fumc messenger - january 2015

TH

E M

ES

SE

NG

ER

FI

RS

T U

NI

TE

D M

ET

HO

DI

ST

C

HU

RC

H O

F W

AU

SA

U

JANUARY

2015

FROM PASTOR JERRY’S DESK

Echoes

There are, especially in the South, some churches that call themselves

“Primitive.” There are Primitive Methodists, Primitive Baptists, and lots of

Primitive Other Stuff. What those churches mean by that term is that they

don’t do anything – anything – unless it is explicitly described in the New

Testament. Sunday Schools? No; they aren’t mentioned in the New Testa-

ment. Missionary boards and sending agencies? No; not explicitly named in

scripture. Musical instruments? Nope. Not in the New Testament. The idea

seems to be that whatever the New Testament Church is described as doing

is the way things ought to be – and the only way things ought to be.

Wouldn’t it be simple if we could do that? If we could just take the New Tes-

tament as the sole and final authority on everything, exactly as it is? What

the NT says is final, and if the NT doesn’t mention it, then it’s wrong. But

here are some of the consequences of that line of thought if we try to be con-

sistent. Women would have to wear head coverings in church and could not

have short hair (1 Cor. 11). Slavery would be perfectly fine (Eph. 6, 1 Tim.

6, Philemon, etc.). Not paying your full offering to church would be a capital

offense (Acts 5). People from Crete would all be lazy, vicious, gluttons

(Titus 1), and marriage would be a last resort, a necessary concession that

God has allowed for weak people (1 Cor. 7). Sermons would last from dinner

until midnight (Acts 20:7).

It seems better to me – though admittedly much harder – to read the inspired

words of scripture as the record of God’s people trying to find their way in a

difficult world. Called by God, empowered by God, seeking God, they some-

times respond to their world in ways that demonstrate the very heart of God.

Other times they screw up royally. Our task as interpreters of scripture is not

just to do whatever they did in the Bible but rather to look to the witness of

scripture for echoes of our own situation and learn from both the victories

and the mistakes of God’s people.

We’re going to explore this task in the coming weeks. On Sunday mornings,

I will be preaching about some of those “Echoes.” We will look at seven dif-

ferent times when the community of the faithful (Israel in the Old Testament;

the Church in the New) faced challenges in their society, how they re-

sponded, and – most of all – where was God in it all? We will encounter he-

roes worth emulating. We will encounter horrible mistakes worth avoiding.

We will meet people of faith who fit easily and comfortably in their culture,

and we will meet others who stand against culture for all they are worth. But

mostly, I suspect, we will meet ourselves.

Whatever we find, though, I can promise you this: we aren’t going to en-

counter scripture that serves as a straightforward blueprint for our lives.

What we will find will be much messier and immeasurably more difficult

than that: we will hear stories that invite us to think, to reflect, and then to

choose our own way among the echoes.

Sunday, January 25, 3rd Sunday after Epiphany

8:00am - Morning Chapel

10:00am - Worship

“A Comfortable People”

Jeremiah 2:1-8; Ezekiel 22:23-31

Sunday, February 1, 4th Sunday after Epiphany


10:00am - Worship





10:00am - Worship

“Different People?”

Isaiah 56:3-8

*We observe Open Communion. All are welcome at

God’s table.

Sermon Series: Echoes for God’s People

Sunday, January 4, Epiphany

8:00am - Morning Chapel with Communion*

10:00am - Worship with Communion*

“A Minority People”

Genesis 34

Sunday, January 11, 1st Sunday after Epiphany


10:00am - Worship

“An Oppressed People”

Exodus 3:1-12

Sunday, January 18, United Methodist Women Day


10:00am - Worship

“The Other People”

Judges 3

Church Purpose:Church Purpose:Church Purpose:

Live and Share God's LoveLive and Share God's Love

NON PROFIT

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

PERMIT NO. 542

WAUSAU, WI 54403

The Messenger First United Methodist Church of Wausau

903 Third Street

Wausau, WI 54403

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Phone 715 842-2201 Website: www.fumcwausau.org

STAFF

Pastor: Gerald Morris

[email protected]

Music Ministry Coordinator: Susan Hamilton

[email protected]

Faith Formation Coordinator: Leo Jacoby

[email protected]

Building Engineer: Andy White

Accounts & Records Supervisor: Karen Kellbach

[email protected]

Secretary: Arlene Trull

[email protected]

Web-site: www.fumcwausau.org E-mail: [email protected]

Worship at Forest Park - a monthly service.

Giving thanks and giving back November 23, 2014

Preparing our house for the coming of Christ!

December hymn sing lead by Nancy Runner

Our men’s fellowship learning to bake pies!

United Methodist Women Annual Baking Day, on Dec. 11th, for the Cookie Walk

Church staff having fun and fellowship during Christmas!

2014 is over...Greetings to 2015! What a wonderful year it has been - however, I am left wondering where did 2014 go and what will 2015 bring for us? I cannot begin to show my appreciation to the people that have made all of our services possible - the talent and dedication of all involved has shone through. I love and thank each and every one of you for making dreams come true. All of our choirs will be back in rehearsal on January 7, 2015 - let’s make 2015 even bigger and better!

MUSIC - STORY -SONG ANNUAL LESSONS & CAROLS and SUNDAY SCHOOL PROGRAM

Corine Laub and Tom Kelley

Karen and Steve Beck

Resources for Ministry Financial Update - November 2014 YTD

FUMC Wired

Website: fumcwausau.org

With links to the weekly sermon

(text and podcast)

facebook.com/WausauFUMC

WiFi Network: FUMC Public

(password: fumcpublic)

Revenue Expense

Pledged Offering $ 220,111.40 Salaries & Benefits $ 210,286.74

Non-Pledged Offering $ 47,456.18 Programming $ 27,866.75

Other $ 38,196.52 Apportionments to Conference $ 50,369.00

Building Operating Expenses $ 60,450.61

Total Revenue $ 305,764.10 Total Expenses $ 348,973.10

Net YTD $ -43,209.00

YTD 2014 Pledged & Non-Pledged Offerings compared to YTD 2013 $741.41 higher

YTD 2014 Total Expenses compared to YTD 2013 5,164.77 lower

YTD 2014 Other Income compared to YTD 2013 2,706.83 higher

YTD 2014 Endowment Transfer compared to 2013 10,000.00 lower

Sacred Space: Caring for Our Place of Ministry In January, we will

resume our Wednesday

dinners in the Fellow-

ship Hall, and it will

become a place for the

family to gather and

grow. Then in late Janu-

ary, the Fellowship Hall

will once again be the

base for the community outreach to the homeless. It is

a place for ministry. And thanks to the Aesthetics

Committee and a litany of volunteers, that place for

ministry is no longer a sickly pale institutional green.

On December 6, that team completely repainted the

Fellowship Hall, and - for good measure - scrubbed

down the Chapel and Sanctuary. They worked from

7:00am until about 7:00pm, preparing our space for

service.

