Author: Julie Raffa

February 2021

The Pilgrim Herald
Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

The Holy Catholic Church and It’s Communal Character
“The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer.”
(Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 29)

The liturgy of the church is a conversation. God speaks to us, and we, speak His Word back to Him. It’s not an echo chamber. It a chamber of answered lament, the petitions of our lips, and God’s tongue of responsive grace. We sing the introit responsively. Cantor and people, we share the same sacred sentences. Though my back is to the congregation, I can only imagine the faces of the congregation: some enthralled, some bored, some pained, some weary. We made it through another week. We are being the church, speaking the words of life to each other, showing up for one another. Again.
Remember, this back and forth is not only directed to one another. In the antiphon (the verse that brackets the beginning and end of the Psalm), we are talking to God together—praying in agreement that God’s Word alone is truth. We are confessing to God what He has said to us. We are reminding one another, like the Canaanite woman, that we catch God in His promises, we pour out our complaints, and remind each other that we are one body for one another.
Christian friendships are call-and-response friendships. We tell each other over and over, back and forth, the truth of who we are and who God is. Over breakfast and walks, in dropping over a dinner for family with Covid-19, in prayer over the phone, we express the love and mercy that is the foundation of all Christian life.
Its fair to say that our closet friendships are with people who are willing to get in the muck with us, who see us not just on Sunday with a forced happy face, but who see us as we are in our frailty and fallenness, and who speak to us the shared hope and new life we have in Christ amid the brokenness of this fading world. These are not cheap pep-talks or pat answers. Rather, after we have poured out our fears or embarrassments into their ears, grace and mercy come from their lips. And vise versa. And so we are held together not merely by the experience of our lives, but more so by Christ and His Word.
As you have chanted many introits over the years, perhaps you have caught that they don’t offer simplistic answers. They scale the skyscraper of human experience, from triumphant praise to deepest depression. They let us be as complex as we actually are. Christian friends are like this. They call to us and respond with us when we say, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name” and when we say, “O Lord, our Lord, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me?” The deepest friendships are friendships of call and response. It’s the rhythm of an honest friendship, of life together, of the communion of saints.
The American religiosity of our day seems to think that the church (if necessary at all) is chiefly intended to serve our individual spiritual needs or to group us together with likeminded-people or in the same age bracket. Yet, if we believe that church simply is a voluntary society of people with shared values, then it is entirely optional. The faith of the church can’t be reduced to “a personal relationship with Jesus.” Our relationship with Jesus is intimately tied up in a relationship with His people, His disciples. Christians throughout history have confessed that it is impossible to have a relationship with Christ outside of a vital relationship with the church, Christ’s body and bride. St. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, noted, “No one can call God Father unless the church is his spiritual-birth mother.”
When we confess in the Nicene Creed that we believe in “one holy, catholic, and apostolic church,” we are confessing that we can’t know Christ on our own, in a small group friends, or alone on a majestic mountain top. Instead, we rely on the global, historic church that Christ built with His death and resurrection. When we worship we do so with “angels and archangels and all the company of heaven.”
The only reason we know anything about Jesus is because His disciples told their friends, neighbors, and enemies about Him, the apostles preached and the evangelists wrote down His teachings and believers carried His message to the ends of the earth, into every generation. The Bible has a word for this: paradosis—the faithful handing down of the gospel, a process that is always embodied and that happens in real time with real people (1 Cor 11:12; 2 Thess 2:15).
My relationship with my Christian family and friends is not institutional but relational, it is wrapped in ritual and liturgy. It is bonded by Baptism and strengthened by the Lord’s Supper. It is not bound by time but rooted in the eternity of Christ. Beautifully and beyond comprehension the community of Christ is tethered together by the gifts that Christ gives, and nothing, not even death can sever its bonds.
By way of dire experiences over the last year, this pandemic has taught us many things, not the least being: we profoundly need each other. We are immersed in the Christian faith and life together. There is no merely private faith—everything we do and confess as individuals affects the church community.
Yet, many Christians of various ages and backgrounds sadly are not sure what the church is for. Some have denigrated the need for it all together. We have produced a me-centered faith that would be foreign to the martyrs and saints of old. We have made a false gospel with the deviant practices of internet communion and on-the-go communion baggies. A popular Christian author, Donald Miller can write that “most of the influential Christian leaders I know (who are not pastors) do not attend church,” and can refer to the church as a university that he has ‘graduated’ from.” Yikes.
But if Christianity is not only about my individual link with God, but is rather about God calling by the Gospel and enlightening a holy people by His Holy Spirit, then the church can never be reduced to “optional” status. Christ didn’t send His holy Spirit only to individuals. He did not merely seek personal relationships with His followers. The good news is not simply that I believe and thus make it to heaven, or even that I believe and live out my life among a band of Christian disciples.
Jesus, in His crucifixion, poured out His Spirit upon all people. And in this Spirit of Christ, by His Word proclaimed He is gathering from all nations and languages a holy people for Himself. The perseveration of our faith and the endurance of the saints in not a personal promise; it is a promise that God will have, redeem, and preserve His church—a remnant, generation after generation which not even the gates of hell will be able to prevail against.
