LOOK! Look at the many blessings God showers on you daily. Now’s the time to prepare to be showered with His love (and possibly a few drops of rain) at the LWML convention in Portland, June 25-28, 2009. The theme, “Look to the Hills…God Reigns,” is based on our two theme verses:

Check out the Photo Gallery for pictures from this year's Young Women's Retreat!  If you can identify any of the unidentified LWMLers in the photos, please contact the Webmaster.

Nearly 250 women gathered in Madison for the 2008 Young Women's Retreat!  Read a report by Paula and mark your calendar for next year's event. 

Marking Bibles - A Good Society Project

      If you or your society would like to mark Bibles for the Milwaukee House of Correction, see details on the "Leaders Info" page of this website. Directions and masters for the Labels A and Labels B are on the Publications Page.

Sioux Falls Convention Highlights -- a report from Carolyn Blum. 

Those of you who were privileged to attend the 2007 national LWML convention in Sioux Falls know what a treat it was!

The convention was filled with singing, fellowship, Bible study, elections, joy...and most importantly, MISSIONS! We heard from missionaries in the field, voted on mission grants, were entertained in song by a young lady from Africa, contributed to mites through our offerings and mission pledge walk, prayed for missionaries, interacted with missionaries in the LCMS World Mission exhibit, shopped for mission articles in the LWML store and the CPH store, discussed missions while we waited in lunch lines....shall I go on and on??!!

Our District was highly involved with various aspects of the convention:

• One of the grants submitted by women in our district, for our deaf brothers and sisters, was voted to receive funding (see the national website www.lwml.org for a complete listing of grants chosen);  
• Jan Wendorf, a member of our SWD from Grafton, was elected to serve as national president for the next four years. She is the very first of our 16 national presidents in the LWML's 65-year history to be from South Wisconsin! Please keep her and the other officers in your prayers; 
• Our "Friends Into Serving Him" (teen LWML) group from the Neenah-Menasha area, under the direction of Deb Kinne, presented a skit "FISH on the Rocks" at the Friday night talent show and did a wonderful job;    
• Our 27 zone delegates voted on mission grants, officers and bylaws;  
• Our two Young Women Reps, Paula Duveneck (Haven) and Cindi Gill (Lyndon Station), represented us well while performing servant events, interacting with other young women from all over the United States, carrying a banner representing the country of Chile in the Saturday opening procession, and accompanying me as I carried our beautiful district banner in the Friday morning procession;   
• Many in our district delegation raised mite money at the mission pledge walk (a total of over $82,000 was donated by walkers from all the districts, with pledges still coming in!). The funds will be applied to the new $1,700,000 national mite goal for the 07-09 biennium; and   
• Many of our district women sang in the convention choir.

Our district, along with the North Wisconsin and Northern Illinois districts, made a bid to host the 2015 national convention in Milwaukee. Iowa East and Iowa West made a bid for Des Moines. God wanted the convention to be held in Des Moines, as with a 32-vote difference (out of about 600 votes), the convention delegates awarded the bid to the Iowans. Some SWD LWMLers have expressed disappointment, which is understandable, as we would have been very willing to host that event. However, we need to remember that God will be in Des Moines, too! And we will attend, be uplifted, vote for new officers and new mission grants...and have a great time. (Plus, we will not need to do any of the work!) We will have another opportunity to make a bid for the 2023 national convention.

Pictures from the convention are available to view; click here to see them.
Also, be sure to check out the pictures and stories on the national LWML website at www.lwml.org . You'll see Jan's picture, with outgoing president Linda Reiser, on the home page (and many other places, too). In the pictures from Thursday evening's communion service, there is one of a woman wearing a purple SWD ID on her shoulder. Can someone identify her? Her back is toward the camera, so it's hard to determine! (And I just discovered that the next picture on that page shows me (bright pink dress) waiting in line for communion...what an awesome experience to commune with over 5,000 of my LWML sisters! And if you look on the Friday pictures, you'll see a photo of the teen FISH group performing their skit.

Be sure to ask your delegate about her experiences at convention. Hopefully you will be able to attend when she speaks to your zone.

