On Thursday, March 23rd, we will have a special and important meeting with Grace Sugar Bush to plan a summer Event for kids. The meeting starts at 6:30pm AT Grace Sugar Bush. Our goal that night will be to do the initial planning for a summer VBS event. Please plan on attending and helping plan an event to encourage young Christians in their faith.
Ash Wednesday Update 2023
Due to weather concerns, our 2/22/23 Ash Wednesday meal and service are being postponed until the next day. On Thursday, 2/23/23, we will have our shared meal at church starting at 5:30pm, our Ash Wednesday service with Communion will start at 6:30pm, and then we've rescheduled the summer planning meeting with Grace Sugar Bush to start that night at 7:20pm. Please be safe in this winter weather and remember that you can always livestream the worship services. Those videos are streamed and saved here on our Facebook page and on our YouTube page.
Lent 2023
Lent is a powerful time of the church year when we prepare our hearts for Christ’s sacrifice. Listen to Jesus' as He willing and resolutely walks to the cross for us.
Join us Wednesdays, in person or virtually, for a shared meal starting around 5:30pm. Following that will be a short service starting around 6:30pm. The focus of these services will be on “His Final Steps”. The series ponders the significance of the people and places on Jesus’ resolute final steps to the cross and three days later, his first steps from the tomb. Like in years past, the Pastors from our area will rotate so we will see some of the Pastors from nearby WELS and ELS congregations.
Church Council 2023
Here at St. Paul Clintonville we are blessed with those willing and wanting to serve the Lord and His Church. Whether their service is seen or unseen, thank you for all you do!
On January 22, 2023, the voters elected new candidates to serve on the Church Council.
President Tim Boughton
Vice President Tom Ganster
Secretary Glenn McMahon
Treasurer
Elder Aaron Warnke
Elder Martin McGlone
Elder Austin Retzlaff
Trustee Nick Boughton
Trustee Coulter Boughton
Trustee Kelly Zillmer
Christian Education Dave Schley
Evangelism Coordinator Chuck Schowalter
Lutheran Leadership Conference 2023
In January 2023, Pastor Rothfuss and Chuck attended the WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership in Chicago. Held at the historic Hilton hotel, this conference brought together leaders from the church to talk about and think about being wise leaders in the church for Christ. Over 1,300 members attended, including a third of all active WELS pastors, students from Lutheran high schools, and an amazing number of lay members.
Over the 3 day conference attendees were able to 5 keynote presentations (presentations for all attendees), another 5 breakout presentations (presentations for small groups, chosen by the attendees), and 3 worship opportunities. One of the worship services included Holy Communion which was given to the 1,300+ attendees and their guests! The conference was an encouragement to those who attended and provided lots of ideas about how we can better serve. A lot of the presentations gave practical changes and efforts different churches have done to improve their ministry. Even if we cannot do exactly the same here, it still shows us that other churches like us have had challenges that they turned into wonderful opportunities. Watch the Lutheran Leadership website (link below) for videos and presentations from the conference.
Find out more or check for resources and updates at their website… https://lutheranleadership.com/
View presentations from the 2020 conference here… https://lutheranleadership.com/2020-resources/
Look for pictures and videos from the conference by searching #lutheranleadership2023
Christmas in Clintonville 2022
Christmas is always a special time of the year, especially for Christians. During these darkest of days we fill our homes and heart with light, reminding us of Christ, the light of the word. Here are some pictures of our church decorated for Christmas.
Devotion: December 2022
Some of you work with animals, specifically farm animals, but they are defenseless creatures. You can imagine what a predator would do to a flock of sheep left unprotected. Being a shepherd isn't really a job anymore in our culture, but it wasn't as easy as you might think. They had to be rugged outdoorsmen who could defend their flock from anything while traveling in the wilderness looking for pastures and watering holes. I'm willing to bet not many things scared them, but I think angels were an exception. Here they were, in the middle of the night doing what they always do, staying on high alert, possibly talking sleeping shifts, and keeping their flocks safe. In an instant an angel appeared to them and God's almighty glory surrounded them. Have you noticed that many times in the bible, when an angel appears to someone they have to say, "Don't be afraid, it's okay, I'm here to bring you some good news!" Angels are literally from out of this world. They are holy, created creatures who would scare you and me too.
