Monroe United Methodist Church

Transcription

1 July 2018 Monroe United Methodist Church th Street, Monroe, WI (608) Hospitality for Independence Day Join us as we watch the fireworks on Wednesday, July 4. The church opens its doors and front lawn to about 300 people each July 4th to watch the fireworks in Twining Park. We give away soda and popcorn. We have glow bracelets and sparklers for the kids. Help us set up at 6:30 p.m. We have already received many donations of water and pop. The event is free and open to all. We will advertise Vacation Bible School and our ice cream stand at the County Fair. Staff Changes at Church We will host the ice cream stand at the Green County fair again this year. Proceeds will go to help disadvantaged children in the Monroe School District. Volunteers are needed for two hour shifts to scoop ice cream and take money. This is also a great way to meet more of your church family! Sign up through the link on our website at We welcome Debb Bennett as our new office manager. She ll start after Independence Day. Debb is active at the 8:00 worship service and Sunday School. She serves as an usher and is also a trained EMT. She replaces Terry Tackett who leaves us after fourteen years of stellar service. Terry has been able to balance the church s busy calendar, consistently get out weekly worship bulletins and monthly newsletters, and myriad other tasks. She has been artistically creative with PowerPoint and decorations for worship. She s innovative about keeping longterm ministries fresh and is passionate about our missions. SPRC will be interviewing applicants for the Christian Ed. Director position to replace Chandra Deprez very soon. Generosity Day in Monroe Thrivent Financial is sponsoring Generosity Day on Saturday, July 28, Our church will participate by providing Little Food Pantries for construction. Workday #1 is Saturday, July 14 at 8:00 a.m. to paint the plywood and draw the patterns. We ll separate the hardware into plastic bags. This workday is located behind the church, weather permitting. Workday #2 is Saturday, July 28 at the tent on the square. The dream is to have a network of 24/7 food boxes around town because hunger doesn t keep a regular schedule. As other churches, groups, or individuals take a box, they will be responsible for supplying it with food year round. This is a dream from Chandra Deprez and she worked with Team K.I.D. to create the first box. It will be placed in front of the church after Generosity Day. The money for these boxes comes from the Bernie Ringhand memorial account and a grant from Thrivent. More contributions are welcome to get more boxes out. Each box costs about $150. You can also donate 3/4 weather treated plywood and 4x4 posts. Sign up at the Information Center at church for either day. 1

2 Pastor s Page Cruciform is the word that means take the shape of the cross. Karen and I saw it in Italy over and over. In churches that date back 500 years or more, the main part is designed to look like a cross. This design was common centuries before people could fly over and see, so it must have been designed to be seen from God s point of view. In many of the ancient churches, there would be a dome over the spot where the vertical beam met the horizontal beam. There s one church in Siena where the walls of the original church still stand, but those church walls are outside. Work had to stop because the black plague killed off many of their workers. It brought to a halt the work of the cathedral that was under construction for more than 100 years already. Also, the leaders in Rome didn t want Siena s building larger than St. Peter s Basilica. Karen and I have toured cruciform churches in Italy, England, and Ireland. Even St Clare s Catholic Church in Monroe has this shape. Even more than cruciform as architecture is cruciform living. This more than imitating the Crucified One, it is obeying him in all aspects of life. We cannot separate the suffering of the cross from the glory of the resurrection. In our lives, we must expect both, too. Like conformity, cruciformity means joyful obedience to Jesus Christ. It means the community of Christ followers will conform to God s Way. Cruciformity means the individual believer surrenders to God and so does the community. We model and hold accountable for one another what cruciform living means with the various gifts God has given us. Jesus challenged his followers to take up their cross and follow him. The closer we are to Christ in attitude and action the easier it is to do the dirty work, pay the price, and forgive others. Jesus embraced the cross as the only way for salvation. The church is more than just ensuring that people are going to heaven. It s a place to be disciplined spiritually. Just as athletes are disciplined physically to compete in their sports, Christians are prepared for imitating Christ in more and more ways. You ll hear more about this during worship in July. It s not just church architecture, it s our way of life. Worship In July: Cruciform Our focus in worship during July will be the term cruciform. As an architectural style, it is seen in many churches. More than the shape of the church is the shape of the person. How do we, as Christ followers, carry our cross? How do we get people to see Christ when they see us? Pastor Randy will explore these questions this month. Communion is served at the 8:00 service on July 1; at the 9:30 service on July 15 and 29, and at the 10:45 service on July 15. Out and About with Pastor Randy Pastor Randy will preach at Pleasant View on Tuesday, July 10. The service begins at 10:15. He ll preach at Monroe Manor and Aster on July 25. The service at the Manor begins at 10:00 and 11:00 at Aster. If you know a resident in any of these residences, be sure to join him or her for this time of worship. Are You Using RightNow Media? As the church studies cost savings measures, we are considering eliminating RightNow Media. No one in the office has a clear picture of how many families use it and how much they use it. Please send a note to the church office or Pastor Randy by or blue attendance sheet about your usage of this service. Thanks. Committee Meetings Tues. July 3-6:00 Missions Mon. July 9-6:30 Trustees 7:30 Finance Mon. July 16-7:00 Ad Council Mon. July 23-7:00 Open Door The July/August Upper Room devotional is in the narthex for anyone who would like to pick one up. It is available in regular or large print and is free of charge. 2

