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Weekly View From Da Pews
April 23, 2021 “Friends with God!” John 15: 15 I no longer call you servants….But I call you friends. Through Christ’s sacrifice, our past is pardoned and our future secure. And, “Since we have been made right with God by our faith, we have peace with God” Romans 5:1. Peace with God. What a happy consequence of faith! Not just peace between countries, peace between neighbors, or peace at home; salvation brings peace with God…. God is no longer a foe, but a friend. We are at peace with him. (From “In the Grip of Grace” by Max Lucado) When you mention the word “prayer” there are many who panic and go into what I call brain freeze. They think that in order to pray you have to have all sorts of fancy language and special ways of saying what you mean. God just wants a friendly conversation with you. You can skip all the, these, themes and those and just talk as if your best friend was listening to you. Because that is what God is, your best friend and He just wants to hear about your day, the good and the bad. May 02nd is yellow bag Sunday. If you need a yellow bag mention it to the parking lot ushers and we will get one to you. The three food pantries that we serve are very appreciative of your efforts to keep them well stocked. You may have noticed that we added the worship attendance and offering for the previous Sunday. Please take note of the general offering amount. Per our yearly budget we need that amount to be around the $4500 mark each week in order to meet our obligations. One of the ways that you can help insure that we meet that goal is to sign up for “auto giving”. You can still use your envelopes for special appeals like world hunger, Mission of Hope, the screen fund, Habitat for Humanity, etc, etc. There was an announcement in the message last week that the council meets on the first Thursday of the month. That is incorrect, we meet on the 2nd Thursday of the month. The Steuer-Mitchell Scholarship Fund is still taking applications for awarding this spring. If you are planning to pursue a post high school education or you are already in a post high school program, please apply for this scholarship. The application can be picked up at the church office or you can contact your school counselor for an application. Per Sheila Gempler we are working on a plan for VBS this summer. We do need someone to step up to lead this event. We are also planning on in-person Sunday school this fall. This was the first week of our Bible study on the Book of John and it promises to be a very interesting and thought provoking process. My hope is that I can get a better understanding of Jesus the man and Jesus the Son of God. Please keep the Bender family in your prayers. Their new granddaughter was rushed to the hospital on Wednesday night and underwent emergency surgery. They ask that you DO NOT call at this time, but just pray for their granddaughter “Mave Ann” and her parents Caitlin and Matthew. I have attached to this blog the church announcements for this week. Please take note of them and a couple of date changes. That’s enough for this week. Time to do some praying and work around the farm. William, a Disciple of Christ Christianity, in its purest form, is nothing more than seeing Jesus. Christian service, in its purest form, is nothing more than imitating Him who we see. To see His Majesty and to imitate Him, that is the sum of Christianity! williamaschleichert@gmail.com 608-697-4434(c)
Office Manager Installation – April 25th, During 10am Worship
This past winter we said goodbye to Terry. Now let’s say hello to Oleg Rudnytsky and as a community asks God to bless his ministry here are as our Office Manager. First Communion Training – May 15th, 10:30a – 12p FIRST COMMUNION WILL HAPPEN DURING WORSHIP ON 10/16 Do you have a young person who is ready for the first communion is in 3rd grade or older? Save the Date: 8th Grade Confirmation – May 23rd Stay tuned for more information. *Note Change* Special Congregational Meeting – June 6th, During 10a Worship The pandemic has highlighted the value of digital technology as part of evangelism and ministry in the church context. The council has begun exploring old and new ideas for using technology to improve outreach and education here at Dekorra, and they want to share what they discovered with you. But, you as the congregation have the responsibility to tell them by your vote what projects they are authorized to move forward on or not. There are already significant dollars set aside for this project, but they were not budgeted for this year. Scholarships for Post High School Study DEADLINE JULY 1ST The Steuer-Mitchell Perpetual Education Fund has been established at Dekorra Lutheran Church (DLC) through a generous gift from the estate of Robert E. Mitchell. Two scholarships are available this year. We hope to award a scholarship to both a Lodi and a Poynette student. Go to https://bit.ly/3rEGqu1 (or www.dekorralutheran.org/news and look for the 3/19 post) for how to apply. ONGOING AT DEKORRA AA – Fridays at 8p Bible Studies
