INSIDE: Preschool Springfest showcase & fundraiser; Opening: Buildings & Grounds Manager; Sunshine Team

Worship

Join us for worship!

Sunday, May 1:

• 8am: live stream at 1stlu.org/live, and in-person. Nursery available.

• 10:30am: live stream at 1stlu.org/live, and in-person. Nursery available.

Wednesday, May 4:

• 6:15pm: live stream at 1stlu.org/live, and in-person wearing masks. Nursery available.

COVID-19 Update

• Pastors and our COVID Advisory Panel gather to evaluate when and how the church can be open. These are our current recommendations:

  • Worship: online & in-person

  • Small groups: online & in-person; precautions determined by entire group

Precautions for In-Person Worship

Worship services are offered in-person, indoors at all services. As of Feb. 16, 2022, masks are welcome, optional, and encouraged for those not vaccinated. For a full description of current precautions, visit 1stlu.org/precaution.

4K Faith Building Block: The Keys

• Sundays,  May 1 & 8: parents/guardians with children

• Sunday, May 15: 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, the Faith Building Block will be lifted up in worship.

Opening: Buildings & Grounds Manager

First Lutheran is looking for a Buildings and Grounds Manager to manage the maintenance of the church. Flexible hours are available. Pay is $20/hr, 15-25 hours/week with limited benefits. Call 608.783.2236 or e-mail the church office at office@firstlu.org. Full job description at 1stlu.org/opening.

Sunshine Team

The Sunshine Team meets on the first Thursday of every month. Next meeting: May 5, 9:30am. Various jobs: cleaning, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, washing windows and cleaning carpets. Help make First look nice! Refreshments are supplied to replenish your reserves! Dues are free!

Sugar Creek Work Weekend

We have a wide variety of projects for any skill set and level of ability. Come with your family or by yourself and enjoy the blessing of serving others by making Sugar Creek Bible Camp ready for summer camp season! Help play a part in building, cleaning, arranging and preparing the camp's buildings, trails and equipment for a safe and busy season ahead. Choose from a range of outdoor and indoor projects: Paint, garden, stain, clean cabins, do trail work, wood chip, build fences, split and stack firewood, move sheds, lay shingles, and more. Many hands make light work! Enjoy Sugar Creek hospitality and hearty meals all day Saturday, May 7—or you can stay over Friday night and be ready to go bright and early Saturday morning. Friday night lodging and Saturday meals are FREE for volunteers at this event! RSVP: office@sgrcreek.org or call 608.734.3113. Let us know how many people are coming and whether or not you need housing for Friday night what meals you will attend on Saturday. Lodging reservations are on a first come, first served basis. We are so grateful for the many hands and hearts who volunteer in myriad ways for the ministry and missions of Sugar Creek Bible Camp! Work will start around 9am Saturday morning and go into the evening. You are welcome to come for some or come for all!

Clothes Closet Needs

Greetings from the First Teen Clothes Closet team! Thank you for always helping to fill the clothing needs of teens in the greater La Crosse area. We are currently in need of the following new or gently used, teen-style items:

• Skirts

• Athletic shorts in all sizes but especially 1X, 2X, 3X,

• Regular shorts in XL, 2X , 3X

• Sweat pants all sizes

• Hoodies in all sizes but especially 1X, 2X, 3X, 4X

• Dress belts

• Summer shoes: sandals, flip flops

Thank you very much for your generosity!

Upcoming Sugar Creek Bus Trips

• May 7-10: Holland Michigan Tulip Festival

• Aug 26-Sept 1: Ark Encounter and Nashville

• November 16: Fireside Dinner Theater, "White Christmas"

Sign up early! Spots fill quickly. Call for info: 608.734.3113.

