faith connection - faithofmfld.org · 2018 council representatives gary grassman— president...
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Faith Connection
WORSHIP TIMES 8:00 a.m.
Traditional
10:30 a.m. Contemporary
9:15 a.m. Education Hour
Coffee Fellowship
Come and Join Us
How to contact us 715-387-3757
Pastor Gisele Berninghaus [email protected] Dar Schubert Secretary [email protected] Richard Brunson Choir Director [email protected] Kim Vrana Youth Director [email protected] Anne Weber Education & Family Ministry [email protected] Cheryl Zimmerman Communications Specialist [email protected]
Website [email protected]
Office Hours Monday—Thursday 9-3
Office and Building
Closed on Fridays and Saturdays
April 2018
Easter people and REVIVE WISCONSIN
With God all things are possible! Easter is the bedrock of our faith, nothing is stronger than God, not even death. In the cross and resurrection, we again see God doing something new, something totally unexpected and surprising. God continues this work of making us new and surprising us with God's living presence in new and unexpected ways - we need the eyes of faith to see God showing up and the heart of faith, open to trust God working in our daily lives. The challenge for us is to loosen the grip we have on our own routines, our habits, our way of doing things and the plans we make for our days in order to allow or invite God into the mix, giving God the space to do something new in us. REVIVE Wisconsin is an opportunity for God to do something new in and through us. April 27 - May 2, we are all invited to trust God and try something new. The schedule is listed on back page and you can attend for whatever amount of time works for you, an evening only, or mornings or the noon time gathering or all of it. The invitation is here for each of us to open ourselves to what the Spirit of the living and resurrected Jesus is doing here in our community NOW. The resurrection is not some past event, it is the living power of God's ongoing creativity. You can go online to learn more about Revive or ask Karen Bohm or Jan Taylor about their experience at some of the planning meetings. Karen and Jan have stepped out of their comfort zones and listened to what the Holy Spirit is leading them to do and so have I. This is an opportunity to work with other congregations in Marshfield and the surrounding communities, to learn from each other and to see how God works in different ways among God's people. It is an opportunity to put faith into action and into words as we pray with others and pray for our communities that God would use our lives to connect with someone who does not yet know the amazing love of our resurrected and living Lord Jesus. This revive process is NEW to everyone, except the team that comes in to lead the event, but we trust that this NEW thing is God's work here and now and you are invited into this growing experience.
God's Peace, Pastor Gisele
Upcoming Events:
May 6 Confirmation Sunday @ 10:30 worship.
May 13 8:00 Sunday School, 9:00 Youth/Baccalaureate Service
Worship times change to Summer schedule:
One Service 9:00
May 20 8:00 Last Sunday of Sunday School
9:00 Celebration Sunday
May 27 9:00 Worship
No Sunday School on Easter, April 1st
Mark your calendars!
On May 13th Sunday School/Confirmation will be from
8-8:45am with one worship service at 9am.
End of the year Celebration for Sunday School on May
20st. Last day of Sunday School will begin at 8am-8:45
with a celebration for the end of the year with games,
songs, and treats. One worship service to follow at 9am,
where kids will be singing during the service!
Confirmation Sunday
Confirmation for our 8th graders is fast approaching,
there are a few details that our 8th grade parents
should remember. Confirmation Sunday is May 6th
@ 10:30 service; confirmands should arrive at
church by 9am, for pictures. Please mark your
calendar.
Teacher Appreciation Sunday
Thank you to everyone who has
taught Sunday School and/or
confirmation this year! Thank you
for sharing your talents and gifts
with the kids at Faith Lutheran.
On May 20st (the last day of
Sunday school) we will be
recognizing teachers during the
worship service at 9am. If you
have taught all year, a month, or even just one day,
please come to this service so we can recognize and show
our appreciation for all you have done!
Kids Night Out on Friday May 11th!
Kids in 2nd
grade through 6th grade
are invited for a night of fun from
6pm-9pm. Games, songs, faith lesson,
snack, and more! Bring a friend…or two! Please let
Anne Weber know via email,
[email protected] if you’re planning on
coming.
FLY News and
Upcoming Events
Check out the Faith Lutheran Church FaceBook page
for pictures from many of our meetings and events.
