Christ Lutheran Church Germantown, Maryland

Epistle To The Saints October 2019

Adult Sunday School 9:30 AM each Sunday

Service with The Lord’s Supper 10:30 AM each Sunday

“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”

Proverbs 31:30

* October 14th

Serve at the Rescue Mission

* October 19th

Sweetest Day Father Daughter Dinner Dance

* October 27th

Reformation Observance

* October 27th

Church Council

* November 1st All Saint’s Day

* November 3rd

Daylight Savings Time ENDS

Volume 43. No. 9 EPISTLE TO THE SAINTS

Epistle to the Saints October, 2019

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the

Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written,

“But the righteous man shall live by faith.” –Romans 1:16-17

Most of the time, we tend to associate the month of October with Halloween. On Halloween (as much as

kids love candy) one of the traditions children most enjoy is dressing up in costume. I remember dressing up as

Bugs Bunny, a pumpkin, the Red Power Ranger, and other fun stuff. But even if you dress up as Superman or

Wonder Woman just wearing the clothes doesn’t give you any special powers. It doesn’t change you.

When Martin Luther put on the humble robes of the Augustinian monks he thought it would make him

into a holier man. The Roman church holds that those who belong to the monastic orders aspire to lead holier

lives than the common man. However, the more he tried to please God with his own works, the more he felt

God was angry with him because of his sin. How could he ever live a life holy enough to please God?

Romans 1:17 helped Luther find the answer. He found that a man cannot become perfectly righteous

before God by his own effort, but the perfectly righteous man lives by faith in Jesus. Just like a Halloween

costume doesn’t change who we are underneath, Luther’s monk robes didn’t change him. But God had given

him a robe that WOULD change him. Through faith in Christ we are all covered by the white robes of Jesus’

own perfect righteousness, and those robes DO change who we are. We can do nothing to earn these purest

robes, but by faith we receive them as a gift. So, we live lives of faith, trusting in God to provide for us, even

trusting him to increase in us the righteousness of Jesus every day.

On October 31 we often think most of Halloween. Let us also remember October 31 as Reformation Day

as we celebrate Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg when Luther began his

work to turn the church back to the pure teachings of God’s Word and the Holy Gospel. And let us continue his

work by holding fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

Pastor Abraham McNally

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BAPTISM September 1, 2019

Anya Marie Clarke

Joyce Clarke, Grandmother and Godmother, Chris, Christopher, Gianna, Sofiya, Anya,

and Jessica Clarke, Pastor Stapf

“…For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my

heavenly Father." (Matthew 18:10)

Volume 43. No. 9 EPISTLE TO THE SAINTS

Food and Fellowship Honoring Anya Marie Clarke – a new soul in God’s Family!

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Volume 43. No. 9 EPISTLE TO THE SAINTS

OCTOBER 6 13 20 27 Pianist/

Organist

Helen

Jan

Meryl

Helen

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October Birthdays

3 Brian Nichols

13 Audrey Stapf

16 Stephen Gray

17 Abraham McNally

October Baptisms

26 Susan Shriver

27 Carolyn Shriver

Pastor Abraham talks with the children

about Sharing during the Children’s

Sermon.

“He took a little child whom he placed

among them. Taking the child in his

arms, he said to them, whoever

welcomes one of these little children in

my name welcomes me; and whoever

welcomes me does not welcome me but

the one who sent me.” Mark 9: 36-37

Our congregation is blessed to be able to provide

this opportunity annually to give fathers a forum

to show their daughters their love and devotion.

A MESSAGE TO FATHERS

Be your daughter’s first love. Open doors

for her, pull out her seat for her, talk to

her, and treat her with utmost respect…

Set expectations on how a man should

treat a lady, and she will never settle for

anything less.

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Women’s Bible Study

Thursday 6PM

Beauty is more than skin deep; it starts in the

heart and works outward. Exploring the timeless

wisdom of Proverbs 31, Bible teacher Elizabeth

George reveals how you can become a woman of

true beauty – a woman who desires to honor God

in all the she says and does.

“Beautiful in God’s Eyes” by Elizabeth George

helps you make each day immensely meaningful

as you delight in God and discover how to:

Experience instant progress toward

personal goals;’

Manage daily life more effectively;

Tap into unlimited energy;

Apply Biblical principles to enhance

relationships;

Move from the ordinary to the

extraordinary.

You can experience a richer, more exciting

spiritual walk as you embrace God’s design for

true beauty in your life.

