Life at Brick Making Pace…
The wall of bricks during Lent is a visual symbol of the nebulous walls that we create when we stop connecting with God and with one another… when we start turning ourselves inward. Walter Brueggemann, author of our Lenten study Sabbath as Resistance, talks about living in a world at "brick making speed" when we are always producing and always in this productivity mode and we don't take time to rest, which prevents us from being the neighbors that God calls us to be. So the wall was built up as a visual representation of what it looks like when walls begin to prevent us from doing the things we would normally do… such as worship in a regular way.
Clothes Closet Update for March 2017
Seasons are changing, and the First Teen Clothes Closet is preparing for spring. Prom season is around the corner, and we would love to have more dresses, jewelry and shoes to offer our guests. Other needed items include athletic shorts for guys and girls, and soon we will need girls’ swimsuits.
2016 Countdown
A few numbers our congregation should feel good about:
- 215: Guests served at the First Teen Clothes Closet and through partnerships with other agencies
- 12: Communities from which guests came, including as far away at Coon Valley, Blair and Sparta
- 481: Pants, skirts and shorts distributed
- 444: Shirts, sweaters and hoodies handed out
- 60: Jackets and coats given to those in need
- 130: Pairs of shoes
Resource Center
We have a new book in the resource center that many of you may find valuable, Cancer—Now What? by Dr. Kenneth Haugk the founder of the Stephen Ministry Program. First Lutheran congregation member and Stephen Minister Randy Nedrelo recommends the book.
Update from Pastor Stanton for November 2016
How much time do you waste in worry? It’s one thing to be concerned with something. To care so much about something or someone that you engage yourself out of concern seems Christ-like to me. But worry is something different. Concern breeds engagement. Worry breeds anxiety and fear.
Contrasting needs for Clothes Closet
Our biggest requests this month for items at the First Teen Clothes Closet may seem at odds with each other: winter coats and athletic shorts. Here’s why both are needed…
Helpful Welcoming
As I was in Office Depot this past summer, I just needed some time to look and think about a project I was working on. Unfortunately, the people working were very helpful and almost every aisle I went down someone asked me if I needed help. Usually I like being asked if I need help because I usually do need help, but not this time. This time I just wanted to be by myself to think and work things out in my mind without interruptions. This may be what it is like for our visitors; they may not want a bunch of information or handouts. Sometimes all they want is one or two of their questions answered.