Thank you to these members:

Nancy Bogumill, Bruce Brandenburg, Eileen

Denfeld, Jerry Evans, Yvonne Firary, Terry Flath,

Don and Sue Kissinger, Bonnie Goertz, Jen and

Mickey Marzu, Beth, Brian, Courtney, Logan and

Morgan Rohland, Alice and Stan Schacht, Vivian

Thompson, Anna and Ella Weiland, Barb

Weyenburg, Bob Wylie, and Diane and Mike

Zahn.

We are particularly grateful to Brian Rohland and

Nancy Bogumill who used friendships and contacts in

the community to bring this project in at about a

quarter of its actual cost. Heidi, from Sherwin Williams

Paint provided paint at pennies on the dollar, and Dave

St. Clair, Jr., and Inthasone Chindakone (Sing) from

JAS Construction not only brought their professional

painting equipment and scaffolding but stayed and put

in around 16 hours of volunteer labor. Everyone

worked hard that day to refurbish our own space, but

no one worked harder than Junior and Sing. Thank you

to all!

————————————————————————————————————————————

CARE

Savvy Seniors will not meet in January, having met on New

Year’s Eve Day at the Mandarin. The next lunch will be at

11:30am on Monday, February 4 - place to be announced.

We Celebrate the

Downtown Memory Café

As we end 2014 and look back

over the year, several things stand

out, but perhaps most exciting is a

new ministry begun.

The Downtown

Memory Café was

proposed by Charlie

Schoenfeld, was

embraced by our

Ministries Council,

was planned and conducted by the

new Care Council, and has light-

ened the lives of dozens of people

dealing with the effects of

dementia since opening in May.

Through the Café, we have seen

members and guests find welcome

and laughter in this place; and, as

a church, we have seen members

inspired to new levels of service.

It has been a good year.

Are We a Church That Cares for Each Other? Apparently So!

Many of you have seen this on our church Facebook page, but it’s worth noting again. A Wausau man has begun a 52-

week journey, planning to visit 52 different churches. We were his Week 7, on November 23. Now that was a good

week for him to visit. That was the week we collected food, personal items, and money to fight Malaria; so he saw our

heart for mission. But what he commented on was our love for each other. Some quotes from his blog:

The entire congregation was proud of their church. The service began with the Welcome and Greeting. This wasn’t

the typical, “make sure to greet those around you” type of forced handshakes . . . No, First United was a true church

family. Everyone . . . got off their keisters and floated around . . . to have genuine conversations.

Of all the churches I’ve visited, this one felt the most like going home to visit friends and relatives on Thanksgiving.

Thank you for being the church that so joyously welcomed this pilgrim. To read the whole blog, go to:

https://medium.com/52-churches-in-52-weeks/toilet-paper-puns-are-tearable-5ca68c46cb9e.

* Signifies an honored elder in a senior facility. We invite you this month to

remember these members in your prayers.

1 Alice Schacht Brad Opper Jennifer Johnson 2 Sandra Salzman Amelia Higgins 3 Susan Rye Grant Smart 5 David Erickson Parker Frey 6 Mitchell Goertz 7 Gail Cain Scott Denfeld Mary Towle Samantha Sutton Christine Melville 8 Michael Sydow LaRae Horton Presley Wyrick

9 Peter Mattiacci 12 Michael Turner Alonzo Dvorak 13 Debra Martin John Stange 15 P. Elaine Sorenson* Remi Taylor 16 Duane LaCrosse 19 Andy Sutton 20 Alan Hauber Lila Rouse 21 Mary Ann Dykes Arlene Gundelfinger Wib Johnson 22 Robin Jones

23 Stephen Moede 25 Gbemi Taylor Brittney Johnson 26 Don Misoni 27 Dorothy Hackbarth* Shirley Johnson Krueger Sophie Marschall Julie Willems Van Dijk Nathan Werhane Brady Dahl 31 Jeffery Koss

Milestones

We grieve this month with John

Ohnstad whose mother, Maxine,

died on December 24 in Madison,

and with all the family and friends

of our own Ruth Church, who

died on December 26.

————————————————————————————————

——————————————

CARE / OUTREACH

Bring 4th Food

This month, our

4th Sunday Food

collection

(January 25)

will be given to the

Women’s Community

UNITED

METHODIST

WOMEN

Circle Meetings

January 14

Mary Faith Circle - 9:30am

January 15

Love Hope Circle - 5:30pm

(Bring finger food)

Other Upcoming Events:

January 7

Sunshine Gals - 9:30am

January 8

Executive Committee - 6:30pm

January 18

UMW Sunday

Installation of Officers - 10:00am

UMW Unit Meeting & Brunch

- 11:15am

January 20

Book Review, Missions - 1:00pm

Homeless Count, Breakfast, and, Now, Winter Closet

January 28-29, 2015

Once again, our church will serve as the base for the United Way’s

semi-annual count of the homeless population in Marathon County.

Volunteers from around the county will meet in our Fellowship Hall on

Wednesday, January 28, for instructions and coffee at 9:00 pm, then go

out to count those in our community without shelter.

The next morning at 7:00, back in the Fellowship Hall, we’ll be serving

breakfast to the homeless and to community volunteers at “Project

Connect” - a place where people may meet with representatives from

agencies and programs that work with housing needs.

And this year, our church is helping with

a new initiative, a Winter Closet. We

would like to give away winter coats,

gloves, scarves, hats, boots, and any

other protective gear that might help

people who are often exposed to the

cold. If you have winter gear in good

condition that you could donate,

please bring it to the church. Thank

you to Pat Higgins and the men’s

group for spearheading this drive.

COOKIE WALK REPORT

The United Methodist Women would like to thank everyone who made our annual Cookie Walk successful again. It couldn't have been done without the bakers, decorators, bread makers, arrangers, sellers, dishwashers, Coffee Hour workers and especially the buyers! All the proceeds go to mission work locally, nationally and globally to help children, youth and women wherever there is a need. The remaining cookies and treats went to local missions including the Community Christmas Dinner. To find out more about the UMW, ask a United Methodist Woman. Also, learn more about us on Sunday, January 18th.

The Mission Store reports that it sold

$1,559.00 of Third World handcrafts

at their December 14 store at our

church. Thank you all.

Africa ELI, 2013-2014

Our partnership with this pro-

gram in South Sudan continues.

To date, we have raised

$2,176.00 toward their new well

and the new classroom building.

Imagine No Malaria

Thank you to all who gave in to

this Church and Conference-wide

initiative in November. Our goal

this year is $4,000, and so far we

have collected $624.40.

Page 9

Disciples in the Making ...All the Time

Twelve Days of Christmas Don’t short change yourself on celebrating the great

feast of the Incarnation, which extends to January 6 in many traditions. We had an exciting Advent, including the Lessons & Carols service and the Children’s program. Then the gift of Pastor Jerry’s story on Christmas eve.

Many thanks, by the way, to all who contributed to the children’s program. That morning we found out the girl playing the role of Mary was sick. Courtney Rohland rose to the occasion with only one walk through the script, which we have posted on Sermon Links at http://fumcwausau.org/ Angels were superb—as is their nature.

