Welcome!
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“Living in God’s grace, we reach out to welcome All with Christ’s love”
Messiah Lutheran Church was formed in March of 1973. Messiah is the result of a merger between two Washburn Churches. Emanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded by Swedish settlers in the late 1800’s. The Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church was also founded in the late 1800’s. After years of operating independently, the two churches proposed a merger. After several years of discussion, the two churches finally completed the merger in March of 1973. The new church was named Messiah Lutheran. Messiah now has over 200 members.
Messiah is also a Reconciling in Christ (RIC) Church, meaning that we invite and welcome people of every age, color, culture and political persuasion, every sexual orientation and gender identity, socio-economic status and ability as we celebrate together our unity in Christ. We welcome you to join us for worship or one of our many special community or ministry events. |
Sunday Services
Messiah Sunday Service with Holy Communion - 8:30 a.m.
Our services are open to everyone. We love making new friends. Whether you live in the area or are here visiting friends or relatives, or are enjoying a vacation in the northland, we welcome you to join us! You are also invited to enjoy a cup of coffee and a snack during Coffee Fellowship following most Sunday Services. 231 West 5th Street, Washburn, Wisconsin 54891 First Lutheran Port Wing Sunday Service with Holy Communion - 10:45 a.m. We welcome everyone to join us. 83105 Washington Avenue, Port Wing, Wisconsin 54865 |
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What's Happening at Messiah
Sunday April 7 Guest preacher Luther Park Bible Camp Director Keith Newman. Keith will share some of the life long benefits children gain from attending camp.
Wednesday, April 10, 5:30 pm, Ecumenical Seder Meal at St. Louis Catholic Church Gym. Seating is limited, please call 715-373-2676 for reservations. All are welcome, free will offering. Hosted by Messiah and St. Louis Catholic Church.
Saturday, April 13, 7:00 pm, Northwoods Contata at Messiah. Free will offering
Easter Sunday Morning, April 21, Breakfast Between the Services at Messiah in the basement between the 6:30 am & 8:30 am services. Free will offering goes to Bible Camperships.
Sunday, May 5, 4:00 pm, 6th Annual Messiah Talent Show! This popular event is back. Walking tacos & desserts following the show. Free will offering for VBS & Summer Bible Camperships. Thrivent Action Team funded. Come and be entertained! Rehearsal will be on Wednesday, May 1.
Wednesday, May 22, last GIFT for this school year. 5:30 pm at Memorial Park for a picnic!
Wednesday, April 10, 5:30 pm, Ecumenical Seder Meal at St. Louis Catholic Church Gym. Seating is limited, please call 715-373-2676 for reservations. All are welcome, free will offering. Hosted by Messiah and St. Louis Catholic Church.
Saturday, April 13, 7:00 pm, Northwoods Contata at Messiah. Free will offering
Easter Sunday Morning, April 21, Breakfast Between the Services at Messiah in the basement between the 6:30 am & 8:30 am services. Free will offering goes to Bible Camperships.
Sunday, May 5, 4:00 pm, 6th Annual Messiah Talent Show! This popular event is back. Walking tacos & desserts following the show. Free will offering for VBS & Summer Bible Camperships. Thrivent Action Team funded. Come and be entertained! Rehearsal will be on Wednesday, May 1.
Wednesday, May 22, last GIFT for this school year. 5:30 pm at Memorial Park for a picnic!
Dear Members and Friends,
At our February 3 annual meeting, the congregation voted to accept a 2019-2020 Mission Action Plan. We pray these are ways God will use us in the coming two years. Please keep this copy on hand so you can partner up in accomplishing these goals.
Love in Christ, Pastor Nancy
Messiah Lutheran Church’s 2019-2020 Mission Action Plan
1) Focusing on youth and cross-generational growth
Continue Current Initiatives such as Wednesday G.I.F.T., Vacation Bible School, Luther Park Bible Camp Support and Senior High Discussion Group.
