September 2010 newsletter
Back to our WELS Schools
Ben Porod, Vanessa and Chantel VanLanen, and Adam Schleis began their school year at our Fox Valley Lutheran (FVL) High School in Appleton on August 27.
First's students at St. Paul Lutheran Elementary School began their school year on Wed., August 25. The enrollment at St. Paul LES is about 100, and includes these students from First: Eric and Matthew Spoerl, Nolan Vanderheyden (7th gr.); Jacob Simmons (5th gr.); Addison Melotte (4th gr.); Hannah Vanderheyden (2nd gr.).
May the Lord bless the full-time Christian education of First's children. We don't have many, but they're getting the best!
EAF
First is blessed with an Education Assistance Fund (EAF), which helps our families pay some of their tuition costs at our WELS Schools. Applications for the 2010_11 EAF grants, and a special offering envelope for the EAF, will appear in early September. Since Thrivent Financial will no longer be matching our gifts to the EAF, your generous donations are needed, and appreciated, more than ever.
Circuit Pastor training
Pastor Schleis will be attending a Synod-sponsored training session, for circuit pastors, in Pembine, Wed. afternoon – Thurs. morning, Sept. 01-02. Pastor Schleis is the circuit pastor of our Green Bay circuit, Fox River Valley conference, Northern Wisconsin district.
Catechism resumes in September
Catechism instructions for our public school 6th-8th graders also resumes after Labor Day weekend, on Wed., September 08, 5:00-6:30 PM. We'll have four students, 6th-7th gr., this school year.
Financial Report for July 2010
Receipts: $11,257.28.
Disbursements: $ 13,480.83.
Checkbook balance (July 31) $ 1,946.38*
*Included $1539 of EAF, $652 of Carillon interest, $600 Camp Phillip scholarships.
Educational Assistance Fund (EAF)
WELS CD $ 4,878.81+
+ $1539 due from the General Fund
Short Term Asset (undesignated) $ 16,081.93
WELS CD (allocated) $ 100,019.17
Endowment (restricted)
Thrivent Money Market $30,537.58
WELS Balanced Fund $18,765.87
Christ Light resumes
Our Christ/Light (replaces Sunday School) program, for our public school children Kindergarten – 5th gr., will resume on Wed., September 08, 5:30-6:30 PM, after Labor Day weekend. We should have about seven children there, although we will work with families whose children are not easily able to come (due to distance or other legitimate conflicts).
Bible Class, now after church
Growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord should not be limited to just our youth. Our adult Bible Class will also resume after Labor Day, on Sun., September 12, 10:30 AM, in the Overflow Room.
This is a scheduling change, due to Pastor Schleis now covering Emanuel, Henryville's service, 8-9 AM. Our plan is to have a shorter (30-45 min.) Bible class, so people could leave here by 11:15 AM, if they have late morning plans. Please give this after-church Bible class a try!
Senior Breakfast/Bible study
Our monthly Senior Breakfast/Bible study continues on Thurs., September 16, 9-10 AM, at the Bay Family Restaurant, corner of 9th and Military. We'll continue a series of brief Bible studies that focus on the life of senior citizens Abraham and Sarah. In September, we'll consider Abraham's land dealings with his nephew Lot, Genesis 13. Come, join us.
WLS Symposium, Sept. 20-21
Pastor Schleis plans to attend the Symposium on Worship and Evangelism¸ which will be held at our Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (WLS) in Mequon. The sessions, presented by WELS Pastors with both worship and outreach experience, are entitled An Observable Synergy, The Evangelical Strategy and The Lutheran Paradigm. The first two sessions will be on Mon. afternoon, September 20, and the worship service and final session will be held on Tues. afternoon, September 21.
Pastor Schleis will be staying overnight, in South Milwaukee, that Mon. evening. Pastor Schleis also plans to attend the Mon. morning meeting of the WLS Alumni Society on September 20.
