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Special Events
Find out what is currently happening at Saron Lutheran Church
Our
3rd Annual Midwinter’s Night Feast
Celebrating Mardi Gras at Home That Calls for Cajun
February 13, 2010 Hor d’oeuvres at 6:00pm Seating at 6:30pm
4 courses Gumbo soup with home baked breads
Savory and sweet salad of cabbage, pears and pecans
Blackened whitefish over red beans and rice with honey glazed carrots
Bourbon Chocolate Cake
Cost $30 per person Wine will be served for a fair price Tickets must be purchased by Feb. 8th at Saron Lutheran Church Only 50 tickets available This fundraiser is sponsored by Health Ministry Committee which supports our Parish Nurse Program
TEAM SARON
Once again Saron is organizing a team for the Relay for Life. The theme for this year is “HAPPY BIRTHDAY”. The relay is scheduled for Friday, June 11th & Saturday, June 12th at Kreher Park at the foot of Prentice Avenue. Anyone willing to help raise funds and walk is welcome to join the team. We will be doing individual and team fundraising. There is no minimum amount to raise.
Our first meeting for sign-up is on Sunday, February 21st at 9:30am in the upstairs conference room here at church come and join the fun.
DAFFODILS FOR SALE
Team Saron is selling Daffodils to help raise funds for our team. You can buy a small bunch for $10.00, bunch and a vase for $15, a bunch and a bear for $25.00. The order form is in the Church office. Mark what you would like and enclose your check payable to American Cancer Society in the envelope. If we sell $375.00 worth of daffodils our team will earn $150 for our team. Flowers must be ordered by Feb 15 so we can have our order in by the 18th. Flowers will be delivered in mid March
6th Annual Community Church Progressive Dinner Sunday,
February 28th at 5:00pm
Start at Good Shepherd for appetizers,
Saron along with First Covenant
for soup
and salad,
then Salem Baptist for desserts
and a hymn sing.
Pathways to Wholeness A One-Day Women’s Retreat
Saturday, March 13th
9:00 am to 3:00 pm
Gather with women of all ages to explore your Spiritual Pathway. Walking with Jesus is different for each of us. Discover more about that walk and learn what is important to you and how you live out your journey.
Check out why some things in church feel very comfortable for you, why some things feel awkward. See why we need a variety of experiences to meet a variety of needs. Find out ways to explore and expand your walk and how we all walk our separate paths together with the love, support and encouragement of one another.
Lunch will be served and a small fee will be charged to cover the lunch expense.
To register for the Retreat, contact Esther Marie at the church office, 682-2376.
A congregational Resource Event
March 20, 2010 from 9:15am - 3:15pm at the Chippewa Falls Middle School
Who should attend? This event has something for everyone; pastors, staff, council members, committees, volunteers, anyone who is involved in your congregation!
Cost is $20 per person which includes program and lunch.
Attend workshops:
Focusing on Mission (moving from institution to rela-tionship)
Serving Others in Your Community
Hospitality / Welcoming the Stranger
Faith Formation / Discipleship
Small Group Ministries
Fresh Ideas for Worship
Cross-Generational Ministries
Equipping Lay Leaders
Shovel Snow through Faith In Action
TOP 10 REASONS TO SIGN UP TODAY:
1.It ‘s free
2.You will get more out of it than the person you help
3.Everyone needs a reason to get up in the morning
4.Exercise is a good thing
5.Faith in Action has a great volunteer
recognition dinner
6.You get to meet someone new
7.Life is short (If you are doing hard labor, do it for a good cause)
8.Nobody said it was easy living in Northern Wisconsin
9.You keep meaning to sign up to volunteer
10.You may need help someday-Pay it Forward!!
Call 682-4414 ext. 3 or email: fiavolunteer@ashlandaging.org
Bill D. will be painting the trim on the upper levels of the church, including the bell tower with the stipulation that we can raise the money with donations. There is a paint can on the table outside of the church office. Please put your donations in the bucket so we can get this project done before the snow flies once again. Mark the envelope “PAINT” so Wendy knows where the money goes! We have already raised $531.57 for this project but, we still need $868.43.
All fees are now on a donation basis. You may either give a money donation to Saron or food donation for your massage. One half of all monies received will go to support Health Ministries/Parish Nurse program and the other half will go directly to Saron’s general Fund. All Food items will be donated to the B.R.I.C.K. or used at Saron for meals.
This is an extremely generous offer and we should all take advantage of it. To set up an appointment contact Wendy at the Church and Holly will contact you to set up an appointment.
