PILGRIM LUTHERAN CHURCH

44 CHAPEL ROAD – KENMORE, NY 14217

(716) 875-5485

A Congregation in Mission, Community and Service

PILGRIM’S PROGRESS FEBRUARY 2017

PASTOR: Rev. Ben Eder SUNDAY SCHOOL: 9:00 AM

EDITOR: Mary Werth TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY: 9:30 AM

ASSOC. EDITOR: WORSHIP: 10:00 AM

From the Pastor

“The Word of the Lord endures forever.” - 1 Peter 1:25

Have you ever heard the last seven words of the Church? “We've never done it that way before.”

There is another variation of that statement: “We have done that before.” Meaning, “It's OK to do it

because we have done it before.”

Neither statement stands alone on its merits. “We've never done it that way before” doesn't mean it can't

be tried; and saying “We have done that before” doesn't mean it would work under present circumstances.

At various points in my ministry at Pilgrim, I have asked myself “Is what we're doing working

anymore?” Of course, a church is always going to have some form of worship, Bible study, meetings,

fellowship groups, etc. But times change, tastes change, and sometimes adjustments have to be made.

Churches often get into the habit of doing things without questioning “Why?” For example, for years we

were putting plastic coverings on top of the altar. I asked, “Why are we doing that?” Finally, the story came out

that when Pilgrim had a coal boiler the plastic was used to keep the paraments clean. Since we have not used a

coal boiler for probably around 75 years or so, we decided we didn't need to use the plastic sheets anymore.

In the days before computers, worship formats were pretty static due to the time and cost involved in

printing weekly materials. Now, it is relatively easy to make adjustments to the worship service and there are

many options to print the material quickly and rather inexpensively. This can lead to greater variety in the

worship service (and sometimes confusion too, if not done without thought).

It amuses me when some people say that worship is “boring” or that the service never changes. Our

services are different nearly every week, but some things never change: in the Lutheran service, there is going

to be an Invocation, Confession and Absolution, Scripture readings, prayers, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the

Words of Institution, the Distribution of Holy Communion, the Dismissal, and of course music and the singing

of hymns. Within that framework there can be variation, but the basic format remains (it has been tried and

tested for hundreds of years).

It's funny how when something is familiar to us we actually look forward to it. For example, consider

the format of a James Bond movie: every movie begins with an opening action set piece, then the story usually

involves a villain who is trying to take over the world and a female secret agent who becomes a love interest of

Bond. We have seen that played out in 26 different movies, yet people still come back for more.

Or, consider a football game: every week the game that is played is the same, yet few ask “Why is a

touchdown always six points” or “Why can't the center advance the ball?” Only after careful deliberation are the

rules ever changed. And, in the meantime, people enjoy the game.

Change does come to Christ's Church, but hopefully not change just for its own sake. Times change, and

people change; but God’s Word endures forever.

+ Pastor Ben Eder

SUNDAY SERVER SCHEDULE

FEBRUARY 2017

DATE Feb. 5 Feb. 12 Feb. 19 Feb. 26

READER Wes Wiers Dooley O’Rourke

Eric Fellner

Carolyn Alessi

USHERS Eric Fellner

* Gary Smith

Mike Weurch

* Dianne Weurch

Peggy Clark

* George Alessi

Jim O’Brien

* Tyrone Bryant

*

COMMUNION ASSISTANT

Jim O’Brien

Gary Smith Jack Hambridge

Eric Fellner

NURSERY Amber Trimmer

Linda Eder Gary Smith George Alessi

• “Love is taking a few steps backward, maybe even more ... to give way to the happiness of the person you love.”

—A.A. Milne

• “We cannot pray in love and live in hate and still think we are worshiping God.” —A.W. Tozer

• “There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.”

—John Holmes

• “Patience with others is love, patience with self is hope, patience with God is faith.” —Adel Bestavros

Rob Gross

Feb. 2

Steve Rodgers

Feb. 3

Carol Gross

Feb. 4

Kathy Kornacki

Feb. 8

Grace Termini

Feb. 8

Seth Keef

Feb. 12

Jack Hambridge

Feb. 18

Colvina Colvin

Feb. 25

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Does anyone have a wedding anniversary in February? If so, please let me know so I can

add it to my list. Then it will be in the newsletter every year. Thanks. – Mary Werth)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

The gift that gives

Love ever gives,

forgives, outlives

and ever stands

with open hands.

