|
|
Ebenezer United Church of Christ
March 2020 Eagle Newsletter
|
|
As we move through the church calendar, which began anew in December, we have experienced the seasons of Advent, Christmas, and the season of Epiphany. All of this and it’s only late February! As we move into March, we enter the season of Lent.
Lent is one of my favorite church seasons. Lent calls Christians to step back from the demands and fast pace to which society calls us. We are instead called to take the time to reflect upon our lives and reorient ourselves toward God.
I, like so many people, can get wrapped up in the speed of the secular world. There is always something happening, something that needs to be done, something that demands my undivided attention. The odd thing is that at the end of the day, I can’t recall what was so important about some of those things I did that day. Shouldn’t I give my time, my energies, and my love to that which is truly important? Daily I ask if I am using my gifts in ways that God would find pleasing. Some days I do better than others. Therefore, Lent is important to me.
Many people give up something for Lent. I have found that instead of giving up something, I enrich my walk with God by adding the practice of a spiritual discipline to my routine. True, I do have to change my calendar to accommodate this addition, but it is worth the change. I appreciate the focused time, which I set aside during Lent to study the scriptures more deeply than usual. I seek out time and space during the day to read the Bible and practice other disciplines. My reading is more than simple reading. I seek to read not for information or sermon preparation, rather I read to come closer to God. From time-to-time during this reading I stop and reread a verse or a few words that catch my attention. I stay with these words for a time asking what they are saying to me, asking God why these words have caught my attention. I can’t force this style of reading to fit into a predetermined time frame because God may have a word for me, which doesn’t come in the time I set aside for reading. I let myself journey toward God-time.
Lent is a time for preparation, examination, and prayer. I like to use this season as a time to give myself to God by entering God-time.
Peace & Grace,
|
|
Easter Services
April 9 (Maundy Thursday): EUCC @ 7:00 p.m.
April 10 (Good Friday): St. John @ 1:00 p.m.
April 12 (Easter Sunday): EUCC @ 8:45 a.m.
|
|
Below is the upcoming ushering schedule;
please note that the church office does not find a replacement,
but we are happy to help you get in contact with possible subs!
Please let the office know
when any changes are made. See the article below as a refresher on what all the duties of an usher are.
March:
March 1: Council
March 8: Sunday School
March 15: Ken & Shirley Lisowe, Kelly Brown Family
March 22: Kristi & Ryan Schnell, Tiffany Porsche & Kurt Knoespel
March 29: Ralph Schmid, Mark Rusch, JoAnn Lakin, Karen Cmejla
April:
April 5: Council
April 12: Sunday School
April 19: Mike Redig, Sue Verrier, Ken & Shirley Lisowe
April 26: Brian Adamietz Family
If you/your family would like to be added to the ushering schedule, or if you're on and would like to be removed to serve the church in other ways, please let the
office
know.
|
|
- Ushering schedules will be posted in the Eagle, Sunday announcements, and emailed monthly.
- If you are unable to be present when you are scheduled to serve, you are responsible for making your own substitute arrangements. Contact the office if you need assistance.
- Arrive at church and be in position for ushering (20) twenty minutes before the start of service.
- One usher will be stationed at each of the specific locations in church. They are:
- Main Entrance from the Narthex to the church (2 People will be here to hand out bulletins).
- Please note that it’s the usher’s responsibility to check the Main entrance doors during the service (they lock at 9:00 a.m.)
- Use ID badges so you can be identified as an usher/greeter.
- Maintain a friendly and courteous attitude in greeting each person who comes to your location.
- Take attendance at each service, counting each parishioner, the organist, choir, and the children. Record the attendance figures on the Log Sheet (located in Usher’s Closet).
- Be quiet and unobtrusive in carrying out your duties as an usher.
- Be aware of the procedures for collecting the offering.
- Collection plates are in the Usher’s Closet. Be ready to begin collecting when the Offering music begins.
- Proceed down the rows with your ushering partner, handing the plate to those giving.
- Two (2) people are to take the four plates to the Pastor at the start of the “Praise God” song.
- Stay at the altar and recite the Offering Prayer. Leave when prayer is finished.
