Pastor’s Perch
Isaiah 6:5 5 Then (Isaiah) said, “I am doomed! I am ruined, because I am a man with unclean lips, and I dwell among a people with unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies!”
Is there a more awkward moment when you say a nasty word in front of your mother? The look on her face pierces right through you and then you hear those dreaded words, “Wait until your father gets home!” Woe to me! I am doomed! This is only a small fraction of the doom and gloom we deserve because of our unclean lips.
Think about all the unclean words you have spoken throughout your life…those unclean things you said in front of your parents, siblings, enemies, and your friends. But even this does not even compare to the unclean things that have run through your head that never came out of your mouths. Is it a shock that the great Prophet Isaiah would scream in terror because he saw the LORD? Even he admitted that he was a man of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips and that he deserved to be ruined and doomed because of those unclean lips. Once you speak an unclean word, you cannot take it back.
What doom and gloom were waiting for Isaiah? “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, carrying a glowing coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with the coal and said, ‘Look, this has touched your lips, so your guilt is taken away, and your sin is forgiven.’” (Isaiah 6:6-7) The LORD of armies chose to cleanse Isaiah’s unclean lips. The LORD of armies forgave Isaiah without Isaiah doing a thing! This is how our LORD of armies reacts to those who recognize their unclean lips. He cleanses and forgives. Unlike Isaiah, the LORD of armies gives us the cleansing bath of Baptism where he washes our unclean lips and takes away our guilt, by connecting us to the death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus. Every stain of sin and guilt have been removed from you and replaced with holiness from the altar of heaven itself! This is how the LORD of armies sees you now. You do not ever have to be afraid of the LORD for he chose to cleanse and forgive you in Christ his Son!
Dear Lord of armies, thank you for cleansing us through the waters of Baptism. Calm our hearts and give us joy in the forgiveness that Jesus brings to us from his altar in heaven! In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen!
A Servant of Christ,
Rev. Patrick Feldhus
Grace’s News
We are offering a Family bible study on familiar Sunday school stories, after worship on Sundays.
Please note that the Pastor is offering an online topical bible study on Tuesday nights at 7:30 pm. If you are interested, please let Pastor know. He is also looking for topics that are interesting to you.
The next Pastor’s Winter Conference will be on February 11th.
The Women of Grace will next meet on February 19th at 10:30 am. All women are welcome to join us.
Our next Jesus Cares program will be Thursday, February 20th at 6:30 pm. If you would like to help, please be at church around 6:15 pm.
Our next Circuit Pastor meeting is February 20th at 9:45 am at St. Paul, Jordan.
Synod News
Hope in the California fires
Over the last two weeks, fires ravaged entire neighborhoods and communities in southern California. The two main blazes, the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire destroyed or damaged more than 15,000 structures and displaced nearly 200,000 people, according to a report on nbcnews.com.
We thank God for sparing Hope Lutheran Church, in Los Angeles, which was within 10 miles of the fires. Additionally, there have been no reports of significant loss or damage from members.
But the surrounding devastation left Hope’s neighbors and community in need. By Sat., Jan. 11, Hope partnered with Pali Fire Support to operate a donation and distribution center on the congregation’s campus, which they were able to open that Saturday and Sun., Jan. 12. While providing material aid, such as clothes, toiletries, diapers, and gift cards, the congregation’s members were also providing spiritual and emotional support to those in need.
The congregation and Pali Fire Support opened the center again on Sat., Jan. 18. Rev. Steven Gabb, pastor at Hope, says, “At the same time, ‘pop up’ efforts like ours are naturally giving way to well-established organizations with the infrastructure, manpower, storage space, and experience in providing humanitarian aid on such a large scale. As such, by the end of the day on Saturday (January 18), we had made plans to cease our operation and move our inventory to one of those larger community organizations.”
“Our role, along with countless others throughout Los Angeles,” explains Gabb, “has been to help bridge the gap between the event and the time when insurance and government aid is able to provide more comprehensive support. It has been a humbling privilege to do our part as God’s instruments and voices in our community.”
WELS Christian Aid and Relief provided a $6,000 grant to Hope to help with local efforts and to provide gift cards for people who lost their homes or were displaced. In addition, Christian Aid and Relief gave $5,000 to Direct Relief, an organization that specializes in medical assistance in disaster situations.
Gabb concludes, “Many thanks to WELS members throughout the synod for their prayers and financial donations to support the effort, to WELS Christian Aid and Relief, and to the Lord for the opportunity to show Christian love and to let our Christian light shine in our community.”
As of Sun., Jan. 19, NBC reported that the Palisades Fire was 56 percent contained, and the Eaton Fire was 81 percent contained. We pray that the fires continue to die out and all who have been affected find hope in the Lord’s promises to care for his people.
For future updates, follow WELS Christian Aid and Relief on Facebook at fb.com/WELSChristianAidAndRelief.
Conference of Presidents’ Winter 2025 meeting
The Conference of Presidents (COP) met for its winter meeting Jan. 7–10, 2025. The COP is composed of the 12 district presidents, the synod president, and the two synod vice presidents. The synod secretary serves as a non-voting advisory member of the COP.
My president’s report included these items:
• Reaction to the COP’s pastoral letter on man-woman roles has been positive with few questions or concerns raised.
• Reaction to the COP’s pastoral brief on critical theory has also been generally positive. The few questions or concerns that have been raised have usually centered on the fact that there were aspects of this topic that the brief did not specifically address. The purpose of the brief was not to provide an exhaustive study of critical theory but to underline the scriptural principles involved and to enable WELS members to approach this subject from a biblical and evangelical perspective.
• WELS is pursuing plans to declare fellowship with the Africa Mission Evangelism Church in Tanzania. This is a Lutheran church body with whom WELS has had extensive discussions to determine that our two church bodies are in doctrinal agreement.
• The new long-range plan, entitled “Christ through us,” is still under development and will be ready for presentation to the synod convention in July.
There are 140 parish pastor vacancies as well as 6 non-parish pastoral vacancies. The COP authorized a special synodwide offering related to the synod’s 175th anniversary. The offering will be directed to the synod in general, world missions, home missions, and ministerial education. More specific uses for the offering by each area of ministry will be announced prior to the start of the offering. Congregations and individuals will be invited to participate. Congregational Services will be releasing samples of alternative governance structures for congregations in the coming months. District constitution committees will be equipped to answer questions that may arise when it comes to congregational governance and related bylaws. The COP authorized Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary to begin a generosity campaign in support of its planned building project. If all parts of the project can be done, it will provide classrooms, remodeling of current space for faculty offices, remodeling of portions of the library, and a gathering space attached to the gymnasium. The Doctrine Committee of the COP will hold its annual meeting with the Doctrine Committee of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod in January.
The deadline for congregations to submit their 2024 statistics and their 2025 Congregation Mission Offering (CMO) subscriptions is February 7. Looking ahead to CMO encouragement for 2026, “Joyful Generosity” and other stewardship materials will be made available by September 2025, including a CMO video presentation.
Serving with you in Christ,
WELS President Mark Schroeder