St John Lutheran Church

CORE  Connection, the monthly newsletter from Lutheran Core is now online at www.lutherancore.org. Lutheran Core is developing a new Lutheran denomination. The North American Lutheran Church (NALC) and Lutheran CORE will remain as a "Community of Confessing Lutherans" across Lutheran denominational lines.

From The Pastors’ Pen

Pastor Henry Schulte, Pastor Jeffery Carpenter

As St. John Lutheran of Boerne finds our place in the new affiliations of denominational life, we thought it important that we remember and review what God is calling us “to be” and “to do.” We know that the church as congregation and denomination has no mission other than God’s mission. That mission was clearly presented to us by Christ in what is commonly called “The Great Commission.”

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo I am with you always, even unto the close of the age.” Matt. 28:18-20

1. Celebrate God’s Grace
2. Grow in Faith
3. Develop Disciples
4. Serve to Christ’s glory

The Council will work to edit those ingredients into a finished statement that can pass the test of “fitting on a T -Shirt”. We will share it with you next month.
The second hour was spent looking at how St John Lutheran Church is organized to carry out the Mission & Ministry. Although our existing committee structure was affirmed, the group saw the need for developing some additional ministries in the areas of Administration/Communication, Mission development, Ministry development, as well as intentional care of members. Groups to be called, “Elders” or “Deacons” were discussed for possible future development. These ideas will be continue to be discussed, developed and in time presentation to the congregation in future newsletters. As ideas about organization are developed and affirmed, they will be incorporated into an amended constitution. That constitution will be presented for adoption at our Annual Congregation Meeting in September.
“Blessed to be a Blessing as Instruments of Christ’s Love” has been our motto and we will continue under that banner. May God bless you as one of those instruments and may God bless all of us as we work to be instruments of his love.

Pastor Henry Schulte
Pastor Jeffery Carpenter

CORE  Connection, the monthly newsletter from Lutheran Core is now online at www.lutherancore.org. Lutheran Core is developing a new Lutheran denomination. The North American Lutheran Church (NALC) and Lutheran CORE will remain as a "Community of Confessing Lutherans" across Lutheran denominational lines.

---------------------------------- 

Confirmation ... Sunday May 23, 2010

 CLICK HERE 

------------------------------

From The Pastors’ Pen

Pastor Henry Schulte, Pastor Jeffery Carpenter

We begin the season of Pentecost with what has been called the “Birthday of the Church.” The Holy Spirit of God comes to and through the apostles and everyone in order to hear the good news in their own language. From that Birth Day, the church grows. The mission to baptize, teach obedience to Christ, and make disciples spreads to the ends of the known world. The ministry to love neighbor as self matures and structures develop to support ministry. During this season of Pentecost we will reflect upon these questions:

Why did God create the church?
What does God want the church to be?
What does God want the church to do?

St. John Lutheran of Boerne will be amending our constitution to reflect name changes in our affiliation at our Annual Congregation Meeting in September. Your Congregation Council suggests that more than changes in names needs to be made to our constitution. In light of the new North American Lutheran Church being built around four core values:

Christ-Centered    Mission-Driven    Traditionally-Grounded    Congregationally-Focused

Our Council is asking the congregation to become prayerfully involved in a brief process of looking at our Mission and our Ministry prior to any writing of amendments to constitution. Christian Discipleship is in the heart of Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ as well as in the heart of the development of the North American Lutheran Church. Prior to the retreat and at the retreat, we will ask,

What does ‘Discipleship’ mean for us?
How can we weave Christian Discipleship into all of our church endeavors?
What might we do better or more effectively?

The Council has asked that we find a way to involve all members of St John with thought provoking questions. We will do this on two designated Sundays prior to the retreat. On those Sundays, during Sunday school hour, we will pray, study and present questions that will help us focus on the Mission and Ministry of St. John Lutheran.

Then we will provide for an All Congregation Retreat to be held on Saturday, June 26th in The Family Life Center.
All confirmed members are invited to:

A.) gather for breakfast
B.) hear a focused Bible Study on God’s creation of the church and its mission and development
C.) move into small groups around tables to prayerfully dream and discern God’s answers to questions relating to St John’s Mission & Ministry Emphasis & Direction.

We realize that this event is planned for a Sunday in early summer and not everyone will be in town. Still, we do want to get started with this process. We invite you to note the date and mark it on your calendars. We will need to have an estimate of attendance by early registration for the retreat. After you mark the date on your calendar, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 816-1853 to indicate your plans to attend the June 26,th All Congregation Retreat, beginning with an 8:30 AM breakfast.