- Be attentive to worshipers’ needs during worship. Be ready to assist anyone becoming ill during the service.
- Be alert to emergencies or crises and be prepared to deal with them. Know where the phones are located and how to dial for emergency help.
- Know the location of fire extinguishers.
- After the service, walk through the pews and reposition any hymnals or bibles out of place.
- Collect any waste paper. Take lost items to the church office and collect bulletins for reuse.
- Check pew holders (located in the Usher’s Closet) and refill if necessary.
- Clean up the pews after each service.
|
|
Notes from the Music Corner...
|
|
It was wonderful to have Katharina Keller (2018 Jeris Waldvogel Scholarship recipient) provide special music for the February 9 worship service. Her opening selection was really prepared for the first day of Advent on December 1 when worship was cancelled due to snow. We were delighted to welcome so many on February 9, including Katharina, despite the fact there was a snow ‘addition’ again!!! It was a ‘dynamic duo’ to have Katharina sing the verses and the congregation sing the response to Psalm 103,
“Bless God, O My Soul.”
We are looking forward to having her and Syndee Koenigs, the 2019 scholarship recipient, return with more vocal selections in April. Hoping the snow is not a factor then!!!!
The Pine Haven Men's Chorus will be singing for the March 15 worship service at St. John's. You may recall the wonderful service they conducted at Ebenezer last year. St. John's worship begins at 10:15 a.m.
Ebenezer Brass will provide special worship music on March 8 and March 22. For those of you that might be Bill Gaither fans, you may have especially appreciated
“There’s Something About That Name”
that bells played on February 23. Claudia Brown and Karen Cmejla will provide special Lenten bell selections on March 29. THANK YOU to all who give of their time and talents! New music participants are always welcome.
|
|
Ebenezer Christian Ed/Worship Committee
Meeting Minutes: February 2, 2020
|
|
The committee met on February 2 following worship. The following items were discussed:
- Reflections on 2019 Christmas worship services: 4 p.m. December 24 candlelight/communion, attendance 160+; 11 p.m. December 24 candlelight/communion, attendance 19; 9 a.m. December 25 communion, attendance 30. Based on the low attendance for the 11 p.m. service over the past several years, the council may decide to cancel that service in the future.
- Sunday School Summary: Shirley reported that attendance has been fairly steady (24) since Christmas. The band-aid mission project continues to do well. The final day of Sunday School will be May 10. We’re hoping to have a Sunday School ensemble contribute music on that Mother's Day.
- February 26 – Ash Wednesday: 1:30 p.m. Worship with ashes at Building 2, Century Ridge; congregation invited AND 7:00 p.m. Worship with ashes at Ebenezer
- April:
- Coffee hour – Shirley will suggest a schedule for serving.
- April 5: Palm Sunday – Shirley will order palms
- April 9: 7:00 p.m. Maundy Thursday worship at Ebenezer; St. John’s Choir participates
- April 10: 1:00 p.m. Good Friday worship at St. John’s
- April 12: Easter – communion; Ebenezer Brass; no breakfast or coffee hour
- May:
- May 3: Confirmation; vocal selection by Riley & Claudia (?)
- May 10: Mother's Day – Karen will devise tokens; Final day of Sunday School; Sunday School vocal ensemble
- June 21: Father's Day – Karen will devise tokens
- August 23: Sharon Bethel Quartet will participate with music
To give the congregation the opportunity to be familiar with the 2020 confirmands, Shirley will prepare an outline for each confirmand to write a brief biography to be included in the March and/or April Eagle. It is also greatly appreciated when the confirmands contribute to the life of Ebenezer (i.e. helping carry Christmas decorations to basement, read scripture during worship, etc.)
Committee Members present: Karen Cmejla, Barb Dekerf, Shirley Lisowe, Bea Pingel, Kristi Schnell, Chris Stenz, Elaine Hessil
Elaine Hessil
|
|
Ebenezer Evangelism Committee
Meeting Minutes: February 2, 2020
|
|
Present:
Don, Connie, Zach, Andy, Ken Lisowe (absent: Stephanie)
- Called to order at 8:00 a.m.
