It was a very snowy windy day, as we were traveling back from Chicago, so we stayed behind a semi-truck most of the way back home.  As we followed the semi-truck, we thought of the semi driver as our angel.  Whenever some stranger helps me, I think of that person as an angel that God has placed there to help me.  It's a wonderful thought that there are angels out there to help us when we are in need and to protect us when we are in trouble.  Angels are also those who are strangers to us, those who don't look like us or act  like us, that might need our help.  When we show kindness to a stranger in our homes,  at church and anywhere we are, we might be entertaining an angel without knowing it....

Ten teams of three to five people each have been busy putting meat on the bones of our plans. These teams are coming up with specific ideas for how to address how First serves the community, hospitality, evangelism, learning ministries, property concerns, worship, stewardship and more. Ideas have been flying around all summer without much concern for exactly how they will all get done. Now that we are naming the places we want to go, the next step is for our staff, leaders and all our members to figure out how to get there....

Newsletter for August 2014, featuring VBS, Jonathan Rundman in Concert, Website 3.0, and the Color Run.

Last week First Lutheran received word from the synod office about the death of our brother in Christ, Ordean L. Grant. Pastor Grant died Tuesday, July 22, at 81 years of age....

Little LEAPs — for children from birth to 3 years old and their parents/ guardians — will meet this month at 9:15 a.m. on Sunday, July 27, at Rowe Park in Onalaska for a “clean up and play” service project. 

The church is looking for volunteer acolytes for July and August. If you’re interested in assisting with worship as an acolyte for a Sunday or Wednesday service, send email to Pastor Karyn, karyn@firstlu.org, or call the church office, 783-2236.

The mother/daughter duo known as Heavenly Harp will perform at 7 pm Tuesday, July 29, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church on Mormon Coulee Road in La Crosse. Also, Karin Gunderson, author of “Encounters With Heaven,” will share stories of God’s presence. Free; donations accepted; CDs and DVDs available.