ST .
J OHN L UTHERAN LCMS, R EV . W ILLIAMSON , V ACANCY
11400 WEST PANAMA ROAD , CRETE , NE 68333
S T . J OHN L UTHERAN
CHURCH N EWSLET TER
V OLUME 34
PASTOR
Come to the cross and learn of God’s great love
for all His people. There is friendship, fellowship,
and the gift of God’s word of forgiveness.
ISSUE
3
APRIL
2017
Faces of reformation
Johann Tetzel (1465 – 1519) A Dominican monk hired by church authorities
to sell indulgences in Germany
“As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs!” So
went the sales pitch of the Dominican monk Johann Tetzel, who hawked
forgiveness of sins like a carnival barker. Tetzel was born in 1465 in Saxony,
Germany, and joined the order of Dominican monks in 1489. His specialty
was selling indulgences, and by the spring of 1517, he was selling indulgences
authorized by the pope in the territories of Albrecht, archbishop of Mainz,
just over the border from Wittenberg. He claimed that the papal cross, under which these indulgences were sold, held as much power as the cross of
Christ.
Why was Tetzel selling papal indulgences in Albrecht’s lands? Some years earlier, when Albrecht was already the archbishop of Magdeburg, he also wanted to become the archbishop of Mainz. Appointments like these came at a cost, and
Pope Leo X was in dire need of money to build St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The two churchmen struck a deal: Tetzel
would go into Albrecht’s territories and raise funds through the sale of indulgences. Half of the money would go toward
the building of St. Peter’s and the other half would pay off Albrecht’s loan, secured to buy the new archbishopric.
An indulgence was a cancellation, imparted by the Roman Catholic Church, of all or part of the punishment for sin suffered here or in purgatory. Indulgences had originated as an inducement for men to fight for the Church as Crusaders.
Soon a lucrative business of selling indulgences arose to fund construction of churches and other pious purposes. They
also funded not-so-pious purposes, like the buying of church offices. Concordia Historical Institute has a papal indulgence
issued in 1482. This indulgence states that the bearer has paid the indulgence price and is entitled to full remission of sins
upon confession. The priest is instructed to say, “I absolve you from each and every transgression, wickedness and sin,
however great and serious they are.”
When Martin Luther’s parishioners asked him about indulgences, he was concerned that there would no longer be any
true repentance. He was afraid people would reason that if pardon from all sin could be purchased, there was no need for
further concern about their souls. Luther knew he must protect his flock from this dangerous practice.
Luther thought that church officials would certainly do something about this after he alerted them. Imagine his surprise
when the pope didn’t correct but defended such abuses! Furthermore, it was Pope Leo’s extravagant lifestyle that exacerbated his financial situation and prompted Tetzel’s activities.
Tetzel may have been Luther’s first target, but it soon became clear that Tetzel was just a greasy cog in a large, corrupt
machine.
S T . J OHN L UTHERAN
P AGE 2
Please have all information or articles for
the newsletter to
blythe dewey by 25th,
thank you!
OUR MISSION Share the Joy
of His News by growing inward
through God’s Word,
Sacraments and fellowship and
by growing outward through
words, actions, and mission
outreach.
LYF NEWS
LYF is asking for donations for the egg
hunt. Candy and
small trinkets ONLY
please. NO EGGS. Egg
hunt will be april 15
at 10:00 a.m.
CHURCH
N EWSLETTER
FROM THE ELDERS
Greetings from the Elders,
Praise the Lord! Our prayers for a new shepherd for our congregation have been
answered! We are very excited to welcome Pastor Toensing and his wife to our congregation. Please keep them in your prayers as they leave their current congregation, St. John
Lutheran at Beecher, Illinois. We also keep that congregation in our prayers as they now face
a vacancy and call procedure for a new pastor.
The elders would like to extend thanks to the call committee consisting of the
Hoyers, Kortes, and Walkers for all their diligent work. Special thanks also to Gary Meinke
for all his work in this process.
We also recognize the blessings that our church has been enjoying with Pastor Williamson and Pastor Haynes, our vacancy pastors, as well as Pastor Brinkmeyer as they have
kept the church running smoothly and have done an exceptional job.