And while it lives, it gives.

For this is love’s prerogative —

to give, and give, and give.

—John Oxenham

ESTHER CIRCLE

On February 26th, the Esther Circle will sponsor its first Pot Faith for this year. There will be a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board for anyone who wishes to bring a dish to pass. (There are some folks who do not cook but really, really appreciate home-cooked food! – Ed.)

Money collected at the fellowship hour on Esther Circle Sunday will be donated to help

a seminarian at Concordia Seminary in St. Catherines. Please give generously to this worthy cause.

Please continue to send in your Dash’s tapes, canceled stamps, pennies and used ink

cartridges. Our next meeting is on Monday, March 14th at 6:30 p.m. All women are welcome.

The next Community Dinner will be on Friday, February 3rd from 5 to 7 pm. Our yummy

menu is chicken stew over egg noodles, served with bread and butter, salad, and assorted

desserts and beverages. (This monthly dinner is sponsored in part by the Lutheran Church –

Missouri Synod.) Come and join us for great food and fellowship!

An underappreciated faith hero

Saul, who was converted from persecutor of Christians to the foremost evangelist Paul, is a tremendous

role model for surrendering one’s life to Jesus. But another man in that story warrants celebration, too.

Ananias, a disciple of Jesus, lived in Damascus when Saul was led there, blind from his bright-light

encounter with Jesus. The Lord told Ananias to visit Saul, lay hands on him and restore his sight (see Acts 9:11-

12). Not surprisingly, Ananias resisted; he knew of Saul and his violence toward Christians. Yet the disciple

surrendered and obeyed.

To top it off, when Ananias arrived, he spoke the warmest of greetings: “Brother Saul ...” He didn’t just

call Saul by name, nor did he berate him. Despite initial misgivings, Ananias claimed this former enemy as a

fellow member of God’s family. What an act to follow!

SAVE THE DATE!

Saturday, April 1st, 2017

Where: Pilgrim Lutheran Church Time: 10 am. - 1 pm.

Members and Friends of Pilgrim, along with our fellow sisters and brothers from

Hananiah Church, The Church of Our Savior and Nazareth Lutheran Church are invited to the

showing of "The First Rosa", produced by the LCMS. This is an inspiring documentary about

Rosa J. Young (1890-1971), "The Mother of Black Lutheranism in central Alabama". Her

strong commitment to her faith in God, enduring courage, hard work and perseverance

made her instrumental in founding and promoting 30 Lutheran Elementary schools and 35

Lutheran congregations in Alabama's "Black Belt". She also assisted in starting Concordia

College in Selma in 1922, which is well known today. Her legacy is unparalleled as

an educator, confessor and church planter for Christ and His church.

There will be a discussion after the viewing and a lunch provided by the Esther Circle.

Come and hear Rosa J. Young's story and see how we can continue her legacy. There will be

a sign-up sheet posted in Feb. and early March. We will need a number on who will be

attending by Monday, March 13th.

Carol Obot __________________________________________________________________________________________________

The cost of hiding our light

A Los Angeles restaurant owner recently discovered that a neon light had been covered — without being

disconnected first — during a construction project 77 years prior. The calculated electricity cost to run the

hidden light all that time was $17,000!

People don’t intentionally hide light; that would be counterproductive, not to mention wasteful. Yet

when we shrink back from sharing Jesus’ good news, we do indeed hide “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14)

that is in us. When we’re too modest to use God-given talents such as singing, playing piano or reading to bring

others joy, we hide our light. When we put our own wants ahead of meeting someone else’s needs through

giving and serving, we hide the light of God’s love. And at what cost?

“Let your light shine before others,” Jesus says, “that they may see your good deeds and glorify your

Father in heaven” (verse 16).

God’s conversation hearts

Those familiar conversation hearts that show up every February can be more than just trite romantic or

friendly sayings. Use them to remind you — or to teach a child — of the greatest love of all: God’s love for us,

which empowers our love for others. For example:

♥ TRUE LOVE: What love is truer than giving up one’s only Son so people might have everlasting life?

