Inside: Faith Alive! U: The Year of Mark, First Grade Faith Building Block: Ten Commandments, Butter Braid orders due

Among America’s founders, Alexander Hamilton was his generation’s foremost financial mind. To help launch the new nation, he believed each state and individual citizens should invest in the federal project by servicing a shared debt. Hamilton said, “A national debt, if it is not excessive, will be to us a national blessing.” How could debt be a blessing? For one, Hamilton believed the states would thrive more if they were members of a stronger union, rather than such a loose confederation. United, the fledgling nation could better defend itself, build infrastructure and send products to market sooner. A national debt would be a national project where everyone shares an interest in seeing it paid.

It’s November. I don’t know why that feels momentous, but then again, every new month feels like we have made it through the latest obstacle and are one step closer to the end—of what I am not sure, but that is how it is feeling to me. It’s November. We made it.

I was so excited to see those who attended our outdoor worship this fall, I was giddy with joy and thankfulness that we could be together worshipping again. Like Zacchaeus welcoming Jesus, in Luke 19:6 “So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly”. I was ever so thankful and joyous to welcome people back. I loved making sure everyone had what they needed, masks, communion, worship bulletins, children bags, social distancing circles and reminders to keep each other safe. It took a lot of planning, work and help from my hospitality leadership team to put it all together, but it worked out great for all who attended. Except for the bees liking the communion wine a little too much.

INSIDE: All Saints Sunday, Election Day of Prayer, Message from Bishop Arends

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Inside: All Saints Sunday, Election Day of Prayer, & First’s 150th Year Begins!

Inside: Read the book of Judges in 7 days, Synod School of Theology, Family Photos: a Cloud of Witnesses

Inside: Preschool Faith Building Block: Praying Together, Sun. School Fruit of the Spirit Box, Warming Center

Inside: Lutherans’ Civic Responsibility and Voting, Butter Braids Fundraiser, Read Joshua in 7 Days

The First Lutheran Foundation Fund is very proud to be able to help support local organizations that are meeting the needs of our communities. One such worthy and deserving organization is the St. Clare Health Mission in La Crosse.

Inside: Coulee Region Hunger Walk / Run / Bike, Faith Alive! U

October 31, Reformation Day, 1870 was a Monday. Kids (and adults) would not start dressing up as ghosts and goblins and other strange things for Halloween until the 1930s. Trick or treating wasn’t a ‘thing’ until the 1950s. In 1870, the end of October didn’t mean candy. It meant harvest time was here. And… winter was coming. Spring and summer was the time for planting, building and carefully cultivating many new and growing things, including a new church built at what is now 4th and Irvin in Onalaska. Norwegian immigrants had clustered around this part of Onalaska, and amidst their many other concerns, those Norwegians needed a place to gather for worship. They chose October 31, Reformation Day, as the founding date, the birthday, of their congregation: your First Lutheran Evangelical (which means good news) church.

Dear friends, this newsletter article is taunting me for I have few words right now that feel or sound edifying. My soul actually longs for fewer words and more stillness. So I am going to invite you into a moment of stillness with me, right now, as you are reading this newsletter. We live in a world that is so full of so many things and there are days when the burden of these things is too much and the words are too loud. Paul tells us that if we speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, we are a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. I think we can all testify to the truth of that - there has been a lot of noisy gongs and clanging cymbals in my world lately.

Our peak views for the month of August totaled 770; which is up slightly from June (728) and down slightly from July (813). The summer peak views, in general, have proven to be lower than the spring months (both were over 1,000), but as this is all new and is compounded by pandemic closures, it is hard to say what is lower or higher than average.

INSIDE: Faith Alive! U: Lutheran’s Civic Responsibility & Voting, Hunger Walk / Run / Bike, Warming Center

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Inside: Sunday Morning with Coffee, Gr 3 Faith Building Block, Above & Beyond

Inside: First Lutheran Play Days @ Sugar Creek, Sunday School Creation Box

Inside: First Fest Sunday (COVID edition), Parenting During Virtual Time, Sunday School in a Box