The Ambassador

The Newsletter of

St. Matthias'

Episcopal Church

Minocqua, Wisconsin

Whoever you are, wherever you find yourself on the journey
of faith, we welcome you.


	AUGUST 2013
Click here to view the entire event calendar

Serving?

Please remember to check the server list on the bulletin board at church (or click here to see the latest monthly schedule online).

Also, if you are going to switch dates with someone, please inform either Bill Kane or Michael Tautges at the church office.

Thank you!

Mark Your Calendars

August 15 - 6:00 pm

Evensong & Potluck Dinner

August 20 - 5:00 pm

Community Table

September 8 - 11:00 am

Small Groups Sunday


	Bishop Search
The Diocese of Fond du Lac is currently in the process of selecting a new Bishop, and have created a page for anyone who wishes to stay informed or help in the process: diofdl.org/bishopsearch/

The Clarion

Curious to see what else is going on in the Diocese of Fond du Lac? Click the logo below to view the most recent Diocesan newsletter.

From the Rector

This month, whilst preparing for the Ambassador, we came across a wonderful article regarding the advent of our 40th Anniversary, written by Fr. Bill Bippus from St. Paul's in Marinette (for their monthly newsletter). As such, we decided to make him the guest 'From the Rector' columnist for the month!

Dearly Beloved,

I felt blessed to be part of the fortieth anniversary commemoration at St. Matthias' Church, Minocqua, on the weekend of the 27th and 28th of August. The congregation was established in 1973 by the Rt. Rev. William Hampton Brady, and dedicated to the saint on whose feast day he had been consecrated Bishop, so it always had a special place in his heart. In those days, it was part of what was known as the Northwoods Missions, and shared a priest with the other Episcopal congregations in the area. Eventually, St. Matthias' was served by its own, full-time Vicar, and, at the diocesan convention of 1993, it was declared a self-supporting parish, with Fr. Edgar Wallace as its first Rector. As the town of Minocqua has changed from a quiet collection of lakeside cabins into an important retirement and vacation destination, the church has expanded and grown to meet the needs of a larger community. The parish hosts the Community Table, a gathering at which local churches serve a free meal once a month, and contributes generously to the local food pantry. Its thrift shop serves thousands of customers every year, and uses its income for outreach to the local community and beyond.

This happy occasion caused some of us to reflect on how very much as changed in the last forty years, both for the Church and for society at large. In 1973, it was the "ditto machine" which produced bulletins and newsletters, and, if you were lucky, you had an electric one which didn't require hand cranking. Visitors or newcomers to town who had an interest in churchgoing had only the limited information offered by the yellow pages; there were no websites to communicate the real "flavor" of a congregation. A sudden or last-minute change in the parish schedule couldn't be communicated by email, so it was to be hoped that parishioners would be at home when the church office called. And, of course, with no e-mail, nobody was worrying about the government or anyone else tracking their messages, their purchases, or anything else. That sort of snooping only happened in movies like Live and Let Die, which came to the silver screen in 1973. And as for important events which were occurring halfway around the world, it might be a day or two before you heard about them from Walter Cronkite or John Chancellor.

As the world has changed in four decades, so the Church must respond to the new context in which it is proclaiming the Gospel. This doesn't mean that we must abandon the traditions which have given comfort, sustenance, and meaning to generations of Christians, or that we must exchange the Prayer Books and hymnals in our pews for electronic tablets (although that innovation may be just around the corner!). But it does mean that, as globalization becomes an ever increasing reality, we must see the Gospel as applying, not just to our own familiar, comfortable community, but also to people around the globe, whose faces can appear on our computer screens in an instant, by the clicking of a mouse. A "meme," posted recently on Facebook by The Episcopal Church, explores this new truth, by interpreting the commandment, "love thy neighbor," and providing us with a list. "Love thy homeless neighbor," it says. "Love thy Muslim neighbor, thy black neighbor, thy gay neighbor, thy immigrant neighbor, thy Jewish neighbor, thy Christian neighbor, thy atheist neighbor, thy disabled neighbor, thy addicted neighbor." And, of course, the list could be extended to include many, many more.

It's not that the message of Jesus Christ didn't always sound like this, but, even a few decades ago, before information technology brought the whole world to our desktops or our iPhones, it was far easier to ignore many of the neighbors whom Jesus entrusted to our care and concern. Now, they are "in our faces," whether we choose for them to be there or not, day after day. And, as Christians, we are called to acknowledge the fact that these, too, are children of God, and citizens, with us, of the Kingdom which Christ came to proclaim.

God love you,

Bill+

Parish News

Departed this Life

Jack LeQuesne, long-time member of St. Matthias', died peacefully at home on July 5. We offer our deepest sympathy to his sons Jim and John and their families.

10th Annual Road Rally

In place of our annual Road Rally, this year we will have a Scavenger Hunt. This is positively guaranteed to be great fun - you won't want to miss it! At 3:00 on Sunday, Aug. 25, we will meet at church for our clues/instructions and will end up at Ken and Judy Ozinga's, 1580 Thorofare Rd, around 5:30 for an outdoor picnic of hors d'oeuvres, wine, soda, pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, and dessert - all for only $12.50 per person. There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board - bring your friends!

