In the past couple of years, Norway Grove Memorial Lutheran Church has been establishing itself as a premier performance site for area music groups! Our outstanding acoustics, top-of-the-line grand piano, powerful sound system, welcoming fellowship area, and dedicated group of staff and volunteers have made it a much-loved location for both performers and attendees. We have benefited by hearing some absolutely amazing musical performances in this place!    We have had the pleasure of hosting smaller events, such as our Fine Arts Concerts and Dedications; larger events, such as the recent Steve and Bill concert in August and the Ecumenical Thanksgiving Services; events that involve many of our own members, such as the Bethel Unkalung Choir, the Monona Senior Chorus, and our 60^th Anniversary Celebration concert and morning program; youth events, such as our Captive Free Youth Rock! concerts; and we welcomed Lana Robotewskyj’s talented piano students for a beautiful evening of Christmas music played to a packed house last December. We’ve hosted large weddings and funerals, assisted guest musicians who were present for church services and meaningful gatherings, and have been very welcoming about opening our doors for rehearsals. 

This November we look forward to hosting Youth Encounter’s Captive Free ministry team in our sanctuary for three days. They will be holding training sessions for their team to learn the ins and outs of sound, lighting, and video projecting in preparation for their first YouthQuake event at the Wisconsin Dells later that month. In exchange, they will be offering our youth an evening of fun Wednesday, November 9^th. We are thrilled that they have enjoyed working with us so much in the past that this was their first choice for a training site!

If you are a part of a musical group outside the church that is looking for the perfect location for your concert, give me a call and find out more details about how we can assist you in hosting your performance!

Jill Buchheim, Music Director

Many thanks to Phil & Sharon Heiniger for their gift of Handbells to our Sunday School youth! The Junior Chimers have already started practicing with these and look forward to playing songs in church soon!

These bells are designed for school use, but they are equally useful in the church. The range is from the A below middle C, to the E an octave above it, with all accidentals listed as ^#’s, making a total of 20 bells. Each bell is color-coded, with the accidentals being a little lighter in color than the naturals. For instance, C is red, while C^# is a little more pink. As on the piano keyboard, the handles of the natural notes are white, while the handles of the accidentals are black. Since all the accidentals are shown as sharps, the kids will need to learn that there is a flat note that corresponds to the sharp, as in A^#/B^b.Each bell has a cage around the colored part, allowing the kids to set the bells on the table and play them by simply tapping the top of the handle. Multiple bells can be played this way.

In addition, the Heinigers’ gave us a music book with many good, usable songs. The book lists chords used, notes needed, etc. for all the pieces. We also received a set of flash cards that have 3-note chords listed both by note name and by color. For example, a C chord lists a red C, a yellow E and a green G, along with the note names for each bell. The cards include major chords, minor chords and 7^th chords.

The Church Council of Norway Grove wishes to thank the following group for their hard work on the sign in the front church yard on River Road. On September 4 & 5 the following High School Youth scraped, sanded, primed and painted: Matt Kuhn, Will Hewuse, Turner Blum, Michelle Cesario, Becky Heisig and Kyle Roate.

With a combined total of 15 hours of work - they all worked hard! Thank you!!

Norway Grove began its first Worship on Wednesday (WoW!) service. The contemporary, youth-oriented service is held the first Wednesday of each month. In October, 85 attended the WoW! service which talked about the Human Condition. We asked: “Am I a bad person when I make a poor choice or break a rule (even if I think it’s not a good rule)?” We learned that God’s grace can be a powerful tool.The next WoW! service is scheduled for Wednesday November 2. Join us for the 6pm Potluck dinner before the service, which starts at 6:30.