1. family and parenting
2. children

First Edition
The Newsletter of First Lutheran Church
May 2015
Issue Number: 133 Issued: Monthly
MAY WORSHIP
UPCOMING EVENTS...
Sunday, May 3
Altar Rail Holy Communion
Blessing of the Quilts
Blessing of the Quilts
May 3
8:30 - FLC Choir
10:00 - Celebration
Sunday, May 10
~ Mother’s Day
First Kids Sing
8:30 - FLC Choir and Alleluia Bells
10:00 - Faith Alive
Sunday, May 17
~ Syttende Mai
Intinction Holy Communion
Grieg Chorus
Edvard Grieg Chorus
May 17 at 8:45 am
8:45 - Grieg Chorus
9:00 - Worship Service
Sunday, May 24
8:30 - FLC Choir
10:00 - Baccalaureate
Syttende Mai
May 15-17
Sunday, May 31
8:30 - FLC Choir
10:00 - Alleluia Bells
In This Issue:
FLC Happenings ............................. 2
From the Pastor .............................. 3
Council Update ............................... 3
Sharing & Caring ............................ 4
FLECC ........................................... 4
Small Groups & Fellowship ............ 5
Quilters............................................ 6
First Communion ............................ 6
First Kids ......................................... 7
Youth & Family Ministries ............... 8
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Baccalaureate
Service ~
May 24
at 10:00 am
FLC Happenings...
First Communion
Easter Egg Hunt
Rummage Sale
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Church Council Update
From the Pastor
At its April Meeting, FLC’s Church Council…
Happy Easter!
Did you know it is still the season of
Easter for 50 days after Easter Day?
It was during this time after the
Resurrection that Jesus appeared to
the disciples proclaiming victory over death and new
life for all who believe!!
As I write this article we are getting ready for the
rummage sale. It is a perfect reminder of Easter
new life. Every year it is amazing how much stuff
comes in. Thank you! Some of the things are
clothes and toys that have been outgrown. Some
are household items that are no longer in use.
Some items we have no idea what they are, but we
will sure be excited when someone comes in and it
turns out to be just the thing they needed! Best of
all, the proceeds from the sale help FLC kids to go
to camp and experience their faith in wonderful new
ways. Old things being made new. New life from
death.
This May, as you rush from here to there with all the
spring activities, try not to get too caught up in the
busyness of it all. Try to stay connected to God
through worship, learning and prayer to find the
ways God is bringing you and others new life. And
as we head into Pentecost on May 24, allow the
Spirit to move you so that through you and in you
the old stuff may be made new again.
Pastor Sara
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Celebrated reports about the
congregation’s good worship attendance
during Wednesday Lenten and Holy Week
services.
Approved a proposal to have FLC
participate in the Pulse Point Program.
Authorized Karen Koberstein, landscape
artist for the legacy garden, to have a
conversation with the city regarding trees
for the boulevard.
Received good reports from worship and
small groups about individual experiences
with The Story emphasis.
Received more information about the
upcoming construction project for 5th
Street and Washington
Street. Construction is
scheduled to begin after
Syttende Mai. They will not
get to 5th Street until later
in the summer.
Received favorable reports about the
congregation’s giving to the General Fund
and JOY Appeal.
Approved the renewal of a CD at Union
Bank and Trust.
Learned that twenty-one 4th grade
students participated in First Communion
instruction and were communed on
Maundy Thursday.
Kids in Worship: Advice for the Adults who want to share God’s Love With Kids
When children are baptized, parents and sponsors make promises to bring their children to the services of
God’s house. Sometimes it isn’t as easy as it sounds. Kids wiggle. Kids say they are bored. They whine.
Kids like to lay on the pew, play with the hymnals and pull on random strangers’ hair. Fear not dear parent,
God is with you and wants your children to be in worship. God wants a relationship with them. They are an
important part of the family! Here are some tips for kids in worship:
 Sit towards the front where it is easier for your little ones to see and hear what is going on. They tire of
looking at the backs of others’ heads.
