May is full of celebrations at First, throughout our community and in our day-to-day lives. You can’t help but feel a personal thrill waking up to trees with leaves on them, birdsong in the air and warm sunshine. April showers are in the rear-view, and May’s flowers are the payoff. This is a month to celebrate Mom, graduates and give thanks on Memorial Day for all who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. Amidst the moments of thanksgiving, I encourage you to make worship a part of your many festivities. Trust me, I know there are dance recitals to attend, spring sports playoff games, grad parties and more (including my 40th birthday May 30. Guess where I’m going…). My experience is that all those blessed endings are put into perspective as I remember their source. The season of Easter is seven weeks long, which means the entire month of May is a time to celebrate new life! If Sunday morning doesn’t work for your schedule PLEASE CONSIDER WORSHIPING WEDNESDAY EVENINGS. I write that in bold because I hear many of you truly wishing you could attend Sunday worship

The First Teen Clothes Closet is expanding its reach through a partnership with the Children’s Clothes Closet, housed at Trinity Lutheran Church in La Crosse. We have recognized for some time that there are many families who struggle to access our facility because they lack transportation to Onalaska. Recently connecting with organizers from the Children’s Clothes Closet has presented an opportunity for us to bring more teens to our Closet as an extension of our recent decision to offer to pay for taxi or transit rides.

As I walked into a crowded room, I didn’t know where the person I was looking for was. My heart beat faster, I quickly scanned the room, as people looked at me, wondering who I was. I was unknown, but then my friend found me, calling me by name. I had become known. Have you ever experienced this, people wondering who you are, looking at you, but then looking away not bothering to help. What if this happened here at First Lutheran Church, where we are all too busy to notice or just not care that someone looks lost.

Why is the work of the church worth funding?

This was the question asked of the Synod Council in March because despite good and hard and faithful work by our Mission Support team, giving to the synod has gone down, and it is getting harder and harder to do the work of the church. The reality is that a decrease in mission support to the synod indicates an overall decrease in the giving at our churches, First Lutheran Church included. So, as leaders in our synod, we were asked why is this work worth funding. Not worth doing but worth funding. As I pondered the answer to this question, I found myself going to places within me that I don’t often go. The truth is we can all give the pat answers to this question, but those answers aren’t working. Our Mission Support team wasn’t asking for those answers either; they want to know why are we doing this hard work, why is the work of our church worth funding. So deep reflection was required to come up with an answer that was real and honest.

Summer is almost here! The weather is starting to get warmer and we are beginning to think about all the things we would like to do during summer. As a family, we love to take out our small boat to a sandbar and enjoy the sun and water while my husband fishes. When our girls were young it was essential that they had a job to do while we were getting the boat in the water. I would hold the rope while Perry put it in the water and he would park the truck and trailer. We would have the girls stand off to the side away from all other traffic, holding our very excited dog, who was a lab and loved the water. Each of us had a job and it was all hands on deck as we would get ready to go out on the water. I must say it went smoothly because all knew what they were supposed to do.

As a mom, many times I was called Sarah’s mom or LeAnn’s mom. I really didn’t mind and I still don’t mind being associated with my daughters. Still, it is nice to be called by your name and not a title. It’s also nice to call someone by name and be able to introduce people to one another by name.  I really feel bad when I don’t remember someone’s name or think I should know it but the name will not come to mind. Names are so important, and I am so glad God helps me to remember as many names as I do. I know I couldn’t do it without him. Remembering new names takes me a while and I most always need to be reminded a couple of times before names stick in my brain. That is why name tags are so helpful at church. We can more easily remember others’ names by putting a name and a face together when we only see a name printed somewhere. God calls us each by name, so I feel it’s so important to do the same.  

We have a new book in the resource center that many of you may find valuable, Cancer—Now What? by Dr. Kenneth Haugk the founder of the Stephen Ministry Program. First Lutheran congregation member and Stephen Minister Randy Nedrelo recommends the book.

Despite the cold, the OWLs had a fun and heart-warming January. Many of us attended the new movie La La Land after a great lunch. Our potluck featured Pastor Ron Nowland, who gave a very interesting presentation on “Where Angels Come From.”

Our February potluck will continue with the theme of angels. Many of us have either been touched by an angel or been an angel to some else. For our program, we will be the program. Everyone should bring a story about either how they have been touched by an angel or have found themselves being an angel to someone else. If you have a special angel symbol in your life (a piece of jewelry, a Christmas angel, a piece of art) please bring it to show. Our potluck will be on the usual 3rd Wednesday, February 15, in the narthex at noon.

It was last summer when Pastor Stanton suggested the book Sabbath As Resistance as our Lenten study. It wasn’t far into this small yet packed book that I knew I would be challenged by the 6 chapters and that it would take courage to keep going, that it would require trust in the Spirit to take me to the places where I need to go to grow in my faith and understanding of scripture. As I made my way deeper into the book and my own reflection, I found God waiting with a gentle hand as new truths were revealed and my faith was strengthened. You see, I was sure I had it figured out, my life was good and I was doing a fair job of managing my time and life. God reminded me that while life is good, there is something better for me and for the world. Rest that is deeper than my usual. Rest that goes beyond the physical and moves into the emotional and spiritual.

The week after Christmas, my family made their way to the Bahamas so that the kids could join new classmates for the entirety of their second semester which begins (for Bahamians) on January 3. Schools in the Bahamas require uniforms. Indoor gymnasiums do not exist. My eldest will commute to school by boat. It promises to not just be a change of pace, but an experience that will transform their perspectives on the world.

Thanks to the generosity of our congregation and community, the First Teen Clothes Closet has full racks for nearly all items. There are a few specific needs for which we would still welcome donations now: coats, shoes, boots and items in hard-to-find XXL and larger sizes.

One of my favorite things about winter is having a cup of hot chocolate in a large mug I can wrap my hands around. Sitting by the window watching it snow with the mug radiating warmth and me curled up under a blanket is so calming and relaxing. It would be great if everyone who comes into our church would feel that way. A warm place to be, someplace where everyone is welcomed. We all can make this happen if each one of us does our part.

The OWLs had a fun and exciting December. We started the month with a wonderful Christmas concert at English Lutheran by the UWL combined chorus and orchestra. We finished with a Christmas feast and games at the potluck. A great time was had by all.

Plentiful research states that thriving Christian congregations have a variety of robust opportunities for community service. When the congregation created the strategic plan in 2015, the growth of our community service efforts was named as a primary initiative.

What is our most precious resource? The thing we all wish we had more of, to use, to share with our families and to give to others?

Surely, it is time. While we guard our time closely and feel we never have enough of it, it is when we give that time that we receive the most back. Volunteers who have given their time to serve as hosts for the First Teen Clothes Closet recently shared the moments of time when they were able to see and feel how this ministry is about so much more than clothes.