February Newsletter 2024
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.” Jesus in Mattthew 6:16
“Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, ‘Why do John’ disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?’
And Jesus said to them, ‘Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.’” Mark 2:18-19
Perhaps the biggest spiritual practice that has vanished in the life of the church is the practice of fasting. I even struggle with the practice because it has never been a part of my life in the church, sad to say. But we see that fasting is the most common way in the Bible of living out sorrow at the death of a loved one, when sin has occurred, or to discipline the body in order to bring it back into alignment with the focus on God.
In many ways, the disappearance of fasting is a symptom of a larger spiritual issue. In some ways, the abuse of fasting in the past has caused it to fall out of practice. The result of many years of falsely thinking that fasting is something we do to gain God’s favor and now realizing the truth that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is what saves has caused the baby to be thrown out with the bathwater. So many might think that fasting is not needed anymore, or they don’t want to be a hypocrite. So fasting is neglected altogether. We should change this though.
Because Jesus assumes that fasting will be done by his followers and we should expect ourselves to do it too. “When you fast.” Jesus says, not “if.” And he says also: “when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” Jesus sees prayer and fasting often connected and fasting as a powerful resource in the fight against evil.
Fasting then is something that Christians do because we are away from the Lord Jesus and the days that we live in are evil. In the Book of Acts, Christians spoke of fasting as if it wasn’t even a question of if you fast. Christians fast. Period. Christians as early as 100 AD prescribed fasting on every Wednesday and Friday to remember the day Judas betrayed Jesus and the day that Jesus died. The Letter/Sermon of 2 Clement written in the 100’s, even stated that fasting was better than prayer! This was the attitude of those who first came to faith.
Since fasting has departed in our days, I suppose we should start from the beginning to ask some basic questions to reorient and see if we can’t fire up the engines again:
What is fasting? Fasting is willingly abstaining from something that is both good and useful in your life. We don’t fast from bad things. Bad things should never be done at all. Fasting is removing something from your life that you need for life. This most often is food or a meal but it could be other things. St. Paul even says that married couples abstain from sexual intercourse for the sake of their prayers, but only for a short while for the devil will see an opportunity to divide the couple away if they fast for too long. But you can fast from work habits, distractions, and even major goals you have set which get in the way of Jesus Christ and often become idols.
Why do we fast? Fasting is not about a weight loss program, it is not about getting back to goals you have set on New Years. It is not about getting good with Jesus or scoring brownie points with God. It is about turning down something you need in order to better serve Jesus Christ. You are showing yourself and Jesus that you can take this earthly thing you need for life (food, toys, money, goals) and you can throw them away or not use them for a time. This is what we call self-control. This is how St. Paul talks about life in this world, trade, and even marriage in 1 Corinthians 5-7! We should use this world and its goods as if we didn’t need them and that we won’t let them control us, even if they are good gifts from God!
There is a lot of benefit to this. And it allows us to give money and time to Jesus in a special way to serve him. This of course, isn’t for bragging. It is to do something because you love Jesus and want life to be this way. Jesus wants us to do it joyfully. And to do it for no recognition, just something that you and Jesus enjoy between yourselves.
When do we fast? There is no law about when to fast. As Christians gathered together, they merely wanted to have times that they corporately fasted together for a greater goal. As noted above, Christians observed a twice weekly fast, but never on Sunday since Sunday is the Lord’s Day, and they also set aside the season of Lent as a time to fast more intently as well.
But in your own life, there can be fasting moments that are between you and the Lord Jesus. Whether they be daily, weekly, monthly, or seasonal fasts, use it as a time to get better with your prayers, to be in the Word, to draw up a special collection for the church, etc. I remember being touched by a story of a homebound woman who fasted from a certain item that she loved to have weekly, and used the funds saved from it to supply her pastor with a communion kit so he had something more official to use on visits to shut ins and herself. It was a fasting that benefited her and her church in numerous ways.
All of this is to say that as encouragement for you to look at your life and ask, “how do I pick up my cross and follow my Lord better?” We are in the season of Lent as you read this, so join us for both the Wednesday/Thursday Midweeks and Sunday as part of your fast. On your own, find ways to fast to your Lord. It does reap a spiritual harvest.
Having said things above, join us for the Lenten Midweeks! Ash Wednesday has already kicked us off, but each week come on out Thursday night at 5:30pm for our suppers before service begins at 6:30pm (the same service is also held Wednesday morning at 9am).
