The Sunday School stories this year will align with Holy Week and Easter, with Jesus' burial and resurrection being taught on Palm Sunday, April 2nd.
Attendance at Sunday School continues to be sporadic. This impact the ability of the kids to sing in church the first Sunday of the month. Kids need consistency, and there is no better consistency than regular church and Sunday School attendance.
Sunday-Sunday morning Bible class is wrapping up a study entitled, ''Ten Lies About God''. Attendance at adult Bible class has been improving.
Men's-Men's Bible class meets at 11:30 AM on Fridays and is working on a study about the Pharisees called, ''Irreconcilable''. The men's Bible class has recently added several new attendees.
The old adage ''March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb'' will lend itself to our beginning and ending themes for the month of March. We will start our activities by listening to the Aesop fable ''The Lion and the Mouse'' and also make a lion mask out of paper plates.
For our next theme, we will focus on ''Taking Care of Me!'' The children will learn about the importance of eating healthy and keeping our bodies and teeth clean. We will play a matching teeth fine motor skills game, make a hand washing craft and listen to the book ''I Eat a Rainbow''.
I am hoping that by ending the month with a look at lambs, where the children will learn the hymn ''I am Jesus' Little Lamb'' and make a lamb puppet, will help usher in some calm, spring-like weather for our spring break during the final week of March.
The Little Sprouts will learn about these Jesus stories this month: Jesus Heals a Little Girl, Jesus Goes to a Wedding, Blessed is the King and Jesus Prays in the Garden.
- Mrs. Rachel Andrews
February ended up being a pretty sunny month which was nice after a few months of lots of clouds. This month in preschool we will be very busy learning many new things as well as myself preparing for final Parent/Teacher conferences which will be held in April. The three-year-old class will be learning the theme ''Community Helpers'' and the four-year-old class will be splitting the month between two themes ''Under the Sea'' and ''Reptiles & Amphibians''. Both classes will get to enjoy a class field trip. The three-year-olds will be going to the local Fire Station and the four-year-old class will enjoy an in-class field trip on Reptiles & Amphibians.
During Jesus time we will be skipping ahead to get us ready for Jesus' journey to the cross and his resurrection on Easter morning. We will learn the following stories: ''Jesus Rides into Jerusalem'', ''The Garden of Gethsemane'', ''Jesus Before Pilate'' and ''Jesus Dies on the Cross''.
We will be on Spring Break the last week of March: 27th thru 31st, with classes resuming April 3rd and 4th.
Finally, the preschool children are invited again to sing with the Sunday School children on Sunday, March 5th. We hope to see many of our families there.
- Mrs. Lori Dundore, Teacher/ Director
As you recall, this past fall New Life's church council members participated in a series of strategic planning sessions to assist in the development of a viable five-year plan. The sessions were facilitated by pastor's brother, John Bauer. John is the founder and senior strategist of John Bauer Consulting, L.L.C.
The process of developing a long-range strategic plan for New Life will continue into the Spring and through the first half of 2023. The next step in this important activity is to collect feedback from members of our congregation. To accomplish this, we have scheduled a strategic planning brainstorming activity for members immediately following the Lenten service on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. If necessary, a second meeting has been penciled in following the Lenten service on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. Planning meetings will not go beyond one hour. Note that this invitation to participate is not only targeting voting members of our congregation -- ALL members are encouraged to participate.
In considering strategic planning, you may want to begin by reflecting on New Life's mission statement …rooted in the word, growing in faith, reaching out to our uprooted world. Consider how well our mission statement aligns with what our church is and what direction our church should take going forward. What do you think needs to change or what do you want to see changed? We want our focus at this meeting to be on concrete ideas for change and not simply on activities. Our objective is to gather your suggestions and thoughts. The final goal is to identify a ''preferred future state'' for New Life.
Please give prayerful thought to our strategic planning effort and share your thoughts with us on March 15, 2023. Strategic planning can play a significant role in shaping our future… don't miss this opportunity to be part of it. This meeting will be open format, all ideas and thoughts will be welcomed. And, as always, feel free at any time to discuss strategic long-range planning with members of New Life's church council.
Thank You!
In March, the tone chime choir will rehearse on March 13th at 7:00 PM and play for the service on March 19th.
The Branch Connection will have its next meeting on WEDNESDAY, March 8th at 5:00 PM. The idea is to have the meeting prior to the Lenten meal and service.
Green Team met twice in the month of February. At their first meeting on February 9, the kids learned about the career of being a ''Sanitation Engineer'' or ''Garbage Collector''. The kids made a Valentine card as well. They also designed their pine cars.
At their second meeting on February 23, the kids learned about the career of being a ''Construction Worker / General Contractor''. They built a house with notched popsicle sticks and sanded down their pine cars.
In March, the kids will continue to work on their pine cars and learn about the careers of ''Waiter / Waitress'' and ''Mailman / Mailwoman''. The meetings start at 6:30 PM and will be held on March 9th and 23rd.
Also, the meal at the third mid-week Lenten service will serve as a fund-raiser to help defray the cost involved with Green Team.
Please be aware that daylight savings time begins on Sunday, March 12. In the springtime we ''spring ahead", setting our clocks back to lose an hour.
Training Camp is scheduled for July 16-21, 2023 at YMCA Camp Duncan in Ingleside, Illinois. The cost for a week of camp is $450. At our Ash Wednesday meal, a total of $966 was donated to help defray the cost for sending as many of ''our'' kids as possible to Training Camp. If you'd like to help send our kids to camp, you can make a donation, place it in the plate and mark it ''Training Camp''.
The United Way's fall fund drive is underway right now, and many employers will match employee contributions. Tree of Life Lutheran Preschool is recognized by the United Way, so this is a great opportunity to help out with our education and community outreach efforts via the preschool. "10438331" is the ID number for Tree of Life. All contributions are greatly appreciated!
If you have used online giving, please note that we are changing providers in January. When the switch over occurs, new links will be available on the church website, and in the bulletin. The new online giving page will look different but have the same functionality as the previous platform along with some extra features that may be added in the future. If you have a shortcut saved on your phone or desktop, please update them with the new link.
Prior to the pandemic, members would sign up to bring something to eat and drink for after the service. For the past several months, pre-packaged goods have been kept at church and served. It's time to get back to normal. Please consider taking a Sunday for fellowship. The sign-up sheet is located on the bulletin board in the basement.
Heading to college can be exciting, stressful, and everything in between. WELS Campus Ministry can help! Let us help you stay connected to God's Word. To begin go towels.net/campus-ministry and click the button "College students register here". You can register for free subscriptions to Forward in Christ and Meditations booklets and will be connected to the campus pastor for your school. Students who have previously registered for WELS Campus Ministry are encouraged to check your profile and preferences and make any necessary updates. For questions please contact Ginny Mundstock at the WELS Campus Ministry office: 414-256-3279.
While updating Ministry plans for the next fiscal year it was noted that again the Elder's plan includes assisting members or friends of New Life with emergency assistance. Emergency assistance is often needed due to weather related emergencies. Be mindful that New Life has access to equipment and tools not always readily available to the person in need. Examples include generators, chainsaws, etc. Often times it may be as simple as just needing some extra hands to address a need. So, in the event you need help, please do not hesitate to call. To request assistance, simply call church at 847-438-5018 and leave a message. Have a wonderful safe summer!
The Thrivent Choice® program lets eligible members recommend where some of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' charitable outreach funds go by directing Choice Dollars®. You can direct your funds to New Life Lutheran Church and/or Tree of Life Lutheran Preschool. If you have any questions about how to do this, please speak to Craig LaPlante the Stewardship Chairman.