A Lake Country Parish on Fowler Lake
Set on the corner of St. Paul and Pleasant Streets, where downtown Oconomowoc meets the shore, St. Paul's Lutheran Church has anchored the life of Lake Country for nearly 160 years. The congregation calls itself a "Lake Country church," with members living across Waukesha, Jefferson, and Dodge counties, and its building sits behind City Hall on Fowler Lake. What began in 1877 as a Lutheran day school has become a single ministry with three arms working out of the same campus: the church itself, a fully accredited K-8 school, and an Early Childhood Center that begins caring for infants at six weeks of age.
The church's tagline, "Receiving and Giving the Love and Hope of Christ," runs through everything that happens on the property. "Worship, where we receive Christ's forgiveness, is the center of our life," the congregation explains. "This forgiveness frees us to live hopefully in our congregation, homes, and community." From that center, the parish reaches outward into a week full of Bible studies, youth events, an annual marriage retreat, a community food pantry, and a partnership with Lutheran missionaries in the Dominican Republic.
Worship at the Center of the Week
St. Paul's worship space is intentionally not an auditorium. The sanctuary is designed to facilitate communion with God, and the building has two entrances: the main door on Pleasant Street and a handicap-accessible door through the school, with an elevator nearby and signs leading to the nave. Three weekend services carry the parish year.
The Saturday 5:00 pm Divine Service and the Sunday 8:00 am Divine Service are the more traditional offerings, accompanied primarily by the organ. Depending on the day and season, the organ may be joined by brass, percussion, vocal solos, choirs, handbells, woodwinds, and other instruments. Liturgies and hymns come from the Lutheran Service Book. The Sunday 10:30 am Divine Service keeps the key elements of the historic service but trades the organ for piano and guitar, with vocalists and other instruments layered in, creating a slightly less formal atmosphere.
All three services last roughly an hour, with baptisms and announcements occasionally adding a few minutes. Worship bulletins include announcements and a children's bulletin with activities and coloring pages tied to the Gospel reading. For parents of small children, the Fellowship Hall downstairs broadcasts the proceedings on a simulcast, a practical refuge when a little one gets restless.
For those who cannot come in person, the 8:00 am service is livestreamed on YouTube and broadcast live on WTKM at 1540 AM and 104.9 FM. Special broadcasts mark Good Friday, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, carrying the service to shut-ins and those unable to attend in person.
In summer, the rhythm shifts. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, Lakeside Summer Worship gathers at 6:30 pm on Wednesdays in the church's backyard. Worshipers bring a chair; if the weather turns, the service moves indoors to the nave. The sermon is the same as the previous weekend, giving vacationers and year-round members a midweek touchpoint.
What Visitors Can Expect
St. Paul's takes the question of first-time visitors seriously. Pastors Lance O'Donnell and Jason Schockman answer it directly in the church's own words: "Expect to hear a lot about Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen savior of the world." A greeter near the entrance hands out a bulletin. The 5:00 pm and 8:00 am services use the hymnal with full ceremony; the 10:30 am service uses a brief printed guide that is slightly less ceremonial. Ushers and elders are quick to help newcomers find the right page, because Lutheran worship is participatory and full of back-and-forth between pastor, musicians, and congregation.
Visitors are not asked to introduce themselves publicly, though they will be greeted and given an attendance card to drop in the offering plate if they wish. No one is expected to give money; giving is described as "good for the soul" but entirely optional for guests. The dress code is simple. "Come as you are" is the church's first answer; if there is time to plan, business casual fits in, and everything from nice jeans with a sweater to dresses and suits appears in the pews. Children are welcomed, encouraged, and given their own bulletin, with a side-aisle seat near the front recommended to help little ones focus.
Holy Communion at St. Paul's is celebrated in the confession and glad confidence of the Missouri Synod's historic practice. Members of LCMS congregations in good standing are invited to the table. Those who hold a different confession are welcome to come forward and cross their hands to receive a blessing. Pastors are glad to sit down with anyone who wants to talk about what the Lord's Supper is and why the historic practice of closed communion is observed here. Those physically unable to come forward can let an usher know, and a pastor will bring the sacrament to them.
Parking is straightforward. The church lot, closest to the handicap-accessible school entrance, sits on the corner of St. Paul and Pleasant Streets, with a public lot adjacent and on-street options on Pleasant.
