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The Newsletter of St. John’s

November 2017

St. John’s Ev. Lutheran Church

Juneau, Wisconsin

500th Anniversary of the Reformation

1517-2017

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WELCOME ______________________________________________________________________________

November, 2017

St. John’s Lutheran Church & School

400 S. Main St. -- Juneau, Wisconsin

St. John’s Church 920.386.3313

St. John’s School 920.386.4644

Regular Worship Schedule

Thursday Worship 6:30 PM

Sunday 8:00 & 10:30 AM

Sunday School & Bible Class 9:15 AM

Pastors at St. John’s Church

David Brandt

Paul Schupmann

Faculty of St. John’s School

Richard Cody – Principal

Crystal Schultz

Matthew Lober

Edna Noldan

Nichole Gunst

Michel Krebs

Suzanne Colantonio

Rebecca Zellmer

www.stjohnsjuneau.org

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Give Thanks Through Christ

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for

you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (NIV)

Sorrow, sadness, grief, distress, sickness and pain. What do all these words have in common?

At first glance we would want nothing to do with them. Perhaps they unload a whole list of

uncomfortable thoughts or emotions. My guess is they are only talked about in a negative way.

From a Christian perspective, we see them in a different light. We see them remembering that

Christ is king of all and those words don’t enter our lives by mere chance. We know that if they

come, our God won’t give us more than we can handle and that God will make them serve for

our good.

God also uses them as open doors and windows in our life. He allows the hurt so we can tell

those listening the hope we have, Jesus, our rock and redeemer.

In our passage today, the apostle Paul remembers God’s love to him even as he dealt and is

dealing once again with so much sorrow, sadness, grief, distress, sickness and pain. His reaction

shouldn’t surprise us, but instead should inspire us, for it was one of joy, prayer and

thankfulness. No, he wasn’t delusional, he had Christ.

This Thanksgiving, your heart may be broken, but remember you have Christ. Remember what

that means. You have forgiveness, security, joy, peace and eternal life. Remember God’s

promises and give thanks to him even as you endure your hardships. Finally remember a day is

coming when all those headaches will go away. A day is near where sin will be no more and

sadness will be a thing of the past. This day is when your king, your Savior comes for us and

takes us to be with him.

As God’s children, like Paul, we always have a reason to give thanks through Christ!

Heavenly Father, Thank you making us your children and for giving us eyes of faith to see your

great love for us even as we have difficult times in this life. Help us always to rejoice, pray and

give you thanks in the good times and the “bad”. Amen .

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St. John’s News

New Picture Directory Coming!

Did you know that our congregation has been blessed with over 80 new members since our last church pictorial

directory? St. John’s will be creating its own new picture directory! Beginning in December we will be

offering timeslots for members of our congregation to have their family picture taken for the directory. We are

looking for volunteers to help with the photography and editing of the directory. If you have any experience

with SLR cameras and/or Photoshop and would like to volunteer for this new project, please contact the church

office at 920-386-3313 or church@stjohnsjuneau.org. The equipment (cameras, backdrop, etc.) will be

provided.

St. John’s Thanksgiving Dinner:

The St. John’s annual Thanksgiving Dinner will be held on Wednesday, November 22, at 11:30 AM. The cost

is $2.50 for high schoolers and adults, $1.75 for children ages 6-14, and young children are free. If you are

interested in attending the meal, please call the school office at 920-386-3313 to reserve your spot.

Our Janitor is Retiring:

Robert (Mac) Affeld is retiring from his position as Church Janitor in the end of October. We want to thank Mac

for his service to our congregation over the past two years! If anyone is interested in taking over as our church

janitor, please contact the church office or email church@stjohnsjuneau.org for more information. Thank you!

Contemporary Song:

If you would like to sing a contemporary song or have musical ability to play an instrument in a contemporary choir

song, please contact the church office at 920-386-3313 or church@stjohnsjuneau.org.

