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Jesus Appears as the Light in Darkness

The prophet Isaiah vividly described humanity as “people walking in darkness.” We are completely enveloped by sin and suffering and death. Worse, when we honestly assess the content of our minds and hearts, we find darkness there too. However, the prophet also foretold that within this deep darkness, a light would shine. The light would be so brilliant that it would be impossible to miss. As Jesus began his teaching and preaching ministry, that prophecy was fulfilled.
Today Jesus continues to shine his light by preaching repentance and the good news of the nearing kingdom. He invites us to live a life that is illuminated by him. He calls us to walk in the light of love for God and for the brothers and sisters around us. Our Savior is the Light of the world, and so we shine his reflected light onto everyone around us. Join us in the Light this Sunday at 8:00 or 10:30 am. Make every effort to be here in person. You'll be glad you did, and others will be blessed through your presence. We'll share holy communion together. Our guest preacher will be Pastor David Nottling (retired).

Prayer Requests

Please keep the following in your prayers:
  • Brian Werth, who continues to wait for a kidney transplant
  • Lois Little, who is recovering from shoulder replacement surgery
  • Lainey Jo Schmidt, daughter of John & Holly Schmidt, who was born earlier this week and will be baptized later today.
 

RLS B Team Basketball Tournament -Help Needed

Riverview is hosting the B Team basketball tournaments for both boys and girls on Friday night (4 games) and Saturday (multiple games), Feb. 3-4. We'd love to have some help from the congregation for this event. Sign up sheets are available in the gym entryway during the week and in the church entryway on Sunday. Please look at your general schedule for the weekend and sign up by January 18 so that we can get a finalized plan out to everyone. Thank you!
 

LWMS Meeting

Our next Riverview Lutheran Women's Missionary Society (LWMS) meeting is tomorrow, Saturday, January 21, at 9:00 a.m. As we all heard in the December WELS Connection what wonderful things LWMS does in support of missions around the world, please consider joining us to see what we are doing here locally at Riverview and what you too can do to join in support of these missions. Hope to see you there.
 

Congregational Voters Meeting

Our mid-fiscal year congregational meeting will be held on January 29 after the 10:30 service. An agenda and other information will be emailed out on Thursday, January 26. All members are encouraged to attend to hear important ministry updates and provide input into future ministry efforts.
 

Divine Call Meeting

Our next divine call meeting will be February 7 at 6:30 pm.
 

Ministry Recruitment Sunday

"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest fields." That was Jesus' encouragement for his disciples, as he also sent them out to carry out mission work. The need for workers in the church (pastors, teachers, staff ministers, missionaries) is great (hundreds of vacancies throughout the synod). Riverview is blessed to have six of our members currently preparing for ministry at Martin Luther College or Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. But more workers are needed. On Sunday, February 5, Pastor Evan Chartrand from Luther Preparatory School, Watertown, WI, will be our guest preacher at Riverview for a special Ministry Recruitment Sunday. Join us. And be sure to encourage members (young or old) who might have the gifts for ministry to be here as well!
 

Barb Arndt - 40th Anniversary in Ministry

On Sunday, February 12, we will celebrate God's blessings upon 40 years in the teaching ministry for Miss Barb Arndt, one of our 2nd grade teachers. Special services will be held at 8:00 and 10:30 am. A meal and program will follow the late service in the Activity Center. Sign up to attend the meal in the church entryway or by calling the school office.
 

Volunteers Needed

Please contact Pastor Wagner or the church office if you are looking for ways to volunteer in 2023, including serving as a greeter, altar guild assistant, substitute usher, powerpoint assistant, helping with worship visitor follow-up, and several other opportunities.
 

AppleValley Food Pantry

The February 2023 collection for the pantry will be held on Saturday, February 11.  Items needed by the pantry are:  boxed potato sides, canned chicken, canned mandarins and pears, 1 lb bags plain rice and 14 oz boxes instant rice, 16 oz peanut butter, helper meals, pancake mix & syrup and bath tissue, facial tissue and paper towels. 
 