Monday Night Community Meals

For many years, Trinity Lutheran Church on the northside of La Crosse has hosted a meal on Monday nights. First Lutheran has agreed to help with this important community ministry, by preparing a meal, serving the food and cleaning up. We need people to plan and prepare the meal to feed 60-80 people, and folks to serve the meal (5-6pm) and help with cleanup. Meal prep can be done at your convenience. Many times people prepare the main course a week ahead, freeze it and reheat it. Food for the meal can be gotten at no charge from the Hunger Task Force in La Crosse. Our next date is May 9. You can sign up at 1stlu.org/monmeals, or contact bridget@firstlu.org.

OWLs Fly to Driftless

The OWLs (our Older Wiser Lutherans at First Lutheran, for anyone 55+) will start May with their first daytime road trip since before COVID. On Friday, May 13, at 9am we will meet at the church and fire up the bus for a scenic trip down the Mississippi to Lansing, Iowa, to visit the almost world famous Driftless Area Education and Visitor Center. The center has an elevator for easy access to all 3 levels. Following our visit we will have lunch at a local establishment with great food and lots of character. The visitors center is free, and lunch is on you own. If you would like to join this great adventure, please call or email Brian Narveson (630.816.5917 / owls@firstlu.org) by Wednesday, May 12.

Churches for Middle East Peace   

Thursday, May 19, 1–3pm ET (noon–2 pm CST). Mystagogia: What Can We Do to Build a Better Future in Palestine and Israel? This webinar will feature some key ongoing challenges for peace and a just future in Israel-Palestine in East Jerusalem (demolitions, evictions, and confiscations) and the West Bank (challenges within Palestinian civil society). Each speaker will then address where transformation and glimmers of a “better future” are seen. Register here.

Bible Readers Deep Dive into Exodus, through May

Join Pastor Stanton online for 5–8 minutes per weekday through May 20 for "Bible Readers: Pivotal Moments in the Book of Exodus." We'll use Walter Bruggemann's two books, Delivered Out of Empire and Delivered Into Covenant to explore how certain phrases or moments in scripture demand our attention and can change everything. Find the posts each weekday by 5am on First Lutheran's Facebook page or YouTube channel.

Parents’ Night Out

CORRECTION: The next Parents’ Night Out will be Friday, May 27. FOR: Birth–12 are welcome (Birth–3 will be in the nursery, ages 4 and up in Fellowship Hall)

• Registration from 4:45pm-5:30pm

• Followed by dinner and activities till 8:30pm (parents can pick up early if needed)

COST: Monetary donations will assist the middle and high school students with 2022 Sugar Creek Bible Camp and potential mission trip. RSVP your child or sign up to volunteer at 1stlu.org/nightout.

Website & Online Changes

The First Lutheran website is due for an upgrade. We’ve been using our current template since 2014, and it is time to migrate to a new one that will allow access to new features. Migration will begin in May and will take place throughout the summer, with plans to be completely migrated by late August. In addition to the website upgrade, we plan to improve access to other online applications during the summer. Look for improvements to online giving, as well as improved access to our online member database. Again, our goal is to have all of the updates in place and implemented by late August. If you have any questions during or after these changes, don’t hesitate to reach out to Andy, our Director of Communications and Marketing, at andy@firstlu.org.

Upcoming Worship Changes

• Wednesday worship will take a summer break; last service before break is June 1; Wednesday worship will resume Sept. 7

• Sunday, June 12:

  • Worship at 8am will be at First

  • Worship at 10am will be at Riverside Park with the synod (or at UWL Student Union if there is inclement weather)

• Starting June 19 thru the summer: Sunday worship will be at 8am and 10am

Foundation Grant Deadline

REMINDER: Grant applications from worthy organizations wishing to request funds from the Foundation Fund are due by June 1! More information about the Foundation Fund and the grant application, can be found at 1stlu.org/foundation.

Summer Song Series

Go to 1stlu.org/summersongs to nominate a favorite hymn or song to be highlighted this summer between Pentecost and First Fest! The most popular and powerful songs will be at the heart of our worship all summer long! Don't miss a week!

COVID Vaccination & Booster Shots Available   

COVID-19 vaccination shots will be available at Trinity Lutheran (1010 Sill St, La Crosse) on Monday nights from 3–7pm. All shots are available, including the second booster.

