Church in the Park on June 13th

Mark your calendars for “Church in the Park” on Sunday, June 13th, 2010. We will hold our Sunday service in the Riverside Park band shell at 9:00 a.m. Bring your own lawn chair or use the benches (with backs!) at the park. Sunscreen, hats and sunglasses are also good things to remember. Jane and Dave Umnus will be leading us in song along with Mike and Nancy Caucutt.

In the case of questionable weather, please check the church website or the call the church office.

June Book Club Selection: The Help

Our June book is The Help by Kathyrn Stockett. Skeeter returns home to Mississippi from college in 1962 and begins to write stories about the African-American women that are found working in white households, which includes Aibileen, who grieves for the loss of her son while caring for her seventeenth white child, and Minny, Aibileen’s sassy friend, the hired cook for a secretive woman who is new to town. This is a deeply moving novel. It is filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t.

We will meet to discuss both May’s book, The Silenced by James DeVita, and June’s book, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, on Thursday, June 17th at 6:30 p.m.

Free Piano Drawing on June 6th

Our Savior’s has a piano (which doesn’t hold tuning for long) to give away. The piano is currently in the Ulvilden Chapel. There are several parties interested in the piano so a winning name will be drawn from a hat on Sunday, June 6th. The winner is responsible for moving the piano out of the building by Friday, June 11th. If it is not removed, another name will be drawn and the winner notified. Please use the back of a pew (communion) card with your name, address and phone number and the words “piano drawing”. Place the card in the offering plate to enter!

Holy Week Schedule

April 1st (Maundy Thursday)	Noon* & 7:00 p.m.*
April 2nd (Good Friday)	Noon & 7:00 p.m.
April 3rd (Easter)	6:30 a.m.* & 9 a.m*

*Holy Communion Served

Butter Braids On Sale Now

Time for the Spring Butter Braid Sale! The Youth of OSLC will be taking orders for those delicious fruit-filled pastries on March 14th and March 21st. The pastries are $11 each and come in eight mouth-watering flavors:

• Apple
• Bavarian Crème with chocolate icing
• Blueberry & Cream Cheese
• Caramel Roll
• Cherry
• Cinnamon
• Cream Cheese
• Raspberry

Butter Braid delivery will  be on Sunday, March 28th after worship in the Fellowship Hall – just in time for Easter! Check the display in the Fellowship Hall for more information or contact the Family and Youth Team.

Order Your Easter Flowers Now

Easter is fast approaching and it’s time to place your order for Easter flowers. Order forms are available in the March Messenger.

The deadline for ordering Easter flowers is Sunday, March 7th. If you have any questions, please contact Laura at the church office. Thank you!

Learn to Make Lefse on February 26-27

Due to popular demand, we’re having another lefse making event! We will gather Fri. Feb 26th at 7 pm to prepare and rice the potatoes, and we’ll reconvene Sat. Feb 27th at 10 am to roll out and make the lefse. To truly learn how to make lefse, you should be present at both sessions.

All ingredients will be provided, and if you have lefse making equipment, please bring it! A free will offering will be taken. For safety, we ask that this event be limited to adults and youth, excluding small children. All youth should be accompanied by an adult.

Any questions, please contact Stefanie VanZee.

Tired and Retired Potluck on February 18th

WELCA’s Tired and Retired Potluck will be Thursday, February 18th at noon. Please bring a dish to pass. Utensils and beverage will be furnished.

Our entertainment will be Janice Fortney from Viroqua. Hope to see you all there!

WELCA Board

Give to Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund

The La Crosse Area Synod has this information for Haiti relief, also designated as a memorial for Ben Larson by his parents and wife. Thrivent members can have a $1 match for each $2 gift through the Thrivent website. Checks can also be sent through the synod office, with a notation in the memo line for “Haiti.”

• From the ELCA: ELCA website or call 800-638-3522
• From LWR (Lutheran World Relief) : On the LWR website, or by mailing a check or money order to: Lutheran World Relief Haiti Earthquake Relief, P.O. Box 17061, Baltimore, MD 21298-9832

Ben Larson’s Memorial Service was held at Luther College this past Friday. There is no La Crosse memorial planned. We grieve greatly for our friends and our Church which lost a tremendous voice and future pastor. Our former bishop’s family has released this statement:

“As an infant Benjamin Judd Ulring Splichal Larson was wrapped in the arms of God in the waters of baptism, and from those waters, his life was an outpouring of love and joy, laughter and play, in response to God first loving Ben. Ben’s love of God, walking in accompaniment, passionately loving others, listening and learning from those who are poor across the globe, drove his serving. We give thanks to God for the incredible joy of knowing Ben. His laughter, playfulness, passionate heart for those who are hurting was manifest in his daily life. He delighted in the privilege of serving and knowing God, laying out his life in joy.

We are blessed by still being able to hear Ben‘s music. His father Judd says, ‘If you want to know Ben, go to his music.’ In his tender music remains some of the treasure that is Ben: what he believes, what he cares about, his deepest soul. Most of the people who died in this deadly earthquake in Haiti are the poorest of the poor in this hemisphere. Ben went to Haiti to teach theology and scripture in the new Lutheran Church of Haiti; but more deeply to learn from these people loved by God. In his young death his life joins the bodies of the poor. In the Haitian rubble Ben’s life joins these dear beloved people of God: all those parents crying for their children; young widows calling out for their husbands; new orphans searching for their parents. God have mercy on us.”

Contact information for the Larsons is as follows:

6030 E Superior St #308
Duluth MN 55804-2567

RIC Sunday is January 31st

Along with many other RIC congregations across the nation, on Sunday, January 31st we will be reaffirming our commitment as a Reconciling In Christ Congregation.

With a big thank you to Pastor Mark, Pastor Libby Howe (who is the Assistant to the Bishop in our synod and an OSLC member) will be speaking to us on this special day. We will also have a couple of “temple talks” about the positive effects of RIC and OSLC. Also, we may be learning a new song or two. Please mark this date on your calendars and plan on attending this inspirational Sunday!

Next Page »