Devotion: Spring Cleaning

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.” Galatians 5:13

Spring has sprung! Well… sort of? We’ll see how the weather cooperates. Spring, for me, has always brought a feeling of freedom. The weather starts to warm up and on the occasional warm days the furnace gets turned off and the windows open for the first time in months. The fresh air is sweet, and the sound of the birds chirping is welcoming. I begin dreaming of being able to sit out on the deck again, enjoying a cold drink with the warm sun on my back.

While there are many things to look forward to in spring, there are two words that are always bittersweet when they come to mind: Spring Cleaning. The spring-cleaning list can be incredibly long and arduous. It is filled with surfaces to be dusted and wiped down, windows to be scrubbed inside and out, and garden beds that have been covered in snow for the past four months to be raked. I say it’s bittersweet because while it may take a while to check off the whole list, the feeling when you’re done is incredible.

Apart from the freeing feeling of a clean house, I also feel a sense of freedom this time of year from another source. The season of Lent, to me, has often felt like a cold, long winter. The Alleluias are gone, the music becomes somber and reflective, and the weight of depression from my sins seems to feel extra heavy. While Lent is important and necessary, I always look forward in anticipation for the “spring” of the church year.

Easter brings with it a sense of freedom that is bliss personified. Christ is alive! He has taken spring cleaning to a whole new level and washed away all our sin forever. We are free from sin and death! What is more freeing than that? There is nothing bittersweet about this because there is nothing we have to do. Christ paid it all. He washed us clean with his blood and we are free forever. I pray that the “spring” of Easter fills your hearts with an everlasting joy and freedom won for you on the cross.

From Pastor Rothfuss, Newsletter Volume 1 Issue 2, April 2022

Christian Worship Hymnals

St. Paul Clintonville has the new hymnals and Psalters! What a blessing to have this collection of resources to use! Both the hymnals and the Psalters are filled with old and new favorite hymns. Some of these hymns are powerful to read and reflect on, they are a wonderful addition for us to use. If you would like a copy of the new hymnal, you can order it on nph.net. We do have a few extra copies that members and friends of the congregation can take to use. The hymnals were created to be used in homes and have good resources for daily use. We also have copies of the accompanying devotion book available as well.

We want to give a huge, heartfelt thank you to all those who helped us purchase these faith-building resources. We look forward to using them for many, many years to come!

Our congregation also has copies of the old hymnal that can be taken. They are in the church. While that hymnal was released nearly thirty years ago, our congregation purchased these much later so these are in a good condition.

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Lent begins...

The journey of the church year continues as we begin Lent. Ash Wednesday is March 2nd. Starting with Ash Wednesday we will have our Wednesday midweek services. These worship opportunities are different than the Sunday services. We will also continue our tradition of sharing a meal before the services. Come at 5:30pm on Wednesdays for the meal and stay for our 6:30pm worship service.

Lent is the church season that leads into Easter. Traditionally, Lent begins 40 days before Easter, however since every Sunday is a mini-Easter celebration, Sundays are not included in the 40 day count. Lent focuses our attention on the most important events and truths of the Christian faith. We hear our Lord’s call to repent of our sin, and we remember Jesus’ sufferings and death that won our redemption from sin. During most of Lent the color on the altar will be purple, a color of royalty that reminds us of Christ our King who humbled himself for our sake. Purple is also known as the color of repentance.

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2022 Church Council

At the January Voter’s Meeting, several important decisions were made, including electing our 2022 Church Council. These leaders in our church will help serve the church family and work to better carry out our church’s mission.

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Our Nativity

Have you seen the nativity we put out each year? Ever since 2016 our church family has place a simple, silhouette nativity scene (yes, including 3 wisemen, it is traditional to include them and lets us keep the nativity out through the Festival of Epiphany). The nativity was crafted by members in the style of traditional German Schwibbogen, candle arches. Before this there was a simple outdoor set this congregation had been using for many years, but it was showing its age and due to a theft several years prior, it was missing a key part.

This nativity scene has been placed outside and projected on the building for several years now The current location of the nativity scene is on the east side of the building (the side farthest from Main St). Not only does the size of the Nativity scene remind us of the importance of that first Christmas (it is a HUGE deal), there is also great symbolism that the Nativity scene is being projected on the altar area.

Christmas in Clintonville

As winter grows colder and there is less daylight day after day, we get excited. We know Christmas is coming! Join us here in Clintonville as well celebrate a Christian Christmas. Join us as we sing hymns that praise the greatest gift of all, God living among us.

Friday, December 24th:

Christmas Eve Service let by the Sunday School children, 6:30pm

Candlelight Service at 8pm

Saturday, December 25th:

Christmas Day Festival Service at 9am

Sundays:

Worship starting at 9am

Friday, December 31st:

New Year’s Eve Service at 6:30pm

Christmas for Kids

Cancelled: 2021 Christmas for Kids!!!

EVENT CANCELLED: The Christmas for Kids event scheduled for this Saturday has been cancelled. Thank you to all those who signed up to come, and to all the volunteers wanting to make this event special! We always love this event and want to make sure the kids love it too, but unfortunately this year December 4th is a busy day. Because of the low number of participants, we've decided to cancel it. We don't think the event will be the same experience with so few kids.

Hymn Sing August 1st

Join us Sunday August 1st at 3pm for a special Hymn Sing. Come sample new hymns in the coming hymnal, hear the background of them, and see where we can find God’s Word in our hymns.

