OUR SAVIOUR S UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST W172 N12533 Division Road Germantown, WI Address Corrections Requested

Transcription

1 OUR SAVIOUR S UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST W172 N12533 Division Road Germantown, WI Address Corrections Requested

2 P a g e 2 O U R S A V I O U R S U C C J u n e / J u l y / A u g u s t THE CALLER FROM THE PASTOR S DESK (Note: Since we are consolidating the summer issues of The Caller, this time around you are getting a double dose of reflections on spiritual practices. In this article I will cover both the sixth and seventh chapters of An Altar in the World and then in September we will get back on track with both the eighth and ninth chapters.) Community: The Practice of Encountering Others Many of you may have heard me say Christianity is a team sport which is a quote from one of my former professors, Dr. Damayanthi Niles. What this means is that while you can of course believe whatever you want on your own, it is not possible to be a Christian by yourself. To be a Christian one must seek to put their beliefs into action, to live out what they proclaim. The very nature of Christianity requires us to be in community with others. In biblical language to know something is more than a feeling, a belief, or a cognitive process it has connotations of intimacy, of doing, of action. As one rabbi puts it, in Scripture to know is to do. One s beliefs and personal faith are important but are nothing if not enacted and lived within community, or as epistle of James puts it, Faith without works is dead. Our beliefs should lead to making the world a better place. This means we have to venture out and meet people where they are and for who they are, to encounter other human beings and seek to see the beauty and goodness in them that God sees. Taylor writes, at its most basic level, the everyday practice of being with other people is the practice of loving the neighbor as the self. As we come face to face with another human being we are challenged to at least entertain the possibility that this is one of the faces of God, to see the precious gift of the divine. A practical way to do this is to simply look into a person s eyes make eye contact with that cashier or that bagger at the store and smile acknowledge their personhood. Make a point of catching your server s name at a restaurant, look them in the eye as they bring you your food or take your dishes. All of this may seem a bit uncomfortable, but the truth is God sometimes calls us to do the uncomfortable things so that we may give comfort to others. God commands us to love the stranger (Deuteronomy 10:19, Matthew 25:35-44,), because we have been strangers ourselves....continued ON PAGE 3 SUMMER SERVICES Sunday AND Wednesday services will be held at Our Saviour s June 15 July 23. Sunday AND Wednesday services will be at St. John July 27-Sept. 3 rd. Sunday services are at 9:30am. NEW TIME OF SERVICES STARTING IN SEPTMEBER Starting September 7th, our normal services will now start at 8:30am to allow for Pastor Tara and all our members to share in fellowship time during coffee hour.

3 P a g e 3 O U R S A V I O U R S U C C J u n e / J u l y / A u g u s t FROM THE PASTOR S DESK...CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 Vocation: The Practice of Living with Purpose When we speak of vocation in the context of faith, most people assume it s an option, either your vocation is in ministry or it isn t. We dumb it down and make it synonymous with occupation and link it with employment, as though only what makes you money is a vocation. Truly, one s vocation however has more to do with living purposefully. This isn t to say that there is one particular thing that God has predestined for you to do and that until you find it, the other stuff doesn t count. Vocation, lived faithfully, is about being purposeful about whatever it is we do. As Brother Lawrence, a Carmelite monk whose writings are collected in the book The Practice of the Presence of God, wrote The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things; I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees before the Blessed Sacrament. It is not so much what we do with our lives but how and with what attitude we do it. Brother Lawrence served God well in the kitchen of the monastery, some serve God in a boardroom, others in the field. Taylor points out that no matter what we might do for a living: every human interaction offers you the chance to make things better or to make things worse. The first job I ever had was working as an intern at a car dealership. Most of my time there was spent either filing or answering phones. The elderly man, who owned the dealership, insisted he could tell if I was smiling by the tone of my voice. From him I learned the importance of offering the best to everyone who called. A friendly smiling voice at the end of the line went a long way toward helping the customer have a positive happy experience. Regardless of our occupation we all are called to a larger vocation, that of loving God and neighbor. Taylor calls this the vocation of becoming fully human and refers to the process of learning to turn our gratitude for being alive into some concrete good. As Henry David Thoreau wrote, Be not simply good: be good for something. Going beyond the cliché what would Jesus do?, Taylor challenges us to live as Jesus lived, to be practical, to turn our goodness into something concrete, Jesus washed feet, Brother Lawrence washed dishes. Taylor challenges us to find some way to do what we do in our daily lives with a sense of purpose, whether it be simple or grand. To live as though what we do, how we spend our moments really mattered to God.because they do! Pastor Tara This month we continue our reflections with the sixth and seventh chapters of Barbara Brown Taylor s book An Altar in the World. NEW MID-WEEK WORSHIP SERVICE OFFERED Let s be honest and admit that sometimes it s hard to make it to church on a Sunday morning, especially in summer we go on vacation, have family get-togethers, work, sports, etc As a community of faith we are committed to working together to grow in faith; for this reason beginning June 18 th we will be offering a mid-week service on Wednesday evenings at 6:30pm. The service will feature the same scripture and sermon as the preceding Sunday, with similar worship elements as the Sunday service. We hope this new worship opportunity will give everyone an opportunity to participate in worship at a time that is convenient to them.