ELCA Youth Gathering
Only 2 ½ months remain
until 16 youth and 3 adult
leaders leave for the ELCA
Youth Gathering in
Houston. Every three years,
30,000 high school youth
and their adult leaders from
across the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
gather for a week of faith formation known as the
Gathering. Through days spent in interactive
learning, worship, Bible study, service and fellowship,
young people grow in faith and are challenged and
inspired to live their faith in their daily lives. We are
excited to be finalizing our plans for this incredible
faith journey and look forward to keeping the
congregation connected with us during this time of
preparation, the event and our return.
Houston is one of the most multicultural cities in the
United States and has a rich history we can learn from
by being there. It is the 4th most populous city in the
US and has the most diverse US metropolitan area in
the US. At 655 square miles, Houston could fit the
cities of New York, Washington DC., Boston, San
Francisco, Seattle Minneapolis and Miami all within
its borders.
Faith Education &
Making Connections
2018 Council Representatives Gary Grassman— President ,Education [email protected] Cheryl Ashbeck—Vice-President, Congregational Life, Evangelism [email protected] Treva Tisdell—Secretary, Education [email protected] Bill Olsen — Treasurer [email protected] Karen Bohm—Property, W/ELCA [email protected] Cole Hansen—Youth [email protected] Sue Vrana— [email protected] Thom Gerretsen—Worship and Music
[email protected] Jim Legge – Sharing the Faith no email Jan Taylor—Social Concerns/Green Team [email protected]
Call for scholarship applications Members
of Faith Lutheran Church planning to attend
a church college are invited to submit a
letter of application for a scholarship to the
FLC Endowment Fund Board.
Application deadline is April 30. You may request an
application by calling the church office.
Mark Your Calendars!
The Chequamegon Conference Spring Rally
will be held on Saturday, April 7, 2018. Theme: Shepherd Lead Us
Come travel to European cathedrals (and more)
with Pastor Gail Sowell
All women are invited to join us for a day of fellowship,
renewal and relaxation.
Registration: 8:30 am with refreshments.
Rally from 9:00 am-2:00 pm. Lunch served at noon.
Registration deadline: March 19th or at the door
Location: St John’s, Edgar
Cost: $15.00 per person-
Make checks payable to Women of the ELCA
$20 after March 19th
Registration forms and information sheets are in the
gathering space. Fill out your own form or contact Judy
Rhodes at 384-2784 or [email protected].
There is a car-pooling sign-up on office window.
Soup Or Socks Food Drives Boy scouts--April 21 at First Presbyterian Church. Two shifts: 9:30-11:30, 11:30-1:30
Post Office--May 12 at the Community Center
Make sure to check expiration dates of food!
WHY Lutheran Christians?
We will discuss how Lutheran Christians
understand Holy Communion, Baptism, the Bible
as well as other questions that arise. This is an
opportunity for folks who may be interested in
joining this congregation and/or folks who have
questions or anyone who would like to join the
conversation. Maybe you have a friend who has
asked you questions about Lutheran teachings or
Christianity in general, please invite them to
attend.
Please contact the office or let Pastor Gisele know
if you are interested in attending and your
preference, daytime or evening time to meet.
Did you know that A Better Way Clubhouse
uses our parsonage? This program is run by the
National Alliance on Mental Illness Portage-
Wood County. This organization offers support
group meetings that help develop coping skills,
facilitate open discussion, find resources and
provide support for people with mental health
conditions. If you know of anyone who could
benefit from this program call Dixie Weber at
(715) 897-1108.
NOW (NUTRITION ON WEEKENDS) Do you know children who go to bed hungry? How does the Marshfield community feed hungry children?
The Nutrition On Weekends program (NOW) is a collaborative, community effort to target childhood hunger. The pro-
gram provides healthy, ready-to-eat nutritional foods for children during the weekend. NOW is a United Way program,
headed by coordinator Paula Jero.
