YELLOWSTONE – ARGYLE/APPLE GROVE
   PARISH NEWSLETTER
Office Phone: 608-543-3088
Web Site: www.YellowstoneArgyleAppleGrove.com

Our Ministry Focus: "Sharing God's grace from a hopeful place​

 

Pastor's Letter

Dear friends in Christ, 

    The church isn’t here to meet your needs; the church is here to get your needs out of the way.
   That might sound like a crazy statement and it is certainly counter-cultural, but it is also true. The biggest obstacle for churches to become the churches Christ wants them to be is this – we get in the way of His plans. Likewise, the biggest obstacle for personal spiritual growth is that we let our own wishes, dreams, and desires get in the way of God’s plans for us. 
   Jesus reminds us of our call to be servants of God: “Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’” (Luke 17:7-10).
   In the ego-centric society we are living in, that sounds pretty harsh. We are willing to do certain things for God, and follow him sometimes, but to give up our “rights” and put ourselves in the position of being a “slave” for God – most find that is going too far. 
   But it really isn’t. We worship God as our Creator, and Jesus as our King. To make such a proclamation (which we do each Sunday, and hopefully, each day) means that by default, we are servants.
   That doesn’t imply we are unimportant – to the contrary, God spoke often, and most fully, through his Son Jesus, telling us that we are the most important thing in all the universe. The writer of Hebrews goes to great length telling us that we are more valuable to God than even the angels and the heavenly beings. We are God’s most prized possession. 

    It is living in this incredible love that allows us to throw off the shackles of slavery to worldly things that sap the life out of us. Once we live fully for Christ as servants, we come to know what we really need – and don’t need, what we are called to do – rather than what we want to do. 
   So, as we come into 2026, let us, as a church body and as individual Christians, commit ourselves to living the year, not for ourselves, but for God, not ego-centric, but Christ-centered. 
   Yes, sometimes we just got to get out of our own way and let Jesus’ plans guide us. 
                                                                                                                                                     ~ God bless Dan

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Wednesday Night Lent Services begins on February 18th: We begin our Wednesday services with our Holy Ash Wednesday service.
   During that service, we will introduce the theme of this year’s evenings services, which is: “Conversations With the Savior.” This series of dialogue services are built around the “I Am” sayings of Jesus in the Gospel of John. Through their interactions with Jesus, various characters gain insight into who Jesus is, with a call to turn to him in faith. Each Wednesday service will be at 7:00 p.m. at Argyle Lutheran. Please commit yourself to attending this extra service during the holy season of Lent
   There will be a sign up in the narthex if you would be willing to be a reader for one of these dialogues. 

 

Lent Worship Theme on Sundays: “Five Realities” (beginning on February 22nd). Richard Rohr, a leader in the area of spiritual development and growth, came to find five realities that we must accept as we journey with Jesus towards the cross. They are: 1– Life is hard; 2 – You are not that important; 3 – Your life is not about you; 4 – You are not in control; 5 – You are going to die. 
   We often deny each of these five realities, but to grow in faith and actually free ourselves to a bigger and more blessed life, we have to put to death our ego-centric beliefs. Though hard and frightening, it is the call of Jesus when he said that we too must take up our crosses and die upon them. 

GAP Faith Night – God Always Present (GAP) now has 20 children involved! This new venture for our parish is having some great results. GAP lifts up the need to fill in the gap between the child’s everyday life and their faith life. Classes are held at Argyle Lutheran on the first and third Wednesdays of each month (so it coincides with Confirmation) from 5:30-7:00 p.m. This is for all youth in Pre-K through 6th grade.
   During Lent (which begins on February 18th and runs through March) class will end at 6:45 p.m. to accommodate the 7:00 p.m. Wednesday Lent worship services. We’d love to have GAP youth and families worship.

 

We typically have First Communion Classes in January. If your child is interested in taking this class, please contact Pastor Dan and dates will be set up that work for the youth and parents. 

 

Reminder to Confirmation parents: During Lent, confirmation classes will meet from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., as we have worship at 7:00. 

 

Lent offering: Our special offering during Lent will go to our “Good Samaritan Fund.” This fund helps people in and around our community. We also assist the Lafayette County’s Salvation Army. Please give generously. Offering envelopes can be found by the offering plates in the narthex, or you can write out a check and put in the memo line: “Good Samaritan Fund.” Thank you.

 

SNOW ON SUNDAYS – If we cancel church due to bad weather, Pastor Dan will send out an email. There will also be a posting on our church website: (www.YellowstoneArgyleAppleGrove.com). 
   If you aren’t using any of that technology and you are in doubt about worship, please call the parsonage at 608-543-3088.

Stewardship: We thank everyone for your generous support of the ministries of our congregations. If you are unable make it to church to give your offering, you may mail it to the following address: Yellowstone/Argyle-Apple Grove; Box 217; Argyle, WI  53504.