And lest we forget. Christ’s bride and body, which will one day be spotless and whole, is now blemished, broken, or as Luther quipped “the greatest sinner on earth.” So, we always have room for one more. Attend a council or voters meeting. Spend anytime in the church and the plain fact of its disunity is easily evident. And beyond this sad reality of general disunity, many of us bear scars from fractured relationships or institutional sin in the church. Sin in the church can be insidious and systemic. We can be injured by a misuse of power or entrenched institutional patterns. Any of us who have hung around the church long enough have a few scars to show.
In the church of my youth where I was confirmed, the pastor had a long-time affair with the secretary of the church. I was in the youth group at the time with his two daughters. There was a lot of hurt, pain, destruction, and betrayal to go around. And while I was too young and naive, I still begged the question, “where else could I go?” This was the church where I was catechized, where I heard the gospel, where I received nourishment in Word and Sacrament, where I was shaped and formed as one beloved by God. And this, all by defiled hands of a pastor who stood at the helm. But his defilement didn’t defile the works of God. Being a junior in high school at the time, I didn’t stick around for very long. I headed for college in Oregon, and thanks be to God, I found Redeemer Lutheran Church and Rev. Eric Lange. Slowly here, I was nursed back to faith in the Gospel Word and in His Body and Blood upon my lips.
Many have suffered far worse at the hands of the church and her pastors. The church throughout history has been the world’s leader in showing compassion for the suffering. It has brought us wonders of architecture, modern medicine, art, and higher education. Yet the church has also been a place of scandal and violence—child abuse, religious wars, and all manner of evil. It was Flannery O’Conner who said, “You have to suffer as much from the church as for it…The only thing that makes the church endurable is that somehow it is the Body of Christ, and on this we are fed.”
In the sin and failure of the church, we see the darkness and ugliness for which Christ suffered and died. But we also have hope that in the midst of sinners, God brings forth repentance and redemption. We gaze in weakness, with dim eyes, on the power of God.
The church is not an entity outside of me. I don’t stand on the outside looking in. I am as much part of the church as a hand is part of a body. That means that when I see sin in the church, I am implicated in it. I contribute to the brokenness of the church. I have dealt wounds to others; I have been unfaithful to the bridegroom. Every pastor and church member is, in no insignificant way, a sinner. Yet here too we see God’s power because, in this body of Christ, we can find a place where we can be gloriously and devastatingly creatures of God. We find a place were we can fail and repent and grow and receive grace and be made new. Like a family—even closer than a family, for water is thicker than blood in this holy abode—we can learn to live together, weak and sinful, in the goodness and restorative grace of God our Father.
In the Christian faith we love people universally by loving the particular people we know and can name. We love the world by loving a particular people in it—a specific street, city, or block. The incarnation of Jesus is the ultimate reality of this principle, when the One who fills all in all became a singular baby in a fleshly body in a particular place in time.
It’s quite easy for the church to exist in our mind as an abstract ideal. It’s easy to say one believes in God, is a church goer, or speak emotionally about one’s connection to spiritual things. But our love for God and His church universal is worked out in the hard pews of our local congregation. Pilgrim is our small concrete entry into the church universal. It’s the basic unit of Christian community and the concrete place where we receive the gifts of God, His Word and Sacraments. The body of Christ—ancient, catholic—is only known, loved, and served through the gritty reality of our local parish.
And that’s where things get more nuanced, even difficult. We typically sit next to the people who know us, whom we trust and laugh with as we gather in church, as we study the Scriptures and nibble on a donut or cheesecake bar, and sip our coffee or tea. But there are people around us in the pews and tables, people we find irritating or awkward, people who vehemently hold political opinions we find suspect, people whom we have nothing in common outside of our shared membership here at Pilgrim. The people we go to church with are not often the people we would want to go on a long road trip with.
But here is the reality. The body of Christ is made up of all kinds of people, some we find obnoxious, arrogant, self-righteous, or misguided (labels that I am sure, others have label me with). From the beginning, relationships in the church were fraught. Peter and Paul must have made for awkward dinner guests when Paul publicly opposed Peter to his face, as we read in Galatians.
I get it, we are drawn to those we find lovely and likable. Yet those Jesus spent His time with—those by His Spirit were drawn to Him—were the odd, the disheveled, the outcast. Those who were “winning at life” sadly saw no need for Him. The people of God are the maligned, the misfits, and the broken. This is good news—and humiliating.
God loves and delights in all the people in the pews around us and dares us to see in them His image which He created them with. To love His people on earth is to see Christ in them, to live among them, to receive together Word and Sacrament. Our faith is exercised with other broken men and women. It’s sometimes painful. But this is our liturgy of vocation. We live together in the forgiveness of sins. The church is an eternal body made up of all tribes, languages, and nations of the earth. In this place where the Milwaukee River bends west, we gather into the giant reality of Christ’s church. When we remember our communal identity as the baptized of God, when we confess to one another our sins and are absolved by Christ’s servant, and when we eat together the Lord’s Supper, we participate in the life of the counter-cultural and timeless Christian community—we belong to each other, for we all belong to the Lord. In the love and forgiveness of Christ’s Body and Blood we are impelled to love one another as we proclaim our Lord’s death and resurrection until He ushers us all together into His new heavens and new earth.
In the Bonds of Christ,
Pastor Raffa

