The South Wisconsin District connects, resources and equips God's people for
bold witness of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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The President's e-Newsletter is sent monthly to pastors and school administrators in the South Wisconsin District and to others upon request.
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• Hartland - Divine Redeemer (senior)
• Madison - Mt. Olive
• Menasha - Trinity
• Plymouth - St. John (evaluating)
• Poy Sippi - Emmaus

• Michael Ahlemeyer - Green Bay to Mt. Olive, Madison (6/8/08)

• Larry Miller - Helena, MT to Mt. Olive, Madison (6/01/08)  

• Clifford Bischoff - Emmaus, Milwaukee (5/1/08)
• David Lieske - Hope, Fond du Lac ( 5/29/08)
• Mark Yates - St. John, Beloit (5/29/08)

• Craig DuBois - St. John, Plymouth to Africa Renewal Ministries, Texas (4/14/08)

Please keep in your prayers/petitions: 

• For Covenant, Milwaukee as they clean up after five feet of water in the basement. They have no electricity and may not have any for a month.
• For Zion, LaValle as they had flooding in the church and parsonage
• For all others who are dealing with damage or loss of home from the recent flooding
• Rev. Steven Thomas, Zion, Burnett, on the death of his mother, Opal Thomas

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Dear friends in Christ:

Growing up most of us probably didn’t have a meal without bread on the table. My grandfather’s favorite part of the meal beside meat and potatoes was bread. Bread with butter. Bread with jelly. For us bread has become something less than it used to be. In Jesus' time bread was one of the basic staples of life. And for us Christians bread is still that. Bread represents everything that a person needs for body and life.

But there is a problem with daily bread. The "bread" that we need to keep these bodies alive has no real and no lasting nourishment. We always have to go back to the fridge or the stove for more; if not at supper time, then at breakfast, or maybe just for a snack.

As much as our body hungers for food in the stomach, our soul yearns for spiritual food. As you know, our body is only part of our existence. Our body is what we see. Remember what Jesus tells the devil during the first temptation? "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

God's Word is food for our souls. God's Sacraments are food for our souls. That means that our Lord Jesus is also food for our soul. That's why Jesus says, "I am the bread of life." Physical food provides physical life. Spiritual food brings spiritual life. Eternal food brings us eternal life.

Week after week, time after time we go back to the store because eventually we find that our cupboards look like those of old Mother Hubbard. They are bare. So we go to the store. Groceries are needed. Bread, milk, eggs, cheese, cereal, juice, meat, coffee, soup and nuts are all on our list. God created these bodies of ours to need food; not just occasionally but regularly, daily. Food doesn't just taste good. Food means life. Food means energy for these bodies of ours.

And what is true for our bodies is equally true for our soul. That's why Jesus tells us, "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you." Like meat and potatoes, bread and butter for my grandfather, our Lord Jesus is the basic necessity of eternal life. Jesus says, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

Bread … my flesh … for the life of the world. Those are important words. You see, Jesus doesn't just satisfy our spiritual hunger. His desire is to satisfy all spiritual hunger. It may be said something like this: Give a man a piece of earthly bread and you will fill his stomach for an hour; but offer him a piece of living bread from heaven (Jesus) and you will offer him something eternal.

Who is hungry for that in your house? Who hungers for that in your neighborhood? Who craves that among your friends? We have been given the means to satisfy that craving. Jesus.

President John C. Wille, SWD

Upcoming events 

• A theological symposium is being hosted at the Country Springs Hotel in Waukesha by Peace, Sussex, June 18-20, 2008. Guest speaker is Rev. Matthew Harrison. Theme: "The Sanctity of Life: Catechesis under the Fifth Commandment." For more information you may contact Rev. Peter Bender at (262) 246-3200 or go to peacesussex.org.
• Plymouth Culver's benefit June 20 for kidney transplant patient Karen Van Ess —
  St. Thomas, Waldo, will have a benefit Friday, June 20, 2008, for Karen Van Ess at Culver's in Plymouth. Ten percent of the receipts that day will be donated to Van Ess. She had a kidney transplant and must take medications the rest of her life so her body does not reject the kidney. Supplemental funds will be provided by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.
  Rev. Frederick Jabs, pastor at St. Thomas, asks that as you place your order, please mention it is for Karen Van Ess. Your support of this fund raiser is appreciated.
• Clinical pastor training — A clinical training session will be held Monday, July 14 at the Lutheran Counseling and Family Services building on Mayfair Road in Wauwatosa. Dr. Chuck Meseck will present the topic of adult ADHD. The session will be held from 10-11:30 a.m. Please call Carol at (414) 536-8333 to let her know that you will attend.

Becoming a Babylonian insider
By Mike Zehnder (from the Center for US Missions "Mission Moments" newsletter)
My son has successfully "campaigned" for a certain brand of MP3 player he has wanted for two years and finally won our vote. In helping to set it up for him I noticed there were some pre-loaded songs and videos already on it courtesy of the manufacturer. At first I thought, "How nice" until the title of one, "Let's Make Love and Listen Death From Above" set off my "dad-protect-radar," as I couldn't imagine anything good coming from a song with that kind of title. How can a Christian parent react to that? Write angry letters to the manufacturers? Start a boycott? Recently, in our neighborhood there have been teams of people standing on busy street corners with megaphones, shouting out words like "repent" and "Jesus is the only way" and "get down on your knees right now and ask Jesus into your heart."    Read more    Subscribe 

Rain, storms and floods deluge the District
"The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock" (Matthew 7:25).

Racine Lutheran High School students fill sandbags June 9 as flood waters from the rising Root River surround the school.

Praise God, as of June 18 we have had several days of dry weather in southern Wisconsin. However that does not mean that the flood waters resulting from the recent overwhelming rains, winds and hail are not still rising. Even those fortunate enough not to be assessing damages to their homes, churches, schools, and other places of importance to them still feel the effects of the situation. Roads are blocked, power is still out in some locations, and we feel the pain of those who suffer. Check the SWD website for up to date damage reports and ways you and the members of your congregation can help!

"For the Pilgrim Lutheran School family, June 5 and 6 are days that will live in their hearts forever.

"On June 6, an eerie silence spread over the Pilgrim Lutheran playground as teacher Robb Dopke lowered the school’s flag during the school’s closing ceremony.

"Saddened by the loss of their family, Pilgrim Lutheran students, staff and parents watched with tears streaming down their faces.

"Parents embraced their children and students comforted one another as the reality of the school closing hit them."   Read more   Slide show 

• Sept. 12, 8-10 a.m. — President’s partnership breakfast
• Sept. 13, 8:30 a.m. to noon — Stewardship learning community, "Annual funding"
• Sept. 30, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. — "Martin Luther on stewardship" at Trinity-Freistadt, Mequon 
• Oct. 4,  8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. — "Mission Possible" at Living Word, Jackson 
• Oct. 21-22 — Church and School Secretaries Conference, Wintergreen Resort, Wisconsin Dells

The President's e-Newsletter is sent monthly to pastors and school administrators in the South Wisconsin District and to others upon request. Click here to subscribe.

The contents of this newsletter may be freely copied and reproduced. Please share the information with your staff, leaders and membership.