Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Transcription

1 Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Greetings on these beautiful summer days! I hope that you are finding time this summer for some rest and renewal along with all that you have going on! The ELCA has 7 faith practices that encourage us to grow in our discipleship. They are: invite, pray, study, worship, give, encourage, and serve. I wanted to encourage you as you are going through your summer days on ways you can live out your faith practices INVITE-On July 12 at 10:30 am, we will be gathering for community worship at Southbrook Park. This is the easiest way to invite a neighbor or friend to church they don t even have to go in a church building! After worship we will gather for lunch together. All people of all faiths are welcome to attend. PRAY-Each Wednesday morning at 7 am, a group of dedicated folks gathers together for prayer, coffee and conversation. If you are up, come and join them! If you aren t, set a reminder in your phone to take time to pray spending time each day listening and talking to God can really help deepen your relationship. STUDY-There are lots of options for study even during the summer months! The Men in Mission gather each Sunday morning at 8 am for conversation and study. The Wine, Women, and the Word ladies gather each month for dinner and bible study. The SOS ladies meet to encourage each other and pray for each other as well. You are welcome to join these groups at any time check the calendar for when they meet! WORSHIP-It can be easy in the summer to get side-tracked from worship as we soak up whatever sunny days we are given! If you miss out on Sunday worship, you can stop by the Saint Matthew s Walking Wet Blog at for a weekly devotional that is based on Sunday worship. You can use it as a family or an individual stop by the blog and check it out! GIVE-There opportunities to give are endless. Whether it is giving your money to support the ongoing ministries at Saint Matthew s, or giving your time and talents, people of all ages can make a difference! If you haven t yet, please take time to fill out the Time & Talents Form at ENCOURAGE-We talked about this in church recently the need to water each other s faith, and lift each other up. Do you know a young parent who could use a hand? An older neighbor who might enjoy a visit? Someone who might be lonely who would love a note in the mail? Encouraging others in their daily walk can be great at lifting us up when we are struggling too! over

2 SERVE-There are many ways that you can serve others through the ministry of Saint Matt s. You can volunteer to serve with us at the Northland Rescue Mission (talk to Julie Brorby if you are interested!), you can bake cookies for fellowship and the mission, you can visit our shut-ins, you can help with Thompson Days, you can volunteer with LYO or other youth events. However you choose to serve we can all be using our hands to do God s work in the world. In whatever way you choose to deepen your discipleship this summer, I pray your experience is blessed. Stop in the office sometime to tell your story of God has been at work in your life this summer. Or take a picture of what you ve been doing with Flat Jesus and post it to our church Facebook or Instagram Accounts! Just be sure you use the hashtag #stmattsflatjesus Enjoy these summer days friends! They are surely a blessing! Grace and peace, Pastor Amy :-) We are getting closer to our goal! Thank you so much for your support so far of our kids going on the Milwaukee Mission Trip! We are getting closer each fundraiser, but still have a ways to go! Here are some ways you can continue to support our kids this month: Return your water bottles! Remember the bottles you took home from church? Be sure to return them (or another water bottle!) with your coins to help support our kids! Wednesday, July 1-Come out to Pizza Ranch from 5-9 and support our kids. All those who mention Saint Matthew s when ordering, will have a portion of their meal donated to the trip. This also works on carry-out and delivery orders! Friday, July 10-Meal at Southbrook: Come down and support those walking in the Thompson Trot and join in the meal afterwards! The proceeds from the meal will go towards the Milwaukee Mission Trip! Saturday, July 11-Come down to watch mud volleyball, and while you are there, be sure to eat slushies or join in the dunk tank fun at Thompson Days! Proceeds from both of these will go towards our trip!

3 Mark your calendars and come join us for a Community-Wide Worship Service on Sunday, July 12 th at 10:30 am at Southbrook Park. We will be joining with Walle, East Walle, and Evonger churches, as well as others in our community to worship together during Thompson days weekend. Come for the worship service, and stay after for a time of good food and fellowship afterwards! Saint Matthew s folks have been asked to bring a salad to share! We hope you can join us! Looking for a chance to chat with Pastor Amy? In summer time, her office hours change a bit, as she is at Bible Camp with our kids, takes some vacation, etc. We will be posting weekly office hours in the bulletin. Her July office hours are as follows: Week of June 28 th : Mon. 11:00-1:00, Tues.10:00-12:00, Weds. 7:30-9:30 am Week of July 5: Pastor Amy at Joy Ranch Bible Camp with our 6 th -8 th Graders, available for emergencies by cell phone Week of July 12 th : Mon. 11:00-1:00, Tues. 10:00-12:00, Weds. 7:30-9:30 am July 16 th -23 rd : Pastor Amy is on vacation out of state, for emergencies during this time, please call President Cheryl Widman on her cell phone at July 24th: Friday in the office 10:00 am-4:00 pm Week of July 26 th : Mon. 10:00-2:00, Tuesday 10:00-2:00, Weds. 7:30-10:30, 1:30-4:00 pm If you would prefer another time, let Pastor Amy know, and that will be made available! The Church Mouse would like to thank: Sharon G for answering the call and helping Pastor Amy out! All who helped assemble and distribute this year s pop on over bags Sharon G and Mary W for counting offering The Haugen Family (Earl, Cathy, and Emma) for cooking all our delicious Wednesday night meals! Cathy B-H for organizing the Pizza Ranch Fundraisers for Milwaukee Carmen B for spraying the cracks in the parking lot, and for putting up with an unexpected Buhla visit! Donny A for organizing the LYO shed building project, Duane N & Robyn B for helping build Barry A for the awesome (and fun!) gift of cornhole boards! Kay L for helping visit our shut-ins If you know of someone who has been helping out around Saint Matthew s, please notify the church office! The church mouse doesn t want to miss anyone!

