YELLOWSTONE – ARGYLE/APPLE GROVE
   PARISH NEWSLETTER
Office Phone: 608-543-3088
Web Site: www.YellowstoneArgyleAppleGrove.com
   December 2022

​

Pastor's Letter

    I want to share a couple parts of a sermon I gave earlier this month: “Rest, it’s a lost commodity in today’s world. Sabbath – taking that day away from busyness and spending it with God in worship, and then in relaxing solitude, or with family, friends, or engaging in things that bring you joy – it’s gone ... and we are to blame. We can try our best to blame others, our jobs, our situations, our kids’ sports schedules, etc, but Sabbath lost is an “us” problem. 
   It’s interesting that we don’t contest any of the other commandments. We don’t argue that murder should be an option, or say, “No one can tell me I can’t steal from someone.” Yet, somehow we have decided that the commandment – “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy” – is optional. And we are all paying a high price for it. 
   I am haunted by something I read in a magazine a number of years ago. The article told of a 35 year-old man. He had a wife, two beautiful young children, a nice house, and a good paying job. Yet, one day, he opened the window of his seventh story office and jumped to his death. He left a note on his desk – it contained four words, “I’m just so tired.” So, when I’m talking about resting and being still with God, please know that I’m not talking about something that isn’t that important, or is a luxury IF we have the time. Resting in the stillness of God is essential, or we will die in one way or another.
   Let me share a quote from the late Henri Nouwen, who spent much of his ministry calling people to rest with God. He was visiting Rome when he wrote this: “When you look out over the city of Rome, walk in its streets, or ride in its buses, you quickly realize that it is a crowded city full of houses, full of people, full of cars. You see men and women moving quickly in all directions, you hear joyful and angry voices mixed with a great variety of street sounds ... It is a busy, congested city, in which life manifests itself in all its boisterous intensity.
   “But in the midst of this lively and colorful conglomeration of houses, people and cars, there are the domes of Rome pointing to the places set apart for the Holy One. The churches of Rome are like beautiful frames around empty spaces witnessing to Him who is the quiet, still center of all human life. 
   The churches are not useful nor practical, not requiring immediate action or quick response. They are tranquil spaces, strangely empty most of the time. They speak a language different from the world around them ... They want to invite us to be silent, to sit or kneel, to listen attentively, and to rest with our whole being.
   “A city without carefully protected empty spaces where one can sense the silence from which all words grow, and rest in the stillness from which all actions flow, such a city is in danger of losing its real character.” – Without us finding stillness in God, we will lose our character too – and it WILL kill us in one way or another. 
   So, let us heed Jesus’ example and take to heart his words: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” It is a call to sit still with our Father in heaven. Rest. Sabbath. Celebrate. Blessed are those who take up this way of life. Please heed the call. 
                                                                                                                                                                                     ~ Pastor Dan

​

Wednesday Lent services are back!! We kick-off our Wednesday services with our Ash Wednesday service at Argyle Lutheran at 7:00 p.m on February 22nd. This service will include the imposition of ashes. All our Wednesday services will take place Argyle Lutheran at 7:00 p.m. The theme is “Amazing Grace.” Each service will include a dialog sermon which will feature a Biblical character encountering God’s grace. We’ll meet King David, Isaiah, the prodigal son, the blind man, the woman at the well, and the Apostle Paul.  Please join in the long tradition of taking extra time in Lent to reflect and worship our Lord. 

 

Theme for Our Sunday’s In Lent: For the Lent sermons on Sundays, we will be looking at how different authors and theologians looked at Good Friday and Easter and put it into a story. We’ll look at the how C.S. Lewis, Walter Wangerin, Tony Campolo, Andrew Root and Oscar Wilde looked at the life-altering events of Holy Week.

