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NEW LIFE CHURCH ELCA


WEEKLY E-MAIL NEWSLETTER


Sunday Worship Times:

Traditional Praise Worship 8:15 a.m.

Contemporary Praise Worship 9:30 a.m., also livestreamed on Facebook Live


7564 Cottage Grove Rd. Madison WI 53718

Office Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday

Contact us at newlifelc@newlifelc.com or (608) 223-9337

Join us on Facebook or YouTube / Join our email list here

Website: www.newlifelc.com

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WORSHIP

This week's message is

"Baptism of our Lord"


Matthew 3:13-17

We continue offering worship via Facebook Live at 9:30 a.m. on Sundays - please join us on our Facebook page for this opportunity!

If you have trouble joining Facebook Live, the worship videos will be available by each Monday on New Life's YouTube Channel.


Thank you to all who have been participating in our weekly worship!

To view the service from New Year's Day on January 1, 2023, click here.

ACCESS WORSHIP

Join us for worship Sundays at 8:15 a.m. (Traditional) and at 9:30 a.m. (Praise Band Worship) which is also always livestreamed on our Facebook page and available on our YouTube page any time after, not just when we're live. Our most recent worship services are also posted to our website on Monday mornings and are featured in the weekly newsletters on Wednesdays. Masks are optional but encouraged if people want to wear them.

WE'VE GOT SOME UPCOMING EVENTS - "SAVE THE DATES!"

January has new opportunities coming up!

  

· January 4 — Epiphany Party at 5:30 p.m.

· January 5 — Bible Study Group begins new series "Bad Girls of the Bible"

· January 10 — 4-week class "Yoga with Kathryn" begins

· January 11 — Adult Faith Formation begins

· January 15 — Sledding at Hiestand Park from 2-4 p.m.

· January 16 — Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - OFFICE CLOSED

· January 21 — Men's Group from 8-9 a.m.

· January 29 — Annual Congregational Meeting at 10:30 a.m.

· January 30— American Red Cross Blood Drive here from NOON to 5 P.M.

HAPPENING IN EARLY JANUARY...


EPIPHANY PARTY

TONIGHT!! Wednesday, January 4th come join us for a fun night of White Elephant gifts and helping to take the decorations down. We did this last year and had a blast, so come join in the fun again this year! We’ll gather for dinner (supplied by church: pizza, salad and doughnuts) at 5:30 pm and jump into the undecorating at about 6:00 pm – then we’ll end our time sharing some silly gifts! All are welcome!


DINNERS AND ADULT FAITH FORMATION

Pastor Heather is very excited to get started on another Adult Bible Study in the New Year! With winter weather, however, we’ll spend these six weeks doing our study online together (we will also forgo dinner for this period of time). Starting Wednesday Jan. 11 at 6:15 pm we will dive into a wonderful study of the always-intriguing Book of Revelation. If you would like to get a copy of the book Pastor Heather will be using (which she would recommend), please find it HERE for $15. Please register for this class with the office to receive the Zoom link for the class. We hope you’ll plan to dive into this great study in the new year!

ANNUAL MEETING

Come join us for a look back at 2022 and forward to 2023 for our ministry and financial implications of that ministry, plus the election of new Council members. This is an important conversation about where God is leading us, so make every effort to be a part of this conversation. It will occur after the 9:30 am service (10:30 am approximately) on Sunday, January 29. Paper copies of the Annual Report (except financials) will be available on Sunday, Jan. 22 and the 2023 Spending Plan/Treasurer’s report will be available at the meeting. Any reports that need to be included in that need to be turned in to Kathy Scholl by Wed., Jan. 11. Thank you!

RETIREMENT OF KATHY SCHOLL

Kathy has served as the Office Assistant since April of 2019 and has done an excellent job of helping this community through pastoral transition as well as pandemic. She (and her husband Verne) will be retiring, and we would like to celebrate her ministry and wish them well in their retirement plans! Come celebrate Kathy on Sunday, February 12 after both services. Her last day will be Feb. 17.


HIRING

We will, of course, be in the search for Kathy’s replacement with the hopes of having someone in place by Feb. 13. Job description and other details can be requested from Pastor Heather or found on Indeed. Please share this job opening with anyone you know who might be interested in a part-time position with great people!

INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO ACCESS THE CHURCH DATABASE (Community Church Builder, or "CCB")


Curious about the church's database? Did you know you can enter and update your contact information and view your own giving profile? Follow this link with step-by-step directions provided by our church treasurer Ken.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR WELCOME TEAM

We always encourage and appreciate volunteers for the Welcome Team to help out with parts of the worship service, such as greeter, welcome table, usher, tellers, coffee server and Communion helpers.


