| August 2004 Newsletter
Archive |
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| In Celebration
of Labor: The Value of a Good Day's Work |
With an election
year upon us, candidates are attending picnics and rallies across
the nation in celebration of Labor Day. Too many will denounce the
rich and pander to the fears and dissatisfaction many workers feel.
Work to many, you see, is a necessary evil. The goal in life is
putting in enough time to retire and relax.
But that attitude and that goal are contrary to a Christian
worldview perspective on work.
Christians have a special reason to celebrate Labor Day, which
honors the fundamental dignity of workers, for we worship a God who
labored to make the world — and who created human beings in His
image to be workers. When God made Adam and Eve, He gave them work
to do: cultivating and caring for the earth.
In the ancient world, the Greeks and Romans looked upon manual work
as a curse, something for lower classes and slaves. But Christianity
changed all that. Christians viewed work as a high calling — a
calling to be co-workers with God in unfolding the rich potential of
His creation.
This high view of work can be traced throughout the history of the
Church. In the Middle Ages, the guild movement grew out of the
Church. It set standards for good workmanship and encouraged members
to take satisfaction in the results of their labor. The guilds
became the forerunner of the modern labor movement.
Later, during the Reformation, Martin Luther preached that all work
should be done to the glory of God. Whether ministering the Gospel
or scrubbing floors, any honest work is pleasing to the Lord. Out of
this conviction grew the Protestant work ethic.
Christians were also active on behalf of workers in the early days
of the industrial revolution, when factories were "dark satanic
mills," to borrow a phrase from Sir William Blake. In those
days, work in factories and coal mines was hard and dangerous. Men,
women, and children were practically slaves — sometimes even
chained to machines.
Then John Wesley came preaching and teaching the Gospel throughout
England. He came not to the upper classes, but to the laboring
classes — to men whose faces were black with coal dust, women
whose dresses were patched and faded.
John Wesley preached to them — and, in the process, he pricked
the conscience of the whole nation.
Two of Wesley's disciples, William Wilberforce and Lord
Shaftesbury, were inspired to work for legislation that would clean
up abuses in the workplace. At their urging, the British parliament
passed child-labor laws, safety laws, and minimum-wage laws.
Here in America we've lost the Christian connection with the labor
movement. But in many countries — from Canada to Poland —
that tradition still remains.
Much of our culture has a distinctly Greek view of work: We work
out of necessity. But, you see, we are made in the image of God, and
as such we are made to work — to create, to shape, to bring
order out of disorder.
So this Labor Day, remember that all labor derives its true dignity
as a reflection of the Creator. And whatever we do, in word or deed,
we do it all to the glory of God.
| "Work well done rises
like a hymn of praise to God. This means that the doctor on his
rounds, the scientist in his laboratory, the teacher in his
classroom, the musician at his music, the artist at his canvas,
the shop assistant at his counter, the typist at her typewriter,
the housewife in her kitchen—all who are doing the work of
the world as it should be done are joining in a great act of
worship." —William Barclay, Author and Bible
Commentator |
|
Back to School
From the Pastor |
Walking
through a stationary department or an office supply store really
gets me pumped! I love buying notebooks, pencils, pens, etc. And
this year I can justify buying supplies because I am going to
school. Yes, believe it or not, I'm already way into the second
year of my Doctor of Ministry program.
In September I'm going to be busy writing a six-week bible
Study about women in the Old Testament. All are welcome. The
study will be at 11:00 a.m. on Mondays and 7:00 p.m. on Mondays
beginning October 4. The first draft of the study is written,
but now I will be busy getting it into final form for it's pilot
here at Faith. After making necessary changes (suggestions from
you participants) I'll be sending it to other churches to use
and evaluate. The goal is to enable us to learn from the stories
of women in scripture areas we share in common so we can
continue the biblical story as it's lived out in our lives.
Their stories and our stories become God's story.
 But,
that's getting ahead of myself. September is a busy month here
at Faith. We start off with a bang at the 2nd Annual Timothy
Township and members and friends of Faith dinner complete with
games for the kids. Come early for the games, say about 3, and
stay for potluck supper and roasted turkey at 5! Sunday School
Rally Day with Gideon Gordon Hardy is Sunday, September 12,
followed by ice cream treats provided by Bill and Pastor Mar.
