VBS Takes Us on a Railroad Adventure

St. Ma hew Ev. Lutheran Church Hemlock Street PO Box Marathon, WI - Website: stma hewmarathon.org Phone: - - Jon W. Hadler, Pastor stma hewmarathon@charter.net Cell: - - Jackie Ma hiae, Secretary smlsecretary@outlook.com Cell: - -

August 2015

The St. Matthew Communicator

CHURCH COUNCIL

Randy Hamann President

Dennis Cramer Vice President

Jim Zimmerman Secretary

Jake Lemke Treasurer

Don Koeller Chris an Educa on

Brian Ahrens Buildings & Grounds

Bruce Stelter Buildings & Grounds

Peter Faber Finance Commi ee

Simon Fuhrman Finance Commi ee

This year’s Vaca on Bible School was a huge success with 54 children studying God’s Word through our Bible adventure “Making Tracks.” Pastor Hadler, as Engineer Ed, lead the morning Bible study each day. His dog, Loco (AKA Honey) also made an appearance one day to do a few tricks for the kids. Engineer Ed also had help from his friends in grades 5 - 7 as they performed a skit each day that portrayed the Bible stories. This group of young people did an outstanding job!!

The teachers then took each class to review the Bible lessons with ac vi es appropriate for their age level. God truly shows us how to live through His Word!

A er snacks and some play outside, each age group was able to do cra s and ac vi- es coordinated by their teacher. The teachers put so much me, thought, and prepara on into their lessons and cra s. We as a congrega on are blessed to have such great individuals that are willing to step up and guide our children in this way.

Music concluded each day’s lessons as the children learned new songs and even the sign language for “Jesus Loves Me.”

Please see inside for more pictures and details.

Pastor has said that the church did enough by sending him and Anne to Texas in April for his class reunion…BUT we wanted to celebrate this career milestone during the month of his actual ordina on into the ministry. He was ordained 25 years ago on July 8, 1990 in Raymond, South Dakota.

Everyone was able to enjoy a “taste” of Pastor’s success with two cakes marking the occasion at the church picnic. A special thanks to Anne for all her help digging up the photos and the newspaper ar cle (le ) that take us down memory lane! May God grant Pastor and his family many years of con nued blessings and strength as they con nue to do His work!

K J K

Member of St. Ma hew’s Since: Keith has been a lifelong member and Julianne joined in .

Family: They will be celebra ng their th wedding anniversary this month on August . They have two sons: Landon ( years old) and Mavrick ( years old). Landon will be a

Sophomore this coming fall and Mavrick will be in th grade. They also have one son, Dawson, who joined his Heavenly Father at ½ months in .

Hometown: Keith was born and raised in Marathon and Julianne in Wausau.

Occupa on: Both are dairy producers on their farm. Kreager Dairy was established in . Keith has also been a school bus driver for the past years at Fischer Transporta- on of Marathon, and Julianne is also an Optometric Assistant at Dr. Goga’s office.

Interests/Hobbies: Keith enjoys visi ng with other farmers and ge ng ideas, putzing around their farms, working and spending me with family and friends, and snowmobiling. Julianne enjoys snowmobiling, relaxing on their porch swing, spending me with their family, and enjoying the beauty of God’s nature.

Favorite Food or Restaurant: One of Keith’s favorite foods are cheeseburgers from Culver’s. He also enjoys going out to eat at Wausau Mine, Hammer Down, and Texas Roadhouse. Julianne’s favorites include the pasta dishes at Wausau Mine.

Church Involvement: Keith has been on the church dartball and so ball teams and has served on the church council. He is currently an usher. Julianne is currently on the Altar Guild. Both sing in the choir and have served on the Christmas commi ee.

Church Memory, Song or Bible Verse that Inspires You: One of Julianne’s favorite hymns is On Eagle’s Wings. Keith favorite memories have been of the children’s Christmas service on Christmas Eve and watching his boys grow up. Both indicated that their favorite verse is Joshua : “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

Meet Our Members

T h e S t . M a t t h e w C o m m u n i c a t o r

Kreager Family From Left: Landon, Keith, Julianne, and Maverick

The next “Change for Life” baby bottle collection will begin

later this month. So keep collect-ing your spare change and watch

the bulletin for more details. August 27 - September 13

Congratulations Pastor Hadler!