A Lutheran Confession
St. Paul's is a member congregation of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) and accepts the Synod's confession without reservation. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are received as the written Word of God and the only rule and norm of faith and practice. Because they are a true and unadulterated statement and exposition of that Word, the congregation also accepts the Lutheran Confessions as articulated in the Book of Concord of 1580.
The phrase that ties it all together is "Christ in all things." Pastors O'Donnell and Schockman host a podcast by that title, exploring theology, vocation, and parish life in conversation with guests from across the country. The phrase also frames the church's approach to Lutheran identity: "Lutheran theology is historic, beautiful, and deeply practical."
Word on Wednesday and the Bible Study Rhythm
Wednesday evenings are a hub. Word on Wednesday (W.O.W.) gathers from 6:30 to 8:00 pm in Room 219, with childcare available. It is the parish's main midweek Bible study, and Pastor Schockman uses it to lead a course called Lutheran Basics for anyone wanting to know what Lutherans believe or to refresh what they already know. Past classes have ranged from a six-week study on Christian finance called The Entrusted Life to a chapter-by-chapter walk through Scripture with downloadable study guides.
Smaller groups circle the rest of the calendar. Journeymen, a group for Christian husbands and fathers, meets on the second and fourth Saturdays at 7:30 am in the Fellowship Hall. Women of Joy, a women's Bible study open to confirmation-age and older women from any congregation, meets on the first and third Saturdays at Whelan's. Lutheran Women's Missionary League (LWML), the official women's organization of the LCMS, gathers on the first Tuesday of each month from September through May at 6:00 pm. The Ladies Aid Society welcomes all women of the congregation on the first Thursday of the month from September through June, baking sales and the Mother-Daughter Banquet among its annual fixtures.
Sunday mornings between services hold a quiet rhythm of their own. From 9:15 to 10:15 am, children gather in the Fellowship Hall before moving to classrooms for Sunday School, open to children from 4K through sixth grade, whether or not their families are members of St. Paul's.
SPLYouth.Group: Fifth Grade Through Senior Year
Teens from fifth grade through twelfth grade are invited to SPLYouth.Group, which gathers for Bible study, prayer, and fellowship in both "lament and laughter." The group is open to all youth in the Lake Country area, not just children of members. Service projects include working with the Lord's Cupboard food pantry to deliver Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter food bags, plus a larger summer project that changes each year. Each summer, the group also attends a faith-building event with a heavy dose of fun.
The youth calendar also features Parent Partnership Workshops, evenings when parents study alongside the middle school group. Recent themes have included "Unshakeable Joy in Christ" and a study of Carl Trueman's Strange New World, exploring how modern ideas of personhood shape the way the next generation thinks.
The Reformation Tap Society at BrewFinity
On the third Sunday of each month from September through May, the adults of St. Paul's gather at BrewFinity Brewery in Oconomowoc for Reformation Tap Society, an evening of candid conversation aimed primarily at adults aged 18 to 35 but open to anyone. The format is unhurried. At 5:00 pm the brewmaster leads a "beer talk," at 5:30 pm the speaker takes the mic, and from about 6:15 pm there is food and fellowship until the evening winds down. Recent seasons have explored the theme "Lead Me to Christ, the Rock," with talks like "Faith Becoming My Own: Christian Faith in Your 20s" and "Clinging for Dear Life to The Rock." Other beverages are available for the beer-shy.
The Marriage Retreat at the Osthoff
Every November, married couples from St. Paul's and beyond make their way to the Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake for the parish Marriage Retreat, three days away under the banner "As for Me and My House" from Joshua 24:15. The retreat is scheduled for November 13 through 15, with future dates on the calendar through 2029. The church office handles registration questions.
The Lord's Cupboard and Lord's Lambs
St. Paul's runs one of the more substantial food ministries in the Lake Country area. The Lord's Cupboard food pantry operates as a drive-thru on the first and third Mondays of each month from 5:30 to 6:30 pm in the church and school parking lot. There are no residency or income requirements. A typical visit provides a non-perishable food bag, toiletries, frozen meat, frozen meals, bread, bakery items, dairy, and eggs depending on supply. Diapers and wipes, among the biggest ongoing needs for local families, are distributed during those Monday hours.