Confirmation begins with a parent and student meeting on
Wednesday, September 15th.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 IS OUR PORK DINNER . LOTS OF WORKERS ARE
NEEDED! PLEASE CALL THE CHURCH OFFICE IF YOU COULD HELP.
Then, on Sunday, September 27, Danette Raph will lead the
service and preach as Bill and I attend my 50th class reunion!
It will be in the cities because I graduated from Robbinsdale
High School in 1954. Seems like only yesterday.
So, get those new pencils out and mark your calendars for our
September events. Each one of you is important to the work,
study and fellowship of this congregation. May God continue to
bless the ministry of Faith Lutheran Church Swanburg.
|
Labor Day is
unique among our national holidays in that it does not celebrate
a single individual, a battle, or a religious occasion. It is
dedicated to honoring the American worker. While to many it is
just a three-day weekend, it is a day to celebrate the
contributions to our society made by the hard work and
commitment of everyday American workers. The first Labor Day was
celebrated on September 5, 1882, and gradually, states began to
officially adopt the holiday throughout the following decade.
God has richly blessed our nation with a strong and vital labor
force, and it is to Him and to them—the laborers of our
nation—that we owe our gratitude for the prosperity and
benefits we enjoy.
September 12th, 9:30 a.m.
Ice Cream follows service Gideon Presentation |
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| The Rope |
This story tells about a mountain climber, who wanted to
climb the highest mountain. He began his adventure after many
years of preparation, but since he wanted the glory just for
himself, he decided to climb the mountain alone.
The night felt heavy in the heights of the mountain, and the
man could not see anything. All was black. Zero visibility, the
moon and the stars were covered by the clouds.
As he was climbing, only a few feet away from the top of the
mountain, he slipped and fell into the air, falling at a great
speed. The climber could only see black spots as he went down,
and the terrible sensation of being sucked by gravity. He kept
falling... and in those moments of great fear, it came to his
mind all the good and bad episodes of his life.
He was thinking now about how close death was getting, when all
of a sudden he felt the rope tied to his waist pull him very
hard. His body was hanging in the air. Only the rope was holding
him, and in that moment of stillness he had no other choice but
to scream: HELP ME GOD!!!
All of a sudden, a deep voice coming from the sky answered, "What
do you want me to do?" "Save me God!" "Do
you think 1 can save you?" "Of course I believe you
can." "Then cut the rope tied to your waist."
There was a moment of silence; and the man decided to hold on to
the rope with all his strength.
The rescue team tells that the next day a climber was found
dead and frozen, his body hanging from a rope. His hands holding
tight to it - only 10 feet away from the ground!
And you? How attached are you to your rope? Will you let go?
Don't ever doubt the things from God. You never should say that
He has forgotten or abandoned you. Don't ever think that He does
not take care of you. Remember that He is always holding you
with His right hand. Isaiah 41:13 |
|
| IRONIC QUOTE FROM THE ISLAMIC BIBLE |
The Islamic Bible
Saddam should have read up on his Muslim passages...The following
verse is from the Koran, (the Islamic Bible)
Koran (9:11) — For it is written that a son of Arabia would
awaken a fearsome Eagle. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt
throughout the lands of Allah and lo, while some of the people
trembled in despair still more rejoiced; for the wrath of the Eagle
cleansed the lands of Allah; and there was peace.
Note the verse number!!!!! |
| World Hunger Sunday:
September 26 |
| Last year at Synod Assembly the annual ingathering
of quarters for world hunger brought in $36,508.30. Churches
recognized for giving $10 or more per confirmed member in 2003 are:
Zion, Markville--$ 10.20; Trinity, Hoveland-$10.40; First,
Hinckley-$l 1.41; Our Savior's Cloquet--$ 12.54; Faith,
Swanburg-$12.87; Grace, McCregor-$12.89; Calvary,0rr-$13.38;
First, Aitkin-$13.68; Bethesda, Malmo-$14.18; Church of the Holy
Trinity, Duluty-$ 16.87; Grace, Sandstone—$18.74; Emmanuel,
Dell Grove-$ 19.77; St. John's, Cedarbrook-$21.24; Immanuel,
Brookston—$21.75; Bethlehem, Wright-$25.68. Our Synod's Hunger,
Justice, Rural Concerns Committee CHALLENGES us to figure out how
much is needed to get our congregation on this important list and
make it happen. We have five months to make an impact for those
in need. As of this writing, we have contributed $538.50 to
World Hunger. In 2003 we contributed $1448.54. On Rally Day, Sunday,
September 12, we will furnish you with banks or photo canisters for
you to fill and bring back on Sunday, September 26th. HOLY COW,
wouldn't it be great to win THE HOLY COW AWARD? Certificates are
nice, but they take up so much wall space! |
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| Faith-Based Organizations Assist in Drug
Control |
The White House is calling on religious youth and
their youth groups to help fight the war on drugs. As a part of the
new effort, the current administration began distributing
anti-drug materials to religious organizations, as part of the
president's faith-based initiative.
