Worship- 9:00 am
Coffee Fellowship Hour- 10:00 am

Pastor Jason, the Yudchenko Family, the Babych family and Justin Rabbach, Esecutive Direcxtor of the Moravian Board of World Mission.

Moravian Mission Work to Support Ukraine
We were happy to have Justin Rabbach, Executive Director of the Moravian Board of World Mission share a special message with us today about the work of the Board of World Mission which included information about the work currently going on in Nova Paka, Czech Republic for Ukrainian refugees affected by the war in Ukraine.  It was an honor to have two Ukrainian families (the Babych family and the Yudchenko) join us in worship. We were lucky enough to hear a bit of their story about how they were able to leave Ukraine and get to Nova Paka, Czech Republic.
Now, with the support of the Board of World Mission both families are here on a 2- year visa.  One family is currently residing in Stoughton, WI and the other is in Oregon, WI.

Our congregation took a Joyful Noise offering and collected just over $600.00 to help support the work being done for the Ukrainian refugees.

AUGUST 
THOUGHTS FROM OUR PASTOR

FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK

One of the things I really appreciate about the backyard of the parsonage is the raspberry bushes that provide a bumper crop each year. We get to go out and pick raspberries and bring in bowlfuls of delicious raspberries that we can eat just by themselves or sprinkled over ice cream, or mixed into desserts, or used in shakes. It's a wonderful treat.

There's a couple things about raspberry canes that you’ve probably
noticed. The first is that I can go out and pick through the entirety of the bushes and come back with a bowl full of raspberries thinking that I've picked every single raspberry there is to pick – and then I can come back out the next day only to discover another crop of raspberries that have ripened and are waiting to be picked.

But that leads to the second thing about raspberry canes that you’ve
probably noticed – they aren't the easiest fruit to pick. They aren't just sitting there on a branch like an apple. You have to work to get the raspberries. You have to grab the canes and lift them up so you can see where the raspberries are hiding. This involves getting down on your knees or perhaps even just sitting down on the ground. But even as you lift those branches up, you have to be very careful because there's pickers and briars all along the canes. You have to grasp the branch very carefully and delicately. Oftentimes the canes are interwoven with each other, so you have to lift them slowly and gently to find the fruit underneath.

As I was picking raspberries recently, I found myself reflecting how the
process of picking raspberries is a lot like interacting with people. Perhaps there are people in your lives who are prickly and thorny. Perhaps there are people in your life who don't look at first glance like they have much fruit to offer. But just like those raspberry canes that need to be approached lovingly and gently and with care and thoughtfulness, so also the people in your lives – God’s children – need to be approached lovingly and gently and with care and thoughtfulness. Sometimes that involves changing your perspective -- just as you need to bend down to see where the raspberries are, sometimes you need to alter your perspective and how you approach someone. How you treat people – how you speak to them, how you interact with them – may require some intention and thoughtfulness.

​

There may be people in your lives who are like approaching a branch with an apple on it. You know what to expect. There’s a familiarity and an ease of access and understanding, and those are good people to have in your life. But “raspberry cane” people are good people, too. And we would be helpful to remember that they are just as worthy of our respect and our love. Keep in mind that just as raspberries can seem to have no fruit one day and be laden down with fruit the next, so also people are capable of change and growth. Share the love of God with them. When you do that, you may find yourself surprised to be reaping the fruits of your labor.

“The people of God sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest; God blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased.” Psalm 107:37-38

Peace,
 

Pastor Jason

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