From a pilot of the program that began serving 29 children in the Marshfield School District in October 2013, the need has
grown, and the program has expanded to answer the need…
By the numbers:
27% and 20%: students in Marshfield Middle School and Marshfield High School respectively who indicated he or she had
gone to bed hungry at least once in the past 30 days because there was not enough food in the home (Youth Risk Behavior
Survey, 2017)
450: total number of students currently enrolled in the program (2017-2018 school year)
210: number of students enrolled from the Marshfield School District
7: number of additional district that participate (Auburndale, Granton, Spencer, Loyal, Greenwood, Pittsville and Stratford)
Each child receives a weekly food pack containing:
2 peanut butter & jelly sandwiches
2 cups low-sugar cereal (Cheerios, Raisin Bran, Life)
2 pieces of fruit (apple, banana)
baby carrots
2 snack items (such as raisins, craisins, granola bars, pretzels, fruit snacks, goldfish or animal crackers, sugar-free Jello
cups, fruit or applesauce cups) cheese
Food packs are customized for children that have allergies.
Have the criteria for qualification for the program changed since the program was started? No; but the need has
greatly increased.
How is NOW made aware of a child’s need for food? Students are referred by guidance counselors in the schools.
Most of the children are on the Free and Reduced Cost Lunch program (there are 900 students on that program in the
Marshfield Public Schools).
How is the program organized? More than 600 local volunteers keep the program going. They represent many differ-
ent organizations, and work in shifts from 6-30 people at a time.
What is a typical weekly schedule? The trucks with the food arrive on Thursday morning. Groups of dedicated volun-
teers prepare the food for packing at other sites by other volunteers throughout the day. Foods are refrigerated over-
night, and distributed to schools in bins on Friday. Staff at the schools take care of distributing the packs to the chil-
dren. Other volunteers pick up the empty bins and return them to United Way in time for Thursday’s packing to be-
gin again. Some volunteers maintain ongoing monitoring of the nonperishable foods (like peanut butter and jelly)
for expiration dates. Expired products are not used by NOW. Instead, those near expiration or expired are donated
to SOS and made available to recipients as additional food that they may choose to receive.
How is the program financed? Some food is donated; some United Way funds are used (estimated at $500 / week).
The bread for the sandwiches is baked fresh and donated from the Marshfield High School kitchen.
How vital is this program? The food is very important to each individual child. They rely on this constant source of
food. Discretion is used so that children receiving packs are not singled out.
How do parents feel about the program? When parents of participating children were surveyed about the program,
they reported that their child had more energy; concentrated better; complained less about being hungry; slept better;
consumed more fruits and vegetables; showed improvement in school work; and overall mood improved. (From a
2016-17 survey)
What happens in the summer? There will be no summer NOW program this year as it is significantly more costly for
United Way, and has proven difficult to find effective distribution sites. However, there are summer breakfast and
lunch programs at the schools. Children need not be enrolled in summer school to qualify.
Is Faith Lutheran Church already involved in NOW? Yes! Our own FLY group is one of the volunteer groups, led
by Kim Vrana. They pack once a month.
How else can we help? Currently the biggest need for donated food is cereal (like Cheerios; any brand or generic is fine; any flavor) and
commercial jelly. They request “kid-friendly” jelly flavors (like strawberry or grape). They cannot accept homemade jelly
or jam. As part of the Earth Day activities in April, the social concerns/green team will be collecting kid friendly
jellies and cereals ( Life, Raisin Bran, Cheerios-generic okay.) There will be a receptacle in the Gathering Space.
NOW is able to recycle all the cardboard boxes that donations arrive in, but there is a need for help recycling the 80 +
jars of peanut butter and jelly that are generated each week (an estimated 12,800 jars this school year.) NOW does not
have the facilities or time to clean them so that they can be recycled. The FLC Green Team has volunteered to
facilitate the cleaning and recycling of these containers. Otherwise they are put in the trash, then landfills.
Members of the congregation can participate in the preparation of the bagged meals by joining the FLY group on
their packing day. New groups can be added for next fall if we wish to help in this way. See the church
calendar for the next FLY packing date.
Donations can be dropped off at Marshfield Area United Way, 156 S. Central Avenue. They are open Monday –
Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM.
You can choose to sponsor a child! $78 is enough to sponsor a child with food for the entire school year.
To sponsor a child, please visit marshfieldareaunitedway.org or call United Way at 715-384-9992.
God’s Work…our hands.