September 2007
From the Pastor:
This past week our family celebrated our son’s ninth birthday. It’s unbelievable how the years have flown by. With those years have come much change. No longer is our son two feet tall with missing teeth. That’s what he looked like when we first arrived in Winneconne. Now he is almost as tall as I am. Of course some of you may think that this isn’t saying much. But coming from a family of short people, I would have to say that our son is tall. Changes are part of our daily lives. Each year we get older. We see new wrinkles. Our hair gets grayer. But we also grow in wisdom. At least we hope we do.
Churches are the same way. They grow and change in ways that reflect its people. But change is difficult because it implies loss. And let’s face it, none of us likes loss. Unless you are trying to lose weight. During the next couple of weeks the Session will begin a process of discernment with the congregation. During this process we will look at how we have grown in the last 20 years. We will celebrate the different things we have engaged in during the last seven years. We will also look at what’s next for our congregation. The congregation will be invited to join session in town hall meetings held on September 9th and 16th after worship. Our hope is to celebrate our accomplishments as well as to look toward our future. Together we will ponder what changes we will need to engage in as we continue to celebrate our promised future. But we will also lift up those things we want to remain the same. Five years ago when we engaged in a period of discernment, several recommendations came to Session. Many of those recommendations were incorporated. Some could not be. One of the recommendations was to evaluate our progress after five years. Well it’s been five years.
Now it is time to evauate where we are and where God is calling us to be. Think about it. How have you participated in the life of the church during the last five years? What things do you wish to celebrate? What things do you still wish we could incorporate? Churches that engage in self evaluation, discernment, and visioning are more likely to do what God is leading them to do. But the reality is that most churches would rather stay as they are. No evaluative or discernment process is ever done. The result is church decline and stagnation. We invite you to join us on September 9, at 10:00 a.m. to engage in this process with us. We encourage you to pray for our ministry. We invite you to share your story of First Presbyterian and to help us be a faithful witness for years to come. If you are unable to come on the 9th, a repeat town hall meeting is scheduled for September 16. I’d like to end my article with the following prayer I ran across last week. "O Faithful God, as your people we cherish our memories and our history as a sacred gift--We now need your wisdom so that we might be receptive to change, conversion and growth--We need your grace to redirect our hearts that we may be willing to offer ourselves in joyful service. Amen"
In love and peace,
Pastor Mara
Worship for the Month of September
September 2, 2007
Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
9:00 a.m. Worship with Communion by Intinction
Readings: Jeremiah 2:4-13 and Luke 14:1, 7-14
Sermon Theme: What can the 50th anniversary of an epic failure teach us about learning from our mistakes? Jeremiah certainly tries to show us the mistakes of the people of God so that we can avoid the same pitfalls.
______________________________________
September 9, 2007
Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
9:00 a.m. Worship
Readings: Jeremiah 18:1-11 and Luke 14:25-33
Sermon Theme: It’s amazing what gets people bent out of shape. For some, it’s the grunters lifting weights. For Jesus, it’s the people who don’t lift the cross.
_______________________________________
September 16, 2007
Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
9:00 a.m. Worship
Readings: Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 and Luke 15:1-10
Sermon Theme: Did you know that any lock can be quickly picked with a credit card or paper clip? Only in the movies. The lost sheep and the lost coin, these are things that happen only in the gospel. But maybe stories from Scripture point to a deeper truth, one that is even more real than the day-to-day existence we experience. Perhaps the stories of the gospel are God’s truth, not human truth.
_____________________________________
September 23, 2007
Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
9:00 a.m. Worship
Readings: Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 and Luke 16:1-13
Sermon Theme: The dishonest manager in Jesus’ parable can help us see the role of initiative and drastic measures in the life of faith.
___________________________________________
September 30, 2007
Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
9:00 a.m. Worship
Readings: Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 and 1Timothy 6:6-19
Sermon Theme: Health and Wealth isn’t just a derogatory descriptor of Christian theology gone awry. It’s the Secret, and it’s whispering lies of happiness into our ears.
News from our Deacons:
The Deacons in our church have been busy all summer with new projects as well as ongoing ones, and have a few annual ones coming up we’d d like you to know about.
As you may know, we sold lemonade, water, and cookies at Marble Park on Saturday and Sunday of Sovereign State Days, raising money for our church’s youth.
At one point this summer, the local food pantry (Winneconne Area Assistance Center …. WAAC) was not giving anything out because the shelves were completely empty. Due in large part to a heartfelt plea from Betty Brown in mid-August, our church family responded generously. Deacons took the food and supplies over there, resulting in many expressions of gratitude. Thanks, folks! And thank you, Betty, for highlighting this opportunity to share God’s bounty. Please keep the food pantry in mind, though, as this was not just a one-time need.
The Mitten Tree and the box for Coats for Kids – both for needy children – are now up at church, offering more opportunities to give. Please go through your jackets and coats, as you put away your warm-weather things and bring out the winter ones, and bring in those you no longer wear. Some people have none at all.
The annual Chili Supper is scheduled for Wednesday night, October 17, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., with a raffle at the end. Please come and bring a friend! We hope everyone can help us by donating chili ingredients, desserts, and/or money toward more ingredients. Also, we need volunteers to put it all together, beginning at 8:30 a.m. the day before. There are sign-up sheets in the entryway. Please consider helping us in both of these ways.As usual, Deacons continue to visit shut-ins, those in need, etc., and to send cards for birthdays of our “more senior” members and to those who are sick or grieving. The Shawl Ministry continues, as well as the Sewing Project. Among other ongoing ministries not already mentioned above are their special observances on certain Sundays, the Special Needs Fund, and the Circle of Concern. Being a Deacon is about caring.
