The Weekly Newsletter

Archived issue

The St. Andrew Weekly — September 16, 2026, 2026-09-16

This Week

Idol check “You shall have no other gods.” That’s the First Commandment. The Bible emphatically denies the existence of any god but the Lord, so the commandment is about our hearts and what we treat as God. Like King Jehu (2 Kings 10), we show some signs of commitment, but they coexist with moments of idolatry. Only the true God can save us from our ambivalence. Join us to worship him Thursday night at 7 or Sunday morning at 8 or 10:30

Highlights

Events and ministry news needing immediate attention

St. Andrew Dedication—a celebration of A Place of Peace Join us Sunday, September 27, as we acknowledge and celebrate God’s grace. Both worship services will include a rite of dedicating our new space as we focus on maintaining Jesus’ mission. An open house 12 – 3 includes hors d’oeuvres, exploring and praying over the new space, bounce houses, a kids’ craft that will become a decorative mainstay, and a gift for every family. (Note that September 24 Thursday night worship is the same service but without the festivity afterward.)

Pastor for Outreach call Pastor Alex Groth has returned the call to St. Andrew. We pray that God bless the ministry at Beautiful Savior in Cincinnati.

Dear brothers and sisters of St. Andrew,

After much study and prayerful consideration of the call extended to me to serve as pastor at St. Andrew, I have decided to decline the call. This call deliberation was especially challenging because of the time I spent at St. Andrew during my vicar year in 2009 – 2010. Carrie and I have so many fond memories of that year, especially the kindness of the people. Seventeen years ago, we worked among a church family that surrounded us with love and taught us what it looked like to live out Christ’s mission to reach the lost. What a blessing to be reassured that this love and mission focus is still central to God’s people at St. Andrew!

I am confident that God will provide a pastor for you there. I was continually amazed by the heart for the Gospel I saw in your family of God. It was evident in every conversation I had by phone or email. I heard the passion in your voices. I saw the many opportunities God is putting before you to share Jesus with more and more people. You will be in my prayers as you continue to call for a pastor and especially as you carry out your faithful Gospel ministry.

In Christ, Pastor Alex Groth

Our next call meeting is October 4 at 11:45 AM.

Worship

Resources and opportunities for you to worship

Adult Choir for Dedication Do you want to be a part of the dedication for our new building? Join your voice with fellow believers as we give thanks for this new worship space and to share Jesus with others. We will rehearse on Wednesday, September 23, at 6:30 PM in the new music room (room 108) in the elementary wing and sing for worship on September 27. Questions? Reach out to Minister of Worship Naomi Laabs.

Milestones Our sister Janet Ramsey received her crown of life on September 15. Gone are her struggles with sin and its effects, including cancer. Her memorial service will be at St. Andrew on Tuesday, September 22, at 11:00 AM. Visitation will be 10 – 11. A luncheon will follow the service. May God bless Janet’s family and all who mourn her loss with the comfort of Jesus’ resurrection.

Worship check-in If you worship on-site, please fill out the Connection Card attached to your worship folder. Online worshipers, please continue to check in here.

Weekend worship songs Preview some of the songs we will use for worship on this weekend. Obviously ours won’t sound exactly like this, but listening to the links provided will certainly help you be more comfortable participating in the service.

“The Lord’s Prayer (It’s Yours)” by Matt Maher “Christus Victor (Amen)” by Matt Papa, Matt Boswell “Jesus” by Chris Tomlin “Ancient of Days” by CityAlight

Nurture

Ways to be connected to Jesus throughout the week in your personal life and with others

St. Andrew library There are many good books for you to enjoy in the St. Andrew library. The checkout system is very simple: take a book and return it when you are done.

New book alert: God Understands: Encouragement from the Book of Daniel. Written by Pastor Jeremy Mattek, this book reveals how God cares for you, even when you can’t see his hand at work.

Unshakable: Finding Your Identity in Who God Says You Are. Written by Pastor Matt Ewart, this book helps you eliminate what is not your identity and discover the identity Jesus has given you.