New Initiatives include: Increase financial support for youth/cross-gen activities, Summer trips to Christian concert venues, Wear name tags once each month at Sunday Worship and at G.I.F.T., Create some sort of Grandparent” program, Promote Career Events where adults share with Youth, twice each year, Ecumenical Mission/Service trips both local and away, and Meals for sports teams twice each year.
2) Strengthening Messiah’s worshipping community
Continue Current Initiatives such as Bible Studies, Wired Word, Sharing joys and concerns and needs during service for self and neighbors monthly.
New Initiatives include: Topical Book Study groups twice each year, Strengthen Relationship with First Lutheran of Port Wing, Expand acolyting/ushering/worship assistant involvement, Increase involvement in kitchen serving groups and altar guild and Update information booklet.
3) Increasing our presence and actions in the community beyond our walls
Continue Current Initiatives such as ongoing willingness to be involved in area School and Human Services, Heaven’s Helping Hands, Ecumenical Services/Activities (Lent, Advent, Veterans’ Picnic, other), Share music with Oaks/Northern Lights.
New Initiatives include: Support those who are incarcerated and post-incarceration, Improve attendance at Worship in Park with better advertising/outreach, Expand technology for outreach, Educational outreach - sponsor discussions, Homeless needs in our community, Opportunities to help or reach out to LGTBQ community
May the Holy Spirit lead us in keeping the Joyfulness of Service in all that we do. Amen!
Click Here to view the first Quarter Mission Action Plan Report.
At our February 3 annual meeting, the congregation voted to accept a 2019-2020 Mission Action Plan. We pray these are ways God will use us in the coming two years. Please keep this copy on hand so you can partner up in accomplishing these goals.
Love in Christ, Pastor Nancy
Messiah Lutheran Church’s 2019-2020 Mission Action Plan
1) Focusing on youth and cross-generational growth
Continue Current Initiatives such as Wednesday G.I.F.T., Vacation Bible School, Luther Park Bible Camp Support and Senior High Discussion Group.
New Initiatives include: Increase financial support for youth/cross-gen activities, Summer trips to Christian concert venues, Wear name tags once each month at Sunday Worship and at G.I.F.T., Create some sort of Grandparent” program, Promote Career Events where adults share with Youth, twice each year, Ecumenical Mission/Service trips both local and away, and Meals for sports teams twice each year.
2) Strengthening Messiah’s worshipping community
Continue Current Initiatives such as Bible Studies, Wired Word, Sharing joys and concerns and needs during service for self and neighbors monthly.
New Initiatives include: Topical Book Study groups twice each year, Strengthen Relationship with First Lutheran of Port Wing, Expand acolyting/ushering/worship assistant involvement, Increase involvement in kitchen serving groups and altar guild and Update information booklet.
3) Increasing our presence and actions in the community beyond our walls
Continue Current Initiatives such as ongoing willingness to be involved in area School and Human Services, Heaven’s Helping Hands, Ecumenical Services/Activities (Lent, Advent, Veterans’ Picnic, other), Share music with Oaks/Northern Lights.
New Initiatives include: Support those who are incarcerated and post-incarceration, Improve attendance at Worship in Park with better advertising/outreach, Expand technology for outreach, Educational outreach - sponsor discussions, Homeless needs in our community, Opportunities to help or reach out to LGTBQ community
May the Holy Spirit lead us in keeping the Joyfulness of Service in all that we do. Amen!
Click Here to view the first Quarter Mission Action Plan Report.
Job Opportunity |
Easter Breakfast |
Looking Ahead to Bible Camp |
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Messiah is looking for a go-getter who likes to take charge of new projects, who can delegate effectively, and who enjoys organizing! Does this sound like you, or like someone you know?
