Many members and friends of NGMLC know that for the past 8 years, our Confirmation Students have been fundraising and sponsoring a young man named Innocent from Uganda. When Innocent was 10 years old, our students took on the responsibility of sending him to boarding school covering all costs of food, housing, books and clothing. The 6th Grade Students have had the responsibility of fundraising for this program, which costs around $650 per year. Currently, there is a little over $1,300 in this account, enough for one year plus a reserve year.

As there has been no contact regarding Innocent for over a year, we feel our time with him has ended.

Our youth have continued to fundraise this year, and we feel it is time to look at the possibility of making contact with another child, offering our youth and congregation the excitement of meeting another child and family that we could support.

Pastor Bud Buchheim gave me contact information for a Former Wartburg Seminary Pastor and his wife, now living in the Cape Town area of South Africa.
With the consent of the Adult Members of “Project Innocent,” I sent a letter to Pastor Peter and Solveig Kjeseth asking if they would know of a child or an organization in need of our help. Solveig Kjeseth was very instrumental in the “Free Namibia” campaign that the ELCA supported, helping the country of Namibia gain Independence.

Yesterday (April 9th), I received an email from Peter and Solveig, giving me information regarding a little 3 year old that they feel is very bright and would be most helped by a crèche program (a nursery school). This is something well beyond the means of this family. Peter and Solveig have had contact with many members of this family going back to 1988 and feel we could have a long-term relationship with them through pictures and letters, a “Pen Pal” relationship. This looks like a wonderful opportunity for us all, the students and congregation of NGMLC. It would give us the opportunity to learn about the Apartheid and life in South Africa and also the country of Namibia.

We hope to have the name of a child for the youth and congregation by mid-May, in time for Confirmation Sunday. I will keep you updated on our progress, as we get more information.
Take care,
Anne Staniforth

Join us for this monthly gathering … 7:00 a.m. at The DeForest Family Restaurant - we’ll have a little bible study with breakfast! The first gathering is planned for Saturday, April 14. If you can’t make that date, join us at the same place on Saturday, May 12.

Day Camp Week with counselors from Sugar Creek Bible Camp is set for Monday, June 25, 2012 - Thursday, June 28, 2012! Join us for an exciting 4-day adventure at Norway Grove Memorial! If you are entering grades 1-5, you don’t want to miss this fun Bible Camp Ministry! The days will begin at 8:45 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m. - please bring your own lunch. Cost is only $30 per child for the week! Pick up a Registration/Day Camp Health Form and return it to the church office with your payment by Sunday, June 17. (For more information, or to have a registration mailed to you - please contact the church office at 846.9711)

Join us for a 1-DAY EXPLORERS CAMP at SUGAR CREEK BIBLE CAMP in Ferryville, Wisconsin! Monday, June 18th, 2012 – Cost is $15 per camper with lunch and snacks included. Adults are welcome to go at no charge! All youth entering Grades 1-5 are invited to come for an exciting one-day adventure at Sugar Creek Bible Camp. The day will begin by meeting early at church, we’ll travel together and then we’ll explore camp with games, nature activities, crafts, swimming, pony rides, Bible study, and singing. Bring swim suit, bug spray & sunscreen! Pick up a registration form at church, or call the church office (846.9711) to have a form mailed to you! Please register by Sunday, June 10!

Some of our High School Youth will be attending the New Orleans 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering this summer and are hosting a garage sale, May 17-19 (The DeForest Garage Sale weekend). Please consider donating to our sale. Collecting for the sale will begin in mid- to late-April. Larger items will be accepted the week of the sale, and we can also provide pickup of items, if needed. Please contact Kris Smith for additional information.

2012 is off to a great start at NGMLC! Your Church Council jumped right in with their annual Council Retreat to prioritize our goals and objectives for the year. Our discussion was based on feedback obtained from YOU, our Congregation, through the 2011 Cottage Meetings, the Spiritual Vitality Inventory, and many day-to-day conversations.

It is clear that NGMLC is an active outreach congregation, so the question we continue to ask ourselves is “how do we serve the greater DeForest community in the spirit of Christian love?” We want to continue to be a welcoming, safe, caring place for others to join us in fellowship on a regular basis. To support this question and continue our outreach ministries, Council developed these priorities for 2012:
1. Recommit to and support NGMLC Committee Structure
a. Reactivate the Evangelism & Social Ministry, Stewardship & Finance, and Long Range Planning
b. Continue to support the works in-progress on Property, Worship & Music, and Education & Youth
2. Work with the Stewardship & Finance and Property Committees to address immediate Capital Needs/Financing
3. Assist Pastor Ron with the ELCA Partnership Support Grant Application and South Central Southern Wisconsin Synod Endowment Grant Application

We will share more details about these priorities at the Congregational Meeting on Sunday, April 22nd at 10:45 am.

In the meantime, WE NEED YOU, our congregation members to be active in the daily ministries of our church. Committees don’t work without committee members and our Chair Persons cannot do everything that needs to be done so WE NEED YOU! Please consider joining one of our standing committees or sub committees. “Many hands make light work!” Watch for meeting dates and times in our weekly bulletins, on Facebook, our website, and in the newsletter or contact a Chairperson to get involved!

