Presbyterian Today 's Guide for Young Adult Ministry is a must-read for everyone who wants to better understand young adults and engage them in worship, education, and service. Order now! 
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The Milwaukee Bucks are offering a "Faith & Family Night" on February 20th at 7:30 pm. Reduced tickets are available. Groups are encouraged. Please click for more information. |
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The called presbytery meeting for Tuesday, February 10 has been cancelled. Unfortunately the mediation teams representing Oostburg church and the Presbytery of Milwaukee did not reach an agreement. There will be a full report at the February 21 stated meeting at Crossroads church in Mequon.
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"4 PM"- FOUR PRESBYTERIES MEETING
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Our May Presbytery meeting will be in Wisconsin Dells!
Please mark your calendars for a special event that will involve the 4 Wisconsin presbyteries (John Knox, Northern Waters, Winnebago, and Milwaukee) on May 3 & 4 at the Kalahari Resort and Convention Center in Wisconsin Dells. The keynote speaker will be the Rev. Dr. Ken McFayden, author of "Strategic Leadership For a Change - Facing Our Losses, Finding Our Future". We will have opportunities to meet, worship and dine with other Presbyterians from around the state, gather as individual presbyteries for individual presbytery meetings, and enjoy the Kalahari Resort. Watch for registration details in the coming weeks. Click for flier. You won't want to miss it!
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Please keep the Milwaukee, Good Shepherd Trinity congregation in your prayers, as their long time organist Karen Stabelfeldt passed away last week. Services were held. Click here to read the Journal/Sentinel article and obituary for Karen. |
- Tomorrow is the deadline!! The Session Annual Statistical report is due by February 5th. Please enter your 2014 statistics by this date. All necessary information for going online is in the blue clerk letter found in the November church packet handed out at the November presbytery meeting or mailed to the church. Call Chris 414-292-2740 or email if you have any questions.
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Hands-on Mission at Grace Presbyterian's ministry "Graced Saturday Mornings". Join us providing critical daytime care to the homeless of Milwaukee who are evening Guests of Divine Intervention Ministry to the Homeless. Ministry hours are 8am-noon, needed each Saturday through the end of March. Two Hosts are sought for each morning. Training provided. To find out more and/or to sign up please email: [email protected].
Also, Larry Under The Bridge is looking for more communities to help make bagged dinners delivered to campers in the greater BayView area 52 Sundays a year. Need is increasing! To find out more and be in ministry with us, contact Larry at [email protected].
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SHARING THE MINISTRY
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Mr. Welfare
Stay away from me, Mr. Welfare.
They just keep on saying I'm a lazy woman,
don't love my children and I'm mentally unfit.
From "Mr. Welfare Man," Gladys Knight 1974
If Governor Walker has his way, recipients of government assistance in Wisconsin will add the line, "And they say I'm on drugs" to the above song. In his address last evening, Governor Walker said, "The next step is to require able-bodied adults without children to pass a drug test in order to get a welfare check. For those who fail, we will provide treatment, so we can help them get off of drugs." I'm not sure what the Governor plans to do about the fourth amendment, or if passed, how the state will implement an affordable drug testing plan that doesn't cost more to administrate than dollars it saves. Perhaps they should talk with Minnesota first*.
I wonder, who is the Governor appealing to, and what is their image of the average person receiving welfare benefits? In his address the Governor said, ". . . these programs should be a temporary safety net-not a hammock."
The image of someone in a hammock, takes us down the road of the image of a lazy, physically able but not mentally fit person on drugs. Echoes of Mr. Welfare 1974.
The point of the song, "Mr. Welfare" is that those on welfare do not want to be on welfare because of the shameful picture the government and society paints of them. People mess up. People get down on their luck. There are some people who lose their car and walk 21 miles to work everyday**, while others lose their car and just lose their job (and soon their house as well). Study after study has shown that the percentage of drug users on welfare is lower than the percentage in the general population. If we want to test everyone receiving government aid, let's start with our legislators!
Instead of coming up with costly legislation that will not pass the constitutional test, why not continue to focus on the good work the state is doing in providing jobs? Why not work to find ways for people to keep the jobs they already have (dare I say union)? Even under full employment, our economy will have about a 5.5% unemployment rate. Welfare is a safety net, not a hammock.
As a liberation theologian I believe the gospel has a preferential for the poor. I also know from first hand experience that people who are victims of poverty are not angels.
Are there people on welfare who take advantage of the system? I'm sure there are. Just as there are people with jobs who take sick days when they are not sick, and stretch out lunch hours, and do other unproductive selfish acts.
Perhaps we should do less demonizing of the poor, and instead seek greater understanding and compassion as we walk in one another's shoes.
Rev. Craig M. Howard
* http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/235888681.html ** http://www.cbsnews.com/news/james-robertson-detroit-man-walks-nearly-21-miles-to-work-gets-help-for-new-car/
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DISCOVERY DAY / PRESBYTERY MEETING
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FEBRUARY 21st WILL BE HERE SOON!!
REGISTER NOW!
