 Time to Pivot29 And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him. Matthew 20:29-34 The college basketball season has begun and with it come some of the memories of when I first learned to play the game. One of the foundational skills was the pivot. The pivot did two things; one it anchored a player to a spot on the court and second it enabled the player to turn in many different directions in order to see and to pass the ball. So, while one foot remained in a particular spot the other foot could move around anywhere it wanted! At one moment the player could be facing the backcourt and the next toward the basket! The end of the Pentecost season and the beginning of Advent places us at an ecclesiastical pivot point. At one moment we are facing the 2nd Coming of Christ and in the next the 1st Coming, at one moment we are facing the final judgement and in the next the coming of salvation, at one moment a judge and the next a savior. It is a quick pivot but perhaps the scripture passage above can help us to think more deeply about it. The last weeks of the season of Pentecost always narrow our focus to the last days, the return of Christ, and the final judgement. Inherent in these matters is the recognition of our sinfulness. One cannot possibly think about a judgement without some self-examination and, if one is honest, the recognition that we have not lived up to God’s expectations for us. We could place ourselves on a morality scale and determine that we have done better than many but that is not the point, is it? Just one sin condemns. That rightly causes dread in the face of judgement. The passage above gives us hope and comfort. Jesus has come for us too. He has pity on us and asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” Our need in the face of the judgement is for the forgiveness of our sins. And what we find is that forgiveness is his greatest desire! In fact, it is the very reason that he came. Now, as we face his 2nd Coming, we do not do so with dread but in the sure and certain hope of forgiveness, love, and eternal salvation. Pivot! Now suddenly in Advent we face not a coming in judgement but a coming in grace with salvation. But before he comes we anticipate his coming. Into four short weeks we pack the whole OT period and thousands of years of waiting, yearning, praying, and hoping for rescue and the coming of a savior. Hear the people of God crying out “O come, O come Emmanuel”. So, in the season of Advent, as the events of years gone by are recapitulated in Word and song, we cry out in anticipation “Come Lord, Jesus.” The passage above is inspirational here as well. For like the blind man we cannot see spiritually. Even after we have been redeemed and regenerated our vision of Christ and spiritual things is clouded. What we need is to see Jesus and to see him more clearly. Our Advent prayer to Jesus is rightly, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” The better we see Jesus the more we receive the benefits of his love, salvation, forgiveness, comfort, and joy. The better we see Jesus the more we are enveloped in his arms and rest in his grace. The liturgical pivot of Pentecost to Advent is a blessing. It allows us in short succession to see both the end and the beginning, the 2nd and 1st Comings of Christ. It allows us to connect the one to the other in an unending circle of mercy and grace. We will continue to pivot, to tell again the story of salvation until our Lord comes again. District Update Congregational News
Events The Fall 2025 Pastor Conference was held at St. Paul, Flemington on October 28th. Rev. Dr. Heath Trampe from the Office of National Missions presented a number of the new resources that Synod has to offer congregations as they seek to build ministry and reach out to their communities.  Rev. Dr. Health Trampe addresses the NJD Pastor Conference Pranschke Retirement. Zion, Westwood celebrated the retirement of Rev. Thomas Pranschke on November 2nd. The day began with a celebratory service at which several of the choirs sang and during which they performed a song with Pastor Pranchke that he wrote himself. After the service the congregation moved to the school gymnasium where Pastor Pranschke was honored by the congregation and the town council. He was remembered for his active involvement in the community. He was also lauded for his ministry in the parish school and the congregation. The congregation expressed thanks with a generous gift and a Martin guitar. We pray God’s blessings on Pastor Tom, Anne, and his family as he moves to south Jersey.  Retirement dinner in Zion’s school gymnasium  Westwood Town Council Representatives thank and commend Pastor Pranschke  Zion honors Pastor Pranschke The November Council of Presidents was held at Concordia University, St. Paul, Minnesota. Each November the COP holds its meeting at a different one of our universities. It is an enlightening and joyful experience as we get to see the ministry and resources the Synod has to offer those who are seeking a college education. It is particularly encouraging to hear how there is a renewed emphasis on the Lutheran identify of our universities and on sharing the gospel. With each visit we hear about the growing numbers at many of our Concordias not only in the general student population but specifically in our church worker and pre-seminary programs. Our universities should be commended for the very generous tuition grants they are giving for those in church work and pre-seminary disciplines. It is important for us to reduce the loan debt our workers will have after graduation and to attract them to church work service. Next November the COP will be visiting Concordia, Mequon (Wisconsin). One frustrating discussion we had at COP was regarding the revised policy for the SMP Program. Let me simply say that our SMP Pastors are a blessing to us in this District and we give thanks for their service. We ought to be working to expand avenues to ordination rather than restricting them. Please keep all of our pastors in your prayers. Upcoming SCC Events and Strategic Plan Task Forces Four additional congregations have indicated their desire to participate in Small Church Clarity (SCC). Participation will assist these congregations in ministry planning and prepare them for future Advanced Studies events and training. Our next event will be the second session of the new cohort for Small Church Clarity.
Spring 2026 Pastor Conference The NJD Spring Pastor Conference will be a three-day event. The Conference Committee is currently working on putting this event together. Details and registration materials will be available in January. Synodical Convention 2026 The 2026 Synodical Convention will be held in Phoenix, AZ on July 18-23rd.