4 P a g e 4 O U R S A V I O U R S U C C J u n e / J u l y / A u g u s t JUNE LECTIONARY READINGS Week of June 1st (Seventh Sunday of Easter): Acts 1:6-14; Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35; 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11; John 17:1-11 Week of June 8th (Pentecost): Acts 2:1-21 or Numbers 11:24-30; Psalm 104:24-34, 35b; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 or Acts 2:1-21; John 20:19-23 or John 7:37-39 Week of June 15th (Trinity Sunday): Genesis 1:1-2:4a and Psalm 8; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; Matthew 28:16-20 Week of June 22nd (Second Sunday of Pentecost): Genesis 21:8-21 and Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17; Jeremiah 20:7-13 and Psalm 69:7-10, (11-15), 16-18; Romans 6:1b-11; Matthew 10:24-39 Week of June 29th (Third Sunday of Pentecost): Genesis 22:1-14 and Psalm 13; Jeremiah 28:5-9 and Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18; Romans 6:12-23; Matthew 10:40-42 JULY LECTIONARY READINGS Week of July 6th (Fourth Sunday of Pentecost): Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, and Psalm 45:10-17 or Song of Solomon 2:8-13; Zechariah 9:9-12 and Psalm 145:8-14; Romans 7:15-25a; Matthew 11:16-19, Week of July 13th (Fifth Sunday of Pentecost): Genesis 25:19-34 and Psalm 119: ; Isaiah 55:10-13 and Psalm 65:(1-8), 9-13; Romans 8:1-11; Matthew 13:1-9, Week of July 20th (Sixth Sunday of Pentecost): Genesis 28:10-19a and Psalm 139:1-12, or Isaiah 44:6-8; Wisdom of Solomon 12:13, and Psalm 86:11-17; Romans 8:12-25; Matthew 13:24-30, Week of July 27th (Seventh Sunday of Pentecost): Genesis 29:15-28 and Psalm 105:1-11, 45b or Psalm 128; 1 Kings 3:5-12 and Psalm 119: ; Romans 8:26-39; Matthew 13:31-33, AUGUST LECTIONARY READINGS Week of August 3rd (Eighth Sunday of Pentecost): Genesis 32:22-31 and Psalm 17:1-7, 15; Isaiah 55:1-5 and Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:13-21 Week of August 10th (Ninth Sunday of Pentecost): Genesis 37:1-4, and Psalm 105: 1-6, 16-22, 45b; 1 Kings 19:9-18 and Psalm 85:8-13; Romans 10:5-15 Matthew 14:22-33 Week of August 17th (Tenth Sunday of Pentecost): Genesis 45:1-15 and Psalm 133; Isaiah 56:1, 6-8 and Psalm 67; Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32; Matthew 15: (10-20), Week of August 24th (Eleventh Sunday of Pentecost): Exodus 1:8-2:10 and Psalm 124; Isaiah 51:1-6 and Psalm 138; Romans 12:1-8; Matthew 16:13-20 Week of August 31st (Twelfth Sunday of Pentecost): Exodus 3:1-15 and Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45b; Jeremiah 15:15-21 and Psalm 26:1-8; Romans 12:9-21; Matthew 16:21-28

