👋 New Life Weekly Update 10/27/2021

New Life Church

Weekly Update

October 27, 2021

Join us for Traditional Worship at 8:15 a.m. and Praise Band Worship at 9:30 a.m. this Sunday, October 31st. The 9:30 a.m. service is also livestreamed on Facebook Live. This Sunday, Pastor Heathe's message will come from John 8:31-36 - The Freedom of the Gospel.

This Sunday is Reformation Sunday (if you would like to wear red) but it is also Halloween (if you'd like to wear a costume).

"Receive"

We will continue to offer worship via Facebook Live at 9:30 am on Sundays - please join us on our Facebook page for this opportunity! If you have trouble joining the 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!

If you missed last week's service, here is a link to it:

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

WE NEED YOU!!

FALL CLEAN-UP OCTOBER 30

We're planning a Fall Clean-Up for October 30th, to spruce up our grounds in preparation of Winter. If you can help out with weeding, raking, etc. the time will be from 9 am until noon. There will be goodies & coffee!

Click here to sign up.

YOUTH POSITION

With Gavin Walsh’s resignation, the Church Council is moving forward with plans to hire someone to serve as a Children and Youth Ministry Coordinator. More details to come and the job will be posted on our website, Facebook page, and on Indeed.com – please share and pray about someone you may know who’d be interested. As we look for the person God has for us, we would still like to offer gatherings for our children and youth. If you’d be interested in helping with New Life Kids during the 9:30am service and/or a youth gathering to be held after the 9:30am service, please let Pastor Heather know! Thank you for your prayers as we search for the right person to further this vital part of our ministry!

WEDNESDAY DINNER TONIGHT!

Our Wednesday Night Dinner TONIGHT will be served at 5:30 p.m. before the Adult FaithFul Formation. Families are taking responsibility for coordinating dinner once a month on a rotating basis – see the sign-up sheet by the kitchen serving window to choose a week. And this 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!

Adult Faith Formation

The Adult Faith Formation discussions about S-E-X (yes, you read that correctly!) have been great! Our final discussion is this week. We've learned a lot about God's Word and been able to be honest about some of our questions. The church has not been known for its healthy conversations around sexuality in general, and, especially as the norms around sexuality change, we've talked about our sense of Biblical understandings with regard to this most intimate, but normal human interaction. Even if you've not been yet, please join us tonight from 6:15-7:30 pm or on Sunday morning from 10:30-11:30 am.

November Adult Faith Formation

In the month of Thanksgiving and gratitude, let's spend some time looking at how God calls us to be thankful. Pastor Heather will lead us in guided meditations, Lectio Divina, and Bible Studies on the topic. Come on Wednesdays November 3, 10, and 17 at 6:15pm to simply dwell in God's Word and fellowship with others! Join us any time!

THANKSGIVING EVE WORSHIP

We have much to be thankful for – not the least of which is being able to gather in-person this year for this service! On Wednesday, November 24 at 6:30 p.m., take an opportunity to stop and Thank the Lord! We will thank the Lord for people, places, and things – singing, praying and listening together. Then stay after worship for some of Felicia Jones’ yummy pies! Thank you Felicia for offering these (and don’t forget to order your holiday pies from her as well!) [Learn more about Fe's Specialties later in this newsletter]

Collection for St. Mark's Food Pantry

We will be holding a drive for St. Mark's Food Pantry and gathering the collections to place around the altar as a Harvest Offering. Pastor Heather will call for the offerings during the Thanksgiving Eve service, and then they'll remain there through the end of November and can be added to. Barb Zimmerman said the items needed by St. Mark's are:

Ramen noodles, toothpaste, toothbrushes, bar soap, laundry pods, toilet paper, chicken noodle soup, and saltine and graham crackers.

CHRISTMAS DECORATING

Come hang some garland, decorate trees, and generally beautify our church for the Advent and Christmas seasons! The first Sunday of Advent is November 28, so we'll need lots of hands on Saturday, November 27 at 10:30 am to Deck the Halls (and Worship Center and Community Room…)! SIGN UP HERE or let the Office know if you can help!

We'll plan on doing a pre-staging of decorations after the second service on November 21st if you could stay to help bring items down from the attic.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Bring your strengths & skills to help at New Life!

