Most of us are very familiar with the Christmas story and Jesus being born in a stable because there was no room for them. It’s one of the worst feelings to go into a place and find out there is no room for you. Whether that is a hotel after traveling for hours and hours, a restaurant that has a long wait list, or a church that is filled only on the aisle side leaving the middle open. Having to crawl over people can be uncomfortable and a bit awkward or having to go all the way to the front to find a seat can feel intimidating, especially if you are a visitor.

November was a fun month for the OWLs. Our outing was Tuesday Night at the Movies. A fun-loving group of 18 headed to the local cinema for viewing the animated comedy “The Star.” We followed this with a wonderful dinner. A great time was had by all. Based on feedback from the group, we will probably make this an annual event.

The OWLs will kick off December and the Christmas season with an awesome Christmas concert. We will travel as a group to Christ Episcopal Church, in La Crosse to hear the UWL combined choirs and orchestra “Festival of Carols.” This is an uplifting concert that will get us in the spirit of the season as we prepare for the birth of Christ. The concert is free and will take place on Saturday, December 9. We will leave from the church at 4:00 PM to travel to a local restaurant to enjoy some good food and fellowship before the concert. Dinner is on your own. Following dinner, we will make our way to the church. So we know how much transportation to arrange, please contact Brian Narveson at owls@firstlu.org or 608-526-9700 by Friday, December 8, if you plan to attend. This is a great way to kick off the Christmas season.

First Lutheran’s capital campaign, Our Church ☩ Our Time, launched October 15th with a kickoff event that included great food, time to talk with friends and time to listen to our keynote speaker, John McHugh. John shared four stories about what it means to love, what it means to live with gratitude and what it means to be hospitable. We say we want to become more grateful, loving, hospitable people so John’s stories were very welcome. While he spoke, our kids played in the Pertzsch gymnasium, which I heard (from my kids anyway) was great fun! “We should do that more often” was what my 10-year-old son told me. Maybe he’s right.

When my daughter Sarah returned from a semester in school in Scotland. I was overjoyed and so very thankful. As I patiently tried to wait for her to come through the gate, I was a bundle of nervous excited energy. I could hardly wait to hug my youngest daughter once again. She is the best hugger there is! When she finally emerged, we all gathered around her and gave her the warmest welcome with hugs and kisses and even some tears of happiness. We were all abounding in thankfulness that Sarah returned to us safe, having a wonderful semester in Scotland.

The OWLs took great advantage of the nice weather in September. We attended the La Crosse storytelling festival on a wonderful afternoon, heard some great stories and music. We finished the month with a beautiful afternoon on the Narvesons’ deck with good food and wonderful poetry.

What if First Lutheran no longer had a mortgage payment? What if we had a Foundation (endowment) that is able to generate $50,000 per year rather than $12,000 to $15,000? What if we gathered enough financial resources to address all the deferred maintenance issues that have accumulated in the last ten years?

What does it mean to live “By Heart”? This has been the question that has been rolling around my head, framing my experiences for the last few months as we prepare for this 500th anniversary of the reformation. If we are always being re-formed, as is the characteristic of the Lutheran church, how are we doing that? Re-formation requires the heart to be involved, along with the mind and the soul. Jesus tells us, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Mark Allen Powell would say if we want to change our heart, change where your treasure is—teach your heart something different. So what does it mean to live “By Heart”? Does it mean that I am a “bleeding heart” or that I have a “hard heart”? Does it mean I give all my money and worldly goods away? Does it mean I am fickle or stubborn? As I ponder these questions that stem from my original question of what this means, I realize that none of these are going to get me to the, pardon the pun, heart of the matter. Instead, I turn to Jesus once again as I consider what it means to live “By Heart”: love. More specifically, love God and love neighbor and love neighbor as you do yourself (which was recently pointed out to me that we leave that part out too often). I know this would shock you that I end up here, not at all. Loving God and loving my neighbor as I do myself have become for me the most challenging and life giving way to consider the commandments. To live “By Heart” is to live a life of love—to follow Jesus in such a way that my life is characterized by the love I show to all people.

I love watching our coffee hour, seeing people interacting with one another, talking, laughing, joking. There’s a table where one group always gathers, with the group members fluctuating throughout the year. We have others who float from table to table talking to almost everyone. We have some who sit quietly by themselves over in the couch area, and, of course, there are our coffee hosts going to each table filling coffee cups and enjoying getting to know those they serve. Our coffee hour is a wonderful time to talk to those you know and to get to know others you don’t know.

I am thrilled to be the Young Youth Director at First Lutheran Church! As I am thinking about the first part of my position I think about how busy everyone is at this time of year, school starting and transitions into a new routine. I had the opportunity to meet Lyle Griner who wrote the following… and are my thoughts exactly! 

It was great to seeing everyone after our break in July. A group of 22 of us had a wonderful evening in August with dinner and the play “Steel Magnolias” in Lanesboro. Thank you to everyone who helped by driving.

One of the primary functions of the senior pastor at First Lutheran is to address staffing needs. Like many other workplaces, the church is facing different challenges and opportunities today than it did even 10 years ago. Our staff is built to reflect those evolving needs. In 2014 our Strategic Plan cast a vision for what our staff will look by 2019. It was then that we forecasted changes in job descriptions for the senior and associate pastors as well as the director of hospitality. We also named new positions we hoped to add for the sake of providing programs and services that had become expected or needed by our members. The plan led us to create a position for a director of small groups ministry. Bridget Crave was hired in 2015. We also recognized we needed to hire a full-time youth director. So we hired Tina Nelson in 2015. As much as our high schoolers need a youth director, we saw our adults need an ‘adult director’, too. We hoped to add this position by 2016. We hoped to hire a stewardship consultant who led some financial education by 2016 as well. And by 2019 we dreamed of hiring a director of worship & arts. Further descriptions of these roles, by the way, can be found in the 2014 Strategic Plan, which is available in the church office.

I was bagging up my groceries the other day, when I overheard a conversation between a mom and her son. The son kept asking “why?” with every answer the mom gave. Parents have all been in that situation. I tried to encourage her and let her know that it is exhausting answering all their questions and trying to come up with answers that the child can understand. I hope that she knew I was sympathetic toward her and that just knowing someone had listened and understood what she was going through was helpful.

Leading the young youth of our congregation has been an amazing experience and a continuous string of blessings since I started. Thus, it is with a very sad heart and mixed feelings that I am leaving this ministry.

The OWLs got into some serious summer fun in June. On a beautiful night, we had a wonderful dinner at Huck Finns by the water with a fun view of all the boats at the Marina. The special treat for our anniversary outing was attending the La Crosse Community Band Concert for “Circus Night”. We were entertained by many magnificent clowns while listening to some great circus music.

“For some families here, Onalaska might as well be on the other side of the state.” These were the words of one of the county social workers housed in Trinity Lutheran Church on the North Side and assigned specifically to serve residents of the area around La Crosse’s Northside Elementary.

It’s so much fun to gather together for a celebration, whether it’s a graduation, a wedding, a birthday, an anniversary, or just for no reason at all. I love people gathering together to talk, eat and play games. Graduation parties are the best: seeing family and the graduate’s friends together, each party reflecting the graduates personality. Gathering family and friends for a wedding is especially fun with dancing, eating and, of course, the cake. Each gathering is unique but meaningful in many ways.

May was an excellent month for the OWLs. 23 of us Hooted our way to Norskedalen, where we were greeted with warm hospitality and a warm spring day. The Scandinavian lunch in Westby was a delicious delight. Our potluck the following week included the usual delicious lunch and a very interesting presentation by Paw’s for Independence.