New Life Church
Weekly Update
September 15, 2021
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Pastor Heather returns to preaching from the gospels this week as we’ve ended our Summer series through the Book of Psalms. This week's message is from Mark 9:30-37, teaching us about Humility. |
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Thank you to all who have been participating in our weekly worship!
If you missed last week's service, here is a link to it:
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PARKING LOT WORSHIP - Sunday, September 26th
Our next Parking Lot Worship Service will be on Sunday, September 26th at 9:30 a.m. Please plan to come that day with chairs to sit outside or feel free to tune in to the FM station (87.9 FM) in your car. There will also be an in-person, indoors 8:15 a.m. traditional service that morning, and the parking lot worship will still be live streamed on Facebook. We hope to see you and your friends there!
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New Life Kids
Starting THIS SUNDAY we will offer a family service for all. Children will receive a talk during service and then proceed to our classroom where they will create an arts and craft project before returning to the service for communion. We'll also end worship with a blessing for their backpack.
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How to Access Worship
Our 9:30 am service will always be live streamed and available via our Facebook page so if you’re out of town and can’t attend in-person, you can always worship with us! Please also share this as a resource with others – it’s available anytime, not just when we’re live – as well as on our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4F48R7NG-hzy-2EOk0EG-g) and website beginning on Monday mornings.
Certainly, we’d love to have you come and worship with us in-person anytime it’s possible:
Traditional Worship Service at 8:15 a.m.
Praise Worship Service at 9:30 a.m.
Masks required inside for worship
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VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
There are so many ways that New Life needs you as we grow our offerings to this community and to you! We have many needs in order to facilitate more activities and events so please pray about where God might be calling you to say YES!
ALTAR CARE - This volunteer opportunity has changed a bit as we no longer need the set up and clean up of Communion before and after three services. We would ask these people to help with set up, supplies for worship (Communion, candles, etc.), as well as the occasional decoration change for the front of the Worship Center. Questions, please contact Cheryll Steinke at stampup4life@yahoo.com.
COFFEE SERVER – We would like to serve coffee on Sunday mornings. This is a vital part of being back in-person – our time and conversations together. But in order to do that safely, we need some helpers every week. There is no self-serve coffee; it needs to be served by one or two people each week, who will serve you coffee and condiments (no food). If you’d like to help bring coffee fellowship back each week contact the church office or click on this Google doc to sign up as a volunteer! Thanks!
TELLER/COUNTER – With two services now meeting in-person, we need a two-person team every Sunday to count the gifts we’ve given to God and this ministry. Streamlined procedures are now in place, and you will be trained by our Bookkeeper Nancy Schmidt. Counting requires a brief amount of time following the 9:30am service. Contact the church office for more information and to volunteer.
SOUND BOARD – We also have a great group who operate the sound and video equipment for Sunday morning worship, and they are vital to making worship accessible to so many people! There is training available and it is not as difficult as you might think! Contact Gavin Walsh at youtheducator@newlifelc.com for more information.
WEEDING (Gardening) – If you have any free time to help, we could use some people to do weeding around the building. Any bit would help.
WELCOME TEAM – We have a wonderful group of people who greet you as you enter for worship. If you like to serve in this ministry, we can always use more people. Do you value the hospitality that New Life offers? Come help! Call the church office to volunteer, or look for the Google doc form to sign up each month! We still just need a person for welcoming in the parking lot on September 26th. Click on the sheet below, or HERE.
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VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

