To all of my fellow Zion-Mascoutah congregants:
While this article was written and submitted in November, and subsequently published and read by you in December,
let me give all of you an early Christmas present: this is my
last Elders Corner article (that was a very cheap attempt at humor I admit).
During my 3-year tenure as a member of the Board of Elders, one of the first things I noticed was that my article assignments usually fell on months with 2 major church holidays: Easter
(normally in April) and Christmas (always in December). And as I’ve stated in previous articles, I’ve
had more than a couple of instances of writer’s block in trying to say more than just the typical,
expected, and cliched messages related to those 2 holidays (the other month I’ve always had an article was August and not too much to get excited about in that month).
But for this month’s article, which, again, is my last, was probably the easiest one I had to
write. Because Christmas is about the greatest gift of all: our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I don’t
think I have to say anymore on that topic – at least in this space – so I respectfully defer to Pastor
Clayton for his Christmas messages to us.
But, in the spirit of Christmas, I’d also like to acknowledge in this article 2 gifts that I’ve received
(not to be selfish or call attention to myself but something I felt needed to be said). The first, is ZionMascoutah. As some of you know, for the first 34 years of my life I was a member of the Roman Catholic
Church. Then in 2005, I converted to LCMS. Because of my time in the LCMS, via Zion-Mascoutah, I’ve
felt and developed a stronger Christian connection, belief, and faith. I’m not saying anything negative
about or aimed at the Roman Catholic faith/church – I have many family members still of that denomination and I still enjoy attending Mass and celebrating my Christian faith with them. But, because of my
wife, Jeannette, and our children (Dillan and Lydia) were brought into this world in the LCMS, it was
important for me to be with them in our shared Christian faith/belief. And Zion-Mascoutah has played an
integral role in my faith life.
The 2nd gift is being an Elder at Zion-Mascoutah. So, my first 2 months (January-February 2020)
were quite uneventful. Then March 2020 came along with its own special “gift” (I don’t think I need to say
what that is/was). So, for the next 16 months (at least), there were challenges that had to be addressed. To
members of Zion’s Church Council from then until now, thank you for your support for, your patience
with, and your tolerance of me. To the Elders who I served alongside during the past 3 years: Mark
Krausz, Tony Lara, Jeff Fick, Joe Bloomquist (and Matt Sink), also thank you for your support for, patience with, and tolerance of me. Being an Elder has brought an even deeper connection to my LCMS faith
and I’m truly grateful for that gift!
Again, as this article was written in November, 2 weeks prior to Thanksgiving, something that
I’m extremely thankful for – and have been for the past 17 years – is my LCMS faith and membership.
Merry Christmas and may your 2023 truly be blessed!
Sincerely, Randy Schorfheide
Leave a Reply