Children had a hand in writing the lines this year, and two high school youth, Sarah Cowan and Danielle Del Conte, have already volunteered to head the writing team for 2015. They welcome other collaborators.

Community Shabbat — January 23 The Community Shabbat is Mt. Sinai Congregation’s

annual service and open house when they "slow down the service" and take time to explain the meaning of many of the prayers and rituals. Afterwards, gather for an Oneg Shabbat (a Shabbat social) when Rabbi Dan is available to answer questions. This year's Community Shabbat will be on Friday evening, January 23, 7:30-9:30pm.

Groups and individuals are welcome to come, but they ask that we RSVP so they can get a sense of the numbers of visitors for the evening—sign-up sheet is in the Parlor.

Youth Lock-In — January 23 With a tie into the Shabbat service, Zoë Martin and

Karli Johnson are planning a January Lock-In. You can contact them with your suggestions. Details are not final, but we will probably gather at 6:00pm at church to prep for the Shabbat—so our questions aren’t too dumb; stay for the social and then return to church for activities and overnight at church. We need adult chaperones, too!

Wednesday ChurchFamily Nights Many churches schedule activities for the whole family

on Wednesdays. So do we! Be part of our Wednesday ChurchFamily Nights to build family, faith and church community connections, January 7-February 11.

Family Meal, 5:15-6:00pm Buffet table catered by The Mint Café at a reasonable

cost. Weekly menu is posted in the Parlor and you can sign up to bring a dessert or salad in lieu of a donation. All ages welcome at this church family gathering.

January 7: Baked Chicken January 14: Roast Beef January 21: Roast Pork Loin January 28: Swedish Meatballs February 4: Swiss Steak February 11: Roast Turkey

Children’s Music Class, 5:45-6:15pm This popular activity resumes January 7 in Bell Room.

Children’s Activities until 7:30pm Activities organized by age groups as appropriate from

5:45pm (and 6:15pm) until 7:30pm.

Adult Learning, 6:15-7:30pm We are offering two opportunities during the six weeks

before Lent begins: 1) a bible study with Pastor Jerry on the Book of Revelation; and 2) Cool Conversations for Couples.

Another Study on Revelation: Will This Stuff Never End?

The Left Behind books just got another movie, with Nick Cage this time instead of Kirk Cameron. Once again, the End Times have elbowed themselves into the national consciousness - or at least the version of them that involves a Rapture and a Seven-Year Tribulation and a Millennium of Christ reigning on earth before a final battle. But that’s all in the Bible, right?

Well, let’s see. Let’s spend some time on Wednesday evenings looking at what the Bible actually says and how different people over the centuries have interpreted it.

Some people seem to spend all their time in Revelation, as if that were all that mattered in scripture. Others spend no time there at all, as if it were an accidental download that God had meant to delete before printing. Let’s see if there is a way to take this book seriously without turning into more religious hacks predicting the date of the end, over and over.

Beginning January 7, at 6:15pm, following the Wednesday night meals.

Notable Quote "Christians seem to think Christ is Jesus’ last name. What Jesus allows us to imagine—because we see it in him—is that the divine and the human are forever one. God did not just take on one human nature, although that is where we could first risk imagining it in the body of Jesus. God took on all human nature and said “yes” to it forever! In varying degrees and with infinite qualities, God took on everything physical, material, and natural as himself. That is the full meaning of the Incarnation. To allow such a momentous truth, to fully believe it, to enjoy it in practical ways, to suffer it with and for others—this is what it means to be a Chris-tian! Nothing less will do now. Nothing less will save the world." — Richard Rohr

FAITH FORMATION

Page 8

God Is Forming All of Us...

New Year’s Resolutions Natalie Bannon [www.umcom.org/learn/best-new-

years-resolutions-for-connecting-with-your-community] notes four common resolutions people make at this time of year: get fit, help others, spiritual boost and career improvement. Supporting a friend or partner in their goals is a way to connect with them on their journey.

A United Methodist church in Iowa sponsors exercise groups. A physical fitness program is a way to welcome others and can lead to a consideration of spiritual fitness.

One of the most common New Year's resolutions is volunteering to help others. Participating in or creating an outreach project builds our local church and community. Find ideas at umcom.org/rethinkchurch. Take advantage of service opportunities in the Wausau area.

Are you resolving to pray more and make additional time to read the Bible? Consider starting a small group to encourage each other to keep this resolution. Abundant group resources are available. Intentional time to grow your spiritual life can also help manage stress.

Another resolution people often make is to improve their work lives through new career opportunities. In Georgia the Roswell United Methodist Church offers a job ministry connected with Crossroads Career Network at www.crossroadscareer.org. What a blessing to help someone find work.

As you craft a New Year’s resolution, consider how you might put some aspect of our baptismal vows into specific, practical action. Make your faith real, incarnate.

The Baptismal Vows

For United Methodists, the vows for baptism and for church membership are the same. “By one Spirit we are all baptized into one body” says the apostle (1 Corinthians 12:13):

To renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of the world, and repent of one’s sin;

To accept the freedom and power God gives to resist evil, injustice, and oppression;

To confess Jesus Christ as Savior, put one’s whole trust in His grace, and promise to serve Him as one’s Lord;

To remain a faithful member of Christ’s holy church and serve as Christ’s representative in the world;

To be loyal to the United Methodist Church and do all in one’s power to strengthen its ministries;

To participate faithfully in its ministries by one’s prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness;

To receive and profess the Christian faith as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.

CORE Time Together At First United Methodist Church in Wausau, we talk

and walk four purposes of Care, Formation, Worship and Outreach. When we spend CORE time together, we grow in our values and support others.

I am the Vine, you are the branches. — John 15:5

CORE time together has two goals:

1. Know the Vine. Focus and try on for size one of our four purposes of being church.

2. Know the Branches. In the process of practicing a CORE purpose together, get to know others better.

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”— Matthew 18:20

ANYONE can initiate an invitation to spend CORE time together: 1. Choose a focus and share an invitation we can post in bulletins, Facebook, etc. 2. Read, consider, and RSVP to an invitation as they arise.

Listen to the Spirit...keep it simple.

Last Fall, because members took an initiative, we were blessed with two Hymn Sings, a Wednesday series on Prayer and another on Incarnation.

What will be our Winter delight the next three months? What invitation can you create for “two or three” to gather a few times in the coming weeks?

Conversations for Couples "For the new year, we resolve to commit quality time

to strengthen our relationship." Couples who make this, or a similar resolution, are invited to take a step with other couples on Wednesday, January 7— February 11, 6:15-7:30pm.

We have invested in some “conversation starters” from www.bettermarriages.org/ to explore topics of interest, such as Communication, Feelings, Anger and Conflict, Relationship Assessment and Affirmation.

Gatherings will include input, time for couple dialogue and some group sharing. Try out any or all of the scheduled times.