Pastoral Conference, Sept. 28
Pastor Schleis also plans to attend our Fox River Valley Pastor Conference on Tues., September 28, 9 AM – 3:30 PM. Our Fox River Valley Pastoral Conference usually meets in the fall, winter, and spring of the year, for worship, fellowship, doctrinal study and practical application, and information. The September 28 meeting will be held at Immanuel Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS), Greenville. Prof. John Brenner from our Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon will be our guest presenter.
Pastors in our circuits, conferences, and Districts are expected to regularly attend the meetings of those groups.
Flooding causes major damage
Damage from flooding following heavy rains on July 22 continues to plague congregations in the Midwest. Three congregations' facilities and dozens of members' homes were seriously damaged during the storm.
"Flooding damage is always more widespread than it first appears," explains Mark Vance, the director of operations for WELS Committee on Relief. The Committee on Relief has granted emergency funds of $24,000 to five different congregations—$10,000 to Siloah, Milwaukee; $10,000 to Atonement, Milwaukee; $2,000 to Garden Homes, Milwaukee; $1,000 to Our Savior, Freeport, Ill.; and $1,000 to St. Peter, Savanna, Ill.
Vance reports that Siloah, Milwaukee, appears to be the hardest hit. The church/school basement received more than seven feet of water with initial damage estimated at $400,000. Phil Leyrer, principal at Siloah, says, "We are grateful to report that we are making steady progress toward restoration. The final assessment of our damages, however, was greater than we and the restoration contractor first estimated. Much of our lower level is a loss. This includes boilers, air conditioning units inside and out, our electrical panel, elevator 'brain,' all built-in cabinets, all doors, and all floor tile. The blower for our organ was also declared a loss."
Nearly 10 inches of water and raw sewage filled Atonement's church basement, and more than two feet of water filled the basement of Atonement's early childhood center. All items in the childhood center's basement were destroyed. Some teachers' and congregation members' homes also received heavy flood damage.
The Committee on Relief will continue to assist these congregations as funds allow. To support these relief efforts, visit www.wels.net/relief.
Sept. 5 Robin Keiler
Madeline Mittag
Cindy Krzewina
Sept 8 Wyatt Reinhard
Ruth Schmidt
Eric Spoerl
Matthew Spoerl
Sept. 10 Vanessa VanLanen
Sept. 12 Chase Fischer
Lee Treptow
Sept. 13 Sarah Norem
Ruth Rose
Sept. 14 Brian Nuthals
Sept.17 Don Koehler
Melissa Melotte
Sept. 21 Karen Gierczak
Sept. 22 Alex Quigley
Sept. 24 Cindy Voigt
Sept.25 Gladys Pagel (87)
Sept. 27 Brett Nuthals
Sept. 29 Lindsay Moua
Darryl Ruprecht
Sept. 4 - Mark & Tammy Spoerl (17)
Sept. 5 - Rev. Paul & Denise Schleis (28)
Sept. 6 - Dave & Sharon Johnston (41)
Sept. 13 - Allen & Judy Sigmund (30)
Sept. 18 - Chad & Stephanie Bellin (11)
Sept. 22 - Jon & Bambi Jo Jaeger (9)
Sept. 26 - Melvin & Gladys Larsen (57)
Sept. 28 - Dan & Elizabeth Mittag (8)
Sept. 30- John & Nancy Reichmann (4)
- Darryl & Jeanette Ruprecht (43)
The Needle Club's first meeting in fall will be Monday, September 20th at 9:00 a.m.
NEWS FROM NPH
A new book, What in the World is Going On?, explores many diverse worldviews and points out how they threaten our Christian faith and undermine our salvation (BU15N0769, $11.99).
Reintroducing two familiar titles now in the NPH Classics series. For such a Time as This: Comfort From Meditations (BU06N0740, $20.00) has devotions focused on struggles and grief. Wizards That Peep: A Journey Into the Occult (BU15N0366, $16.00) is a timeless treatment of the occult by Dr. Siegbert Becker.
All of these books are available to order at www.nph.net or by calling Northwestern Publishing House at 1-800-662-6022.