This past week our family celebrated our son’s ninth birthday. It’s unbelievable how the years have flown by. With those years have come much change. No longer is our son two feet tall with missing teeth. That’s what he looked like when we first arrived in Winneconne. Now he is almost as tall as I am. Of course some of you may think that this isn’t saying much. But coming from a family of short people, I would have to say that our son is tall. Changes are part of our daily lives. Each year we get older. We see new wrinkles. Our hair gets grayer. But we also grow in wisdom. At least we hope we do.
Churches are the same way. They grow and change in ways that reflect its people. But change is difficult because it implies loss. And let’s face it, none of us likes loss. Unless you are trying to lose weight. During the next couple of weeks the Session will begin a process of discernment with the congregation. During this process we will look at how we have grown in the last 20 years. We will celebrate the different things we have engaged in during the last seven years. We will also look at what’s next for our congregation. The congregation will be invited to join session in town hall meetings held on September 9th and 16th after worship. Our hope is to celebrate our accomplishments as well as to look toward our future. Together we will ponder what changes we will need to engage in as we continue to celebrate our promised future. But we will also lift up those things we want to remain the same. Five years ago when we engaged in a period of discernment, several recommendations came to Session. Many of those recommendations were incorporated. Some could not be. One of the recommendations was to evaluate our progress after five years. Well it’s been five years.
Now it is time to evauate where we are and where God is calling us to be. Think about it. How have you participated in the life of the church during the last five years? What things do you wish to celebrate? What things do you still wish we could incorporate? Churches that engage in self evaluation, discernment, and visioning are more likely to do what God is leading them to do. But the reality is that most churches would rather stay as they are. No evaluative or discernment process is ever done. The result is church decline and stagnation. We invite you to join us on September 9, at 10:00 a.m. to engage in this process with us. We encourage you to pray for our ministry. We invite you to share your story of First Presbyterian and to help us be a faithful witness for years to come. If you are unable to come on the 9th, a repeat town hall meeting is scheduled for September 16. I’d like to end my article with the following prayer I ran across last week. "O Faithful God, as your people we cherish our memories and our history as a sacred gift--We now need your wisdom so that we might be receptive to change, conversion and growth--We need your grace to redirect our hearts that we may be willing to offer ourselves in joyful service. Amen"
In love and peace,
Pastor Mara
Worship for the Month of September
September 2, 2007
Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
9:00 a.m. Worship with Communion by Intinction
Readings: Jeremiah 2:4-13 and Luke 14:1, 7-14
Sermon Theme: What can the 50th anniversary of an epic failure teach us about learning from our mistakes? Jeremiah certainly tries to show us the mistakes of the people of God so that we can avoid the same pitfalls.
______________________________________
September 9, 2007
Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
9:00 a.m. Worship
Readings: Jeremiah 18:1-11 and Luke 14:25-33
Sermon Theme: It’s amazing what gets people bent out of shape. For some, it’s the grunters lifting weights. For Jesus, it’s the people who don’t lift the cross.
_______________________________________
September 16, 2007
Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
9:00 a.m. Worship
Readings: Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 and Luke 15:1-10
Sermon Theme: Did you know that any lock can be quickly picked with a credit card or paper clip? Only in the movies. The lost sheep and the lost coin, these are things that happen only in the gospel. But maybe stories from Scripture point to a deeper truth, one that is even more real than the day-to-day existence we experience. Perhaps the stories of the gospel are God’s truth, not human truth.
_____________________________________
September 23, 2007
Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
9:00 a.m. Worship
Readings: Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 and Luke 16:1-13
Sermon Theme: The dishonest manager in Jesus’ parable can help us see the role of initiative and drastic measures in the life of faith.
___________________________________________
September 30, 2007
Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
9:00 a.m. Worship
Readings: Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 and 1Timothy 6:6-19
Sermon Theme: Health and Wealth isn’t just a derogatory descriptor of Christian theology gone awry. It’s the Secret, and it’s whispering lies of happiness into our ears.
News from our Deacons:
The Deacons in our church have been busy all summer with new projects as well as ongoing ones, and have a few annual ones coming up we’d d like you to know about.
As you may know, we sold lemonade, water, and cookies at Marble Park on Saturday and Sunday of Sovereign State Days, raising money for our church’s youth.
At one point this summer, the local food pantry (Winneconne Area Assistance Center …. WAAC) was not giving anything out because the shelves were completely empty. Due in large part to a heartfelt plea from Betty Brown in mid-August, our church family responded generously. Deacons took the food and supplies over there, resulting in many expressions of gratitude. Thanks, folks! And thank you, Betty, for highlighting this opportunity to share God’s bounty. Please keep the food pantry in mind, though, as this was not just a one-time need.
The Mitten Tree and the box for Coats for Kids – both for needy children – are now up at church, offering more opportunities to give. Please go through your jackets and coats, as you put away your warm-weather things and bring out the winter ones, and bring in those you no longer wear. Some people have none at all.
The annual Chili Supper is scheduled for Wednesday night, October 17, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., with a raffle at the end. Please come and bring a friend! We hope everyone can help us by donating chili ingredients, desserts, and/or money toward more ingredients. Also, we need volunteers to put it all together, beginning at 8:30 a.m. the day before. There are sign-up sheets in the entryway. Please consider helping us in both of these ways.As usual, Deacons continue to visit shut-ins, those in need, etc., and to send cards for birthdays of our “more senior” members and to those who are sick or grieving. The Shawl Ministry continues, as well as the Sewing Project. Among other ongoing ministries not already mentioned above are their special observances on certain Sundays, the Special Needs Fund, and the Circle of Concern. Being a Deacon is about caring.
posted by harmon at
2:55 PM