Here is the link to the JANUARY sign-up sheet below!

Here is a link to a sign-up genius form for the Communion/Altar Care shifts too.


Anyone is invited to join the Welcome Team at any time!

YOUR OFFERING

Thanks for your support to meet our financial obligations. Consider giving online, if you aren't already! You can select a one-time donor or recurring donation, and it's easy to do - just click the box below to begin and go to our Vanco page, where you can log in to set up or access your account. Once you’ve logged in, it should take you to your giving detail. If you click “Edit” you can edit amount, frequency, and account. Once you've signed up to give electronically, please let the office know if you no longer need offering envelopes and we can have those discontinued for you. Or as always, you can continue receiving envelopes and mail in your donations to New Life.

VANCO(Give Online)

CONNECTIONS

Ministry

Adult Ministry

YOGA CLASSES START IN JANUARY

Daughter of the congregation, Kathryn Wundrow, has recently completed a 200-hour training to become a yoga instructor and would like to share this gift with the New Life community! All are welcome and any amount of experience is fine. —There will be no cost, but a very modest suggested donation collected for The Rainbow Project (www.therainbowproject.net) and for the energy cost at the church. We also ask that everyone bring their own yoga mat. This will be a 4-WEEK CLASS held on Tuesdays from 6-7 pm beginning on JANUARY 10th. Please register through the church office. 

Children & Youth Ministry

Sunday Mornings


New Life Kids

Join us during the 9:30 a.m. service for a children’s message and craft.


Explorers & eMerge

Youth Faith Formation is every Sunday after 9:30 service.


Save the Date for family sledding!


On Sunday, January 15th from 2-4pm we are going sledding at Hiestand Park. All ages are welcomed to join!


We are discussing other outdoor activities in case we do not have enough snow. Next week's newsletter will have the final details.

MISSION TRIP 2023 - Sarasota, FL

Trip Dates: Sunday, July 9th - Friday, July 14th

We will be spending the week in Sarasota Florida to bring relief and restoration to the victims of Hurricane Ian.


Thank you to everyone who joined us at the informational meeting! The majority agreed that they would rather fly. I will continue to look into flights and as of the right now we still plan on the cost being around $300 - $500.


There are only 15 spots available for youth and chaperones. A $100 deposit is due at sign up.

If you are interested or want more information on any of the activities, feel free to reach out to Jessica Korrison.

COMMUNITY

SOCIAL PURPOSE FUND

Throughout the pandemic, we have been able to help so many families in the community because of this fund. By the end of 2022, we have distributed close to $12,000 in much-needed gift cards. Please know that if you are experiencing any financial need (rent/mortgage, utilities, groceries, medical, unemployment/furlough, etc.) you only need to let Pastor Heather know. This information will be kept confidential to her and our financial officers (treasurer and bookkeeper).

 

Also, because of these increased needs, if you would be able to give to this fund, please submit checks with "Social Purpose Fund" in the memo or give online to that fund.


Other ways you and your family can partner: support black-owned businesses (click here for a list and for other ways you can help).


Again, thank you for caring and sharing!

COLLECTING COATS


New Life will be collecting coats in January to benefit the communities served by the Madison Area Jail Ministry and River Food Pantry. They are looking for winter coats of all sizes, especially men’s size large and extra large.


Look for a bin in the narthex on January 8th. We will be collecting through January 29th.


Thank you in advance for your donation!

AMERICAN RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE JANUARY 30TH

New Life Church will be the venue for a Blood Drive of the American Red Cross on Monday, January 30, 2023. Mark your calendar to save the date! Times will be from 12:00 Noon to 5:00 p.m. in the Community Room.

 

The Red Cross North Central Blood Services Division of Sheboygan Ave. in Madison is hoping for about 20-25 blood donations. All donation appointments will be made through their website:

redcross.org/local/wisconsin/about-us/locations/southwest-chapter.html.

Black History for a New Day Course

Many people at New Life have participated in this amazing course in the past and we’d like to invite you to consider taking the newest opportunity to do so as well. You can register through Nehemiah (www.nehemiah.org) before Jan. 15. Classes will be Mondays 7-9 pm via Zoom (or hybrid in person) beginning on February 6. Cost is $300/person but New Life has scholarship funds to help with that if you’re unable to do so. Please let Pastor Heather know if you would like to register using those scholarship funds. And if you’d taken it before but would like to do so again, Nehemiah is offering a 50% discount for alumni. Deadline to register is January 15!

BIBLE STUDY GROUP

The Bible Study Group that meets on Thursday mornings, led by Betty Sundbakken, will begin their next series. The group will meet in Classroom A at their usual time of 9:00-11:00 am TOMORROW, January 5th, to start their next series called "Bad Girls of the Bible."  The group will watch a DVD and discuss it. All are welcome!