It is time for Messiah to create a new church directory! Summer is the most convenient time to do this. The “Church Directory Production Manager” would be responsible for working with the directory company, signing Messiah members up for photo appointments, arranging for volunteer hosts to help at the photo times, and otherwise keep track of things! The total time commitment would be short in duration (2—3 months). Have you been thinking about donating some time to an important Messiah task? This is a great job for you! This job could also be done by two people who enjoy working together. The time to begin planning for this is NOW. So contact any council member or Tracy Martinez in the office to apply soon! God Bless you! |
Easter Breakfast in the church basement “between the services” at 7:30 am, Easter Sunday (April 21),
Menu: French Toast, Egg Bake Casseroles, Biscuits and Sausage Gravy, Pork Sausage Patties, Ham Slices, Hash Brown Potatoes, Fresh Fruit Trays, Pastries, Coffee, Milk and Juice 
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Please think now about signing your child up for Bible Camp! Luther Park gives a $20 discount per child for a full week of camp and a $10 discount per child for half week programs if they register by May 1; plus certain weeks of camp might fill up. Now is the time to consider this wonderful opportunity! Go to www.lutherpark.org for more information and to find out what programs Luther Park has to offer or stop in the church office for a brochure. MANY Messiah kids have gone to camp & are looking forward to doing it again this summer!
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Easter Message from the Bishop
What do we have to do to get the world’s attention? We’ve got good news, great news, the best news, but we can’t seem to get the attention of those who need to hear it the most.
For a few years in my former parish I sent out postcards and Facebook posts hoping to catch the attention of those who weren’t members of my church and invite them to EASTER WORSHIP.
I used cute designs from OUTREACH.COM. My favorite was a photo of a fuzzy blue stuffed toy bunny with the caption: Is the true meaning of Easter a little fuzzy? On the other side of the card was an invitation to worship at Trinity, the church I served. This year they have a photo of an adorable baby wearing floppy fuzzy bunny ears and the caption reads: Have you heard the real story of Easter? They also have a post card with the photo of a green field filled with colorful Easter eggs ready for the Easter Egg hunt. The caption reads: Hunting for more this EASTER? These clever cutesy cards are designed to get the attention of the world and invite non-members to come to their worship services. It is not a terrible idea to send a postcard in the mail or post on social media inviting people to visit your church, but it is it working? Does sending a card capture the world’s attention?
What does it take to get the attention of the world? What does it take to get the attention of the family that lives in the yellow house across the street from your church building?
Some seems to be so distracted, busy, engaged in daily living, or just getting by. Others seem anesthetized by mind numbing virtual reality activities on their computer, phone or TV screens. A few find time to worship at the gym, yoga class, running, or biking. Sometimes I just want to yell, HEY! LISTEN UP, I’ve got good news. But I know they won’t be able to hear me over the din of daily life.
So what do we do? We know that guilting, shaming, and judging doesn’t work. Should we just…Give up. Shut up. Close up? Nope. I’m too much of an optimist for that. I think there is one thing we as a church can do that might get the world’s attention. We can sneak up and love them up.
I don’t mean sneak up like stalking, that’s illegal. What I mean is act like you love your neighbor in little ways so that eventually without you really knowing it, you DO love your neighbor and you can be in a relationship in such a way that you can invite them to know and love Jesus, the real Jesus, the Jesus of Easter. Maybe the first step is caring enough about the folks that don’t know the story about Jesus life death and resurrection to send them a silly post card. Maybe a baby step is caring enough about the children who won’t hear the Easter story in Sunday school and inviting them to come to your church for an Easter egg hunt and before it begins tell them about Jesus in some simple way. Maybe you could care enough to get to know the name of the church neighbor in the yellow house and who knows where it will go from there. Care enough to get to know your neighbor, the Muslim family from Somalia that lives next to the grocery store. Care enough to get to know your immigrant neighbor, the Latino family that lives across the street from the school.
Maybe the only way to get someone’s attention is to love them. That’s how God got my attention.
God sneaks up on us, loves unconditionally, loves the world so much that he gave his only Son, and on the third day he rose from the dead, so that we might have life. That’s the real meaning of Easter. That’s the good news the world is dying to hear. They just don’t know it yet. Maybe YOU can love someone enough to tell them about it.
It’s Easter. Let’s go love-in Jesus’ name,
Bishop Laurie Skow-Anderson
For a few years in my former parish I sent out postcards and Facebook posts hoping to catch the attention of those who weren’t members of my church and invite them to EASTER WORSHIP.
