Your Weekly E-Newsletter -- Thursday, May 25, 2023

The office will be closed on Monday, May 29 in observance of the Memorial Day Holiday.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Is it just me, or did our year together go flying by? Time itself has a mysterious quality. As a result of Christ’s cross and empty tomb, for instance, every moment of every day is pregnant with meaning and significance – infinitely more than can be grasped by the mind or the senses. This is true of the past year together. In our worship, ministry, and fellowship, the kingdom of God was further breaking into this fallen world, as the risen Christ extended his Reign in the hearts and lives of God’s people. Though we will not see the full and glorious fruit of our ministry until that Day which has no end, by faith we are certain and assured that our labors are not in vain.

My family and I have been so richly blessed by all of you, and we are immensely grateful that the Lord called us to Calvary for this year of formation. Thank you for all the love and kindness you have shown us. Moreover, thank you for your hospitality, a genuine strength of this congregation. Amy and I have both noted the spirit of hospitality at Calvary, and, my goodness, we are just so touched and grateful for your generosity to us, for inviting us into your homes, for the meals you’ve shared with us, and simply for your words and the time you took to talk with us and get to know us. You made us feel welcome both at Calvary and in the surrounding community. Thanks to you, this has been home.

Thank you, especially, for your supportive care and consolation after the terrible tragedy that my family suffered in December. In countless ways, both large and small, you were there for us and with us, mourning our loss and embracing us with your love. Above all, thank you for your prayers, through which the Lord surely carried and sustained us.

I also want to say a special thank-you to the members of my internship committee, to my colleagues on our church staff, and to Pastor Ken and Marcella. I can hardly imagine a better pastor under whom to serve and from whom to learn, and Amy and I are so grateful for you and Marcella, both as exemplars in the faith and as true friends.

To the whole congregation, thank you – individually and collectively – for the indispensable role you played in my formation for the pastorate. Thank you for humbling me with your gracious encouragement and feedback on my preaching, teaching, etc., through which the Holy Spirit was confirming, to me and to the church, God’s call to the ministry of word and sacrament. Indeed, the call to ordained ministry is sensed inwardly by an individual, but, if it is from God, the Spirit will confirm the call outwardly through the church’s assent. In other words, I simply could not have discerned the final phase of this call alone. I needed you.

The NALC is facing an urgent need for faithful, well-formed pastors. At the same time, few congregations are equipped to host pastoral interns. Thus, you have played a significant role, not only in my formation and in the life of my family, but in the life of the broader church. For whatever fruit my future ministry as a pastor may bear, it will be inseparable from the time and experience you allowed me to receive from you this year. In all my life and ministry, no other congregation will have played this unique role in my formation and confirmation as a pastor. Thank you. I will not forget you. My family and I love you and will miss you, and we will remember you in our prayers. And whether we see one another again in this life or not until the next, we await with you in hopeful expectation for the coming of our Lord and King!

To God alone be the glory,



Vicar Ben Blobaum

Please join us for cake and fellowship following worship on Sunday, May 28 as we have a reception in Fellowship Hall for Ben Blobaum, our Pastoral Intern. Ben will complete his internship in mid-June; however, we have graduation, confirmation and Pastor Ken's retirement events in June. We wanted to dedicate a special day to give our best wishes to Ben.

Ben, Amy and Josiah have been such a delight to have with us for the past year.

Thank you to the Dudzik family for bringing a little polka music to our Sunday service last weekend. It was a fun way to sing praises to God!

Pastor Ken handed out the first playing card before the participants left for the short walk.

Thanks to Dave DeBruine (pictured at left) who was able to join us for the Walk. He handed out one of the cards along the Walk.

Those with the top Poker hands received gift cards to Target and Kopp's.

Congrats to Cindy Zilske, Ben Blobaum, Jayden Rooks and R.J. Budnick who were our lucky winners.

Women's Prayer Breakfast

Saturday, May 13

Many thanks to all those who contributed their time and brought their treasured dishes for the women’s prayer breakfast. Also thanks go out to all those who attended and brought guests. 

Marcella Nelson

Pastor Ken's and Marcella's Retirement Send-Off

Saturday, June 10

6 p.m.

Fellowship Hall

You can RSVP here or sign up sheets are on the glass doors in the Narthex.

We will be cleaning up our church property by raking, trimming bushes/shrubs, weeding, cutting down a tree and hauling the refuse to the Recycling Center. There's something for everyone. Bring your rakes, trimming tools and gloves. Refreshments and a free-T-shirt will be provided.

Questions? Please reach out to Ernie Kretschmann.

A sign up sheet is posted on the Opportunities kiosk in the Narthex.

Four of our youth will publicly make their Affirmation of Baptism on Sunday, June 4 at the 9 a.m. worship service.