Our goals include 1) better marriages and 2) improved couple-to-couple ministry in our church.

Participating couples will decide what other resources we want to use—video programs or popular assessments such as “The Couple Checkup: Find Your Relationship Strengths.”

We will also explore other marriage enrichment and peer ministry possibilities, including a Date Night or Church Dinner for Valentine’s Day.

OUTREACH A Year of Personal Needs, 2014

It hardly seems possible that we are closing our fourth full year of this

ministry that has come to define our church in many people’s minds. (We

began in September of 2010.) As you know, we are open only twice a

month for two hours each time (1-3pm on the 2nd Tuesday; 9-11am on the

4th Saturday). By the numbers, here is what we have done this year.

Number of separate visits: 749 (avg. 33 visits each time open)

Number of different families: 406

Individuals (in those families: 1,326

One concern that many have in any ministry like this is how we protect

ourselves from being taken advantage of. The PNC is supposed to help

people over a rough time, not provide a handout that enables people not to

get a job. Of course there will always be those who play the charity

system. With that in mind, we limit the number of times a family may

visit the closet to four (4) times per calendar year. In light of that, here are

some other numbers:

Families who used all four permitted visits: 55

Families who visited us only once in 2014: 225

This corresponds to my own experience working at the closet. Very few

people want to be there. Many are embarrassed to ask for help. Most only

come when they can’t think of anything else to do. And we are there.

Thank you. It’s been a good year.

January Mission Offering

Community Meals

Sometimes we start ministries

ourselves: like the Personal Needs

Closet and the Downtown

Memory Café. Often those

ministries become community

ministries, as others get involved

in them. Other times though, we’re

the community getting involved in

ministry begun by others. That is

the case with the Community

Meals that are served every

Sunday evening at the First

Presbyterian Church. We serve

that meal every 5th Sunday and

occasionally other times as

needed. This month, our mission

offering will go to underwrite the

grocery bills of that ministry.

And think about volunteering to

help, too. We can use dishwashers,

servers, greeters, and people to sit

and talk. Gwen and Denny Carey

head up this ministry and can

answer questions if you have

them.

Homegrown Mission Work

We love to print reports like the one above, about the

PNC, showing how the official ministries of our church

- sponsored and carried out by our own members in our

own building have done this or that great thing.

Well, that’s good. But the task of the church,

according to Matthew 28:18-20, is to make disciples.

With that in mind, the true measure of our success is not

how many people we’ve given shampoo, but how many

of our own people are growing in ministry - which is

something that doesn’t always happen in our own

ministries.

Let me tell you what Ray Nowaczyk has been up to.

The community agency Faith in Action has recently

discontinued that part of their program that builds ramps

for people who have trouble with steps. So Ray and

some friends started doing it themselves. (Ray’s a

skilled carpenter; he built the manger in the Christmas

pictures on page 2.) Since starting out, Ray has invited

others from our church to join him, involving Wes

Ebert, Jerry Evans, and John Ohnstad. We are

currently considering taking this ministry (Ramp Up

Marathon County - RUMC) on as a part of our church’s

ministry, (which would make it the RUMC of FUMC)

but the point is that Ray began the ministry on his own.

And let me tell you what Pat Higgins is doing. He’s

the one who brought to the church the idea of the Winter

Closet for the Homeless (page 4). We’re already the

base for the semi-annual homeless count, and we already

serve breakfast the next morning. Why not also collect

winter clothing to give away at the January 28-29 event?

Pat’s working with the United Way to coordinate this.

It’s good when the church starts programs as a

group. But just remember, that’s not all the mission that

is being done.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

31 NEW YEAR'S EVE DAY

11:30am Savvy Seniors - The

Mandarin

1 NEW YEAR'S DAY

Office Closed

8:30am AA

2

Office Closed

4:00pm New Life UMC

Meeting

3

4

8:00am Morning Chapel

- Communion

8:45am Education Hour

10:00am New Life UMC Worship

10:00am Worship - Communion

11:00am Coffee Hour

1:00pm Grapevine Faith Alliance Worship

5

3:00pm Communion

- The Gardens

6:00pm Yoga

6

10:00am Program Staff

7

9:30am Sunshine Gals

5:15pm Meal

5:45pm Children's Music Class

6:15pm Adult Classes

6:15pm Nursery/Child Activities

6:30pm Jubilate Bells

7:30pm Chancel Choir

8

8:30am AA

10:30am PNC Steering

Committee

2:00pm Worship - Forest Park

6:30pm UMW Executive

Committee

9

Office Closed

4:00pm New Life UMC

Meeting

10

11




10:00am Worship

11:00am Coffee Hour

11:15am Confirmation Mentors’ Meeting


12

6:00pm Yoga

13

10:00am Full Staff

1:00pm Personal Needs

Closet Open

5:30pm Board of Trustees

14

9:30am Mary Faith UMW Circle

5:15pm Meal






15

8:00am Messenger Articles Due

8:30am AA

10:30am Downtown Memory

Café

5:30pm Love Hope UMW Circle

6:00pm Missions Team

6:30pm Worship Design Team

16

Office Closed

4:00pm New Life UMC

Meeting

17

18 UMW SUNDAY

11:15am UMW Unit Meeting &

Brunch




10:00am Worship

11:00am Coffee Hour


19

6:00pm Yoga

6:15pm NAOMI Martin

Luther King

Banquet

20


1:00pm UMW Book Review -

Mission

6:00pm Staff-Parish Relations

Committee

7:00pm Finance Committee

21

5:15pm Meal






22

8:30am AA

23

Office Closed

4:00pm New Life UMC

Meeting

6:00pm Youth Lock-In

7:30pm Community

Shabbat - Mt.

Sinai

Congregation

24

9:00am Personal Needs Closet

Open

25 BRING 4th FOOD SUNDAY




10:00am Worship

11:00am Coffee Hour


26

6:00pm Yoga

27

1:00pm Prayer Shawl

Gathering

2:00pm Mt View Chapel

Service

3:00pm Kennedy Park Chapel

6:00pm Care Council

7:00pm Welcome &

Communications

28

5:15pm Meal






9:00pm Point-in-Time Homeless

Count

29

7:00am Project Connect

Breakfast

8:30am AA

30

Office Closed

4:00pm New Life UMC

Meeting

31




Mandarin

1 NEW YEAR'S DAY

Office Closed

8:30am AA

2

Office Closed

4:00pm New Life UMC

Meeting

3

4


- Communion




11:00am Coffee Hour


5

3:00pm Communion

- The Gardens

6:00pm Yoga

6


7


5:15pm Meal






8

8:30am AA


Committee



Committee

9

Office Closed

4:00pm New Life UMC

Meeting

10

11




10:00am Worship

11:00am Coffee Hour



12

6:00pm Yoga

13

10:00am Full Staff


Closet Open


14


5:15pm Meal






15


8:30am AA


Café




16

Office Closed

4:00pm New Life UMC

Meeting

17

18 UMW SUNDAY


Brunch




10:00am Worship

11:00am Coffee Hour


19

6:00pm Yoga

6:15pm NAOMI Martin

Luther King

Banquet

20



Mission


Committee


21

5:15pm Meal






22

8:30am AA

23

Office Closed

4:00pm New Life UMC

Meeting


7:30pm Community

Shabbat - Mt.