I used cute designs from OUTREACH.COM. My favorite was a photo of a fuzzy blue stuffed toy bunny with the caption: Is the true meaning of Easter a little fuzzy? On the other side of the card was an invitation to worship at Trinity, the church I served. This year they have a photo of an adorable baby wearing floppy fuzzy bunny ears and the caption reads: Have you heard the real story of Easter? They also have a post card with the photo of a green field filled with colorful Easter eggs ready for the Easter Egg hunt. The caption reads: Hunting for more this EASTER? These clever cutesy cards are designed to get the attention of the world and invite non-members to come to their worship services. It is not a terrible idea to send a postcard in the mail or post on social media inviting people to visit your church, but it is it working? Does sending a card capture the world’s attention?
What does it take to get the attention of the world? What does it take to get the attention of the family that lives in the yellow house across the street from your church building?
Some seems to be so distracted, busy, engaged in daily living, or just getting by. Others seem anesthetized by mind numbing virtual reality activities on their computer, phone or TV screens. A few find time to worship at the gym, yoga class, running, or biking. Sometimes I just want to yell, HEY! LISTEN UP, I’ve got good news. But I know they won’t be able to hear me over the din of daily life.
So what do we do? We know that guilting, shaming, and judging doesn’t work. Should we just…Give up. Shut up. Close up? Nope. I’m too much of an optimist for that. I think there is one thing we as a church can do that might get the world’s attention. We can sneak up and love them up.
I don’t mean sneak up like stalking, that’s illegal. What I mean is act like you love your neighbor in little ways so that eventually without you really knowing it, you DO love your neighbor and you can be in a relationship in such a way that you can invite them to know and love Jesus, the real Jesus, the Jesus of Easter. Maybe the first step is caring enough about the folks that don’t know the story about Jesus life death and resurrection to send them a silly post card. Maybe a baby step is caring enough about the children who won’t hear the Easter story in Sunday school and inviting them to come to your church for an Easter egg hunt and before it begins tell them about Jesus in some simple way. Maybe you could care enough to get to know the name of the church neighbor in the yellow house and who knows where it will go from there. Care enough to get to know your neighbor, the Muslim family from Somalia that lives next to the grocery store. Care enough to get to know your immigrant neighbor, the Latino family that lives across the street from the school.
Maybe the only way to get someone’s attention is to love them. That’s how God got my attention.
God sneaks up on us, loves unconditionally, loves the world so much that he gave his only Son, and on the third day he rose from the dead, so that we might have life. That’s the real meaning of Easter. That’s the good news the world is dying to hear. They just don’t know it yet. Maybe YOU can love someone enough to tell them about it.
It’s Easter. Let’s go love-in Jesus’ name,
Bishop Laurie Skow-Anderson
Goal REACHED!!!!We have reached our fundraising goal of $190,000. The total amount raised for the Save the Steeple project is just over $200,000. After a detailed analysis of project expenses, those completed and those yet to be done, we now estimate the final cost for the project will be $201,000. Here are a few common questions and answers:
Is $201,000 enough to complete the project? It should be unless there are unforeseen problems with the replacement of the flat roof, or rotten wood discovered when painting is completed in the spring. We do have some contingency funds built into the budget. What will happen with the loan that was taken out for the project? The majority of the loan will be paid off immediately. We will maintain a $10,000 balance just in case something unexpected comes up until everything is completed. What should people do about financial pledges they made for the Save the Steeple project? While we met our goal, we hope members still fulfill their pledges. We are still a bit shy of what we need to finish everything and pay off the remaining loan balance. What’s next? The Save the Steeple Committee will meet in mid-March to discuss the remaining issues to complete this project. If members have questions, put them in writing and drop them off at the church office or give to a committee member: Dede Maki, Keith Holm, Troy Schmidtke, Dick Olson, Travis Tulowitzky, Bob Leis, Wendy Murphy, Ginny Pedersen and Cheryl Follis. The project has been a great success! When we presented this to the congregation the estimated cost was between $175,000 & $200,000. We went slightly over the projected budget because a number of items came up during construction such as: *Repair and replace a sewer line discovered during construction. *Added ceiling insulation in the fellowship hall to help with sound. *Electrical outlets added to the sanctuary. *Added outdoor faucets to facilitate watering plants and the yard. *Repair floor joists to prevent collapse of the choir loft. *Added access door to the elevator. We have extended the life and use of our beautiful church building by undertaking the Save the Steeple project. We know that there are many additional items that could be improved or updated based on our original C & S Design report. Those will be the responsibility of the Building and Grounds Committee, the Church Council and ultimately the congregation to consider in the future. The current Save the Steeple Committee will sunset most likely by June. We can’t thank them enough for all they have done. We especially want to thank our project manager, Troy Schmidtke, for all of his work and oversite. Sincerely, Keith Holm, on behalf of the committee. Thank You Luncheon for our Renovation TeamThere's nothing like a nice hot lunch! Thanks Donna, Mary, Lorraine, and Bob for making lunch for our renovation workers!
