Reminder: The last section of the newsletter is always the calendar. If your email ends before that, it may have been "clipped." If you see that message, just click on the "View entire message" link next to it to view the newsletter in its entirety.

Sunday, December 21, 2025

This Week's Message is:

“Do Not Be Afraid”

Matthew 1:18-25

(Note: we would like some helpers to stay after worship on Sunday to help transition to Christmas colors. Thanks!

Also, we will have a celebration of our new Bell this week!)

ACCESS WORSHIP

Join us for our Traditional worship Sundays at 8:00 a.m. and at 9:45 a.m. for Praise worship which is livestreamed on our Facebook and available on YouTube any time after. Our most recent worship services are also posted to our website. To view the last Sunday's Service click below.

DECEMBER 28th WORSHIP

On Sunday December 28th, we will gather for one service at 9am to sing our favorite Christmas carols, hear the great story of God's love in Christ...and celebrate Pastor Heather's birthday! And she requests NO GIFTS, but if you would like to honor her with a gift to Roots Ethiopia so we can complete the science lab here is the link to do so! Thank you!

YEAR-END GIVING

First of all, thank you for all the ways you already financially support the ministry of St. Matthew's New Life! We pray that you will continue to give in any way that you can, and potentially consider an additional end of the year gift. As we look forward to 2026 and beyond, we hope that you’ll help this vibrant community end the year on a very strong note! There are also other ways to give: from your IRA (if you're over age 70½ ), stock appreciation transfer, or living will or trust giving. If you have questions about any of this, please let the office know and we can give you more information. Please remember that all year-end giving needs to be postmarked by Dec. 31! As always, this ministry only happens in and through you! Thank you!

BREAKFAST MINISTRY - SIGN UP TODAY!

Our delicious Breakfasts that we have the first Sunday of each month can't happen without you! We URGENTLY need volunteers for January 4th. The church has a lot of breakfast sausage and pancake mix! Gather some friends and family, and sign up at the Kitchen Window in the Community Room, or email the office!

ADVENT WORSHIP TONIGHT

Wednesdays at 6pm: We will gather for a Taizé Advent Worship time with some people sharing faith stories - tonight, Ashley Reinke! Come and join us in this time of preparation and anticipation of the Lord's coming.

THANK YOU FOR AN AMAZING ADVENT BY CANDLELIGHT EVENT! Thank you to all hostesses, attendees, helpers, and worship leaders!

THURSDAY WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY - God’s Beloved Daughters

Please join us for our Advent study every Thursday at 9am! We are studying “Waiting Here For You” by Louie Giglio. In this study we will discuss Advent as a season of waiting for Jesus as we prepare our hearts for to greet Christmas 2025. We will approach the holiday with joy and peace and a new promise of the arrival of the newborn king. Let’s come together and talk about how we can make this busy and pressure-filled season one of anticipation of meeting with the Savior. This is a 4-week study. If you are interested in attending or would like more information, contact Melanie at melanie.stepherson@gmail.com.

MEN'S GROUP

The Men's Group will meet this coming Saturday, December 20th at the church from 8:00-9:00 a.m. Please plan to join us! All are welcome! 

A NEW EARTH BOOK STUDY

Starting January 4th at 11am, Jeff Lennberg will lead us through Eckhart Tolle's book "A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose." Come discover what it means to deny yourself and follow Jesus in a deeper way. If you would like to be on the email list for updates about this class, please contact Jeff. His emails about what section to read will begin soon!

EPIPHANY PARTY!!!

Let’s celebrate with dinner and devotion, as well as packing away the Christmas decor. Many hands make light work and more fun! More details to come, but save the date—Wednesday January 7, 6-8pm.

WEDNESDAY FAITH FORMATION IN 2026

To follow up our fall study of Paul, we will be diving into one of his most celebrated letters - the Book of Romans. Join Pastor Heather on Zoom each Wednesday beginning on January 14 at 6pm. Please contact her to receive the link directly or watch this spot in each week's newsletter. All are welcome!

NEXT WOMEN'S EVENT - "HANDS AND FEET OF JESUS"

Thursday, January 15 from 6:00 to 7:30 pm

We will have a short devotion and share some snacks and then we’ll use our feet and learn line dancing! Thank you to Joan Lampert for getting this set up! To use our hands, we’ll bring offerings for our food pantry. Please RSVP to Janice Newell (buckyshome6@yahoo.com) if you are planning to attend so we can plan appropriately and bring a friend! Also, if line dancing isn’t “your thing,” feel free to come for the fellowship and watch the fun.

We hope all women and their friends will join us for times together to grow in faith and fellowship! If you’d like to be added to the email list to hear details about these events, please email Janice Newell.

NEW LIFE KIDS 8:50a in the ReCreation Center. This week we will be learning about Jesus' birth! Reminder: New Life Kids will not meet Sunday, December 28th.