This week we'd like to feature and thank Kathy Michaelis, for the many ways she has been a leader at New Life Church.
Kathy and her husband David are long-time members of New Life, and they have children and grandchildren who attend at times.
Most recently, Kathy served as the facilitator of the Black History Month presentation, and she'll head up another Black History Month course that starts soon
(see article below).
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She is a valued member of the Welcome Team who greets us at the door and also serves as a Teller.
She's been involved in activities surrounding racial equity and justice.
And Kathy coordinates a Teen Gift Drive booth at New Life during the Advent season, to collect donations of gift items for youths and teens so we can brighten their holidays!
Thank you so much, Kathy, for your faithfulness to our church
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Black History Course - DEADLINE TO REGISTER IS THIS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19TH!!
Are you wondering how to join this conversation that the world seems to be having right now? Do you not know where to start? This may help! We will again be offering this course with a discussion group from New Life – all are welcome! This 9-week course will begin virtually on Monday, September 27 at 7pm and our discussion will be facilitated by Kathy Michaelis. The cost is $300/person, but we have scholarship funds available, as we want everyone to be able to partake in this excellent course. Please register and/or inquire about scholarships by contacting Pastor Heather BY THIS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19TH.
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DO YOU LIKE BREAKFAST?
Join us for delicious breakfasts on the first Sunday of the month! Our next breakfast Sunday will be on October 3rd, hosted by
Vicki Schultz, Melanie Stepherson, and Ginny Qualmann. Thanks to those who signed up to prepare meals for the rest of this year.
If you'd like to consider signing up beginning in January 2022, we'd love to have your help! It could be a couple of families/friends, a small group you meet with, even a whole ministry team! It's fun and easy to do, and we can help you with the details.
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Wednesday Night Dinners - WE NEED ONE MORE!
We’re so excited to say that we may be able to get back to offering family-friendly dinners on Wednesday nights this fall; mostly because you stepped up! There are 3 families who have said they will take responsibility for coordinating dinner once a month on a rotating basis – that means we only need one more to cover the whole month! And it means that you’re only responsible once a month – if that! So please let Pastor Heather know if you’d be willing and able to help with this. We want to make this as easy as possible for busy families to have a night off of cooking, but also easy for those providing the meal – many hands make light work! Thanks! The earliest we would begin serving dinners will be Sept. 22 – stay tuned!
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Field of Screams/Field of Dreams
SAVE THE DATE!
Saturday, October 23
Save the Date for Field of Dreams & Field of Screams
4-5:30 pm Trick or Trunk
7-9 pm Field of Screams
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Your Offering
Thanks for your support to meet our financial obligations. Consider giving online, if you don't already. You can select a one-time or recurring donation. It's very easy to do - please click the box below to get started.
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If you would prefer to mail in your donations, they can be sent to the address at New Life: 7564 Cottage Grove Road, Madison, WI, 53718. |
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Help for those in need due to refugee status or natural disaster
We’d like to be able to help those who are in need – and right now, that means refugees from Afghanistan as well as those impacted by Hurricane Ida. For more ways to help, please visit www.lirs.org (Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service) or www.ldr.org (Lutheran Disaster Response) Please stay tuned for other ways New Life will be sending help.
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Your Giving Matters!
Your financial giving to St. Matthew’s New Life makes such an impact! We pray that you will continue to give in the ways that are possible for you and your family, as the ministry doesn’t happen without it. This has been a challenging year for us all, and your church has seen some of that impact as well. Please consider how you can potentially increase your giving so that New Life can do even more to affect the lives of those in our community for Christ! We can only do this TOGETHER!
Don’t forget our online option and automated giving! Just go to our Vanco page where you can log in to 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.
Thank you!

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Social Purpose Team is here just for you
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).
And of course, if you would like to give to this fund, please submit checks with "Social Purpose Fund" in the memo or give online to that fund. Again, thank you New Life for your caring and sharing!
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Message from the Social Purpose Team:
Partnership with Nehemiah Center and Fountain of Life Church
To continue our alliance with communities and people of color in our area, our Team and congregation is forming a partnership with the Nehemiah Center. This ministry focuses primarily on assisting our brothers and sisters of color and we look forward to nurturing this partnership. We will be doing so in three specific ways: Educate, Donate, Affiliate – these are the three emphases of the Nehemiah Center. In the coming months you will see specific ways that you can engage in any or all of these ways to support this partnership. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Pastor Heather. Thank you!
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AWAKEN DANE
Pastor Heather mentioned this project in her sermon on September 5 and wants to share more about it. This is a two-year process where by a team of people from New Life will be walking alongside 13 other congregations in Dane County as we listen for God’s Spirit and to our communities seeking to engage our neighborhoods and respond to the call to serve people where they are. Especially given our building’s location, it’s vital for us to discern our community and then know how we can serve even more effectively. Your prayers for this team’s work are coveted – we begin at the end of this month with a large-group gathering at Warner Park. More to come or check it out for yourself at www.awakendane.org.
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Reconciling In Christ Team