We Congratulate Pastor on 25 Years in the Ministry!

Ladies are cordially invited to a end the ? women's retreat in Loves Park, Illinois on Saturday, October 3. Choose from six possible workshops which flow from the theme "Let's Fix Our Eyes on Jesus."

For more informa on, please go to www.peacelp.com or call Cheryl at 608-290-0631. The registra on deadline is September 1, 2015. The fee is $50 (Early Bird Registra on by August 15 - only $45), and includes con- nental breakfast, lunch, speaker honorari-ums, & childcare.

Women’s Retreat Wedding Wishes On Saturday, August , Nick Halpin and Mallory Lemmer will make their marriage vows to each other at St. Ma hew’s. May the Lord bless them on this day and in the years to come. May He remain a constant presence in their lives and union.

Nick Halpin & Mallory Lemmer

Council Mee ng on Monday, July , Voters’ Mee ng on Sunday, July Membership ♦ Garre Carr and Kellie Ahrens were married on Saturday,

July , at the Lang Family Farm. Worship & Educa on ♦ Missionary Kevin Stellick (Shanghai) was a guest preacher on

July & since he was in the area visi ng his family. ♦ Pastor will be on vaca on from Wed, August - Mon,

August . Pastor Jeff Mahnke (St. Peter, Schofield) will serve as the guest preacher. Holy Communion will be moved to August & .

♦ Due to a special gi to cover paper and prin ng costs, service folders are being printed on a weekly basis.

♦ Pastor Jim Roecker, campus minister and evangelism pastor at Divine Word in Plover, has been schedule for Mission Fes val on October .

♦ Sunday school is set to resume on Sun, Sept. with a Parents Orienta on during the Sunday School hour.

♦ Catechism will resume on Wed, Sept. ( : - : PM) with five th graders, two th graders, and four th graders.

♦ Bible Class will resume on Sun, Sept. with a study of the Augsburg Confession and Apology to the Augsburg Confession.

♦ One tui on assistance request was presented and approved. ♦ The WELS Interna onal Youth Rally will be held at

Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO from June - July , .

♦ Mar n Luther College graduate, Miss Edili Pichardo was assigned to teach Spanish at Northland. And Mr. Frank Van Brocklin accepted a call to teach Algebra I & II, Chemistry, Physics, and serve as assistant principal.

Building and Grounds ♦ A commi ee was established to design and plan the

“Resurrec on Park” by the church’s south side entrance. Commi ee members include: Connie Hamann, Traci Schumacher, and Gloria Ma hiae.

Elders ♦ The elders will meet to discuss the worship survey results on

August at : PM.

Cemetery ♦ The commi ee is finalizing plans for the expansion of the

cemetery and have been surveying for new sites. Old Business ♦ Wes Krumplitsch installed a mixer board on Tues, July but

needs to hook up the Clavinova and rewire two of the cables from the organ to the mixer. The total es mated cost is es mated at , .

New Business ♦ The voters requested further study about purchasing

Hymnso so ware and a laptop computer capable of playing the organ/piano through the mixer board. A memorial was received in memory of Bernice Fluger from the “Fluger Trust DTD” and her family approved using the monies for this purpose. This will be voted on at the October Quarterly Voters Mee ng.

♦ A commi ee was formed to study current church policies regarding marriage and marriage policies, as well as crea ng a policy regarding the use of the church by an outside group or person. The commi ee, consis ng of Jake Lemke, Mark Ahrens, and Simon Fuhrman, will bring back sugges ons at the October QVM.

Highlights of the Voters’ & Church Council Meetings

Next Church Council Meeting

Monday, August 10 at 7:00 PM

We have two milestone anniversaries we would like to acknowledge: Tim & Linda Lemmer celebrated years together on June and Jerry & Michele Natzke celebrated their th wedding anniversary on July .