Church Property
I thought I would spend some space here to talk about our church property and the land. From a few conversations I have had, it is clear that while a good share of people are on the same page, there remains some confusion and old news and even misleading rumors like how a game of telephone works when one person whispers something and by the end of the line the last person hears something hardly related to the original thought. I will do my best, God willing, to try and help present things as best as I can to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Here is a brief overview of events on this discussion. In Fall of 2020, the city of Marshfield, out of the blue, asked us if we had any thoughts on selling our land along 14th and Schmidt Ave. We said we hadn’t had any thoughts at all, but we could bring it up to the congregation. The City was redoing Schmidt Ave around this time and asked if we wanted lateral lines put in which might help with the sale of the property if we were.
Back in January of 2021 we brought this request of the City to the attention of the congregation at the annual meeting. Not with the thoughts of selling it, but with wanting to hear opinions on what the congregation was thinking. The conversation was brought up again at the July voters meeting too.
As we walked away from the meetings, it was clear that this was not going to work on the timetable the city would like, and there were strong opinions both ways. So, we dropped it at that time. It seemed like something we should not have touched to begin with. We also let the city know that we were not looking into this.
Then in late 2022 and into January 2023, discussions began again on it. To tell you the truth, it seemed like a few reasons brought it up. Decreased giving was one reason. Also, the time and energy it took to maintain it mowing was thought to be better spent on other projects with the church. A few people and the property board began to look at it after the January 2023 voters meeting.
At the July voters meeting, it was brought up with the agenda and a lot of discussion was made about it. The presenters regretted how they went about it, making it seem like the main thought into potentially selling it was the mowing time. It was saved to be brought up at the October voters meeting.
In October 2023 the talk was had again, and it was decided to poll the congregation and bring it up at the January voters meeting. So, for the November newsletter a half sheet was attached. As of today, about 60 people/families voted with the vote tight enough (I want to say around 32-25-5.). But the voters seemed tense about it. More time was needed to do due diligence and not rush a decision.
So, the council in December and January decided to form a committee and presented this to the congregation at this last meeting in January of 2024. Five people are sitting on the committee, and they will be meeting for the first time this month if you are reading this in February 2024.
The goal of the Committee is to explore options with the land. Whether that is turning the land into *insert idea here*, or doing nothing to it, or selling it. The Committee is just going to hammer out thoughts and ideas, hopefully exhausting the subject matter. They are being given until October of 2024. At that time they will report to the council that month and then at the October voters meeting of the congregation to present their work.
At that point, it will be on the congregation to decide what happens next. The committee that is formed will not make the decision, only provide options for the congregation to chew on and finally vote. The vote on the land will always remain for the congregation to decide what to do with it. But we hope this time allows for more examination on the subject and time for the congregation to feel fine with whatever option and choice is finally made about it, one way or the other.
That is where we are at with it currently. If you have any questions, or want further clarification, let me know. If you have an idea for the committee to explore, please also let me know.
Miscellaneous
We are still in need of a financial secretary. If you would like to learn more about this, let me know.
I would love to see something done about having bells/choir return, but I just don’t have the time to organize this and run it. Someone is needed who would love to take the reins.
A reminder that Bible classes are still going on and we would love to have you!
Our monthly tithe in February is to our scholarship to help families attend Immanuel Lutheran School in town. If you would like to send your child to Immanuel and need help with that, we have a scholarship form for you to fill out. It is good to support our sister congregation’s school here in town!
If you are sick and in the hospital, let me know. It has been a few years since they stopped telling us, but it is good to remind from time to time so I know to come visit! Also, if you or a member of the congregation is nearing death, I would love to know and visit beforehand, and also to plan to have your funeral and shepherd you and your loved ones in those last moments. It is never fun to find out a beloved member has died only when I see them listed in the obituaries days after they have passed on.
I think that is all for now. May the Lord Jesus bless and keep you all as we go through our Lenten Fast with the joy of Easter looming ahead of us!
In Christ,
Pastor Andrew Belt
“Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, ‘Why do John’ disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?’
And Jesus said to them, ‘Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.’” Mark 2:18-19
Perhaps the biggest spiritual practice that has vanished in the life of the church is the practice of fasting. I even struggle with the practice because it has never been a part of my life in the church, sad to say. But we see that fasting is the most common way in the Bible of living out sorrow at the death of a loved one, when sin has occurred, or to discipline the body in order to bring it back into alignment with the focus on God.
In many ways, the disappearance of fasting is a symptom of a larger spiritual issue. In some ways, the abuse of fasting in the past has caused it to fall out of practice. The result of many years of falsely thinking that fasting is something we do to gain God’s favor and now realizing the truth that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is what saves has caused the baby to be thrown out with the bathwater. So many might think that fasting is not needed anymore, or they don’t want to be a hypocrite. So fasting is neglected altogether. We should change this though.