Ashland Saturday Food
Distribution
Every First Saturday of the month at Celebration Fellowship, 310 Stuntz Ave, food is available for $20.00 donation per share. No income or age eligibility requirement, non-denominational. Distribution begins at 10:00am; please bring boxes or bags to haul your food. Everyone is welcome and volunteers needed by 8:00am.
Parents: in the hallway across from the elevator on second floor there are books for the pre-school through 5th grade. You make check a book out for 2 weeks. There are several Lent and Easter books to share during reading time at home. They make good Christian education books. Take time to look them over while your children are in Sunday School.
Books in the main library are for every age. There are books for youth; bible history, great books for the 7th graders studying the Bible, and bible studies for adults, family caring, atlas, reference and history books. A limited number of videos are also available.
Books and videos may be checked out for two weeks and returned to the return book box. Library cards are being put in books and you can leave the card in the box when you check out the book.
Do you have any broken gold chains or kinked necklaces? Maybe, one gold earring because the other is lost?
We are collecting 10, 14 & 24kt. gold jewelry pieces that you can no longer use (white or yellow gold). They will be sold to a gold dealer for cash for Saron’s General Fund. Gold prices are at a high so this is a great time to clean out our jewelry boxes!
Please put any jewelry in the specially marked box in the church office. Thanks!!
Almost every day, someone comes to the church looking for food, or calls for help of some kind. The Social Ministry committee wants to emphasize the need for food in our area. The third Sunday of each month will be designated as Food Sunday. We are asking everyone to bring non-perishable food items & cleaning supplies on that Sunday and place them in the baskets as you enter the sanctuary. (If you bring food on another day you will find the baskets in the narthex by the coatroom.) A portion of the food donations will go to the BRICK and the remainder will be distributed from the church when people come to our doors. Please take the time to help out someone who is hungry.
Faith In Action-Ashland County
Faith In Action-Ashland County has caring volunteers that can help seniors with a variety of services to assist them in living independently. Volunteers can stop by for a friendly chat or game of cards, help with shopping or cleaning, fix a railing, shovel snow, provide respite for a caretaker to run errands, or take a senior to a community event. If you are a senior in need of assistance, or are interested in becoming a Faith In Action volunteer, call the Ashland County Aging Unit at 682-4414 ext. 3 or email fiavolunteer@ashlandaging.org
Enter Into the Circle of Grace
Mental health is how we think, feel and act as we cope with life. Everyone feels worried, anxious, sad or stressed sometimes. But with a mental illness, these feelings do not go away and are severe enough to interfere with daily life. There are various types of mental illness, but all share in the common feelings of loneliness and isolation. These disorders affect people of every race, ethnic heritage, gender, language, economic status, age and religious orientation. Mental illness impacts one in every five families in the U.S.
“Circle of Grace” is an alternate worship service for persons affected with chronic mental illness and their families. It meets the second and last Thursday of every month here at Saron at 5:00pm. This worship service provides a message of acceptance and hope to those who feel alienated from society. Saron, as a faith community, reaches out to individuals and families by sharing the message that all persons are worthy in the eyes of God. For some, this may be the only place where they feel truly accepted, valued and loved.
For persons who may find no other welcome in the larger community, being welcomed into our house of prayer by a concerned and caring community can make a critical difference in their lives. As participants in “Circle of Grace” have journeyed together over the past 5 years, they have grown in the knowledge of God’s unending love for all of His creation. We have had one baptism of a person who had wondered away from the church for many, many years. . Participants now often read the lessons, play guitar, contribute readings, assist with the distribution of communion and continually reach out with God’s grace. It is an incredibly powerful worship service—where the presence of God can be tangibly felt.
After the worship service we share a meal, followed by a time of fellowship and games. For a few hours, twice a month, no one in this group is lonely. There are smiles where smiles seldom are seen. There are caring, supportive relationships developing, creating trust and love. In the words of one of Circle of Grace participants, “At first all was darkness, now there is light…”
Watching
Green Space
Confirmation students planted over 100 bulbs last fall in our Green Space area. It was a beauty to watch them come up. The Green Space committee has many plans. The labyrinth pattern will be completed as soon as feasible and a dedication service will be held at that time. Saron started outdoor services for the summer on the last Sunday of each month. This space will become an outdoor sanctuary and sacred place to meet God in creation.
Saron’s Mission Focus
The congregation voted on 12 missions to support for the next 12 months. New envelopes are in the pews that say, “My Special Offering” these can be used for any offering; just indicate what you would like the money to be used for, how much & from whom. Check what Mission we are focusing on for the month by viewing the Calendar.
