St. Paul's Escondido Celebrates Anniversaries

On August 15, 2004 St. Paul Lutheran Church of Escondido, California celebrated its 35th anniversary as a congregation and the 40th anniversary of the dedication of its church building. The Rev. Theodore Gullixson preached on Matthew 22:8-10 under the theme "Celebrate the Grace God Gives Us." The present pastor, the Rev. Robert Lawson, Jr., conducted the liturgy. The organist was Ruth Gullixson. After the service, congregation president Danny Nijinski opened the box behind the cornerstone and showed the documents which had been preserved for thirty years. A dinner was served by the congregation ladies.

ELS Float in Wisconsin Parade

"From the Past to the Future He's Got the Whole World In His Hands." That was the title for the float of Faith Lutheran, Oregon, WI, in the community's annual Summer-fest Parade sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce. The float theme sought to incorporate the parade theme of the Chamber (which looked back on its 40 year history in Oregon) while giving witness to the Savior. 

Designed and engineered by a collaborative effort of Debra Lehmann and Dan Schuman, a revolving globe of the earth was framed by Jesus' presence. Over a dozen children of the congregation's Sunday School and Preschool, who dressed up in costumes that reflected world cultures, sat on the float to represent how Jesus came for all races and nations of the earth. Adults walked beside the float to hand out some 2,000 invitations to worship at Faith.

The parade is quite popular, particularly because it brings in many good marching bands. Included among them were the two large marching bands of our WELS/ELS high schools: The Lakeside Lutheran Warrior Band (Lake Mills, WI) and the Lutheran Van Guard Marching Band (Fox Valley Lutheran, Appleton, WI).  

09-09 Parkland Cross

On Sunday, June 6, 2004 at the graduation service in the multipurpose room (gymnasium) at Parkland Ev. Lutheran Church, Parkland, WA, a wood carving of the crucifixion of our Lord was dedicated. The cross is about nine feet high, and the attached body of our Lord is about six feet tall. Bob King, a local chain-saw artist, had been commissioned about a year and a half earlier to do the work. The completed crucifix was delivered to the school at the beginning of Lent and installed just before Holy Week  The Boosters of Parkland Lutheran School funded the project.

The Cross is made of Old Growth Western Red Cedar from the coast of Oregon. Each beam had been cut freehand at a thickness of approximately eight inches by eight inches.  The wood was "aged and weathered" by scarring randomly with a saw, burning it black with a torch, brushing away all the soot and then repeating the sequence four times.

The six-foot likeness of Jesus is sculpted of wood from a nearby forty-two year old Sequoia Redwood tree six feet in diameter. The artist had traced a human form on the wood, from which the image of the crucified Christ was then carved and sanded for mounting on the cross in three days.

This beautiful focal point in the multipurpose room not only provides a reverent symbol for our occasional divine service conducted in this room, but also serves as a reminder during other events that our purpose as God's Church is always to proclaim Christ and Him crucified.

Pres. Gary Greenfield, 2004

Dr. Gary Greenfield died August 17, 2004 at the age of 66. For twenty-eight years he was the President of Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A former elementary school teacher, Greenfield graduated in 1959 from Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minn. He earned his master's degree in school administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Marquette University. During his tenure, Wisconsin Lutheran grew from a two-year college with a part-time faculty and an enrollment of 27 to a four-year, accredited institution of 700 students and a full-time faculty of 50.

85th Anniversary at Ames, Iowa

Bethany, Ames, Iowa held it's 85th anniversary celebration on Sunday, September 19th at 4 p.m. with The Rev. George Orvick, retired ELS president, preaching.  The sermon text was John 1:17 " For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."  The theme of the sermon was "Bethany Lutheran Church, A Symbol of Grace and Truth." There were 54 worshippers in attendance.  The service was preceded by music from a brass trio, during the service the choir sang, "On My Heart Imprint Thine Image", and the postlude included "Amazing Grace" and "Abide With Me", on bagpipes by the chairman of the congregation, Rob McMullen.  Following the service, the congregation enjoyed a luncheon prepared by the ladies of Bethany.