There’s a new team of people at New Life who are working on another aspect of equity and justice in our community. This group – Terri Beck-Engel, Jillene Fisch, Sandy Kowal, Margo McBain, Wayne and Barb Meyer, Noah Peck, and Barb Zimmerman – are working toward an intentionally welcoming statement toward the LGBTQIA+ and transgender communities as well as racial justice that will be voted on by the congregation at our next Annual Meeting. They are in the process of conducting some one-on-one conversations to seek further understanding about this conversation within our community. This Team will also be offering some educational opportunities this Fall around these topics.
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Women’s Retreat
Pastor Heather is planning a time away for women at Holy Wisdom Monastery on Saturday, October 2 from 10a-2p. The cost is only $35 and includes an excellent lunch served in a beautiful setting! We will also spend some time talking about Purposeful Waiting – we’re all waiting for “normal” to return, and beside that we spend a lot of our time in the mode of waiting. How do we do it gracefully and purposefully, focused on God? Come join the conversation – and invite others to join us! Contact Pastor Heather or the church office to sign up before September 27th.
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Women's Bible Study
The Women's Bible Study group started again on September 9th, but others are still welcome to join, from 9-11 a.m. on Thursdays. We're studying the Biblical Book of Daniel. For more info, contact Betty Sundbakken or the church office. All are welcome!
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COMMON THREADS
Ginny Olson and Gail Kriel have started up a Common Threads group again, that anyone is welcome to participate in. You'll learn how to knit or crochet, or if you have experience could work on your own project as well as make prayer shawls and blankets for the prayer shawl ministry.
Sessions will take place at Ginny's studio on the second Tuesday evenings of the month from 6:30-8:30 pm starting September 14th and the fourth Tuesday mornings of the month from 9:30-11:30 am starting September 28th.
To sign up and for more information, please email Ginny Olson by clicking here. Also, if you have any yarn you'd like to bring in to the church, the group would welcome that. We'll have a spot behind the glass doors for it.
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Adult Faith Formation
Adult Faith Formation discussions will begin again this coming week and will be held in-person on Wednesdays and Sundays! Pastor Heather invites you to talk about S-E-X! (Yes, you read that correctly!) The church has not been known for its healthy conversations around sexuality in general, and, especially as the norms around sexuality change, we want to talk about our sense of Biblical understandings with regard to this most intimate, but normal human interaction. Also, how do we read Scripture with a lens of love and inclusion as we move toward a welcoming statement for LGBTQ+ and transgendered people? This is meant to be a very open and honest conversation that we hope will enhance our sense of Scripture and God’s call to love each other. This seven-week conversation will take place on Wednesday evenings starting TONIGHT from 6:15-7:30 pm or on Sunday mornings from 10:30-11:30 am, starting on September 19. Please register for either and feel free to join whichever time works best for you. As we enter this conversation, we want to share a great article about an ELCA pastor who was recently on the TV show Queer Eye – check it out by clicking here.
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Hello Families,
Happy September!!! As we move into fall, we want to let you know about some things that are happening at New Life, in regard to youth.
On Wednesdays we meet as part of Faithful Formation at 6.30 pm for Dinner and then for some group time in the Re-Creation room. This is catered for Middle and High schoolers. For the first 6 weeks we will be dealing with Hot Topics, issues that are all around us that we challenge young people to share their thoughts on as we explore the Bible together. This will be a very thought-provoking series that is designed to encourage conversations at home.
Babysitter Class
If you have a middle schooler keen during the fall to babysit, New Life is offering a Babysitter Course. This course is an official Red Cross class that is greatly reduced in price. After taking the course your child will be a fully qualified Babysitter. If you are interested in the class, we have a few spots available to you. It will be held on Saturday, September 25th from 9.00 – 4.30 pm. If you wish to sign up you can do so by emailing me at youtheducator@newlifelc.com or by filling out the registration paperwork at the below link.
New Life Kids
Starting THIS SUNDAY we will offer a family service for all. Children will receive a talk during service and then proceed to our classroom where they will create an arts and craft project before returning to the service for communion.
Also at the end of service the Re-Creation room will be open for them to play games if they wish as you unwind with coffee.
We take safety to heart at New Life and want to assure families that we electromagnetically clean surfaces used as an added safety measure from COVID.
If you have any questions regarding our programs, please feel free to call or ask me any time. I pray that you all have a blessed week.
Blessings,
Gavin

Gavin Walsh
Youth Education Coordinator
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This Sunday and This Week at New Life |
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September 19, 2021:

8:15 a.m. Traditional worship service
9:30 a.m. New Life Kids
10:30 - 11:30 a.m. Adult FaithFul Formation led by Pastor Heather
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Upcoming Schedule of Events This Week
Wednesday, September 15
6:15-7:30 p.m. Adult FaithFul Formation (FFF) - Pastor Heather leads
6:30-8:00 p.m. FaithFul Formation (FFF) for Youths – Conversation Night headed by Gavin Walsh
Thursday, September 16
9:00-11:00 a.m. Women’s Thursday Bible Study led by Betty Sundbakken
5:30-8 pm Cub Scouts Pack 145
6:30 p.m. Praise Band Practice
7-10 pm Shawn Peters band MCF rehearsal
Friday, September 17
2-5:30 pm CPR class for staff and volunteers (Gavin)
6-9:30 pm CPR class for staff and volunteers (Gavin)
Saturday, September 18
9:30-11:30 a.m. Book Club led by Melanie Stepherson
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Please keep the following in your prayers this week:
Donna Butler's daughter Michelle along with her sister Beverly and the family of her late cousin Simon, Boyd Fleming, Felicia Jones & family, Johnnie Jones, Michele Kiefer, Dave Kolmodin, Gail Kriel, Trish Krueger, Fred & Vicki Landes, Hailey Lennberg, Laurie Neuendorf, Jade Peck, Stephanie Peck's friend Jessie, Kishia Peters, Alvina Phillips, Mary Rauwolf, Vern Richmond, Jeremy Showers, Bobby Spridco, Bill Sterud, Darrick Thompson, Shirley Theel, and Carolee Zick.
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 be 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.
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608.223.9337 phone/voicemail
Email: newlifelc@newlifelc.com
Office hours are Monday through Thursday mornings.
Please feel free to contact staff members of New Life via email or by calling the office. Contacts are listed here.
New Life Staff:
Rev. Heather Hayward, Pastor
Gavin Walsh, Youth Education Coordinator
Kathy Scholl, Office Assistant
Nancy Schmidt, Bookkeeper
Shakia "Queen" Turner, Property Manager
Shane Peters, Custodian
ELCA South-Central Wisconsin Synod website:
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New Life Church Council:
Brian Coel
Jim DePass
Rick Krueger
Joe Milanese, Vice President
Kathy Nelson, President
Janice Newell, Secretary
Shawn Peters
Linda Sime
MacKenzie Swanson
Jan Wilson
Ken Wundrow, Treasurer
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