No Soccer Camp and VBS in 2021

The tough decision has been made that St. Paul Clintonville will not host it's annual Soccer Camp and VBS this summer. While we love this event and are always encouraged by the faith of the young participants, but we realize that we may not be able to live up to the expectations from last year. There is a lot going on behind the scenes with our church family right now that is taking a lot of time from the volunteers who run the Soccer Camp and VBS. Last year was so much fun and such a blessing. We are still amazed and thankful at how many came last summer, it was the largest VBS we’ve had! We want to ensure that when we host this event, we give our best to make every part of the event the best we can.

We don't just host VBS to have fun, we have events like this to teach God's love and promises to the children. We will keep creating events to do that. We intend to do another VBS next year. Stay tuned and check with us next summer for the details about next year’s big event!

Pastor Announcement

By God's grace and guidance, our congregation has been blessed with a Pastor. On May 20th, Seminarian Caleb Rothfuss was assigned to our church family. After years of study, hard work, and prayers, Seminarian Rothfuss will graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary on Friday, May 21st (Congratulations!). Our church leadership will be coordinating with him to figure out the details for the coming months, but later this summer Seminarian Rothfuss will be ordained as a minister and installed as Pastor here at St. Paul Clintonville.

As we excitedly await our new Pastor, please keep him and his family in your prayers. Please also keep in your thoughts and prayers all the congregations that are still waiting for a pastor. While we were blessed with a Seminary student, many congregations who asked for one were not. The harvest fields are plentiful, but the workers, especially the trained and Called Workers, are few. Pastors truly are blessings. Praise be to God for providing us one!

Mission Journey Reflections

In April, three of our members went on a special trip to the state of Washington. While they did do some sightseeing, the purpose of their travel was more important and more exciting. They went to share the Gospel joy that they have. Shelia, Dave, and Becky joined other Christians (including some from Columbus, WI) to go door to door and talk with people about Jesus. They trained, they prepared, and they trusted the Holy Spirit would guide their efforts. Watch the video below and hear about what they did and what they thought about this adventure.

For more information on trips like this one, take a look at wels.net/missionjourneys/

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Lent Is Here. Walk with Us.

Lent is here.

Lent is a time Christians set aside every year to ponder the depth of God’s mercy for sinners like us. We do that by taking a hard look at our sins so we understand all that needs to be paid for. Then we follow Jesus through all his sufferings and death to understand all that was done to save us. The end result? We appreciate God even more, we cling to our Savior, and we can’t stop saying thank you for all he has done for us. We would love for you to join us in this ancient time of reflection, repentance, and redemption.

Walk with Us.

In order to help us focus in on these truths, we have special opportunities to meditate on God’s Word. Join us for:

2/17 - 3/24: Wednesday Suppers @ 5:30pm

2/17 - 3/24: Wednesday Services @ 6:30pm

4/1: Maundy Thursday Comm. Service @ 6:30pm

4/2: Good Friday Service @ 6:30pm

4/4: Easter Sunrise Service @ 6:30am

4/4: Easter Breakfast @ 7:30am

4/4: Easter Festival Service @ 9am

Men's Conference Recap

The 2021 Men's Conference is over, but it won't be forgotten anytime soon. During the day we were blessed with amazing presenters leading impactful sessions. We sang our hearts out, as the words reminded us of God's promises and grasped our hearts. We heard the Word preached and applied to our lives. Thank you to all those involved! If you would like to be encouraged and inspired by this event, you can watch the videos or listen to the audio of the presentations and of the devotions Pastor Titus Buelow led (we had 3 Pastor Buelows involved with the conference so I had to include his first name). The archive of materials, videos, and audio files can be found using the link below:

www.stpaulclintonville.com/2021-conference

We are especially thankful and grateful to those who helped make the day happen. Thank you Jeanie and Dave Schley along with Lexie for helping take care of the planning, buying, and serving the food. Thank you Todd for your help with the audio. Thank you Greg for helping welcome guests. Thank you to the talented Sara Buelow for recording music for us to use. Most of the piano and organ songs were recordings she skillfully made for us. Thank you Amos Buelow, Pastor Julius Buelow, Pastor Titus Buelow, and Pastor Timothy Buelow for your work on your powerful presentations. You inspired us! Another thank you goes to Pastor Titus Buelow for coordinatizing the worship services and for the powerful devotions you gave us. And in all honesty, thank you for everyone who came and attended or watched online. Without those attending and watching, this event would have been discouraging. Thank you for being the Christian leaders that you are!

2021 Men's Conference

We are excited to announce that St. Paul Clintonville will be hosting a one day men's conference. Join us on Saturday, February 20th as we gather to focus on the Word and our callings. For more information, take a look at the conference page. www.stpaulclintonville.com/conference

Christmas Week

We would love to have you join us as we prepare our hearts for the coming of our Savior Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem and for his return at the end of time. We do that by digging into why that first Christmas was such a game-changer for all human beings and how that baby would give us hope today and for what comes after this life.