Inside this Issue:
Directory of Officers & Organizations	4
News & Reports	5
Volunteer Schedule	6
Birthdays & Anniversaries	7
Lutheran Library	8
From the Synod	9
Communal Prayers	12
Calendar	13

The Pilgrim Herald — Page #

February 2021 — Page #

Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
440 Meadowbrook Drive - West Bend, Wisconsin 53090

2021 Church Directory of Officers and Organizations

Clergy:
Sr. Pastor: Rev. Joseph Fisher 305-1663
Assoc. Pastor: Rev. Christopher Raffa 339-6862
Church Officers:
President: Bob Knuth (‘21—2024) 270-304-5860
Vice President : Jim Behrens (2017-2023) 629-9572
Voters Sec.: Nancy Rosenthal (2017-2023) 689-8860
Treasurer: Bonnie Leffin (2020-2023) 573-1945
Financial Sec.: Jen Schmidt (‘21-2024) 414-587-9563
Church Council:
Carol Heger (2021-2024) 338-3028
Mary Lehtimaki (2017-2020, 2020-2023) 353-3350
Nancy Rosenthal (2021-2024) 689-8860
Board of Elders:
Dennis Engmann (2017-2020, 2020-2023) 644-9687
Jacob Hand (2019-2022) 388-2441
John Heger (2017-2020, 2020-2023) 338-3028
Bob Knuth (2019-2022) 270-304-5860
Tanner Schmidt (2016 - 2019, 2020-2023) 470-9704
Gary Jenovia (2018-2021) 677-0517
Patrick Scheifelbein (2021-2024) 903-7340
Brian Skrentny (2018-2021) 338-8586
Elder Assignments:
Members: Elder:
Audley - Darkow Patrick Scheifelbein
Densow - Glassel John Heger
Gohr - Jennrich Brian Skrentny
Jenovai - Lotz Tanner Schmidt
Magnus - Otten Gary Jenovai
Pajewski - Schmidt Dennis Engmann
Schnabel - Swanson Bob Knuth
Thames - Zicker Jake Hand
Board of Christian Education:
Carolyn McAfee (2017-2020, 2020-2023) 305-9776
Scott Densow (2019-2022) 483-5416
Carol Heger (2018-2021) 338-3028
Church Staff:
Office Secretary: Sarah Spalda 629-9989
Custodian: Jim Rosenthal 338-8354
Custodian: Kevin Hoffman 707-0159
Organist: Kathy Greve (904) 616-8943
Organist: Benjamin Grosskreuz 353-2771
Organist: Samuel Grosskreuz 353-2771
Board of Trustees:
Paul Grosskreuz (2020 - 2023) 353-2151
Eric Johanen (2016-20, 2020-2022) 334-5021
Ben Olson (2020-2023) 644-7907
Rob Selzler– Head Trustee (‘18-2021) 920-488-1103
Ron Virchow, Jr. (2021-2024) 334-0375
Endowment Committee:
Rita Frank (2018-2021) 262-334-1621
Orville Gierach (2018-2021) 338-6519
Ron Kabitzke (2018-2019, 2020-2023) 675-6336
Mike Loomans (2019-2022) 335-6523
Rob Selzler (2018-2021) 920-488-1103
Altar Guild Officers:
President: Ginny Schober 677-3917
Treasurer: Karen Spiering 334-5647
Ladies Guild / LWML Officers:
President: Ruth Kohler 338-6392
Vice President: Julie Raffa 388-8287
Secretary: Norma Benz 334-4274
Treasurer: Judy Frank 388-1210
Christian Growth: Jane Rockrohr 429-1366
Sunshine Circle:
Carol Heger 338-3028
Dartball:
Captain: Gabe Kempf 339-0252
Pilgrim Quilters: 334-0375

Email: office@pilgrimlutheranwb.org
Office Phone: 262-334-0375
Office Hours: Monday—Thursday, 8:00 a.m.—1:00 p.m.
Website: www.pilgrimlutheran-westbend.org
YouTube Channel: Pilgrim Lutheran Church- West Bend, WI

Pilgrim News
To our Pilgrim congregation—
The Ladies of the LWML always give thanks to God for you and your kindness and generosity. The final virtual cookie sale amounted to $526 for missionaries and seminarians. Praise God!!!
Lenten Prayer Service: Psalms of Lament will be held at Pilgrim on Saturday, February 13 at 9:00 a.m. Join us as we prepare ourselves for the Season of Lent with singing, prayer, and meditation on Psalm 6, Psalm 51, and Psalm 118.