~ Sound Board (Operate sound & video equipment)

~ Altar Care (Worship set-up & supplies)

~ Coffee Server (Make pots & serve coffee)

~ Teller/Counter (2-person team to count offerings)

~ Welcome Team (Greet & guide people as they enter worship)

For info on these opportunities, call the church office—223-9337.

We especially NEED new people to help with A/V & Sound Board—no experience needed, we’ll train you and it’s FUN! Just let us know if you're interested and we'll connect you with that team.

Look for the Google doc form to sign up each month for Welcome Team!

Here is a click-on link to sign up for the month of NOVEMBER!

Or just click on the sheet below.

NOTE: for Thanksgiving Eve on Wed., Nov. 24 there will be one service at 6:30 p.m., so we'll need a few helpers then too. Let Kathy Scholl know if you'd be able to help that evening. It would be a crew of one each to greet, welcome, usher, and serve coffee, along with the team of 2 tellers.

A HUGE thank you to all the volunteers of Field of Dreams and Field of Screams!!

This past Saturday, October 23rd, New Life Church hosted our annual Halloween events:

Field of Dreams, scheduled from 4-5:30 p.m. included 17 stations for little ones to Trick-or-Trunk for candy and gifts, as well as spend time playing in our playground area and grassy field. They even got to take a walk through our prairie paths. Approximately 175 people attended.

Field of Screams started at 7 p.m. and continuously scared victims for a full 2 hours, ending at 9 p.m. Our ghoulish vignettes scared attendees, much to the delight of everyone! We had a record breaking 313 people come through our haunted hike.

Without the many, many volunteers, these events could not have taken place. We would like to send a special thank you to Bob and Lisa Haefner, Jeff Lennberg, Janice Newell, and Kathy Nelson as the creators of this yearly event.

[Ally Fisch and friend serve candy at Trick or Trunk]

[Dad with baby dressed as the "Cutest Little Skunk Ever"]

["Creepiest Something" greets child, gives her candy]

Welcome to New Partners and Bring-A-Friend Sunday

We will be welcoming new Community Partners on Sunday, November 7th at both services. If you or someone you know would like to know more about St. Matthew New Life Church, we will also have some Information Sessions on either Thursday, October 28 at 6:30pm OR Saturday, October 30 at 10:00am. Come to hear more about our ministries, events, and why we call you a partner and not a “member.” On Nov. 7, there will also be breakfast so it would be a great day to invite a friend, neighbor, or co-worker to worship! Let’s make it a fantastic celebratory day!

DO YOU LIKE BREAKFAST?

Enjoy delicious breakfasts on the first Sunday of the month! The next breakfast will be on November 7th (Welcome Sunday!) from 9-11 a.m. It will be hosted by the Erb family (Shannon, Jen, Elliott & Isaiah). 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.

Fe's Specialties LLC

"We Bake With Love"

Our own Felicia Jones is starting up a brand new business, and we'd like to help her get the word out about her scrumptious pies and goodies! See the flyer below and click here to go to an order form on the second page.

Felicia will also be featuring her pies on Thanksgiving Eve for us! Get your taste buds ready and prepare for your holiday with quality desserts!

STAMPING GROUP TO RESTART NOVEMBER 8TH

The stamping group will resume again, beginning on Monday, November 8th. This crafts group led by Cheryll Steinke meets on the second Monday of the month, from autumn to spring. We make beautiful hand-made cards with rubber stamps and other materials, as Cheryll teaches us how to prepare them. Let her know if you plan on coming to the first session on November 9th, at stampup4life@yahoo.com.

"Give"

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.

Give Online

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.

GIVING NEEDS

The last 20 months has been an unprecedented journey that no one could have anticipated. Given all the changes and unknowns we’ve experienced, your congregation is weathering the storm quite well financially – thanks to you! However, we are currently operating a bit behind where we anticipated we’d be on giving by about 15%. The Finance Team and Council have responded to that shortfall by refinancing our mortgage, which will create more cash flow starting in October. We have also kept an eye on expenses without hindering our ministry. We felt it was our duty to also let you know that this shortfall exists so that you might feel the need to respond if you’re able. If you haven’t increased your giving in a while, now may be the time to do so. We all want St. Matthew New Life to thrive in serving the gospel and our giving enables that to happen more and more. Thank you as always for all the ways you give to this ministry!