Make plans now to the next national LWML convention to be held in Portland, Oregon on June 25-28, 2009. Many convention attendees will agree with me: This was the seventh national convention I've attended, and each one is better than the last!

Praise to God for safe travel back and forth to South Dakota, for giving us the privilege to participate in His mission work and to enjoy the wonderful fellowship of our sisters in Christ from all over the United States. To God be the Glory!

Carolyn Blum, President
South Wisconsin District LWML

Jan Wendorf, Grafton,
Elected National LWML President.

From a slate of three nominees, Jan Wendorf of Grafton, WI, was elected the 16th president of the national LWML at its 32nd Biennial convention in June in Sioux Falls, SD.

Another Wisconsinite, Deaconess Sylvia Johnson of New Berlin, was elected Vice President of Human Care. Sylvia is the past president of the English District LWML and a member of Hales Corners Lutheran Church.

Judy Lessman of Scottsboro, AL, one of five women chosen to serve on the Nominating Comittee, is the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Ralph (Anita) Schumacher, life-long Milwaukee residents.

Addressing the more than 5,000 convention attendees, President Jan asked for "prayers for the support of our organization and the support of all the individual officers whom you have elected."

A Mission-Ministry Vision consultant, Jan has served on the Board of Directors as Vice President of Christian Life. She has also served on the Faith Talk Task Force; the Development, Personnel and Visioning Committees, and chaired the Human Care, Public Relations, Member Development and 2005 Convention Programming Committees.

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MOST Ministry is in need of tote bags, quilts and eyeglass cases to help spread the love of Christ during short-term mission trips.  Consider adopting a project as a Society or participate individually.  Instructions for all three projects follow. 

Tote bags

• Fabric for tote bags should be sturdy fabric, denim, decorator or drapery fabric.
• Approximately 32" of 44" wide fabric will make one tote bag.
• Bag - cut fabric piece (on fold) 18" h x 16 1/2" w.
• Pocket - cut one fabric piece 12" square.
• Handle straps - cut (2) fabric pieces 30" x 4".

Instructions:

1. Bag piece - at folded bottom edge cutout at each outer edge a section 1 1/2" h x 2" w for forming & sewing bottom corners.
2. Hem top of pocket and sew on right side of bag. 
3. Sew bag side seams and bottom corners - zigzag or serge to reinforce.
4. Form & sew straps - then sew to top of bag while hemming and topstitching bag - two rows of topstitch help reinforce.

Plan to Attend!

 Upcoming South Wisconsin District
LWML Events!

Mark your calendars for Christian fellowship, spiritual uplifts, personal growth and service.

2008 Fall Retreat - Fri. evening & Sat., Oct. 17 & 18, 2008, Holiday Inn, Manitowoc - Dawn Schalow, Keynote Speaker.

2009 Young Women's Retreat - February 6 & 7, 2009, Downtown Ramada, Fond du Lac -- Martha Hartwig, Keynote Speaker.

2009 Spring Workshops - March 21, St. Paul, Sheboygan Falls; March 28, St. Paul, Janesville.  Topics to be announced. 

Zone Rallies

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Give This Brochure
To Women in Your Church      

A new brochure that serves as a great PR piece for our District LWML is now available for you to download from the brochures section of our Publications page. You may want to give it to a friend, relative, pastor, or anyone who would like to know more about our terrific auxiliary for Lutheran Women in Mission.

You might think of it as a 'one-on-one' encouragement, with facts to pique their interest. It also could be put in the tract rack at your church or on a display table on LWML Sunday.

It could be handed out at a society meeting, zone board meeting or zone rally, with the suggestion that each person invite a non-LWML person to your next event. You can give them the brochure so they can take it home and learn about the LWML before they
come.

The brochure is to be printed on both sides of the paper and then folded into thirds; it will be updated every time we have an event, so the current version will always be available on the website.

Invite Your Community

For this Holiday Event

The Mary-Martha LWML Society of Christ Lutheran Church, Pascagoula, MS, sponsored a successful Nativity Walk-Thru open to the community in December 2006. This coincided with the Pascagoula Downtown Christmas celebration sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce each year.

Members of the congregation loaned their nativities to display that evening along with a brief history of each set. There were over 30 nativities displayed. Along with the tree lights and greenery, the sanctuary was beautiful.