Stamping Group

Monday, January 9 - 6:30 p.m.


On the second Monday of the month, New Life Church hosts a rubber stamping group in the Community Room. We make beautifully designed and crafted greeting cards. The next gathering is Monday, Jan. 9th at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Room. All are welcome to join in this fun evening of stamping and fellowship. Contact leader Cheryll Steinke to let her know you'll be participating, or with any questions you have about stamping.


Common Threads

Ginny Olson and Gail Kriel lead knitters and crocheters in the Common Threads group, to make prayer shawls and blankets for the prayer shawl ministry. Sessions take place at Ginny's studio on the second Tuesday evenings of the month from 6:30-8:30 p.m. and the fourth Tuesday mornings of the month from 9:30-11:30 a.m. To sign up and for info, email Ginny.


The group meets next on Tuesday, January 10th from 6:30-8:30 p.m.


Free prayer shawls are available at the church for anyone who would like one.

Please Keep These People in Your Prayers


Donna Butler’s grandson Anthony, Shaq Brown, the friends and family of Carolyn Dawson, Boyd Fleming, Jodi Franco and her daughter-in-law (medical issues), Terry Hines (Dave Kolmodin's cousin), Michele Kiefer, Dave Kohlwey's brother Neil, Gail Kriel, Patti Kolmodin, Vicki Landes, Hailey Lennberg, Annie O'Kane, Kathy Nelson's brother LaVerne, Stephanie Peck's grandfathers, Alvina Phillips, Trish Splettstoesser, Bobby Spridco, Cheryll & Bill Steinke, Bill Sterud, Russ & Shirley Theel's son-in-law Gil Franco, family of Grace Volkman, Jan Wilson's sister Pat, Carolee Zick, and Barb Zimmerman.


If you would like to be included on our prayer list, please contact the church office. Permission is required from the individual for us to print their name. Individuals will on the list for one month unless requested. Please let us know if there is someone to be added, or if someone has improved or healed and can be taken off the list.

This Sunday and Updates for this Week

January 8, 2023 - First Sunday of Epiphany

8:15 a.m. Traditional Praise Worship Service

9:30 a.m. Contemporary Praise Worship Service

(also livestreamed on Facebook Live)

9:30 a.m. New Life Kids

10:30 a.m. Youth Faith Formation (ReCreation Center)


Schedule of Events This Week

Wednesday, January 4

5:30 p.m. — Dinner

6:00 p.m. — Epiphany Party (un-decorating, sharing white elephant gifts)


Thursday, January 5

9:00-11:00 a.m. — Bible Study Group (led by Betty Sundbakken) (Classroom A)

5:30-8:00 p.m. — Cub Scouts Pack 145 (Community Room)

7:00-8:30 p.m. — Shawn's MCF Band practice (ReCreation Center)


Saturday, January 7

9:00-10:00 a.m. — Contemporary Praise Worship Band Practice (Worship Center)


Monday, January 9

10:00 a.m. - Noon — Gift Cards Distribution (Social Purpose Team)

6:30-8:00 p.m. — Stamping Group

7:00 p.m. — Athletes of Faith (Monona Grove Faith Group) (ReCreation Center)


Tuesday, January 10

6:00-7:00 p.m. — Yoga with Kathryn (ReCreation Center)

6:30 p.m. — Finance Team meeting

6:30-8:00 p.m. — Common Threads (led by Ginny & Gail at Ginny's studio)


Wednesday, January 11

6:15-7:30 p.m. — Adult Faith Formation (via Zoom) (led by Pastor Heather)

CONTACT

Office hours are Monday through Thursday. Please feel free to contact staff members of New Life by email at newlifelc@newlifelc.com or by calling the office at 608-223-9337. Contacts are listed here.


New Life Staff:

Rev. Heather Hayward, Pastor

pastor@newlifelc.com


Jessica Korrison, Children & Youth Ministry Coordinator

youtheducator@newlifelc.com


Kathy Scholl, Office Assistant/Newsletter

newlifelc@newlifelc.com


Mike Berchem, Bookkeeper

bookkeeper@newlifelc.com


Shakia “Queen” Turner, Property Manager

shakiamturner@yahoo.com



ELCA South-Central Wisconsin Synod website:

https://scsw-elca.org/



New Life Church Council:

Iris Christenson, Secretary

Brian Coel, Vice-President

Jim DePass

Rick Krueger

Joe Milanese

Janice Newell, President

Tom Olson

Shawn Peters

Linda Sime

MacKenzie Swanson

Jan Wilson

Ken Wundrow, Treasurer