Evangelism & Social Ministry Education & Youth
Chair: Wendy Kirkland Chair: Renae Buchheim
Council Rep: Wendy Kirkland Council Rep: Renae Buchheim

Long Range Planning Property
Chair: Sam Kirkland Chair: Gary Homuth
Council Rep: Ben Grattan & Julie Syse Council Rep: Gary Homuth

Stewardship & Finance Worship & Music
Chair: Jim Buchheim Co-Chairs: Mary Weber & Jan Kuchar
Council Rep: Don Staniforth Council Rep: Helen Brausen

In closing, I want to invite each and every one of you to feel free to contact me or any Council member to discuss life at NGMLC. We are blessed to be called to serve God, our Congregation, and our greater Community. Thank you for your prayers and support in the coming months!

Respectfully,
In God’s Grace,
Helen Brausen, Council President

Newcomers to the Lutheran church often ask, “Why do we do what we do in worship? But even those of us who have been in the church all our lives may not always know exactly the reasons behind our traditions. The Worship & Music Committee will have a series of articles in the upcoming months explaining the parts of the service and how they relate to our worship experience. This month we start at the beginning with the word “Liturgy”.

Liturgy, a Greek word meaning “SERVICE,” was used by early Christians to describe Christian worship of God. In Lutheran worship, we emphasize not so much how we serve God as how (surprisingly) God serves us in worship! The ELW instructs us on p. 92, 93: “The Holy Spirit calls us together as the people of God. God speaks to us in scripture reading, preaching and song. God feeds us with the presence of Jesus Christ. God blesses us and sends us in mission to the world.”

Today’s Liturgy is sometimes called “the work of the people of God.” It is the rite or body of rites prescribed for public worship, a set order of worship used by the “liturgical churches”. The following basic liturgical pattern contains several familiar rites to us:
(Confession and Forgiveness); Entrance Hymn; Greeting & Prayer of the Day; First Reading; Psalm; Second Reading; Gospel Acclamation; Holy Gospel, Sermon, Hymn of the Day, (Creed); Prayers; Presentation of the Gifts; Great Thanksgiving; Lord’s Prayer; Communion; Closing Prayer and Blessing & Dismissal.

This basic liturgical pattern can be celebrated with many kinds of music (or no music) and in a variety of settings. The leadership styles can vary greatly from place to place. Yet the very shape and fundamental texts of the liturgy can transcend variety and be a unifying instrument within the church.

I would like to tell you about a lady named Virginia. Virginia is a 95 year old retired nurse who resides at Walnut Grove Assisted Living in DeForest. She is an incredible lady that loves to share her many stories about her amazing past. Recently she shared with me how she treated wounded soldiers returning to the United States after their tour in Viet Nam. Their first stop back in the states was in a military hospital base in Denver, where she treated them. Her story was very touching and moving.  

Virginia’s calling in life has always been of service for other people. That is why she became a nurse. She talked with me a few months ago about how she still has the desire to help others but didn’t know how to go about it. Then we came up with an idea. Virginia likes to knit and finished a project over the holidays knitting scarves for all her relatives and friends. Now, she wants to put her knitting skills to use making scarves for people in this community. I asked her if she would knit scarves for Norway Grove, ’Prayer Scarves’, and we would hand out to people that we pray for in our community. She loved the idea and has been knitting ever since. Pastor Ron and the Prayer Committee have blessed these scarves and the process of handing them out has begun, thanks to Virginia. A lady with a desire to help someone she doesn’t even know, is now knitting and fulfilling a call to service. She understands Jesus commandment to “Love your neighbor.” 

If you know of someone in need of our prayers and would like to give them a prayer scarf, please contact Pastor Ron or the Prayer Team. Several scarves are in Pastor Ron’s office already and Virginia’s fingers are busy making more. She truly is a servant of God. She has truly taught me that “God Gave Us One Another To Take Care of One Another.” (See poem below)

Blessings from the Prayer Team
Veronica Eicher

GOD GAVE US ONE ANOTHER -Regina Hill

God gave us the seasons–
each with its own beauty and reason,
and meant to bring us a blessing,
a joy and a feeling of love.

God gave us the sunshine,
the rainbows and the rain,
the beauty and freedom of nature
to teach us the wisdom of acceptance.

God gave us miracles
in our hearts and lives,
little things that happen 
to remind us we are alive.

God gave us the ability
to face each day
with courage, wisdom,
and a smile from knowing
that whatever sorrow or pain we face,
He abides with us securely in our hearts.

Most of all God gave us one another
to teach us about love
and guide us through this world,
always available to help us forward
toward a greater understanding
and a greater sharing and giving of love.

Mondays - 6:30 - 9:00 p.m.
*Wednesdays - 9:00 a.m. - Noon
Saturdays - 8:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

*On the second Wednesdays of the month, Pastor Ron leads worship services at Walnut Grove and Parkside in DeForest, so walk-in office hours will switch to Thursdays, 9:00 a.m. to noon.

These are not the only times you will find Pastor Ron at Norway Grove, but these are times when you can come in without an appointment and expect to find him here, barring emergencies of course!