(John 3:16).

♥ BE MINE: Jesus knows us intimately, as a shepherd knows his sheep. No one can snatch us from him

(John 10:27-29).

♥ FOREVER: God loves us with an “everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3).

♥ LOVE ME: The greatest commandment is to love God with our whole being (Luke 10:27).

♥ TRUST ME: “Let not your hearts be troubled.” We can count on Jesus, now and for eternal life (John

14:1-3).

♥ SWEET TALK: God’s words are sweeter than honey (Psalm 119:103).

♥ BE GOOD: We show our love for Christ by keeping his commands (John 14:15).

♥ CALL ME: God longs to be in fellowship with us. We can talk to him anytime in prayer (Jeremiah

33:3).

♥ FRIENDS: The greatest love involves laying down your life for your friends (John 15:13) — precisely

what Jesus did.

♥ #1: “We love because [God] first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

You are cherished

We must understand that God does not “love” us without liking us — through gritted teeth — as

“Christian” love is sometimes thought to do. Rather, out of the eternal freshness of his perpetually self-renewed

being, the heavenly Father cherishes the earth and each human being upon it. The fondness, the endearment, the

unstintingly affectionate regard of God toward all his creatures is the natural outflow of what he is to the core

— which we vainly try to capture with our tired but indispensable old word “love.”

―Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy

"Teach us to love"

O God, perfect us in love,

That we may conquer all selfishness and hatred of others;

Fill our hearts with thy joy,

And shed abroad in them thy peace which passeth understanding;

That so those murmurings and disputings

To which we are too prone may be overcome.

Make us long-suffering and gentle,

And thus subdue our hastiness and angry tempers,

And grant that we may bring forth the blessed fruits of the Spirit,

To thy praise and glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

—Rev. Henry Alford (1810-1871)

Classic Episodes of 'This is the Life' Available on DVD

Take a trip back to the "Golden Age" of television with the recent release of selected episodes from This is the Life. Two new DVD sets are available for your viewing pleasure. Jan. 17, 2017 — Born during the "Golden Age" of television, This is the Life was a television staple for more than 30 years that featured stars like Jack Nicholson, Leonard Nimoy, and Angie Dickinson long before they hit the "big time." Now, two new DVD offerings available from Lutheran Hour Ministries feature nine classic episodes of the program that have been selected from among hundreds produced by Lutheran Television Productions during the 1950s through the 1980s.

Viewers will find the subjects and storylines aren't the stuff of sitcoms or even family-oriented shows that always went for the "happy ending" during this era of television. These episodes included stories of faith-healing gone awry; a married couple's loss of their daughter; a pastor whose legalism was driving his members away; the bitter animosity of a father against his daughter's suitor; and more. In the end, each episode has one thing in common: God reigns through every event in our lives, and it is by faith in His Son—following and honoring Him—that our lives find their fullest meaning.

Each episode is introduced and capped with commentary from Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz, Speaker of The Lutheran Hour. His comments offer interesting tidbits and little-known details on the actors and directors involved in the production of This is the Life. He closes each episode with a brief message that highlights God doing His work in the lives of ordinary people. Shot on Hollywood sets and backlots, these episode additions were filmed by Hollywood Impact Studios, a mentoring organization founded by Gary and Cyndi Hall. It works with inmates in the Los Angeles County Jail system, training incarcerated men in television and film production.

You can get your fix of classic TV from Lutheran Hour Ministries in two ways:

1) This is the Life: Classics on DVD for $34.95. This includes nine episodes—each featuring stories of God's extraordinary love in action in the lives of ordinary people.

2) This is the Life: Classics Deluxe DVD set for $39.95. This option includes the nine episodes plus a bonus CD disc with behind-the-scenes photos, small-group discussion sheets, PDFs of the TV scripts, a promotional video, and more.

You can select from these two offers by visiting lhm.org/classics. ©Lutheran Hour Ministries, All rights reserved. | 660 Mason Ridge Center, St. Louis, MO 63141

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR THE MARCH

NEWSLETTER IS FEBRUARY 19TH.