Hymn/Flower Request Sign-Up Sheet:

If you are interested in donating flowers for an upcoming church service or request a special hymn, please use

the sign-up sheet in the narthex (on the easel by the couches). Please sign-up at least two weeks prior to the

requested Sunday. Thank you!

Electronic Giving:

St. John’s offers our members the choice to give their “first fruits” when and how they want (whether it is by

check, cash, or electronic giving). Did you know St. John’s offers three different electronic giving options

(website, direct deposit and text giving) as convenient alternatives

to checks or cash? If you are interested in giving electronically,

please see the flyer in the Friendship Registers or contact the

church office for more information. Located in front of each

hymnal rack is an Online Giving Card. If you give electronically

and would like to participate in the offering portion of our worship

service, please place an online giving card in the offering plate as

it is passed by.

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News from Outside of Juneau

Agrace to Offer Orientation for Prospective Volunteers in November:

In November, Agrace Hospice & Palliative will offer orientation sessions for prospective volunteers interested

in brightening the lives of people with serious illnesses. Volunteers are needed throughout Sauk and Columbia

counties to make companionship visits to patients living in their own homes, or in nursing homes or assisted

living facilities.

Agrace will offer volunteer orientation Thursday, November 30, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., at its Baraboo office.

Before attending orientation, prospective volunteers will complete an application and an interview process with

Agrace’s staff. Call (608) 327-7163 to register.

Rock River Area Owls:

Our OWLS (Organization of WELS Seniors) chapter will have its November gathering at St John Lutheran

Church in Watertown on November 21 at 1:30 PM. Rev. James Werner will describe his recent trip to "Our

Grenada Mission" on the Caribbean island off the coast of Venezuela. Refreshments available thanks to

the women of the congregation. St John is served by Pastors Warnecke and Carter. It was founded in 1852, has

some 1100 members and operates a Lutheran elementary preschool to 8th grade with 124 pupils and 8

teachers. Going to 304 North 6th Street will take you between the church and the school. The meeting is in the

school cafeteria which is handicap accessible. Learn more about the Organization of WELS Seniors (OWLS),

which provides meaningful activity for people retired and/or 50 years and older. Here is a wonderful

opportunity for seniors to grow spiritually and enjoy the fellowship of neighboring WELS and ELS

members. Take a Caribbean cruise this month with Pastor Werner to the exotic island of Grenada. Bring a

friend with you. All are welcome.

Twice Is Nice News October 2017:

Annual report: At its annual volunteer appreciation dinner at Plattdeutcher Hall in Watertown October 1, the

Good Stewards board—who administrates the Twice is Nice Resale Store—reported the store is on target to

surpass $600,000 in sales for 2017, an almost 12% increase from a year ago. Gifts to LLHS have surpassed the

$4.5 million mark since 1993, including operating gifts that help minimize tuition increases, as well as over

$63,000 in school wishlist grants just in 2016-17.

Shop: Just a reminder that Christmas has come early at the store. We are stocked and ready to help you supply

your decorating and gift-giving opportunities this year. New items are stocked every day we’re open, Mondays-

-Saturdays from 9-5 PM: just a minute east on the Hwy 18 exit off the 26 bypass at 907 W. Racine St., next to

the Jefferson Piggly Wiggly.

Volunteer: We welcome our newest board members, Jayne Pfeifer (St. Peter, Helenville) and Dan Uttech (St.

Luke, Watertown), who joined incumbent Pastor Marty Stuebs (St. Paul, Lake Mills) for a term as a director on

the Good Stewards board. Thank you for your service out of love for your Savior! Approach them with your

questions and suggestions, or call the store at 920-674-6868 and ask for the day manager.

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St. John’s Mission Festival

November 2nd & 5th

with Guest Pastor, Pastor Dan Lewig

Our Ladies Aid is organizing a special Brunch/Continental

Breakfast Potluck Meal between Services on Sunday,

November 5th. Please bring a “brunch” dish to pass. No need

to sign-up, but please come and hear the presentation by Pastor

Lewig. Any questions? Please contact Heide Brandt at 989-574-5976.