Sinai

Congregation

24


Open





10:00am Worship

11:00am Coffee Hour


26

6:00pm Yoga

27

1:00pm Prayer Shawl

Gathering


Service


6:00pm Care Council

7:00pm Welcome &

Communications

28

5:15pm Meal







Count

29


Breakfast

8:30am AA

30

Office Closed

4:00pm New Life UMC

Meeting

31

Page 7




Mandarin

1 NEW YEAR'S DAY

Office Closed

8:30am AA

2

Office Closed

4:00pm New Life UMC

Meeting

3

4


- Communion




11:00am Coffee Hour


5

3:00pm Communion

- The Gardens

6:00pm Yoga

6


7


5:15pm Meal






8

8:30am AA


Committee



Committee

9

Office Closed

4:00pm New Life UMC

Meeting

10

11




10:00am Worship

11:00am Coffee Hour



12

6:00pm Yoga

13

10:00am Full Staff


Closet Open


14


5:15pm Meal






15


8:30am AA


Café




16

Office Closed

4:00pm New Life UMC

Meeting

17

18 UMW SUNDAY


Brunch




10:00am Worship

11:00am Coffee Hour


19

6:00pm Yoga

6:15pm NAOMI Martin

Luther King

Banquet

20



Mission


Committee


21

5:15pm Meal






22

8:30am AA

23

Office Closed

4:00pm New Life UMC

Meeting


7:30pm Community

Shabbat - Mt.

Sinai

Congregation

24


Open





10:00am Worship

11:00am Coffee Hour


26

6:00pm Yoga

27

1:00pm Prayer Shawl

Gathering


Service


6:00pm Care Council

7:00pm Welcome &

Communications

28

5:15pm Meal







Count

29


Breakfast

8:30am AA

30

Office Closed

4:00pm New Life UMC

Meeting

31

Page 6




Mandarin

1 NEW YEAR'S DAY

Office Closed

8:30am AA

2

Office Closed

4:00pm New Life UMC

Meeting

3

4


- Communion




11:00am Coffee Hour


5

3:00pm Communion

- The Gardens

6:00pm Yoga

6


7


5:15pm Meal






8

8:30am AA


Committee



Committee

9

Office Closed

4:00pm New Life UMC

Meeting

10

11




10:00am Worship

11:00am Coffee Hour



12

6:00pm Yoga

13

10:00am Full Staff


Closet Open


14


5:15pm Meal






15


8:30am AA


Café




16

Office Closed

4:00pm New Life UMC

Meeting

17

18 UMW SUNDAY


Brunch




10:00am Worship

11:00am Coffee Hour


19

6:00pm Yoga

6:15pm NAOMI Martin

Luther King

Banquet

20



Mission


Committee


21

5:15pm Meal






22

8:30am AA

23

Office Closed

4:00pm New Life UMC

Meeting


7:30pm Community

Shabbat - Mt.

Sinai

Congregation

24


Open





10:00am Worship

11:00am Coffee Hour


26

6:00pm Yoga

27

1:00pm Prayer Shawl

Gathering


Service


6:00pm Care Council

7:00pm Welcome &

Communications

28

5:15pm Meal







Count

29


Breakfast

8:30am AA

30

Office Closed

4:00pm New Life UMC

Meeting

31

FAITH FORMATION

God Is Forming All of Us...

New Year’s Resolutions Natalie Bannon [www.umcom.org/learn/best-new-

years-resolutions-for-connecting-with-your-community] notes four common resolutions people make at this time of year: get fit, help others, spiritual boost and career improvement. Supporting a friend or partner in their goals is a way to connect with them on their journey.

A United Methodist church in Iowa sponsors exercise groups. A physical fitness program is a way to welcome others and can lead to a consideration of spiritual fitness.

One of the most common New Year's resolutions is volunteering to help others. Participating in or creating an outreach project builds our local church and community. Find ideas at umcom.org/rethinkchurch. Take advantage of service opportunities in the Wausau area.

Are you resolving to pray more and make additional time to read the Bible? Consider starting a small group to encourage each other to keep this resolution. Abundant group resources are available. Intentional time to grow your spiritual life can also help manage stress.

Another resolution people often make is to improve their work lives through new career opportunities. In Georgia the Roswell United Methodist Church offers a job ministry connected with Crossroads Career Network at www.crossroadscareer.org. What a blessing to help someone find work.

As you craft a New Year’s resolution, consider how you might put some aspect of our baptismal vows into specific, practical action. Make your faith real, incarnate.

The Baptismal Vows

For United Methodists, the vows for baptism and for church membership are the same. “By one Spirit we are all baptized into one body” says the apostle (1 Corinthians 12:13):

To renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of the world, and repent of one’s sin;

To accept the freedom and power God gives to resist evil, injustice, and oppression;

To confess Jesus Christ as Savior, put one’s whole trust in His grace, and promise to serve Him as one’s Lord;

To remain a faithful member of Christ’s holy church and serve as Christ’s representative in the world;

To be loyal to the United Methodist Church and do all in one’s power to strengthen its ministries;

To participate faithfully in its ministries by one’s prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness;

To receive and profess the Christian faith as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.

CORE Time Together At First United Methodist Church in Wausau, we talk

and walk four purposes of Care, Formation, Worship and Outreach. When we spend CORE time together, we grow in our values and support others.

I am the Vine, you are the branches. — John 15:5

CORE time together has two goals:

1. Know the Vine. Focus and try on for size one of our four purposes of being church.

2. Know the Branches. In the process of practicing a CORE purpose together, get to know others better.

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”— Matthew 18:20

ANYONE can initiate an invitation to spend CORE time together: 1. Choose a focus and share an invitation we can post in bulletins, Facebook, etc. 2. Read, consider, and RSVP to an invitation as they arise.

Listen to the Spirit...keep it simple.

Last Fall, because members took an initiative, we were blessed with two Hymn Sings, a Wednesday series on Prayer and another on Incarnation.

What will be our Winter delight the next three months? What invitation can you create for “two or three” to gather a few times in the coming weeks?

Conversations for Couples "For the new year, we resolve to commit quality time

to strengthen our relationship." Couples who make this, or a similar resolution, are invited to take a step with other couples on Wednesday, January 7— February 11, 6:15-7:30pm.

We have invested in some “conversation starters” from www.bettermarriages.org/ to explore topics of interest, such as Communication, Feelings, Anger and Conflict, Relationship Assessment and Affirmation.

Gatherings will include input, time for couple dialogue and some group sharing. Try out any or all of the scheduled times.

Our goals include 1) better marriages and 2) improved couple-to-couple ministry in our church.

Participating couples will decide what other resources we want to use—video programs or popular assessments such as “The Couple Checkup: Find Your Relationship Strengths.”

