Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church

Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church is a member congregation of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod located in Wauwatosa, Wis. at 68th and Center Streets.

Pilgrim is scriptural, creedal, confessional, sacramental, and liturgical. Pastor: Rev. Tod Shouse

09/05/2026

Gather, Serve, and Support Missions with LWML
Lutheran Women in Mission-SWD

Registration is still open for the 2026 Lutheran Women in Mission–South Wisconsin District Fall Retreat, September 25–26 at the Holiday Inn in Manitowoc. Under the theme “Enough for Now,” participants will gather around God’s promise: “Be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5b).

Keynote speaker Sharla Fritz will help women consider the contentment found not in changing circumstances but in Christ’s faithful presence and provision. The retreat will also offer worship, Christian fellowship, servant events, and Gifts from the Heart opportunities. Find details and register through the LWML–SWD Fall Retreat page.

Before the retreat, join LWML’s Mission Possible Day on Tuesday, September 15. Gifts that day will support mission grants sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ, and donations will be matched up to $10,000. Learn more about Mission Possible Day. Please pray for the retreat and mission-grant recipients, invite another woman to attend, register today, or make a Mission Possible Day gift.

09/04/2026

September 4th is the day the church commemorates Moses, the human author of the first five books of the Old Testament. He was born in Egypt while the Israelites were slaves to the Egyptians. Since they were ordered to kill all their male children, Moses’ mother placed him in a basket in the Nile River to save his life. When Pharaoh’s daughter found the baby in the basket, she decided to raise Moses as her son. When he was eighty years old, God called him to the work of leading the Israelites out of Egypt toward Canaan. After God sent the ten plagues on the people of Egypt, the Pharaoh told the Israelites to leave his country. Once the first Passover was celebrated, Moses led the people out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, where God parted the waters to allow them to escape. God gave Moses the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, but the people didn’t obey them. After the people’s disobedience, Moses led them for forty years of wandering in the desert. Moses was not allowed to enter the land of Canaan, although God allowed him to view it from a high mountain where he then died. Because he is such an important figure in the Old Testament, Moses appears with Jesus in the New Testament at the Mount of Transfiguration.

Let us pray: "Lord God, heavenly Father, through the prophet Moses, You began the prophetic pattern of teaching Your people the true faith and demonstrating through miracles Your presence in creation to heal it of its brokenness. Grant that Your Church may see in Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the final end-times prophet whose teaching and miracles continue in Your Church through the healing medicine of the Gospel and the Sacraments; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” Amen.

Prayer and description quoted from “Treasury of Daily Prayer,” pg. 690-691.

Image: “Moses with the Ten Commandments” by Philippe de Champaigne. Public Domain.

09/02/2026

The church remembers Hannah, the mother of Samuel, today. Hannah, a little-known woman from the Old Testament, is celebrated because of her fervor and persistence in prayer. The wife of Elkanah was barren to old age, but for years Hannah had prayed for a son. When God answered her prayers with a baby boy, she named him Samuel and promised to give him back to God. When Samuel was a young boy, she returned him for service to the house of the Lord at Shiloh where he was raised by Eli, the priest. Her prayer of thanksgiving was a song that foreshadowed the Magnificat, the Song of Mary centuries later. It begins with “My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in the Lord.” (I Samuel 2: 1-10) “The name of Hannah derives from the Hebrew word for ‘grace.’ She is remembered and honored for joyfully having kept the vow she made before her son’s birth and offering him for lifelong service to God.” (p. 684)

Let us pray: "God the Father Almighty, maker of all things, You looked on the affliction of Your barren servant Hannah and did not forget her but answered her prayers with the gift of a son. So hear our supplications and petitions and fill our emptiness, granting us trust in Your provision, so that we, like Hannah, might render unto You all thankfulness and praise, and delight in the miraculous birth of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with the You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.” Amen.

Prayer and description quoted from “Treasury of Daily Prayer,” pg. 683-684.

Image: “Hannah Brings Samuel to Eli”, author unknown, Public Domain.

08/29/2026

We remember today the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, who was beheaded by Herod Antipas (Mark 6:14-29). John the Baptist was the last of the Old Testament prophets and forerunner of the New Testament, by preparing the way for Christ. Because of his preaching of repentance to the people, he was arrested and beheaded. Upon hearing the news of his death, Jesus said that there had arisen none greater than John the Baptist. (Matthew 11:11) "In the footsteps of the prophets who had gone before him -- in anticipation of the Christ whose way he prepared -- this servant of the Lord manifested the cross by the witness of his death." (670)

Let us pray: "Almighty God, You gave Your servant John the Baptist to be the forerunner of Your Son, Jesus Christ, in both his preaching of repentance and his innocent death. Grant that we, who have died and risen with Christ in Holy Baptism, may daily repent of our sins, patiently suffer for the sake of the truth, and fearlessly bear witness to His victory over death; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.” Amen.