5 P a g e 5 O U R S A V I O U R S U C C J u n e / J u l y / A u g u s t HAPPY BIRTHDAY 6/4 Ronald Bast 6/6 Sadie Nelson 6/8 Emily Ryan 6/11 Donna Klumb 6/12 Denielle Beilfuss 6/12 Brandon David 6/12 Daniel Klumb 6/14 Dale Wendlandt 6/16 Marcia Draheim 6/18 Morgan Arnold 6/20 Darold Hoelz 6/22 Ronald Mull 6/25 Amy Arnold 6/27 Kay Bast-Rhode 6/27 Christopher Miller 6/29 Aaron Rotgers 7/4 Linda Hornig 7/5 Tyler Warnke 7/7 Kendall Ludin 7/9 Sandra Wendlandt 7/17 Kristy Lance 7/22 Trent Wetterau 7/24 Douglas Seyfert 7/26 Samantha Alliet 7/27 Janice Storms 7/29 Laura Rotgers 7/30 Morgan Meer 8/3 Pearl Bast 8/6 Tammy Alliet 8/7 Alexandria Lance 8/10 Zachary Siedlecki 8/13 Katherine Breuer 8/17 Kelsey Arnold 8/19 Mark Biddle 8/23 Kenneth Miller 8/29 Jeff Spieth 8/31 Douglas Klumb HAPPY ANNIVERSARY 6/1 Kenneth & Ellen Ludin 6/3 Kevin & Melissa Zunker 6/12 Tim & Marilyn Dearth 6/16 Eugene & Audrey Dettmann 6/17 Ronald & Barbara Mull 6/22 Ronald & Gail Bast 6/24 Tom & Robbin Kessler 6/25 Adam & Theresa Arnold 7/10 Mike & Sandy Hug 7/13 Douglas & Rosemary Seyfert 7/17 Roger & Kathrine Breuer 7/28 Richard & Janice Storms 8/3 Ron & Jenny Spieth 8/8 Gene & Janet Arnold 8/9 Dennis & Sheila Dettmann 8/19 Charles & Phyllis Klumb 8/27 Douglas & Linda Klumb 8/31 Sloan Letman IV & Pastor Tara Tetzlaff NEEDED ASAP! Someone to chair the Worship Committee and the Mission & Outreach Committee. Sheila Dettmann needs to hand these off to others who can devote more time and talent to these than she has. She would like to have these chaired by someone by September 7th. She would still like to be on the committees, but needs to lessen the load she is committed to. MEMBERS IN NEED OF PRAYERS Gene Arnold Theresa Arnold Sheila Dettmann Priscilla Engstrom Rev. Ed Freese Robert Huber Ruby Kannenberg Donna Klumb Lorna Klumb Erwin Podewil Emily Ryan Shirley Schowalter Heather Schuldt Bill Wetterau EXTENDED PRAYER LIST Vernon Prost, Sr. (per Audrey Dettmann & family) Scott Schuppie (per Jerry & Lynne Schuppie) Meagan Vos (per Andy Klumb & family) Family & Friends of Fred (per Ron & Barb Mull) Pat (per Ron & Barb Mull) Jim (per Ken & Marge Miller) Please contact the church or Sheila Dettmann with any changes to this list.

6 P a g e 6 O U R S A V I O U R S U C C J u n e / J u l y / A u g u s t GETTING INVOLVED WASHINGTON, D.C. Marge Miller has put a trip together to Washington, D.C. Dates are set for September 13-20, This includes seeing the show MOSES at the Sight & Sound Theater. Two seats are available on the bus. Let Marge know if you are interested in going. The Our Saviour's team was "walking with style" at the 2014 Washington County Heart Walk to support the American Heart Association. STRENGTHEN THE CHURCH The UCC s 2014 Strengthen the Church Offering will be received on Pentecost Sunday, June 8th. This offering helps grow the UCC s future by funding The Still Speaking Ministry, new & renewing churches, youth & adult ministries, lay & pastoral leadership formation, especially among women and people of color; administered by your church s Conference, Local Church Ministries and The Still Speaking Ministry. Our Saviour s UCC is 5 for 5. We are one of more than 1,200 Churches that fully support OCWM. We give to Basic Support and to 4 special mission offerings every year. Your envelope is included in this months Caller. Those who get the Caller by can find envelopes on the back literature rack.