Cookies, coffee, and hot apple cider were served in the fellowship hall. With the positive comments received from visitors, the LWML looks forward to repeating this event as a community outreach activity.

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More ideas to come!
    "It was really invigorating to lead the zone presidents' (ZP’s) session at the district board meeting in Sun Prairie recently," says Zone Consultant Christine Miller. "All the zone presidents were there and although the meeting was brief, the ZP's shared some great ideas for stimulating interest in zone activities."  Chris plans to share them periodically on the website - so watch for more helps. 

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Vicar Runs 'Miles for Mites'  

 Our vicar ran in the Milwaukee Marathon and congregation was encouraged to contribute to the 'Miles for Mites.'  It was a huge success!!" 

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Do Your Business Last!
    At the recent Senior Retreat sponsored by the SWD, a woman shared with an LWMLer why she had never joined the LWML - after working all day in a responsible job, she didn't want to spend her evening at a meeting that focussed mostly on business (especially long debates on whether to buy a refrigerator for the kitchen or what should be done during the kitchen cleaning this year).
    The LWMLer was from St. Paul's, Brown Deer. She then shared that their monthly society meeting begins with refreshments at 7 p.m., followed by the speaker or program at 7:30. The business meeting concludes the evening, and women who do not wish to remain for the business portion may leave after the program.
    "If the LWML in my church did that, I'd join!" said the woman.
     NOTE: Another option used by some societies is to empower the Executive Committee to make all but the most major decisions, thus eliminating the need for a business session at most meetings. Minutes and treasurer's reports can be printed and handed out, so they don't have to be read. If your church has mailboxes for each family, reports can be distributed via the mailboxes shortly after each regular and/or Executive committee meeting. 

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Zone Rally Fun:  Have a Picnic!

     As Zone Consultant Christine Miller met with Linda Christensen of Zone 19 and her board in Muscoda, WI, they they came up with a great idea for their fall rally -- a picnic to be held at a local park in Platteville. The whole family will be invited! In addition to Bible study and music, there will be games for the children and a Servant Event, which will include collecting school supplies to be delivered to a local charity. 
    "Doesn’t that sound like fun? I can’t wait to hear how it turns out!" says Chris.
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Plan Big!
     I drove across the state to attend the ABLAZE! Convocation in September 2005.  My reason for going was not particularly inspired;I  was looking for something to do while my husband was out of state n a trip.  
     But God intended it for good...In one of the keynote presentations, the speaker pointed out our tendency to plan overly carefully and conservatively, even in mission.  He said that we should Plan Big!  and set large goals--goals large enough   that when they were accomplished it would be evident to all that God had done it.  That one thought stayed with me.
    The next week I attended our Society Board of Directors' meeting. We were discussing how we could support Pastor John Reinke's deaf ministry.  A sum of money was suggested as a gift; this sum represented a reasonable estimate of the money we expected to collect with our next fund-raiser.
    Suddenly I recalled the exhortation of the ABLAZE! speaker and issued his challenge.  Our Society President, Kay Conzemius, caught the vision and promptly made a motion to double the amount of our gift to Pastor Reinke, without knowing if we could raise that amount anytime soon.  
    Our annual craft and bake sale took place recently.  Soon afterward I received a telephone call from President Kay:  "Did you hear how much money we took in?"  I learned to my delight that we had taken in more than the doubled amount we sought for Pastor Reinke!
     The Lord is so patient with us.  He honors our baby steps of faith and wants us to be sure of the abundance of His love.  We can be confident that He will give us what we need to serve Him.

                                     Lisa Kerr
                                     Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Women
                                                 Onalaska -  Zone 18  ____________________________________

Holiday Extravaganza
To Benefit Mites
    A zone in the Atlantic District LWML is planning a Ladies Holiday Extravaganza at the beginning of November at one of its churches. This will be a day of "eating and shopping" – two enjoyable pastimes. They will have outside vendors for shopping and a hot catered lunch. Each society in the zone is encouraged to support itself by having a table to sell their home-made crafts, new items, old items, etc. All profits will go towards mites. Vendor registration is open to anyone in other zones in the District.

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