2024 WELCA Retreat

• 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.: Registration & Refreshments

• 9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.: Worship with Communion, Offering, and Blessing of In-kind Donations & Gifts

• 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.: Keynote Speaker

• 11:15 a.m. - 12:30 a.m.: Lunch & Conversation

• 12:30 p.m. - 1:20 p.m.: Workshops (See Below)

• 1:30 p.m. - 2:20 p.m. Workshops (See Below)

• 2:35 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Closure

*Note: Schedule subject to change based on speakers and other factors.

12:30 p.m. - 1:20 p.m.

• Title: Chair Yoga
  • Presenter: Andrea Sato
• Title: Card making
  • Presenter: Diane Ehrke-Luginbuhl
  • Description: We will be making 2 cards, encouraging sharing the cards, and ending with prayer about sharing our gifts from God.  2 Timothy 1:6-7 "This is why I remind you to fan into flames the Spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity,  but of power, love and self discipline. "
• Title: Prayers and Prayer Shawls
  • Presenter: Carolyn Lien
  • Description: I will talk about prayers, and shawls.  Information will be provided about them. There will also be examples of them.
• Title: Heart to Home ~ A Guide to Local Resources
  • Presenter: Angie Braddock- Executive Director, River Haven Homeless Shelter
  • Description: I will provide a brief overview of the shelter in Portage, as well as useful information about local resources to assist persons in need of services. I will provide a handout with the information to be taken with attendees.
• Title: Nurturing our waterways in the age of plastics
  • Presenter: Ben Davidson
  • Description: Microplastics are no small concern in our environment.  Plastic surrounds our daily lives yet can have significant negative impacts to our world.  How do we be stewards of our environment in the age of plastics?  How can we protect the waterways that are impacted by our plastic pollution?  We will explore and discuss the current knowledge of plastic and microplastic pollution ranging from global levels down to our local water systems here in Wisconsin.
• Title: Loving Lutherans: Nurturing Mental Health in an Election Year and Beyond
  • Presenter: Sarah Halstead, Manager of Community and Faith Partnerships with Lutheran Social Services of WI and Upper MI
  • Half of all Americans will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime. This affects us, our friends, our family members, our congregation members and our communities, regardless of where we stand politically. And as things heat up with the approaching national election, you may be feeling the added stress in your life. Learn what you can do as a Loving Lutheran to protect yourself and to support the mental health needs of children and adults in our communities.

1:30 p.m. - 2:20 p.m.

• Title: Chair Yoga
  • Presenter: Andrea Sato
• Title: Card making
  • Presenter: Diane Ehrke-LuginbuhlCard making
  • Description: We will be making 2 cards, encouraging sharing the cards, and ending with prayer about sharing our gifts from God.  2 Timothy 1:6-7 "This is why I remind you to fan into flames the Spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity,  but of power, love and self discipline.
• Title: Prayers and Prayer Shawls
  • Presenter: Carolyn Lien
  • Description: I will talk about prayers, and shawls.  Information will be provided about them. There will also be examples of them.
• Title: Heart to Home ~ A Guide to Local Resources
  • Presenter: Angie Braddock- Executive Director, River Haven Homeless Shelter
  • Description: I will provide a brief overview of the shelter in Portage, as well as useful information about local resources to assist persons in need of services. I will provide a handout with the information to be taken with attendees.
• Title: Nurturing our waterways in the age of plastics
  • Presenter: Ben Davidson
  • Description: Microplastics are no small concern in our environment.  Plastic surrounds our daily lives yet can have significant negative impacts to our world.  How do we be stewards of our environment in the age of plastics?  How can we protect the waterways that are impacted by our plastic pollution?  We will explore and discuss the current knowledge of plastic and microplastic pollution ranging from global levels down to our local water systems here in Wisconsin.
• Title: Loving Lutherans: Nurturing Mental Health in an Election Year and Beyond
  • Presenter: Sarah Halstead, Manager of Community and Faith Partnerships with Lutheran Social Services of WI and Upper MI
  • Description: Half of all Americans will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime.  This affects us, our friends, our family members, our congregation members and our communities, regardless of where we stand politically. And as things heat up with the approaching national election, you may be feeling the added stress in your life. Learn what you can do as a Loving Lutheran to protect yourself and to support the mental health needs of children and adults in our communities.