Daniel Lewig serves as the pastor of two rural Wisconsin congregations in Hillpoint (St John's) and Lime Ridge

(Trinity), located in the country about a half hour west of Baraboo. Over the past two years, Pastor Lewig has

partnered with his congregations to create a home and outreach focus, developing a parent-taught and

pastor-guided catechism class, and focused ministry efforts on starting a third congregation in the nearby

community of Richland Center and have begun exploratory mission work. Please come and hear more about

how the Holy Spirit blesses ministry in western Wisconsin!

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November is National Diabetes Month

The Basics More than 29 million people in the United States have diabetes, but 1 out of 4 of them doesn’t know they have it. There are three main types of diabetes: type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes (diabetes while pregnant, which can put the pregnancy and baby at risk and lead to type 2 diabetes later). With type 1 diabetes, your body can’t make insulin (a hormone that regulates blood sugar), so you need to take it every day. Type 1 diabetes is less common than type 2 diabetes; about 5% of the people who have diabetes have type 1. Currently, no one knows how to prevent type 1 diabetes. Most people with diabetes—9 out of 10—have type 2 diabetes. With type 2 diabetes, your body doesn’t use insulin well and is unable to keep blood sugar at normal levels. If you have any of the risk factors below, ask your doctor if you should be tested for diabetes. The sooner you find out, the sooner you can start making healthy changes that will benefit you now and in the future.

Type 2 diabetes risk factors include

Being overweight. Being 45 years or older. Having a parent, brother, or sister with type 2 diabetes. Being physically active less than 3 times a week. Ever having gestational diabetes or giving birth to a baby who weighed more than 9 pounds.

If you have Diabetes Know Your ABCs Work with your doctor to manage your diabetes ABCs, and keep a record of your numbers. Results will help determine if your treatment plan is working and you’re able to stay in your target range—for example, an A1C of 7% or less—or if adjustments need to be made. Staying on track will help lower your risk of additional health problems.

A—the A1C test, which measures average blood sugar over 2 to 3 months. B—blood pressure, the force of blood flow inside blood vessels. C—cholesterol, a group of blood fats that affect the risk of heart attack or stroke. s—stop smoking or don’t start.

Prevent Complications

People with type 1 or type 2 diabetes are at higher risk for serious health complications, including:

Heart disease and stroke: People with diabetes are twice as likely to have heart disease or a stroke as people without diabetes, and at an earlier age.

Blindness and eye problems: Diabetic retinopathy (damage to blood vessels in the retina), cataract (clouding of the lens), and glaucoma (increase in fluid pressure in the eye) can all result in vision loss.

Kidney disease: High blood sugar levels can damage the kidneys over time, long before you start to feel bad. Amputations: This means you could lose a foot or leg. Diabetes causes damage to blood vessels and nerves,

particularly in the feet, and can lead to serious, hard-to-treat infections.

Contact your doctor if you have any questions about diabetes or talk to one of the parish nurses during blood pressure checks - we’d be happy to help you. Reprinted from www.cdc.gov/features/livingwithdiabetes/index.html

LWMS NEWS

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LWMS RALLY THANK YOU

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who donated food for Cambria’s Didion Community Food Pantry! A pick-up

truck full of food donations was delivered to Cambria. In addition, $1000+ was collected and given to the Old

Mill Foundation Didion Benefit Fund. This was the (Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society) LWMS Fall Rally

Service Project of the Beaver Dam Circuit. Thank you for participating and sharing your blessings with the folks

in Cambria!

We sent $261.05 to the circuit treasurer in support of our current mission projects THANK YOU!

WM/Apache Christian Training School (ACTS)

HM/Hmong Evangelist Training

LWMS FALL RALLY HIGHLIGHTS

100 women from across the Beaver Dam Circuit were in attendance. These women had opportunities

to check out the many mission displays and shop at the Thai Village Craft Sale.