3 Volunteer Spotlight for July SPRC and Open Door Committees We are honoring two of our committees this month the SPRC and Open Door Committees. Staff Parish Relations Committee The task of the SPRC committee is to assess the needs of the church and match them with the jobs of the paid staff including the pastor. It is also the task to encourage, strengthen, nurture, support and respect the pastor and staff and their families, promote unity in the church, confer with the pastor and staff pertaining to effectiveness of ministry (The Book of Discipline). The committee also seeks to maximize the spiritual gifts of each employee and offer an annual evaluation of the church and employees. The SPRC works with the Finance Committee in making recommendations about salaries and benefits for all employees. Open Door Committee This new committee combines the work of three committees: evangelism, membership and strong families. Their work is to reach out beyond out walls and create a welcoming church. This is done by maintaining the welcome center, special events and following up on visitors. Another task is to stir up within the congregation the people who already attend to become friends. The goal is to go beyond being a friendly church, to being a church full of friends. They are to strengthen families with classes and events for marriage and parenting. To honor and thank these hard working, dedicated volunteers for all they do, we will be serving cake between services on July 22, Praying As If We Knew What God Knows When praying, it is natural to ask for things. We ask to have our loved ones blessed and resolutions to problems beyond our control. We talk with God about everyday things, and the faith to live a holy life. Sometimes it appears that our prayers are not answered, that our requests are not filled in the way we asked. Tim Keller, a retired Presbyterian pastor from New York City, say that God answers our request, but from God s point of view. God always gives you what you would have asked for if you knew everything that he knows. On one hand, this idea about prayer is absurd. No human can know what God knows. He can see the future, and he had healed the past. On the other hand, God has revealed what he knows in the ways he answers our prayers. When we don t get what we want, or a loved one dies, or even with unexpected success, God has responded as if we knew the right thing to ask because God already knows the right thing. How do we respond with this new information? It s safe to assume God is doing the right thing, so we don t express our confusion, Oh, this isn t right! How many times have we looked back at life and realized today s outcome is the result of a small change years before? Perhaps it was a birthday gift you got that opened a new arena of thought. Perhaps it was failure at a college class that redirected your major. Perhaps it was an unexpected move. Perhaps that is how God answers our prayers because he is preparing us. He gives us what we would have asked for if we knew everything God knows. Perhaps the frustration in your life today is God answering your prayers from the future something he knows very well. Instead of insisting on our way, it s time to consider God is answering his way. Accepting this new answer might just pay off in the future. Methodists call this Prevenient Grace. It s God s love that prepares us to draw closer to God. It also has the root word for prevention, because God is preventing us from heading down the wrong path. Your Support Is Needed Our friends at SARP Sexual Abuse Recovery Program are promoting their new T-shirt. It was designed by a 12-year old in Juda. There s a signup sheet at the Information Center which the office will turn in July 31. Or you can contact SARP directly at Ask for Kristy. This is a chance to sponsor a great program in our county. 3

4 Fellowship & Education Community Support Groups & Events This Month High Tide Recovery is a support group to help overcome addictions and crippling emotional or spiritual problems. Using both 12-step and Celebrate Recovery models, Jesus Christ is the way to healing. Tuesday nights 7:00 8:30 at 18&8 th, th Street, Monroe. Call Dale (608) or Paul (719) for more information. Facebook.com/18and8th A Breast Cancer Survivor Support Group meets July 11 at Monroe Clinic, 6:00 7:00 pm. Contact Kris to learn more kriswis@tds.net. Note the new location. Also, it s one week late because of Independence Day holiday. A Parenting Support Group meets at St John s Church on July 9. A different topic each month to help parents of any age child. Discussion starts at 5:00, social time begins at 5:30. Led by Green County Human Services. Call if you need child care. The Memory Café meets at Behring Senior Center on July 11from 1:30 3:00. Those will memory or mobility limitations should come and you re welcome to bring a family member with you. The Caregiver Support group sponsored by the Monroe Clinic meets on July 12 from 6:00 7:30 in Café Room 3. Loaves and Fishes has its free meal on July 22. The meal is at Grace Lutheran Church off the square from 4:00 6:00. MUMC Cooking Class Everyone is invited to join us for our next cooking adventure of Breakfast/ Brunch foods on Thursday, July 5 at 6:30 pm. Participants will work together to create the meal and split the cost. Cost will not exceed $10/person. Please sign up at the Information Center so we can plan enough recipes and food. We begin at the 9:30 service then children go to Fellowship Hall for class. LADIES are invited to sing Sunday, August 12. We will rehearse Wednesdays July 25, August 1, and August 8 at 7:00 in the choir room. Peace and Friendship Circle meets on Tuesday, July 17 at 9:30amat Shirley Erickson s home. Health, Holiness & H 2 O Water aerobics followed by devotions in the hot tub at the Super 8 pool on Tuesdays & Thursdays at 8:00am. New members are always welcome. Kings and Queens Monroe United Methodist Church will have Vacation Bible School the week of August 5. Our theme will be kings and queens of the Bible. Of course, Jesus is our great king. He wore a crown of thorns as he paid for our sin. Now he wears a victor s crown as he is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. We ll also look at David, Esther and Jehoshaphat. We start with family style dinner at 5:30 p.m. There s plenty of music, crafts, and lessons. There will be a class for adults, too. Pastor Randy serves communion to the older students on Wednesday night. We re finally done singing around 8:15 each night. There are registration forms at the Information Center. If you would like to help by leading an activity, please contact the office. There will be a list of needed items later in July for anyone who would like to donate. 4

