband, they are seeing Christ Jesus. When they see a faithful wife, they are seeing the Church. When they see honesty at work, humility in play, patience in tribulation, forgiveness in offense, trust in the midst of questions; they are hearing the voice of Christ through you for them and seeing the face of Christ to them in the Church.

The Vocational Altar is the means God has given to the Priesthood of all Believers (the baptized children of God) to confess His Name every day. While doing this God also uses your hands, feet and face to bestow blessings upon you and your neighbor. If you ever wonder if what you are doing is worth it; God says it is. It is the means He has determined by matching up worker with work for the sake of His gifts being distributed to the world that He sent His Son to seek and save. The Divine Altar (I will write about that next edition) is a weekly blessing, the Family Altar is a daily blessing; the Vocational Altar is a continuous blessing throughout the entire day. It brightly reflects the Glory of the Divine Altar and the unity of the Family Altar. If you have not read it yet, I highly recommend the book “God at Work” by Gene Edward Veith. It is published by Crossway Books in Wheaton, Illinois. You will find it a wonderful discussion at the Family Altar. Blessed reading to you and joyous vocation.

Brian Saunders, President of Iowa District East.

Trinity Lutheran Church in Chariton

On June 6, after almost 17 years, Trinity Lutheran Church in Chariton celebrated the retirement of their building mortgage. The mortgage burning took place at Red Haw State Park in conjunction with their 10 a.m. Praise in the Park worship service. After the worship service, lunch was served, followed by the burning of the mortgage.
We praise God for the many blessings He has given us at Trinity over the years and pray that He guides us to do His will, both now and in the future.

Bethany Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids

Bethany Women’s Guild October Meeting

Bethany Women’s Guild cordially invites all Lutheran women to its October General Meeting, Thursday, October 14th at 7:00 PM in the Family Life Center (gymnasium) at Bethany Lutheran Church. Janet Wolfe will speak on her passion: helping women in crisis. Her testimony will make you laugh as well as cry. Her heart for the Lord is mixed with honesty and humor, meeting us where we are in our life experience.Janet is a wife, mother and grandmother from rural Illinois, near Rock Island. She is the founder of GROW (Godly Restoration Outreach to Women), a ministry helping formerly imprisoned women desire to grow in the Lord, in addition to helping Christian women with domestic violence issues. Come to hear Janet share and to join us for desserts and beverages, with Leah Circle hosting. Following our speaker and treats will be a short business meeting for Guild members and anyone else wishing to attend.

IDE Education Opportunity

Apologia: Christianity for the Tough-Minded

In the third chapter of I Peter we are told that we must “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to anyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is within you…” Proclaiming the Gospel and defending its truth claim is not an optional exercise for Christians. The fact is, however, that in the post-Christian world we live in, most Christians feel completely unequipped to make a defense of their faith with friends, family and co-workers. The thought of having a discussion with someone lost in unbelief and perhaps hostile toward the church and her doctrine is usually enough to make the faithful weak in the knees.

In an attempt to remedy this fact, Pastor Edward Killian of Faith Lutheran Church, Waterloo, IA, will begin a series of lectures in October that will aim at training anyone who is interested to defend the Christian truth claim. The Apologia Lectures (apologia being the Greek word for “reasoned defense”) are intended to establish an understanding of the cultural mindset in which we are immersed, and to demonstrate the ways in which we can destroy the intellectual, emotional and cultural barriers that stand between modern man and the proclamation of Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins.

These lectures will be entirely different from regular Bible studies or preaching. In the coming months, Pastor Killian will present historical, philosophical and legal argumentation that will equip the Christian to engage in discussion with tough-minded skeptics. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ. That means that only by preaching Christ and Him crucified for the forgiveness of sins can anyone have faith. It is our hope that the Apologia Lectures will give you tools to combat the lies, misinformation and human reason that block the unbeliever from hearing that life-saving story.

If you are interested in being better equipped to defend the Christian truth claim, we urge you to come. Salvation comes from Christ alone. Let us prepare to engage the nations with the truth about the one true God.

Who: Open to all at no charge
When: first Sundays at 5:00 p.m. beginning October 3
Where: Valley Lutheran School, Greenhill and Rownd, Cedar Falls

Camp IO-DIS-E-CA

Capital Campaign

Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca is approaching its 50th birthday. Over the years much has been built and added in order to create a high quality experience for those attending. However, at this time major upgrades, renovations, and infrastructure improvements are necessary. These improvements will increase safety, provide improved recreational activities, and expand and enhance housing and meeting spaces for all camp users.