Blood Drive – Mondays, 1p to 6p, August 2nd and December 13th, 2021 Registering ahead of time encouraged. Walk-ins may be limited. Confirmation (7th and 8th Grade) – 2nd Saturdays of the Month, 9a – 12p CONTINUES THROUGH MAY. ALL ARE WELCOME, INCLUDING FRIENDS! Council – 1st Thursdays of the Month, 6:30p DLC Book Club 2021 – Always at 1p
Quilting – Thursdays at 1p Worship Committee – 1st Tuesdays of the Month, 1p Yellow Bags Food Ministry –
OUR STEWARDSHIP OF WORSHIP AND GIFTS Worship 11th Attendance: 70 General Offering: $2256.00 Auto Giving: $276.00 Building and Grounds: $25.00 Screens Fund: $30.00 Weekly View From Da Pews April 16, 2021 Psalm 119:65 You have done good things for your servant, as you have promised, Lord. Eternal instants. You’ve had them. We all have. Sharing a porch swing on a summer evening with your grandchild. Seeing her face in the glow of a candle. Putting your arm into your husband’s as you stroll through the golden leaves and breathe the brisk autumn air. Listening to your six-year-old thank God for everything from goldfish to Grandma. Such moments are necessary because they remind us that everything is okay. The King is still on the throne and life is still worth living. Eternal instants remind us that love is still the greatest possession and the future is nothing to fear. The next time an instant in your life begins to be eternal, let it. (From “God Came Near” by Max Lucado) This last Sunday Jaime Benson was our guest pastor as Pastor Sterling took a well-deserved weeks’ vacation. I was impressed by Jaime’s presence and strong message that she delivered to the congregation. I am confident that where ever she goes on her ministry journey she will be a great Christian leader. This past week the Constitution Committee met for the first time and the jest of the meeting was organization. Pastor Sterling was elected as the chairperson and Peggy Benson was selected as the recording person. We also discussed how we would break up the document in sections for discussion and analysis. We will post periodical updates in order to keep you all informed as to our progress. We hope to complete our work by this fall, so that we can submit our work to the synod for their approval and then present it to the congregation at the annual meeting in January, for approval. On April 10th a group of disciples met at church and proceeded to do a spring cleanup of the church yard. I wish to thank Bill Buckley, Paul Knuteson, Larry Johnson, Lyle Hendrickson, Harry Benson, Bob Acker, Karen Bender and Dennis Cunningham for a job well done. This coming Sunday is “New member orientation day” at Dekorra. We will meet right after church in the Fellowship Hall. If you are a member of a committee at church we would like one of your group to be present to explain what your group does to help spread the Good News of Jesus. Please check with the other members of your group to see who can attend and make a presentation. Last week the parking lot ushers handed out yellow bags for our food pantry ministry. Please try to bring them back to church, all filled up, on May 02nd. The Steuer-Mitchell Scholarship Fund is still taking applications for awarding this spring. If you are planning to pursue a post high school education or you are already in a post high school program, please apply for this scholarship. The application can be picked up at the church office or you can contact your school counselor for an application. Per Sheila Gempler we are working on a plan for VBS this summer. We do need someone to step up to lead this event. We are also planning on in-person Sunday school this fall. I have attached to this blog the church announcements for this week. Please take note of them and a couple of date changes. That’s enough for this week. Time to do some work around the farm. William, a Disciple of Christ Christianity, in its purest form, is nothing more than seeing Jesus. Christian service, in its purest form, is nothing more than imitating Him who we see. To see His Majesty and to imitate Him, that is the sum of Christianity! williamaschleichert@gmail.com 608-697-4434(c) Weekly View From Da Pews April 09, 2021 Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Our heavenly Father is kind to us. And since he is so kind to us, can’t we be a little kinder to ourselves? Oh, but you don’t know me, Max. You don’t know my faults and my thoughts. You don’t know the gripes I grumble and the complaints I mumble. No, I don’t, but God does. He knows everything about you, yet he doesn’t hold back his kindness toward you. Has he, knowing all your secrets, retracted one promise or reclaimed one gift? No, he is kind to you. Why don’t you be kind to yourself? He forgives your faults. Why don’t you do the same? He thinks tomorrow is worth living. Why don’t you agree? He believes in you enough to call you his ambassador, his follower, even his child. Why not take his cue and believe in yourself? (From “A love worth giving” by Max Lucado) Life is so much nicer when we are kind to one another! It felt really great to celebrate Easter in Dekorra’s sanctuary. We had a total of 176 worshippers on Easter Sunday, split between the two services. Approximately half worshiped in their cars and the other half were inside the church. It will be interesting to see how it will work out this coming Sunday with only one service. Jaime