Serving this Weekend 


8:00 Service 

  • Greeters - Dustin Winsor Family
  • Powerpoint Assistant - Dashel Winsor
  • Ushers -Peter Wolfgramm, Don Eichsteadt, Steve Lehmann, Levi Wolfgramm, Pete Wolfgramm, Will Toshner

10:30 Service

  • Greeters - Rob Walker Family
  • Powerpoint Assistant - Lydia Walker
  • Ushers - Mike Melso, Aaron Melso, Ethan Melso, Ryan Melso, Rob Walker, Lucas Walker, Reagan Walker

 


Worship Links:

Worship Times: Sundays 8:00 am (with livestream), 10:30 am

 

Fox Valley Lutheran High School Notes

  • Do you enjoy baking? Consider making and donating homemade desserts (pies, cakes, tortes) for Musicfest on February 5. Event proceeds benefit the FVL Music Program. Go to fvlhs.org/musicfest for details and to sign up.
  • FVL Musicfest 2023 will be held Sun. 2/5 from 1-4:30 PM. Admission is free for all. Join us to enjoy music, fellowship, and homemade desserts. A generous donor has made it possible for a matching fund of $5,400 to be set up for the event. Event donations will go toward replacing 25-year-old tuxedo jackets for the band and for performance risers. Find out more at fvlhs.org/fvl-musicfest.
  • VEX Experience volunteers are needed. FVL hosts its annual VEX Experience on Saturday, 2/11. FVL will host 160+ teams from elementary through high school from around the state. Interested in volunteering? Sign up at fvlhs.org/vex. Contact Nathan Nolte (nnolte@fvlhs.org) if you have any questions.
  • FVL is accepting applications for a part-time custodian and a maternity-leave substitute teacher. Go to fvlhs.org/about/employment for details.
  • Nominations for FVL's Trout Educator Award are open through 1/31. This annual award recognizes an outstanding FVL teacher and assists with their professional development. For details, go to fvlhs.org/Trout-Award 

Area WELS News

  • WELS YOUTH NIGHT Local WELS congregations have joined together to offer a new teen ministry program - WELS Youth Night is a series of youth-focused events, where youth will experience an inspiring evening of games, music, prayer, Bible message, small group discussion, and fun with high school youth (9th-12th grade) from local WELS congregations in our area. WELS Youth Night is about building relationships, creating a community, and experiencing faith together. Our area’s second WELS Youth Night is Sunday, January 22 at The CORE (820 W College Ave. Appleton) from 6–8 PM. There will be pizza and ice cream sundaes!  Register for WELS Youth Night at this sign-up link (https://922ministries.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/1576696)  or if you have any questions, contact Jodi Slominsky at student.ministry@mountoliveappleton.com.
  • Praise Him Concert You are invited to the annual Praise Him concert at St. Matthew Lutheran Church (129 S. Mason Street, Appleton) on Saturday, February 4th at 1:00 pm. Join area WELS choirs as they come together to sing praises to our Savior!
  • The Wisconsin Herd are excited to be hosting our annual WELS Night on Saturday, January 28, 2023! There will be some in-game promotions to celebrate WELS and we wanted to invite you out to enjoy the game together.  All congregations are invited to take a photo together on court after the game to commemorate the experience together. For tickets, visit https://fevo.me/welsherd.
  • TBRI® 101 Course Especially for Adoptive and Foster Parents Coming Soon! This course offers an informal, yet thorough approach to Trust-Based Relational Intervention®, an evidence-based intervention for children from hard places of abuse, neglect, and/or trauma. Videos will be shown to guide the viewer through the principles and strategies of TBRI® and offer practical tips for implementation. Topics include Understanding Trauma, TBRI® Empowering, Connecting, and Correcting Principles, as well as real-life examples and testimonials from caregivers and professionals who use TBRI®. Through the blessing of a grant from the Antioch II Foundation, the WELS ministry Light for Parents is able to present this course to a group of parents in the Fox Cities area. The course will be presented on three consecutive Saturday mornings--February 4, 11, and 18, 2023--from 9 a.m. - Noon at Eternal Love Lutheran Church, 1011 E. Midway Road, Appleton, WI 54915. The course will be presented from a Christian perspective by an adoptive couple trained as trauma practitioners, one of whom is also a TBRI® Practitioner. The course is free, but participants are asked to register by emailing staff@LightforParents.com with the names of those who will be attending.
  • It's time to register for the 2023 Oshkosh Men of His Word Conference: MAN UP: in a man down world. It will be Saturday, February 18, 2023, 7:15 AM – 3:30 PM, at the Best Western Premier Waterfront Hotel and Convention Center, 1 N. Main Street in Oshkosh, WI. The day includes a keynote from Pastor Dan Solofra (CrossWalk Lutheran Church in Laveen, Arizona), your choice of sixteen heart-hitting, soul-searching sessions based on God’s Word, continental breakfast and buffet lunch, and worship led by Koine. Spend the day growing and bonding with Christian brothers. Find more information and register at www.menofhisword.org
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