The Pilgrim Endowment Fund currently has $12,200 available for distribution. The guidelines and application forms are available in the Church Office. The deadline for submitting applications is June 4, 2021. Examples of the fund’s uses are as follows:
Education Account:
School Tuition Assistance for students attending one of The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod’s schools.
Church Worker Tuition Assistance
Staff Education Assistance
Capital Improvement Account:
Remodeling
Capital Equipment
Deferred Maintenance
Mission Outreach Account:
Local Missions
District Missions
Synodical Missions
Human Care—Benevolence Account:
Helping God’s People — offering financial assistance for the congregation’s members facing economic or personal crises.
Undesignated Account — shall consist of any gifts that are not specifically designated.
None of the income or principal from the above listed accounts shall be distributed and used for the congregation’s operating budget. Most congregations do not use endowment funds to support the operating budget. Congregations that use an endowment to support operating costs often see a decline in general offerings from the members.

40 Days for Life: All over the world this Lent Christians will be taking part in 40 Days for Life prayer vigils outside of abortion clinics. This pro-life campaign involves holding peaceful signs (“Pray to End Abortion”) and gathering to pray. You can sign up to reserve a vigil time from Feb. 17 – March 28 at www.40daysforlife.com/sheboygan. I plan on going to Sheboygan and devoting an hour on both March 4 and 26 at 11:00 am to 12 noon in front of Planned Parenthood, 909 S. Taylor Dr., Sheboygan.
Joe and I participated last fall; Joe played hymns on his concertina as we walked up and down the sidewalk. If you’re interested in riding along to Sheboygan, contact me at 262-338-3028 or email xusnps@aol.com. – Carol Heger
Sunshine Cards Update: Handmade cards still continue to be sent to members who are unable to attend church and are “shut in” at home or at assisted living facilities. Each card includes a Bible verse or hymn stanza, and all are hand-colored or created using scrapbooking techniques. Cards are now being prepared for Valentine’s Day and feature the Offertory prayer “Create in me a clean heart.” About 30 cards were mailed for Thanksgiving and 32 cards for Christmas greetings. If you are interested in learning more about this group of volunteers who bring “sunshine” into the lives of our “shut in” members, contact Carol Heger at 262-338-3028 or email xusnps@aol.com.
Thrivent Members: your help is needed. In order to maintain its non-profit status, Thrivent needs to give away thousands of dollars each year. You can help Thrivent and Pilgrim (or another non-profit tax-exempt group) in two ways:
1—Direct your Thrivent Choice Dollars by calling 800-847-4836 (one member had $618 available when he called to direct dollars to Pilgrim)
2—Call the Pilgrim Church Office at 262-334-0375 and add your name to the list of available Thrivent Action Team Grants. When there is a church fundraiser, educational event or service project that needs funding, you will be contacted about applying for this $250 grant.

February 2021 — Page #

Membership report
Baptized: No Change
Transferred In:
Mrs. Katie Fischer from Peace LCMS, Sussex and her children: Alia, Zoe, Matthias, Lucy, and Patrick
Transferred Out: No Change
Released from Membership: No Change

month volunteer schedule
Thursday, February 4: 7:00 p.m.
Altar Guild: Ginny S.
Elder: Dennis E.
Usher Team: A
Sunday, February 7 : 8:00 a.m. / 10:30 a.m.
Office Volunteer: Caryn L.
Altar Guild: Laurie L. / Ellen R.
Elder: Tanner S. / Gary J.
Usher Team: 5 / 2
Acolyte: Abby V. / Matthias R.
Thursday, February 11: 7:00 p.m.
Altar Guild: Karen S
Elder: Bob K.
Usher Team: B
Sunday, February 14 : 8:00 a.m. / 10:30 a.m.
Office Volunteer: Julie R
Altar Guild: Nancy R. / Julie R.
Elder: Jake H. / John H
Usher Team: 1 / 4
Acolyte: Dylan Z. / Josiah R.
Wednesday, February 17: 1:00 p.m./ 7:00 p.m.
Altar Guild: Julie R. / Ruth K.
Elder: Bob K. / Brian S.
Usher Team: / A
Sunday, February 21: 8:00 a.m. / 10:30 a.m.
Office Volunteer: Carolyn M.
Altar Guild: Norma B. / Carolyn M.
Elder: Tanner S./ Gary J.
Usher Team: 3 / 8
Acolyte: Ian Z. / Luke S.
Thursday, February 25: 1:00 p.m. / 7:00 p.m.
Altar Guild: Julie R. / Ginny S.
Elder: Bob K. / Patrick S.
Usher Team: / B
Sunday, February 28: 8:00 a.m. / 10:30 a.m.
Office Volunteer: Nancy A.
Altar Guild: Nancy R. / Rita F.
Elder: Jake H. / John H.
Usher Team: 5 / 2
Acolyte: Tyler D. / Georgia J.

