Sophia Circle

The most important organization in Gloria Dei Lutheran Church is the Sophia Circle.  The Sophia Circle is an association of communicant women in Gloria Dei Evangelical Lutheran Church.  The purpose of the Sophia Circle is to:

• aid the members of the Sophia Circle to grow in their knowledge of the Word of God and the work of the Church,
  
• give members of the Sophia Circle an opportunity to further the work of our local congregation and the church-at-large through whatever service projects the organization may undertake, and
  
• encourage fellowship among the members of the Sophia Circle and the congregation.
  

The Sophia Circle is a member of the Southern Hills Circuit; along with other circuits makes up the Lutheran Women's Missionary Society (LWMS) nationwide.  The mission of the LWMS is to serve Jesus by increasing awareness of, interest in, and support of the mission outreach of the Wisconsin Evangelical Synod (WELS).

The ladies of Sophia Circle are responsible for numerous important specific Church activities.  These activities include:

• maintaining the altar paraments, candles, and setups for communion and baptisms,
  
• assisting members in need due to illness, loss of a loved one, or other hardship,
  
• encouraging one another’s spiritual growth with devotions, ladies’ Bible Study, and remembering Prayer Partners in prayer and on their special days,
  
• organizing congregational fellowship, preparing meals for Advent, and Lent, and maintaining the kitchen and supplies as needed,
  
• providing greeting cards for members and their families for baptism, confirmation, illness, and bereavement,
  
• maintaining our Church library,
  
• recording the history of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, and
  
• supporting the mission work of WELS through projects and offerings.
  

An interesting activity of the Sophia Circle is the Prayer Partners program.  Each member wanting to participate is assigned another Sophia Circle member as a prayer partner.  However, the prayer partners are not told the name of the person who is praying for them.  Each woman is expected to pray regularly each day for her prayer partner.  Although not required or expected, each woman may do other things for her prayer partner such as sending a birthday card or small gift.  After a year has passed, the prayer partners are told the names of the women who have been praying for them.  Then, new prayer partners are assigned and the program repeats.