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Provided by CoolFundraisingIdeas.net If you would like to donate to Save the Steeple Repairs, click the Donate button above.
To print your Messiah Contribution Form Click Here. |
Dear Messiah Family,
For over 125 years, our church building has served our congregation well. We have gathered here. We have worshiped here. We have celebrated, laughed, ate, prayed, played, sang, learned, hugged, cried, said hello, said good-bye here…..It has been a part of us. To many of us, it has been like a second home. Many of us couldn’t imagine our community without our church building. It is loved.
Our church building is a great structure. It is sound. It has stood the test of time. As the times have changed, and the congregation has changed, the building has changed to fit our needs. Additions were added, the elevator was installed, spaces have been rearranged and adapted, repairs were made. Like any great structure, the church building has needed care and attention. We need to continue to invest in our building so it can serve our future generations, as it has served us and those who came before us.
Our church building is in dire need of a new roof and exterior paint. Without a new roof and paint, the building’s integrity will be compromised in the near future. Roofing and exterior paint is estimated to cost $70,000.00. Our goal is to replace the roof during Summer 2018.
This is the first phase of our building improvement project and Capital Campaign.
We need your help maintaining and improving our church building. Please consider donating a financial gift towards this project. Your financial gift is tax deductible.
We sing a hymn, "The Church's One Foundation is Jesus Christ Her Lord." The church is not the building; the church is the people, the body of Christ. We maintain our building so we can continue to minister to people inside our structure and beyond for years and decades to come. Thank you all for your prayerful consideration.
Sincerely with the Grace of God,
Messiah Lutheran Church Council—Ginny Pedersen, Council President
Click here to see the list of needed repairs
For over 125 years, our church building has served our congregation well. We have gathered here. We have worshiped here. We have celebrated, laughed, ate, prayed, played, sang, learned, hugged, cried, said hello, said good-bye here…..It has been a part of us. To many of us, it has been like a second home. Many of us couldn’t imagine our community without our church building. It is loved.
Our church building is a great structure. It is sound. It has stood the test of time. As the times have changed, and the congregation has changed, the building has changed to fit our needs. Additions were added, the elevator was installed, spaces have been rearranged and adapted, repairs were made. Like any great structure, the church building has needed care and attention. We need to continue to invest in our building so it can serve our future generations, as it has served us and those who came before us.
Our church building is in dire need of a new roof and exterior paint. Without a new roof and paint, the building’s integrity will be compromised in the near future. Roofing and exterior paint is estimated to cost $70,000.00. Our goal is to replace the roof during Summer 2018.
This is the first phase of our building improvement project and Capital Campaign.
We need your help maintaining and improving our church building. Please consider donating a financial gift towards this project. Your financial gift is tax deductible.
We sing a hymn, "The Church's One Foundation is Jesus Christ Her Lord." The church is not the building; the church is the people, the body of Christ. We maintain our building so we can continue to minister to people inside our structure and beyond for years and decades to come. Thank you all for your prayerful consideration.