5 July 4 Wednesday Independence Day celebration on the church lawn July 11 Wednesday Family Promise fellowship and games (normal time) July 18 Wednesday Dip and sell ice cream for Kids the fair (No youth group Sunday) Celebrate the lives of these incredible young people who have birthdays in July: Colin Metz July 5 15 th Birthday PO Box 1 South Wayne Cameron Newcomer July 5 13 th Birthday W4664 Woodridge Drive Monroe Barrett Briggs July 8 18 th Birthday th Avenue Monroe Victoria Wilkinson July th Birthday th Street Monroe Megan Wunschel July th Birthday th Avenue Monroe Alicia Brunton July th Birthday th Avenue Monroe Isabella Brunton July th Birthday th Avenue Monroe Melana Brunton July th Birthday th Avenue Monroe Heather Burkhalter July th Birthday W5495 Town Center Rd Monroe Because You Gave, Lives Are Blessed Our church received a certificate thanking us for paying 100% of our apportionments in The certificate is hanging at the welcome center at church. Pastor Randy delivered 65 Hospitality Kits for distribution in Wisconsin ministries in Superior and Milwaukee. These kits contained basic hygiene items like soap, antiperspirant, dental care. The children s kits also contained toys. The recipients might be sailors far away from home (Superior) or women leaving sex trafficking or abusive homes (Milwaukee). Monroe United Methodist Church is a small part of the solution. The Wisconsin Board of Global Ministries wrote, Because you gave, lives are blessed, the Kingdom is strengthened, and God is pleased! Wow! Thank you for your donation. The total ingathering at annual conference was about 500 hospitality kits, 300 flood buckets, and 200 school kits. This means we gave 13% of all this year s hospitality kits. There was also a cash donation of $8,000 to be used by the Midwest Distribution Center, the Methodist warehouse where these items are stored until the need arises. Pastor Randy continues in his appointment at Monroe UMC, now beginning his eleventh year. Warm Mission Trips Are Forming Are you interested in serving Christ during the winter? Here are two mission trips a few months away, but eager to accept volunteers! A UM Church in North Canton, Ohio is forming a trip to Rio Bravo, Mexico December This is geared toward college students on winter break, but is open to all. The work is to build a small house (casita), and the $2,000 fee covers airfare, lodging in a dorm style setting, and meals. Call Tammy Kuntz at Or maybe Hawaii is calling. Mauston (WI) United Methodist Church is forming a work trip to Hawaii January The cost of trip is $1,300. Call Debby Bollig at It s possible to add on personal excursions for additional fees. $650 deposit due soon. Camp Scholarship Part of our support of Methodist Camps includes sending $100 to Rising Sun Camp. This program is aimed at helping children from Wisconsin with an incarcerated parent go to Lake Lucerne. In 2017 our contribution helped send 25 students; in 2018 their goal is 35 campers. 5