We will also explore other marriage enrichment and peer ministry possibilities, including a Date Night or Church Dinner for Valentine’s Day.

OUTREACH A Year of Personal Needs, 2014

It hardly seems possible that we are closing our fourth full year of this

ministry that has come to define our church in many people’s minds. (We

began in September of 2010.) As you know, we are open only twice a

month for two hours each time (1-3pm on the 2nd Tuesday; 9-11am on the

4th Saturday). By the numbers, here is what we have done this year.

Number of separate visits: 749 (avg. 33 visits each time open)

Number of different families: 406

Individuals (in those families: 1,326

One concern that many have in any ministry like this is how we protect

ourselves from being taken advantage of. The PNC is supposed to help

people over a rough time, not provide a handout that enables people not to

get a job. Of course there will always be those who play the charity

system. With that in mind, we limit the number of times a family may

visit the closet to four (4) times per calendar year. In light of that, here are

some other numbers:

Families who used all four permitted visits: 55

Families who visited us only once in 2014: 225

This corresponds to my own experience working at the closet. Very few

people want to be there. Many are embarrassed to ask for help. Most only

come when they can’t think of anything else to do. And we are there.

Thank you. It’s been a good year.

January Mission Offering

Community Meals

Sometimes we start ministries

ourselves: like the Personal Needs

Closet and the Downtown

Memory Café. Often those

ministries become community

ministries, as others get involved

in them. Other times though, we’re

the community getting involved in

ministry begun by others. That is

the case with the Community

Meals that are served every

Sunday evening at the First

Presbyterian Church. We serve

that meal every 5th Sunday and

occasionally other times as

needed. This month, our mission

offering will go to underwrite the

grocery bills of that ministry.

And think about volunteering to

help, too. We can use dishwashers,

servers, greeters, and people to sit

and talk. Gwen and Denny Carey

head up this ministry and can

answer questions if you have

them.

Page 5

Homegrown Mission Work

We love to print reports like the one above, about the

PNC, showing how the official ministries of our church

- sponsored and carried out by our own members in our

own building have done this or that great thing.

Well, that’s good. But the task of the church,

according to Matthew 28:18-20, is to make disciples.

With that in mind, the true measure of our success is not

how many people we’ve given shampoo, but how many

of our own people are growing in ministry - which is

something that doesn’t always happen in our own

ministries.

Let me tell you what Ray Nowaczyk has been up to.

The community agency Faith in Action has recently

discontinued that part of their program that builds ramps

for people who have trouble with steps. So Ray and

some friends started doing it themselves. (Ray’s a

skilled carpenter; he built the manger in the Christmas

pictures on page 2.) Since starting out, Ray has invited

others from our church to join him, involving Wes

Ebert, Jerry Evans, and John Ohnstad. We are

currently considering taking this ministry (Ramp Up

Marathon County - RUMC) on as a part of our church’s

ministry, (which would make it the RUMC of FUMC)

but the point is that Ray began the ministry on his own.

And let me tell you what Pat Higgins is doing. He’s

the one who brought to the church the idea of the Winter

Closet for the Homeless (page 4). We’re already the

base for the semi-annual homeless count, and we already

serve breakfast the next morning. Why not also collect

winter clothing to give away at the January 28-29 event?

Pat’s working with the United Way to coordinate this.

It’s good when the church starts programs as a

group. But just remember, that’s not all the mission that

is being done.

CARE / OUTREACH

Bring 4th Food

This month, our

4th Sunday Food

collection

(January 25)

will be given to the

Women’s Community

UNITED

METHODIST

WOMEN

Circle Meetings

January 14

Mary Faith Circle - 9:30am

January 15

Love Hope Circle - 5:30pm

(Bring finger food)

Other Upcoming Events:

January 7

Sunshine Gals - 9:30am

January 8

Executive Committee - 6:30pm

January 18

UMW Sunday

Installation of Officers - 10:00am

UMW Unit Meeting & Brunch

- 11:15am

January 20

Book Review, Missions - 1:00pm

Page 4

Homeless Count, Breakfast, and, Now, Winter Closet

January 28-29, 2015

Once again, our church will serve as the base for the United Way’s

semi-annual count of the homeless population in Marathon County.

Volunteers from around the county will meet in our Fellowship Hall on

Wednesday, January 28, for instructions and coffee at 9:00 pm, then go

out to count those in our community without shelter.

The next morning at 7:00, back in the Fellowship Hall, we’ll be serving

breakfast to the homeless and to community volunteers at “Project

Connect” - a place where people may meet with representatives from

agencies and programs that work with housing needs.

And this year, our church is helping with

a new initiative, a Winter Closet. We

would like to give away winter coats,

gloves, scarves, hats, boots, and any

other protective gear that might help

people who are often exposed to the

cold. If you have winter gear in good

condition that you could donate,

please bring it to the church. Thank

you to Pat Higgins and the men’s

group for spearheading this drive.

COOKIE WALK REPORT

The United Methodist Women would like to thank everyone who made our annual Cookie Walk successful again. It couldn't have been done without the bakers, decorators, bread makers, arrangers, sellers, dishwashers, Coffee Hour workers and especially the buyers! All the proceeds go to mission work locally, nationally and globally to help children, youth and women wherever there is a need. The remaining cookies and treats went to local missions including the Community Christmas Dinner. To find out more about the UMW, ask a United Methodist Woman. Also, learn more about us on Sunday, January 18th.

The Mission Store reports that it sold

$1,559.00 of Third World handcrafts

at their December 14 store at our

church. Thank you all.

Africa ELI, 2013-2014

Our partnership with this pro-

gram in South Sudan continues.

To date, we have raised

$2,176.00 toward their new well

and the new classroom building.

Imagine No Malaria

Thank you to all who gave in to

this Church and Conference-wide

initiative in November. Our goal

this year is $4,000, and so far we

have collected $624.40.

Disciples in the Making ...All the Time

Twelve Days of Christmas Don’t short change yourself on celebrating the great

feast of the Incarnation, which extends to January 6 in many traditions. We had an exciting Advent, including the Lessons & Carols service and the Children’s program. Then the gift of Pastor Jerry’s story on Christmas eve.

Many thanks, by the way, to all who contributed to the children’s program. That morning we found out the girl playing the role of Mary was sick. Courtney Rohland rose to the occasion with only one walk through the script, which we have posted on Sermon Links at http://fumcwausau.org/ Angels were superb—as is their nature.

Children had a hand in writing the lines this year, and two high school youth, Sarah Cowan and Danielle Del Conte, have already volunteered to head the writing team for 2015. They welcome other collaborators.

Community Shabbat — January 23 The Community Shabbat is Mt. Sinai Congregation’s

annual service and open house when they "slow down the service" and take time to explain the meaning of many of the prayers and rituals. Afterwards, gather for an Oneg Shabbat (a Shabbat social) when Rabbi Dan is available to answer questions. This year's Community Shabbat will be on Friday evening, January 23, 7:30-9:30pm.