Benson will be our guest pastor this Sunday and I hope we get a good turnout for her. We will also handout the yellow bags this Sunday and hope to receive them back on Sunday, April 18th. Depending on the weather, we will do a yard cleanup at church on Saturday, April 10th. We will start at 9am and work until we are done (noonish). If it is raining Saturday morning we will not do the cleanup. I just saw a forecast for tomorrow, no rain in the morning, bring your rakes and muscles. At last night’s council meeting we discussed the proposed new audio visual (screens) that we would like to put in the sanctuary. It was decided that the special congregational meeting scheduled for April will be postponed until May 06th in order for the council to get more information. The Red Cross blood drive on April 05th was a success. The next drive will be on August 20th. There will be a new member meeting on Sunday, April 18th, after the worship service. If you are on a committee, we would like someone from your committee to be present to say a few words about what your committee’s mission is. Bill Buckley and I would like to thank everyone who helped with the two Easter services last week. Your efforts ensured that everyone had a meaningful worship experience for the Easter weekend. If you are an outside usher this Sunday, you might want to bring an umbrella to keep the bulletins, the yellow bags and your head dry. If you are a high school graduate going on to higher education there is scholarship money available through Dekorra Lutheran. Get an application from the church office a.s.a.p. On the Habitat trail we are slowly moving forward with a lot of paperwork, getting ready for the build in Baraboo. I will keep you informed when we will need volunteers to help with the build. That’s all for this week, hope to see you all on Sunday. William, a Disciple of Christ Christianity, in its purest form, is nothing more than seeing Jesus. Christian service, in its purest form, is nothing more than imitating Him who we see. To see His Majesty and to imitate Him, that is the sum of Christianity! williamaschleichert@gmail.com 608-697-4434(c)
need to update our congregation’s constitution to align with the ELCA’s 2019 Model Constitution for Congregations. It is also an opportunity to make sure our constitution accurately describes our preferred practices and, just maybe, reflect how the Holy Spirit is inviting us to participate in God’s mission in the world. The team that has formed includes Peggy Benson, Paul Knuteson, William Schleichert, John Weingant, Jerry Carncross, and Pastor Sterling.
Dekorra Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery Annual Meeting – April 17th, 9:30a MEETING IS AT THE CEMETERY. NEW MEMBERS WELCOME! New Member Orientation – April 18th, 11a to 1p WANT TO BE AN OFFICIAL PART OF THIS COMMUNITY? JOIN US IN THIS GATHERING PLACE! Thinking about becoming a member of Dekorra? If you or anyone you know is interested, please come our New Member Orientation Gathering with New Member Recognition currently scheduled for April 25th at worship. Questions? Please contact Pastor Sterling in the church office. Office Manager Installation – April 25th, During 10am Worship This past winter we said goodbye to Terry. Now let’s say hello to Oleg Rudnytski and as a community ask God to bless his ministry here are as our Office Manager. First Communion Training – May 15th, 10:30a – 12p FIRST COMMUNION WILL HAPPEN DURING WORSHIP ON 10/16 Do you have a young person who is ready for first communion is in 3rd grade or older? Save the Date: 8th Grade Confirmation – May 23rd Stay tuned for more information. *Note Change* Special Congregational Meeting – June 6th, During 10a Worship The pandemic has highlighted the value of digital technology as part of evangelism and ministry in the church context. The council has begun exploring old and new ideas for using technology to improve outreach and education here at Dekorra, and they want to share what they discovered with you. But, you as the congregation have the responsibility to tell them by your vote what projects they are authorized to move forward on or not. There is already significant dollars set aside for this project, but they were not budgeted for this year. Scholarships for Post High School Study DEADLINE JULY 1ST The Steuer-Mitchell Perpetual Education Fund has been established at Dekorra Lutheran Church (DLC) through a generous gift by the estate of Robert E. Mitchell. Two scholarships are available this year. We hope to award a scholarship to both a Lodi and a Poynette student. Go to https://bit.ly/3rEGqu1 (or www.dekorralutheran.org/news and look for the 3/19 post) for how to apply. ONGOING AT DEKORRA AA – Fridays at 8p Bible Studies
Blood Drive – Mondays, 1p to 6p, August 2nd and December 13th, 2021 Registering ahead of time encouraged. Walk-ins may be limited. Confirmation (7th and 8th Grade) – 2nd Saturdays of the Month, 9a – 12p CONTINUES THROUGH MAY. ALL ARE WELCOME, INCLUDING FRIENDS! Council – 1st Thursdays of the Month, 6:30p DLC Book Club 2021 – Always at 1p
Quilting – Thursdays at 1p Worship Committee – 1st Tuesdays of the Month, 1p Yellow Bags Food Ministry –
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