Volume 11 Week
50 December
11, 2005
75th
Anniversary Preview!
Three Reasons to Remember and Three Ways to Celebrate the Past!
Christmas was different in 1930. No children clamored for X-boxes or i-pods or other extravagantly expensive toys. The country was sinking into the depths of the Great Depression, and families were thinking about ways to simply keep a roof over the heads of their children and some food inside of them.
After the crash of the stock market, the climate was not conducive to adventurous undertakings. It was not a time for risk taking, but for survival.
But out toward what were then the western edges of the St. Louis region, some faithful families, with the encouragement of some area pastors and congregations, embarked on an adventure of far-reaching importance, a bold undertaking that has made a tremendous difference in our lives. The dream of a new Christian congregation was shared, and plans were made so that by February of 1931, that congregation met for the first time just a few hundred yards from where we meet today.
This February 12, we will kick off a year of remembrance and celebration for the 75 years of God's blessing upon Mount Calvary Lutheran Church of Brentwood, 75 Years of Sharing Faith, Hope and Love. A 75th anniversary is a milestone that's worthy of our reflection for a number of reasons.
Why Remember?
When we remember and celebrate Christmas each year, Jesus is not born all over again in tiny Bethlehem. We pause and remember our Savior's birth because the gift of a Savior, God who became flesh for us, is of such eternal significance, we can't help but thank the Lord for all He's done. Christmas is simply a thanksgiving for the Christ who came that we might have life.
Our anniversary year is first of all a thank you to the gracious God who, from very humble beginnings, established a house of worship, a Christian congregation, where the saving love of Christ is boldly, clearly and repeatedly proclaimed for our salvation. An anniversary year is a time for thanks.
But more than just thanks to God for His goodness, an anniversary year is a time to consider the example of the faithful saints who've gone before us. As we pause to consider the many and varied sacrifices that those who went before us at Mount Calvary made so that we would enjoy the benefits we do, we can't help but be encouraged to continue that sacrifice ourselves.
It's a stewardship. The generations before us who have now gone on to glory have placed in our hands great treasures, and we are now the stewards, the managers of those treasures for this generation. More than just the property and buildings they procured at great personal cost, our predecessors at Mount Calvary have placed in our hands a tradition of sharing Christ, a tradition of reaching out to the children of the neighborhood and their families with the good news of a Savior. An anniversary year is a time for renewing our stewardship, to consider how we will continue the Lord's calling to make disciples in this same place, but in a brand new day and time.
Because the call remains. In 1931, a church was organized in their neighborhood because there were so many who did not know the love of Jesus. Today in St. Louis County, in a given weekend, on 22% of the people are in a Christian house of worship. Most of our neighbors do not express a faith and trust in Jesus as the Savior from sin and the hope of eternal life.
An anniversary year is a time for renewal and re-vision. And I'm very pleased to report to you that your 75th anniversary committee has been hard at work for many months to provide three wonderful events to help us give thanks for God's blessings of the past, renew our stewardship of the ministry that's been given us, and look forward to the days of our extraordinary service as we prepare for the return of our Savior.
Three Events!
On February 12, we will kick off the anniversary year with a look to the past. More on the February event in just a moment. In June, we'll look closely at our present ministry and how in many ways it is exactly the same as it was in 1931, yet different also as our context has dramatically changed. We plan an outdoor worship celebration involving as many of our neighbors in the Brentwood community as we can.
And the year concludes with a final gala celebration in October, culminating with a banquet for the entire congregation in a beautiful Clayton hotel. Rev. Wayne Schroeder, son of former Pastor and Mrs. Theodore Schroeder and currently a mission executive in the South Wisconsin District of the LC-MS will be our worship leader.
His brother, Rev. Ted Schroeder will lead us in our February celebration, a single worship service at 10:00 AM followed by a congregational meal in the style and manner of our 1931 ancestors in the faith. A number of special activities are planned.
In 1951, we moved into the Van Horn's restaurant on our current property and turned the restaurant into a church. A most remarkable feature of that transformation was the dossal curtain, a hand sewn drapery that hung behind the altar. With symbols representing the seven last words of Christ on the cross (now duplicated in stone in our sanctuary) the curtain brought a worshipful focus to the years of services held at the Van Horn building. The dossal curtain has been in safe keeping at the Concordia Historical Institute, but has been returned to us for our use during the anniversary and will be unveiled at our February service!
A brand new 75th anniversary banner will also be brought out that will help set the theme for our year's activities, a visual reminder of God's blessing in the past that encourages us to move forward in the future.
And in remembrance of those who so faithfully, courageously and generously followed where God was leading so that we might have a church home, a plaque honoring the faith love God gave to our six founding member families will be dedicated.
The very first generation of our Lord's followers faced many challenges. Persecution and ridicule from their neighbors and even from their own families was the common experience in first century Christianity. This was especially true for Jewish believers who proclaimed Christ the promised Messiah.
The New Testament Letter to the Hebrews was written to encourage them to move onward in faith, to hold steadfast to the promises they had received in Christ, and to share His saving love despite the personal costs they faced. In chapter 11, the writer offers the example of the faithful who had gone before, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and many others as an inspiration.
I hope this anniversary look at the past will help you to hear anew the words of Hebrews 12, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you do not grow weary and lose heart."
God bless our future as He has so wonderfully blessed our past!