Worship Services
September, 2020
You now have two options for worship at First Evangelical Lutheran!
First, as we’ve been doing since early in March, First Evangelical will be holding our worship services online on our YouTube channel. Online services start just before 10:30 AM every Sunday.
The YouTube link will also be posted directly to the church’s Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/FirstLutheranOdenton/
We hope to continue and even expand our online ministry through this forum into the future to provide not only for those folks at high-risk for COVID-19, but also for shut-ins, out-of-state travelers and those who prefer online access to God’s word.
Watch this space for more info about our online service plans.
Note: online service videos follow our Online Worship Bulletin.
Secondly, as of July 2020 we’re now holding in-person services again!
As before, service will be held in the sanctuary Sunday mornings at 10:30 AM. (Yes, at the same time as the service on the YouTube channel.)
In accordance with Maryland COVID-19 guidelines and our desire to keep everyone safe, you must pre-register every week as we will be limiting attendance to 50 people to ensure social distance remains in effect.I f we begin to see a rise in the desire for in-person services going beyond that, we’ll add another service.
Register for in-person service via our Church Center page, or use the links provided below:
Note: in-person worship follows our COVID worship guidelines. Please read the guidelines before registering.
A Message From the Pastor
October 3rd, 2020
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
October is finally upon us and the leaves are beginning to change. Though we find ourselves in chaotic times in our society and world, God’s creation continues on, because he is in control. He continues his work in the world and his work in us as the gospel continues to be proclaimed! Please see the announcements below to see what we’ve got going on!
Communion Visits
If you are not attending the in-person services but would like to schedule a communion visit, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone or email, and we’ll get something setup.
Registration for In-Person Services
in order to attend you must pre-register. Registration links are above.
You must re-register every week. Again, please see the worship guidelines linked above and note that masks covering the nose and mouth are required.
Update on Live Streaming
Week 6: As we wait for the remaining equipment to arrive the team will be organizing and optimizing our new equipment and overall installation. We plan to perform an internal test using the equipment we currently have by the end of the month.
Confirmation Classes
Confirmation classes restart Oct 6th: Confirmation classes will restart on Tues, Oct 6th at 6 p.m. in the FELC Fellowship Hall. Masks and social distancing are required. Those persons wanting to be enrolled as 1st year students are warmly invited and will be given their study material during this first class. Also in the class will be 5 students who will be confirmed on Sun, Oct 25th. We currently have 3 second year students and 1 first year student. If you have any questions, please contact Mike Petersen at 443-223-5884 or 410-674-4936 or via email at maprlp@verizon.net
Spaghetti Pie Dinner
- cleaning supplies
- gift cards to Target or Walmart
- homemade or store-bought masks
Trunk or Treat (currently still planned)
Hello Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We are looking to host Trunk or Treat again this year! The plan would be for either Saturday October 31st or Sunday November 1st from 2-4pm. We would have the cars set-up every 2 spaces to maintain social distancing. Everyone must wear a mask and those handing out candy will be wearing gloves and MUST place candy in the children’s bags, no child will be reaching for candy themselves. We also would like to sell hot-dogs. These would need to be cooked ahead of time and pre-wrapped.
We are asking for anyone that is interested in setting-up a trunk or helping to please reach out to us and let us know. This way we can plan the event appropriately.
Thank you,
Krissy and John McElwee
God continues to guide us…
In his first letter, John writes, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17).
It can be very tempting to get caught up in the ways of this world and to find ourselves acting in accordance with it. The darkness of the world plays on our anger, our frustrations, our insecurities, our unrealized dreams all to turn us from the love brought to us by Jesus. As John writes, the world will one day pass away. It won’t be like this forever, but Jesus’ love abides into eternity, and with it, the truth that sets us free.
This week, I encourage you to keep your eyes on Jesus. When the world pulls us in one direction or the other to inspire hate in our hearts, we cling to Christ. Speak the truth. The world stands against our Lord, but he has overcome the world. In his love, he died so that we might be reconciled with him. Even when we were his enemies, he brought us divine compassion. May God give us the strength, in his truth and his love, to approach those we have deemed as our own enemies in the very same way. That is the will of God. Amen.
In Christ,
Pastor Alec
Email List Subscription
If you know of anyone who would like to get the emails but does not know how to go about it, please ask them to contact me. If you know someone who was once getting the emails but is no longer, it’s possible that it’s due to a typo in the system or that the email address has unsubscribed from the email list. Again, please ask them to contact me, and we’ll work to get it figured out.
Wednesday Morning Bible Study
Join us Wednesdays at 10:30am for a congregational Bible Study as we are reading through Acts and following St. Paul as he navigates different cultures while proclaiming the gospel of Jesus on his 2nd missionary journey. Simply click the link below or dial in via the phone # given.
Join Hangouts Meet: https://meet.google.com/coh-qrme-gmc
Join by phone: +1 631-618-8074 (PIN: 559341419)
More Devotional Material
You can always find additional devotional material on my website:
Copies of Portals of Prayer are also available as well and can be picked up anytime from the information box at the Fellowship Hall main entrance. I also remind you of the resources from Lutheran Hour Ministries. They have free daily devotions (which can even be emailed to you) and the weekly broadcast of The Lutheran Hour radio program, all of which can be found at:
Updated Contact Information and Call Request
We now have an online form to help keep our information current. If you would like to have your contact information updated, you can do so via the following link. You can also make a request for a phone call.
https://felc.churchcenter.com/people/forms/119816
Giving
There are currently two ways to give. One way to give is by mailing your offering directly to the church office (8397 Piney Orchard Parkway, Odenton, MD 21113). Only a few months ago we installed a secure mailbox with a lock to keep our mail safe. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to consider another way to give online. It is one easy way to be faithful in financial stewardship.
For online giving:
https://felc.churchcenter.com/giving
For further instruction see:
About Us
From its humble beginnings almost 80 years ago, First Evangelical Lutheran Church has brought the Gospel Of Jesus Christ to Odenton and the surrounding areas.
Come and join us on Sunday mornings at 10:30 AM for worship as we come together in fellowship to grow as disciples of Jesus.