We’ll keep the congregation informed as we learn more exact dates of the
Toensing’s arrival and installation.
In His Service,
St. John Lutheran Elders
April birthdays & baptisms
BIRTHDAYS
1 Kian Morris
20 James Haufle, Christina Rezac
9 Isaac Meinke
2 Lilian Underwood
21 Kristi Reetz
10 Braxton Hartman
3 Jennifer Meinke
22 Dean Prochnow
12 Loren Beck, Marla Musil, Kurt Reetz
7 Cari Henning
23 Dominick Hensley
13 Bruce Miller, Whitney Tesar
8 Victoria Slama
26 Shawna Doiel
15 Ken Tesar, Amy Hollman, Travis Shore
9 Rollo Schultz
27 Dan Underwood
16 Cheryl Langfeldt
11 Charlie Slama
BAPTISMS
1 Linda Eggert, Verna Schultz
17 Maggie Wohl
2 Jolene Reetz
21 Marlow Meinke
13 Jessica Trautman
3 Addilyn Brethouwer
22 Jordyn Adam
14 LaShalle Hughes, Kaylie Brethouwer
4 Bradley Jr., Hugo, & Olivia Pomajzl, Susan Vosika
23 Milo Kvasnicka
12 Amy Hollman, Lillan Kubicek,
Debra Wendelin
16 Donna Hillgren, Christopher Ladman, Brandee Samples, Sami Weber
6 Haylee Shore
17 Lee Miller
7 Cindy Hoesche
19 Karen Tiedeman
8 Gary Rezac
20 Jerry Ferguson
24 Donna Hillgren, Drew Trautman
26 Kian Morris
29 Alice Poole
30 Brandee Samples
P AGE 3
S T . J OHN L UTHERAN
S T . J OHN L UTHERAN
C HURCH –LCMS
11400 W. Panama Road, Crete, NE 68333
4 miles East & 2 miles South of Crete
www.stjohnkramer.org
Office: 826-3883
[email protected]
Rev. Mark Williamson, Vacancy Pastor
402-782-1802, [email protected]
For emergency Pastoral care,
Rev. Haynes 440-5546,
[email protected]
Or Brent Wohl 440-6843
CHURCH
N EWSLETTER
OPPORTUNITIES FOR FURTHER GROWTH
Schedule at a Glance
Worship Service (Sundays)
9:00 a.m.
Lenten Service (Wednesdays thru April 5)
7:30 p.m.
Sunday School (Sundays)
10:30 a.m.
Bible Class (Sundays)
10:30 a.m.
Midweek Classes (Wednesdays)
6:30 p.m.
Elder’s Meeting (April 3)
7:00 p.m.
Lutheran Women in Mission (April 18)
7:00 p.m.
Ladies Aid Meeting (April 26)
2:00 p.m.
Men’s Bible Study (April 11)
7:00 p.m.
Ladies Aid minutes
St. John Ladies Aid met on March
29, 2017, with Irene Reiss as hostess. The
meeting opened by singing the hymn, "Go to
Dark Gethsemane".
Carol Brinkmeyer led us in the Bible Study on
Esther. We will continue the study of Esther
next month. Roll call was taken with eleven
members present. The minutes were read and
approved. The treasurer's report was given
and accepted.
OLD BUSINESS: Darleen Dittmer thanked
everyone who brought food and worked at
Marvin Henning's funeral. We are truly
blessed to have so many people willing to help
and bring food for funerals.
Thank you cards were read from the family of
Marvin Henning and the family of Bernadean
Strufing. A thank you note was also received
from Harry and Marge Meinke.
PLEASE JOIN US for quilting
day on Thursday, April 6, 2017,
NEW BUSINESS: A letter was passed around from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm. Please
and discussed about the "Water for Haiti"
join us any time during those
project. Terry Dittmer has gone to Haiti for
hours. Please bring something to
eight years to help with this project.
share for lunch and bring a scisBob and JoAnn Renner celebrated their 64th
sors. No sewing experience necwedding anniversary in March. The anniveressary. The quilts are primarily
sary song was sung.
donated to Orphan Grain Train
Next month our meeting will be held on April
and most go to the orphanages in
26, with Diane Kahle serving as hostess.
