September – SEPTIEMBRE 2020 VOL. 85, No. 9 (click for Word document; text is below)
AUGUST – AGOSTO 2020
JULY – JULIO 2020
2020-07 Chronicle
JUNE – JUNIO 2020
2020-06 Chronicle
MAY – MAYO 2020
2020-05 Chronicle
SEPTEMBER – SEPTIEMBRE 2020 VOL. 85, No. 9
One Church – One Congregation – One Chronicle
Una Iglesia – Una Congregación – Una Crónica
09/06/2020 – Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Ezekiel 33:7-11 Ps. 119:33-40 Romans 13:8-14 Matthew 18:15-20
09/13/2020 –Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Genesis 50:15-21 Ps. 103:1-13 Romans 14:1-12 Matthew 18:21-35
09/20/2020 –Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Jonah 3:10-4:11 Ps. 145:1-8 Philippians 1:21-30 Matthew 20:1-16
09/27/2020 –Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32 Ps. 25:1-9 Philippians 2:1-13 Matthew 21:23-32
Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church
6149 S. Kenneth Ave. Chicago, IL 60629
(773) 767-7400
Email: calvaryluther@sbcglobal.net
URL: chicagolutheran.org
facebook.com/chicagolutheran.org
1
From the Pastor’s Desk
In June in this column, I asserted that because all human beings have been created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27) and Jesus gave his life for the sins of the whole world, not only “our” sins (1 John 2:2 et al.), all lives matter to God and should matter to us. In July, I pointed out that in Genesis 12 and following, God made a covenant with Abraham and thus singles out a specific family for God’s blessing, which seems to contradict all lives mattering to God. Now I’ll address that more fully.
Of the three promises God made to Abraham in their covenant—land, many descendants, and blessing to all nations through him—it’s this last one that addresses both the “all people” vs. “Abraham’s family” tension in the Old Testament and also the “all lives matter” – “Black lives matter” tension in the United States in 2020. While land and many descendants have caused conflict in the Holy Land between the Hebrews or Jews and Gentiles continuously for the past 4,000 years, God’s promise to bless all peoples through Abraham evolved slowly.
Abraham’s descendants, the nation of Israel, after generations of slavery in Egypt and a generation wandering in the Sinai desert, conquered the land of Canaan that God had promised to Abraham, Moses, and Joshua. The conquest was brutal, often genocidal; the Israelites killed many thousands of people and destroyed entire cities. Explanations include the fact that the people who were killed worshipped false gods who would lead Israel astray; they practiced abominations like child sacrifice; destroying cities as a sacrifice to God was an accepted practice in that time and culture; and God’s revelation had not yet progressed enough yet to forbid such killing.
In the Law that God gave to Israel at Sinai, there are special provisions to care especially for those who were marginalized in society—widows, orphans, and foreigners. Later, the prophets reminded Israel to not oppress marginalized groups and condemned superficial dedication to God without care for those in need.
The Hebrew prophets gave signs of the fulfillment of God’s third promise to Abraham when they told Israel that their nation would lead to salvation for the Gentiles as well as Israelites—to all people (as we’ve heard in the first readings from Isaiah on Sundays in August). However, prophets such as Amos, Micah, and others also condemned social injustice and the oppression of powerless minorities.
Multiple times in the Old Testament, then, the God to whom all lives matter shows a special concern for the lives of specific groups of people, especially those who were historically excluded or viewed as inferior.
(to be continued)
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Cox
2
FINANCE REPORT
First and foremost, thank you to everyone who has contributed with their time, talents, and treasures to keep our ministry alive here at Calvary during this COVID-19 pandemic. This has definitely been a bizarre year and we all have been faced with personal challenges. We, as a congregation, have been blessed with so many people that care about each other and believe in the power of God to see us through these difficult times.
To those of you who have not been able to attend our Worship Services in person, please know that we miss you and you are in our prayers.
Here is the progress report on our finances for this year. Our expenses in July were higher than any other month due to our annual insurance premium.
JAN | FEB | MARCH | APRIL | MAY | JUNE | JULY | YTD | |
TOTAL RECEIPTS | $8572.50 | $9427.45 | $7204.85 | $3037.66 | $2316.14 | $9777.07 | $5325.41 | $45661.08 |
TOTAL EXPENSES | $(9854.30) | $(6836.34) | $(4014.78) | $(6250.93) | $(4391.32) | $(5265.81) | $(15230.57) | $ (51844.05) |
SURPLUS/ DEFICIT | $(1281.80) | $2591.11 | $3190.07 | $(3213.27) | $(2075.18) | $4511.26 | $(9905.16) | $(6182.97) |
Reminder you can visit our website www.chicagolutheran.org for our online worship services and to donate online. Thank you all for your support. Stay safe and healthy.
