First Teen Clothes Closet Expands Reach Through Partnership
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.
Making God’s Love Known
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.
Announcements for Sunday, April 23
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Announcements for Sunday, April 9
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Life at Brick Making Pace…
The wall of bricks during Lent is a visual symbol of the nebulous walls that we create when we stop connecting with God and with one another… when we start turning ourselves inward. Walter Brueggemann, author of our Lenten study Sabbath as Resistance, talks about living in a world at "brick making speed" when we are always producing and always in this productivity mode and we don't take time to rest, which prevents us from being the neighbors that God calls us to be. So the wall was built up as a visual representation of what it looks like when walls begin to prevent us from doing the things we would normally do… such as worship in a regular way.
Announcements for Sunday, April 2
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Message From Pastor Karyn for April 2017
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.
All Hands on Deck
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.
OWLs Post for April 2017
We will begin April with a visit to our local religious site, the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It has been several years since the OWLs visited and many members have requested we return. The Shrine has beautiful buildings and art, which provide a wonderful place to contemplate the events of Holy Week. We will travel to the Shrine on Thursday, April 13, (Maundy Thursday). Departure from the church is 10:30 AM. Let me know if you would like to meet us at the Shrine at 11:00 AM. Our visit will start with a video explaining how the Shrine came to be and the purpose it fulfills today. That will be followed by a delicious lunch in the Culina Mariana Café. They feature great food (especially the cakes) and views of the bluffs. Lunch is on your own, but please bring cash or a check as we have to put lunch on a single bill. After lunch, we will tour the grounds, Mother of Good Council Chapel and the church. If you have never been, you will find the architecture and art breath taking. If you have been before, a visit is always uplifting. Golf carts will be provided for those who do not wish to walk up the hill. They will handle getting walkers on and off the cart, and seating will be provided during the tour of the chapel and church. Everything is handicap accessible. We should be back at the church by 3:30 so there is time for a nap before church that evening. A reservation is necessary at the café so please notify Brian Narveson at owls@firstlu.org or call 608-526-9700 by Tuesday night, April 11, if you plan to attend.
