This Week
Scary—Not Scary
Have you ever dreamed something terrifying but awakened with great relief that it wasn’t real? What was scary wasn’t real, so really . . . not scary. But what if the terrifying thing is real? Our God doesn’t deal in make-believe. He knows the most frightening things that happen, could happen, or will happen to us. And he has some good news that makes it not scary. Confused? So was Daniel when he received the dream we’ll study in Daniel 7. But when it was over, oh my, was he relieved. Get that same relief with brothers and sisters this weekend. Worship the Ancient of Days together on Thursday at 7 PM (snow or no snow!) or on Sunday at 8 AM or 10:30 AM.
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Highlights
Events and ministry news needing immediate attention
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Worship
Resources and opportunities for you to worship
Wednesday Lent Devotions begin February 22
Gather with brothers and sisters on the six Wednesdays of Lent at 5:00 or 6:30 PM. Stay for dinner provided by one of our St. Andrew Best Chefs from 5:30 – 6:15 PM. Livestream will be available at 5 PM.
- February 22: The Sorrow of Jesus | Best Chef Noemi Reyes will serve oven baked chili agave chicken over white rice.
- March 1: The Mission of Jesus | Best Chef Kallista Fischer will serve pulled pork BBQ sliders and mac & cheese.
- March 8: The Prayers of Jesus | Best Chef Denise Henningfield will serve pork and beef with gravy and mashed potatoes.
- March 15: The Betrayal of Jesus | Best Chef Laura Westphal will serve spaghetti.
- March 22: The Crucifixion of Jesus | Best Chefs Dwayne and Stacy Kratt will serve white chicken chili.
- March 29: The Arrest of Jesus | Best Chefs Jesus Avila and Asencion Montenegro will serve pork tamales.
Easter flower orders
We are already anticipating the resurrection of our Lord on Easter Sunday! If you would like to help decorate the sanctuary for Easter with the purchase of Easter flowers, please place your order by March 24. You can do so by filling out the online form here. Flowers can be taken home following Easter worship on April 9.
Holy Week worship schedule
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Did you misplace your Bible?
A Concordia Self-Study Bible was found in the Altar Care room with a green protective cover on it. If this is your Bible, please contact Minister of Worship Naomi Laabs.
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Milestones
Lucy Hazel Beck, daughter of Emily and Justin Beck, was born on March 2. She will be brought into the kingdom of God through water and the Word soon.
Worship check-in
If you worship on-site, please fill out the Connection Card attached to your worship folder. Online worshipers, please continue to check in here.
Weekend worship songs
Preview some of the songs we will use for worship this weekend. Obviously ours won’t sound exactly like this, but listening to the links provided will certainly help you be more comfortable participating in the service.
“God So Loved” by We the Kingdom
“I Will Sing” by Sandra McCracken
“I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say” by Kevin Twit
“Ancient of Days” by CityAlight
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Nurture
Ways to be connected to Jesus throughout the week in your personal life and with others
Gratitude in children
Most parents work hard at installing an attitude of gratitude in their children. For Christian parents, it extends to installing an attitude of gratitude toward God. Here are two short articles from a recent issue of Forward in Christ with ways to teach gratitude toward God. Each month there are copies of FIC available at the Welcome Center. Take one home for a great way to nurture your faith.
Impact
Jesus is the Lion and the Lamb. What a picture! Learn about that and more in Revelation 5 from Pastor Erich Schaser, a teacher at Fox Valley Lutheran High School. You can find our St. Andrew podcast Impact here or wherever you listen to podcasts by searching “Kjenstad Impact.”
PowerHour
PowerHour will not meet March 17 or April 7. It will return on April 21. For more on PowerHour, click here.
Children’s Ministries off on March 12
There is no FUEL, Spark, Plugged into Jesus, or Musikgarten this Sunday, March 12. All will return on Sunday, March 19. However, for parents who are attending a Growth Group, there is childcare available in the gym on March 12 beginning at 9:20 AM.
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Service & Outreach
Opportunities for you to live your faith and love for Jesus by sharing Jesus with others
Monthly Mission Partner | 2023 St. Andrew Mission Trips
This summer you have an opportunity to grow in faith, encourage others, and share in the love of Jesus through various acts of service by participating in a Mission Trip. Find the details and apply at the St. Andrew website. The video below is a preview of each 2023 Mission Trip.
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Not everyone will go on a trip, but you can still support this ministry as the March Monthly Mission Partner. Your act of service will help keep the cost down for those giving up their time to go to work for a congregation with limited human resources but lots of opportunity.
Serve hospitality
“We’ve found a church that feels like home.” Recent first-time guests said that about St. Andrew. It’s no accident, and we want to enhance that atmosphere. Do you have ideas for how to maintain that homelike aura? Are you able to make coffee? Set out or serve snacks? Do some basic cleaning and tidying? Are you willing to learn? Then the Hospitality team is for you. Contact Pastor Clinton to get involved.
