Parish Education

Music and Worship

Life and Growth

New Council Members Commissioned Sunday, Jan. 15

Eleven gifted individuals will serve St. John’s on church council for 2012. This group is called to oversee the ministry of our congregation
and to plan for the future of our mission. The faithful people serving on council for 2012 are: Eileen Meredith, Kim Fiedler, Stephanie Kvalheim, Deb Nelson, Karen Anderson, Steve VerKuilen, Julie Creek-Hessler, Kristian Finfrock, Vonnie Hatlen, Bob Johnson, and David Stadt.

These leaders were commissioned for service during worship on Sunday, January 15. Please keep the church council and the future of our congregation in your prayers, that God would lead us forward to make a difference in our community and that we would follow God’s lead.

A Note from Ben Welch, our New Music Director!

January 2012 marks a new chapter in the music and worship life of St. John’s. Our new music director Ben Welch is eager to begin serving in his role as accompanist, choir director, and praise team leader. He’ll also work closely with our current accompanists and talented musicians. Who knows what more will come with music ministry at St. John’s!

The weekend of January 7/8 will be his official beginning for worship leadership, and we’ll commission him for ministry on January 21 and 22. Please pray for Ben and his transition to our community, as well as the future of music and worship among us.

Here’s a note from Ben:
“Greetings, members and friends of St. John’s Lutheran Church!

My name is Benjamin Welch (call me Ben, please), and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to praise the Lord through music with all of you. In any new experience there is always a period of “Hi, how are you, tell us about yourself.” While I welcome you to seek me out and ask those questions and more, I thought I’d take a pre-emptive strike at some introductions.

I grew up in Oconomowoc, WI, and presently live in Madison with my wife (and high school sweetheart) Marisa and our three dogs. I
took my first piano lesson at the age of 5, when my mother noticed that I kept sitting at the family piano and wanting to know how to “make it work.” She asked a member of our church if they’d take on a student so young, thus setting in motion a life spent studying, performing, and enjoying music. Along the way – sometimes on my own and sometimes with a little “prodding,” I added percussion, the organ, and singing to my repertoire.

Eventually I attended Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa, and graduated with a degree in Piano Performance. These days when I’m not
at home or church I work as a keyboard music Editor at Hal Leonard Corporation, the world’s largest sheet music publisher (so they say). I also play the occasional extra music “gig” around the area, and have even found some time to record a few piano CDs in a makeshift home studio.

When I’m NOT working with music in some capacity (which is not often), Marisa and I enjoy the typical “frivolities” like games and
movies, watching the Brewers or Packers, and going to the dog park. One of our dogs is a Therapy Dog, officially registered with The Delta

Society, so we also volunteer our (and his) time visiting those in need of a smile.

Hopefully that gives you a bit of a picture of me, and hopefully I’ll get a chance to get to know all of you down the road. Now, on to other business: while I’d be happy just to be a part of the excitement at St. John’s, I also have the privilege of serving as the Music Director. I’ll be working with the Adult Choir and leading the Praise Team (with some help), plus playing the piano & organ. I was
ecstatic to find that there is SO MUCH MUSIC in the library here already, and I am only just scratching the surface as I sort through things.

But we won’t just be resting on what has already been done, I am looking forward to finding some NEW music and moving forward in that
direction, too. Rumor has it that we have quite a few dedicated folks participating in those groups already, and I hope that if you have even a little bit of curiosity you’ll come check out a rehearsal or come find me. The goal is that everyone can be comfortable participating in whatever capacity they wish. I also welcome your input about anything that you’d like to hear… as the song says, “We are the church-TOGETHER.”

I’ll be at St. John’s almost every Sunday (plus occasional Saturday nights), and on top of participating in worship I’ll often be found in the

music room sifting through choral music or practicing a new prelude on the piano. By all means come find me if you’d like to chat (any topic, from music to Star Wars to Aaron Rodgers, is fair game!). My “door” is ALWAYS open

Thank you all for the opportunity to serve and worship with you. I look forward to meeting everyone. One last thing, though: I am
notoriously bad at remembering names, so please do not take offense if I need some reminders for a little while. I promise I’ll study every night until I remember them all!

Yours In Christ,
Ben Welch

Thanks to our Out-Going Church Council Members

THANK YOU TO COUNCIL MEMBERS who have faithfully served our congregation: Ken Reese, Andy Lehman, Ken Johnson, and Janice Schuh. The time and leadership you gave is greatly appreciated by your church.

Music Director Hired!

The Church Council has approved a contract for our new Music Director! Praise the Lord! For many years we’ve been searching for the right individual to lead St. John’s music ministry into a strong future. The search team and church council are confident that we’ve found that person in Ben Welch.

Ben has been a church musician – including organist, pianist, and choir director – for 20 years. He resides in Madison and works full time in the music publishing industry. Ben will become a regular face and fixture in our music and worship life beginning in January 2012. He’ll work closely with the choir, Praise Team, our current staff musicians (none of whom we are willing to excuse from sharing their musical gifts), as well as involve any and all who are willing to share the joy of making music. We’ll get to know Ben more in the months to come. We give thanks to God for this new opportunity, and pray for Ben and the future of music

Council Retreat

Musicians/Vocalists Wanted!

St. John’s invites you to lend your voice and/or your musical talent through two musical groups. The St. John’s Choir and the Praise Team
both enhance our worship and support the singing of the congregation. The Praise Team provides musical leadership for worship twice a month (2nd and 4th Sundays). Rehearsal is often the Thursday prior, at 7pm. Our St. John’s Choir sings together regularly on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month, with rehearsal on Sunday at 8am. All youth and adults are welcome. We want you to add your voice or instrument to help us all lift our praises to God! Talk to Pastor Matt or Kitty Ver Kuilen for more information.

WEDNESDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY

All are invited to join the Wednesday Morning
Bible Study group which recently started September 14 at 8:00
a.m. at Donnie’s Restaurant on Main St.Call Marj Hipke at 882-4476 with questions.

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