 Quietly explain parts of the service and actions of the ministers and whisper the sermon to them in words
they can understand.
 Sing the hymns/songs, pray and voice the responses because children learn the liturgy by watching you!
 If you have to leave the service, feel free to do so but feel free to come back as well!
 Let your kids doodle and color in church. Often when their hands are busy, their minds are engaged with
the service more than you realize. Grab a quiet bag from the narthex. It has special things inside.
 Make friends with people in church. Introduce yourselves and your child to others so they get to know
their God family!
 Remember you are building good habits that will last a lifetime. It is kind of like brushing teeth when you
start training them early. You don’t want to wait until they are teenagers to start good habits.
April
May 2013
2015 | 3
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Sharing and Caring
Congratulations to…
Special Prayers for…
Jacquelyn & Justin Minor on the baptism of their
daughter, Mia Jo Minor.
Known to have been hospitalized…
Melvin Benshop
Fred Ingersoll
Theressa King
Ruth Pundt
DuWayne Stellmacher
Helen Stiklestad
Our Sympathy to the family of. . .
William Karolus
Have a prayer request or would like your
loved one to be listed in this section of
the newsletter? Please contact the
church office or one of the pastors.
Amanda Beatty
Sue Deneen
Jennifer Donnelly, friend of Rachel and
Leland Anderson
Bill Hause
Troy Hubing
Virgene Quam
Bob Spinharney, friend of Jon and Jane
Minoff
Cullen Steele, grandson of Naomi and Ron
Steele
Laura Stokstad
Jere Walden, friend of Jody Gennrich
Jeff Wilson
National HIPAA standards protect individual health
information. Names cannot be printed without the
expressed consent of the family.
Thank You!
4K at First Lutheran Early Childhood Center - FLECC
Anna C. and her mentor, Todd Fossum, assembled and
tested new playground equipment for the 4k program.
Thanks to their efforts, the 4K students had new things to
enjoy, climb and explore.
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Anna tests her work.
Small Group and Fellowship Ministries
Circle News
Women’s Bible Study
Circle 3 meets Tuesday,
May 12 at 11:00 am at Pizza
Hut. Marion Heggestad will
be the hostess.
Tuesday, May 26 at 7:00 pm.
Phoebe Circle meets
Tuesday, May 12 at
7:00 pm at Valerie Vervoort’s.
Circle 17 meets Monday, May 11 at 11:30 am at
Sunrise Family Restaurant.
Book Club News
The Evening Group meets Monday,
May 11 at 7:00 pm and will discuss
Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?
by Rhoda Janzen.
The Selah (Daytime) Group meets
Tuesday, May 19 at 10:30 am and will
discuss Me Before You by Jo Jo
Moyes.
Soul Sisters
Soul Sisters Bible study group welcomes new
members at their monthly meetings. We will meet
on Monday, May 18 in the Fireside
Room from 10:00-11:45 am.
Join the group as they wrap their
discussion on Let.It.Go. by Karen
Ehman. This book gives
practical, biblically based steps
for letting go of the need to
control and instead trust that God
has their best interests in mind.
Bring a friend. See Pastor Sara for details.
Just For Men
Pastor Shep invites all FLC men to
come together for breakfast and Bible
discussion on Saturday, May 30 at
9:00 am at the Sunrise Family
Restaurant.
Care Connect
Care Connect will meet
Sunday, May 3, at 9:30 am
in Fellowship Hall for their
monthly meeting.
Mallards Game
June 28 at 4:05pm
Contact Jeanie Geurink for further
information at jgeurink@uwec.edu.
It’s baseball season again!
FLC will have a block of
reserved seats for a
Mallards game!
A sign-up sheet will be posted in the Information
Center. Pack the sunscreen and shades - it’s time
to head out to the ball park!