A booklet created by the Office of National Drug Control Policy
(ONDCP), "Pathways to Prevention: Guiding Youth to Wise
Decisions," was written to help youth leaders handle questions
asked by the students with whom they work. ONDCP director John
Walters said the pamphlets, guidebooks and Web sites are intended as
an optional way to empower churches when dealing with drug-abuse
issues.
The White House has launched the effort in part because recent
research shows that kids who have some form of religious involvement
generally are less prone to engage in adolescent smoking, heavy
drinking and marijuana use. Teens who consider faith important in
their lives were half as likely to use drugs such as marijuana than
those who don't. Another study, conducted by the National Center on
Addiction and Substance Abuse, found that teenagers who don't view
faith as important are up to four times more likely to smoke
marijuana.
In addition, the office has created a website filled with helpful
resources to encourage all those who work with students to see their
work as directly working to prevent drug abuse among America's
teens. The site is called Faith: The Anti-Drug. http://www.theantidrug.com/faith/index.asp |
"Our aim is not 'success' the way the world measures
it but to please Christ by the way you tackle work. Work is an
act of worship to a Savior."
—John White, 20th Century Christian author |
|
| Teaching the Virtues |
| When I was director of the Office of National Drug
Control Policy - or Drug Czar, as some called me -1 visited about
140 communities and heard over and over a great concern. Whether I
was talking to teachers, school administrators, parents, cops or
judges, they wanted to know: Who's raising the children? What kind
of character do our kids have? Who's paying attention to their
morals? A judge in Detroit once said to me: "When I ask young
men today, 'Didn't anyone ever teach you the difference between
right and wrong?' they answer, 'No, sir.' And you know, I believe
them. It is a moral vacuum out there." I remember teachers in
the public schools asking, "Can you help us develop some
materials that we can use with our kids to teach them right from
wrong?" Isn't that ironic? The public schools of this country,
which were established principally to provide common moral
instruction for a nation of immigrants, were now wondering if this
was possible. Many people expressed the concern that we had become
so enamored of our economic and material success that we were
neglecting more important things. Someone wrote me a letter and
said, "If we have streets of gold and silver, but our children
do not learn to walk with God, what will .we have gained?" |
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| Three Ways of Teaching Virtue |
Aristotle had a good read on it, and modem
psychology and other contemporary studies back him up: We teach by
habit, we teach by precept, and we teach by example. Habituation at
an early age makes more than a little difference; it can make almost
all the difference. So if you want kids to learn what work is, you
should have them work. If you want them to learn what responsibility
means, you should hold them responsible. If you want them to learn
what perseverance is, you should encourage them to persevere. And
you should start as early as possible.
Precepts are also important. The Ten Commandments, the principles
of American democracy, rules of courteous behavior - these and other
lists of rights and wrongs should be provided to young people. But
as we provide them, young people need to know that we take these
precepts seriously.
The third part of teaching virtue is example. If we want young
people to take right and wrong seriously, there is an indispensable
condition: They must be in the presence of adults who take right and
wrong seriously. Only in this way will they see that virtue is not
just a game, not just talk, but rather it is something people who
have responsibilities in the world and at home, take seriously. |
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| The Lessons of 9/11 |
Along these same lines, there are many lessons to
be drawn from the events of September 11, 2001. They are teachable
events, and there is much in them for young people to learn. Many
sophisticated or pseudo-sophisticated people have been nursing the
idea for years that concepts like right and wrong and good and evil
are outmoded. But we saw these things in full force on 9/11. We saw
the face of evil and felt the hand of evil, but we also saw the face
of good and felt the many hands of good, and our kids saw and felt
these things, too.