7 P a g e 7 O U R S A V I O U R S U C C J u n e / J u l y / A u g u s t GETTING INVOLVED UPCOMING YOUTH EVENTS Noah s Ark Trip---Friday, June 20 th, Leaving church at 9am, returning at approximately 7pm. Cost is $20 per person. Need a minimum of 5 people registered by June 15 th in order to get this special group rate. Please contact Pastor Tara or the church office if interested. Open to all ages (youth under 6 th grade must be accompanied by a parent or guardian). GERMANTOWN COMMUNITY BLOOD DRIVE See flyer for the drive below. Spread the word. When you are ready to sign up, let Sheila Dettmann know so she can set up your appointment online. Regional Youth Event July 10-13th Four days of exciting worship, music, and activities with teens from all over the Midwest. Held at Lakeland College in Sheboygan and open to youth entering grades Please contact Pastor Tara if interested. Scholarships available. SOUTHEAST ASSOCIATION MEETING On May 3 rd, Rev. Edward and Anna Freese, Pastor Tara, Sloan Letman, and Vanessa Tetzlaff traveled to First Congregational UCC in Elkhorn to attend the annual meeting of the Southeast Association of the Wisconsin UCC Conference. Excellent worship was led by Rev. Bryan Syrchio. Highlights of the business meeting include: passing of the budget which included over $23,000 to be distributed to various mission& outreach initiatives (most notably Guest House of Milwaukee, Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee). Pastor Tara was elected to serve on the Association s Mission Team. After the business meeting we broke into small groups to brainstorm initiatives to do mission and outreach in our association. Eventually we narrowed the ideas down to five and each of those groups that is able to present a completed proposal to the Association by fall will receive $2,000 to fund their plan. Watch for further information on this initiative as our church may be involved in one of the initiatives (Young Adult Outreach). FACEBOOK PAGES TO NOTE Our Saviour's Ucc Our Saviour's Cemetery Association Germantown WI Mamcco (Milw. Area Messiah Community Choir and Orchestra) STJOHNUCCGERMANTOWN UnitedChurchofChrist OSUCC WEBSITE IS UP! Thanks to Sloan for setting it up for us and showing Sheila how to add some stuff. Let Sheila, Pastor Tara, Sloan or the council know what you think.

8 P a g e 8 O U R S A V I O U R S U C C J u n e / J u l y / A u g u s t MISSION AND OUTREACH COMMITTEE June s mission is St. Boniface Food Pantry. July s mission collects loose offering for the Guatemala Fund. We will also be collecting travel size hygiene products for Dr. Albrecht s Free Clinic. August s mission is Friends of Abused Families. The Mission and Outreach Committee thanks you for your generous donations! The committee participates in a blood drive once a year, collects non-perishable food items four times a year for St Boniface and West Bend food pantries, collects paper items four times a year for Friends of Abused Families, collects loose offering four times a year to help buy things like chickens and stoves for the needy in Guatemala, raises money & rallies participation for the Washington County Crop Walk, fills shoeboxes at Christmas for children around the world for Samaritans Purse, and collects travel sized hygiene products for Dr. Albrecht s Free Clinic in West Bend during the summer months. If you would like to learn more or join the committee, you can contact Sheila Dettmann. There are no meetings at this time, but the committee is looking for a chairman to start them up again and run it as it has been without one for about 2 years. Members include: Sheila Dettmann, Sharon Gehl & Chrystal Smerz PASTORAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE The committee will meet once per quarter regularly or at any time the pastor or the committee deems it necessary to call a meeting. The purpose of this committee is to support and maintain an open relationship between the pastor and members of the congregation. Should any member have a concern that they feel should be discussed between the pastor and committee, please feel free to contact any member of the committee. If a significant concern or suggestion is brought forward we will do our best to resolve the issue. This committee functions irrespective of the Church Council and will handle any concern with total confidence. The committee and pastor will always meet together. Members include: Bill Wetterau (Chair), Les Beuscher, Darold Hoelz, Lynne Schuppie & Sandy Wendlandt GROUNDS AND MAINTENANCE COMMITTEE The purpose of this committee is to take care of the maintenance of the church building and the property outdoors. If you would like to learn more, join the committee, or let them know of an issue, you can contact Dale Schuldt or anyone on the committee. Members include: Dale Schuldt (Chair), Chris Miller, Dennis Dettmann, Jim Klug & Gene Dettmann WORSHIP COMMITTEE This committee has a two part duty: 1) work with the pastor to help services run smoothly and work thru issues or changes that want/need to be made with services and 2) run as an Altar Guild with the following responsibilities: set up Communion monthly and for special services, order worship supplies, changing alter clothes as needed, changing altar candles, getting Christmas Eve candlelight service candles set up and put away, etc. The committee is looking for a new chairman. Members include: Sheila Dettmann (Altar), Betty Egger (Altar) & Dennis Dettmann (I.T.)

