INSIDE: Office Closed on Labor Day • Blood Drive on Tuesday • Wednesday Worship Resumes • Choir Rehearsal this Wed

Worship

Join us for worship!

Sunday, Sept. 3:

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

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

Wednesday, Sept. 6:

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

Blood Drive

Tuesday, Sept. 5, 12:30-5:30pm. Every day ordinary people are saved by some pretty extraordinary people. People who give blood. Your donation could be the most valuable gift you have ever given. Just ask anyone who’s ever received it. Walk-ins welcome; appointments encouraged, schedule yours at 1stlu.org/blooddrive. Please bring a mask and photo ID.

Coffee without Pastor Karyn

Coffee “with” Pastor Karyn is open to all and meets at 6:30am each Wednesday in the narthex, (even while our pastor is on sabbatical)! See you there!

Sing Fest!

Do you like music? Do you enjoy singing, even if it’s in the shower? Do you appreciate the power of music in worship? Then put all of these things together and join the First Lutheran Senior Choir! The first event the choir will rehearse for is First Fest. Practice will be Wednesday, Sept. 6, at 7pm in the sanctuary. All are welcome… there is no audition and no formal training required, just a desire to enhance worship through the beauty of music! And the time commitment is just for the one performance (not the entire year). Full schedule and sign-up at 1stlu.org/choir. If needed, child care will be made available (just indicate this need on the sign-up form). For more info contact Todd Saner at todd@firstlu.org.

Calling All Bakers! Cookies for LuMin!

#CookiesOnCampus is back with LuMin Campus Ministries! Interim Pastor Paul Drees will continue the tradition of bringing hundreds of cookies to UW-La Crosse each week, beginning Sept. 6. Five hundred (about 42 dozen!) cookies are needed each week. Our synod congregations have lovingly provided home-baked goodies so students can have a little taste of home. Find more information and sign up here, or contact Jen (admin@luminlax.org) to sign up!

Confirmation Guides

You don’t need to know the Bible backwards & forwards & you don’t need a seminary degree. Just a heart for the youth of our church & an hour each week to spend with our confirmation youth. Parents, grandparents, godparents or any  faith-mature adult is welcome to facilitate conversation and build relationships between our confirmands on Wednesday nights. Contact Pastor Stanton to nominate someone:  jason@firstlu.org/608.783.2236.

Sugar Creek 5K

Registration for the 10th annual Sugar Creek Bible Camp 5K Trail Fun Run/Walk is now open! Being held Saturday, Sept. 9, at 9am, at Sugar Creek Bible Camp, the course makes its way through each of the villages and prominent places on camp. Stick around after the run for the annual camp auction, the presentation of medals, and drawings for door prizes. Register at 1stlu.org/scbc5k.

Sugar Creek Fall Festival

Saturday, Sept. 9. Beginning at 9am: 5K Trail Run and Fun Walk (more info above). At 10am: craft fair, country store, silent auction, and BBQ pork lunch.

A Night with Rachel Kurtz

The Dinner Theater for First Fest has become… A Night with Rachel Kurtz! WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 9. This is a fundraiser for the kids going to the youth gathering.

5PM: Meet & Greet with Rachel Kurtz, and Meal: This is the fundraiser portion of the evening. Doors open at 5pm. This part of the evening includes:

• General tickets: $30/person with $90 cap/household. Includes…

  • Meet and greet with Rachel Kurtz

  • Meal

  • 5 free tickets for door prizes

  • Priority seating during concert

• Tickets for Rachel's table: $50/person

Tickets for the meet & greet and meal are on sale in the church office Mon–Fri, 8am–4pm and on Sunday mornings, through September 5. A full house can cover the full cost of the gathering for a youth, so get your tickets today!

7PM: Concert!

• Doors open at 6:30pm

• Free and open to the public!

  • Concert

  • Freewill offering

  • Raffle for prizes (purchase tickets during event; pulled during concert)

15th Annual First Fest!

On Sunday, Sept. 10, we invite you to join us for worship at 8am or 10:30am, and after the second service, relax, catch up with friends, introduce yourself to visitors or members you’ve yet to meet, listen to great music, have lunch and have some fun! FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, so INVITE YOUR FRIENDS!