The Milwaukee Presbytery's 2015 Discovery Day will be held on Saturday, February 21st at Crossroads Presbyterian Church in Mequon from 9:00am to 4:00pm in conjunction with the February Presbytery Meeting. The theme for the day will be "Communicating Faith in the 21st Century." To read about Workshops and Presenters, and to Register, go to the Discovery Day button on the Presbytery website, or click here:
Setup help - This year, we are asking churches in the Milwaukee Presbytery, especially those in closer proximity to Crossroads Presbyterian Church, to help with the setup for Discovery Day. Our brothers and sisters at Crossroads graciously provide their facility for the event, but we need help during the event as well as both preparing for and cleaning up after the event. Setup will begin on Friday, February 20th at 9:00am and will end when setup is complete. We ask that all those who are able to help come in the morning at a time that works best for you. Following the event, help is also needed to restore the building ahead of Sunday worship. Many hands make light work! Click here to volunteer
Common Mission Offering - The 2015 Discovery Day Common Mission Offering will support Presbyterian Disaster Assistance gifts of the heart kits - specifically, the School Kits. Items needed for each kit include:
1 - pair of blunt scissors (rounded tip)
3 - 70-count spiral notebooks or notebooks
(total 200-210 pages/no loose-leaf or filler paper.)
1 - 30-centimeter ruler (12")
1 - hand-held pencil sharpener
6 - new pencils with erasers
1 - large eraser
1 - box of 24 crayons
1 - cloth bag, 12" x 14" to 14" x 17" finished size, cotton or lightweight canvas, cloth handles Instructions
All items must be packed into the cloth bag. The value of the kit is approximately $15. Please encourage your congregations to begin collecting items for the Common Mission Offering. Cash donations will also be accepted. For a printable half sheet bulletin insert click here.
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We lift up one of our congregations each week in Fresh Impressions, inviting you to learn more about your sister congregations and keep them in your prayers. This week we are lifting up:
Bethesda Presbyterian Church in Waukesha
Click here to view their website
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 February 28, 2015 marks the 50th Anniversary of Southminster Presbyterian Church in Waukesha. On that date in 1965, 107 members of First Presbyterian, Waukesha, petitioned Milwaukee Presbytery to incorporate a new congregation on the south side of Waukesha. They stepped out in faith, worked hard, prayed earnestly and laughed heartily as they became a new community in Christ. Various events are planned throughout the year to commemorate this event. The first is a dinner and program on the evening of February 28th. Everyone is cordially invited to attend. Please access our website, and go to 50th Anniversary Events to register at
southminsterchurch.org
Questions? Dale Ann Morgan at [email protected]
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 Breaking the Chains
Mass Incarceration and Systems of Violence
13th Annual
EAD National Gathering
April 17-20, 2015
For information go to
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Award-winning speakers, Peter Steinke and David Jones are leading a workshop on Conflict Management and Reconciliation in Delafield Fri. - Sat. Feb. 27-28 at Nashota House. Registration is $200. Nancy Gaskin, Ann Gibbs, Bill Ingersoll, Craig Howard and Sarah Rand are attending. Register today and join us for this great opportunity! Click here for Registration.
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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES-PASTORAL
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Immanuel Presbyterian Church has a position open for a Designated Associate for Spiritual Care. This position is part-time, non-compensated. For more information, click here for the job description.
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On-call Pool Chaplain Position Available -
Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare is seeking chaplains to provide on-call spiritual care to patients and families on nights and weekends in the metro-Milwaukee area or Racine area. Requires a master's degree in theology or ministry-related field and minimum of 2 units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). Please see mywheaton.org for more information and to apply on-line. For questions or information, please contact Rev. Traci Houts, clinical coordinator, at 414-447-2094.
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Vernon Presbyterian Church has a Church Secretary position available (part-time, 14-16 hours per week, flexible hours). Familiarity with Word, Publisher, Excel, ACS and previous church secretary experience strongly preferred. Applicants should also have skills in newsletter editing, church membership record management, website management and basic bookkeeping. Interested persons should send a resume to [email protected].
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The Presbytery of Chicago is requesting applications for the position of Presbytery Community Organizer. Click here for position description. |
Hospitality Coordinator/Kitchen Manager
Crossroads Presbyterian Church in Mequon is seeking a part-time (20 hour/week) Hospitality Coordinator/Kitchen Manager.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Assist in the planning and coordination of programs and events.
- Maintain a clean and sanitary environment suitable for the preparation and service of food.
- Maintain kitchen equipment and related supplies in a safe, sanitary and orderly condition.
- Order supplies and food for all church related programs and event
Skills Needed:
- Knowledge of institutional food ordering and quantity purchasing
- Knowledge of institutional food preparation techniques
- Basic computer skills
- Spiritual gifts of hospitality and administration
Qualifications:
- High school graduate/GED required; College degree preferred
- Serv-Safe Certification
- Three to five years of commercial food preparation
- One year supervisory experience
- Volunteer coordination experience, a definite plus
Qualified candidates may send their resume to Mary Schigoda, Church Administrator, at [email protected]
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Covenant PC, Racine, has an opening for a pianist to play two Sundays each month. Scheduling is flexible. The pianist will play at two Sunday services during the regular church program year and at one service during the summer months. Planned musical selections may include a prelude, offertory and postlude, in addition to the hymns, and responses at each service. Pay is negotiable. If interested, please contact Eddy Huffman [email protected]� or phone (262) 639-8301.
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Feb. 21 - Discovery Day/Presbytery meeting - Mequon, Crossroads
May 3 & 4 - 4 Presbyteries Joint Meeting - Wisconsin Dells
Sept. 15 - Presbytery Meeting - Wauwatosa, Wauwatosa
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