Groups and individuals are welcome to come, but they ask that we RSVP so they can get a sense of the numbers of visitors for the evening—sign-up sheet is in the Parlor.

Youth Lock-In — January 23 With a tie into the Shabbat service, Zoë Martin and

Karli Johnson are planning a January Lock-In. You can contact them with your suggestions. Details are not final, but we will probably gather at 6:00pm at church to prep for the Shabbat—so our questions aren’t too dumb; stay for the social and then return to church for activities and overnight at church. We need adult chaperones, too!

Wednesday ChurchFamily Nights Many churches schedule activities for the whole family

on Wednesdays. So do we! Be part of our Wednesday ChurchFamily Nights to build family, faith and church community connections, January 7-February 11.

Family Meal, 5:15-6:00pm Buffet table catered by The Mint Café at a reasonable

cost. Weekly menu is posted in the Parlor and you can sign up to bring a dessert or salad in lieu of a donation. All ages welcome at this church family gathering.

January 7: Baked Chicken January 14: Roast Beef January 21: Roast Pork Loin January 28: Swedish Meatballs February 4: Swiss Steak February 11: Roast Turkey

Children’s Music Class, 5:45-6:15pm This popular activity resumes January 7 in Bell Room.

Children’s Activities until 7:30pm Activities organized by age groups as appropriate from

5:45pm (and 6:15pm) until 7:30pm.

Adult Learning, 6:15-7:30pm We are offering two opportunities during the six weeks

before Lent begins: 1) a bible study with Pastor Jerry on the Book of Revelation; and 2) Cool Conversations for Couples.

Another Study on Revelation: Will This Stuff Never End?

The Left Behind books just got another movie, with Nick Cage this time instead of Kirk Cameron. Once again, the End Times have elbowed themselves into the national consciousness - or at least the version of them that involves a Rapture and a Seven-Year Tribulation and a Millennium of Christ reigning on earth before a final battle. But that’s all in the Bible, right?

Well, let’s see. Let’s spend some time on Wednesday evenings looking at what the Bible actually says and how different people over the centuries have interpreted it.

Some people seem to spend all their time in Revelation, as if that were all that mattered in scripture. Others spend no time there at all, as if it were an accidental download that God had meant to delete before printing. Let’s see if there is a way to take this book seriously without turning into more religious hacks predicting the date of the end, over and over.

Beginning January 7, at 6:15pm, following the Wednesday night meals.

Notable Quote "Christians seem to think Christ is Jesus’ last name. What Jesus allows us to imagine—because we see it in him—is that the divine and the human are forever one. God did not just take on one human nature, although that is where we could first risk imagining it in the body of Jesus. God took on all human nature and said “yes” to it forever! In varying degrees and with infinite qualities, God took on everything physical, material, and natural as himself. That is the full meaning of the Incarnation. To allow such a momentous truth, to fully believe it, to enjoy it in practical ways, to suffer it with and for others—this is what it means to be a Chris-tian! Nothing less will do now. Nothing less will save the world." — Richard Rohr

Resources for Ministry Financial Update - November 2014 YTD

FUMC Wired

Website: fumcwausau.org

With links to the weekly sermon

(text and podcast)

facebook.com/WausauFUMC

WiFi Network: FUMC Public

(password: fumcpublic)

Revenue Expense

Pledged Offering $ 220,111.40 Salaries & Benefits $ 210,286.74

Non-Pledged Offering $ 47,456.18 Programming $ 27,866.75

Other $ 38,196.52 Apportionments to Conference $ 50,369.00

Building Operating Expenses $ 60,450.61

Total Revenue $ 305,764.10 Total Expenses $ 348,973.10

Net YTD $ -43,209.00

YTD 2014 Pledged & Non-Pledged Offerings compared to YTD 2013 $741.41 higher

YTD 2014 Total Expenses compared to YTD 2013 5,164.77 lower

YTD 2014 Other Income compared to YTD 2013 2,706.83 higher

YTD 2014 Endowment Transfer compared to 2013 10,000.00 lower

Sacred Space: Caring for Our Place of Ministry In January, we will

resume our Wednesday

dinners in the Fellow-

ship Hall, and it will

become a place for the

family to gather and

grow. Then in late Janu-

ary, the Fellowship Hall

will once again be the

base for the community outreach to the homeless. It is

a place for ministry. And thanks to the Aesthetics

Committee and a litany of volunteers, that place for

ministry is no longer a sickly pale institutional green.

On December 6, that team completely repainted the

Fellowship Hall, and - for good measure - scrubbed

down the Chapel and Sanctuary. They worked from

7:00am until about 7:00pm, preparing our space for

service.

Thank you to these members:

Nancy Bogumill, Bruce Brandenburg, Eileen

Denfeld, Jerry Evans, Yvonne Firary, Terry Flath,

Don and Sue Kissinger, Bonnie Goertz, Jen and

Mickey Marzu, Beth, Brian, Courtney, Logan and

Morgan Rohland, Alice and Stan Schacht, Vivian

Thompson, Anna and Ella Weiland, Barb

Weyenburg, Bob Wylie, and Diane and Mike

Zahn.

We are particularly grateful to Brian Rohland and

Nancy Bogumill who used friendships and contacts in

the community to bring this project in at about a

quarter of its actual cost. Heidi, from Sherwin Williams

Paint provided paint at pennies on the dollar, and Dave

St. Clair, Jr., and Inthasone Chindakone (Sing) from

JAS Construction not only brought their professional

painting equipment and scaffolding but stayed and put

in around 16 hours of volunteer labor. Everyone

worked hard that day to refurbish our own space, but

no one worked harder than Junior and Sing. Thank you

to all!

————————————————————————————————————————————

CARE

Page 3

Savvy Seniors will not meet in January, having met on New

Year’s Eve Day at the Mandarin. The next lunch will be at

11:30am on Monday, February 4 - place to be announced.

We Celebrate the

Downtown Memory Café

As we end 2014 and look back

over the year, several things stand

out, but perhaps most exciting is a

new ministry begun.

The Downtown

Memory Café was

proposed by Charlie

Schoenfeld, was

embraced by our

Ministries Council,

was planned and conducted by the

new Care Council, and has light-

ened the lives of dozens of people

dealing with the effects of

dementia since opening in May.

Through the Café, we have seen

members and guests find welcome

and laughter in this place; and, as

a church, we have seen members

inspired to new levels of service.

It has been a good year.

Are We a Church That Cares for Each Other? Apparently So!

Many of you have seen this on our church Facebook page, but it’s worth noting again. A Wausau man has begun a 52-

week journey, planning to visit 52 different churches. We were his Week 7, on November 23. Now that was a good

week for him to visit. That was the week we collected food, personal items, and money to fight Malaria; so he saw our

heart for mission. But what he commented on was our love for each other. Some quotes from his blog:

The entire congregation was proud of their church. The service began with the Welcome and Greeting. This wasn’t

the typical, “make sure to greet those around you” type of forced handshakes . . . No, First United was a true church

family. Everyone . . . got off their keisters and floated around . . . to have genuine conversations.