All women of our church are invited. Audrey

Stapf leads our study. We gather at one

another’s home and the hostess coordinates the

dinner. Please check the church bulletin or

contact Audrey at 301 831-7339 for location.

We are happy to help arrange transportation

PRAYER AND PRAISE ANYA MARIE CLARKE: We pray the Holy

Spirit be with her, guide, and protect her as she

grows in faith.

KYLE JOHNSON: Father, please guide the

physicians and protect Kyle as he undergoes

treatment for his medical problems. Bless him with

your healing mercies.

MARK BALLARD: Father, please continue to

bless Mark with your healing mercies.

NANCY GREGORY: Father, we ask you to be

with Nancy and help her to feel your love.

PASTOR CURTIS LEINS: Father, we thank you

for Pastor Leins. We pray that you will keep him in

your care and bless his work in Your name.

PASTOR ABRAHAM MCNALLY: Father, we

ask to guide and bless him and his ministry.

FOR OUR CONGREGATION: Father, we ask

your merciful goodness in providing us with the

wisdom, discernment and courage to do Your will.

FOR OUR CHILDREN: Lord, keep each of them

strong in You each day. Protect them and guide

them in the plan that You have for each of them.

FOR OUR PASTORS: By the power and presence

of the Holy Spirit, please uphold and help them

stand firm in the truth of Your gracious word.

FOR THOSE SERVING AWAY FROM HOME: Father please guide them in Your mercy and bless

them with the fullness of Your love.

Men’s Bible Study The men have been studying the Book of Romans. It is

one of the most detailed theological books in The New

Testament. Pastor McNally is leading the study. The

discussions are lively, interesting, and relevant. Please

plan on joining us. We gather at the church or at one

another’s homes at 7PM on Monday evenings. Please

check the church bulletin or contact Pastor Abraham for

location. We can help arrange transportation.

ALWAYS KNOW YOU

ARE MORE THAN

ENOUGH, YOU

ARE PRECIOUS,

UNIQUE, AND

WORTH BEING

ADORED,

CHERISHED AND

TREASURED!

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On Sunday, September 8th

, Debbie Tomlinson,

Director of Faith Connections, shared with us an

overview as well as specific ways we can support

this vital community ministry.

“Faith Connections is a non-profit Christian

ministry that works in collaboration with churches,

government agencies and various organizations in

the Damascus-Clarksburg area to provide

emergency assistance to families in crisis situations

and works in advocacy to support efforts to empower

clients towards self-reliance.”

Our congregation is blessed to have an

awesome depth of musical talents. Art

Delagrange presented us with a C.D. concert of

his second album, titled The Gospel in Music;

Art and Friends, Volume 2.

On Sunday, September 8th

after services, we

were privileged to have Art tell us a bit about

each track and then play it for us. This was truly

an inspiration and quite the musical masterpiece.

Our Pastor Emeritus, Irvin Stapf designed the

C.D. cover. Should you like a copy, please

notify us at the Church office at

clcedargrove@outlook.com. Supplies are

limited but FREE. Like us on Facebook.

Christ Lutheran Church AALC

Pastor McNally has our Facebook page looking great!

Lots of wonderful information about our church,

congregation, and news.

New addition: Every week the sermon’s video is

posted. AWESOME!

Volume 43. No. 9 EPISTLE TO THE SAINTS

Annually, Carol Bartels invites friends and family to her home to enjoy the last vestiges of summer with a

picnic. On September 8th

, we enjoyed wonderful food, fellowship, and fun thanks to Carol’s gracious

hospitality!

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Volume 43. No. 9 EPISTLE TO THE SAINTS

“An Evening to Remember”

Father/Daughter Sweetest Day

Dinner Dance!

October 19, 2019 6-8PM

Dinner served buffet style

Entertainment

Dancing (some fun dances and a dance lesson by Carol Bartels, Instructor of Le Papillon

dance studio in Gaithersburg.)

Photograph

Corsage for each young lady

Everything is FREE but tickets are required

(Space is limited so reserve early)

To obtain tickets contact Jeane Flesch at 301 253-2512 or e-mail at flesch11730@comcast.net

Looking back on 2018 Sweetest Day

Clyde and Lottie Brian and Charlotte

Donnie and Jenna Pastor Emeritus Irv and Rebekah

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On September 15th

after service, we went to Tom and Rays for

breakfast.

We enjoyed great food and fellowship with the opportunity to

enjoy visiting with Pastor Abraham’s family.

(Father, Tony; Mother, Traci; Brother, Alex; Grandfather, John;

and Grandmother, Sally)