    
JDecember Treasurers’ and Pastor’s reports:                  
                Yellowstone                      Argyle-Apple Grove 
  Beginning balance: $17,354.92     Beginning Balance:   $20,098.51
                      Income: $11,502.00                      Income:       $7,737.00
                Expenses:    $11,104.45                     Expenses:    $5,214.60
       Ending Balance:  $17,752.47          Ending Balance:   $22,620.91

 

Baptism
   Leo Wayne Meier – infant son of Michelle and Cuyler Meier– at Argyle on January 18th

 

Funerals
   Carol Schliem – at Wiota on January 7th
   Randy Campbell – at Erickson’s funeral home on January 8th
   Dave Everson – at Yellowstone on January 10th
   Sam Hanson – at Yellowstone on January 13th 

 

Thank you from Scott and Shannon Marion: Dear Yellowstone family, Your blessings to our ministry work with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship keep coming, and so does our gratitude. Thank you so much for including us in the Christmas offering again. Your gifts, prayers, and hundreds of cookies are appreciated. Students and faculty on the college campus are meeting Jesus and growing closer in their relationship with Him. God has blessed your generosity and partnership with his ministry to reach every corner of every campus.
                                                                                                                                    Shannon and Scott Marion

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The Quilters~ at Argyle Lutheran on Tuesday, February 24th beginning at 9 a.m.

 

Annual meetings: 
Argyle-Apple Grove’s annual meeting will be Sunday, February 1st. Yellowstone’s annual meeting will be on Sunday, February 8th.      Meetings will take place after the late service.

 

 

 

A/APPLESTONE YOUTH
   Sunday School: We will always meet the third week of each month after the late service. We are focusing on the foundation that we need in our lives to live a Christ-filled life.
   Quake! It’s on!! Quake 2026! We have a great group of youth attending. Bring your energy and enthusiasm as we learn about living in Christ while having a lot of fun. 
   Details: We’re staying at the Wilderness Resort in WI Dells, February 13th–15th. We will give you details via Snapchat. If you’re not on Snapchat, or have  any questions, please reach out to Laura (608-604-2079).         
   Housing Payment Due: Bring the final payment of $75 pp (includes $5 for gas) on the 13th. 
   We can’t wait to share this incredible weekend with our youth — it’s always one of the highlights of the year! So! Much! Fun!
                       ~~Your fearless leaders ~ Laura, Madi, and Ann

 

Yellowstone Council Hi-Lites
*The new fellowship room is completed.
*The roof above the new fellowship room will be looked at this spring and repaired if necessary.
*New road signs directing people to the church will be put up this spring. It will have a new design and also telling the distance to the church. 
*Ovens in the back room will be offered to anyone; those not taken will be scraped. 
*The “Evangelism Committee” made up of Jenefer Burchette, Scott Marion, Diane Schlafli and Lisa Trumble met twice to discuss outreach possibilities in 2026. We will look at purchasing yard signs to lift up our church; we will have a church Facebook page, send out postcards to people with our Holy Week and Easter worship schedule, and try a one- day VBS event in June. 
*The hot water unit needs to be cleaned.
*For annual meeting: 1. Discuss whether or not to keep our worship times at 8:30 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. year-round. 2. Cemetery directory – yes or no – if yes, we must act on it.

Argyle-Apple Grove Council Hi-Lites
*Building Update: Jeff Wilhelmson will be our general contractor. 
   Ground breaking will take place in March or April.
*Defibrillator needs to be put up
*Shelves in narthex have been taken down – Thanks Randy Martin
*New windows in narthex will be put in soon
*Someone needs to take care of the flowers in the front of the church this upcoming year, as Karen Johnson will “retire” from doing this. *Coffee hour: We need someone to be in charge of this
*Employee ID finally settled with the IRS! – Thank you Joann Rucker

 

Council Hi-Lites for both churches
*Due to the flu outbreak in the area, our Sharing of the Peace will be “no hands.”
*We will be having a “Befriending” course after Easter. The goal is that this will spark some new ministries in the church.
*GAP Youth School has grown to 20 kids.
*Youth Group doing a monthly Bible study (this year theme: Building a Strong Foundation) and have a large group going to Youth Quake.
   
Pastor Dan taking a late summer Sabbatical: A sabbatical is a time when the pastor gets away for an extended time of renewal spiritually and emotionally. As pastors on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, this Sabbatical time is important. The synod encourages a Sabbatical every 7-10 years. This will be Dan’s first Sabbatical in his forty-year career. Sabbaticals are not “vacation,” it is a spiritual retreat of sorts where, away from the daily work of a pastor, he will focus in on areas in his life that need renewal and also do some planning for the churches future. 
   Sabbatical’s are harder for rural pastors as there isn’t a second pastor there to “fill-in” while the other pastor is gone. Therefore his Sabbatical will be a hybrid-Sabbatical. Pastor will leave on retreat on Sunday after church and return on Friday mornings. He will then get everything set up for worship on Sunday. After the service he will leave again. He will do this from August 3 through the 28th.