16 July 2021
*Commemoration of Ruth*
Dear Saints and Friends of Grace & Trinity,
*Today* the Church celebrates Ruth, the Matriarch of King David’s lineage, and thus also of our Lord Jesus. A fitting way to commemorate the day is to take about half an hour and read the four short chapters of the Book of Ruth and reflect on the faithfulness of this gentile woman brought into Israel, as well as the redemption she finds in Boaz, David’s grandfather.
This Sunday is
*the 7th Sunday after Trinity*
T the Sunday of the Feeding of the Four Thousand T
Genesis 2:7–17; Romans 6:19–23; Mark 8:1-9 <www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+2%3A7%E2%80%9317%3B+Romans+6%3A19%E2%80%9323%3B+Mark+8%3A1-9&version=ESV>
*Food is a big deal in Scripture.* It’s by food that man fell into sin and by food that man is redeemed from sin. Too much food has a way of numbing the senses and filling the belly so full that the soul becomes drowsy and incapable of fighting against the temptations of the flesh. Fasting from food has a way of teaching us that man does not live by bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of God. Food comes from the earth, to be sure. It also comes from heaven (Manna, Jesus). Food normally runs out and is limited (famine). Sometimes, though, food multiplies beyond itself (feeding of the 5,000 and 4,000). This week we’ll see how our Lord uses food to apply the medicine of immortality to us even today.
Join us for the *Divine Service* at *Grace* at *8am* or *Trinity *at *11am* and for *Bible study* at *9:30am* *at Trinity. *For Bible Study, we’re in Revelation 21.
*Those Serving* *at Grace & Trinity today…*
*Trinity** Grace*
*Counter: the Kettemans Counters: Jeanette*
*Greeters: Minda Schultz Greeters: the Brunners*
*Ushers: David Ketteman & Ushers: Cory & Terry*
* Dave Lemcke Altar Guild: the Unruhs*
*Altar Guild: the Wortzes*
*Elder: **Scott Smith*
*To prepare* your hearts and minds for the Sunday gathering of the faithful, here is the bulletin for Sunday <mcusercontent.com/a90ee03ff0810e6c55bae6a58/files/6a01913f-8629-ef9b-0aec-8444a8746660/2021_07_18_Trinity_7.pdf>. Meditate on the readings, pray the prayers, and consider what gifts our Lord has for us this week. Also, here are the news/notes <mcusercontent.com/a90ee03ff0810e6c55bae6a58/files/2ac36d1b-d872-0064-7c5c-ced3cfd84934/7_18_21_News_Notes.pdf> and the congregation at prayer <mcusercontent.com/a90ee03ff0810e6c55bae6a58/files/eda2e0eb-02c3-cb20-11ef-ba03605eeb34/2021_7_18_The_Seventh_Sunday_after_Trinity.pdf> .
*Coming up this week…*
· *Sunday (7/18): **7th Sunday after Trinity*
o *8am *Divine Service, Grace
o *9:30am *Bible Study, Trinity
o *11am *Divine Service, Trinity
o *12:30pm *Meal & Catechesis *en Español, *Grace
o *2pm **Misa en Español, *Grace
o *3:30pm *Elders’ Book Study, Grace
· *Monday*:
o *9am *Matins, Grace
o *3:30pm *Grace Elders’ Mtg., Grace
o *6pm *New Member Catechesis, Trinity
· *Tuesday: **Commemoration of Elijah*
o *9am *Matins & OMT, Grace (we’re discussing the *Philokalia, *vol. 1)
o *6:30pm *Council Mtg., Grace
· *Wednesday: **Commemoration of Ezekiel*
o *9am *Matins, Grace
o *7pm *Evening Prayer, Trinity
· *Thursday: **Festival of St. Mary Magdalene*
o *9am *Matins, Grace
o *6pm *Trinity Elders Mtg., Trinity
o *7:30pm *Hall of Men, the Ladder
· *Friday: *
o *9am *Matins, Grace
o *4-5pm *Private Absolution, Trinity
· *Sunday (7/25): **Feast of St. James the Elder*
o *8am *Divine Service, Grace
o *9:30am *Bible Study, Trinity
o *11am *Divine Service, Trinity
o *2pm **Misa en Español, *Grace
*Looking Ahead…*
· I’ll go back to MI to pick up the family 7/25-8/1. For any pastoral care needs, please contact Pr. Metzger.