Forward in Christ The September issue of Forward in Christ is in the atrium. Each month, FIC offers wonderful Scripture-based articles on timely and relevant topics. Please help yourself. In this month’s issue you will find the following topics:

Amazing angels

A story of tremendous loss and tremendous blessing in “My Christian Life”

Who is to blame for the fall into sin?

An update on MLC losing its licensing eligibility

Impact podcast God most certainly has expectations for us while Jesus is away. That truth is the message of this Luke 19 parable. Dr. Stephen Geiger from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary is here to explain Jesus’ Parable of the Ten Minas. You can listen to Impact here or by searching for “Kjenstad Impact” wherever you listen to podcasts.

Sunday children’s ministries starting September 13 “Let the little children come to me.” Those words of our Savior direct us to bring our children to Jesus. St. Andrew helps you do that through a variety of children’s ministries:

Musikgarten | 1- and 2-year-olds with mom and/or dad* Plugged into Jesus | 3-year-olds through grade 5 Spark | grades 6 – 8

All of these ministries are served by wonderful and dedicated volunteers who are eager to share Jesus with the children of St. Andrew. There is no pre-registration. Questions can be directed to Yvonne Onsager.

*Newborns are welcome to join parents in Growth Group until they are ready for Musikgarten.

Service & Outreach

Opportunities for you to live your faith and love for Jesus by sharing Jesus with others

LWMS rally at St. Andrew October 17 This year we have the privilege of hosting the Capitol Circuit Fall Rally. Mission-minded women will come together to encourage one another in spiritual growth and mission awareness. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet and join with sisters (and brothers) in Christ for worship and fellowship and to learn about missions at home and around the world. The main speaker is Madison’s own Pastor Bilitz from Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel on mission efforts in Africa. This event is Saturday, October 17, 9:00 AM – 1:30 PM. Registration begins at 8:30 AM. Please contact Amanda Taticek on how you can serve at the rally. Learn more about Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society at lwms.org.

Service opportunity | Plugged into Jesus assistants Lead teacher roles are filled, but there are opportunities to assist them in working with children. Plugged into Jesus is a ministry for various age groups from age 3 to 5th grade. Serving them is fun and fulfilling. Contact Yvonne Onsager to serve in this way.

New serving teams Thanks to those who have recently volunteered to join a team and those who continue to serve. Any team would love to have you, but a few roles that have more opportunities include Thursday slide techs, Thursday worship attendants, and 10:30 worship attendants. You can still view roles and sign up to serve.

Monthly Mission Partner Our September Mission Partner is our Ministerial Education Fund. This is St. Andrew’s effort to ease the financial burden of those attending schools that prepare them for the full-time public ministry of the gospel. This year, four St. Andrew members are on that path. Isaiah Durkee and Kylie Roekle attend Martin Luther College, and Ivy and Levi Durkee attend Luther Preparatory School.

Westside Christian School

A ministry of St. Andrew, preparing students for academic success and lives of Christian service founded on God’s Word

Westside Stride Each year, Westside Christian School’s Parent Teacher Organization puts on an event called the Westside Stride. It is a great opportunity for students to have some fun running and walking as they help raise money for projects around campus. This year, Westside Stride will take place on Thursday, September 24. The fundraising this year will go for additional equipment on the playground, funds for educational materials, various student activities, and teacher appreciation. If you are interested in helping or donating toward the event, please contact Westside Christian School Administrative Assistant Dana Miller.

Connections Connections is an event seeking members of the congregation to “connect” with the 3rd grade students at Westside. This group meets four times a school year. You are welcome to come as many times as you can make it. This year’s event kicks off on Friday, October 2, at 2:30 PM in the gym. The students and St. Andrew members play games together, laugh a lot, and have a great time. If you have any questions or would like to sign up to join us, contact Mrs. Beth Plath (612-616-1760).