Because Jesus assumes that fasting will be done by his followers and we should expect ourselves to do it too. “When you fast.” Jesus says, not “if.” And he says also: “when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” Jesus sees prayer and fasting often connected and fasting as a powerful resource in the fight against evil.
Fasting then is something that Christians do because we are away from the Lord Jesus and the days that we live in are evil. In the Book of Acts, Christians spoke of fasting as if it wasn’t even a question of if you fast. Christians fast. Period. Christians as early as 100 AD prescribed fasting on every Wednesday and Friday to remember the day Judas betrayed Jesus and the day that Jesus died. The Letter/Sermon of 2 Clement written in the 100’s, even stated that fasting was better than prayer! This was the attitude of those who first came to faith.
Since fasting has departed in our days, I suppose we should start from the beginning to ask some basic questions to reorient and see if we can’t fire up the engines again:
What is fasting? Fasting is willingly abstaining from something that is both good and useful in your life. We don’t fast from bad things. Bad things should never be done at all. Fasting is removing something from your life that you need for life. This most often is food or a meal but it could be other things. St. Paul even says that married couples abstain from sexual intercourse for the sake of their prayers, but only for a short while for the devil will see an opportunity to divide the couple away if they fast for too long. But you can fast from work habits, distractions, and even major goals you have set which get in the way of Jesus Christ and often become idols.
Why do we fast? Fasting is not about a weight loss program, it is not about getting back to goals you have set on New Years. It is not about getting good with Jesus or scoring brownie points with God. It is about turning down something you need in order to better serve Jesus Christ. You are showing yourself and Jesus that you can take this earthly thing you need for life (food, toys, money, goals) and you can throw them away or not use them for a time. This is what we call self-control. This is how St. Paul talks about life in this world, trade, and even marriage in 1 Corinthians 5-7! We should use this world and its goods as if we didn’t need them and that we won’t let them control us, even if they are good gifts from God!
There is a lot of benefit to this. And it allows us to give money and time to Jesus in a special way to serve him. This of course, isn’t for bragging. It is to do something because you love Jesus and want life to be this way. Jesus wants us to do it joyfully. And to do it for no recognition, just something that you and Jesus enjoy between yourselves.
When do we fast? There is no law about when to fast. As Christians gathered together, they merely wanted to have times that they corporately fasted together for a greater goal. As noted above, Christians observed a twice weekly fast, but never on Sunday since Sunday is the Lord’s Day, and they also set aside the season of Lent as a time to fast more intently as well.
But in your own life, there can be fasting moments that are between you and the Lord Jesus. Whether they be daily, weekly, monthly, or seasonal fasts, use it as a time to get better with your prayers, to be in the Word, to draw up a special collection for the church, etc. I remember being touched by a story of a homebound woman who fasted from a certain item that she loved to have weekly, and used the funds saved from it to supply her pastor with a communion kit so he had something more official to use on visits to shut ins and herself. It was a fasting that benefited her and her church in numerous ways.
All of this is to say that as encouragement for you to look at your life and ask, “how do I pick up my cross and follow my Lord better?” We are in the season of Lent as you read this, so join us for both the Wednesday/Thursday Midweeks and Sunday as part of your fast. On your own, find ways to fast to your Lord. It does reap a spiritual harvest.
Having said things above, join us for the Lenten Midweeks! Ash Wednesday has already kicked us off, but each week come on out Thursday night at 5:30pm for our suppers before service begins at 6:30pm (the same service is also held Wednesday morning at 9am).
Church Property
I thought I would spend some space here to talk about our church property and the land. From a few conversations I have had, it is clear that while a good share of people are on the same page, there remains some confusion and old news and even misleading rumors like how a game of telephone works when one person whispers something and by the end of the line the last person hears something hardly related to the original thought. I will do my best, God willing, to try and help present things as best as I can to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Here is a brief overview of events on this discussion. In Fall of 2020, the city of Marshfield, out of the blue, asked us if we had any thoughts on selling our land along 14th and Schmidt Ave. We said we hadn’t had any thoughts at all, but we could bring it up to the congregation. The City was redoing Schmidt Ave around this time and asked if we wanted lateral lines put in which might help with the sale of the property if we were.
Back in January of 2021 we brought this request of the City to the attention of the congregation at the annual meeting. Not with the thoughts of selling it, but with wanting to hear opinions on what the congregation was thinking. The conversation was brought up again at the July voters meeting too.
