PRAYERS – Jon Cook; Nancy Atwater, Mark Lickteig, Millie Mutka; Dawn Gonitzke; Myria Strong; Kathy Mayo; Barb Zima’s friends Mick, Steven and Marilyn Hummel; Nancy Ehlinger, Gregory Bowens; Laurie Nelson; Amber Ross’s daughter Linda; Jerrie Van Haverbeke’s niece Jolane Gervasi; Sandy Bishop’s friend Kelly Newman and brother Larry; Randy & Diane Niemczyk’s daughter Julia VanAvery, niece Sarah Joda, Denise Runde and Denise Hazel; Dick Volland; Valeria Hesselberg; Chris Markussen; Mark Lickteig’s daughter Melissa; Anne Verona’s sister/brother-in-law Pat & Woody Woodworth and friends Dennis Peterson, Natalie Madine, Eli Peters and Randy Ballard; Strong’s friend Erin Molle, niece Holly Rysewyk and cousin Debbie; Debbie Cyrtmus’ mother, Rose Wicker and sister, Corrie Trittin; the Ebert’s friend Patricia Kulzick; Patricia Rasmussen’s sister Christine; Joyce Leander’s cousin Laurie Nelson and Joyce’s son Kevin Church; Ashley Clark’s friends Keith & Becky Hernandez and Kristie Dehart; the Waggoner’s sister-in-law Cheryl Busse, and friends Karla Zyhowski, Melissa Branta ; Karen Engels niece Lisa and friend Bob; Ann Carlson’s people Christian, Brian, and Darren; peace for all nations and comfort for those in distress.
PRAYER LIST PROCEDURE – Submit your prayer requests to the office in writing, by phone, by email or in person. If requesting prayers for someone other than yourself or an immediate family member, please obtain permission – unless the circumstances are public in nature.
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Anniversary to you
May the Lord Jesus keep you
Ever faithful and true!
GUESTS – if you are visiting us today, please sign our book at the entrance to the sanctuary.
THIS WEEKEND IS SHROVE SUNDAY. We will have a pancake and sausage breakfast after worship. Come hungry! For God’s Word and pancakes. (And birthday cake). Celebrating the birthdays of Phil Epping, Sue Del Ponte, Jackie Markussen, Dave Tipple, and Ken Waggoner and the Strong’s anniversary!
MOUNTAIN OF LOVE FOR LENT – Following is the schedule for the Mountain of Love!
Feb 22 – canned goods
Mar 1 – peanut butter and jelly (preferably no glass containers please)
Mar 8 – hot and cold cereal
Mar 15 – boxed foods (mac & cheese, crackers, dry soup mixes, jello, pudding)
Mar 22 – paper products (Kleenex, paper towels, toilet paper, paper plates even)
GAME DAY SUNDAY MARCH 15 – feeling the letdown after Feb 8? No more Winter Olympics? March Madness not doing it for you? Bring your need for competition, good times, food and laughter to the Fellowship Hall on Mar 15 from 10am to 1pm. We won’t have torch bearers, medals or a half-time show, but we will have a plethora of appetizers and plenty of games to whet your appetite. There will be a sign up sheet for games and treats.
OUR 2026 COUNCIL MEMBERS – We will be installing our 2026 Council Members soon. Many thanks to Mike Bishop, Emilie Braunel, Chris Ebert, Dawn Gonitzke, Rich Hess, Bob Michaels, Jack Waskow, Diane Niemczyk, Dave Tipple, and Jerrie Van Haverbeke.
“CAN’T SERVE WITHOUT YOU – Can’t laugh and can’t clean, finding it hard to do anything!” [Shout out to Barry Manilow] The sign-up sheet for Fellowship Hour is in the Fellowship Hall. We are still looking for volunteers to bring food items and if baking isn’t in your skill we always need help with the clean-up process at the end of the event.
