News

Holy Week at Faith

Dear saints of Faith,

Lenten greetings to you all! Here are the services that we will be having this Holy Week. Please consider attending as many as you can this week as we reflect together upon the Second Article of the Creed, about what God has done for your Redemption.

Peace in Christ,

– Pastor Laws

PS: Please note that this year we will be joining with St. Paul’s in Grants Pass for their Easter Vigil Service of the Readings.

PSS: Also note that I will have time set aside for Individual Confession & Absolution on the afternoons of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

 

Palm Sunday (3/24): Bible Class 8:45 am, Divine Service 10 am

Maundy Thursday (3/28): [No Bible Class] Individual Confession & Absolution 2-4 pm, Divine Service 6 pm

Good Friday (3/29): Individual Confession & Absolution 2-4 pm, Tenebrae Vespers 6 pm

Easter Vigil (3/30): Service of the Readings, 6:30 pm at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Grants Pass (865 NW 5th St Grants Pass, OR 97526).

Easter Sunday (3/31): [No Bible Class] Divine Service 10 am

Services for Lent 2024

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

This Lent we will be diving into the Psalms for our midweek services. Specifically, the 7 Penitential Psalms. This season we will reflect on various themes in these Psalms, including sin, repentance, confession, the Law, faith, the Gospel, and especially Christ’s redemptive work to forgive your sins.

This season of Lent, we will be field-testing two midweeks, a 10 am and a 6 pm one for Ash Wednesday through Lent 5, for those who let me know they cannot drive at night. They will both be the same service/sermon. If these are well attended, I will consider doing this in future years.

Please join us at the following times:

February 14th: Ash Wednesday (Psalm 51), Services @ 10AM & 6PM, NO Soup Supper

February 21st: Lent 1 Midweek (Psalm 6), Services @ 10AM & 6PM, Soup Supper @ 5PM

February 28th: Lent 2 Midweek (Psalm 38), Services @ 10AM & 6PM, Soup Supper @ 5PM

March 6th: Lent 3 Midweek (Psalm 32), Services @ 10AM & 6PM, Soup Supper @ 5PM

March 13th: Lent 4 Midweek (Psalm 130), Services @ 10AM & 6PM, Soup Supper @ 5PM

Marth 20th: Lent 5 Midweek (Psalm 143), Services @ 10AM & 6PM, Soup Supper @ 5PM

March 28th @ 6PM: Holy Thursday Service

March 29th @ 6PM: Good Friday Service (Psalm 102)

March 30th: Easter Vigil Service of Readings @ St. Paul’s in Grants Pass *CHECK BACK LATER FOR THE TIME*

March 31st @ 10AM: Easter Sunday

The Lord bless and keep you all this Lenten season as we reflect upon our need for His redemptive work.

– Pastor Laws

Services for the Christmas Season and Epiphany

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, greetings!

As we prepare for the Twelve Days of Christmas (Dec 25th-Jan 5th), I wanted to share with you all our special services which will take place beyond our normal Sunday morning Divine Service:

– Christmas Eve service: 6 pm on Sunday, 12/24.
– Christmas Day Divine Service: 10 am on Monday, 12/25.
– Matins service for the Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs: 10 am on Thursday, 12/28.

and to start the season of Epiphany, which runs from Jan 6th to Ash Wednesday:

– Vespers service for Epiphany: 6 pm on Saturday, 1/6/24.

I pray you will be able to attend some or all of these services and hear of the gifts which Christ brings to us in His Incarnation and Nativity!

Peace in Christ Jesus our Lord,

Pastor Laws

CTSFW Presidential Search

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

As a member congregation of the LCMS, we have certain responsibilities toward our wider Church body. One of those is to nominate presidential candidates for the seminaries when a president retires or is removed from office. The current president at Concordia Theological Seminary, the Rev. Dr. Lawrence Rast Jr., announced this fall that he would be retiring from the presidency at the end of this academic year. He began his service as CTSFW’s president in May 2011.

We here at Faith, as a congregation of the LCMS, are entitled to put forward the name of qualified pastor for the office of seminary president. The candidate must be an LCMS pastor with an earned doctorate in theology who is an exemplary pastor and churchman (see the “Call for Nominations” for a full list of the qualifications). The nominations must be in by December 31st, 2023. The nominations all come from congregations, the CTSFW regents, and CTSFW faculty members. The list of nominations is then the pool of candidates from which the leadership of the seminary and our Synod then choose to call a new president.

After speaking with the Council, I think it would be prudent for the following process to take place for our nomination. I invite any members to email or text suggestions to me, Dave (Council President), or Bryan (Council Secretary) before the next Council meeting on Dec 10th. The council will then make a decision on the candidate, which will then be affirmed at the Voter’s Assembly on Dec 17th. Our nomination will be sent off with the full approval of the congregation.

Click the link here for the Call for Nominations and for the Professor Biographies for my two suggestions for nominees. This list will be added to when and if we receive additional suggestions from our membership.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to send me an email or give me a call to clarify anything in this letter.

