WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Happy Birthday! Please greet and wish these people a happy birthday this week (February 19-25): Kathy Donahue, LaDonna Creel, Gainard Dalhoe, Jeanette Woodward, Dave Deffner, Mike Hodell, Mark Guenther, Brenda Torgerson, Jesse Kopp, Quincy Kasper, Emma Krueger, Calli Bayer, Samantha Cox, Heather Kraemer, Brandon Katt, Aurora White. Did we miss your day? Contact the church office at 715-359-4500.
Congratulations to Roger & Sue Utech on their 46th wedding anniversary on Monday, February 20th!
Ash Wednesday is on February 22! We will host Wednesday dinner during lent starting at 5:15-6:15 pm with service to follow at 6:30 pm. The Youth will be serving a potato & salad bar. There is a free-will offering. Suggested cost is $3/adult & $1/child. The money for the meals will go to the Bible Camp Scholarship Fund after expenses. Please give generously.
Seaside Escape Decorating: Looking for items to 'borrow' for decorating for the Ladies Retreat. Anything connected to the sea shore. Blow up palm trees, anyone? Also needed: Hour glass, star fish, blue table placemats, light up branches. Most important...women of all ages to attend! Contact Shirley (715-359-0873) or bring to church labeled with your name.
Adult Confirmation? It has come to our attention that there are several adults in the congregation who have not had the opportunity to complete an adult confirmation instruction program. If you are interested in this opportunity for yourself or for some other person, then contact Pastor Rich. Classes will begin on February 26 at noon with a light lunch.
Parables Bible Study will be at 1 pm on the second and fourth Thursday of the month. Starting on February 9 we will be studying the parables of Luke 15. Please bring your Bible and a friend, if possible. Let Pastor Rich know if you will be coming to the study. He will be leading the study using a resource called Hear Then the Parable: A Commentary on the Parables of Jesus by Bernard Brandon Scott. It's not too late to join!
Via de Cristo Retreat is a way of deepening a person’s own faith. There is a retreat that will be held at Camp Forest Springs on the evening of March 15 to the evening of March 18. At the retreat there will be lay people and clergy sharing their faith experiences and stories. Please contact either Shirley Ostrem or Pastor Rich for a registration form. Often the spaces for the retreat fill up quickly.
Thank You to Bonnie Laessig & Florence Seidens for bringing a breakfast dessert for the WI River Valley Conference Leaders that met here
on February 16.
Congregational Mission Projects for February:
o Donate something from the following list that will be donated to a food pantry. Needed items include: box meals (such as Hamburger Helper), box noodles (such as spaghetti or macaroni and cheese), canned fruit and vegetables, hot and cold dried cereals, rice, soup, canned meat (such as tuna, chicken, ham and spam), baby food, formula and diapers. This will go on all month.
o Matching Challenge Fund: The Wisconsin River Valley Conference is encouraging us to raise funds for airfare for the pastor who will be coming from our sister congregation and for insurance coverage for all participants while they are traveling. The visitors will be here from approximately June 25 to July 13. The Youth Mission Trip Fund has committed $1,600 to this cause and is challenging the congregation members to match this gift by February 12! You may place a contribution in a pew envelope and designate it for the “South African visitors” so that we can credit the correct fund.
Free TV: Ralph Brown has a “Zenith” 25” console color TV. The measurements are: height-37”, length-28” & depth-20”. You will need a dolly & a larger vehicle to transport it. The TV is 7 years old and is cable ready. Please contact Ralph Brown at 715-359-8852 if you are interested.
The Stoughton Norwegian Dancers will be at the VFW on February 25 from 6-10 pm. Free admission. See the posting on the community bulletin board for more details.
Thank You from the Salvation Army for our food donation during Advent. The letter is posted on the church bulletin board by the Library.
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance begins at UW-Marathon County. Volunteers will be available to help individuals prepare and file federal and Wisconsin tax returns at the UW-Marathon County Campus on Saturdays beginning on Feb. 4th. The program is supported by the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service (WIPPS) and the AmeriCorps*VISTA program. Assistance is available on the following Saturdays from 9am-1pm: March 3, 10, 17, 31, and April 7. The VITA site will be open to local residents with a household income of $49,000 or less, and who do not own a business, farm, or rental property, or have capital gains. Appointments are required and can be made by calling 715-261-6285.
Congratulations to Roger & Sue Utech on their 46th wedding anniversary on Monday, February 20th!
Ash Wednesday is on February 22! We will host Wednesday dinner during lent starting at 5:15-6:15 pm with service to follow at 6:30 pm. The Youth will be serving a potato & salad bar. There is a free-will offering. Suggested cost is $3/adult & $1/child. The money for the meals will go to the Bible Camp Scholarship Fund after expenses. Please give generously.
Seaside Escape Decorating: Looking for items to 'borrow' for decorating for the Ladies Retreat. Anything connected to the sea shore. Blow up palm trees, anyone? Also needed: Hour glass, star fish, blue table placemats, light up branches. Most important...women of all ages to attend! Contact Shirley (715-359-0873) or bring to church labeled with your name.
