INSIDE: Sugar Creek Volunteer Weekend • Graduate Recognition

Join us for Worship!

Sunday, May 5:

• 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 8:

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

Sugar Creek Volunteer Weekend

Sugar Creek has a 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 4—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.

Graduation Recognition

First Lutheran will bless graduates in worship on Sunday, May 5, at the 10:30am service. Join us for a special blessing to celebrate this milestone.

54321 Incarnation Witnesses — Orange

As we make our way toward Pentecost, you are invited to practice the 54321 exercise and then take a picture or two of something you have seen, touched, heard, smelled or tasted of the color for that week. This week, do the exercise and take one or two pictures of something ORANGE that you notice around you. Email the photo(s) to karyn@firstlu.org. We will gather these photos and create a collage that will remind us throughout the summer to celebrate the embodied resurrection with our whole selves. Learn more about the 54321 exercise at 1stlu.org/next.

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.

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: May 8, 5:30pm. Food and child care provided.

Synod’s Anti-Racism Survey

The La Crosse Area Synod Anti-Racism Team would like your feedback regarding issues of race, racism, anti-racism work and how these issues intersect our faith and public life.

Online Survey Link

This survey takes approximately 4-7 minutes to complete. The deadline to complete the survey is Tuesday, May 14. The anti-racism team will share their findings at synod assembly, and their learnings will shape our work moving forward.

OWLs

The OWLs (our Older Wiser Lutherans at First, for anyone 55+) will kick off May with a potluck on Wednesday, May 15, at noon in the Fellowship Hall. With May being the start of spring, bring your favorite picnic food to kick off the season. For the program, a representative of Hope Restores will talk about the organization and the people it serves. Hope Restores is the designated stewardship charity for 2024.

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, May 17, 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 until 8pm (parents can pick up early if needed)

COST: Monetary donations will assist the middle and high school students with 2024 Sugar Creek Bible Camp, the mission trip and the Youth Gathering. RSVP your child or sign up to volunteer at 1stlu.org/nightout, by Wednesday, May 15.

One Worship, Sunday May 19

There will be only one service on Sunday, May 19, at 9am, followed by a celebration of the Sunday School and Confirmation year. We will also have a potluck after the service; First will provide brats, hot dogs and sides... we encourage members and guests to bring a dessert to share! See you there!

Faithful Readers

At First, it’s our hope to be able to grow faithful readers from birth through adulthood. To do this, we will feature several books every month in our Resource Center just outside the church office. The reading focus for spring is Growing Faithful Readers. The highlighted books are…

• You're My Little Bookworm, by Nicola Edwards

• How to Read a Book by Kwame Alexander

• Ban This Book by Alan Gratz

• The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction by Meghan Cox Gurdon

The books are available to look at and order at the Resource Center, outside the church office. They can also be ordered at 1stlu.org/faithfulreaders.

Bible Readers Deep Dive: Psalms

Join Pastor Stanton for an online study of the Psalms! Life consists of 1) seasons of well-being, 2) seasons of hurt and 3) moments of surprise when we are overwhelmed with the new gifts of God. The Psalms—more than any other part of the Bible—are able to accompany us through all the seasons and moments! Each weekday Pastor Stanton posts a 5-10 minute deep dive into the Psalms. Find it at: FirstLutheranOnalaska.org, facebook.com/1stlu and youtube.com/1stlu.

Sugar Creek Summer Reg Now Open

Sugar Creek Bible Camp offers 17 unique and powerful summer camp programs, plus retreat ministries for youth in elementary school, middle school and high school – and adults and families! The camp is located on 660 acres in the bluffs and valleys of southwestern Wisconsin. Come learn, relax, encounter Christ and have fun at Sugar Creek Bible Camp! Explore sugarcreekbiblecamp.org for more information about next summer.

Foundation Grant Applications 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.

Faith Webs Deadline

Thank you to everyone who participated in a Faith Web this year! We pray these relationships in your church family continue to grow! A reminder that all donations toward the $300 commitment made at the beginning of the school year are due by June 1, 2024.

Fundraising Deadline

A reminder to all youth raising funds for Sugar Creek and other summer ministries, that the final day to turn in funds raised to cover expenses for summer 2024 is Sunday, June 2. Thanks!

Baptismal Preparation

The next baptism preparation session will be Saturday, June 1, at 10am in the narthex for anyone who is considering or has scheduled a baptism. To register or ask questions, call the church office at 608.783.3326 by Sunday, May 26. Min. attendance required: 2 families. 

Water is Life Synod Project

Why is there a well in the narthex? To make a wish for water, raising money for the La Crosse Area Synod Hunger Team safe water project! Safe and abundant water in a community means better health, better crops, better nutrition, and better quality of life. Water is life… water changes everything!

• Globally, 1.8 billion people—1 out of every 4 people—drink from contaminated water sources.

• Unsafe water claims the lives of 840,000 people each year, half are children under five.

• On average, women in Sub-Saharan Africa walk 3.7 miles each day to fetch water. The traditional five-gallon jug they use weighs 40 pounds when full!

Place your donations in the well, or donate online at 1stlu.org/next.

Confirmation Camp… For Youth Going Into Grade 8

Our upcoming confirmation students get a chance to start their confirmation journey in the beautiful valley of Sugar Creek, the week of Sunday, June 16, through Friday, June 21. We will learn in faith together while we do Bible study, horseback riding, hiking, swimming, campfires, and so much more! For youth going into 8th grade. Questions? Contact Pastor Stanton at jason@firstlu.org.

Outdoor Worship and Potluck

First will worship outdoors on Fifth Ave for the second service once a month during the summer, on the following Sundays, weather permitting…

• June 23, 10am

• July 21, 10am

• August 18, 10am

Bring your own lawn chairs, perhaps a hat to shade your eyes, and a side dish to share at the potluck (though everyone is welcome at the potluck even if you don’t bring anything!). If the weather's bad that day, we'll move inside. NOTE: There is no live stream of the 10am outdoor service.

Vacation Bible School: Start the Party!

Plan to be here for Vacation Bible School this summer, Sunday, Aug. 4, through Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. Invite your neighbors! For 4K through Grade 5 in the fall (3 year olds are welcome to attend in the nursery). Register at 1stlu.org/next.

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. 

HELP ministry

The Health Equipment Lending Program (HELP) is a ministry offered by Holmen Lutheran Church. People can borrow health-care equipment, ranging from crutches, walkers and wheelchairs to commodes and shower chairs. Also available are items to keep, such as transfer belts, braces and disposable briefs. For more information, contact Mary Nicolai at 608-498-0439 (text or leave a voicemail).

Sunday School

Sunday, May 5

• Sunday School

Sunday, May 12

• Sunday School

More info and online registration: 1stlu.org/sunschool.

Kindergarten Faith Building Block: Lord’s Prayer

Throughout the year, each age group has 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 (in Fellowship Hall), sharing in conversation and growing together in faith. Most sessions last for three weeks, and afterward, children will have a presence in worship in celebration of the Faith Building Block they learned about.

• Sunday, May 5: Faith Building Block lifted up in worship

4K Faith Building Block: The Keys

• Sunday, May 5: parents/guardians only

• Sunday, May 12: parents/guardians with children

• Sunday, May 19: Faith Building Block lifted up in worship

Confirmation

Sunday:

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

Wednesday:

• 5:30pm Confirmation Dinner

• 6:15pm Worship

• 7:00pm Gr 8 & 9 Small Groups

Wednesday, May 15:

• 5:30pm Confirmation Celebration!

More info and online registration: 1stlu.org/confirm.