 

Members of Yellowstone: Your input is appreciated regarding the future of our Norwegian Dinner. With family style serving no longer an option, we would like your suggestions for the following:
   · Continue or discontinue the dinner?
   · Do you have another idea for a fund raiser?
   · If continuing the Norwegian dinner, what is your vision for how to proceed with it in the future?
   · Are you willing to serve on the committee to organize the dinner? (no committee = no dinner)
   Please turn in your suggestions by March 31st to the suggestion box in the church narthex, or email wsh52558@gmail.com -- or mail to P.O. 353, Argyle, 53504.
   Your suggestions are appreciated.

 

Worship survey: Enclosed in the newsletter this month is a worship survey. We want to take a close look at our worship practices and make our worship services as meaningful as possible. To do this, we need your input. We would like to know what you find most meaningful in worship, what you don’t find very inducive to worship and what ideas you would like to see put into our worship services. 
   For example: do you like it when we use the liturgy in the hymnal or not? Would you like to see more silence in worship? What about our hymn selection? Everything is on the table and we really need your help, so that we can form a worship service that best meets the worship needs of our community. 
   So, please take some time to fill this out and give it to Pastor Dan on a Sunday, or you can mail it using the envelope in the newsletter. You don’t need to add your name to the survey if you don’t want to, so please be as

honest as possible. Thank you for taking the time to help guide the direction of our worship practices into the future.

 

If you would like a financial statement of your giving to the church in 2022, please contact Diane Martin (Argyle-Apple Grove) or Peter Herman or Kristi Langhus (Yellowstone). Or you can let Pastor Dan know and he’ll let the financial secretaries know. 

​

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

Lent offering: This year, our special offering during Lent will go to our “Good Samaritan Fund.” This fund was set up to help people in and around the community. In the past, this money has gone to help families and individuals purchase much needed clothing, medicine, gas and fuel oil. Also, we assist the Lafayette County 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.

 

Stewardship: Thank you for your continued generous support of the ministries of our congregations. If you are not able to make it to church to give your offering, we have included in the newsletter a self-addressed envelope in the newsletter.

 

January Treasurers’ and Pastor’s reports:  
            Argyle-Apple Grove                                  Yellowstone 
  Beginning balance:  $5,962.71        Beginning Balance:   $6,737.37
                    Income:   $4,149.06                             Income:  $6,983.37                    

                Expenses:   $5,826.46                          Expenses:  $8,129.00
        Ending Balance  $4,287.33               Ending Balance:  $5,591.74

 

The A/Applestone Youth Palm Sunday Breakfast is back! After a three year hiatus due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, we are ready to serve our famous breakfast again!  There will be one change this year: because our youth group has gotten much smaller (due to high numbers graduating from high school and smaller groups coming up),  making all the food is too much for our youth families to supply. So this month, we will have a sign-up, asking if people would be willing to supply homemade coffee cakes, and some of our other breakfast items. As always, the youth will do all the work; we just don’t want to put a huge burden on a few families. Thank you in advance for your help.  Palm Sunday is April 2nd and the youth will serve the meal from 8:00 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. at Yellowstone. NOTE: On April 2nd our worship times will flip-flop.A/Applestone Youth News
 

    Youth Quake was an awesome experience! This was a new experience for every young person in our group since we haven’t been to Quake since 2020 because of Covid. 
   Save the date – March fun event: snow tubing at Tyrol on Sunday, March 12th.  Expect details in the mail.

Yellowstone Acolytes
March 5, 12: Riley/Hunter Holmes 
March 19, 26: Carter/Chelsea Schlafli
Yellowstone Readers
March 5: Laura Skattum
March 12: Kristi Langhus
March 26: Wendi Hendrickson
Yellowstone Communion Assistant
March 5: Kristine O’Connor
March 26: Ginger Jaggi

Argyle-Apple Grove Acolytes
March 5, 12: Ellie/Bryson Coffey
March 19, 26: Joe Soper/Max Soper
Argyle-Apple Grove Readers
March 5: Stan Bigelow
March 12: Mike Flanagan
March 26: Roger Volkening
Argyle-Apple Grove Communion Assistant
March 5: Joann Rucker
March 26: Beth Fransen
 

​