As we walked away from the meetings, it was clear that this was not going to work on the timetable the city would like, and there were strong opinions both ways. So, we dropped it at that time. It seemed like something we should not have touched to begin with. We also let the city know that we were not looking into this.
Then in late 2022 and into January 2023, discussions began again on it. To tell you the truth, it seemed like a few reasons brought it up. Decreased giving was one reason. Also, the time and energy it took to maintain it mowing was thought to be better spent on other projects with the church. A few people and the property board began to look at it after the January 2023 voters meeting.
At the July voters meeting, it was brought up with the agenda and a lot of discussion was made about it. The presenters regretted how they went about it, making it seem like the main thought into potentially selling it was the mowing time. It was saved to be brought up at the October voters meeting.
In October 2023 the talk was had again, and it was decided to poll the congregation and bring it up at the January voters meeting. So, for the November newsletter a half sheet was attached. As of today, about 60 people/families voted with the vote tight enough (I want to say around 32-25-5.). But the voters seemed tense about it. More time was needed to do due diligence and not rush a decision.
So, the council in December and January decided to form a committee and presented this to the congregation at this last meeting in January of 2024. Five people are sitting on the committee, and they will be meeting for the first time this month if you are reading this in February 2024.
The goal of the Committee is to explore options with the land. Whether that is turning the land into *insert idea here*, or doing nothing to it, or selling it. The Committee is just going to hammer out thoughts and ideas, hopefully exhausting the subject matter. They are being given until October of 2024. At that time they will report to the council that month and then at the October voters meeting of the congregation to present their work.
At that point, it will be on the congregation to decide what happens next. The committee that is formed will not make the decision, only provide options for the congregation to chew on and finally vote. The vote on the land will always remain for the congregation to decide what to do with it. But we hope this time allows for more examination on the subject and time for the congregation to feel fine with whatever option and choice is finally made about it, one way or the other.
That is where we are at with it currently. If you have any questions, or want further clarification, let me know. If you have an idea for the committee to explore, please also let me know.
Miscellaneous
We are still in need of a financial secretary. If you would like to learn more about this, let me know.
I would love to see something done about having bells/choir return, but I just don’t have the time to organize this and run it. Someone is needed who would love to take the reins.
A reminder that Bible classes are still going on and we would love to have you!
Our monthly tithe in February is to our scholarship to help families attend Immanuel Lutheran School in town. If you would like to send your child to Immanuel and need help with that, we have a scholarship form for you to fill out. It is good to support our sister congregation’s school here in town!
If you are sick and in the hospital, let me know. It has been a few years since they stopped telling us, but it is good to remind from time to time so I know to come visit! Also, if you or a member of the congregation is nearing death, I would love to know and visit beforehand, and also to plan to have your funeral and shepherd you and your loved ones in those last moments. It is never fun to find out a beloved member has died only when I see them listed in the obituaries days after they have passed on.
I think that is all for now. May the Lord Jesus bless and keep you all as we go through our Lenten Fast with the joy of Easter looming ahead of us!
In Christ,
Pastor Andrew Belt
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Advent 2023 Devotional: “Immanuel, Jesus with us.” Advent 2023: November 6Advent 2023: November 7 - PromiseAdvent 2023: November 8 - PeopleAdvent 2023: November 9 - PsalmAdvent 2023: November 10 - HymnAdvent 2023: November 13 - PresenceAdvent 2023: November 14 - PromiseAdvent 2023: November 15 - PeopleAdvent 2023: November 16 - PsalmAdvent 2023: November 17 - HymnAdvent 2023: November 20 - PresenceAdvent 2023: November 21 - PromiseAdvent 2023: November 23 - PsalmAdvent 2023: November 24 - HymnAdvent 2023: November 27 - PresenceAdvent 2023: November 28 - PromiseAdvent 2023: November 29 - PeopleAdvent 2023: November 30 - Psalm
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Advent 2023: December 1 - HymnAdvent 2023: December 4 - PresenceAdvent 2023: December 5 - PromiseAdvent 2023: December 6 - PeopleAdvent 2023: December 7 - PsalmAdvent 2023: December 8 - HymnAdvent 2023: December 11 - PresenceAdvent 2023: December 12 - PromiseAdvent 2023: December 13 - PeopleAdvent 2023: December 14 - PsalmAdvent 2023: December 15 - HymnAdvent 2023: December 18 - PresenceDecember 2023 NewsletterAdvent 2023: December 19 - PromiseAdvent 2023: December 20 - PeopleAdvent 2023: December 21 - PsalmAdvent 2023: December 22 - HymnAdvent 2023 Devotional: Conclusion