- Old Business:
- Flowers
- Need to buy 4 new pots
- 2 are broken, 2 new locations EUCC & Century Ridge
- Flags
- Ken will install these; one by office, one @ SW corner
- New Business:
- Add new members to usher list
- Start discussion on new picture directory for 2020
- Look for information on last one in 2015
- Do we need an usher handbook?
Adjourned at 8:40 a.m.
Don Waldvogel
|
|
Ebenezer Church Council
Meeting Minutes: February 16, 2020
|
|
Opening:
Meeting was called to order by Ken Lisowe at 8:11 am
Present:
Ken Lisowe, Barb Dekerf, Vern Gasch, Joan Woelfel, Zach Platner, Dennis Winkler, Andy Hofmeister; Pastor Mike was absent
Approval of Agenda and Last Month's minutes:
Motion made by Vern Gasch, seconded by Barb Dekerf, and the motion was carried
Treasurer's Report
Zach Platner made a motion to approve the February bill list, Barb Dekerf seconded and the motion carried.
Committee Reports
- Christian Ed and Music: No new news
- Evangelism: We are getting new flower pots and the flags are up outside the church
- Mission: No new news
- Property: No new news
- Stewardship: No new news
- Membership: No new news
Continuing Business
- We discussed updating the church directory. Motion was made by Zach Platner to update the directory, Barb Dekerf seconded and the motion was carried.
- Availability of enlarged bulletins was discussed. We will check with the worship committee about doing a regular ushering schedule. How to show people what they would need to do for ushering was discussed.
Old Business
- There was discussion about the trim on the South side of the building
New Business
- There was discussion about the possibility of a wheelchair ramp or lift for the Fellowship Hall. We talked about how to make sure we were making it accessible for everyone.
Andy Hofmeister made a motion to adjourn, Dennis Winkler seconded and the meeting was adjourned at 8:41 am.
*Next meeting is Sunday, March 15 at 8:00 a.m.*
Minutes Submitted by:
Andy Hofmeister
Approved by: The Church council via email.
|
|
Tod ~ David ~ Lorraine ~ Da’Nisha
Arlene ~ Rebecca ~ Vern ~ Marlene
Audrey ~ Rod ~ Jeff ~ Steve ~ Janice
Ryann ~ Diana ~ Betty ~ Kathy ~ Don
Terri Ann ~ Mary ~ Bob ~ Tom
Pastor Sue ~ Audra ~ Patrice ~ Ann
Due to privacy laws, last names cannot be printed on the prayer list because the Eagle goes on the church website which can be viewed by anyone on the Internet.
|
Confirmation Readers
March 1: Owen Brown
March 8:
no reader
March 15: Logan Platner
March 22: Caitlynn Paulson
March 29: JorJa Ninnemann
|
United Church Camps
The calendar for the 2020 United Church Camps has been announced! There is a booklet on the Narthex table or check out their
web site to learn all about these amazing camp opportunities
for all ages! Budgeted funds are available through the church to help with registration fees -
talk to the office if you're interested.
|
Help Wanted!
If you would be interested in volunteering your time with the Blessing Box and watering the plants on Sunday mornings,
please let Jackie know
. Thanks!!!
|
Visitation List:
If you know someone who is ill/homebound that you would like to add to Pastor Mike's Visitation List,
please contact the office
(include a contact number and address).
Building Use Form:
If you would like to use the Fellowship Hall, please fill out the
Building Use Form
and return it to the office. We require a completed form for all events in the Fellowship Hall that are not related to EUCC
(if you are planning multiple events, i.e. a recurring meeting, you only need to fill the form out once.)
Newsletter Articles
are due to the
office
on the 3rd Tuesday of the month (unless posted otherwise); be sure to check the calendar for the month’s due date. Please also share any pictures for inclusion!