Here are several special opportunities for you to do that with us:

Dec.24 - Children’s Christmas Eve Service @ 6:30pm

Dec. 25 - Christmas Day Service @ 9am

Dec. 27 - Sunday Worship Service @ 9am

Dec. 31 - New Year’s Eve Service @ 6:30pm

We hope to see you there!

All services are also live-streamed on our YouTube and Facebook pages. Click their logos above.

The Countdown to Christmas has Begun

Do you have an Advent calendar or have you ever had one? You know, one of those calendars that has a door for each day in December until Christmas day with a chocolate or some other treat or gift waiting behind. I always loved counting down to Christmas with one of those calendars when I was a kid.

Today I still love chocolate, but what I love even more is celebrating the season of Advent with my brothers and sisters in worship! The Advent season is designed to prepare our hearts for Jesus’ coming so that Christmas is about more than temporary pleasure… it is about eternal peace with God because of the Christ-Child. Check out the video below to describing all the reasons to join in on counting down to Christmas with the season of Advent. We would love to have you do that with us at St. Paul - Sundays @ 9, Wednesdays @ 6:30pm.

Midweek Advent Service This Wednesday @ 6:30pm

Good morning brothers and sisters in Christ,

Please join us tomorrow, Wednesday, at 6:30pm for the first of three midweek Advent services. These midweek services are meant to be an hour or less of refreshment in the middle of a busy week. Join us in person or online here.

It seems December is one of the busiest months with Christmas preparations on top of the end of another year. With that busyness can come a heavy dose of distraction from Jesus, our Savior born in Bethlehem. Even if we are trying to celebrate the season right, we often lose the whole reason for the season in the frenzy. These services on Wednesdays are provided to hopefully give you a reason and a place to just stop for a little bit, to breathe out the stress, and to breathe in the Word of God and the peace it gives. That is what the season of Advent and Christmas is all about... looking to Christ in the manger, in our hearts by faith, and still to come again at the end for hope, peace, joy & love.

I hope to see you then for a breather and a refresher by the grace of God. Heaven knows we need it!

God bless you.

Pastor Buelow

Advent Begins Sunday

As I write this message I am still recovering from the feast my family and I were able to have together for our Thanksgiving meal. What a BLESSING it is to be told to slow down and to think about all that we have to be thankful for, especially in such a trying year. When we do, we see just how much we have been given, and even more importantly, we remember who it is who has given us all things, the LORD Almighty. Greatest of all the blessings he gives is his own Son, Jesus Christ. And he gives Him to undeserving sinners like you and me!

As we leave Thanksgiving 2020 behind, we now begin a very important and exciting time of the year, the season of Advent. During the season of Advent, we prepare for the coming of our Savior. It’s about to get very busy as we get closer to Christmas. It always does. Because of that busyness, we risk missing the reason for the season, Jesus Christ being born in Bethlehem -Our Savior coming for us. Advent gives us extra reminders and breaks throughout the month leading up to Christmas to stay focused on Jesus’s birth and what that means for us and for the world.

The second emphasis that Advent helps us prepare for is Jesus’ coming again. One day soon, Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead. He will bring those who believe and trust in Him to Heaven. He will send those who reject or refuse to trust Him to Hell. On that day the world as we know it will be destroyed and in its place He will make a new Heaven and a new Earth. This will be a glorious day for those who are waiting and prepared for Jesus' coming! This will be a terrible and terrifying day for those who forgot about Him or who wanted nothing to do with God. They will get what they asked for. Advent then, is an extremely important season for us to prepare our hearts for Jesus by celebrating Christmas for what it is really all about and keeping ourselves firmly grounded in the Word anticipating his return at any time!

I invite you to join me and the family of believers here at St. Paul on Sunday to begin our Advent season of focusing on the coming of Christ! There are so many distractions and fears all around us. All of us need all the help we can get to stay focused on our Savior and the salvation he alone brings.

• Start with worship on Sunday at 9am either in-person or live online here.

• Then pick up a devotional book from church for each day of Advent prepared and graciously given by our college of ministry, Martin Luther College (Or you can find an e-version here).

• Then join us Wednesday at 6:30pm for our first of 3 midweek Advent services. These are shorter services to give you a breather and some refreshment from the busy week with the Word of God.

• And finally, pray at home on your own and with your families, reminding yourself and them daily about the peace that came to earth that first Christmas.

God bless your Advent preparations!

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Men's Bible Study & Breakfast TOMORROW at 6am. Men, be fed by good food, good company, and the Good Book. I look forward to being built up by you and pray I can do the same for you.

Christmas Decorating TOMORROW beginning at 8am! The more help the better to prepare our church building for Advent and Christmas.

Christmas for Kids NEXT SATURDAY from 9am - 12pm If you would like to have your kids attend, sign up on our website today at www.stpaulclintonville.com/christmas. If you would like to help, respond to this email or sign up on the sheets in the back of church.

I pray you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I am thankful for you!

In His service,

Pastor Titus Buelow