Call returned
Pastor Stephen Apt will continue to serve Divine Savior in Liberty Hill, Texas. Below is the text of his official letter returning the call.

To the members of St. Andrew,
Thank you again for extending this call to me to serve you and God’s people in Middleton. I have always admired your ministry from afar, and through this process that admiration has only grown. God is doing incredible things through St. Andrew. You have incredible leaders, and the ministry that is happening and the potential ministry opportunities are exciting! Thank you to everyone who has reached out, for the input that you shared, and for the prayers that you have prayed on my behalf and the ministry of your church.
After much careful thought, prayer, and deliberation I have decided to return this call and will continue to serve God’s people at Divine Savior in Liberty Hill, Texas. I pray that God continue to bless you and your ministry with the confidence that He is the Lord of the Church directing all things according to his good will and purpose.

In Jesus,
Pastor Stephen Apt

The St. Andrew Board of Directors will meet this week to determine next steps in seeking another pastor, including a timeline for our next call meeting.

Call received
On Monday evening, Minister of Worship Naomi Laabs was extended a call from 922 Ministries in Appleton, Wisconsin, to serve as their Worship Operations Director. The Spirit has now allowed Naomi two calls: one by St. Andrew to serve here as your Minister of Worship and the other to 922 Ministries. Over the next few weeks she will deliberate between these two calls, learn about the ministry on both 922 campuses, and spend much time in prayer. Please keep her in your prayers over the next few weeks as she considers how and where God is calling her to serve. She welcomes any comments, thoughts, or advice from her St. Andrew family as well, whether in person, or via email or phone. Feel free to contact her at naomi.laabs@st-andrew-online.org or (920)277-4633.

Construction update
The final steel beam was raised this week, and the students from Westside Christian School got to sign the beam and watch it be raised into place. God be praised that the structure is now in place! This winter, once the building is enclosed and the cement is poured, the entire congregation will get a chance to sign the sanctuary floor.

Paving of Parmenter Street is coming soon, weather permitting. In the meantime, to get to St. Andrew, it is still recommended to take one of these alternate routes:

• From the north, County Road K to Church Road to Schneider Road
• From the south, Airport Road to Capitol View Road to Schneider Road

A Place of Peace giving
Giving can be set up like other offerings. Go to “Give” at the website, and you can set up a one-time or recurring gift. Choose “A Place of Peace” as the “Fund.” If using a check, please put “A Place of Peace” in the memo line. If using St. Andrew offering envelopes, use the designation “Ministry Expansion.”

Even if you didn’t make a formal pledge, you can still give. Every bit helps, as St. Andrew will still carry some debt, and the less debt, the more ministry.

Adult choir resumes October 8
Blend your voice with others to sing God’s praise. We’ll rehearse at 7 PM on Wednesdays in the Soul Café to sing for worship on:

• Sunday, October 26 (rehearsals will be October 8, 15, & 22).
• Sunday, December 7 (rehearsals will be November 12 & 19, December 3).

High school-aged and older are welcome to attend. Interested in participating? Email Minister of Worship Naomi Laabs.

Milestones
Leonardo Luigi Cucchi Salazar, son of Matt Cucchi and Tatiana Salazar, was baptized into Christ during the 10:30 worship service on Sunday. Praise God for both life and new life in Christ!

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.

“Oh, Praise the Name” by Hillsong
“I Believe” by Phil Wickham
“Come, Behold the Wondrous Mystery” by Matt Papa, Matt Boswell
“Only a Holy God” by CityAlight

WELS International Youth Rally
Summer 2026 will bring another WELS International Youth Rally. It will be held July 14 – 17 at Bowling Green University. These rallies are very popular and well-done. St. Andrew is planning to send a group with chaperones to this faith-inspiring, fun-filled rally. The rally is open to teens from the class of 2026 – 2030. St. Andrew is having an informational meeting on Sunday, October 19, at 11:45 AM. If that does not work, an online meeting will be on Monday, October 20, at 7:00 PM. If you want the link for that, email Minister for Nurture Mark Kjenstad.

The Story of God’s Love
A group of 100+ from St. Andrew has made it through a condensed version of the Bible called The Story of God’s Love. This ten-month reading plan included Scripture from each of the Bible’s 66 books, and readers had access to a message board to ask questions and share comments about the readings. A new St. Andrew Bible reading group will be formed soon. Stay tuned!

St. Andrew Growth Groups
St. Andrew is privileged to have 20 Growth Groups this fall. If you would like to see for yourself what being in a Growth Group is all about, you are welcome to do that. Talk to Minister for Nurture Mark Kjenstad. He will help you find a group to visit.

Small Talk returning
Small Talk is a St. Andrew podcast featuring young children. Host Rachel Kamin asks questions about the Bible and living as God’s children and her young guests take it from there. On October 15, an all-new episode with special guest Livy will be released.

Impact podcast
The true story of The Golden Calf surely exposes great sin, but it also beautifully highlights God’s unmatched faithfulness and his amazing grace. Pastor Jon Bilitz is our guest this week for Exodus 32. You can listen to Impact here or by searching for “Kjenstad Impact” wherever you listen to podcasts.

PowerHour
PowerHour returns this Friday at 10:15 AM with a trip to the “farmers’ market”! This ministry is for parents and their young children, up to age 4. Click here to learn more about PowerHour.

FUEL
FUEL is the Growth Group for all St. Andrew high school students. They meet on Sunday mornings to learn from and discuss Scripture, but that’s not all. They also hang out and have fun. Their next outing is a trip to Schuster’s Farm on October 25 from 6:00 – 9:00 PM. Contact Seth and Delaney for more information and to RSVP by October 17.

LifeBoat
Parents of students in grades 6 – 8, we want to help your child grow. LifeBoat is a middle school ministry with the goals of helping grow their relationship with Jesus and helping strengthen their Christian friendships through games, lessons from Scripture, and worship music. LifeBoat meets on the 1^st and 3^rd Sundays in the gym from 5:00 – 7:00 PM. If you or a high school volunteer would like to help with supervision here. To help with a snack donation, go here for details.

St. Andrew 50^th anniversary
St. Andrew will celebrate 50 years of ministry on October 23/26. In addition to the weekend worship service, we will host an event and meal at noon on October 26.

Opportunities to serve that Sunday include setup, takedown, and staffing planned activities for both children and adults. Contact Pastor Clinton to serve.

If you have pictures of baptisms, confirmations, summer camps, worship spaces, Growth Groups, Sunday school classes, Westside Christian School classes, etc., please submit them. If you have hard copies, identify them as yours and put them in the box in the atrium. Otherwise, you can send digital photos to Sarah Wendorf.

Monthly Mission Partner
Our October partner is WayForward Resources, a local organization that provides several social services to the western Dane County area, most notably, a large food pantry. Find more information about WayForward at their website.