Adult Confirmation? It has come to our attention that there are several adults in the congregation who have not had the opportunity to complete an adult confirmation instruction program. If you are interested in this opportunity for yourself or for some other person, then contact Pastor Rich. Classes will begin on February 26 at noon with a light lunch.
Parables Bible Study will be at 1 pm on the second and fourth Thursday of the month. Starting on February 9 we will be studying the parables of Luke 15. Please bring your Bible and a friend, if possible. Let Pastor Rich know if you will be coming to the study. He will be leading the study using a resource called Hear Then the Parable: A Commentary on the Parables of Jesus by Bernard Brandon Scott. It's not too late to join!
Via de Cristo Retreat is a way of deepening a person’s own faith. There is a retreat that will be held at Camp Forest Springs on the evening of March 15 to the evening of March 18. At the retreat there will be lay people and clergy sharing their faith experiences and stories. Please contact either Shirley Ostrem or Pastor Rich for a registration form. Often the spaces for the retreat fill up quickly.
Thank You to Bonnie Laessig & Florence Seidens for bringing a breakfast dessert for the WI River Valley Conference Leaders that met here
on February 16.
Congregational Mission Projects for February:
o Donate something from the following list that will be donated to a food pantry. Needed items include: box meals (such as Hamburger Helper), box noodles (such as spaghetti or macaroni and cheese), canned fruit and vegetables, hot and cold dried cereals, rice, soup, canned meat (such as tuna, chicken, ham and spam), baby food, formula and diapers. This will go on all month.
o Matching Challenge Fund: The Wisconsin River Valley Conference is encouraging us to raise funds for airfare for the pastor who will be coming from our sister congregation and for insurance coverage for all participants while they are traveling. The visitors will be here from approximately June 25 to July 13. The Youth Mission Trip Fund has committed $1,600 to this cause and is challenging the congregation members to match this gift by February 12! You may place a contribution in a pew envelope and designate it for the “South African visitors” so that we can credit the correct fund.
Free TV: Ralph Brown has a “Zenith” 25” console color TV. The measurements are: height-37”, length-28” & depth-20”. You will need a dolly & a larger vehicle to transport it. The TV is 7 years old and is cable ready. Please contact Ralph Brown at 715-359-8852 if you are interested.
The Stoughton Norwegian Dancers will be at the VFW on February 25 from 6-10 pm. Free admission. See the posting on the community bulletin board for more details.
Thank You from the Salvation Army for our food donation during Advent. The letter is posted on the church bulletin board by the Library.
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance begins at UW-Marathon County. Volunteers will be available to help individuals prepare and file federal and Wisconsin tax returns at the UW-Marathon County Campus on Saturdays beginning on Feb. 4th. The program is supported by the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service (WIPPS) and the AmeriCorps*VISTA program. Assistance is available on the following Saturdays from 9am-1pm: March 3, 10, 17, 31, and April 7. The VITA site will be open to local residents with a household income of $49,000 or less, and who do not own a business, farm, or rental property, or have capital gains. Appointments are required and can be made by calling 715-261-6285.
PASTORAL CARE
Special Prayers: Please pray for all those who have medical concerns
Jo Iverson, Brianna Aldrich, Don James, Dorothy Sternberg, Edna Geiger, Joyce Traeger, Roger Blom, Stewart Miller, Sally Rindal, Ruth Draeger,
Dan McKenna, Terry Lewis, Emma Lingbeck, Dennis Donahue, Dennis Konkol, Donna Cyr, Kim Utech, Margaret Behn, Mary Sann, Nikki Price,
Candy Cynkar, Ron Grimm, Kristina Rutkowski, Wanda Worden, Bonnie Hill, Connie Umstead, Florence Seidens, Garth LaRene, Cole Kafka,
Kevin Woolsey, Ron Lemirand, Bob Brandt, Clint Worden, Shane Luedtke, Lenny Cynkar, Carol Pollard, Darrell Stetzer, Marlene Wilcox, Kathleen Donahue, Tom Gibbons, James Pekol, Kimberly Davenport, Dennis Nelson, Sara Waltenberg, Carmyn & Ari Stella, Erna Evans.
Dan McKenna, Terry Lewis, Emma Lingbeck, Dennis Donahue, Dennis Konkol, Donna Cyr, Kim Utech, Margaret Behn, Mary Sann, Nikki Price,
Candy Cynkar, Ron Grimm, Kristina Rutkowski, Wanda Worden, Bonnie Hill, Connie Umstead, Florence Seidens, Garth LaRene, Cole Kafka,
Kevin Woolsey, Ron Lemirand, Bob Brandt, Clint Worden, Shane Luedtke, Lenny Cynkar, Carol Pollard, Darrell Stetzer, Marlene Wilcox, Kathleen Donahue, Tom Gibbons, James Pekol, Kimberly Davenport, Dennis Nelson, Sara Waltenberg, Carmyn & Ari Stella, Erna Evans.
Hospitalized
Nursing Homes
Cedar Ridge-Margaret Larson; Harmony Terrace Court-Susann Larsen
