Category Archives: News

Check back often for news from our parishes!

Clarification for 8/11/2024

Pastor Liebenow made a poor statement at St. John’s this Sunday. He said the goal of our outreach is not to invite people to church. For clarification, the goal is to make disciples of Jesus. Church attendance is a part of being a disciple, but it is not the only part and not necessarily the starting point. As we talked about in the sermon, the purpose of church attendance is giving all honor and glory, but many believe the purpose of church is feeling good, which can be done in many other ways. For that reason, it can be more helpful as a starting point to invite people to study the Scriptures with you or to have a spiritual conversation. It can also be more valuable to ask people if they have a pastor rather than if they have a church, as most people have no one who cares for them spiritually.

Call Decision

Pastor Jason Liebenow has returned the Call to serve at Risen Savior Lutheran Church and School. He will continue serving his Call at St. John’s, St. Mark’s, and St. Paul’s. Please continue praying for the Lord’s blessings on all 4 congregations.

Pastor Liebenow Call Delibaration

On June 23, Pastor Jason Liebenow received a Call to serve Risen Savior Lutheran Church and School in Milwaukee, WI as their pastor. Please be praying for him and for all four congregations as he considers how to best serve God and his people. Feel free to reach out if you have any thoughts or considerations.

Want to be in a movie?

God’s blessings! Steve Zambo of Salty Earth Productions is filming a movie about the life of Pastor Rosenau, a detective who ended up being a pastor. They will be working in Florence next week and are looking for people who can be extras in the movie to fill in the background. They need kids tomorrow, Sunday the 17th, for some Sunday School scenes. They will need people from 11am-1pm. They also need people on Wednesday the 20th between 10am-4pm or 2pm-4pm at St. John’s. For that one people can dress as they would for church. They also need people for a wedding scene on Friday the 22nd at the Encore Ballroom in Florence from 4-8pm. They wanted people to dress nicer for that one as if you were attending a wedding and they will provide a meal for that one. Please let me know if you are interested in helping out!

TriParish Picnic 2023

Join us this Sunday (7/23) for our TriParish Picnic!

Please note that this Sunday we will not have any of our normal worship services at the usual times, instead we will be gathering outside of St. John’s in Florence at 10am.  After the service we will enjoy a picnic together with our whole TriParish.  We hope to see you there!

Christmas Eve 2022

Merry Christmas!

With the bad weather, we are cancelling our Christmas Eve service at St. Mark’s today.  As of right now, we are still having our 6pm service at St. John’s, but watch for cancellation there and please be safe on the roads!  We will see about our Christmas Day services.  In the meantime, you can watch our Christmas Eve devotion on Youtube here

Church and Coronavirus | Things You Should Know

It’s been a crazy week, hasn’t it?  Headline after headline about the coronavirus.  Schools closing.  Events being cancelled.  The stock market plummeting.  What’s a Christian supposed to make of all this?  What’s a church supposed to do about all of this?  What do you need to know before coming to church on Sunday?

 

What God Says

There is a lot of information going around right now; some of it is accurate and some is not.  Instead of refreshing your newsfeed every 30 seconds to hear what people say about the coronavirus, take a moment to be refreshed by what God says about it.

God is in control.  Psalm 46:10 | “Be still, and know that I am God.”

God loves us and promises to help us.  Isaiah 41:10 | “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

God promises there will be trouble in the world, and he promises to be with us through it. Isaiah 43:1-3 | “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

God promises to use all things for our good.  Romans 8:28 | “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

God cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 | “Cast all your anxiety on [God] because he cares for you.”

God wants to use us to reflect his love to others.  Matthew 5:14,16 | “You are the light of the world… let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and praise their Father in heaven.”

God’s got us, and the whole world, in the palm of his hand.  Things are going to be OK. Times of anxiety, worry, stress, and trouble often prove to be the best times to be a light of God’s hope, strength, and promises. Look for opportunities in your life to reflect the light of God’s love out to those around you!

A few great resources for you:

Praying through a Pandemic (from our sister church, Illumine, Seattle)

How Should A Christian Act During a Deadly Epidemic? (By Martin Luther)

Coronavirus: Coming out of the Crowd (a fantastic devotional blog written by Jonathan Bourman of Peace Lutheran in Aiken, originally written March 2nd)

If you do not feel comfortable attending church because of health concerns, please check our church website for worship and devotional resources. Stay connected to God Word. Now is a great time to reinvest in family devotions.

 

Practical Things
Gathering for worship

  • During times of fear and uncertainty, it is more important than ever for Christians to meet together for mutual encouragement and strengthening in God’s Word.
  • We will continue to hold worship on Sundays, 7:15 AM at St. Paul’s, 9:00 AM at St. John’s, and 11:00 AM at St. Mark’s.  Bible study will continue on at St. Mark’s on Sunday at 12:00 PM, at St. Paul’s (meeting at Lynn Kahl’s house) on Tuesdays at 9:00 AM, and at St. John’s on Wednesdays at 10:00 AM.  Midweek Lenten Services will also continue on Wednesdays at 4:00 PM at St. Mark’s and at 6:00 PM at St. John’s.

Wise precautions

  • Please follow the same common-sense steps at church that you’re being encouraged to follow in other areas of your life. Here is a list from the CDC:
    • Avoid close contact with people who are sick
    • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
    • Stay home when you are sick (yes, this even applies to coming to worship; and no need to feel guilty about it)
    • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
    • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
    • If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. (like we said–all common sense)
  • We will clean and sanitize all high-touch surfaces before Sunday, and will continue to do so.
  • I will not shake hands with you (or cough or sneeze on you)–a simple wave and a jovial, “Hey there, Good to see you!” will do just fine 🙂
  • Hand sanitizer will be available on the counter for when you enter and leave – and we’ll have plenty of soap in the bathrooms.

Health of members

  • If you get sick (and not merely with coronavirus–any and every time you get sick), please let the church office know so we can pray for you and provide pastoral care.  This will also allow our leaders to make wise decisions about group gatherings at church.
  • At this time, we are not aware that there is anyone in the extended community of our TriParish who is sick with coronavirus.  If and when that changes, we will certainly let you know.

Potential future steps

  • So far we have heard nothing from our government leaders that would indicate it is unsafe to meet for worship.
  • However, if the outbreak reaches the point where even small public gatherings are deemed to be unwise, we may consider gathering online instead of in person until the outbreak is over.
  • We are already blessed with a strong online presence – you can watch sermons and find devotions on our Facebook page.

May God bless all of you with health, strength, and productivity this week, as you work to share his love with a world that needs it now more than ever. If you have concerns you’d like to talk about, don’t hesitate to give me a call or text at 586.651.7304. The church office number is 715.528.3337. Can’t wait to see you this weekend!

– Pastor Jason Liebenow

 

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)

P.S. Thank you to other churches for much of what was written above!

 

Why Go to Church?

We’ve started a new Bible study on why we as Christians go to church.  Is it necessary?  What’s the benefit of it?  We’ll dig into all these questions from the Bible.

If you’re not able to make it to our regular Bible study time, feel free to watch the Bible study videos on YouTube.

Click HERE to see the full playlist.