Baby Baskets
Teen Parent Dinner
Our conversations will focus on the
miracles of Jesus through a study
by Philip Yancey, author of
The Jesus I Never Knew.
Nurses from Dane County Human Services deliver
laundry baskets filled by First Lutheran members to
families in need. It is a great way for families who
have very little in the
way of resources to get
what they need. Each
month volunteers fill
7-10 baby baskets with
items donated. In the
past, volunteers have
included individuals or
groups of both kids and adults. It takes about an
hour to an hour and a half to fill the baskets.
On the first Monday of every other month folks
from First Lutheran provide a meal for a meeting
of teen parents. Each volunteer provides one or
two items for the meal. The meeting is conducted
by Dane County Human Services and takes place
at the Methodist Church. This time of fellowship
and learning helps teen parents get their children
off to a good start in life.
Those who serve provide an
item for the meal and deliver
it to the Methodist church by
6:00 pm on the day of the
meeting.
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Quilters Complete Successful Year!
Seventeen quilters completed 44 large sized quilts, 12 medium sized quilts, 25 lap quilts and 11 baby
quilts for a total of 92!
Quilters who participated this year were Helen Bakken, Karin Campbell, Lou Ann Ellingson, June Farr,
Inga Flower, Mary Furseth, Jeanne Gilbertson, Marion Heggestad, Jackie Kittelson, Ruth Marsh, Ann
Miglio, Ann Olson, Ardys Pfundheller, Barb Stokstad, Kay Stokstad, Tina Straub and Teresa Sylte.
Recipients of FLC’s quilts included:
 Dane County Social Services
 Salvation Army Shelter for Women and Children
 Skaalen Retirement Home
 Relay for Life (cancer patients)
 Shillebagh Foundation for golf tournament raffle/auction
The Quilters would like to extend their Thanks to all who have donated fabric, yarn
and thread. A special thanks to Charlotte Jacobson for donating her sewing machine.
Students Celebrate First Communion
On Saturday, March 21, First Communion students and
their parents attended a First Communion Instruction
Class. Many of these same students helped prepare
Communion Bread on Wednesday, April 1, for Maundy
Thursday. On April 2, the students were able to attend
the Maundy Thursday Worship Service and participate
in their First Communion.
Students who recently received instruction include:
Abby Adams
Connor Lyons
Eddie Beckstrom
Patrick Lyons
Tyler Dial
Luke McPhee
Jonah Friedrich
Jack Nielsen
Garrison Furseth
Samantha Quam
Eva Gomez
Brianna Radecke
Carson Hanson
Brooklyn Radecke
Carter Klug
Faith Radecke
Dominick Landowski
Jeffery Radecke
Avery Lamberty
Bjorn Seybold
Claire Spilde
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First Kids
The Art Project for April helped teach the Books of the Bible. We will be
making cards for parents during May. The First Kids are working on
Memory Work. Want to know what each grade is responsible to learn?
Check out the Bulletin Board next to the Openings Room!
We will share some accomplishments during our End-of-the-Year Program
on June 7.
First Kids will be singing during both services on May 10 - Mother’s Day!
SIGN-UP NOW for VBS Fun!!!
JOIN us on Mt. Everest!!!!
Registration begins May 3 for 3-year-olds through 6th graders!
A registration form in included in this newsletter and is also available on the church website! We want to
know you are coming!
There are many things needed, and we would love to borrow rather than buy! Please contact Erlene if you
could loan FLC any of the following items for the week of June 21-24 for Vacation Bible School:
or whatever else you think we could use to give us a flavor of mountain climbing and camping!
Could you loan us any of the following?
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Colorful 2 or 4 person tents - we need two!
Hiking sticks
Rugged backpacks
Rock climbing gear
Snowshoes
Boots
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Sleeping bags (3-4)
Camp cooking gear
Lanterns
Ski poles
Skis
Call the church office at 873-7761 or e-mail Erlene (director.education@flcstoughton.com)
or talk to Erlene at church!!!