Imagine being an angel. As God's messengers, angels are the mouthpieces for God himself, sharing news with his people. Surely in the garden of Eden, the angels heard God's plan for a Savior to come. They didn't know when that day would come, but they stood vigilant, waiting for that day to announce the Savior to the world. Now imagine you're that angel on Christmas night. God comes up to you and says, "Today's the day the Savior, my son, is going to be born and you're going to tell them." You'd be so overwhelmed with joy and excitement you wouldn't be able to stand it. You ask God, "Alright, who do you want me to tell?" God says, "A few shepherds outside of Bethlehem." You sure? That's i
That angel had no questions for God that night. It was the one that was going to tell those shepherds, "Your Savior from sin is here." The moment God's people have been waiting for for thousands and thousands of years is finally here. That angel did exactly what God said to do because everything had to be perfect. And it wa
If only we could have been there that first Christmas night. How incredible that must have been to witness. The angel told the terror-stricken shepherds to turn their fear into joy because the long-promised Messiah from the OT was here. I'm sure the shepherds were a bit confused at first, but they had no more than a second to think about that until heaven opened and more angels than they could count praised God for keeping his promise of a Savior to come. They were waiting just as long as the world was to do their job and proclaim the good news of God and they gave it their all to a few shepherds outside of Bethlehe
The message was given to a few that first night, but you and have that same message now. We remember the day our Savior from sin came to this world to save us. We are filled with that peace the angels proclaimed because God's favor rests on his people. As we prepare to celebrate the coming of our Savior, proclaim that wonderful news in your lives just like those angels, even if it many not seem like the prime audience to do so. Jesus came to save every soul on this earth. May that joy and peace fill your hearts this Christmas season. Merry Christmas! Amen
Pastor Rothfuss
November Devotion
In the month of November, particularly on Thanksgiving, we like to take a moment and thank God for all the many blessings he gives us. More than eating ourselves into a coma as we watch the football game, that's what thanksgiving should be about - giving thanks.
It's easy to be thankful when things are going well. We can look around us at all the many ways we have been blessed by God and can't wait to thank him for them. It's not easy, however, when times are tough. When we think about the chair that will sit vacant for the first time at the table on Thanksgiving this year, what do we have to be thankful for? When all the food was given to us this year because the money wasn't there to buy it ourselves, what do we have to be thankful for? When the people we love are too busy to join us and the phone doesn't even ring, what do we have to be thankful for? It's not easy to be thankful in all situations, but we should be.
God does not promise that we will not have moments when we struggle to find the good in every situation. God does not promise that sin will not continually come knocking on our door on this side of eternity. What he does promise, is that he will continue to take care of us and give us a multitude of reasons to be thankful in every situation. Just the fact that our Savior took away every sin and gave us the promise of our eternal life to come is enough of a reason to be thankful every minute of every day. Every day of your life, in every situation, with thanksgiving, lean on your God who loves you and blesses you always. Amen.
Pastor Caleb Rothfuss
Christmas Schedule 2022
Christmas is coming and our schedules are filling up… make sure to keep Christ a priority this Christmas season. Here are some special events and services to note from our church family.
November 23 Wednesday
Thanksgiving Eve Service @6:30pm
November 26 Saturday
Men’s Breakfast Bible Study @6am
Christmas Decorating @8am-10am
November 27 Sunday
Worship Service @9am
Sunday School @10:15am
Bible Study @10:15am
November 29 Tuesday
Book Club @6:30pm
November 30 Wednesday
Shared Meal @5:30pm
Advent Service @6:30pm
December 4 Sunday
Advent Tea @12:30pm
December 7 Wednesday
Shared Meal @5:30pm
Advent Service @6:30pm
December 10 Saturday
Men’s Breakfast Bible Study @6am
December 11 Sunday
Worship Service @9am
Sunday School @10:15am
Bible Study @10:15am
December 13 Tuesday
Sisters in Christ @6pm
December 14 Wednesday
Shared Meal @5:30pm
Advent Service @6:30pm
December 17 Saturday
Sunday School Service Rehearsal starting @9am
December 18 Sunday
Worship Service @9am
Sunday School @10:15am
Bible Study @10:15am
December 24 Saturday
Children’s Christmas Eve Service @7:00pm
Carols by Candlelight @8:30pm
December 25 Sunday
Christmas Festival Service @9am
December 31 Saturday
New Year’s Eve Service @6:30pm
January 1 Sunday
Worship Service @9am
Thank You Clintonville: Trunk-or-Treat 2022
A huge thank you to our neighbors and friends who visited us during the city’s Trick-or-Treat hours! It was great seeing all the fun costumes and all the smile! I know we had fun with all the fall games and challenges, we hope you did too. We love our community and hope to keep seeing you around.
Thank you from the St. Paul Clintonville church family