4 LYO FUNDRAISER The LYO is building a 10 X 12 Gable Storage Shed with roll-up door. The shed will be raffled off on July 15 th. Raffle tickets are being sold for $10 each by all the youth that are going on the Milwaukee Mission Trip and the LYO. The money raised will be helping pay for the Milwaukee trip and will also be used for future LYO activities. A HUGE THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU goes out to the St Matthew s Men s group for donating the shed materials!! Thanks to those who have offered to help mow the lawn at the church this summer! The schedule for the next few weeks is: Week of July 6-Duane Naas Week of July 13- Darwin and Cole Potter Week of July 20- Mike Brorby Week of July 27- Darwin and Cole Potter Week of August 3-Bill Widman When you hit the road this summer, be sure and take flat Jesus with you! Our Sunday Schoolers and folks of all ages have been invited to join in on the Saint Matthew s Flat Jesus project. All you need to do is pick up a flat Jesus from the church, or print him off the website. Then color him, cut him out and take him with you and send the pictures to Pastor Amy at stmattspastoramy@gmail.com At the end of the summer we will have a slide show to show you all the places Flat Jesus has been! J For more info, check out the Flat Jesus portion of the church website at: Here are the Worship Assistant Groups for July and August. The sign-up sheet is posted by the entrance to the church. Thanks for your help. Worship Assistant Group July 2015 Mark & Kristi Adams Family Jen & Adam Bohlman Family John & Robyn Bohlman Family Trinity Bohlman Family Curtis & Debra Gilberg Family Mike & Nancy Morgan Family Mike & Gail Nunes Family Derek & Stacy Plautz Family Alicia Schumacher Family Kevin & Lisa Strand Family James & Suzy Thorson Family Worship Assistant Group August 2015 Roger & Sharon Gustafson Family Jim & Pat Hanson Family Earl & Cathy Haugen Family Cassi Hovet Family Dan & Sue Hovet Family Dean & Barbara Larson Family Neil & Kay Lindell Family Bill & Mary Mitchell Family Brenda Peterson Family Darin & Angie Praska Family Mike & Lisa Steinbrink Family Mike & Mary Sundberg Family

5 July Anniversaries July Birthdays 1st Joely Anderson 2nd Jennifer Haugen, JoEllen McGauvran, Emily Overby, Lucy Sutter-Hegg, Cheryl Thompson 3rd Jace Strand 4th Vaughn Quern 5th Kevin Dobmeier, Colleen Lee 1st Bob & Sharon Eichhorst 2nd Marcus & Amy Benoit 5th Rob & JoEllen McGauvran 7th Greg & Nancy Schumacher 12th Ron & Heidi Shannon 6th Derek Plautz 14th Mark & Kristie Adams 7th Thomas Stoe 18th Charles & Kara Welke 8th Braeden Amborn, Bernadine Burke, Dan Hovet 19th Zac & Jennifer Haugen 9th Elyse Galegher 23rd Jason & Jamie Bischoff 11th Lorelie Hovet 13th Leo Dearinger, Diane Fugleberg 24th Dean & Barbie Larson 15th Brittany Wiskow 26th Dan & Sue Hovet 16th Lucas Nelson, Troy Peterson, Sara Thorson 17th Hunter Praska, Jacob Zak 27th Bill & Mary Mitchell 18th 27th Shelli & Larry Schuster Wyatt Bergeron, Zachary Haugen, Lisa Plante 19th Bodin Fossum, Alyssa Hovet 29th Darin & Angie Praska 20th Buck Arntz 31st Ed & Karyn Hippen 31st Dianne & Tom Lundgren 22nd Wyatt Dearinger, Debe Mayers, Travis Nelson, Kinley Plautz, Derek Sondreal 31st Derek & Stacy Plautz 23rd Lori Hodek, Ron Kornkven, 24th Craig Bohlman, Cole Sorby, Kim Wiskow 25th Hayden Overby, Alicia Schumacher 26th Ashlyn Fossum Office Hours: Monday & Tuesday 9 am to 4 pm Every other Friday Morning 9 am to 2 pm (July 17th & 31st) Christine Schmidt Stmatthews@midconetwork.com Upcoming Acolyte Schedule July 5th July 12th July 19th July 26th Jade Welke Jordyn Bohlman Chance Danner Kaia Sorby 27th Tim Sivertson 30th Paula Mitchell, Jasmine Welke 31st Evelyn Haugen, Tamara Roberts, Madison Sundberg If you have noticed that your birthdays, anniversaries, etc are not being recognized in the newsletter, we greatly apologize. Please call or the office to make sure that your information is up to date so that it will not be missed in future newsletters. stmatthews@midconetwork.com or