William Dudzik

Kyle Gall

Addison Meyer

Ellie Sayas

Celebrate Megan Schatz's high school graduation on

Sunday, June 11 at the 9 a.m.

service and learn about her future plans.

Day of Pentecost

Day of Pentecost

May 27-28, 2023



Janet Zastrow, expert seamstress, invites the women of all ages to join her for Sewing Circle this summer (date and time to be determined). Janet has been teaching Amruth Busi, daughter of Radha Vaddavalli, how to sew. Several examples of what they have made together are pictured here.

Janet is looking for adults who sew to participate, as well as donations of patterns, which have become quite expensive to purchase!. There is a bin in the Narthex to collect the patterns, This is a great opportunity for inter-generational fellowship.

If you're interested in helping Janet with this wonderful ministry, please send an email to her at janetzastrow@att.net.

May Mission of the Month

Compassion International

Compassion International exists as an advocate for children, to release them from their spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enable them to become responsible and fulfilled Christian adults. This is done in a variety of ways. For the Calvary congregation, we are most familiar with their Water of Life and Child Sponsorship programs.

In prior years, our focus has been on the Water of Life program to purchase water filtration systems. Thankfully, this program has been so successful that there is a limit of how many new systems they need each year. The Water of Life program is part of the larger “WaSH” program which stands for Water Sanitation and Hygiene. Donations directed to WaSH might be used for Water of Life but if all the units have already been acquired for the year, the funds would be used for wells, filtration systems, water storage or sanitation facilities.

The focus of the Water Sanitation and Hygiene initiative (WaSH) is to ensure that no Compassion-assisted child has to drink contaminated water or use unsafe sanitation facilities. Compassion provides the resources and infrastructure that help protect each child's health as they make their journey out of extreme poverty.

Safe-water Infrastructure

Children who have access to safe water are protected from waterborne diseases and are

more likely to succeed in school. A nearby safe water source also helps to ensure girls get

an education instead of spending hours each day collecting water for their family.

Proper Sanitation

Providing adequate toilets or latrines prevents open defecation, which leads to the rapid

spread of disease through communities and puts children in physical danger. Combined

with hand-washing facilities, latrines not only protect children’s health but foster dignity

and self-respect.

Hygiene Education

Compassion provides personal hygiene kits and hygiene education so children can form

good habits that will safeguard their health for a lifetime. From basic hand-washing to

dental hygiene, Compassion-assisted children learn to care for themselves and lead by

example.

Every $1 invested in Water and Sanitation Priority Initiative creates a $4 return because whole communities spend less on healthcare and more on education and in the local economy.

The Most Popular Interventions include:

• Drilling wells
• Facilitating waste collection and management
• Providing water filtration systems
• Installing rainwater harvesting systems
• Building water storage and pumping systems
• Providing hygiene education
• Building septic systems
• Training community members on equipment maintenance
• Constructing toilets and washrooms

In fiscal years 2015-18, Compassion’s clean water initiatives impacted more than 170,000 Compassion children and their families through the:

•  Installation of 8,449 toilets, 874 new water-access points near children’s homes and more than 276 hand-washing stations at Compassion church partners.
• Provision of safe water through more than 159 new borehole wells, large water-storage tanks or large-scale water purification systems;
• Distribution of more than 20,400 in-home water filtration systems in 17 countries where Compassion works

To support this important Mission for the Month, you may include it in your weekly offering envelope or designate the donation for Mission of the Month in your online giving.

Just a reminder that contributions to the NALC's 20/20 Vision Campaign need to be designated as "NALC" either on your giving envelope or on your check. If you have any questions, please contact Cindy Rooks at finance@calvarylc.com.

We invite you to provide

Hospitality Treats on Sunday

We invite you to stay after worship on Sunday mornings and enjoy fellowship time and a treat/cup of coffee in Fellowship Hall.

If you'd like to provide treats (donuts, bagels, etc.) for Sunday hospitality time, there is a sheet on the bulletin board in Fellowship Hall.  You may bring the treats (six dozen) and drop them off in the kitchen, or simply add a “P” behind your name, pay $30 to the church office and the treats will be purchased for you. 

The sign up sheet for 2023 has been posted on the bulletin board.  Thank you for your support!

If you watch our services via the Live Stream, please take a minute to let us know. There is now a link called "Online Worship Attendance" on the page where you access each week's service.

We appreciate you taking the time to complete this each week. It helps us know that our Live Stream is being viewed and by whom. 

Thank you!

CALVARY LUTHERAN CHURCH www.calvarylc.com

Regular office hours are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. - noon 262.786.4010

Questions or comments? Email Sue Rowe at communications@calvarylc.com