Conclusion
I have always enjoyed the season of Advent, its themes, its anticipation, and its hopefulness. My prayer for you is that, as you prepare for and celebrate the coming of our Lord, your eyes would be opened and that ever more clearly you would see Jesus. The Lord be with you, President/Bishop Gewecke  Love Your Neighbor: Freedom to Love3 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 2 Timothy 4:1-5 A little over a month ago I was asked to lead the Council of Presidents in a study of 2 Timothy 4 so the words above are still fresh in my mind. In addition, we are coming up on the end of the church year which always directs our thoughts toward the end times. Please allow me to share some thoughts on the above passages to lead us into this time of the church year. Both 3:1 and 4:3 reference a “time” that is coming that will be marked by difficulty and the opposition to God’s Word. We know this as the “end times” or the time that will precede the 2nd Coming of our Lord. It is hard to summarize the difficulty of the end times described in 3:2-5. The list is sprawling, wide-ranged, and inclusive of all sorts of sinful behavior. While “selfish” and “lack of fear of God” might begin to summarize the list it in no way does justice to the utter disregard for the love of God and his commands. The end times will be seriously opposed to God and his ways. Paul writes this message to Timothy, pastors of the future, and us, the church, not to scare us but to assure us when we see it happening that God is still in control. These behaviors and events are not outside of his omniscience or omnipotence. Instead, God calls Timothy and us to be faithful and steadfast in the face of such godlessness. He desires to use us to bring the saving message of Jesus Christ to a confused world. So, in chapter 4 Paul charges Timothy and the church to preach the Word! Timothy and pastors to follow are to do this proclamation from the Office of the Public Ministry (as pastors) and we from our position in the priesthood of all believers. It is quite clear that there will be opposition to the Word as it is delivered. People will not endure hearing it, will turn away from it, will have itching ears for the latest novelties, will seek out teachers who will tell them what they want to hear, and will wander into myths (false theories and explanations) Yet God calls us to be faithful and preach the Word. Why? Because as 3: 15-16 teaches us …the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. Why? Because
Are we in the end times? The answer is yes because the Scriptures teach us that the end times began at the 1st coming of Christ and will continue until he comes again. Are we in the end times as described in 2 Timothy and close to the 2nd coming of Christ? We can’t say for sure but it certainly seems so. We see many of the characteristics mentioned displayed in our world today. The answer to that question is not all that important. What is important is that we heed the message of 2 Timothy to
The end times are coming Paul warned. But so has the grace of God in the salvation of Jesus Christ and his powerful Word. And so will Christ’s eternal kingdom. Stand fast therefore and be faithful. District Update Congregational News
The NJ Rally and March for Life Twelve members of NJ and English District congregations gathered at the NJ State House for the annual Life Rally. Afterwards there was a short march through Trenton and past the government buildings. This annual event is again scheduled for September of 2026. We welcome additional marchers.  NJ and English District Participants  Participants marching down State Street, Trenton
In late August five members of NJD congregations traveled to St. Louis for orientation to the Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) training. They are Vicars Ranjan George (Holy Trinity, Somerset and NJD Campus Ministry), Cliff Powers (Zion, Maywood), and Brandon Chornobroff (Prince of Peace, Howell). This marked the beginning of their SMP studies. Each of the three were then installed into Vicarages in September and early October. We are thankful for the gift of these men to the Holy Ministry, our congregations, and District. Pray for these men as they embark on four years of study and service to the church.  SMP Vicars Ranjan George, Cliff Powers, and Brandon Chornobroff  The five-person NJD contingent at the SMP Orientation in St. Louis. Accompanying the three Vicars are their mentors Rev. Chris Schonberg and Rev. Greg Jans. Upcoming SCC and NJDU Events Four additional congregations have indicated their desire to participate in Small Church Clarity (SCC). Participations will assist these congregations in ministry planning and prepare them for future Advanced Studies events and training. Our next event will be the first session of the new cohort for Small Church Clarity. Please call the District Office if you are interested in participating but have not yet signed up.
Fall Pastor Conference The NJD Fall Pastor Conference will be a one-day event held on Tuesday October 28th. Registration will begin at 8:00 am at St. Paul, Flemington. At the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus commissions His church to make disciples of all nations by baptizing and teaching – gathering the scattered and shepherding the gathered. It sounds simple, but real life is often complicated. We wish more people would worship each week. We want our Bible studies to be better attended. And we want to make a bigger impact on our community! Join Rev. Dr. Heath Trampe, LCMS Director of Discipleship Ministry, for a discussion about witness, discipleship, and the many offerings available from the Office of National Mission. We will also take time to workshop outreach ideas pertinent to our communities. Heath will draw from his own doctoral work, well over a decade of implementation in the parish, and best practices from around the nation to facilitate the topic in a practical and applicable format. Synodical Convention 2026 The 2026 Synodical Convention will be held in Phoenix, AZ on July 18-23rd.
Conclusion
Although the times may be difficult and many are turning away from the Word of God, none-the-less God has called us to be his church and to deliver the message of salvation. May God bless you and your congregation as together you remember these things at the end of the church year and live for him. The Lord be with you, President/Bishop Gewecke |