Young Adults In Global Mission

Ceci Hook felt the call to Global Mission through her involvement at UWL Lutheran Campus Ministry and Common Ground.  She also felt the nudge at Sugar Creek Bible Camp. God opened the doors, and now she is going to Senegal in West Africa. YAGM asks that each young adult raise at least $5,000 for the year (the full cost is about $15,000).  Can you help??  It's a great opportunity to support a young adult and global mission at the same time. It just might be the cause you've been looking for.

• For more information about Ceci CLICK HERE

• For more information about YAGM in Senegal CLICK HERE

• To give online CLICK HERE

RING!

Are you open to trying something new? Join the fun—ring bells! We welcome widely varied musical backgrounds. No experience necessary! We’ll begin with the basics and learn to work together. Musical ability is a skill that can be taught. Do you want to be involved? The bells rehearse Tuesdays at 5pm in the choir room, starting Sept. 12. For more info, contact Jim Knutson at jim@firstlu.org. Ring ‘dem bells!

FLY Flight Crew

"FLY" is the name our kids have chosen for their "First Lutheran Youth" group. And FLY "Flight Crew" is the name our adults have chosen to describe how we plan to move forward with Faith Formation at First. Much like a sports, show choir or band booster club meets to dream about how to support our kids in their activities (and then shows up to actually support the activities) we want parents to do the same as we shape the faith formation of our kids. Meeting the second Wednesday of the month; NEXT: Sept. 13, 5:30pm. Food and child care provided. NOTE TO THE CREW: The Frogs Without Legs Can't Hear books are in, and we’ll use them as our educational resource and fodder for conversation each month regarding faith formation. Pick up yours in the office whenever you have a chance. Please read the forward, introduction and chapter 1. 

Sunshine Team

This month the Sunshine Team meets a little later than usual, on Thursday, Sept. 14, 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! Questions? Contact Dan at dan@firstlu.org.

Response to U.S. Wildfires

Multiple wildfires broke out on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Exacerbated by strong winds, wildfires on Maui have claimed dozens of lives and have destroyed homes, businesses and lines of communication. Thousands of people were under evacuation orders, some moving to other Hawaiian islands. Wildfires have also affected the Big Island of Hawaii, and the islands remain vulnerable to more fires this season. Lutheran Disaster Response is coordinating with the Pacifica Synod and other partners to assess the needs of people impacted by the wildfires. We will work with them to provide for immediate needs and recovery amid the widespread destruction. Lutheran Disaster Response is committed to accompanying recovering communities in the years ahead. Gifts given to Lutheran Disaster Response equip us to respond to this, and other disasters, whenever and wherever they strike. Gifts given specifically to “U.S. Wildfires” will be restricted to, and used in full (100%) for those affected by wildfires. Donate now at ELCA.org/disaster.

RECLAIM: A Gathering for People of African Descent

RECLAIM is a gathering for people of African descent, brought to you by African Descent Ministries. Participants will build a tool kit for ministry as we move through a pandemic, climate change and an era of preserving healers' spiritual and emotional wellness. The church needs healthy and whole preachers, teachers, professionals and young adults, all well-equipped with culturally relevant approaches to the word. Grounded in Scripture, RECLAIM will help participants feel embodied, emboldened and liberated in their identities.

• WHEN: Sept. 14-17, 2023

• WHERE: Minneapolis, MN

• FOR: People of African descent of all ages and gender identities

• DEADLINES: Standard registration and young adult registration end June 30. Late registration ends August 15.

>> REGISTER NOW <<

Participants will engage in workshops, shared meals, praise and worship that will enable us to build community, learn new skills, share resources and rejuvenate weary souls. A Men in Mission cohort will meet alongside the RECLAIM gathering. Facilitated by the Rev. Jonathan Hemphill of the ELCA Southeastern Synod, this is an opportunity for collegiality, community and connection for Black men. Candidates for ministry, first-call pastors, and lay, African-descent men in ministry are invited into this intentional space. For more info visit ELCA.org/ReclaimGathering.