NEW LIFE KIDS - 2026 VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

Please consider signing up to lead a Sunday school lesson in 2026! We have many different lesson options, from art to games to videos- it's up to you! Sign up here

GoFund ME FOR THE AZAD FAMILY

The Social Purpose Team has recommended that New Life support an effort to reunite Najib and Sarwat Azad’s family. Najib and Sarwat have been involved with our community since 2024. Najib and Sarwat and their 4 children live in Stevens Point but 19 of Najib’s family members are still trapped in Afghanistan and face the danger of being imprisoned or killed by the Taliban. They have been thoroughly vetted and approved for Special Immigrant Visas (SIV), which is considered an exception to the travel bans. The only thing preventing them from coming to the US now is the cost of travel. Iris Christenson has set up a GoFundMe account that is linked to the nonprofit that Najib and Sarwat have created, Focus Development Organization, Inc., so all donations are tax deductible and used solely for the purpose of covering the expenses related to travel.

You can use the QR code above or this link to go to the GoFundMe page. (The GoFundMe platform charges an administrative fee of 2.9%. Adding a tip is optional but you should be careful when completing the donation form to fill in the tip question because a “default tip” amount will be added if you don’t fill in an answer.) The goal amount for the GoFundMe campaign is $30,000—an amount that would cover the travel costs for 6 family members. 

If you have any questions about this effort to help the Azad family, contact Iris Christenson at 608-239-6060.

CarePortal UPDATE

Here is an update from Nicole Hines:

I’m excited to share a recent CarePortal update! New Life was able to fully fund and take the lead on a request for a young mother in need of a car seat and an umbrella. I had the privilege of personally delivering the items and was honored to meet her—as well as several others—during my visit to Shelter from the Storm.

The experience was incredibly moving and has only deepened my desire to continue partnering with CarePortal. I’m grateful for this ministry and hopeful that we can keep responding generously to future requests. I look forward to engaging our team even more as new opportunities arise. As always, please let me know what questions you have about CarePortal. 

ST MARK'S FOOD PANTRY

Mark Taylor, coordinator of St Mark’s food pantry, sends a BIG thank you to our congregation for not only the food and personal care products we donate, but also the monetary donation our Social Purpose Fund gave. It had been only 2 weeks since the last delivery and the back of my SUV was packed! Mark is planning to use much of our $1000 monetary donation to purchase perishable items - meat, milk and eggs. Their supplies of these items are extremely limited. Food insecurity in Dane County is real as they are seeing new individuals and families utilizing the pantry. This year, during Christmas, we are again doing a reverse Advent food drive - more information on this below!

I also want to recognize a sizable donation made by Russ Theel, in memory of his wife Shirley, to the food pantry. Shirley was a past volunteer at the pantry. Per Mark, the money is very much appreciated and will be put to good use. 

Donations can be placed on the table in the community room. Any paper, plastic and reusable bags can also be donated as that is an ongoing need of the pantry.

REVERSE ADVENT CALENDAR

Please continue to be collecting items for our Reverse Advent Calendar! This is a fun and special way to celebrate the coming holiday season and help those in need at the same time. Donations can be placed on the St. Mark's Table in the Community room. See the list here, printed copies are available in the Community Room!

SOCIAL PURPOSE FUND

We continue to need your help in order to be able to distribute gift cards to those in need - which totals on average about $1,000 every month! Because of the increased need, if you would be able to give to this fund, please submit checks with "Social Purpose Fund" in the memo or give online to that fund. Thank you! Also, please know that if you are experiencing any financial need (rent/mortgage, utilities, groceries, medical, unemployment/furlough, etc.) you only need to let Pastor Heather know. This information will be kept confidential to her and our financial officers (treasurer and bookkeeper).

Prayers needed for

Hospitalized, Injured, Ill or Medical Prayers



Barb Zimmerman

Joan Cleary (Maggie Andres's Mother)

Mary Roberts

Ken Wundrow

Jim Melka


Theo Weber


James (Cheryl Phillips' Dad)

Every Day Prayers

Shane Peters

Condolences

Jean Hoover in the death of wife Vickey

Sandra Cummins in the death of husband Rex

If you would like to be included on our prayer list, please contact the church office. Permission is required from the individual for us to print their name. Individuals will be on the list for one month unless requested to office.

Office hours are Monday through Thursday. Please feel free to contact staff members of New Life by email at newlifelc@newlifelc.com or by calling the office at 608-223-9337. Contacts are listed here.

New Life Staff:

Rev. Heather Hayward, Pastor

pastor@newlifelc.com

Ashley Reinke, Children & Youth Ministry Coordinator

youtheducator@newlifelc.com

Sarah Sheffer, Office Manager/Newsletter

newlifelc@newlifelc.com

Jim Manos, Bookkeeper

bookkeeper@newlifelc.com

Shakia “Queen” Turner, Property Manager

shakiamturner@yahoo.com

New Life Church Council:

Jillene Fisch, President

Linda Sime, Vice President

Tom Olson, Secretary

Ken Wundrow, Treasurer

Iris Christenson

Brian Coel

Shannon Erb

Deb Kohlwey

Louise Miller

Shawn Peters

Uriah Reppert

Derek Schuette