Table space for vendors will be offered.  Each of the individuals who will be working/helping with a vendor table must register and pay the registration fee.  There is no charge for the table space.  Example of vendors - UPAVIM, Equal Exchange/Fair Trade, Christian Author selling books, WELCA groups doing fundraisers.

Vendors may register using the form below and indicate you are a vendor. If you have any questions please contact Donna Peterson, at dpeter8182@gmail.com.

Offering Allocations

• South-Central Synod of Wisconsin Synodical Women of the ELCA (50%)
• Lutheran Campus Ministry (50%) https://scsw-elca.org/campusministry/
  • UW-Madison
  • UW-Platteville
  • UW-Whitewater

In-Kind Donations

• River Haven Homeless Shelter
  • • Amazon wish list link; https://a.co/1Ne9bnr
    • Our wish list both on Amazon and in general is below in order of level of need:
      • Items Most Needed:
        • paper towels - toilet paper - garbage bags - quart zip bags - gallon zip bags
      • 2nd Level of Need:
        • dish soap - laundry soap - toilet bowl cleaner - kitchen sponges - lysol spray
      • 3rd Level of Need:
        • deep pocket mattress protectors: twin and full size - large shower caddies - bar soap cases - toothbrush covers - shower curtain LINERS - shower curtain hooks - banker boxes
      • 4th Level of Need:
        • wal-mart gift cards - aldi gift cards - kwik trip gift cards - postage stamps - copy paper
      • Final Level of Need:
        • Mops -  buckets - brooms - dustpans - plastic food storage containers - batteries: AA/AAA/9volt

@ Treasurer's Table

• Pennies for Poverty, benefiting Second Harvest Food Bank
  • Second Harvest will use supporting schools that have chosen a pantry model where students can choose the food they want and bring it home in whatever way works best for their family.  This is a bit more flexible program than a traditional backpack program. It will also support a very cool program called Thea’s Table that creates emergency food bags for families in crisis, full of food that can be prepared without kitchen access.  
• Donation Jars
  • Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin & Upper Michigan
  • WELCA Katie's Fund

Our retreat will take place in Wisconsin Dells which offers some amazing opportunities to get out and enjoy what the area has to offer:

• Most waterparks and amusement parks will be open but check individual websites for hours, costs, and information.
• The Dells Boat Trips, the Upper Dells Boat Trip is a 2-hour trip that stops twice with about a 20 minute stop at each place. The first is at Witches Gulch where you can walk through some of the formations. The second stop is at Stand Rock where you will see a dog jump from one formation to the other recreating the famous photo of H.H. Bennett’s son.
• There is also an H.H. Bennet Museum in downtown Wis. Dells is connected to the original photography studio and features history of the town (not sure what their hours will be at that time of the year), the Native American Culture and how his photos inspired people to come to the Wis. Dells.
• The Original Duck Boats are a good way to see the Lower Dells, as they go on land and water. The Lost Canyon Tours are a must see, as you will ride in a horse driven wagon through the narrows of the canyon, some of which have not been touched by the sun in over 50,000 years.
• And don’t forget about the Riverwalk in downtown Wis. Dells, it is about a ¼ of a mile filled with art, history and beautiful views.
• Some other attractions, such as the Wildlife Park, mini-golf and go carts may still be open depending on the weather.

For more ideas visit: https://www.wisdells.com/wisconsin-dells-attractions 

Attendees who wish to stay overnight need to make their own reservations directly with a hotel of their choice near the venue. Here are a list of suggested hotels:

• Colonial Motel (Next door) - https://www.colonialmoteldells.com/
• Field's Park Motel (Across the Street) - https://fieldsparkmotel.com/
• Fitzgerald's Motel (459 feet) - https://fitzgeraldsmotel.com/
• Ambers Inn & Suites (.5 Miles) - https://ambershideaway.com/
• Best Western (1.6 Miles) - https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/book/hotels-in-wisconsin-dells/best-western-ambassador-inn-suites/propertyCode.50090.html
• Tru by Hilton (4.9 Miles) - https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/msnberu-tru-wisconsin-dells/
• Holiday Inn Express (5 Miles) -   https://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/us/en/wisconsin-dells/wscwi/hoteldetail.html?cm_mmc=GoogleMaps-_-EX-_-US-_-WSCWI