Weekly Bulletin Announcements
are due to the
office
by Tuesday mornings.
|
Ebenezer Office Hours:
Monday - Thursday 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
(920) 849-4331
Pastor's Ebenezer Hours:
Monday 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Tuesday 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Wednesday 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Thursday 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
|
Pastor's St. John Hours:
Monday 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Thursday 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
2111 Church St
New Holstein, WI 53061
(920) 898-4259
|
Pastor's Cell Phone: 920-286-1956
Please make sure to write a note on the pad
on Sunday mornings if you need to communicate with the office. Pastor Mike is a little preoccupied on Sundays, so use this pad to assure these tasks are completed. Thank you!!!
Please schedule any appointments with Pastor Mike through the
office
.
|
|
Peter Hofmeister: 3/2
Donald Goeldi: 3/3
Kevin Marx: 3/3
Wayne Kress: 3/4
Donna Kuba: 3/6
Kelly Kress: 3/7
Christina McGinnis: 3/9
Eleanor Augsburger: 3/11
Heather Zwetow: 3/12
Kimberlee Pringle: 3/12
Michael Redig: 3/13
Jaren Pingel: 3/13
Michael Safford-Kennedy: 3/14
Hannah Verrier: 3/15
Don Waldvogel: 3/16
Dean Beyer: 3/16
Bill Hoff: 3/16
Paul Halbach: 3/19
Dianne Buechel: 3/19
Janine Bratz: 3/20
Jim Scholz: 3/21
Eric Plate: 3/21
Edith Knoespel: 3/21
Aiden Tanner: 3/21
Karen Cmejla: 3/22
Sue Riesterer: 3/23
Dean Pingel: 3/25
Roger Kloehn: 3/28
Gary Elliott: 3/28
May God bless your years and may you continue to bless Ebenezer!
|
- Rev. Kathryn Rust passed away on February 13 from pancreatic cancer. Information is on the board.
- Ebenezer Brass will be playing the second Sunday and fourth Sunday in March. Anyone interested in joining, practice is Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. and anyone is welcome. You do not need to know how to read music!
- March 1 at 8:00 a.m.: Evangelism Committee meeting - all are welcome!
- March 1 is the St. James UCC Chili Dinner; see the flyer on the board for information!
- The Chilton School District is hosting a Mental Health Wellness Festival on March 5; see the flyers posted in the Narthex for details!
- March 8: Daylight savings begins; don't forget to Spring Ahead!
- Join the Men's Breakfast on Thursday, March 12 at 8:30 a.m. at 7 Angels!
- The Pine Haven Men's Chorus will be singing for the March 15 worship service at St. John UCC. You may recall the wonderful service they conducted at Ebenezer last year. St. John's worship begins at 10:15 a.m.
- The Women's Guild invites you to their meeting on March 19 at 7 Angels at 1:00 p.m.!
- The April Eagle deadline is Thursday, March 19!
- March 21 the Women in Mission of Zion Lutheran Church (New Holstein) is hosting a Women’s Day event. Registration is required, see the board for details!
- March 22 is the One Great Hour of Sharing offering.
- Caregiver Support Group Meetings are held on the last Thursday of the month from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.
- There is No Confirmation on April 8.
- April 9 (Maundy Thursday) Service (EUCC) - 7:00 p.m.
- April 10 (Good Friday) Service (St. John) at 1:00 p.m.
- "Steps on the Journey" a Healing Retreat is taking place at Moon Beach April 24-36; see the flyer on the board for details.
- All are invited to attend the 58th Annual Meeting of the NE WI UCC Association titled “Water of Life” on Saturday, May 2 in Plymouth. See the board for the flyer and the office to register. EUCC will cover attendee registration fee.
- The WI UCC Annual Meeting 2020, “Healing Our Earthly Home” is June 5-7, 2020 at Green Lake Conference Center. Delegates welcome & encouraged! See the office for details!
- Save the date for the Interfaith Education event scheduled for November 14, 2020, at Lakeland University. See the board for information.
- A list of needed items for Pillars Adult & Family Shelter has been added to the board.
- Did you know the Chilton Library delivers? Learn more from the flyer on the board!
- Information about The Appleton Visually Impaired Support Group is located on the bulletin board for anyone interested in the topic of vision loss.
- A pew card for those that give electronically is available for placement in the offering plates on Sunday morning.
- The March/April Upper Room devotional guide is available in the Narthex book rack. Help yourself!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
