St. Stephen’s Weekly News 4/13/2025

God Word– impressed on the move.
“Therefore go and gather disciples from all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and by teaching them to keep all the instructions I have given you. And surely I am with you always until the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20 

Encouragement Passage:
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Hebrews 1:3

Singing Schedule:

***Children’s Choir will sing at ONLY the 10:00 service on Palm Sunday, April 13***

Jr. Choir will sing during the 1:00 service on Good Friday.

K-8 will sing in selected services on Easter Sunday.  Children will sit with families for the service.  Please avoid sitting in the balcony as the students will come to the front of church to sing when it is time for the song.

Mission Collection:
Quarter 4 brings us to supporting the WELS college of Ministry, MLC.  We collected $61.30  this past week putting us at $166.30.  This is 33% of our $500.00 goal.  We have 5 weeks of collection during our chapel service between now and the end of the school year to get there. 

Bend, Oregon Mission:
A unique thing has happened for the members of the Central Wisconsin Lutheran Schools.  Pastor Bitter and his mission congregation in Bend, Oregon have asked the schools that supported the mission last quarter to help name the mission.  There were three names submitted to the 17 schools that support CWLS.  The schools will submit their votes for one of three names: 
–  Mount Hope Lutheran Church
–  Ascension Lutheran Church
–  Path of Life Lutheran Church
We will keep you apprised of the situation in Bend, Oregon and what they decide to name the mission church in that location.  Lord’s Blessings to the members and leadership in Bend, Oregon as they move forward.

2025 Summer Camps at LLHS and LPS:
Lakeside Lutheran High School has summer sports camp every year.  Here is the link to the site that describes the camps and how to register and pay for them.
https://www.llhs.org/apps/pages/summercamps

Luther Prep also has summer sports camps.  Many of these camps are overnight camps.  Here is the website for these camps with information on them.
https://www.lps.wels.net/apps/pages/summer_camps 

I-55 Book Fair:
Thank you to all who helped out with the book fair last week.  We also would like to thank anyone who came to purchase books.

Fun Run:
Thank you to all who participated in the Fun Run yesterday.  A total amount raised will be shared next week.

Good Shepherd Culvers Shares night:
Monday, April 28, Good Shepherd will be hosting a shares night at Culvers.  Good Shepherd Preschool will receive a percentage of all sales between the hours of 5 and 8 that evening.  Feel free to stop down and support the preschool and a great local business.

Fundraising efforts:
Thank you to all who have supported our efforts to get new playground equipment and bleachers in the gym.
Here is where we stand as of the end of March:
Playground—$49,091.17 which is 65% of our $75,000 goal
Bleachers–$14,870.06 which is 49.5% of our $30,000 goal
We are making great strides to put in new structures at our school.  Let’s keep working towards our goals.  Please check the rendering in the back of the church to see what the new playground may look like as time moves on.  The $75,000 will cover new swings, new structure, new GaGa Ball pit, surfacing, delivery, and installation.  There will be another opportunity to add sections/pieces to the area as funds warrant.

2025-2026 Registration:
Online registration for the 2025-2026 school year has been open for a few weeks now.  Please fill out the registration as soon as you are able.  It is as simple as putting yes or no in the red box on your log in page.  If for some reason you are going to delay your registration/intent for the next school year, please let us know.

A reminder from the handbook about dress code as the weather warms:
  No clothing with inappropriate pictures, words, tank tops, or bare midriffs.
·  No sleeveless shirts during school hours; they will be permitted for athletic practices.
·  No flip-flops, CROCS, backless shoes are allowed because of safety on steps and at recess.
·  Shorts of proper length (finger-tip or longer), this includes skirts with slits.
·  Necklines on shirts should be about collar-bone height, no plunging necklines.
Parents be mindful of what your child wears to school. If in doubt, don’t allow it to be worn.

BDUSD Summer School:
The BDUSD ELEMENTARY Summer School booklets are available if you are interested.   Here is the link: Elementary Summer School booklet  Middle School booklet.  If there are questions about the program, please contact the BDUSD Offices and they will be able to help you. 

St. Stephens’ Members–Picture Directory information:
The time is finally here!  St. Stephen’s will be having Harmann Studios take our portraits from 1pm to 8pm on April 24 and from 11am to 5pm on April 25.  These 2 dates were added last week to accommodate the large number of sign-ups..  Sign up anytime at book.usesession.com/s/NTIg6N4S9H, or a call to the office (920-885-3309).  Sessions are first come, first serve, so sign up early to get the time and date that is preferred.  As of Friday afternoon, there were approximately 25 slots left.
There is also a roster in the back of the church to review.  This is the roster that will be added to the back of the picture directory so please make sure all information is accurate and cross out any information that you would not like in the directory.  Thank you! 

St. Stephen’s School Mission:
St. Stephen’s Lutheran School will offer a Christ-centered education to all students. We will instruct them in the Word of God, educate them in secular subjects, train them to become responsible citizens in our community, and prepare them for their eternal victory in heaven when they die. We will do this by holding Jesus and his love before them each day by appropriately using law and gospel as we instruct and discipline.   

Please remember that if you need assistance with anything that you can reach out to the teachers and leaders of St. Stephen’s.  You can also find answers to some questions on the website: www.ssbdwels.com

Blessings on your week.