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!

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!

____________________________________________________

WAYS TO PARTNER

We have established a partnership with the Nehemiah Center, which means that we will be looking for and offering ways for you to connect with their leadership in our area serving communities of color. As the months go along, we will highlight ways that you can personally and with your family grow this partnership alongside what we’re doing as a congregation.

This month, we’re asking for donations of any size diapers in small packages. You can bring these to the church entryway and we will deliver them to Nehemiah directly. Thank you!

Other ways you and your family can partner: support black-owned businesses (click here for a list), visit www.lirs.org to support refugees, visit www.ldr.org to help with disaster response around the nation, or www.elca.org to find another way to give back to people in need.

Shop with an Elf!

The gift-giving season can’t come soon enough, and our annual “Breakfast with Santa” on Dec. 4 will be the best yet! Linda Sime will provide breakfast, Jillene Fisch will oversee Shop with an Elf, Cheryll Steinke will help as Santa's Elf to greet children, and Janice Newell will guide kids around our "North Pole."

We will provide our guests with personalized shopping—kids can shop for their parents (with elvish assistance!), and parents can shop for their kids. All purchases will be by donation only.

We will begin collecting items the first weekend in November. Bring any items you'd like to, that you think might make nice gift items for someone, in new or close to new condition, i.e., purses, scarves, jewelry, ties, books, toys, games, etc.

We will be collecting these new or very gently used items (in the northwest corner of the Re-Creation Center) and we also will need gift bags of various sizes plus tissue paper.

Would you consider being a shopkeeper? You could manage the “book store” or the “jewelry store”—it all depends on what donations come in.

We are NOT collecting items at the church just yet—please hold on to them for a bit and then we'll collect them the first weekend of November.

If you have questions or would like to help in some way, please contact Jillene Fisch at jillenes_beans@yahoo.com (best) or 608-692-8265.

Reconciling In Christ Team

Our Team – Terri Beck-Engel, Jillene Fisch, Sandy Kowal, Margo McBain, Wayne and Barb Meyer, Noah Peck, and Barb Zimmerman – is getting ready to craft our Welcome Statement. It will be given to the Council for their input and vote in November. And then we will ask you for your input as well. The Team will be holding some Listening Sessions on Sundays November 21 and December 12 both at 10:30am. This statement will include an intentional New Life welcome to LGBTQIA+ and Transgendered people as well as a commitment to racial equity and justice.

Women's Bible Study

The Women's Bible Study group meets 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 to join in with the discussions.

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 take place at Ginny's studio on the second Tuesday evenings of the month from 6:30-8:30 pm and the fourth Tuesday mornings of the month from 9:30-11:30 am.

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.

This Sunday and This Week at New Life

October 31, 2021:

Reformation Sunday

8:15 a.m. Traditional worship service

9:30 a.m. Praise Band Worship Service and Worship Online via Facebook Live

9:30 a.m. New Life Kids Message in worship

10:30 - 11:30 a.m. Adult FaithFul Formation led by Pastor Heather

Upcoming Schedule of Events This Week

Wednesday, October 27

5:30 p.m. Wednesday Evening Dinner

6:15-7:30 p.m. Adult FaithFul Formation (FFF) - Pastor Heather leads

Thursday, October 28

9:00-11:00 a.m. Women’s Thursday Bible Study led by Betty Sundbakken

6:30-7:00 p.m. New Members Information Session (Classroom A)

6:30-7:30 p.m. Praise Band Rehearsal (Worship Center)

7-10 p.m. Shawn Peters band MCF rehearsal (Re-Creation Center)

Saturday, October 30

9:00 a.m. to Noon Fall Clean-Up

10:00 - 10:30 a.m. New Members Information Session

Monday, November 1

10:oo a.m. - Noon Gift Cards distribution (by Spiritual Resource Team)

7:00 p.m. Black History Course (virtual) led by Kathy Michaelis

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, 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, Grace Volkmann 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.