Congratula ons to both of these couples and we thank them for the beau ful gi of flowers they each presented in thankfulness to the Lord, which has graced our church with beauty.

May the Lord con nue to pour out his good-ness and grace upon them, their marriages, and their families.

Meet Our Members

T h e S t . M a t t h e w C o m m u n i c a t o r

J M N

Member of St. Ma hew’s Since: Michele has been a lifelong member and Jerry joined in .

Family: Jerry & Michele recently celebrated their th Wedding Anniversary on July . They have been blessed with five children: Lauren ( ), Monica ( ), Kayleigh ( ), and twins Jeremy & Jus n ( ). Lauren currently lives in Madison and Monica in Stevens Point.

Hometown: Both are from Marathon.

Occupa on: Jerry works at Marth Wood Shavings and Michele is a dental hygienist at Marathon Family Den stry.

Interests/Hobbies: Jerry and Michele both enjoy the outdoors. Michele par cularly likes being outside when up north. Jerry likes fish-ing, as well as pheasant and deer hun ng.

They both enjoy snowmobiling and spending me with their family.

Favorite Food or Restaurant: Jerry’s favorite restaurant is Jalapeno’s and Michele’s is Olive Garden.

Church Involvement: Jerry has served on the Finance Commi ee and as an usher. Michele taught Sunday School and VBS for many years, organized the “Cradle Roll,” sang in the choir, served on the Worship Commi ee and is currently on Altar Guild. Both have also been on the Christmas commi ee.

Church Memory, Song or Bible Verse that Inspires You: Michele remembers helping the ladies making the chrismons ornaments in the old church basement and the fun they had doing this. A favorite Bible verse is her confirma on verse Romans : - “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither

angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all crea on, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The Natzke Family Sitting in front: Michele & Jerry

Standing from left: Monica, Jeremy, Lauren, Justin, and Kayleigh

Anniversary Blessings

Jerry & Michele on their wedding day.

July ,

Tim & Linda on their wedding day, June , .

And pictured below celebrating years later!

Thank you to the many people that make this week possible. Here are a few we have to men on, but please forgive us if we missed anyone! ENGINEER ED: Pastor Hadler MUSIC DIRECTOR: Ami Schumacher MUSIC ACCOMPANISTS: Chris ne Sorge and Marykay Niemann SNACK COORDINATORS: Bonnie

Gacke, Judy Kra , Gloria Kreager & Connie Zimmerman

PRE-K PASSENGERS TEACHER: Linda Heise Gabe Zimmerman ASSISTANTS: Haley Hadler Jocelyn Volkman Marykay Niemann Derek Sorge

Natalie Sonnentag Henry Albrecht Caleb Adamski Camryn Schmidt Lucy Albrecht Cooper Yonker

4K-K TEACHER: Chris ne Sorge PASSENGERS ASSISTANT: Molly Urmanski Quade Fuhrman

Emma Hill Lily Hill Taelyn Lang Alicia Schumacher Madison Ma hiae Morgan Sorge Asher Lemke Asher Adamski Tyler Schmidt Aubrey Fieri Natalia Ortega

More Vacation Bible School

GRADES 1 - 2 TEACHER: Sue Ma hiae PASSENGERS ASSISTANTS: Landon Kreager Samantha Schmidt Ryan Ma hiae Mya Buchberger

Madelyn Volkman Gavin Ma hiae Tate Sonnentag Evan Gacke Alexandria Ma hiae Alexis Hall Makaela Hill Natalie Salber Wesley Schumacher Grascie Yonker Wilson Marks Caly Fieri Aiden Lang

GRADES 3 - 4 TEACHER: Ami Schumacher PASSENGERS

Jazmin Landwehr Morgan Urmanski Maycie Yonker Melani Landwehr Jersey Lobner Dillan Yonker Jasmin Gonzalez Dalia Romero

GRADES 5 - 7 TEACHERS: Pastor Hadler PASSENGERS Diana Niemann Chloe Sonnentag

Ethan Gacke Jaden Koeller Regan Lobner Owen Marks McKinnley Marks Kolby Koeller Madigan Fuhrman Maverick Kreager Mercedes Lobner

â Members of the Aid brought in so many items for the “Baking” basket for the Family Day picnic raffle that the ladies were able to make three separate baskets for the raffle.