LWR QUILTERS ARE ON A HIATUS! It’s almost time! Knot even kidding. Next quilters meeting will be Feb 18. Sew exciting! They are almost back(ing)!
THE HONESTY OF ASH WEDNESDAY This article is adapted from the Living Lutheran, Winter 2026 edition. The author is Lisa A. Smith. Provided by Chris Ebert.
Ash Wednesday might be the most honest of church festival days. We receive a tangible symbol of our mortality on our bodies. We acknowledge that everything will come to an end. Everyone we love will die. Everything we own will belong to someone else. And every situation is temporary. If Ash Wednesday makes us honest about death at the end of life, it also makes us honest about the life we’re living right now.
A day of penitence, Ash Wednesday throughout Christian history has been observed with fasting, prayer and worship. Psalm 51, traditionally recited at Ash Wednesday worship, sums it up well:
“Have mercy on me, O God,
According to your steadfast love;
According to your abundant mercy,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin” (Psalm 51:1-2)
On Ash Wednesday, we all stand before God in the same way: broken. There is something powerful about admitting the ways that we’ve messed things up, from our pettiness to our selfishness to our apathy. We have spoken unkindly. We have made false claims. We have ignored the needs of others. On Ash Wednesday, the jig is up. We might as well let it all out. Because if we hide our imperfections, we deny ourselves the opportunity to experience God’s forgiveness, redemption, and renewal. God’s mercies are always there for us, of course, but it takes a sinner to know it.
In the season of Lent, we get not just one but 40 days to acknowledge losses, grief, death, and injustices that cause people to die a little bit each day. We can confess not just individual sin but corporate sin: systemic racism, indifference to the devastation of climate change, greed that creates chasms between rich and poor.
The holy work of Lent begins in the starkness of Ash Wednesday and leads us to the good news of Easter Sunday: that God is more powerful than death and that nothing can separate us from God’s extravagant love.
FUN FACT: Chris Ebert will be submitting an article once a month outlining Lutheran education from the Living Lutheran magazine in lieu of a fun fact. We appreciate this endeavor! And a quick reminder, our Living Lutheran magazines are available for review in the library. Feel free to borrow a copy.
NOTE FROM ANN – The image at the top contains one of my favorite movie quotes, “Yeah. Wanna get pancakes?”. It is said by the character Marvin Boggs near the end of the movie “Red”. Pancakes and/or waffles are such at a treat at our house. We used to have waffles and bacon Sunday breakfast on a weekly basis. And it is there to remind you that Shrove Sunday is Feb 15. We will have a plethora of pancakes and a slew of sausage. As well as some other tasty treats.
Timing. There have been a lot of things happening lately that have involved “perfect” timing. Our nephew is currently deployed in an undisclosed location. He is with a smaller group. He deployed with 40 fellow soldiers. They currently are down to 15 due to death, injury and illness. They are dealing with supply issues and less than lovely living conditions. Subsisting at the moment on MREs. Which I can assure you is a whole lot of no fun. Burt and I had talked to his parents about two months ago and they mentioned the ‘boys’ were craving pizza. We created a care package with bacon, pepperoni, olives, onion flakes, garlic, italian seasoning, salt, pepper, pizza sauce, pre-made pizza crusts, a huge container of shelf stable parmesan cheese and sent it to him. We heard from him on the day he finally received the package. He said it arrived at exactly the right time. “You have no idea how much this made our week. This was a very big deal for us. … We will always remember this.” And sent us pictures of the 15 of them, chowing down on five (looked to be) beautiful pizzas. We only wish we had sent more.
This isn’t a “wow – look how great we are” story. It’s a “you never know how an act of kindness will land” story. At times it may seem as though no matter what we do, it isn’t making a difference. We don’t always receive feedback about what we put out in the world. Keep shining your light.
And Happy Valentine’s Day to one and all! I miss the days of decorating a shoebox and having it in the back of the classroom for all of my classmates to stuff those little cute Valentine’s Day cards into it. Hoping for a full shoebox for all of you!