Special Worship and Sunday School Times for Sunday, August 31, on Labor Day Weekend

Also, remember our Fellowship Pot-Luck after worship this Sunday.

See reflections on Labor Day after these notes about the time changes.

These are times for Sunday, August 31, 2014 only. We will resume our regular schedule on September 7.

*Sunday School at 9:00 a.m.
All regular classes will be in session for the new Sunday School Year

*Worship at 10:15 a.m.
We will gather in the Fellowship Hall. Worship will be “in the round”. This is a change from the original plan which was noted in the newsletter. After looking at the forecast for the weekend (very hot and/or very wet) the Worship Committee chose to move worship into the Fellowship Hall.

*Fellowship Meal – Pot Luck at ~11:30 a.m.
We will reconfigure some of the Fellowship Hall space for our meal together.

*The Plan for Food: The church committees are providing BBQ meat and buns, along with basic drinks. You are invited to bring a side, salad or dessert to share with others.

*What to Wear: You are invited to wear to worship the typical garb or uniform of your daily work. This could be your current work, your work before retirement, or the vocation you have chosen for the future following school.

Reflections on Labor Day and our Faith in Christ

Thoughts about Labor Day and the blessings of Work and Vocation

The beginning of September brings a Holy Day of sorts for all of us. Labor Day is a civic holiday to celebrate the opportunity for work. As Lutheran Christians we go deeper with this and view all work as part of God’s calling and his provision of our daily bread. All Christians are doing the work of God, regardless of where or what they do in their honorable vocation in life. Labor Day 2014 is on September 1. We will observe this special day at worship on Sunday, August 31.

I share with you a concise statement written by a fellow Lutheran pastor regarding the Lutheran Christian understanding of vocation. Here is an excerpt of what Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz, Redeemer Lutheran Church (LC-MS) of Huntington Beach, CA, writes:

“… our earthly vocations or “stations in life” as Luther called them are fruits of our heavenly calling as God’s children in baptism. The purpose of vocation is to love and serve the neighbor in the particular stations in life that God has called us to whether we are a husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, teacher, student, etc. We don’t live life hidden in a corner. This was the danger of many priests and monks in the Reformation era. Many taught that the highest form of Christian living was to become a monk and live in a monastery. Luther wrote extensively against this false teaching as he re-discovered the doctrine of vocation and began to teach and preach about its necessity in the Christian life. Luther taught that on one level, there is no difference between monk and magistrate or priest and plumber. Each Christian is called according to God’s Word and Spirit, regardless of what their status in society is. This means that God’s calling of a road kill collector is just as holy as God’s calling to be a pastor.

“The difference is the office and duties that are unique to each vocation. For example, the pastoral office is not the office of school teacher, just as the office of father is not the same as the office of mother. Each vocation, or calling from God, has particular and unique duties attached to it. This is how God works in, with, and under the ordinary means of this life to accomplish His good and gracious will, physically and spiritually.”

To celebrate this blessing of vocation we will be taking the Sunday of Labor Day weekend to give thanks for the blessings of daily bread, of work, of school, of family, etc. You are invited to wear the clothes or uniform of your current or per-retirement vocation or the vocation/job you would like to do in the future. I know not everybody is able to do this. No matter what, know that we will be giving thanks for and honoring all that God has called each of us to do as part of his greater work in the world. Know that who each of us is and what God has called and equipped each of us to do is important. On Sunday, August 31, we will take time to give thanks for all which God calls and equips us to do. At the end of worship we will have a brief “Affirmation of Christian Vocation” liturgy.

We look forward to seeing you August 31 and on other Sundays in the weeks to come.