Entering Middle School Milestone

At First Lutheran we are committed to bringing the presence of God into the lives of children everywhere they go. This life milestone is for sixth-graders and their parents/guardians as they transition from elementary to middle school, and celebrates that each child is made in the image of God. We spend our time in four weeks talking about being created in the image of God, how God is in the midst of change and ways that we can feel connected with God through spiritual practices. Sunday, Sept. 17, 11:30am in the fellowship hall; lunch provided.

OWLs

On Wednesday, Sept. 20, at noon, the OWLs, a group for those 55+, will have their monthly potluck. For September, Brian and Mary are inviting all OWLs to their new home for great food and fellowship. Email Brian (owls@firstlu.org) for the address. Bring a dish to pass and be prepared to sit out on their deck, which has a beautiful view of the surrounding coulees. Our program will be several rousing games of Kubb; come to play or cheer on the players. So they have some idea how many to set up for, please email Brian at owls@firstlu.org or call 630.816.5917.

Parents’ Night Out

Bring your children for an evening of fun with the middle and high school youth groups’ fundraiser! WHERE: at First Lutheran, NEXT: Friday, Sept. 22, 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 8pm (parents can pick up early if needed)

COST: Monetary donations will assist the middle and high school students with 2023 Sugar Creek Bible Camp and potential mission trip. RSVP your child or sign up to volunteer at 1stlu.org/nightout, by Wednesday, Sept. 20.

Indian Boarding Schools: ELCA Truth-Seeking and Truth-Telling

Class: Introduction to the Truth and Healing Movement, September 26 (7-8pm). This workshop will explore the truths we seek to learn and the healing we hope to experience, as well as how the movement began, among Indigenous people and within the ELCA. It will also explain the work the ELCA has done recently and how you can participate in this justice movement.

Class: Indian 101, September 28 (7-9 pm). “Indian 101” explains some of these basics to build a foundation for students to stand in solidarity with Indian people across the United States as we work together to dismantle longstanding systems of oppression.

Class: Indigenous Thought & Theology, October 26 (10 a.m. to 12 p.m.); November 30 (7-9 p.m.)

No pre-registration is required to participate in these classes. Just go to the Upcoming Events page, scroll to the class listing, and click "join the class" to attend. CLICK HERE to go to the Upcoming Events Page. For more info on the ELCA Truth-Seeking and Truth-Telling, CLICK HERE.

Sugar Creek Summer 2024 Vouchers

While summer 2024 may seem far away, we also want to highlight an opportunity for families to purchase a summer 2024 voucher for Sugar Creek. With a $100 deposit by September 30, families will have early access to enroll in their week and program of choice. In addition, they will be locked in at summer 2023's prices as Sugar Creek raises prices for the first time in over 6 years. Vouchers can be purchased by calling the camp office (608-734-3113) or by emailing office@sgrcreek.org. Vouchers are available to all families, and families can purchase multiple vouchers!

Social Media Smarts

Now available on-demand, "Social Media Smarts" led by renowned thought leader Dr. Angela Gorrell,

Workshop guides you with:

• Ways to help kids live out their faith as they engage with technology

• Insight on where youth are spending their time online—and the associated challenges and opportunities

• A practical and hopeful guide to creating a healthy family rhythm around digital media

Register today for only $27 by CLICKING HERE to get instant access to this workshop and enjoy one year of use! Registration includes a downloadable guide and bonus spiritual practice for families.

Prostate Cancer Support

Navigating a prostate cancer diagnosis, treatment(s), and after-effects is tough and worthy of peer support. Recently, a non-medical First Lutheran member found himself on this path and would like to make himself available for e-mail, phone or in-person conversations with anyone interested in having a friendly ear to listen and provide mutual support. Email awh051230@gmail.com or call the church office, who will provide a phone number. 

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). Members can make these changes on their own at our online directory: 1stlu.org/directory. Or you can send them to office@firstlu.org.

Register for Sunday School & Confirmation

Advance registration is now available online for both Sunday School and Confirmation:

• Sunday School: 1stlu.org/sunschool.

  • First day: Sunday, Sept. 10, 9:15am in the sanctuary.

• Confirmation: 1stlu.org/confirm.

  • Gr 8–10 small groups first day: Wednesday, Sept. 13, 7pm

  • Gr 6–7 classes first day: Sunday, Sept. 17, 9:15am, Fireside Rm