We learned a bit about the National Convention and the 15 new areas where mission work is being

done, bringing the total to 55 countries with a WELS presence. A Kids C.A.R.E. presentation was given.

Lunch was yummy and spent catching up with old friends and meeting new ones!

Pastor Dustin Blumer from Amazing Love Lutheran Church in Frankfort, IL gave an energizing and

insightful presentation about the work being done at Amazing Love, what he has learned along the way

and some tips for us to be BOLD in sharing Jesus and our faith with others because He is coming soon.

$1015 was the offering gathered and Pastor Blumer chose to give it to Good News Lutheran Church in

Mt. Horeb.

The Spring Rally will be held at St. John, Fox Lake with Trinity, Friesland and Grace, Dalton as co-hosts.

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LWMS Befriend A Mission: BAM ASSIGNMENTS

A few updates and prayer requests concerning our Canadian Mission Assignment

1. Chinese Evangelist Qiang Wang is half way through his pastoral studies and will begin his vicar year in

February 2018. He has begun teaching his first Bible class in Chinese. Please pray for his confidence. He is now

working full time in ministry and his family is supported by his wife who currently has only a part time job.

Please pray for all their family’s needs to be met.

2. Pastor Cortright met with a South Sudanese couple about a year ago, concerning possible fellowship with a

congregation in Vancouver made up of 7 families with lots of kids. That contact was refreshed around mid-

September and discussion about their joining Saviour of the Nations has begun. These additions would double

the size of Saviour of the Nations. Please pray for this new relationship.

3. Pastor Cortright begins a new venture teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction class made

up of 10-13 individuals (more than double the size of his normal class) from Canada, Brazil, Korea, Japan and

someone who has migrated from the Soviet Union to Israel to Canada. None of these have ever before heard

the gospel and Pastor asks for prayers for this class and for his clarity in teaching since he has no formal ESL

training.

There is a new Sigrist baby! Samuel Levi Sigrist was born September 8th. 9lbs 6oz. Mom and baby are doing

well: God be praised!

A PRAYER FOR OUR MISSIONARIES

Heavenly Father, your love for the lost was so great that You gave your very best ---- your Son. Be with our

missionaries who have given their best ---- themselves ---- to spread your word to the nations. Open our

hearts to support your work, giving You our very best. Bless your work, those who tell your Message and

those who support it with faith and love and hope inspired by the message of your Son. Amen

BEFRIEND A MISSION ASSIGNMENTS

Tom & Kaysone Chaleunsouk – Thailand

Pheng & Chao Moua children: Chuha, Cherchua and Jamoon – North St. Paul, MN

Geoff & Alicia Cortright children: Silas and Hannah – Canada

David & Katie Sigrist children: Hezekiah and Samuel -- Canada

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Lutheran Mobile Clinic (CAMM) Lilongwe, Malawi October, 2017

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,

while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

John 15: 1-2

Greetings from the warm heart of Africa,

Did you plant a garden this summer? If so, did it rain enough for your plants or did you have to water it

yourself? Either way, I’m sure you spent at least a little time pulling weeds! We have gardens at the Lutheran

Mobile Clinic (LMC) house, and the gardener works very diligently to keep the grounds. However, last month,

he took some days of holiday leave, and in my spare time I became the gardener.

We are now in dry season and faithful watering is necessary to keep the gardens and plants alive. The hours I

spent tending the grounds brought to mind the attention and care our Lord spends on us. As I watered and

weeded, I thought about how the Lord provides what we need when we need it and also diligently works to

prune out of our hearts and lives what He finds harmful to us or those around us.

Here in Malawi, just like everywhere else, there are many harmful activities, beliefs and practices. Recently a

Malawian acquaintance mentioned to me that she was going to the funeral of a small boy who had died

because he had been bewitched. I’m sure my eyebrows were raised quite high as I asked this Christian

woman what the child really died from. She told me that actually the boy had broken his leg and it became

infected. However, since he seemed to improve for a bit before he died, some people decided he had not

actually died from infection, but because someone had put a curse on him.