After the Hymn Sing we will talk about the new hymnal, psalter, and other resources from the Hymnal Project. You can hear about the resources and then, if you choose, you can order a hymnal, psalter, or devotion book for yourself, or buy one for the church. We’ll collect the orders until September. These are great resources for personal or family devotions!

Finally, we’ll end the event with a pie social!

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The Ordination and Installation of Pastor-Elect Caleb Rothfuss

On Sunday, July 18th, St. Paul Clintonville held a very special service. Pastor-Elect Caleb Rothfuss was ordained as a minister and installed as pastor at our church. A video of the service is available at the links below.

Sunday July 18 at 3pm Central at St. Paul Clintonville

31 N Park St Clintonville, WI 54929

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What should you expect during the service:

The service will be similar to other services since we are approaching the Lord. There will be readings, prayers, and a sermon message. During the service there will be a special part where Pastor-Elect Rothfuss is ordained and installed. Ordained means he officially becomes a Pastor in the church. Installed means he officially becomes the Pastor at our church. Below are the different parts to this special section of the service.

Exhortation to the Pastor-Elect: The role of a pastor is not new.  Here we listen to what Scripture tells us the leaders of the church should be like.  These qualifications remind us that we fail where Christ has not.  Pray for strength for your pastors!

Promises by the Pastor-Elect:  St.Paul Clintonville has called a pastor who is united with us in faith and purpose.  Hear as Pastor-Elect Rothfuss publicly confesses his faith and his intent to serve this congregation and the larger Church of Christ.

Exhortation to the Congregation: The pastor is a leader, but not a loner.  It is fitting to remind all of us how we should treat and support our full-time ministers. 

Promises by the Congregation: Here the members of St. Paul are asked to publicly proclaim support and pray for the pastor they have Called. 

Ordination and Installation: Pastor will pronounce the ordination following which fellow pastors will continue the ancient tradition of welcoming new pastors by the laying on of hands and by encouraging Pastor Rothfuss with God’s empowering Word.

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What can you expect from Pastor-Elect:

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We are blessed to receive a Pastor who has studied and prepared for many years to serve as a pastor, and who is in unity with us in our trust in God. The Called Worker training program in our synod does a thorough job. After high school those who want to be pastors study at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minnesota. At MLC candidates earn their college degree, but also prepare for the Seminary. They study the Word and they study the languages the Bible is written in. After MLC they train at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, Wisconsin (120 miles south of here). Candidates spend the first 2 years on campus studying the Word in its original languages, along with other spiritual, theological, and professional training needed to enter the pastoral ministry. Their third year is spent as a vicar, an intern under a more experienced pastor. This year gives students deep practical experience and an education they couldn’t get in the classroom alone. Their final year is spent on campus in Mequon again where they continue their studies. Becoming a pastor in our synod is not an easy or quick task. We are blessed to have a candidate who has already shown such great dedication and perseverance toward serving the Lord, and one who we know is united with us in our faith! To God be the glory!

Preparation and training are one thing, but being qualified to be in such an important role is another thing. If you are wondering what qualifies any candidate to serve as a pastor, listen to the audio file below.

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If you are wondering what Pastor-Elect’s preaching style is like, well, we’ll just leave this link below. This sermon is well worth a listen (or twelve).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeHwm4WIzaY&t=2822s

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Church Family Nights 2021

There are several church family nights being planned for this summer!

Church Family Nights or events are a chance for members to meet outside of the usual Sunday morning. It is also a great time to bring friends along or to get to know visitors better. Most of these events are very laid back and informal. We’ll provide food and we’ll have game/activity equipment. For outside events please bring lawn chairs (if you forget, we have some). If you are new to the area or to our church, come to one of these, it is a great chance to meet us and to find out more about what is taught here.

Thursday June 17

Join us on Thursday, June 17th at the McMahon’s (their address in in the member directory). Come anytime between 5:30pm and 9pm. There will be lots do do and to eat! They will have the makings for some pudgie-pies!

Sunday June 27

Come on over to the church Sunday evening, we will be grilling out! First off, we’ll have a short hymn sing inside the church at 4:30pm and get a nifty preview of the coming Psalm book. After that, we will be grilling out. We’ll set out the games and equipment so there will be fun for all ages, even if you just want to sit by the bonfire. Come anytime between 4:30pm and 9pm. In case of bad weather, we will still gather at church to share a meal and watch a movie.

Thursday July 8

Join us for a church family night hosted by the Retzlaffs. They are inviting us to come to the farm starting at 6pm. They will have some barbeque, please bring a dish to pass or food to share. The address to the Retzlaff farm is in the member directory.

Wednesday July 21

Join us for another church family night on the church grounds. Come anytime between 5pm and 9pm for food and fellowship. This will be a great opportunity to invite others to come and connect with our congregation.

Sunday August 1

Come on over for a special hymn sing and social. Starting at 3pm we’ll learn about some of the hymns that will be in the coming hymnal and then sing them. The stories and histories behind some of these hymns are often amazing and encouraging. We’ll also focus on connecting the words of the hymns to God’s Words and promises. After the hymn sing we will have an open forum to talk about and learn about the synod’s Hymnal Project. This event will kick off our ordering new hymnals. If you choose, you can pay for a hymnal for the church, or order one for yourself. There is also a devotion book accompanying the hymnal that you should consider order. After that, there will be a pie social afterwards.

Wednesday August 11 — CANCELLED

Sorry about this, but due to some last minute scheduling issues this event is being cancelled. We might reschedule it for later in the year.

Other Events

In September we are planning a block party!

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If you have questions, or would like to help host or run an event, talk to Chuck Schowalter. chuck@stpaulclintonville.com