Sr. Warden's Report

I have a couple of topics to discuss this month. The first pertains to the transition process when Father Wallace retires at the end of next year. It's important to everyone that we, as Wardens and Vestry members, communicate clearly and openly with you during the entire process. I have invited Father Ed Smith of our Diocese to speak at our vestry meeting on August 20th. Fr. Ed will be explaining the entire process and the timelines that we need to follow. The minutes of this meeting (and all of our Vestry meetings) will be posted on the bulletin board. In addition, I will share the information with you in the September Ambassador.

Secondly, we have tentatively set Saturday, October 5th as the date for those wishing to get training to become an acolyte, an usher or a greeter. It will also serve as a refresher for those already serving in these ministries. This will be a great opportunity for you if you have considered serving in any of these important roles. Greeters are often the first contact with visitors as they enter our church. I would like to increase the visibility of greeters and ushers - perhaps by having an "usher" or "greeter" name badge. I would enjoy hearing any suggestions that you have - perhaps an idea from a church that you previously attended. How can we make St. Matthias' even more welcoming to our visitors?

Please contact me with any ideas, suggestions or complaints. Email or telephone is always a great way.

Randy Bates

Email: hodagharley@gmail.com

Cell phone: (715) 490-2479

Announcement Guidelines

After some discussion about the growing number and length of announcements in church, the Communications Team and Vestry along with the Rector have suggested some changes. Below are some guidelines -- not that we want to be legalistic about it, but just to make sure that information gets printed in the bulletin and that our announcement time does not go on too long. Thank you.

Announcements regarding church events or projects can be made in writing in the "Weekly Messenger."

These should be concise, containing who, what, when, where and pertinent contact information and should be submitted to the Church Secretary by Wednesday. On Sunday at announcement time, the congregation will be directed to make note of the announcements in the Weekly Messenger.

If it is desirable that an additional verbal announcement concerning notices in the messenger be made, these may be made once, or at most on two succeeding Sundays. Again, they should be brief "who, what, when, where" type messages and no more than one minute in length. These announcements should be scheduled with the Rector (Fr. Wallace), Events Coordinator (Christ Clark), or Secretary (Michael Tautges) ahead of time, in order to know how many and how long the announcement period will be. It will be very helpful if those making the announcements have them prepared in advance, in order to keep them concise. Verbal announcements concerning events or information that have arisen since the publication of the Weekly Messenger should be cleared with the Rector or Sunday Celebrant before the service.

Announcements concerning church events should also be posted on the bulletin board.
Announcements concerning community events should be posted on the bulletin board. These should be given to the bulletin board coordinator (Barb Kane) or church staff.
Personal announcements, advertisements, newspaper clippings etc. may be put on the bulletin board with approval of the church staff or bulletin board coordinator.

In Other News...

Sunday, September 8
- Small Groups Sunday

11:00 am Small Groups Sunday is a new event this year. Many of our small groups and ministries will set up a table highlighting the ways they are reaching out to each other and to our surrounding community. Of course, this event will also provide ample opportunity to sign-up for the many various ways of sharing our mutual time, talent & treasure! If your group would like to set up a table, contact Barb Kane or Michael Tautges at the church office.

Friday, October 11
- St. Matthias' 40th Anniversary Organ Recital

7:30 pm Organ Concert -- Organist: Bruce Bengtson

Bruce Bengston is the director of music at Luther Memorial Church in Madison Wisconsin.

Friday-Saturday, October 18-19

- Diocesan Convention, Fond du Lac

Election of the Eighth Bishop of Fond du Lac.

Touchstones: "A Prayer of Responsibility"

Written by Diane Diederich

The language that people use to describe their prayer and their connection to God is extremely interesting. Most of the time I hear people trying to make a "deal" with God; "I'll do this, if you do that".

Or they might ask God for specific outcomes because Scripture tells them to ask for what we want (Matthew 7:7). I wonder though why we're putting the responsibility for the "stuff" that's happening in our lives in God's lap!

Let me illustrate. Sometimes, when we have differences of opinion with others, we become so convinced of our own "truth" or point of view that we treat the other one with a sinful lack of respect. Our prayer might be, "Lord, convince "Lester" of the error of his ways." Instead of coming together to reconcile we might get entrenched in believing that our perspective is the only TRUTH. How sad and diminishing it is for both parties concerned especially if the only vehicle used is praying that the situation would change instead of one-on-one personal reconciliation!

The situation reminds me of the parable in Luke 18 about the Pharisee and the tax collector. You'll remember the story: two people went to the temple to pray, the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee in all of his self-righteousness, thanked God that he was not a sinner like the tax collector (who were believed to keep for themselves much of what they said was owed in taxes). The tax collector on the other hand was humble in his awareness of his sinfulness and prayed accordingly, putting responsibility on no one but himself. The question is asked, who went home justified?

I believe that God invites us to take responsibility for our lives and the decisions we make. We are to be so busy being aware of what we are called to be and do that we don't have time to dwell on the faults of others.

Maybe this is the time to examine the way we pray. If we find that many of the "deals" we make or many of the things we ask for have to do with the lives of others, we might focus on the prayer of responsibility. Being aware of the things WE are responsible for and lifting others in prayer (especially ALL elected officials) will probably take a lifetime - at the least it may help to remove the log in our own eye!

TTFN, Diane