Inside: Sunday Morning with Coffee, Gr 3 Faith Building Block, Above & Beyond

Worship

• Join us for worship online this Sunday at 8am & 10:30am, and on Wednesday at 6:15pm, at 1stlu.org/live.

COVID-19 Update

• Pastors and the Vision & Leadership team regularly evaluate when and how the church can be open. These are our current recommendations:

  • Worship: online

  • Education: online

  • Small groups: online

• For an up-to-date list of online options and cancellations please visit firstlutheranonalaska.org/thisweek.

Sunday Morning with Coffee Small Group

Sundays 9:15-10:15am via Zoom. We will discuss questions and thoughts from the previous weeks Bible Readers readings. Join us when you can. We will meet virtually via Zoom when we can’t meet in person. Email bridget@firstlu.org to get the Zoom link or get help connecting to Zoom. 

Grade 3 Faith Building Block: Bibles

• Sunday, Sept. 27: parents/guardians only

• Sundays, Oct. 4: parents/guardians with children

• Sundays, Oct.. 11: parents/guardians with children

• Sunday, Oct.. 18: Faith Building Block lifted up in worship

Throughout the year each age group will have a special “Faith Building Block” session in which parents or special adults are asked to attend class with their child on Sundays at 9:15am, sharing in conversation and growing together in faith. The session lasts for three weeks, and afterwards, children will have a presence in worship in celebration of the Faith Building Block they have learned. Gatherings will meet via Zoom; pastors will send out meeting codes to parents & guardians of youth in each grade before the first meeting.

Read the Book of Deuteronomy in 10 days!

In Deuteronomy you hear Moses making God’s law known to God’s people before conquest of the promised land. Pastor Stanton will be introducing this book to Bible Readers starting Wednesday, Sept. 30. These studies are for ANYone who can read, 3rd graders to our eldest friend; members and acquaintances far far away. Use whatever Bible you’d like! Follow Pastor Stanton’s daily guides on Facebook or YouTube, and if you’d like the daily video guides emailed to you contact Pastor Stanton at jason@firstlu.org.

Above & Beyond

The “Our Church + Our Time” capital campaign has raised over $1 million! The BIG announcement: as families meet their original pledges through the end of this year, we can pay off the mortgage! Thank you to the 225+ families who have made this happen! There’s just a few final pieces we want to complete before entering our 151st year in 2021. We are so close to building a new sign on Main St, buying a 15 passenger vehicle for fellowship events off campus (remember outings?), abating asbestos in the education wing and getting fully equipped to provide a livestream worship experience from now on. To meet these final four opportunities, all of First Lutheran is invited to offer an Above & Beyond gift to the capital campaign. So far, 33 families have already pledged $118,000 toward a total goal of $230,000. We’re more than halfway there! Join us. We hope to have all 225+ families come together in one last push to complete what we began three years ago. The church has sent more information through the mail and we hope to gather pledge cards by October 1 so that we can move forward into ministry in 2021!

Coulee Region Hunger Walk / Run / Bike

Coulee Region Hunger Walk/Run/Bike is a virtual event this year. You are encouraged to walk, run or bike between Oct 4-11. This is a fundraiser, with 30% going to The Hunger Task Force, 30% to WAFER Food Pantry and 40% to whatever nonprofit food organization you as the walker choose. That could be Lutheran World Hunger, Onalaska Food Pantry, a school district, etc. You can get pledges from family and friends, or make a donation yourself.
 Pledge forms/registration forms are available at couleeregionhungerwalk.org. If you’d rather just make a donation, you can do that at the website as well.

Faith Alive! U: Lutherans’ Civic Responsibility and Voting

Why does the ELCA encourage us to vote? What does public policy have to do with being Lutheran? Even if you aren’t old enough to vote yet, you can be involved. Attend to find out how. Presented by Cindy Crane, Director of Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin (LOPPW), on Sunday, Oct. 11 at 6pm. This online format will be 20 minutes of presentation and 20 minutes of question and answer. This event is intended for confirmation students, high schoolers and all adults.

2020 U.S. Wildfires

Fueled by a heat wave and unfavorable winds, devastating wildfires continue across California, Oregon, Washington and other western states. At least 20 people have died, hundreds of thousands of people are under evacuation orders and more than 3.5 million acres have burned across the three states. Some evacuees face the difficult decision of whether to stay in a shelter during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lutheran Disaster Response is engaging with at least three Lutheran social services agencies and five synods to assess the situation and determine the best ways to respond. We expect immediate needs may include food and other necessities, as well as emotional and spiritual care for those who have been traumatized. Your gifts will support wildfire survivors. Gifts to "U.S. wildfires" will be used in full (100%) to assist those affected by wildfires until the response is complete. Even as we face multiple crises, together we can reflect Christ’s light and hope to our neighbors in their time of need.

Blessing Health Care Workers

We invite all staff of our area clinics and hospitals to join us on Sunday, Oct. 18, for worship and a special blessing for all of the care you provide to our community, especially during this pandemic.

Synod School Of Theology

Classes being offered via Zoom, at 6pm on Thursdays: The Holy Spirit by Pastor Karyn Bodenschatz, Oct. 29–Dec. 10. Register now: office@lacrosseareasynod.org / 608.788.5000. More info: 1stlu.org/theology.

Courageous Men’s Group

The Courageous Men’s Group are men of all ages who meet weekly on Wednesdays at 6am via Zoom for a time of fellowship and study. Contact Chad Schultz or the church office for more info: courageous@firstlu.org.

Keep Up with Changes: Update Your Contact Info

Make sure the office has your current contact info, including current address, mobile number(s), carrier info (for reminders by text), and email(s). Send to office@firstlu.org.

Morning Musings

Where is God in all this? Who/what shall we pray for today? What are our questions? What is grounding us in a time when everything is shifting? Go to First Lutheran's website, Facebook page or our Youtube channel where each morning, Monday through Saturday by 8am, Pastor Stanton or Pastor Karyn post a "morning musing". It's a great way to stay connected!