The Pilgrim Herald — Page #

Birthdays
1. Ruth Mertz
4. Andrew Hoffman
6. James Behrens
Nancy Scherer
7. Keith Gierach
9. Clayton Kempf
10. Rebecca Boehlke
Jamie Carron
11. Brynlee Kempf
15. Caden Olson
20. Brayden Thimmig
21. Leah Bolstad
22. Samuel Grosskreuz
23. Shirley Mayer
Diane Zell
25. Dylan Kabitzke
Stephen Spalda, Sr.
Anniversaries
Joan & James Prine
25. Jon & Sandy Thames

Church council Report
The Pilgrim Church Council January 11, 2021 meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by President, Bob Knuth. Others in attendance were Pastor Fisher, Pastor Raffa, Rob Selzler, Nancy Rosenthal, Tanner Schmidt, Mary Lehtimaki, Bonnie Leffin, Carol Heger, and Jim Behrens.
Pastor Fisher opened the meeting by leading a devotion from the hymnal.
Bob Knuth Introduced Carol Heger, who is willing to serve as the 3rd member of the Church Council. Tanner made a motion, 2nd by Pastor Fisher to make Carol Heger a member of the Church Council. Passed by voice vote.
Elders Report – by Tanner Schmidt
Elders are reading Hallmarks of Lutheran identity.
Thanks to Gary Erdman for his many years of service as an Elder.
Welcome to Patrick Schiefelbein as a new member of the Board of Elders.
Trustees Report – by Rob Seltzer
Miscellaneous upkeep to include changing light bulbs, small roof leak, etc.
Treasurers Report – by Bonnie Leffin
Budget report for the year was given.
Bonnie is developing a list of members willing to do the annual audit.
Pastor Fisher’s Report
Reported on status of catechism and confirmation.
Will be putting information in the church bulletin about the annual giving reports because many have not been picked up from member’s boxes. If members would like them, they can pick them up from their mailboxes or contact the office and request they be mailed or emailed.
Pastor Raffa’s Report
Discussed difficulty of making visitations at some facilities because of Covid.
Reported on Sunday School and catechism participation.
Voter’s meeting date for January is Sunday, Jan 31 at 12:00 pm. Members attending the 10:30 Service may find starting the Voter’s Meeting at 12 noon rather than 1 pm more convenient and this will give members more time in the afternoon after the meeting.
A motion was made by Tanner and passed on voice vote to adjourn the meeting.
The meeting ended with a prayer by Pastor Raffa.
Respectfully submitted, Jim Behrens

February 2021 — Page #

Board of Elders Report
Pilgrim Ev. Lutheran Church Board of Elders Meeting Minutes 1/4/2021
Present were Pr. Fisher, Pr. Raffa, Bob, Dennis, Brian, Gary J. (now the only Gary), John, Jake, Patrick and Tanner.
The meeting began with prayer and devotion at 6:35.
Schedules were made through all of February. The next meeting will be 2/1.
The voters meeting will be 1/31 at noon.
The elders approved an organist schedule through Holy Week.
The elders discussed contingency plans in the event of another forced lockdown, though we pray such a discussion was unnecessary.
The elders will be reading “Hallmarks of Lutheran Identity” by Al Schmidt. We invite the congregation to join us, as the book comes highly recommended by the pastors!
Cards were sent out for Thanksgiving and Christmas, the elders thank those responsible for organizing, making cards, and so forth.
We thank the Lord for the years of faithful service of Gary E., whose term has ended.
We thank the Lord for Patrick Schiefelbein, who joins us.
Catechesis has resumed for the year.
We omitted our book study owing to time.
The meeting closed with prayer @ 8:15.
Respectfully submitted, Tanner Schmidt

Lutheran library
Pilgrim’s Board of Elders will begin reading Hallmarks of Lutheran Identity by Alvin J. Schmidt. We encourage the congregation to also read this as well. Much of what we do as Confessional Lutherans is largely not understood, and not only by the world around us, but by many Lutherans. This book is instrumental in reminding us of the heritage of the Gospel that has been entrusted to us and why we confess and worship the way that we do.
Topics are neatly and easily digested in short chapters. From learning about the “Sola’s” of the Reformation, to the canonicity of Holy Scripture, to the distinction of Law and Gospel, to the Holy Table of our Lord, to the hymnody of the Church, and many other contours of the Lutheran faith, this book is a treasure trove for learning about the biblical and confessional character of the faith of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.
The endorsement by Rev. David Jay Webber, pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Scottsdale, Arizona nicely sums up this books that should sit on every Lutheran’s book shelf.
“Dr. Schmidt addresses what has become an all-too-common problem in the Lutheran Church, especially in America, with many Lutheran ‘not knowing or not being conscious that they possess a theological heritage that is significantly different from other Christian denominations’ (pg.11). This deficiency in Lutheran identity among Lutherans often results in their sacrificing that heritage—but they do so without realizing that they are losing valuable and truly biblical and evangelical heritage. Schmidt sets out to halt and reverse this drift away from a genuine Lutheran piety and ethos, wishing to see instead the emergence of ‘an observable Lutheran mystique’ among an informed Lutheran laity. Anyone who shares these concerns, as well as these hopes for a renewal of Lutheran consciousness and commitment, will find this book to be an extremely helpful resource.’
Currently, you can get the physical book on Amazon for 15.99 or the Kindle version for 9.99. If you would like help with obtaining a copy of this book don’t hesitate to ask Pastor Raffa or Pastor Fisher for assistance.