â This months mission project is the St. Ma hew Lutheran Tui on Assistance

Fund. â No mee ng in August. â The September hostess is Caroline Wokatsch.

Mee ng on July , â Nine members, one guest, and Pastor were

in a endance. â The newsle er from the Wisconsin Luther-

an Ins tu onal Ministries was shared. â Thank you notes for gi s from the Aid were

received from: • Luther Prep School • Amanda Sonnentag • Jackie Ma hiae • Chris ne Sorge

â The ladies sent a card to Ruth Olbrantz for her th birthday.

T h e S t . M a t t h e w C o m m u n i c a t o r

Highlights of the Ladies Aid Meeting

Next Ladies Aid Mee ng:

Thursday, Sept. : PM

SPECIAL THANKS TO: ♦ DJ Adamski for his fine job

serving as the MC for the day. ♦ Orville & Darlene Hanke for

the dona on of “start-up” cash for the cash box used to sell the picnic and raffle ckets.

♦ Jake & Melissa Lemke for dona ng the beer and use of the kegerator.

♦ Larry & Cassie Ruffi for dona ng the Bull Falls Brewery beer.

♦ Melissa Lemke for making and stuffing the piñatas.

♦ Tim & Linda Lemmer for dona ng the cakes in honor of Pastor Hadler.

♦ Linda Olbrantz - Arrow Tap for supplying the root beer.

♦ Chris ne Sorge for organizing the bounce house.

Church Picnic Recap It was a great year for our church picnic! We had wonderful weather, a huge turnout (served 159 people), and sold a record 1,000 raffle ckets. Just to compare how far we have come...back in 2007 we served 95 and had only two raffle items that sold a total of 112 ckets!!

Thank you to everyone who helped set-up on Saturday, prepared a dish or dessert, donated supplies, served, and assisted with clean up. Thank you to the Chris an Care Commi ee for their work planning the ac vi es for the event.

A huge thank you to Linda Lemmer for all her countless hours of careful planning and prepa-ra on. She has this event planning down to a science and all she does is GREATLY appreciated!

And it seems that “kids of ALL ages” enjoyed the bounce house!

To the members of St. Ma hew's:

Thank you for a wonderful family day picnic! The weather was beau ful, abundance of raffle items and laughter heard all around. The bouncy house was a hit, the piñatas claimed another vic m, and no one le hungry. It was great to be able to talk to many of you there. A very big thank you goes out to the Lemmer Family and the Chris an Care Commi ee for con nuously raising the bar each year with the Family Day Picnic…I am already look-ing forward to next year.

In regards to the financial health of St. Ma hews, our balances are growing and we have rebounded to last year’s levels. We are slightly behind on our missions, we should be at % of our goal and right now, we are at %. I know with the con nued generosity of our members, we will easily eclipse our commitment.

A very special thank you goes to Pastor Hadler, Anne, Heidi, Haley and of course, Honey! This year represents Pastor Hadler’s th year in the ministry. In , Pastor Hadler con nued his witnessing of Christ and accepted his first call to Raymond, SD. In , Pastor and family headed east and landed in Marathon City, WI. We are grateful to you, Pastor and family, for your reless commitment to spreading the saving Gospel message of our risen Lord and Savior. “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Ma hew : )

In His Service, Jake Lemke, Treasurer

Weekly Service Attendance Averages in June = Weekly Service Attendance Averages Year-to-Date =

May Monthly Door Offering to WELS Kingdom Workers = June Monthly Door Offering for Stephen Bautista =