56ers
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Had a great afternoon of hide and seek, pizza, popcorn and a
movie on April 12! Thanks Dave Bormett, Jeremy Eppler and
Kirsten Goetz for chaperoning!
Have been learning about the Israelites entry into Canaan
and the Judges following along with The Story. Remember
going to worship will really help to underline these stories for
your kids!
Working on learning the Books of the Old Testament—
remember to practice at home!
Lesson check-in on May 3. 6th graders bring completed
books to camp. 5th graders turn completed books in to
teachers.
First Kids Sunday School Spring Program
First Kids will have an opportunity to share a special program with the congregation on Sunday, June 7
at the 10:00 worship service. Children will learn the songs for the program during the Openings Time
before First Kids Sunday School classes during May.
Children who would like to play an instrument in the program can contact Pastor Sara or sign up outside
the Openings Room.
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Youth and Family Ministries
Lutherdale
Confirmation
Camper
Reminder!
Mini-Mission Trip
to Green Bay
Mark your calendars for
an Informational Meeting
on Tuesday, May 12 at 6:30 pm. Campers will
learn more about what happens at Lutherdale and
all of the neat opportunities available!
Syttende Mai Food Stand
Syttende Mai is fast
approaching, and the FLC
Youth Food Stand tradition
continues! This is a great
way to serve the community
and show others what is
going on at FLC!
Parking Lot:
Friday, May 15, 5:00 pm-8:00 pm
Food Stand & Parking Lot:
Saturday, May 16, 8:00 am-6:00 pm
Sunday, May 17, 11:00 am-5:30 pm
Look for more details and a sign-up sheet on the
Youth Bulletin Board. Sign up soon to work a
shift! Proceeds will go towards fun youth events
and programs! 9th graders can work with their
mentor as a service project.
Baccalaureate Worship Service
Sunday, May 24 at 10:00 am
Join us for this special service to recognize our
high school graduates! Caps and gowns will be
worn, and a special photo/musical tribute will be
shown. See the photo collage on the Youth
bulletin board!
Lenten Supper Thank You
FLC thanks confirmand guides: Bill Berry, Bob
Christofferson, Jeny Clark, Jami Moe, Rita
Nelson, Dave Moll, and the 7th, 8th and 9th
grade confirmands for their work at the Lenten
Suppers. These volunteers did a great job
keeping things running smoothly, and they did it
all with a smile!
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Looking for a chance to serve others in a fun
and meaningful way?
Plan on joining us for an overnight trip to Green
Bay, WI, the first weekend in August. We will
spend some time during
the day in the city doing
things like working in a
food pantry, serving food
to the homeless and in
general helping people in
need.
The night will be spent at Pastor Sara’s home
congregation, Bethel Lutheran. There will also
be some fun opportunities worked in like going
to a Packers practice and spending some time at
Bay Beach, an old-fashioned amusement park.
Check future newsletters for the dates!
Chaperones will be needed.
Summer Youth Worship
Attention Youth! We will be
doing a worship service entirely
led by the youth on August 9.
Look on the Youth Bulletin Board
to sign up to play an instrument,
sing a song, usher, greet, or help
lead the message.
More details coming soon!
Rummage and
Bake Sale Was
a Success!
This year’s Youth
Rummage and Bake
sale raised about $1,200
for campers attending
Lutherdale Bible Camp
this summer!
Thank you to everyone who helped accomplish
this goal. Thanks especially
to the individuals who helped
with setup, sales, cleanup!
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The Newsletter of First Lutheran Church
Contact Information:
310 E. Washington Street
P.O. Box 322
Stoughton, WI 53589
Phone: (608) 873-7761
Fax: (608) 873-5174
Email: info@flcstoughton.com
Website: www.flcstoughton.com
May 2015
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