Social Ministry
God’s work, our Hands Sunday is held in September. This event is an opportunity to celebrate who we are as Lutherans, and promotes acts of service in our communities. During the COVID 19 pandemic, the need at food banks is greater than ever. As we did last year, Social Ministry has identified two opportunities at the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Calvary will be volunteering as a group Tuesday, September 15th, from 9am-11:45 am, and Saturday, October 10th, from 8:30-11:15am. Anyone interested in joining us, please contact Robin Cortes, Rudy Cortes, or Gina Misch to sign up for one or both of these dates. Please RSVP by September 13th to ensure our spots and give an accurate count.
3
Remembered in Prayer – September 2020
Let us keep the following people in prayer. The name in (parenthesis) is the person who submitted the name for the prayer list.
Fighting cancer / Luchando con cáncer
Sandy Guetzloff (Cheryl S.)
Judy Peyton (Joan K.)
Dolly Siegel (Barb S.)
Joan Kincade (Pastor Cox)
Maria de Jesus (Maria R.)
Joline Revas (JoAlice R.)
Gloria Kurakowski (Nancy B.)
Gary Johnson (Barb S.)
Perry Miller (Barb Siegel)
Bob Skinkis (Lois F.)
Karen Bellafiore (Lois F.)
Mike (the Beckers)
Judy Lynch (Steve Lynch)
Richard Sivertsen (Lois Flood)
Cynthia Mowery(Jenny Cole)
Living with chronic condition / Viviendo con condición crónica
Neil Cole Mowery (Jenny C.)
Ruth Streitberger (Anna Rose A.)
Pat D. (Anna Rose Auersch)
Barb Siegel (Barb Siegel)
John Eichhorn (Lois F.)
John Salomone (Lois F.)
Eileen Coit (Rachel B.)
Kathy Becker (Pastor Cox)
Gene Pagois (Pastor Cox)
Healing at home / Recuperándose en su hogar
Anna Rose Auersch (Pastor Cox)
John Ma (Pastor Cox)
Xueyan (Sue) Zhen (Pastor Cox)
Brett Olsen (Janice Holstein)
Kathy Becker (Pastor Cox)
Judy Lynch (Steve Lynch)
Generally needing prayer / en necesidad de oración en general
Jackie Hickey (Linda Johnson)
Rudy Cortes Jr. (Pastor Cox)
Grieving the death and celebrating the life of / En duelo por el fallecimiento y celebrando la vida de
Ivan Lit(John Ma)
Georgina Robson(JoAlice Revas)
For those suffering from COVID-19, and for those who care for them/
Por los que sufren de COVID-19, y por los que les atienden y cuidan (Pastor Cox)
For racial justice & peace for all / Por la justicia racial y por la paz (Pastor Cox)
Beginning higher education / Comenzando la educación superior
Dylan Misch (Marines Officer Training School) (Gina Misch)
Dylan Scott (Milwaukee College of Engineering) (Lynch family)
4
Happy Birthday! ¡Feliz Cumpleaños!
Pr. Gary Cox Sept. 5th
Johnson, Linda Sept. 6th
Murphy, Elliott Sept. 6th
Becker, Jessica Sept. 9th
Franco, Anissa Sept. 11th
Whennen, John Sept. 11th
Johnson, Keith Sept. 15th
Lesiak, Samantha Sept. 23rd
Misch, Dylan Sept. 24th
Dunkle, Brittany Sept. 30th
CROP Walk
Youth or adults interested in walking in a modified Chicago CROP Hunger Walk on October 18, please sign up in the narthex and/or inform Pastor Cox. This year due to the coronavirus, smaller local walks will take place near individual churches. Walkers receive a free CROP face mask. Funds raised support Church World Service and local food pantries.
Verses for our times:
Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
Live in harmony with one another;
do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly;
do not claim to be wiser than you are.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.
If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
(Romans 12:12-18)
5
CALENDAR (page 6) – please click on the August 2020 calendar in the “Calendar” page of the website