Donations For Ukraine

Lutheran World Relief has committed $7 million to respond to the crisis in Ukraine, and expects to increase this amount as they receive additional support. With millions of individuals displaced in Ukraine and tens of thousands continuing to flee Ukraine each day, the needs grow daily. Donate at 1stlu.org/LWR.

Lutheran Disaster Response is accompanying companion churches and ecumenical partners in Ukraine, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia to respond to the crisis in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. Gifts to “Eastern Europe Crisis Response” will be used in full (100%) to assist those affected by the crisis in Ukraine and neighboring countries. Donate at 1stlu.org/LDR.

From Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service: The U.S. will now welcome up to 100,000 refugees from Ukraine. We need to act fast to prepare for these refugees, currently 90% of whom are women and children. There is an urgent need for resources, including emergency medical care, temporary housing, financial support for basic necessities, and much more. Donate at 1stlu.org/LIRS.

You can also designate gifts to Lutheran World Relief, Lutheran Disaster Response and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service at 1stlu.org/give.

Volunteers Wanted for Synod Assembly   

The synod is looking for folks to serve as red-vested volunteers at this year's assembly. Volunteers serve very important functions: hospitality in all ways, assisting with the collection of offerings, handing out and retrieving ballots, dispersing handouts, helping at the registration table, guiding attendees to meeting spaces outside of plenary hall, etc. If interested contact the synod office (608.788.5000 / office@lacrosseareasynod.org) and they’ll put you in touch with Betty, their volunteer coordinator. You will attend the assembly at no cost.

Synod Assembly for All

Please know that ALL are welcome to these events of the synod assembly…

• Friday, June 10, 7pm: for opening worship at Good Shepherd Lutheran, 4141 Mormon Coulee Rd, La Crosse.

• Saturday afternoon, June 11: at the UW-La Crosse Student Union for 2 workshop sessions at 2:15pm and 3:30pm. Full workshop schedule will be posted soon on the synod’s website.

• Sunday, June 12, 10am: for worship at Riverside Park, downtown La Crosse, followed by a picnic lunch (if there is inclement weather on Sunday morning, worship will take place at the UW-La Crosse Student Union) 

Sugar Creek Summer Reg Now Open!

Summer camp registration at Sugar Creek is open, and campers are signing up! Our new program, Art Camp, promises to help campers grow in their creative gifts and encourage them in sharing the joy of expression through guitar, dance, painting, photography, wood-crafts or writing. We can’t wait to celebrate each of their unique talents with them. We are also pleased to bring back our popular new programs from 2021: Elevated, Night Camp and Rangers. Spots for these programs are filling up quickly, so make sure you don’t miss out. Do you know about our early-registration giveaway! First Lutheran is happy to reimburse the $100 registration fee (contact the office)! Reg and more info online: sugarcreekbiblecamp.org.

Middle and High School Gathering Alternatives

• Youthworks mission trip to Bayou Le Batre, Alabama, for youth entering grades 7–12 in fall of 2022. Trip dates: July 23–31. More info: 1stlu.org/mshsmissiontrip.

• Boundless WYLDE @ Sugar Creek, for youth entering grades 9–12 in fall of 2022. Dates: July 24-29. More info: 1stlu.org/wylde.

Please register by…

1. Sending Pastor Stanton an email at jason@firstlu.org to alert him of your interest

2. Deliver a $150 check made out to First Lutheran. In the memo line add if you're registering for “YOUTHWORKS” or "WYLDE."

Sunday School

• Sunday, May 1

  • 9:15am Sunday School

• Sunday, May 8

  • 9:15am Last day of Sunday School

Questions regarding Sunday School? Visit 1stlu.org/sunschool.

Confirmation

• Sunday, May 1:

  • 9:15am Gr 6 & 7 Confirmation Classes - Fireside Rm

• Wednesday, May 4:

  • 6:15pm Confirmation Class - Fireside Rm

  • 7:00pm Gr 8 & 9 Small Groups

Questions regarding confirmation? Visit 1stlu.org/confirm.