The past several months the Capital Campaign, Building on the Foundations, has been running in ‘silent’ mode. The five-year goal of the campaign is to raise $475,000 to upgrade the camp swimming pool, climbing tower, Alpha Lodge, and staff housing. We have been preparing materials and programs while soliciting donations and gifts from corporations and large gift donors. The early response has been very good. We have sent Congregational Intent Forms to the Iowa East
congregations asking them to inform us how they prefer to assist in this campaign. If your church has not returned this form, please mail it soon, so we have a better idea of the amount of informational materials we will need and be able to customize the materials we send the participating congregations.

The Campaign begins its public phase September 20, 2010 and will invite congregations, businesses, and individuals to participate. We encourage you to look for information and materials that will be coming to your churches. Included in these packets will be information on how you as an individual, as a group or society within your congregation, and as a congregation can participate in raising funds to update the facilities and equipment at Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca.

We look forward to working with you these next few years as we continue Building on the Foundations!

CAMP IO-DIS-E-CA

3Gs for Future Gs!
Three generations of the Knox family to run relay
from Cedar Falls to Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca.

On Labor Day weekend three generations—“3 G’s”—of the Knox family hope to use their love of running to make sure that future generations of campers can continue to experience the joy of using your camp—IDE’s outdoor jewel where the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been proclaimed for nearly 50 years.

The purpose of this run, and the need for your support, is to raise operational funds while the Camp prepares to serve the IDE for the next 50 years. As with many camps around the country, the economic downturn has reduced our Camp’s usage and placed it in an operational cash deficit. Constant repairs on our aging facilities have also drained financial reserves, and an untimely string of poor weather has resulted in the cancellation of numerous user events and a shortened 2010 camping season. So, the need is great—and this appeal is urgent. If the Camp is to survive and serve future generations with the precious Good News of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, then now is the time for all of us to help.

Knoxes plan 100-mile Labor Day relay!

Beginning after Church on Sunday, September 5, Pastor Michael Knox, his father Robert, and his son Jason will run an approximately 100-mile relay from Cedar Falls to Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca. Their route will take them through city streets, over country roads, and along major portions of the Cedar Valley Nature Trail. Their goal? Reach Camp with $100,000 in donations by Labor Day afternoon!

The Knoxes are all avid runners: 76-year-old Robert began running about 45 years ago and still runs 20-25 miles per week; 49-year-old Pastor Knox took up marathoning 5 years ago and has set a personal goal of running a full or half marathon in each of the 50 states; and 21-year- old Jason was a high school cross country and track runner and a member of the 2005 state champion cross country team at Cedar Falls.

Join the Celebration

The Knoxes plan to arrive at Camp at approximately 5 p.m. on Monday, September 6. You can be there to welcome them, celebrate the completion of the run, and enjoy a Labor Day picnic. Details about the picnic and the celebration can be found at the Camp’s website (http://www.campiodiseca.org/) as well as Our Redeemer’s website
http://theforgivenessplace.org.

Please support the Camp by supporting the Run. Please help the three generations of Knoxes use their love of running to show their love for your camp. Make a donation today, great or small and send your donation before the Labor Day weekend to:

“3G’s”
Our Redeemer LCMS
904 Bluff St
Cedar Falls, IA 50613

You will have helped to ensure that Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca will be able to serve our District’s future generations.

Join the Run

Fellow runners are welcome to join the Knoxes for parts of the run! Groups of runners are especially encouraged to join them at several places along the final 3.5 miles approaching Camp. Details of how runners can participate will also be found at both the Camp and Our Redeemer websites.

IDE Musicians Opportunity

The Worship Committee of the Central Illinois District is holding conference from 9:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 25 for all musicians. This workshop will be held at Trinity Lutheran in Peoria and is designed for both directors and volunteer musicians. Consider bringing an entire group of musicians as this conference will be a great way to jump start a new season of music at your church. There will be presentations and sessions for adult choir, children’s choir, organ, handbells, and instruments as well as a closing hymn festival featuring Kevin Hildebrand, Associate Kantor of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana. All CID musicians and all those who love music are invited to attend. Watch for more information from the CID District Office or call Martin Dicke (309) 676-4609 (ext. 202).