Jun-14 Jul-14 Aug-14 Sept-14 Oct-14 Nov-14 Dec-14 Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15 Apr-15 May-15 General $ 3,885 $ 6,144 $ 5,502 $ 5,162 $ 5,057 $ 7,404 $ 7,354 $ 6,894 $ 5,274 $ 4,391 $ 2,629 $ 3,178 Buildings & Grounds $ 10,036 $ 10,880 $ 10,778 $ 9,499 $ 9,934 $ 10,873 $ 7,852 $ 8,316 $ 7,827 $ 8,876 $ 9,526 $ 9,738

Total $ 13,921 $ 17,024 $ 16,280 $ 14,660 $ 14,990 $ 18,277 $ 15,207 $ 15,209 $ 13,101 $ 13,267 $ 12,155 $ 12,916

Jun-15 $ 3,426 $ 10,497 $ 13,923

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Jun-14 Jul-14 Aug-14 Sep-14 Oct-14 Nov-14 Dec-14 Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15 Apr-15 May-15 Jun-15

Account Balances

General Buildings & Ground

Missions YTD Budget WELS $ 14,143 $ 26,895 NLHS $ 1,962 $ 7,500 Door Offering $ 1,245 $ 2,500

Total $ 17,350 $ 36,895 47%

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2015 Expenses

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2015 Offerings

Actuals Budget Average Attendance

Stewardship Report

206 Hemlock Street PO Box 647 Marathon, WI 54448-0647

St. Ma hew Ev. Lutheran Church

Raffle Wrap-up

Thank you to Marathon Family Vision Center Marathon Family Vision Center -- Dr. Erin Goga Dr. Erin Goga for purchasing an ad this year, which

we put toward prin ng this newsle er in color!

Interested in adver sing your business or sending a message to our members - Call the church at 715-443-2028 or send an e-mail to

smlsecretary@outlook.com.

THANK YOU to all who donated raffle items and purchased ckets to win the items. This helped us sell a record 1000 ckets, which in turn helps keep the cost of the picnic down! In case you were wondering, here is a final list of the items we received and who won each. ITEM DONATED BY WINNER DOOR PRIZE WINNERS “Frozen Basket Chris an Care Commi ee Morgan Urmanski $20 El Mezcal - James Gresens Fretwork Na vity Herb Braunel Family Mary Jane Cramer $25 Kwik Trip - Jenny Skrzypchak Fretwork Keepsake Box Herb Branuel Family Morgan Urmanski Intarsia Teddy Bear Hunter Pastor Hadler Jaden Koeller Intarsia Bear Cub Pastor Hadler Charles Loy Intarsia Fruit Bowl Pastor Hadler Jenny Skrzypchak Rabbit w/ $100 Gi Card Don & Ila Behnke Haley Hadler Bull Falls Brewery Package Mid Wisconsin Beverage Don Koeller Maple Syrup Basket Roger & Jill Reisner Ma Lemmer Snowman Roger & Jill Reisner Tim Lemmer Baking Baskets (3) Ladies Aid Ryan Wokatsch (2X) & Larry Ruffi Train Basket Chris an Care Commi ee Tate Sonnentag $100 George’s Gi Card Roger & Judy Kra Lois Koeller Candle Basket Dawn Mae Burish Lois Koeller Bird Feeder & Bird Seed Roger & Gloria Kreager Molly Natzke Puppies & Dogwood Legend Pictures Duane & Diane Handrick Sarah Fink Home & Garden Veranda Pitcher Gail Landwehr Connie Hamann Stanley Cleaning Supplies Basket Jack & Lee Ann Thomsen Ila Behnke 2 Embroidered Dish Clothes (4) Caroline Wokatsch Lee Ann Thomsen, Arlyn Heise, Natalie Sonnentag, Wendy Fuhrman Cute Cri ers Collec on Jenny Schreier Darrin Hall Fall Collec on Jenny Schreier Ma Lemmer Christmas Collec on Jenny Schreier Carrie Albrecht Spring Collec on Jenny Schreier Connie Zimmerman Set of Red Bags/Purses Church - Free Gi w/Paper Chloe Sonnentag Embroidered & Framed Verse/Prayer Bill & Amanda Sonnentag Dennis Cramer Sweet Treats Basket Randy & Kerry Wokatsch Jenny Skrzpchak