Of all the churches I’ve visited, this one felt the most like going home to visit friends and relatives on Thanksgiving.

Thank you for being the church that so joyously welcomed this pilgrim. To read the whole blog, go to:

https://medium.com/52-churches-in-52-weeks/toilet-paper-puns-are-tearable-5ca68c46cb9e.

* Signifies an honored elder in a senior facility. We invite you this month to

remember these members in your prayers.

1 Alice Schacht Brad Opper Jennifer Johnson 2 Sandra Salzman Amelia Higgins 3 Susan Rye Grant Smart 5 David Erickson Parker Frey 6 Mitchell Goertz 7 Gail Cain Scott Denfeld Mary Towle Samantha Sutton Christine Melville 8 Michael Sydow LaRae Horton Presley Wyrick

9 Peter Mattiacci 12 Michael Turner Alonzo Dvorak 13 Debra Martin John Stange 15 P. Elaine Sorenson* Remi Taylor 16 Duane LaCrosse 19 Andy Sutton 20 Alan Hauber Lila Rouse 21 Mary Ann Dykes Arlene Gundelfinger Wib Johnson 22 Robin Jones

23 Stephen Moede 25 Gbemi Taylor Brittney Johnson 26 Don Misoni 27 Dorothy Hackbarth* Shirley Johnson Krueger Sophie Marschall Julie Willems Van Dijk Nathan Werhane Brady Dahl 31 Jeffery Koss

Milestones

We grieve this month with John

Ohnstad whose mother, Maxine,

died on December 24 in Madison,

and with all the family and friends

of our own Ruth Church, who

died on December 26.

————————————————————————————————

——————————————

STAFF

Pastor: Gerald Morris

[email protected]

Music Ministry Coordinator: Susan Hamilton

[email protected]

Faith Formation Coordinator: Leo Jacoby

[email protected]

Building Engineer: Andy White

Accounts & Records Supervisor: Karen Kellbach

[email protected]

Secretary: Arlene Trull

[email protected]

Web-site: www.fumcwausau.org E-mail: [email protected]

Worship at Forest Park - a monthly service.

Giving thanks and giving back November 23, 2014

Preparing our house for the coming of Christ!

December hymn sing lead by Nancy Runner

Our men’s fellowship learning to bake pies!

United Methodist Women Annual Baking Day, on Dec. 11th, for the Cookie Walk

Church staff having fun and fellowship during Christmas!

2014 is over...Greetings to 2015! What a wonderful year it has been - however, I am left wondering where did 2014 go and what will 2015 bring for us? I cannot begin to show my appreciation to the people that have made all of our services possible - the talent and dedication of all involved has shone through. I love and thank each and every one of you for making dreams come true. All of our choirs will be back in rehearsal on January 7, 2015 - let’s make 2015 even bigger and better!

MUSIC - STORY -SONG ANNUAL LESSONS & CAROLS and SUNDAY SCHOOL PROGRAM

Corine Laub and Tom Kelley

Karen and Steve Beck

TH

E M

ES

SE

NG

ER

FI

RS

T U

NI

TE

D M

ET

HO

DI

ST

C

HU

RC

H O

F W

AU

SA

U

JANUARY

2015

FROM PASTOR JERRY’S DESK

Echoes

There are, especially in the South, some churches that call themselves

“Primitive.” There are Primitive Methodists, Primitive Baptists, and lots of

Primitive Other Stuff. What those churches mean by that term is that they

don’t do anything – anything – unless it is explicitly described in the New

Testament. Sunday Schools? No; they aren’t mentioned in the New Testa-

ment. Missionary boards and sending agencies? No; not explicitly named in

scripture. Musical instruments? Nope. Not in the New Testament. The idea

seems to be that whatever the New Testament Church is described as doing

is the way things ought to be – and the only way things ought to be.

Wouldn’t it be simple if we could do that? If we could just take the New Tes-

tament as the sole and final authority on everything, exactly as it is? What

the NT says is final, and if the NT doesn’t mention it, then it’s wrong. But

here are some of the consequences of that line of thought if we try to be con-

sistent. Women would have to wear head coverings in church and could not

have short hair (1 Cor. 11). Slavery would be perfectly fine (Eph. 6, 1 Tim.

6, Philemon, etc.). Not paying your full offering to church would be a capital

offense (Acts 5). People from Crete would all be lazy, vicious, gluttons

(Titus 1), and marriage would be a last resort, a necessary concession that

God has allowed for weak people (1 Cor. 7). Sermons would last from dinner

until midnight (Acts 20:7).

It seems better to me – though admittedly much harder – to read the inspired

words of scripture as the record of God’s people trying to find their way in a

difficult world. Called by God, empowered by God, seeking God, they some-

times respond to their world in ways that demonstrate the very heart of God.

Other times they screw up royally. Our task as interpreters of scripture is not

just to do whatever they did in the Bible but rather to look to the witness of

scripture for echoes of our own situation and learn from both the victories

and the mistakes of God’s people.

We’re going to explore this task in the coming weeks. On Sunday mornings,

I will be preaching about some of those “Echoes.” We will look at seven dif-

ferent times when the community of the faithful (Israel in the Old Testament;

the Church in the New) faced challenges in their society, how they re-

sponded, and – most of all – where was God in it all? We will encounter he-

roes worth emulating. We will encounter horrible mistakes worth avoiding.

We will meet people of faith who fit easily and comfortably in their culture,

and we will meet others who stand against culture for all they are worth. But

mostly, I suspect, we will meet ourselves.

Whatever we find, though, I can promise you this: we aren’t going to en-

counter scripture that serves as a straightforward blueprint for our lives.

What we will find will be much messier and immeasurably more difficult

than that: we will hear stories that invite us to think, to reflect, and then to

choose our own way among the echoes.

Sunday, January 25, 3rd Sunday after Epiphany


10:00am - Worship





10:00am - Worship





10:00am - Worship

“Different People?”

Isaiah 56:3-8

*We observe Open Communion. All are welcome at

God’s table.

Sermon Series: Echoes for God’s People

Sunday, January 4, Epiphany

8:00am - Morning Chapel with Communion*

10:00am - Worship with Communion*

“A Minority People”

Genesis 34

Sunday, January 11, 1st Sunday after Epiphany


10:00am - Worship

“An Oppressed People”

Exodus 3:1-12

Sunday, January 18, United Methodist Women Day


10:00am - Worship

“The Other People”

Judges 3

Church Purpose:Church Purpose:Church Purpose:

Live and Share God's LoveLive and Share God's Love

NON PROFIT

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

PERMIT NO. 542

WAUSAU, WI 54403

The Messenger First United Methodist Church of Wausau

903 Third Street

Wausau, WI 54403

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Phone 715 842-2201 Website: www.fumcwausau.org

fumc messenger - january 2015

Documents

new testament church

weak people

people of faith

heart of god

mistakes of gods people

record of gods people

interpreters of scripture

witness of scripture