On the third Monday of each month, the pantry also offers a free individual to-go meal for the entire household. Holiday food bags are distributed three times a year, and Christmas gifts are provided for children. The pantry connects families with outside resources for infant formula, car seat trade-in programs, and additional services for mothers and children.
The pantry was recognized with a feature in Feeding America's December 2021 newsletter. It also grew out of, and now incorporates, the long-running Lord's Lambs program, which cared for mothers and young children for many years. The two ministries have been prayerfully combined, with the heart of Lord's Lambs continuing through Lord's Cupboard under the leadership of longtime volunteers Kelly P., Kelly E., and their families.
Weather closes the pantry only when conditions threaten guest and volunteer safety. If the actual or feels-like temperature drops below 10 degrees, or in the event of a blizzard, ice storm, tornado threat, or other severe weather, the pantry stays dark and reopens the following Monday.
The Dominican Republic Mission
Alongside LCMS International Mission, Bethesda Lutheran Communities, the English District, and the South Wisconsin District, St. Paul's supports a growing network of ministry in the Dominican Republic, led on the ground by Pastor Ted Krey. Parish teams have traveled to assist with construction projects, outreach work, and a school ministry in Palmar Arriba. A new preschool in Licey serves as a worship site, and a rented space in Santiago has become a center for worship and a satellite site for Lutheran Hour Ministries. Pastor Willy Gaspar, the first Dominican Lutheran pastor, serves in the capital, and a new seminary has opened to serve Latin America.
Music and the Arts
Music is woven into worship. The Adult Choir sings a wide variety of music and offers its musical gifts roughly twice a month. The Brass Choir plays at festival services and for special occasions, rehearsing between Sunday services in the balcony. Vocal soloists, handbells, woodwinds, and other instruments all have a role to play under the direction of Allison DeWitt, Director of Parish Music, who also serves as choir director for the school. The church encourages anyone with vocal or instrumental gifts to offer them in worship, with the music director building a schedule that puts those gifts to use.
Other corners of congregational life include Thee Bookstore in the narthex, open Sundays from 9:00 to 10:30 am and stocked with Bibles, Luther's Small Catechism, hymnals, study materials, Christian fiction and non-fiction, gifts, and greeting cards; an Altar Guild that cares for communion ware, candles, paraments, linens, and the seasonal decorating of the church; and a Blood Pressure Screening ministry on the first Sunday of each month from 9:15 to 10:15 am, open to members and the wider community under American Heart Association guidelines.
Confirmation and Early Communion
St. Paul's offers a clear path into the sacramental life of the church. Early Communion admits children in grades 5 through 7 to the Lord's Supper after they have learned the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and have received careful instruction in the Gospel and Sacraments. The catechumen memorizes the Early Communion Learn-by-Heart Texts, completes at least 75 percent weekend worship attendance with sermon notes turned in to the pastor, and uses Congregation at Prayer at home. Once foundational and applied knowledge are verified by the pastor, First Communion is scheduled.
Confirmation is a public rite of the church, a re-affirmation of baptism and an opportunity for deeper instruction in the sacramental life. Pastors O'Donnell and Schockman serve as confirmation teachers, and the parish's aim is straightforward: "prepare young people to make confident, public confessions of their faith." Catechumens are also encouraged to serve as acolytes once trained.
A School That Has Been Teaching Since 1877
St. Paul's Lutheran School has been educating students in the Oconomowoc area since 1877, and its third-Grade classrooms mark the most recent chapter of a tradition that has outlasted generations of changes in the wider world. The school is nationally accredited through National Lutheran School Accreditation, a member of the Wisconsin Council of Religious & Independent Schools (WCRIS), and a participant in both the Wisconsin School Choice Program and the Special Needs Scholarship Program.
The school describes its mission plainly: "St. Paul's Lutheran is Receiving and Giving the Love and Hope of Jesus Christ by Teaching the Truth of Christ while Growing as a Family as We Serve Mind, Body, and Soul." Curriculum includes faith development, foreign language, mathematics, science and STEM, vocal and instrumental music, personal finance, the Friendzy social-emotional learning curriculum, outdoor education, computer class, physical education, and geometry. The Bible and Luther's Small Catechism sit at the center of daily instruction. Average MAP scores place the typical St. Paul student in the top 20th percentile nationally.
