40 Years Ago

Did you know that our building used to have a simple steeple?  The spire was about 20ft tall and made of fiber glass.  On May 31, 1985, lightning struck the church causing over $10,000 in damage.  Unfortunately, the damage resulted in the spire being removed.  The timing seemed unfortunate because the church had already borrowed money from another church for something else, and the insurance covered most, but not all of the cost to repair the building.  Behind the scenes the Lord had been working.  In the church’s moment of need, they unexpectedly received a gift from someone who was not a member.  The amount given was even more than they were first told which allowed the church to repair the roof and pay off the other debt!

If you have more information about the spire, the lightning strike, or any of our church’s history, please let us know.  We would especially love to have photos of when the building was younger and had the spire. 

Ascension 2025

Help us celebrate Christ’s Ascension, His return to His Heavenly throne!  We will have a joint service with Grace Sugar Bush here this Thursday at 6:30pm.  

Offerings:  At His Ascension, Christ left the disciples with a calling, to go and spread the Gospel message.  In keeping with this, any undesignated offerings given during the Ascension service will be given to Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary.

Pie:  Stay after for a pie social after the service!

Thank You Sunday School Teachers

A HUGE thank you to everyone who helped with Sunday School this last school year.  We appreciate all you have done, all the time and effort you gave, to teach the young ones about their Savior!  Thank you!

This past school year we had a great crew of kids who came to Sunday School, and even sang a few songs in church. The kids searched for hidden eggs, learned Bible passages, and learned more about their Savior. Our church family is so grateful for the Sunday School teachers, helpers, and leaders for all they have done!

Confirmation 2025

On April 27th a young confirmand publicly confessed his faith and fellowship with our church.  He has completed Catechism class with Pastor and has a deeper understanding of what the Scriptures say.  Congratulations and God’s Blessings to you, Tysen!

Holy Week 2025

Join us for the heart of the Christian church year! Celebrate Holy Week with us. Each service is special and unique. Journey with us to the cross where we see our sin carried by our Savior. Witness God forsaken by God with the sacrifice of ages. Then celebrate Christ victorious! We would love for you to join your voices with ours as we proclaim and praise the undeserved love God shows us!

Sunday, April 13th

9am Sunday of the Passion Service with Palm procession

Thursday, April 17th

7pm Holy Thursday Worship with Holy Communion

Friday, April 18th

1pm  Worship at the Cross

7pm  Tenebrae, Service of Darkness

Sunday, April 20th

7am  Early Morning Hymn Sing Service

7:45am  Easter Breakfast

9am  Easter Festival Service

WELS Connection: March 2025

In October of 2024, we were blessed to have someone from the WELS Connection Team come and record for the March 2025 WELS Connection episode. The episode featured an interview with Pastor Rothfuss and his parents discussing how encouragements helped him pursue serving as a Pastor. Our synod has a shortage of Called Workers and lay leaders. It is important for us to remember and realize that encouraging and supporting the next generations to consider serving the church is something simple we can do now, and it is essential. About those who have the gifts to serve the church, Pastor Rothfuss says “I think it is the responsibility of everyone in a congregation, and really in our synod to encourage those people.” Our Pastor did not grow up in a family of Called Workers, which made the encouragement he received all the more important.

Thank you Pastor Rothfuss for sharing your story! Thank you Rusty and Cathy, his family, those at St. John’s Bay City, MLS, and everyone else who encouraged Caleb to serve as our Pastor! We are thankful to have him as our Pastor!

Pastor's Wife Appreciation

On March 30th the congregation gave Amanda an arrangement of flowers as a token of our appreciation for her and for all she does for our church family. We are so blessed to have her as part of our church.

Winter Weather 3/30/2025

They say spring is here, but winter keeps trying to make a comeback. The forecast for Sunday March 30th is that there will be icy roads and dangerous travel conditions in our area. Please be safe! If you don’t come to the service, know that it will be livestreamed . You can watch it on either Facebook or Youtube live at 9am or later.

YouTube

Facebook

Church Council 2025

At our January Voter Meeting, there were several changes made to our Church Council. Firstly, we changed the Evangelism Coordinator, Youth Coordinator, and Education Coordinator to be non-Council positions. The impact of this change will make serving in these roles more accessible. These roles can be filled by any member, they do not need to attend the quarterly Council meetings, and the minimum term length is one year. These changes will allow potential leaders to be that position and try it out before they commit to serving longer (Council positions have a 3 year term length). Since they are not required for the Council meetings, this removes another obstacle that prevents some from serving. These positions are appointed by the Elders and will work with both the Elders and Pastor as they carry out their duties.

During the meeting we also took nominations and elected several new positions. Below is the list of our Church Council for 2025.

President Tom G  

Vice President Aaron W

Secretary Glenn M

Treasurer Chuck S

Elder Austin R, Bob P, Jon L

Trustee Kelly Z, Nick B, Rob V

Pastor Pastor Caleb Rothfuss

Open Forum and Annual Meeting

Plan on attending our annual Voter Meeting on Sunday, January 26, 2025. This meeting starts with an open forum so that we can discuss any topics or concerns we have as a church family. Then the Voter Meeting takes place, during which a lot of important information will be shared. See you there!