A pop/juice/water machine is in the fellowship hall! The aluminum from the pop cans can be turned in for cash for Saron. There is a container for cLEAN & eMPTY cans next to the pop machine.
Everyone is encouraged to bring your aluminum cans to Chicago Iron and tell them to put it on the account for Saron Lutheran Church. If you don’t want to bring them to Chicago Iron then bring them to church. The 1st Sunday of every month will be “bring your cans to church”. If you need cans picked up at your house please call the church office and we will make arrangements. It takes only 32 cans to make a pound!
If you have aluminum cans at your house but don’t want to haul them to church, just call the church office 682-2376 and we will have someone pick them up for you.
Thank you to Dan & Sherri for donating the can bin in our parking lot.
Also, Thank You to Dave for hauling all our collected cans to Chicago Iron for us.
Funeral Lunches
At the June Council meeting the council approved the new funeral committee and plans. Thanks to a group of ladies from the congregation that got together and worked on reestablishing the funeral lunch program and have been working on this for the past year.
We now have three funeral serving committees rather than five. Each committee has two co-chairs and we also have a floating co-chair who will help on a committee if a co-chair is unavailable.
Families now have four choices for funeral lunch plans:
Cake, coffee, and juice served after the service. Set-up and clean-up included.
Families order meats, cheeses, and buns from the place of their choice; they are responsible for the bill and have them delivered to the church by 9am the day of the funeral. The church members will provide salads and cakes, coffee and juice, set-up, food prep and clean-up. Set-up and clean-up included.
The family can have food catered by their choice of caterer. The caterer will be responsible for everything including set-up, serving and clean-up. The church will provide two ladies to assist the caterer to find items in the kitchen, prepare coffee and juice.
If the family prefers to bring in their own food from friends and neighbors the church will provide coffee, juice, set-up, and clean-up not food preparation.
If a non-member wishes to use our church and services their will be $50.00 Janitorial fee.
A brochure is being prepared and will be available later this month. A list of all committees and co-chairs will also be available.
As a reminder all members of the congregation are on a committee to help donate or work at funerals. As one day we may all need these services.
Are you looking for a ministry of prayer and care for those in great need?
If you are and you enjoy knitting and crocheting, you are invited to join the newly formed Prayer Shawl Ministry at Saron. It is our desire to reach out with love and care to others during times of illness or grief and also for times of joy and celebration.
This ministry of compassion is open to levels of knitters and crocheters - beginners, experienced and "wanna-bes". We will gather once a month and continue working on our shawls at home. The meeting time and place will be announced in future Sunday bulletin announcements.
From more information contact the Parish Nurse or call the church office. 715-682-2376.
Fair Trade Coffee
We proudly support and use Fair Trade Coffee in partnership with Lutheran World Relief along with many other goods.
Check out the other goods available online or in the A Greater Gift catalog next to the display of Fair Trade Coffee.
Hope and justice with every purchase.
Saron has entered into a new partnership with Northwest Community Services Inc. We will be providing space in our basement for them to carry out their mission: to improve the quality of life for older adults with Alzheimer's disease and other dementia by offering day services committed to enhancing and maintaining self respect, dignity and maximum independence; and to offer respite to families and caregivers who are responsible for an adult in need of supervision and care. This is such a great program for families who care for a memory-impaired loved one. Day respite programs are an affordable alternative to nursing home placement or in-home care.
Participant benefits include: safe and friendly environment, care by trained staff and volunteers, hot lunch and nutritious snacks, planned social activities, socialization, quiet time, and therapeutic activities.
Benefits to care-givers include: an opportunity to run errands, time to schedule and keep appointments, the ability to plan and take time for their own personal rest and relaxation.
While there are two professional workers at Memory Lane, volunteers are the "heart" of the program. There are several volunteer opportunities available. Do you enjoy making a difference by helping others? Learning new things? Crafts and cooking? Games? Laughing and reminiscing? A free lunch? Sharing a skill or talent? Meeting new people? If so, Memory Lane would love to hear from you. Complete training is provided to all volunteers. Volunteer opportunity times vary according to your schedule. Memory Lane is funded through grants, donations, participant fees and community support.
Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9:00a - 2:00p, Saron Lutheran Church
If you have some time to participate or would like to take advantage of this opportunity please contact Saron for contact information, 682-2376
Please save your loose change for the 2 cent offering that is held on the last Sunday of each month. Each month a different cause is selected to receive the offering.
Local Food Shelf - they
need you
Everyone is encouraged to bring non-perishable food items on the last Sunday of the month. The local food shelf is used by many families and comes at a time when they are really in need of a helping hand.