Activities have started Westside’s volleyball teams have been working hard and preparing for some upcoming games. Westside Wave plays three games at home on Friday from 5 – 8 PM and has one game at Abundant Life Christian School on Saturday at 2 PM.

Westside’s cross country athletes have been running around campus preparing for their first meet coming up this Thursday, September 17, 4:15 PM, at Sheehan Park in Sun Prairie.

Soccer has also begun, and Westside’s team will have a match tonight, September 16, at St. Matthew’s in Janesville at 5 PM.

Westside’s forensics team started their work in public speaking, too. They have meets in October and November.

What a blessing to watch all these students and coaches preparing to use their God-given talents! Thank you to all of our coaches for their hard work.

Open school position Westside Christian School has an employment opportunity to work as a preschool classroom assistant on Mondays and Tuesdays, full days. If you or someone you know might be interested, please pass this information along. Contact Early Childhood Director Raul Ramos for more information on this position.

Serving This Week

Serving Jesus at St. Andrew this week, September 17 & 20, 2026

Musicians Lead musician: Lola Weiss Vocalists: Jonathan Fricke, Sarah Kuschel, Emma Nolte Guitar: Liam Liermann, Chad Schaal Drums: Brandon Brickner Saxophone: Wayne Utke Piano: Callista Carlson

Greeters Thursday: Dick and Vicky Bernards, Doug and Rachele Rickels 8:00 AM: Emma Brandt, Nancy Brandt 10:30 AM: Delaney family, Dick Smith, Susan Wright

Parking Lot Attendants 8:00 AM: Carlson family 10:30 AM:

Worship Attendants Thursday: Phil Otto, Jim Pease 8:00 AM: Jesus Avila, Daniel Onsager, Paul Wittkamp 10:30 AM: Adam Bernd, Tom Bernd, Dominic Fanello

Lay Readers 8:00 AM: Mark Kjenstad 10:30 AM: Dick Smith

Communion Assistants Thursday: Dick Bernards 8:00 AM: Karl Kuschel 10:30 AM: Mark Westphal

Communion Care Thursday: Cheryl Utke 8:00 AM: 10:30 AM: Susan Wright

Audio Thursday: Sarah Wendorf Sunday: Terry Jacobs

Slide Tech Thursday: Dan Fischer 8:00 AM: Ron Kerr 10:30 AM: Hallie Lundgren

Livestream Video Elle Walleck

Hospitality Thursday: Heidi Pease 8:00 AM: Rachel Martalock 10:30 AM: Ana Belstra

Connection Card Assembly Chase and Kayla Rogers

Offering Caretakers Dick and Vicky Bernards

Musikgarten Karen Hong

Plugged into Jesus Esther Bohl, Jessica Bohl, Naomi Bohl, Sarah Gilbert, Anthony Hanna, Kris Howard, Sarah Kuschel, Jane Povich, Lola Weiss

Spark Daniel Plath

FUEL Seth and Delaney Fenske

Growth Group Leaders Mary Bruskewitz, Scott Fanello, Paige Fricke, Brian Fritz, Clayton Grow, Amy Heckmann, Mark Kjenstad, Todd Kleman, Pastor Clinton, Michelle Luppen, Neil Marshall, Sue Martalock, Nancy Ninman, Paul Onsager, Jane Schlenvogt-Dew, Tom Shepard, Jim Teteak, Wayne Utke, Laura Westphal

The St. Andrew Weekly — September 16, 2026

September 16, 2026

Past issues

• The Weekly — September 26, 2026September 26, 2026
• The St. Andrew Weekly — September 9, 2026September 9, 2026
• The St. Andrew Weekly — September 2, 2026September 2, 2026
• The St. Andrew Weekly — August 26, 2026August 26, 2026
• The St. Andrew Weekly — August 19, 2026August 19, 2026
• The St. Andrew Weekly — August 12, 2026August 12, 2026
• The St. Andrew Weekly — August 5, 2026August 5, 2026
• The St. Andrew Weekly — July 29, 2026July 29, 2026