Get your 125th commemorative T-shirt to celebrate our congregation’s anniversary. Basic shirt is $20.00
 
Order here:
https://isntiticonic.com/collections/st-pauls-lutheran-church-125th-celebration

Or use your cell-phone camera to scan the QR code.

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   Upcoming 125th Special Worship Services
“Jesus Christ is the same…
July 23rd – Today – Rev. Nathan Peitsch

Wow our big celebration is coming up fast!!!
 
Pastor Manley gave us a very moving sermon on the “Past” part of our church event!
 
Pastor Peitsch is giving a special sermon on July 23rd to celebrate our church in the “present”! To make this even more special it will be an outdoor service at the Ute Park! The 125th Committee will be barbecuing burgers and hotdogs after the service there will be games for the kiddos and adults, with a special game of pie in the face.
Pastor Peitsch, President John Greder, Head Elder Bruce Mohr, and our sweet little secretary Emily Sorensen will be the victims….ummmm volunteers !!!
 
Children under 10 years of age can give a $5.00 and adults $10 to throw a pie at one of our brave volunteers (all other park games are free)
 
This event will be the last before the big celebration so we’re trying to make it as fun for the whole family as possible. Please set the date aside to join in fun and fellowship!

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On Memorial Day the 125th served a light lunch from the Ute Senior Center for everyone to enjoy. They served hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, and bars. Thank you to everyone that helped and donated.

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Sunday, May 21, 2023 Baccalaureate Sunday and the first of three Special Worship Services for the 125th Anniversary. 
Pastor Manley gave us a very moving sermon on the “Past” part of our church event!
Following the service, we had a potluck meal. 

Upcoming 125th Special Worship Services

             “Jesus Christ is the same… 
​
May 21st – Yesterday – Rev. Marcus Manley
July 23rd – Today – Rev. Nathan Peitsch
August 20th – Forever – Rev. Dr. Steve Turner
    The Committee want to thank the congregation for all their support so far, it’s greatly appreciated, and we should have a very successful 125th celebration in August!
    We have two events planned in May. We hope you will be able to attend.
May 21st - Pastor Manley will be preaching on this Sunday and will cover the “past” part of our theme and we will be holding a potluck dinner. The meat will be supplied by the 125th committee. We would appreciate any side, dishes or desserts. The congregation would like to contribute.
May 28th - A guest preacher and post-worship speaker Pastor Michael Wolfram from Lutheran Family Service will be here. Lutheran Family Service is our Special Mission Project and 125th Thank Offering. 
May 29th - The 125th will be serving a light lunch out of the Ute Senior Center for Memorial Day. We hope that you will come and enjoy visiting with incoming relatives and friends and have a meal with us.
    As always, we appreciate any ideas you might have and again thank you for all of your support.

             125th steering committee  ​

 Thank you to all the people that contributed in any way to the bake sale on March 5 for the 125th celebration. We really appreciate everyone's help and donations!
Thank you!!

Our 1st Annual Soup Cook off was on February 4th. There were 8 different soups. 

1st Place - Terri Mohr
2nd Place - Lynette Thies
3rd Place - Tory Greder

What is a Thank Offering?
A gift in response and remembrance of God’s past blessings!
 
St Paul’s 125th Anniversary Thank Offering Recipients are…
 
Lutheran Family Services (LFS)
2022 is LFS 130th Anniversary All Services are State and Nationally Accredited 20 Locations within Iowa LFS Serves all 99 Iowa Counties in Iowa LFS Focus is on support and counseling for… Adoption Services Pregnancy Help Marriage Counseling Mental Health Counseling Parental Support Services Behavioral Health for Youth Early Childhood Resources Disability Services St Paul’s Jeremiah Fund (JF)
Jeremiah Fund - established at St Paul in 2007 Jeremiah Fund’s Mission Statement – “To encourage and provide spiritual growth opportunities to the youth of St Paul” (Youth- Elementary, Jr High, High School, and College levels) How are Spiritual Growth Opportunities provided?  JF’s financial grants enable St Paul’s youth to attend LCMS Servant Events and Youth Gatherings at State, National and International levels.   Servant Events and Youth Gatherings can be life changing events! How do I give to St Paul’s Thank Offering?
Place your gift in the Penny Fund Jar at entrance of St Paul! Mail your Thank Offering gift to: -St Paul’s Lutheran Church, 303 E 4th Street, Ute, Iowa, 51060.  
​Origin of St Paul’s Penny Fund
    In 1936 and 1937 St Paul’s of Ute was in the middle of the Great Depression and times were hard and our congregation fell into debt. 
    Under the leadership of Pastor Widman, our congregation began an effort to pay off that debt with The Penny Fund. Each member of our congregation was asked to contribute ½ cent each day until our debt was paid.
    Please read our actual minutes, translated from German, about the Penny Fund…
 
    January 2, 1936 – “A decision was made we should eliminate the church debt by establishing the Penny Fund…”
    January 1, 1937 – “The Penny Fund that was started in 1936, will be continued since last year, because last year was such a fruitless year. The fund will continue until conditions improve. It was also discussed if the yearly budget of $660 could be met if 1937 was not a prosperous year. (Concern was evident)”
    January 1 1938 – “The Penny Fund has raised enough money to meet the budget of $660 and pay off all notes...”
 
    God truly blessed our forefathers’ efforts and the “Penny Fund”. Together, they helped unite our congregation, get out of debt and survive the depths of the Great Depression of the 1930’s.
    St Paul is now asking you to prayerfully draw inspiration from this true story about “The Penny Fund”. Please, consider gifting your pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, or more, to our “Penny Fund”.
    On August 20, 2023 these gifts will be presented to Lutheran Family Services of Iowa and St Paul’s Jeremiah Fund, as our special Thank Offering to God for 125 years of His Grace, Mercy and Blessings upon our congregation and its members!   

Next Events:
The 125th committee is serving meals for the 3 Advent Services. There will be a free-will donation basket out for the meals.

WOW our 125th bake sale was amazing thanks to our wonderful Congregation and friends in Ute area! A special thank you to the 125 Committee for their dedication to the cause!
125th celebration committee is working diligently on the celebration. We have tentatively decided on a date the weekend of August 20, 2023. ​