9 JUNE 2014 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Worship w/ Communion 9am Sunday School: Last Day and sponsoring coffee hour after service Wisconsin Conference Annual Meeting 7 Wisconsin Conference Annual Meeting Laura s Smile Mile 10:30am 8 Wisconsin Conference Annual Meeting Worship 9am Strengthen the Church Offering (same as 15th) Noah s Ark Youth Trip 9am-7pm 21 HAPPY FATHER S DAY Council Meeting 7:30pm (same as 22nd) MISSION for JUNE St Boniface Food Pantry USHERS Les Beuscher - Chairperson Sandy Hug Sandy Wendlandt Oliver Schowalter Pastor: Tara Tetzlaff Cell: (262) taratetzlaff@gmail.com OSUCC Phone: (262) OSUCC office@oursavioursucc.org Church Council President: Jerry Schuppie Vice President: Ken Miller Secretary: Audrey Dettmann Head Usher: Dennis David Financial Secretary: Patty Kannenberg Choir Director and Organist/Pianist: Mark Kannenberg Secretary: Sheila K Dettmann Custodian: Chris Miller Sunday School Super: Laura Miller

10 JULY 2014 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat MISSIONS for JULY 1 2 (same as 29th) 3 4 HAPPY 4TH OF JULY 5 Guatemala Fund & Dr. Albrecht s Free Clinic 6 w/ Communion w/ Communion (same as 6th) 10 Red Cross Blood Drive 1pm-6pm Lutheran Church of the Living Christ (hosting) / Our Saviour s / St. John 11 Regional Youth Event 12 Regional Youth Event Regional Youth Event 13 Regional Youth Event (same as 13th) Council Meeting 7:30pm St. John Brewers Game (first pitch at 7:10pm) (same as 20th) (same as 27th) 31 USHERS Doug Seyfert - Chair Jackie Lipski Kay Bast-Rhode Pastor: Tara Tetzlaff Cell: (262) taratetzlaff@gmail.com OSUCC Phone: (262) OSUCC office@oursavioursucc.org Church Council President: Jerry Schuppie Vice President: Ken Miller Secretary: Audrey Dettmann Head Usher: Dennis David Financial Secretary: Patty Kannenberg Choir Director and Organist/Pianist: Mark Kannenberg Secretary: Sheila K Dettmann Custodian: Chris Miller Sunday School Super: Laura Miller

11 AUGUST 2014 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat with Communion with Communion (same as 3rd) (same as 10th) (same as 17th) Council Meeting 7:30pm (same as 24th) Pastor: Tara Tetzlaff Cell: (262) taratetzlaff@gmail.com OSUCC Phone: (262) OSUCC office@oursavioursucc.org Church Council President: Jerry Schuppie Vice President: Ken Miller Secretary: Audrey Dettmann Head Usher: Dennis David Financial Secretary: Patty Kannenberg Choir Director and Organist/Pianist: Mark Kannenberg Secretary: Sheila K Dettmann Custodian: Chris Miller Sunday School Super: Laura Miller