Peace in Christ,

Pastor Laws

 

For more information, check out the CTSFW webpage for the nomination process.

Coronavirus Update (3/24)

Yesterday, the Office of Governor signed an executive order directing individuals to stay home except for essential services and even then, at all times to maintain social distancing of at least six feet from individuals who are not members of their household.

Within these orders, Faith Lutheran Church is continuing to hold midweek Lenten service and will return to holding one divine service on Sunday morning at 10am, with special attention to appropriate social distancing as directed by our Governor.

We will also have Bible Study on Thursday in Hallelujah Hall and Sunday morning Bible class as normal at 8:45. Saturday Bible Study has been cancelled.

We want to continue to remind everyone that they should stay home if they are at all not feeling well or if you regard yourself to be at risk. A Service of the Word radio broadcast is heard on Sundays at 10am and 6pm on 94.3FM or 943thebridge.com.

Whether we gather around His Word at the Lord’s House or around His Word at home, we gather in the communion of Saints just the same. May His Word guide us and lead us in these grey and latter days to the joys of everlasting life. Amen.

Coronavirus Update (3/21)

At this moment, the restrictions upon us from the Office of Governor as a response to the Cornoavirus outbreak is for no gatherings of more than 25 people. Because we are bound to submit to governing authorities, but we also view the reception of the Lord’s Word and Sacrament as essential, we are holding two services tomorrow: one at 8:45 am and one at 10 am.

We believe you, as the individual, are the most qualified person to determine your risk and your activities. We will continue to provide Word and Sacrament in every possible way while still complying with our governing authorities. If you aren’t feeling well, stay home. If it seems that this outbreak is a big risk to your health, stay home. Otherwise take common sense precautions for protecting yourself and others in the transmission of this and other viruses.

If you are unable to attend Divine Service, you may tune into a Service of the Word on our radio station at 10am and 6pm on 94.3FM or on the internet at 943thebridge.com

We will continue to update you about our church services and activities as this situation evolves through Call Mulitiplier and on our website at faithrogueriver.org

May the Great Physical of our souls, Jesus Christ, be your comfort and your confidence now and always, Amen.

Jan. 22 – Faith Lutheran Cancels Ladies Bible Study

Due to snowy weather conditions, Faith Lutheran Church has cancelled Ladies Bible Study for February 22. We pray for our first responders who work hard to keep citizens safe.

Mountain Mama 2017 Party

Two members of our congregation annually have a themed ‘costume’ party for fun and fellowship.

The women of Faith look forward to this every year.  The women go all out with appropriate themed decorations inside and outside their house.  They live about 2,000 ft on the side af a mountain with a 180-degree panoramic view of beautiful mountains.

A Buffett type luncheon is spread out over the dining room table and the kitchen counter.  The women like to eat on the deck while the local herd of deer graze in the yard. The menu tries to follow the theme.

This year the theme was “The Wild, Wild West”.  Costumes are encouraged but not mandatory.  Part of the fun is to see how each woman (that comes in costume) had interpreted the theme in her costume.

A neighbor comes up and enjoys lunch while visiting with the ladies as she ‘judges’ the best costume.  A prize is given to the best costume.  The hostesses usually have two brief quizzes related to the theme and prizes are given to the winners.  However, this was not done this year the women were enjoying fellowship with their sisters-in-Christ.

The decorations begin when they arrive at the front door.  This year each hostess had a “wanted poster with photo offering $500.00 dead or alive for two desperados on the loose. One was a horse thief and the other a bank robber (Wells Fargo of course).

 

Hanging from the corner of the garage was a noose with a (plastic) skeleton whose neck was clearly broken. Beneath him were his boots. This horse thief died with his boots on in pure western lore.

Everyone had a great time.  Several of the ‘regulars’ were missing due to circumstances that spoke to more serious priorities.  We had a group picture taken on the deck with the view in the background.

Pastor Goeglein holds another round of Adult Instruction Class

Rev. Evan Goeglein, Pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Rogue River has announced the dates his latest Adult Instruction Class. The Adult Instruction Class is a free 12-week class that Pastor Goeglein offers at least once every year that covers the foundation teachings of Christian, from the Lutheran perspective in particular. This year’s class will meet on Thursdays at 6:30pm beginning September 7th and is located at the church at 8582 Rogue River Hwy. The class provides a friendly and comfortable place to learn the teachings of Faith Lutheran Church where questions are welcome and everyone has a good time. All materials needed are provided. For more information visit faithrogueriver.org.

Faith Lutheran Church to Study History of the Reformation

This year marks the 500th Anniversary since the 16th Century reformer Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenburg Germany. It is often times pointed to as the event that begins the Reformation of the Church, in which the true Gospel is rediscovered as the Lord’s joy to save sinners on account Christ’s work alone through faith alone–as told by Scripture Alone.

In honor of this important event, Faith Lutheran Church is meeting on Tuesday nights in the months of September and October to watch a video series on Martin Luther and the reformation. Their gathers include covering two video sessions about 20 minutes in length, with discussion to follow. The gathers are open to anyone who would like to attend.