Russia and the Baltic naThe meeting closed with the Lord's Prayer and
tions. Thank you for your help
table prayer.
with this project.
Shirley Reetz, secretary.
THOSE SERVING DURING THE MONTH OF april
DUTY
April 2
April 9
April 16
April 23
April 30
Organist
Jolene Reetz
Jayne VanAsperen
Jolene Reetz
Jayne VanAsperen
Jolene Reetz
Elders
Ken Tesar
Terry Reetz
Terry Dittmer
John Reitz
James Walker
Greeters
Mr. & Mrs.
Todd Hoyer
Mr. & Mrs.
Roger Koch
Mr. & Mrs.
Mike Langfeldt
Carol Brinkmeyer
&
Marilyn Nast
Mr. & Mrs.
Tim McDermott
Acolytes
Ashlyn & Jordyn
Adam
Mara & Skye Hoyer
& Ted Muff
Maggie Wohl,
Ashlyn & Jordyn
Adam
Nick Hollman &
Colton Homolka
Mara & Skye Hoyer
P AGE 4
S T . J OHN L UTHERAN
Lenten/easter service duties
Wednesday, April 5:
Pianist: Ellen Miller
Easter Sunrise 630am, April
16:
Elder: Ken Tesar
Organist: Jayne VanAsperen
Acolytes: Colton Homolka & Mersadies Kvasnicka
Elder: Brent Wohl
Maundy Thursday, April 13:
Acolytes: Madison Persing, Rylee
Pospichal & Elliot Reitz
Organist: Jolene Reetz
Easter 9am, April 16:
Elder: Terry Dittmer
Organist: Jolene Reetz
Acolytes: Aaron & Jacob Meinke
Elder: Terry Dittmer
Good Friday, April 14:
Acolytes: Maggie Wohl, Ashlyn &
Jordyn Adam
Organist: Jayne VanAsperen
CHURCH
N EWSLETTER
St. John Men’s Bible Study Group
The Men’s Study group has moved
on to another video series entitled, “How
We Got The Bible featuring Dr. Paul L.
Maier”. The story of the Bible has been
called “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” But
did you ever wonder where the Bible came
from? Who wrote it? Why did they write
it? Who decided which books to include? In
this study, Dr. Paul Maier travels to The
Bible Museum in Goodyear, Arizona, to
take a look at, “how we got the Bible”.
Thereby, the men of St. John wish to invite
all those interested to attend and take part
in this new Men’s Network video study.
Elder: James Walker
Acolytes: Olivia & Hugo Pomajzl
LAMBS OF CHRIST
An Easter Celebration The first two weeks of April we will be celebrate the new life we have in Christ. As we
celebrate our new life, we look to find new life in the world around us. This will give us the opportunity to learn
about eggs and all of the animals that hatch form eggs. We also will be able to watch the plants growing in our living
Easter baskets as we talk about living and nonliving things.
Going Anywhere? Transportation is how we get from one place to another. During the second half of the month
of April we learn about the many forms of transportation. In Jesus Time we will learn how Jesus’ Disciples shared
the good news of Jesus with everyone they met. The ways we get from one place to another may have changed but
Jesus’ Good News of Salvation is for all people is still the same.
Grandparent’s Day The Preschool Children invited their Grandparents to preschool on March 23rd & 24th. I
will be sharing more information about our special days in the next newsletter.
2017 – 2018 Enrollment Open Enrollment has begun at Lambs of Christ Preschool. If you know of a child who is
of preschool age please contact the preschool so that we can send information about our preschool to them.
Preschool Graduation The Preschool Graduation Date has been changed to Monday, May 15th at 7:00 PM. We
will still have school on the 15th and 16th as previously scheduled.
NOTE FROM TRUSTEES
2018 Farm rent bidding has ended and Janice Reetz submitted a winning bid of $2500.00.