6 Greetings! Vacation bible school is just around the corner and we are brimming with excitement! The children who attend Everest VBS will embark on an icy expedition where they will overcome obstacles with God's awesome power. Everest anchors kids in rock-solid Bible truths that will guide them through life's challenges! Everest VBS Conquering challenges with God s mighty power! Sunday, August 9 th Thursday, August 13 th At Everest vacation Bible school, kids experience God's Word in surprising and unforgettable ways! Each day, leaders reinforce one simple Bible truth which makes it easy for kids to remember and apply to real life! We are still in need of volunteers for the following areas: Glacier Games Leader At this station kids run, jump, and even splash through games that connect with the daily Bible verse! Youth Crew Leaders: We are in need of youth volunteers to lead the climbing crews to their stations. (Open to those going into the 6 th grade and older) We still have many supply needs in order to make our VBS a success. Please see the lists below. If you have some of these items that we could borrow for the week or you would be willing to donate them, please let Sarah know. Mountain Top Treat Needs Everyday Needs 120 Plastic Forks 80 Sandwich Bags 120 Plastic Knives 120 Small Plates 120 Large Plates 180 Plastic Spoons oz. Punch Cups 80 Brown Paper Bags oz cups Day 1 Trail Mix 10 6 oz. Bags of dried pineapple chunks 4 Large Bags of Raisins 3 32 oz packages of sunflower seeds 6 14 oz bags of shredded coconut 8 5 oz bags of banana chips 6 12 oz bags of mini chocolate chips Day 2 Rock Rambler s Parfaits 8 32 oz. packages of strawberry yogurt Large packages of Granola (need 30 cups) Day 3 A Heart-y Snack 3 Large containers of strawberries 80 Plain rice cakes 10 8 oz. containers of whipped cream cheese 1 Large container of honey Day 4 Summit Sponge Cake 10 Angel food loaves 4 Packages of fresh blueberries 4 Packages of frozen raspberries 10 8 oz containers of cool whip Day 5 Pizza Peaks 12 4 ct. Packages of pita bread 12 Large jars (26 oz.) pizza sauce 40 Cups mozzarella cheese

7 Bible Expedition Needs Solid-colored bed sheets to borrow Artificial greenery to borrow 3 cardboard tubes 6 or 7 cardboard boxes 2 shower curtain liners Beige canvas tarp or sheet to borrow 1 package of regular and gluten free crackers 10 large brown paper bags 10 of brown craft paper 1 Roll of clear duct tape 3 green pool noodles to borrow Aluminum pie plate 1 container of red washable paint Red washcloth 1 White plastic tablecloth 1 roll of white gauze ribbon Small spotlight to borrow Imagination Station Needs 3 wide-mouth clear vases 10 serving spoons of sugar 10 serving spoons of salt Transparent Tape (1 roll) Re-sealable plastic sandwich bags (300) 2 packages of fine-tip markers Adhesive Gems (10 sheets) 5 large bottles of bubble solution 1 Bottle Dawn dishwashing liquid 1 5 gallon bucket to borrow 2 Hula Hoops to borrow 1 Package of fine-tip permanent markers Glacier Games Needs 3 Small Blankets of Beach Towels to borrow 2 Rolls of Masking tape 6 Pool Noodles to borrow 20 Length of rope Child-sized wading pool 1 Orange Safety Cone to borrow 3 Splash balls to borrow 1 Medium-sized bucket If you or someone you know would be interested in providing supplies, helping with decorating or being a youth crew leader, please contact: Sarah Krogfoss st.matthewsedu@yahoo.com phone: (218) A big thank you goes out to the following people who have signed up to volunteer their time and talents to being station leaders for VBS! Base Camp Sing and Play Pastor Amy Imagination Station Jen Bohlman and Amy Bergeron Mountain Top Treats Kristie Adams Bible Expeditions Dara Faul Glacier Games Leader needed! KidVid Cinema Sara Munson We will take registrations the day of VBS, but pre-registration is strongly encouraged. Registration is available on the church website If you plan to register for VBS the day of, please arrive by 5:40 in order that we may begin at 6pm. Many Blessings, The Education Team

8 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED 2015 Church Council Back to Sunday School Family Bonfire at Pastor Amy s! Officers President Cheryl Widman Vice President Kevin Cooper Secretary Kristi Adams Treasurer Trinity Bohlman Pastor Amy Eisenmann Teams Education Alicia Schumacher Fellowship Ruth Waller Outreach Sharon Gustafson Properties Duane Naas Stewardship Julie Shirek Worship Val Uhlir Youth Robyn Bohlman For a complete council directory go to stmatthewslutheranchurch.org and click on contact us. Sunday August 16th at 7:30 pm With a rain date of Sunday August 23rd Come join us for hotdogs, S mores, cornhole games and more!!