· *July 20 *OMT will meet at Grace to discuss the *Philokalia, Volume 1* <www.eighthdaybooks.com/product/110191/The-Philokalia-Volume-1-The-Complete-Text-Compiled-by-St-Nikodimos-of-the-Holy-Mountain-St-Markarios-of-Corinth-Philokalia-Vol-I>, a rich spirituality. Get your copy at Eighth Day Books!
· *August 4th *restarts our Wednesday Morning Bible Study at Grace at 9:30am. We’ll pick up in 2 Timothy. Join us!
· *August 21 *is the Annual St. John Lutheran Worship Conference in Topeka. This is always a great conference. It’s relatively close, inexpensive, and will certainly strengthen your faith and knowledge of how our Lord works in the liturgical life of the Church. For more, see here <stjohnlcmstopeka.org/learning/worshipconf/>.
· *September 11* – *CLOTHING GIVEAWAY*! On Saturday, from 9a-12p, Grace’s Board of Social Ministry will hold a clothing giveaway. Donations will be accepted and appreciated until the first of September. Please drop off donations at Grace on Sunday mornings, Tuesdays from 9-11a, or you can contact Jennifer Reyes at 316-300-0500 for other arrangements. Volunteers for sorting the week prior are always needed, as is help the day of the event. Please mark your calendars and contact Jennifer with any questions and let her know if you are able to help. Thanks!
· *September 24-25 *is the Annual Men’s Retreat in Herington. This year we’re thrilled to have Pr. Bryan Wolfmueller joining us to talk about martyrdom. Registration is $35, each teenage son you bring is $15. Everyone will get a copy of the book *A Martyr’s Faith in a Faithless World <https://www.amazon.com/Martyrs-Faith-Faithless-World/dp/0758662491>*. If you’re planning to come, let me know and give me your cash or check (made out to Trinity Lutheran Church, with “Men’s Retreat” in the memo). Space is limited to 30, so register now! More info coming soon.
· *September 30-October 1 *is Lutheranism and the Classics, a conference on the campus of Concordia Theological Seminary-Fort Wayne at which I’ll be offering a paper. You can see more about this excellent gathering here: www.ctsfw.edu/ctsfw-events/lutheranism-the-classics/
*Other Things…*
· At the CCLE conference in Houston last week I heard a tremendous presentation by Dr. Adam Koontz, a professor at Concordia Theological Seminary-Fort Wayne. You can watch it here on YouTube <https://youtu.be/4c1A4C5glHY>. It’s 50 minutes of pure gold. And if you like that, you’ll want to subscribe to his podcast <wordfitlyspoken.org/podcast/>. Enjoy!
· Also at the conference we heard a whole lot about the brand new Lutheran college that is set to open in the fall of 2025: Luther Classical College <www.lutherclassical.org/>. I highly recommend that you sign up for their quarterly journal <www.cc.lutherclassical.org/>, which is free.
· Senior Moments is a quarterly Newsletter put out by the KS District with an eye towards older-adult ministry. You can read the latest here <mcusercontent.com/a90ee03ff0810e6c55bae6a58/files/d5a1f00e-d07c-5759-cd3d-80fb8182b765/Senior_Moments_District_Newsletter_Summer_2021.pdf> .
· Classical School of Wichita is currently seeking a full-time janitor/maintenance staff member to perform general cleaning duties of facilities and assist with maintenance projects. The hours for this position during the academic year will be 7:15 am to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Starting pay is $12/hour. To apply, please fill out the application located here: cswichita.com/employment/ and send your résumé to Ben Zickafoose, CSW Chief Operating Officer, at bzickafoose@cswsaints.com.
Many blessings and much joy to you all in Christ our life.
-Pastor