Those folks on American Flight 93 -the American businessmen
traveling across the country with their laptops. These are the guys
who are the butt of humor for every aspiring pseudo-intellectual and
every Hollywood filmmaker who wants to run down America. The middle
class American businessman has been the target of an awful lot of
criticism from an awful lot of directions for an awful lot of years.
When the chips were down, though, these businessmen did pretty well,
didn't they?
One of the four men who rushed the cockpit on flight 93 said to the
person on the other end of the phone line, "We are waiting
until we get over a rural area." They knew what was likely to
happen, so they were waiting in order to minimize the death toll.
What extraordinary human beings these ordinary Americans turned out
to be.
The historian Tacitus wrote, "The task of history is to hold
out for reprobation every evil word and deed, and to hold out for
praise every great and noble word and deed." So we don't need
courses in values. We need good courses in history. We need to
revive the reading of good books. We need to provide good precepts
and encourage good habits. Above all we have to teach by example.
Nor is this to say that we need to be perfect to be good examples.
Our children can see us try and fail from time to time. But then
they can see us try again and do better, or get it right, the second
time. Thus they learn about human limitations, but also about human
perseverance. It's an old notion and an old responsibility, the
teaching of virtues. Virtues don't come in our genes, so it is the
duty of every generation to pass them on. It is a duty we are not
allowed to surrender.
William J. Bennett so-founder ofK-12, an Internet-based
elementary and secondary school. 1982 head of National Endowment for
the Humanities, 1985 Secretary of the Department of Education. 1989
Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Author and
Editor. |
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| A WELL PLANNED LIFE???? |
Two women met for the first time since graduating
from high school. One asked the other, "You were always so
organized in school. Did you manage to live a well planned life?"
"Yes," said her friend. "My first marriage was to a
millionaire; my second marriage was to an actor; my third marriage
was to a preacher; and now I'm married to an undertaker."
Her friend asked, "What do those marriages have to do with a
well planned life?"
"One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and
four to go." |
Confirmation Class
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| Confirmation classes resume on September 15th with
a parent & student meeting at 7:00 p.m. |
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Pork Dinner
September 23
5:00-7:00
Ladies bring pies! |
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2nd Annual Turkey Roast
& Potluck for Timothy Township &
Faith Lutheran Church |
Place: Faith Lutheran Church
Date: September 11
Time 3:00-7:00 p.m.
Menu: Turkey - bring a dish along to share (Call
Danette 543-4903 or Bunny 543-4448 for ideas on what to
bring. This way we have a variety.)
Entertainment: games, conversation, fellowship and
fan. 3 legged races, potato sack races, horseshoes and more!
Bring along any game ideas and share!
Everyone is invited, you, your family and friends.
We promise you a great meal, games and good conversations
along with the opportunity to meet your fellow township
residents, elected officials and church members. |
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|
At college ideas are the stock and trade of higher
education, where learning to think is the name of the game, and
temptations gain most of their strength from false ideas. So if
you're heading to college this fall, or have a loved one who is, get
your hands on a copy of. Budziszewski's book HOW TO STAY CHRISTIAN
IN COLLEGE.
God promises that He will provide a way out of every temptation,
and part of that means preparing our minds to refute false ideas.
With this terrific book, HOW TO STAY CHRISTIAN IN COLLEGE,
surrounded by prayer and a commitment to seek God's truth, college
can be a time of real intellectual and spiritual growth.
His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day,
while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for
help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the
bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy,
screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the
lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.
The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse
surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and
introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had
saved. "I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You
saved my son's life.
"No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish
farmer replied, waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's
own son came to the door of the family hovel. "Is that your
son?" the nobleman asked. "Yes," the farmer replied
proudly.
I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of
education my own son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his
father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of."
And that he did. Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools
and in time, he graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in
London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the
noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.
Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog
was stricken with pneumonia. What saved his life this time?
Penicillin. The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His
son's name? Sir Winston Churchill. Someone once said: What goes
around comes around. |
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| September 19th. After Worship. Chow
Mein Dinner follows meeting. |
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