Immanuel’s mission is to “Equip Saints to Make Disciples.” In this portion of our Messenger, we highlight two of our “saints,” Robert (Bob) and Carole Schweiger, who are living out their Christian calling, successfully integrating their faith into their everyday lives.
Bob and Carole are involved in a variety of ministries at Immanuel and in the community. Carole says that they have been able to be more involved since retiring because they have the time to take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves.
The Schweigers emphasize the importance of daily Bible study to feed their spiritual growth. Some of Carole’s favorite passages are John 3:16 and Romans 8:28. She says she likes to be continually reminded that God’s ways are not our ways, and although sometimes things that happen might seem bad to us, He knows what is best.
Bob starts each day by reading God’s Word and praying. He also says leading the Association of Retired Men (ARM) at Immanuel has been helpful. Bob enjoys studying the Bible with the men in ARM, and fellowship with them, too.
“The pastors have done a really good job [leading the Bible study portion],” he says.
Bob is particularly passionate about Genesis Chapter 1 and other passages about creation. At Immanuel, Bob’s interest in this topic led him to teach an Adult Bible Class about Creation and Evolution. (He has also taught classes about Islam and the trustworthiness of the Bible as God’s Word).
Topics of intense interest have often guided Bob and Carole to their serving niches. Bob says they want people to be educated about life issues such as abortion, euthanasia, and adoption. This desire has led Bob to be the ministry representative at Immanuel for Lutherans For Life – Exodus XX and A Place of Refuge (which assists pregnant women) and its store, Blessed Again Resale. As part of Lutherans For Life, for instance, Bob and Carole have sought to inform people by writing the group’s newsletter and putting up displays at churches, LWML conferences, and professional church workers conferences. They also held signs with information about abortion as part of this year’s Life Walk.
At Immanuel, Carole leads the Support Our Troops ministry. Support Our Troops, which Bob is also involved with, originated as a missional service project for Bob and Sally Denkert’s ChristCare group, of which Bob and Carole are members.
Carole says one of the reasons she devotes much of her time to serving others is that “it feels good to do it.” She says the congregation’s financial support of the ministry makes it possible to reach out to U.S. soldiers overseas. Recently, the ministry received a letter from Kelly Thrasher, Major, USAR, stationed in Iraq, thanking the ministry for sending him Christian reading material and other supplies. Carole says his letter encouraged her by showing her that what the Support Our Troops ministry is doing is worthwhile.
Bob agrees that being involved in ministry is very rewarding. He cautions that people do need to budget their time, though, so that ministry work doesn’t take away from family responsibilities.
Carole’s advice to anyone seeking to get more involved in ministry is to “find something that interests them that they have time for.” She adds that there are many ministries other people have already begun at Immanuel, so ministers can step right into a ministry; they don’t have to originate one from scratch. For instance, Bob has participated in the Milwaukee Rescue Mission service, which Andy Halstead coordinates.
Say hello to Bob and Carole Schweiger at the 10:45 service. You may also contact them with questions about their ministry work or how to get involved.
- Lisa Jaeger
Director of Assimilation and Deployment