From Pastor Young:

Welcome to Worship! How will we be guided in our Lenten journey? Our only road map is faith, not faith in our own preferences and temptations which so easily become hopelessly unfulfilling, but faith in the promise of the Gospel. Word and Sacrament nurture us on our journey of faith; we look to Jesus as we worship so that we might truly know the way through the wilderness.

From the Board of Parish Fellowship:

National Lutheran Schools Week is commemorated between March 5 and March 10. As part of the celebration on Sunday, March 5, we will honor our school faculty and paid staff with a reception between services during the Fellowship Coffee Hour. Please come to show your appreciation for the many years of dedicated, professional service these employees have extended to our Lutheran Day School. While every school employee is being honored, special recognition will be given to Sharon Butler and Karla Eigenmann, 15 years; and Dave Wippich, 25 years. Other recognition will be afforded Julie Stelter and Marlene Will.

Pastor Young began a new Bible study series last Sunday, and will continue after Fellowship Coffee. “Water, A Theme Throughout Scripture.” How many times are the words water, ground and man used in chapters one and two of the Book of Genesis? Those of us who attend will find out. Come, join us this week and every week thereafter -- bring your Bible and become a regular attendee.

Plan now for the “Mint Fest” March 12, between services, as usual. We know there must be some unusual recipes using mint. Ladies, peruse your recipes and let Linda Peters, 393-3496 or Marilyn Sawyer, 362-6069 or 362-3726, in the church office, know what you will bring that day. All donations are appreciated.

Lenten Suppers: With the Lenten season upon us, it also means our Wednesday evening worship services, beginning March 8, will be preceded by the delicious soup suppers prepared and served by the ladies of Parish Fellowship. We will have a variety of homemade soups to choose

from, breads or sandwiches, fruit, a light dessert and beverages. Serving will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the school cafeteria. A free- will offering will be accepted to support our youth servant events.

One Board and a Circle have already offered to prepare soups, sandwiches and/or to assist our Board in any way they can. Anyone else, individual or Board, willing to help out should contact Linda Peters at 393-3496 or Marilyn Sawyer at 362-6069 to coordinate their efforts with the Board of Parish Fellowship.

An important meeting of the Activities Committee will be held on Monday, March 6, at 1:15 p.m. in the Ladies Lounge. All Circles should be represented.

There will be an Altar Guild meeting on Wednesday, March 8, 2006 in the front pews of the church following the Lenten service. See you around 7:45 or 8:00 p.m.

Contribution statements for 2005 are available for pick up in the in the church office.

Contribution envelopes for 2006 are available in the church Narthex.

“Sowing Seeds” envelopes are available in the church office.

Lastly, please be sure to put your NAME and your NEW ENVELOPE NUMBER on the outside of your “Sowing Seeds” envelopes. With the new year and most people having new envelope numbers, we want to make sure all pledges are credited to the correct account. Thank you!

We are in URGENT need of more volunteers at our Thrift Shop! Shifts are from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. or 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Any of you ladies who could give three or more hours a month of your time, please call Arlene Hacker at 362-8916. Your willingness to help will be most appreciated and of great benefit to our congregation.

The Pew Pouches books have been changed to reflect the Lenten season and Easter celebrations. Thank you to the 5th graders for taking care of these Pew Pouches. Children from ages 3-8 are welcome to get a Pew Pouch from the narthex to use during the church services. Children’s bulletins are available for all other children.

Our long-awaited fish fry will be March 24, 2006, 4-7 p.m. in the school gymnasium. Because the price of fish has increased, our ticket prices this year are $6.75 in advance and $7.75 at the door. Tickets for children under 12 are $3.50. Carry outs will be available and as usual, pie will be available at extra cost. Tickets are available in the church office.

Much preliminary preparation work must be done, such as filling cups with cole slaw, scrubbing and wrapping potatoes for baking, wrapping tableware with napkins, cutting and breading fish, ticket sellers, ticket takers and greeters. Finally, we need clean-up people — individuals responsible for cleaning tables and folding them along with the chairs for storage; and last, but not least, vacuum the gym floor so it is presentable for the next activity on Saturday, March 25 at 9 a.m. Set aside some time to help with the above tasks, then call Dawn Crum at 324-2985, Paul Tibbs at 369-8658 or Linda in the church office at 362-3726 to ask how you can help to make this a successful fish fry. We need many hands! Volunteer today!

Delicious pies are needed from our expert bakers. Bring a couple pies to the school during the afternoon of March 24. If you have any questions, please call Annette Williams at 326-8017.

The School Board wishes to thank all of the other boards and many individual volunteers for another successful LILY Event this year. We had over 130 auction items and about 225 attendees. A terrific time was had by all and we raised a total of $18,629.00 that night! After expenses, the total net profits are $15,107.00. Thanks be to God for his blessings on our efforts!

Matt Nelson has a new telephone number: 219 363-7050. Please make note of it for future reference. Thank you.

National Lutheran Schools Week, March 5 — March 10

Soup Suppers Wednesdays, March 8 through April 5, 5:30 pm

Lenten Services, Wednesdays through April 5, 7:00 pm

PTL Disco Dance, March 17, 6 pm

Aluminum Can/Scrap Iron Collection, March 18, 9:30-10:30 am

Fish Fry, March 24, 4-7 pm

Steven’s Puppets, March 28, 1 pm

Pastor: Rev. David M. Young

Pastor: Rev. Ronald A. Brauer

Organist: Susan Rosselli

Director of Music Matt Nelson

Altar Guild: Linda Livinghouse, Dorothy Moellman, Judy Schreiber

Acolytes 7:00 PM: Mason Beach

8:00 AM: Shannon Bradburn

10:45 AM: Shelby Nehmelman

Elders on Duty: 7:00 PM: Dean Ebbott

8:00 AM: Jim Woodruff and Terry Page

10:45 AM: Dave Surma

The flowers on the Altar this weekend were sponsored by St. John’s Congregation in loving memory of departed members.

Funeral: Richard C. Grenda returned to the Lord Monday, February 27, 2006 and received a Christian burial Thursday, March 2, 2006.

(Omitted from online version.)