The Pilgrim Herald— Page #

From the Synod
January 21, 2021
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In recent weeks, I have received a number of inquiries from concerned members of the Synod about the COVID-19 vaccines, as they seek to maintain their support for the sanctity of life and for religious freedom. These questions have come not in the interests of politicizing the matter, but out of sincere Christian moral convictions. Having consulted with our district presidents and other agencies of the Synod, I requested that the staff of the Commission on Theology and Church Relations, in collaboration with the Office of National Mission’s Life Ministry, draft “The LCMS and COVID-19 Vaccines: Facts and Considerations.” On the basis of this counsel, let me address a few of your most pressing questions.
1) Are COVID-19 vaccines related to abortion? The science regarding this is complex. The two vaccines currently approved by the FDA — Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna — were not designed, developed or produced using cell lines derived from aborted human fetal tissue. Other vaccine candidates — including the UK-approved Oxford/AstraZeneca — did use human fetal tissue, however. The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines did perform laboratory tests using cells derived from abortions (one from 1972 and another from 1985) to confirm the final vaccine quality (as, surprisingly, do many other commonly used medications and vaccines). For more information on how the COVID-19 vaccines relate to abortion, I encourage you to consult the website of the pro-life bioethicists at the Charlotte Lozier Institute and the list they maintain there: lozierinstitute.org/an-ethics-assessment-of-covid-19-vaccine-programs/. According to their assessment, neither the Pfizer/BioNTech nor Moderna vaccines contain any substance derived from aborted human fetal cells.
2) Does the Synod have a position on the reception of vaccines using human fetal tissue? The Synod does not have an official position on such vaccines at this time. Official decisions of this nature come through the Synod acting in convention, and no convention action has yet been taken. However, our church body remains firmly committed to the sanctify of life, and we continually seek to advocate for pro-life positions in the public square. 3) Can I obtain a religious exemption for the COVID-19 vaccine? Religious or personal belief exemptions are based on conscientious objection and do not require official support from the denomination. The absence of an official Synod stance does not impact your ability to seek an exemption. Please consult your local lawmakers or public health officials for more information on how to proceed should the need arise. 4) Should I take the COVID-19 vaccine? This is a question only you can answer. Some may choose not to take the vaccine because of concerns over its relation to abortion or fear of possible health complications. Others may take it in spite of such reservations out of concern for their own health or that of their neighbor. Since neither Scripture nor the Synod has explicitly addressed this issue, it remains a matter of Christian freedom where you must choose according to your individual conscience. 5) How should I talk about the vaccine with others who disagree with my view of it? In a sensitive issue of this nature, we remember the words of St. James: “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (James 1:19). Listen carefully and openly to the points of others. Consider them. Share your positions patiently and objectively. Reflect upon your own penchant for error. Forgive others where they sin against you and ask for forgiveness where you wrong them.
In this contentious issue, we must respect the consciences of fellow believers who share our same commitment to Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, as well as our life together as a Synod. As St. Paul urges us regarding matters of conscience, “let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor” (1 Cor. 10:24), and “let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother” (Rom. 14:13). At a time of cultural upheaval, I would encourage you not to allow disagreement even over undoubtedly important matters such as this to take precedence over the faith that unites us in Christ. In all things, we should heed the call to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). Please study the document mentioned above. It provides a summary of what we know about the COVID-19 vaccines, their relation to the issue of abortion, and what we can (and cannot) say about these matters from the Synod’s perspective. I hope it proves useful to you as you wrestle with how to bear Christian witness in this world through your love of both God and neighbor.
“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Heb. 13:20–21).
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Matthew C. Harrison
President, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
PS: “The LCMS and COVID-19 Vaccines: Facts and Considerations” document is available online at
lcms.org/doc/covid19-vaccines-fact-sheet. [and is included below]

