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

    Theophane was a Cistercian monk residing in a Monastery long ago. He recorded this story from his life: “I saw a monk one morning, working alone in the vegetable garden. I squatted down beside him and said, “Brother, what is your dream?” He just looked straight at me.
   “I would like to become a monk,” he answered.
   “But brother, you are a monk, aren’t you?”
   “I’ve been here for 25 years, but I still carry a gun.” He drew a revolver from the holster under his robe. It looked so strange, a monk carrying a gun. 
   “Are you saying they won’t let you become a monk until you give up your gun?”
   “No, it’s not that. Most of them don’t even know I have it, but I know.”
   “Well then, why don’t you give it up?”
   “I guess I’ve had it so long. I’ve been hurt a lot, and I’ve hurt a lot of others. I don’t think I would be comfortable without this gun.”
   “But you seem pretty uncomfortable with it.”
   “Yes, pretty uncomfortable, but I have my dream.”
   “Why don’t you give me the gun?” I whispered.
   He did and tears ran down his face and then he embraced me.  And as he walked away, I can say I have never seen anyone seem more alive. A resurrection had just taken place in that man. He had put to death the thing that was killing him, and he found the newness of life meant for him and all of us.”
   Ruth Haley Barton records that even in one of her books and then makes this insightful comment: “Most of us have a gun – some way of protecting ourselves and making ourselves feel safe, hidden under the robe of our persona. It is fairly easy to keep our gun hidden most of the time, but we know that it is there, and that it is incongruent with the person God is calling us to be. We are uncomfortable living with it, but we are afraid to live without it. Holding on to our self-protective pattern is one manifestation of our unwillingness to surrender ourselves to God for the journey that is ahead.
   “But there is another desire that is greater than our desire to be safe. It is the desire to abandon ourselves to God and the life to which he is calling us. It is the desire to leave Egypt and journey with others to the Promised Land. Sometimes we hear God’s whisper, “Why don’t you give me the gun?” We feel ourselves trembling with longing and with possibility, with fear and with hope. He waits quietly, patiently. And as we are ready, we give him that behavior, that pattern, or that sin that we have relied on all these years. Our tears running down to the ground. At least for a moment, we have let ourselves feel what it’s like to be free.” 
   What are the “guns” in your life? What guns do you have to surrender. Ponder that and then give that gun(s) to Jesus in prayer. 
   And know that I’m always available to talk about this subject with you. 
                                                                                                                                  ~ God bless, Dan

 

Wednesday Night Lent Services have begun: 7:00 p.m. at Argyle Lutheran. Our theme this year 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. Please commit yourself to attending these extra services during the holy season of Lent

 

Lent Worship Theme on Sundays: “Five Realities” 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. 
 

Grab your shovels and join us for the ground-breaking at Apple Grove! We’ve made it! Please join us on Saturday, March 7th at 10:00 a.m. for a short prayer and the ground-breaking ceremony. Everyone is invited to bring a shovel and join in the fun! 
   A special thank you to our building committee (Stan Bigelow, Beth Fransen, Tim Rucker, Peggy Soehnlein, Jay Newman and Jeff Wilhelmson), and architect (Bob Davis). 

 

The A/Applestone Youth Palm Sunday Breakfast! The youth group is ready to serve everyone a great breakfast on Palm Sunday. Once again, we are asking some bakers in the parish to help supply coffee cakes. Our youth group remains small and we don’t want to overburden families of youth who are already bringing items for the breakfast. We will have a sign-up at both churches, asking if people would be willing to supply homemade coffee cakes, donuts, muffins, etc. As always, the youth will do all the work. Thank you in advance for your help.  

      Palm Sunday is March 29th and serving time is from 8:00 a.m. until 10:15 a.m. at Yellowstone. Note worship time flip-flop.

 

Yellowstone WELCA will be having its first meeting of the year on March 10th at 10:00 am at Yellowstone  to talk about the upcoming years meetings and events. Thank you!

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The Quilters will meet on Tuesday, March 24th at Yellowstone. Quilting begins at 9 a.m. Everyone is welcome. No experience necessary.

 

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.

 

Two important things that came out of the annual meetings:
   1. Our worship times will be 8:30 and 10:15 a.m. year round. This is for the convenience of our members and guests.
   2. This summer we will be doing two joint services each month (one will be outdoor). 
 

Yellowstone Cemetery is looking for one more person to be on the cemetery board. Rene Hendrickson leads this association and Gary Hufnagel has just joined, but they would like to have three on this committee. If interested and wanting more information about what this entails, please contact Rene Hendrickson at church or by phone 608-543-3431. 

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On Palm Sunday, Paige and Glen Rogers (both work for Chi Alpha and we sponsor Paige) will be helping lead the worship service. Our Easter offering goes to support their campus ministry. They will  briefly share about their ministries, and then helping lead the worship services at both churches. Come and hear them share their work, and then journey with Christ into Jerusalem. 

 

Coming in May – “Befriending Study.” 
   How can we best serve others? How can we best use our gifts? How can we fulfill our ministries? How do we help someone in emotional and spiritual pain? What new ministries can be born in our parish? Which one’s should I get involved in? 
   All these questions are essential and we will look at them in this upcoming study which will call you to see where you can best serve the Lord and others and how to do it in the best and most helpful ways. 
   More information will be coming next month.

 

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.
   Confirmation will meet from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

 

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.

 

January Treasurers’ and Pastor’s reports:                  
                Yellowstone                                     Argyle-Apple Grove 
  Beginning balance: $17,752.47     Beginning Balance:    $22,312.91
                       Income: $ 9,829.68                     Income:         $4,330.00
                Expenses:    $ 6,104.60                       Expenses:    $4,112.15
       Ending Balance:  $21,447.35           Ending Balance:   $22,530.76

 

Funerals:
   Ruth Stamm – at Yellowstone on February 14th
 

First Communion:
   Braydon, Bryce and Zola Bruce
   Elam Zimmerman.

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A/APPLESTONE YOUTH
   Sunday School: We will be meeting on the 4th Sunday this month, focusing on the foundation that we need in our lives to live a Christ-filled life. We will be meeting on Sunday, March 22nd following the late service at Yellowstone Lutheran from 11:15 a.m. to noon.
   Mini-Lock-In will be held at Friday, March 13th at Argyle Lutheran. The lock-in begins at 7:30 p.m. and will go until 11:30. We will drive the youth home when the event ends (15 mile radius). Bring your own pop and junk food, any games you want to play and friends!
   Palm Sunday Breakfast is March 29th and serving time is from 8:00 a.m. until 10:15 a.m. at Yellowstone. We need every youth member to bring a food donation and to work the event. Expect a postcard with the details. It’s our biggest fund-raiser of the year, and believe it or not, we’re raising funds for the ELCA National Gathering in Minneapolis in 2027!!

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We would like to decorate the church sanctuary with Easter Lilies on Easter Sunday. If you would like to purchase an Easter Lily to help do this, please sign up in the narthex, or contact Pastor Dan at 543-3088, or via email: adbohlman@gmail.com. Orders must be placed by Sunday, March 29th. Cost is $13.

 

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.