Celebrating 20 years of ministry!
Join us on
April 20 & 21, 2024
You are invited to join the Pres House community from around the country for a special weekend
celebrating Pastors Erica and Mark’s 20 years of ministry at Pres House.
2024 marks the 20-year anniversary of when pastors Erica Liu and Mark Elsdon moved to Madison with their infant daughter and joined in the effort to revitalize Pres House. Over the past two decades they have helped shape Pres House into the place that it is today. And they have been blessed by the relationships formed with so many students, board members, alumni, donors, volunteers, and friends of Pres House. Together we will celebrate this milestone on April 20 and 21, 2024.
While this is a special anniversary for Mark and Erica, they carried out their ministry alongside so many faithful supporters during the last 20 years. We will also be honoring and thanking these volunteers and supporters with a special worship service and dinner on Sunday evening, April 21.
RSVPs for the event are closed but keep reading for more information. If you would like to make a donation to the 20-Year Celebration Fund please visit our donate page and select 20-Year Celebration Fund as the purpose of your gift. Thank you!
Join us for one or more of these special activities throughout the weekend (all events will take place at Pres House unless otherwise noted).
Saturday, April 20, 2024
3:30pm Music Team Jam Session
Did you play or sing with Music Team in the past 20 years? Come and reconnect with music team members from across the years to jam together. (Some instruments will be available to borrow. Music Director Natalie Handley will follow-up with details.)
5:00pm: Current & Former Board Member Reception
Are you a former or current board member? Come for pre-dinner reception to reconnect and catch up with each other, with Mark and Erica, and with what Pres House has been up to recently.
6:00pm: Worship Music and Hymn Sing
Come and sing along with favorite songs and hymns from across the eras at Pres House. Open to everyone.
6:30pm: 20-Year Celebration Dinner
Everyone is invited! Come and celebrate Erica and Mark’s 20-year anniversary of ministry at Pres House. Enjoy a good meal while reconnecting with old friends and making new ones.
Sunday, April 21, 2024
10:00am: Coffee, Donuts, and a Stroll Along Lakeshore
Come by Pres House for a low-key opportunity to catch up with Mark and Erica and other friends over coffee and donuts in Pridham Lounge. We will take a leisurely walk along Lakeshore path if weather permits.
3:00pm: Special Celebration Choir Rehearsal
Join a special celebration choir leading worship at 4:30pm. Rehearsal at 3:00pm. All singers from all Pres House decades are welcome.
4:30pm: Volunteer Appreciation Worship & Dinner
Join us for a special Sunday worship service and dinner with an emphasis on thanking the many volunteers and donors that make Pres House happen. Everyone is welcome!
All of the activities at this event are free. This is not a fundraising gala. We simply want to see you and celebrate together!
That said, we are inviting alumni and friends of Pres House to support a 20-Year Celebration Fund with a special gift if you so choose even if you cannot attend the event. The money raised for this fund will support three unique and important projects at Pres House. Every gift helps and 100% of money raised for this fund will go to these projects. To make a donation to the 20-Year Celebration Fund please visit our donate page and select 20-Year Celebration Fund as the purpose of your gift. Thank you!
- A Celebration Garden – Pres House has commissioned plans to update the exterior landscaping at to mark the last 20 years of ministry, reintroduce more native plants to the land, and recognize the Indigenous people who lived on the land that Pres House now occupies.
- Scholarships for Next Step Sober Housing – The Next Step program in the Pres House Apartments marks its own 10 year anniversary in 2024. Since starting in 2014, the Next Step program has helped 25 residents with supportive recovery housing AND has saved Wisconsinites more than $1 million in relapse related costs.
- Spirit of Pres House History Display – We are creating a new, permanent display highlighting key moments and photographs from across the eras of Pres House history which began in 1907. This display will be unveiled at the 20-Year Celebration event!
Hotel information
Pres House does not have rooms reserved in a particular hotel but there are many good hotel options nearby. You can find hotels near Pres House and the UW Campus here.
Parking
Half of the Lake & Frances State Street city parking ramp is currently closed for renovation. The following parking options are available near Pres House:
State Street City of Madison Parking Ramp (enter on Frances St)
UW Lot 6 (Helen C. White Library Parking Garage – next to the Memorial Union)
UW Lot 7 (Grainger Hall Ramp)
UW Lot 46 (corner of Lake & Johnson)
University Square Parking Ramp (324 N Lake St)
Park free on the street at meters on Lake/Langdon Streets after 6 p.m. and all day Sunday when available