February 2021 — Page #

COVID-19 Vaccines and Abortion
Reliable information on the sourcing and testing of COVID-19 vaccines from the pro-life researchers of the Charlotte Lozier Institute may be found at lozierinstitute.org/update-covid-19- vaccine-candidates-and-abortion-derived-cell-lines/.
According to the Lozier Institute, the current FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna) do not use aborted human fetal tissue in the design, development or production of the vaccines.1 2
The current FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines have been tested using human fetal cell lines (as are many other medicines, such as the MMR and polio vaccines, as well as treatments for HIV, Parkinson’s and diabetes), but the vaccines themselves do not contain any aborted fetal cells.3
Many remaining COVID-19 vaccines in development do use human fetal cell lines and are therefore considered “ethically controversial” (for instance, the UK-approved Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine as well as the one from Janssen/Johnson & Johnson).
COVID-19 Vaccines and the Synod
The Synod in convention has repeatedly adopted resolutions supporting the sanctity of human life and opposing abortion (e.g., 2019 Resolution 3-02A, 2010 Resolution 6-02A, 2007 Resolution 6-02, 2004 Resolution 6-04).
The Synod in convention has not officially adopted a resolution concerning the use of vaccines developed from or tested using fetal cell lines.
The absence of an official Synod stance does not impact an individual’s ability to seek a religious or personal belief exemption from vaccine requirements. In many states, religious exemptions from vaccine requirements can be obtained by individuals on the basis of conscientious objection.
Complete consensus does not exist in the pro-life community at-large on the reception of vaccines developed from or tested using fetal cell lines (e.g., the debates within Roman Catholic circles).4
The Commission on Theology and Church Relations has published no report or opinion on vaccines. It has discussed the possibility of addressing it pursuant to 2019 Resolution 11-01A (“To Give Guidance and Encourage Action on Beginning-of-Life Issues”), but work on that has not begun.
What We Can Say
The Synod remains steadfastly committed to the sanctity of human life and supportive of those institutions and individuals advocating for the unborn.
Genuine concerns for life exist on both sides of the COVID-19 vaccination question: concern for the use of aborted fetal cells in the design, development, production and testing of vaccines, as well as concern for the physical well-being of one’s neighbor endangered by the virus.
There is no official Synod position on the use of COVID-19 vaccines (as such positions are ordinarily expressed through a resolution of the Synod in convention).
Christians should respect the consciences of one another on a question where Scripture and the Synod have not spoken expressly.
Members of the Synod and Synod congregations are encouraged to:
‒ Educate themselves about the vaccines;
‒ Consult with trusted health care providers, clergy and those who may be impacted by their decision; and
‒ Act on the basis of informed conscience as to receiving the vaccine.
1 For this and other information on the use of fetal cell lines in relation to COVID-19 vaccines, see lozierinstitute.org/an-ethics-assessment-ofcovid-19-vaccine-programs/. The two cell lines pertinent to COVID-19 vaccines — HEK-293 and PER.C6 — were developed by a Dutch scientist from separate abortions that occurred in 1972 and 1985, respectively, though these abortions were not undertaken for the purpose of medical research. On this, see “Human Cell Strains in Vaccine Development,” The History of Vaccines, last modified Jan. 10, 2018, historyofvaccines.org/ content/articles/human-cell-strains-vaccine-development. See also Meredith Wadman, “Abortion Opponents Protest COVID-19 Vaccines’ Use of Fetal Cells,” Science, June 5, 2020, sciencemag.org/news/2020/06/abortion-opponents-protest-covid-19-vaccines-use-fetal-cells.
2 Some objections have been raised within Roman Catholic circles to the status of the Moderna vaccine. See Stacy Trasancos, “Measuring Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine: Now’s the Time to Press Hard for Ethical Options,” National Catholic Register, Nov. 20, 2020, ncregister.com/news/ measuring-moderna-s-covid-19-vaccine-now-s-the-time-to-press-hard-for-ethical-options.
3 See Ivan Couronne, “How Fetal Cells from the 1970s Power Medical Innovation Today,” Medical Xpress, Oct. 20, 2020, medicalxpress.com/ news/2020-10-fetal-cells-1970s-power-medical.html. See also Carina Storrs, “How Exactly Fetal Tissue Is Used for Medicine,” CNN, Dec. 8, 2017, cnn.com/2015/07/17/health/fetal-tissue-explainer/index.html.
4 “Moral Reflections on Vaccines Prepared from Cells Derived from Aborted Human Foetuses,” Immunization Action Coalition, June 9, 2005, immunize.org/talking-about-vaccines/vaticandocument.htm. “Conscience Exemption for Vaccines Based on Fetal Tissue from Abortions,” United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, last modified April 2015, usccb.org/resources/PL%20Secretariat%20Vaccines-Conscience-Exemptionupdated-April-2015_0.pdf. See also the recent discussion in the National Review: Isaac Schorr, “The Facts about the COVID Vaccines and Fetal Cell Lines,” National Review, Dec. 20, 2020, nationalreview.com/2020/12/the-facts-about-the-pfizer-and-moderna-vaccines-and-fetal-cell-lines/.