Sincerely with the Grace of God,
Messiah Lutheran Church Council—Ginny Pedersen, Council President
Click here to see the list of needed repairs
Construction Photographs
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Have you heard about The Divine Spark? This book is a product of Pastor Nancy Sabbatical. It is a collection of inspirational stories from members of the LGBTQ community.
"This collection of stories beautifully illustrates the power of radical truth-telling and vulnerability as tools to foster change and understanding in community. Leonard Cohen wrote is his song Anthem, “There is a crack, a crack in everything / That’s how the light gets in.” These storytellers have embraced their authentic selves (cracks and all) and have become beacons of light in a world that desperately needs illumination." Mary Dougherty Mother, Photographer, and Author Creator of the Words for Water project Co-founder of FarmsNotFactoriesWI.org |
To learn more about The Divine Spark or to order a copy, click here. Copies are also available for purchase at the Church office.
RIC
Here's a riddle: What's old and new?
Answer: Messiah’s welcoming and diverse family! Messiah has always extended an open and loving welcome to all. And a few years ago we became even more committed to this welcoming nature by becoming a "Reconciling In Christ" congregation. We joined a larger community of churches who reach out to those who have felt left out. Our adopted welcoming statement reads, "We welcome people of every age, color, culture, and political persuasion, every sexual orientation and gender identity, socio-economic status and ability as we celebrate together our unity in Christ." So that is our identity and our tradition. That is the “old.” The "new" part is that now we have a group of church members who are working to bring forward our commitment to welcoming diversity in new ways. In April we showed part of the National Geographic film, "Gender Revolution" and invited a neighbor, Carri Hoagland, to share her personal story of discovering her transgender identity. We also attended the April meeting of PFLAG where Pastor Nancy was awarded Person of the Year by that group for her work on diversity in our local communities. In June we plan to help with the annual Chicken Dinner fund-raising Sunday by working on a special celebratory service that will intentionally reach out to invite community members to join us! So again, "What's old and new?" Messiah's tradition and Messiah's re-emphasis of Christ's message of love and acceptance. Let's celebrate! ~Ginny Pedersen, RIC Committee Thrivent Choice Dollars Help Messiah
Are you an eligible Thrivent member with Choice Dollars available to direct?
Each year, eligible Thrivent members are designated Choice Dollars based on their qualifying insurance premiums, contract values and volunteer leadership. If you're an eligible Thrivent member with Choice Dollars available to designate, you can help strengthen our community by directing them to Messiah Lutheran Church. Thank you to those members who participated in the program and helped support our church's mission by directing Choice Dollars! Visit Thrivent.com/thriventchoice to learn more and find program terms and conditions. Don't miss this opportunity to recommend where Thrivent Financial should distribute some of its charitable outreach funds. Cleaners Needed
If anyone would like to pull a month (or more) stint on helping clean the church, please contact Bob Leis at 715-373-1087. By utilizing volunteers to clean the church we are saving considerable money by not hiring a janitorial service. There are cleaning jobs available that would only take about an hour a week!
Serving Group Leader Needed
Are you interested in co-chairing a serving group? Group 2 needs one more leader to help out Sally Toepfer and Ruth Carlson. Please contact the church office if you can help.
Business Card Bulletin Ads Now Accepted
The Council approved a policy allowing one business card ad in each Sunday Bulletin. If you would like to place an ad, you need to provide a camera ready business card size ad. The cost is $25.00 per ad. Drop your ad and the cash at the church office by the end of the day on Thursday. Please share this information with area businesses that may be interested in buying an ad.
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Bob UngrodtBob Ungrodt’s funeral will be on Sat., July 27 at 11:00 am at Messiah. Send sympathy cards to P.O. Box 488, Washburn.
Wanted:
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Quick Clicks to Navigate Through the Website
It's pretty easy to find your way around Messiah's website. Scroll over any of the tabs on the top of the page. Drop down menus will appear. Just click on anything you are looking for. Another way is to click on any of the links below to be taken directly to the page you are looking for.