Natural segues
People go to church for the first time for a number of reasons, but one of the biggest is that they know somebody. That could be you. But how do you talk about St. Andrew? How do you bring it up in casual conversation? Below are just a few ways:
- Schedule: When Sunday morning or Thursday night comes up, mention where you will be. If it’s important enough to take priority over something else, maybe they will want to know more.
- Location: Middleton is not that big, and many come from Madison or Cross Plains or Waunakee. When Middleton is mentioned, “That’s where my church is,” is a natural segue. The same might be true when “that little airport” or Keva or “the play place by the Beltline” are mentioned. If you pass lots of other churches to go to St. Andrew, that might be a point of intrigue.
- “From my church”: Try replacing, for example, “friends” with “couple from my church” (well, if it’s true anyway). The language you use can be very effective. If church is normal to you, maybe it won’t be so weird or scary to them.
- Events: St. Andrew does some things that aren’t overtly “churchy.” Invite people to them if they aren’t sure about worship. Get them in the door for a school sporting event or marriage workshop. How about a Growth Group? God may use this to open other doors.
Your friend or neighbor or coworker will probably not jump immediately from zero association with St. Andrew to sitting next to you every Sunday and serving. But that growth starts somewhere. Maybe it starts with you simply inserting something that is important to you into conversation from time to time. |
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Ministry Support
Vision
Your prayers and feedback have not been in vain. You offered helpful insights, asked important questions, and sought clarification that is necessary. St. Andrew leaders are putting the information into a more user-friendly format and will be sending it out soon.
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Westside Christian School
A ministry of St. Andrew, preparing students for academic success and lives of Christian service founded on God’s Word
Call accepted
We are excited to announce that Adam Bohl has accepted our call to fill the new assistant principal position and will also have responsibilities as an additional middle school teacher. We will welcome him, his wife, and their four children (see picture) to our Westside family at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year.
Dear Members of St. Andrew and Westside Christian,
It has been extremely humbling to have the opportunity to deliberate three different calls to serve the Lord. It has also been amazing talking to the various members and staff at the church and school and learning about the ministry in Middleton. Through all of these conversations and much prayer and deliberation, the Lord has led me to accept the call to serve at Westside Christian. It is abundantly clear that the Lord is causing some wonderful things to happen in Middleton, and my family and I would love to be a part of it! It didn’t seem to matter who I talked to during my deliberation—everyone talked with the same excitement and enthusiasm about the ministry occurring at your church and school.
My family and I are excited about all the ministry opportunities that are present in your congregation and school. My children are especially excited to be able to live in Wisconsin. My youngest cannot wait to experience snow—though we’ll see how he feels about the cold that goes along with that.
Please pray for the ministry at Immanuel as they will still need to look for a teacher. Please also pray for the ministry at Reformation as there a few ministry needs that they need to fill.
May God continue to bless the rest of this school year!
Your servant in Christ,
Adam Bohl |
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Calls returned
Kim Gnewuch, our 3rd grade teacher, has returned her call to teach 1st & 2nd grades at Reformation Lutheran School in San Diego next school year. We are thankful that she will be continuing her ministry with us at St. Andrew and WCS!
Jessica Neumann returned her call to teach 1st grade at Westside, beginning with the 2023-24 school year. The St. Andrew Board of Directors has scheduled another voters’ meeting on March 21 at 6 PM in the sanctuary. |
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Serving This Week
Serving Jesus at St. Andrew this week, March 9 & 12, 2023
Musicians
Lead musician: Kevin Meske
Vocalist: Amanda Faessler, Naomi Laabs
Guitar: Chad Schaal, Dan Wasmer
Drums: Aaron Faessler
Cello: Kaelana Faessler
Ushers
Thurs: Zach Maron
8:00 AM: Brad and Josh Hougaard
10:30 AM: Carson Brickner, Dan Simpson
Greeters
Thurs: Dan and Sarah Arndt
8:00 AM: Kevin and Sherry Kessler
10:30 AM: Jon and Noelle Augelli
Communion Assistants
Thurs: Dick Bernards
8:00 AM: Dan Kremer, Ed Murray
10:30 AM: Jackson Hunter, Tom Shepard
Communion Care
Thurs: Cheryl Utke
8:00 AM: Chris Hougaard
10:30 AM: Ron Ketterer
Lay Readers
8:00 AM: Andrew Fritz
10:30 AM: Brandon Brickner
Slide Tech
Thurs: Alex Bindl
8:00 AM: August Faessler
10:30 AM: Kim Gnewuch
Audio
Thurs: Sarah Wendorf
8:00 AM: Todd Kleman
10:30 AM: Ian Eberle
Video
Jacob Miller
Worship Folders
Kevin and Sherry Kessler
Offering Caretakers
Jim and Heidi Pease
Growth Group Leaders:
Jesus Avila, Pastor Clinton, Daniel Dammann, Jane Dew, Jared Dammann, Scott Fanello, Jonathan Fricke, Andrew Fritz, Brian Fritz, Amy Heckmann, Matt Heckmann, Pastor Hunter, Mitch Hutter, Ron Kerr, Mark Kjenstad, Sue Martalock, Nancy Ninman, Bill Walther
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