Prayer quoted from and description adapted from “Treasury of Daily Prayer,” pg. 670.

Image: “Salome with the Head of John the Baptist,” by Caravaggio, Public Domain.

08/28/2026

We are excited to share the LWML–SWD guiding theme for the next two years. May this theme inspire and guide us as we grow in faith, serve others, and share the light and love of Christ.

08/24/2026

One of the first disciples called by our Lord is remembered on August 24th. St. Bartholomew or Nathanael, as he’s called in St. John’s Gospel was from the town of Cana, in Galilee where Jesus performed His first miracle. Philip invited Bartholomew to meet Jesus of Nazareth. Philip explained that he had found the Messiah which Bartholomew found hard to believe since Nazareth was in Galilee. Upon meeting Jesus, Bartholomew’s hesitation was quickly replaced by his clear declaration of faith, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49) He remained a faithful disciple and was a follower of Jesus until His ascension. “According to some Early Church Fathers, Bartholomew brought the Gospel to Armenia, where he was martyred by being flayed alive.” (654)

Let us pray: “Almighty God, Your Son, Jesus Christ, chose Bartholomew to be an apostle to preach the blessed Gospel. Grant that Your Church may love what he believed and preach what he taught; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.” Amen.

Prayer quoted from and description adapted from “Treasury of Daily Prayer,” pg. 653-654.

Image: “The Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew” by Jusepe de Ribera. Public Domain.

08/23/2026

Almighty God, whom to know is everlasting life, grant us to know Your Son, Jesus, to be the way, the truth, and the life that we may boldly confess Him to be the Christ and steadfastly walk in the way that leads to life eternal; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

08/20/2026

On August 20th, the church commemorates the last of the Old Testament judges, Samuel. The son of Elkanah and his wife Hannah, he lived during the eleventh century BC. His parents consecrated Samuel for sacred service when he was young, so that he was trained by Eli the priest in the tabernacle. God called Samuel to be a prophet while he was still serving Eli. Samuel anointed Saul to be Israel’s first king. Later, he anointed David to replace Saul as king after Saul forsook the Lord. “Samuel’s loyalty to God, his spiritual insight, and his ability to inspire others made him one of Israel’s great leaders.” (642)

Let us pray: “Almighty God, in Your mercy You gave Samuel courage to call Israel to repentance and to renew their dedication to the Lord. Call us to repentance as Nathan called David to repentance, so by the blood of Jesus, the Son of David, we may receive the forgiveness of all our sins; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” Amen.

Prayer quoted from and description adapted from “Treasury of Daily Prayer,” pg. 642.

Image: “St. Samuel the Prophet”. Public Domain.

08/19/2026

Today, on August 19th, the church remembers Bernard of Clairvaux, who was born into a noble family in Burgundy, France in 1090. He left his affluence behind and joined a monastery at the age of twenty-two. Two years later, he was sent to Clairvaux to start a new monastic house. This mission expanded under Bernard’s abilities, finally growing into sixty-eight monasteries. Bernard is remembered also for his preaching and hymn writing skills. “The hymn texts ‘O Jesus, King Most Wonderful’ and ‘O Sacred Head, Now Wounded’ are part of the heritage of the faith left by St. Bernard. He became a leader in Christian Europe in the first half of the twelfth century AD.” (639)

Let us pray: “O God, enkindled with the fire of Your love, Your servant Bernard of Clairvaux became a burning and shining light in Your Church. By Your mercy, grant that we also may be aflame with the spirit of love and discipline and may ever walk in Your presence as children of light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.” Amen.

Prayer quoted from and description adapted from “Treasury of Daily Prayer,” pg. 638-639.

Image: Stained Glass Window of St. Bernard Upper Rhine, ca. 1450. Public Domain.

08/17/2026

Along with Martin Luther and Martin Chemnitz, Johann Gerhard was a great theologian who codified the Lutheran doctrines for all times. During the early Seventeenth Century, he wrote his twenty-three volume Loci Theologici, the definitive statement of Lutheran orthodoxy. Gerhard was born in Quedlinburg, Germany in 1582. After a serious illness at the age of fifteen, he devoted the rest of his life to theology, writing numerous books on exegesis, devotional literature and polemics. He became a professor at the University of Jena and served as the superintendent of Heldburg. His sermons continue to be widely popular for theological study. “Gerhard was a man of deep evangelical piety and love for Jesus.” (632)

Let us pray: “Most High God, we owe You great thanks that in the sacred mystery of the Supper You feed us with the body and blood of Your son. May we approach this heavenly meal with the true faith of Johann Gerhard, firmly convinced that the body we eat is the one given into death for us and that the blood we drink is the blood shed for our sins; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” Amen.

Prayer quoted from and description adapted from “Treasury of Daily Prayer,” pg. 632.

Image: “Johann Gerhard” by Melchior Hafner. Public Domain.

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6817 West Center Street
Wauwatosa, WI
53213

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