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Communal Prayers
For thanksgiving of the Holy Christian Church: O Good and gracious God, I thank you that You since the beginning of the world, You have gathered and called to Yourself from mankind one holy Christian Church, to which You have revealed Your Holy Word, which has rightly known You, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, believed in You, called on You, honored, praised, and glorified You. For this I thank you that you have called me into the fellowship of this Your Holy Church, that I should be a member and citizen of the heavenly Jerusalem in the fellowship of a multitude of saints, in which I have in common with all saints all heavenly riches and treasures of grace in Christ, namely, one faith, one God, and Father of us all, who is in us all, through us all, and over us all; where all members of believers have true comfort, light, life, refreshment, pasture, protection, and even if the world give way, yet the city of God shall remain glad with her streams, where the holy dwellings of the Most High are. O blessed are they who dwell in Your house, forever and ever. Amen
Prayer from the Second Petition of the Lord’s Prayer: Almighty Father, I give thanks to You with my whole heart for delivering me and my fellow faithful Christians from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of Your beloved Son. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, the righteousness of faith, peace of conscience, and the certain hope of eternal life. O Lord, dwell continually in and among us until the end of the world with Your saving Word, which is the joy and comfort of our hearts, and let us never be deprived of the Holy Sacraments, the dearest treasures of our souls. Protect and defend Your Christian congregation from every false doctrine and offensive sinfulness as from the true abomination of desolation. Crush wretched Satan under our feet. Restrain the powerful enemies of our faith. Curb the raging persecutors of Your Church, and do not permit Your people, whom You have chosen for Your own possession and who are called by Your name, to be suppressed by them. Amen
Prayer for peace in the Congregation: Everlasting God, You have promised in Your Holy Word to give us a unified heart, mind, and disposition if we call upon You for that purpose: we beseech You devoutly and with one accord to curb and restrain all discord; to beat down Satan, the founder of discord, under our feet, that we may give no room to his suggestions; and to give to us generally and individually a meek, humble, and peaceable heart, that we may live together in unity as brothers and sisters in Christ, and be diligent to hold the unity in the Spirit through the bond of peace, so that all of us who believe in Your name and are members of one body may be one in soul and mind, and may thereby show ourselves to be Your dear children. O God of peace, may we rejoice with You and all the holy angels, believers, and the elect in the awaited eternity of the heavenly land of peace, indissoluble unity, and unspeakable glory, when our blessed peace of heaven shall never cease. Dear Lord and God, let us depart in peace from the unrest of this world to the eternal peace of heaven which You have purchased for us with Your death and resurrection. Amen.
Family and friends requesting our prayers: Nancy Rosenthal, Jim Shapley, Jane Depta, Jim Lathrop, Sue Vandlik Fox, Bruce Biendarra, Richard & Chloe Fisher, Ruth Mertz, Dot Miller, Joyce Virchow, Jerry & Gert Sullivan, Carolyn Bren, Donna Sommer, Kandie Darmody, June Fry, Orville Heckendorf, David & Olivemae Olson, Judy Clark, Louise Kreis, Jennifer Jensen, Eric Johanen, Diane Behrens, Marge Legate, Suzanne Stadelmayer, Elaine Kuenzel, Ray & Frances Neerhoff, Karen Haufmann, Donald Teske, Connie Hackbarth, Sheryl Pajewski, Jeanette Guillaume, Inez Schwoch, Glenn Schnabel, Jenny Vickerman, Carl and Lois Pritzlaff, Linda Lukas, Linda Borneman, Nancy Nicholas, Scott Biskobing, Rachel Davis, Marissa Flanders, Linda Schmidt, Vanessa Kuehne, Travis Winkler, Brian Vonlender, Scot Meisenheimer, Thomas Kramlik, and Jody Meisenheimer.

Voice of Faith

The Pilgrim Herald — Page #

January 31 / 8a Divine Service / 9:15a Sunday School: Enduring Faith / 9:30a Adult Class: Small Catechism / 10:30a Divine Service / 12:00p Voter’s Meeting	1 / 6:30p Board of Elders Meeting	2	3 / 4p Youth Catechesis / 6:30p Adult Class: / Lutheran Difference	4 / 7p Divine Service	5 / Office Closed	6 / 7a Men’s Breakfast & Bible Study
7 / 8a Divine Service / 9:15a Sunday School: Enduring Faith / 9:30a Adult Class: Small Catechism / 10:30a Divine Service / 10:30a Bible Study: Galatians	8 / 5:30p Board of Trustees Meeting / 7p Church Council Meeting	9	10 / 9a Pilgrim Quilters / 4p Youth Catechesis / 6:30p Adult Class: / Lutheran Difference	11 / 7p Divine Service	12 / Office Closed	13 / 9a Lenten Prayer Service
14 / 8a Divine Service / 9:15a Sunday School: Enduring Faith / 9:30a Adult Class: Small Catechism / 10:30a Divine Service / 10:30a Bible Study: Galatians	15	16 / 12p LWML / Ladies Guild Meeting	17 Ash Wednesday / 1p Divine Service / 7p Divine Service / No Youth Catechesis / No Adult Class	18 / No Divine Service	19 / Office Closed	20 / 7a Men’s Breakfast & Bible Study
21 / 8a Divine Service / 9:15a Sunday School: Enduring Faith / 9:30a Adult Class: Small Catechism / 10:30a Divine Service / 10:30a Bible Study: Galatians	22	23	24 / 9a Pilgrim Quilters / 4p Youth Catechesis / 6:30p Adult Class: / Lutheran Difference	25 / 1p Lenten Service / 7p Lenten Service	26 / Office Closed	27
28 / 8a Divine Service / 9:15a Sunday School: Enduring Faith / 9:30a Adult Class: Small Catechism / 10:30a Divine Service / 10:30a Bible Study: Galatians	February 2021

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Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
462 Meadowbrook Drive
West Bend, WI 53090

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Email: office@pilgrimlutheranwb.org
Office Phone: 262-334-0375
Office Hours: Monday—Thursday, 8:00 a.m.—1:00 p.m.
Website: www.pilgrimlutheran-westbend.org
YouTube Channel:

You will need to enter the Pilgrim Scrip Program Enrollment code 76C93BF83L921 at the time you setup your account. If you have
questions, contact Julie Raffa. A variety of scrip/gift cards are kept
on-hand for immediate purchase. These may be purchased in the
Old Fellowship Hall on Sunday mornings, following each service,
or by contacting Julie Raffa. Thank you for you support!

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“Will not the very moment of great disillusionment with my brother or sister be incomparably wholesome for me because it so thoroughly teaches me that both of us can never live by our own words and deeds, but only by that one Word and deed that really binds us together, the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ?
(Dietrich Bonhoeffer,
Life Together, 27)

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