INSIDE: Mission Trip Meetings • Sunshine Team • Sugar Creek Family Camp

Worship

Join us for worship!

Sunday, July 3:

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

• 9am: Summer Fun! For kids: Snacks and supervised play outdoors (gather at the Welcome Center). For adults: fellowship hour and Parent Share in the Upper Room.

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

Current Precautions

Pastors and our COVID Advisory Panel get together as needed to evaluate when and how precautions should change. These are our current recommendations:

On Thursday at 10am, the CDC’s COVID-19 Community Level for La Crosse county was low. HOWEVER, please check 1stlu.org/precaution for the current, up-to-date level.

• If HIGH: we ask everyone to mask for large gatherings (such as worship)

• If MEDIUM or LOW: masks are optional and welcome

• You can also check the following sites for the current COVID-19 Community Level:

  • CDC COVID-19 Community Level (takes a bit to load)

  • Wisconsin DHS

  • La Crosse County Health Dept. Facebook Page (they do a fairly decent job of posting a photo when levels change… an orange/red mask indicates a move to HIGH, and a green mask indicates a move to MEDIUM)

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

For a full description of current precautions, visit 1stlu.org/precaution.

Mission Trip Meetings

Those going on the mission trip to Bayou Le Batre, AL, will meet at the following times in July to prepare for the upcoming trip:

• July 3, 11am

• July 10, 11am

Coffee with Pastor Karyn

Coffee with Pastor Karyn is open to all and meets at 6:30am each Wednesday in the narthex. See you there! Questions? Contact karyn@firstlu.org.

Sunshine Team

The Sunshine Team meets on the first Thursday of every month. Next meeting: July 7, 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 Family Camp

Sugar Creek is offering three sections of Family Camp this summer: July 5-8, August 7-10 and August 11-14. Housing options include: Koinonia Lodge, Modern Log Cabins, Retreat Center, Manna Center, Wagons, Seeker or Frontier Town Villages. Or you can bring your own camper or tent. Take part in campfire worship, horse riding, bible study, creek stomping and so much more. More info and reg at sgrcreek.org.

Volunteer for Special Olympics

The Special Olympics Wisconsin is in need of volunteers for their annual Softball and Bocce tournament in Onalaska on Saturday, July 9! Sign up at 1stlu.org/specialo.

Volunteer Appreciation Picnic

Sunday, July 17, from 11:45am-1:15pm at the first shelter in Rowe Park, for all volunteers who make Faith Alive! happen at First Lutheran. Bring your lawn chairs and come to play! Mark the date so that we may celebrate those among us who give their time and energy to Christ’s mission! RSVP by July 10 at 1stlu.org/vapicnic.

The Privilege Institute Freedom to Learn Summer

Coming July 21–23, noon–3pm sessions with caucus sessions from 6–7:30pm. Mark your calendar and watch for full agenda soon! Registration will be required for these virtual sessions. Fee: $40. Freedom to Learn Summer sessions will provide “an education experience with the goal of ensuring that students, parents, teachers, and others in these states are equipped for the most global workforce of any preceding generation by having an understanding of the role of race in our lives, our histories, and our future and by supporting the development of cultural and racial competencies.”

Outdoor Worship This Summer

First will continue to do outdoor worship services once a month during the summer…

• July 24, 10am

• August 28, 10am

• September 25, 10:30am

Bring your own lawn chairs, and perhaps a hat to shade your eyes. If the weather's bad that day, we'll move inside.

Lead Sunday School & VBS

There are opportunities to serve as a Sunday School teacher and a leader in VBS. A Sunday School teacher is a commitment of 1 or 2 weekends a month in which you connect with our congregation's children! It is super easy with the curriculum! VBS is another way to connect, this is so fun and is high energy! If you like to play games or would like to help organize or help in any way, please consider! Contact Pastor Stanton: jason@firstlu.org.

Vacation Bible School

Plan ahead to be here for Vacation Bible School this summer, Sunday, July 31—Thursday, Aug. 4. Invite your neighbors! For 4K through Grade 5 in the fall (3 year olds are welcome to attend in the nursery). Register online at 1stlu.org/VBS.

Shoe Drive

Every year First Teen Clothes Closet participates in a back-to-school event in conjunction with the Children's Clothes Closet and Trinity Lutheran Church. New athletic shoes are given out to all the youth, so they have nice shoes as they start back to school. You can support the clothes closet by taking a tag from our summer Shoe Giving Tree, located in the narthex. The tags include the specific size and brands of shoes desired. There are also tags with a suggested cash donation if you want to leave the buying to our clothes closet shopping team. At the last shoe handout, over 150 pairs of shoes were given. The deadline for shoe and cash donations is July 31.

Volunteers Needed for Meal Delivery

The Aging & Disability Resource Center is looking for volunteers to help deliver noon meals to their elderly participants in Holmen, Onalaska, Brice Prairie and La Crosse locations. Shifts are usually only 1 hour and start between 10:30am-11am. By becoming a volunteer, you deliver more than just a hot meal. You help the elderly stay healthy, safe and independent in their own homes. We also have openings at the meal sites to help package the meals. For more info call the ADRC at 608-785-5700.

Golf Fundraisers

• Luther Park Bible Camp Golf Outing: Thursday, Aug. 11 with 9am start. Sioux Creek Golf Course, Chetek WI. $50 for 9 holes, includes cart. Scramble format ~ Raffles, Prizes & Games. See more. Sign up here.   

• Bethel Home & Services 24th Annual Golf Outing: Monday, Aug. 15. $85 includes 18 holes of golf, cart, dinner and prizes. For more info or to register contact Thalia at 608.637.6323 or tlaforce@bethelhome.org.

• Sugar Creek Golf Tournament: Monday, Aug. 22 at Viroqua Hills Golf Course. Reg and check-in at 11am. Shotgun at 12:30pm. 18 holes: $75/person, 4-person best ball, 2 flights with prizes! More info: 1stlu.org/scbcgolf.

Upcoming Sugar Creek Bus Trips

• Aug 26-Sept 1: Ark Encounter and Nashville: There are many stops along the way. The Ark Encounter in Williamstown, KY, will awe you with a full-size ark. Tour the Lexington, KY, area with its many horse farms. Opryland Hotel will be your home base in Nashville. You will see the Country Music Hall of Fame, Legends, Lunch & Lyrics, a guided tour that will take you down Music Row, the Capitol and Parthenon. A backstage tour of the Grand Ole Opry and the General Jackson Showboat Luncheon Cruise will cap off your stay. On the bus ride home, you will stop in Springfield, IL, to visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum as well as Lincoln's Home. Register soon!

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

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

LuMin (Lutheran Campus Ministry) Gearing up for Fall 2022

Pastor Ben Morris at LuMin would love to connect with any students attending UW-La Crosse, Viterbo, or Western Technical College this fall! They’re beginning to collect phone numbers and emails for our synod students to invite them to participate in campus ministry this fall. If you have student info to pass along, please email Jen at admin@luminlax.org and include the student’s name, mobile number, email, and where they will be attending school.

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.