Half of the school's staff hold master's degrees, and every classroom teacher is an LCMS-commissioned worker. Teachers range from three to 40 years in the vocation. Daily devotion opens the school day with the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, Luther's Morning Prayer, the pledges to the American and Christian flags, a monthly Commandment, and a Family Prayer in which the school prays for a different family each day. Weekly chapel services, Chapel Buddy pairings of older and younger students, and service projects carry faith formation through the week.
Outdoor education is a hallmark. Fifth, sixth, and seventh graders head to Camp Luther in Three Lakes each May for a three-night stay of outdoor activities, Bible study, and fun. The eighth grade class trip takes students tent camping in the South Dakota Badlands and Custer State Park for a week each fall, blending team building, leadership training, and field experience in earth and life sciences and history.
Athletics are part of the mix. Warrior Athletics offers cross country, golf, and volleyball in the fall; basketball in the winter; and track and field in the spring, with some programs available for K-4. Coach Mueller's philosophy, repeated often by parents, is that "everyone is needed and everyone has a role." Summer camps extend the athletic year with basketball, volleyball, and a Peter Pan theater camp that ends in a Friday evening performance for family and friends.
For students who need extra support, the Lighthouse Resource Room in Room 207 offers push-in and pull-out instruction, remediation, intervention, and enrichment, along with support for students with IEPs and Speech/Language Service Plans. The school works closely with the Oconomowoc Area School District, Lutheran Counseling & Family Services of Wisconsin, and Journeys Lutheran School to provide speech therapy, occupational therapy, teacher consultations, counseling, and special needs support.
Tuition for community members runs $4,650 for 4K and $6,650 for grades 5K through 8, with reduced rates for church members. The Fred Boldt Fund-A-Family Scholarship Fund, named for an educator who served St. Paul's for 40 years as principal and teacher, bridges the gap for families who need help. Annual requests for assistance exceed $75,000.
The Early Childhood Center, from Six Weeks Onward
St. Paul's Early Childhood Center cares for children from six weeks old through age five, including preschool classes for 3K and 4K that follow the St. Paul's school calendar from 7:40 am to 11:00 am, plus wrap-around care for 4K. The center is open year round from 6:30 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Christian experiences, including chapel led by teachers and pastors, are part of the daily routine. Programs include a toddler through 2-year-old room, 3K preschool, and 4K preschool, each with a curriculum outline covering Christian education, language and reading, mathematics, large and fine motor skills, social skills, self-help, music, and art.
The center's director, Christine Flores, leads a full-time staff that completes 15 hours of continuing education each year and is certified in CPR. Tuition is paid weekly, with a $75 annual registration fee per family and morning and afternoon snacks included. Vouchers run from September through August.
Safety and the Building
The St. Paul's building uses industry-standard safety tools, including keyless remote-locking exterior doors, 50 video cameras covering hallways and main gathering spaces, and the Raptor Visitor Management System to digitally vet visitors before they enter. The Morning Care program from 7:00 to 7:30 am is free to all students on a drop-in basis, and Extended Care runs from the close of the school day to 5:45 pm for families who need after-school coverage, with structured time for snack, homework, and indoor or outdoor play.
Giving, Listening, and Showing Up
The parish sustains its ministries through the giving of its members and the wider community. Online giving is available through the church's electronic giving portal, by check, or in the offering plate on Sunday morning. The Lord's Cupboard accepts donations through the same online portal, with donors asked to designate Lord's Cupboard on the giving page. Checks may also be made payable to "Lord's Cupboard - St. Paul's."
Two pastors lead the parish. Rev. Lance O'Donnell serves as Senior Pastor; Rev. Jason Schockman serves as Associate Pastor. Allison DeWitt is the Director of Parish Music and also serves as the school's choir director. Jill George is the school principal. Christine Flores directs the Early Childhood Center. Together with a faculty, a Board of Elders, a Board of Education, an Athletic Committee, a Parent-Teacher Organization, and a long list of volunteers from Altar Guild to greeters, they keep the parish running week to week.
It all adds up to a single conviction the church returns to again and again. Christ is in all things at St. Paul's, in worship, in the classroom, in the food pantry, in the youth group, in the Bible study, in the marriage retreat, in the chapel service, in the summer lakeside service, in the radio broadcast, in the missionary partnership in the Dominican Republic. The parish exists to receive and give the love and hope of Christ, and on any given week the building is full of people doing exactly that.