Death by bewitching isn’t something you’ll likely hear talked about in the U.S.A., but the devil is still pretty

successful there. Is it more common for you to hear the Lord’s name used in praise and thanksgiving, or in

cursing someone or something? Does your heart feel heavy with worry and concern over your future or for

those you love? Have you ever hesitated or neglected to talk about Jesus even when God gave you the

perfect opportunity?

Though it’s not always enjoyable, we need God’s shears on us every day of our lives no matter where we live,

because the devil is relentless in his goal to choke our faith. We equally need the Living Water of God’s Word

to feed and strengthen our faith when we are having trouble seeing the loving Son-light of Jesus Christ. Our

Father promises that His shears never miss or prune more than is healthy. “Can a mother forget the baby at

her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:15-16).

Right on schedule, the LMC gardener returned from his holiday. He walked the grounds, inspected my work

and, much to my delight, confirmed that nothing had died in my care. And my vegetable salad never tasted so

good!

Your Sister in Christ,

Amanda Artz, Clinic Administrator

Lutheran Mobile Clinic, Malawi

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November Birthday Wishes! 11/01 Michele Vande Streek 11/02 Emily Lepple 11/03 Bob Bischoff Kyle Main Dana Weinheimer Jill Weisensel Chrystyan Woyak 11/07 Slade Yuenger 11/08 Michael Gentz Melissa Hecht Cassandra Schmidt Owen Schultz 11/09 Andrew Condon Jacob Justmann Tori Lober 11/10 Colten Kintopp Rachel Stommel 11/11 Julie Kluz 11/12 Oliver Clark Dawn Day Kevin Freber Janice Fude 11/13 Zach Affeld Sara Koch Curt Ninmann 11/14 Brian Eggebrecht Collin Schmidt 11/15 Ray Kranz Grace Peil Bonnie Sell 11/16 Bob Weinheimer 11/18 Emily Bubolz

11/19 Laura Soldner Kris Winter 11/20 John Nehls Mike Schilling 11/21 Bryce Behring Caleb Guenther Kayla Hill Jeanette Jensen Bev Lepple Julie Passig 11/22 Nick Zank 11/23 Vicki Redecker 11/23 Alyssa Schultz 11/24 Robyne Freber 11/25 Hailey Brandt Marvin Fierke Vonda Nehls 11/25 Fred Sievert 11/26 Jeanne Dittberner Chris Jacobs Abby Kast 11/27 Tom Sahr 11/28 Mac Affeld Elizabeth Affeld Ed Babcock Wayne Bubolz Samantha Hoffman Zach Schmitt 11/29 Laura Giroux Derek Pieper Lorraine Wolfram 11/30 Ruth Friede Mark Justmann Mark Saeger

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Happy Anniversary to those couples celebrating November Anniversaries

11/03/1990 Tom & Janet Flint 11/04/1972 Wayne & Diane Braunschweig 11/07/1970 Wayne & Dorie Bubolz 11/11/1989 Mark & Karen Schmitt 11/12/1947 Ed & Lorraine Hammann 11/13/1999 Jay & Amy Panetti 11/14/1982 Tom & Sharon Selchert 11/16/2001 Rob & Julie Kluz 11/18/1989 Tom & Deena Ebert 11/22/2014 Bonface & Jean Nzioka 11/27/1976 Bob & Jean Jordan 11/27/1998 Joel & Melissa Schaalma 11/29/1986 Gary & Becky Zimmerman

Memorials

Name Amount Fund Dorothy Guse $270.00 Undesignated $25.00 Missions $55.00 Organ Randy Pesicek $20.00 Organ Dianne Rumler $20.00 Organ

Gifts A gift for the Debt Fund was given from Art & Ann Mittelstadt on the occasion of their 55th Wedding Anniversary. A gift was given for the Organ Fund from Betty Schultz in memory of her husband Robert's birthday October 17.

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St. John’s Lutheran Church’s

500 Anniversary of the Reformation

assisted by our St. John’s School Children

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