6 Friends in Faith Ministry Randy & Karen s Trip to Italy in Pictures Mark your calendars for our next Friends In Faith Ministries event which will be held on Thursday, July 26 th at 1:00pm. You won t want to miss this picture presentation of Pastor Randy and Karen s Anniversary trip to Italy! Everyone is invited to come for an afternoon of fun and amazement (that s what I m expecting), and treats you know you can t resist! Sign-up will be available at the welcome center soon. Annual Picnic and Band Concert When the Elder Council meets to plan monthly events for Friends In Faith Ministries, there s little to decide for the month of June. That s when we have our annual picnic. The City Band Concert that follows the picnic is an important feature of the affair, so their schedule determines the date and time. As for victuals, there s but one gal who can tickle our taste buds with her cooking while she tickles our ribs with her smile. So of course, Anne Bauman is called to cater the meal. Then there s the location to consider. And, sure, parks and picnics were made for each other, but you still can t change the unpredictability of springtime weather in Wisconsin. So Fellowship Hall is the logical, safe, dry, and perfect setting for the occasion. That being settled, the invitation is made. Then you, our loving friends and family in Christ, provide the laughter, the hugs, the fellowship, the joy, and the memories. This year s picnic was as grand a time as anyone could ask for excepting for the storm. Because of it, we did have to sacrifice the concert. But maybe next year the City Band should plan with the Elder Council and perform where we picnic. Just sayin.. Please honor the lives of these Saints in our midst as they celebrate birthdays in July: Miriam Babula 94 th Birthday July 22 nd th Avenue, #106, Monroe Shirley Erickson 89 th Birthday July 25 th th Ave, #731, Monroe Lucille Guzman 91 st Birthday July 29 th nd Ave, Monroe Helen Fahrney 100 th Birthday July 31 st th Street, Monroe Won t you send cards or better yet - give a visit! Missionary Ministry Presentation Jan Wartenweiler s daughter Jamie Shepherd is a counselor at Oaks Counseling ministry for missionaries in Texas. This summer while missionary parents are at a conference in Wilderswil Switzerland, Jan s grandchildren, Adi, Hamilton and Ella Shepherd will be taking care of the child care needs for the missionaries children by assisting in their kids camp and helping in the nursery. Before they go, the family will visit Monroe in July and give a presentation at church during all three services on Sunday, July Working here at MUMC has been a heart filling experience. To witness the extraordinary compassion, giving and service to others of so many has been both inspiring and humbling. Over the years I have had the privilege and honor to share in the joys and sorrows of our members. Thank you all for the opportunity to serve our congregation. I will cherish the memories and friendships. In His Love, Terry Tackett

7 Membership News Cora Nemeth will be baptized on July 8. Her parents are Jim and Lisa. Our next new members class is scheduled for Sunday, September 23 at 1:00 in the church library. Anika Nelson our missionary at Rutgers University in New Jersey working through Athletes in Action writes that she had a great spring semester. Even though she is a college graduate, she was still able to compete on the Rutgers rowing team. She was able to mentor three young women in their leadership in the faith. She went for more training in Boston in June and plans to return to Monroe this month. She raises her own support so that college athletes can come to Christ and grow in leadership. Call her at (608) or Please continue to pray for our church members working at the Methodist Camps this summer: Jess Shaker and Elizabeth Grenzow. After camp, Jess will go to Spain for the school year and Elizabeth will start college. Joe Best thanks everyone for coming to his 85th birthday party and the many gifts, cards and god wishes he received. It was a nice surprise! Larry Goebel was grateful for the donation the church made at Joan s passing. His address is 4318 S Wermter Rd, South Range, WI Frautschy Scholarship Thank You Notes Hunter Weckerly will use his Frautschy Scholarship to continue the success he had his first year at UW Whitewater pursuing accounting. Nick Borowitz told us he is honored to have this scholarship renewed. He s studying biology at UW-Whitewater. He also thanked us for the gifts sent to him throughout the year because they really brightened his day and made him think of home. Jonah Tostrud from Browntown wrote the scholarship will be extremely helpful as he furthers his education at UW-Madison in civil engineering. Drew Wyss wrote to thank us for the scholarship. He ll be attending UW-Stout to pursue a degree in graphic design. Receiving this scholarship is greatly appreciated and will help me follow my dreams. Brett Lyne said he won t let us down as he works to the best of his ability as he goes on to the next stage of his education. Luke Nicholson thanks us for helping him attend college. Silas Setterstrom will use his scholarship money at UW Madison. He noted that our town demonstrates great kindness to its young people. Applying Bible Principles Thank you for your faithfulness in supporting the ministries of Monroe United Methodist Church! Through the end of May, our income for the budget was $162,434. This is well above the 5-year average for the first five months ($145,423). It is below our income for January May 2017 ($166,161). Through the end of June, we have paid all our bills, and we are ahead on our apportionments to the Annual Conference. We have seen eight youth confirmed, our Hispanic ministry has grown, and children s Sunday School has finished another year. In the first six months, we have given away $10,000 in mission. This includes $6,850 to our top five mission projects: Family Promise, Northcott Center, Children s Services, UM Committee on Relief, and Red Bird Mission. We ve given away another $3,200 to Rising Sun Camp, Hurricane Disaster Relief, and Anika Nelson. Our youth group has sold cinnamon buns for Samuel, their Compassion International child and hunger relief with their 30-Hour famine. Thank you. This is proof that Fred Wood was right: The most important aspect of tithing and stewardship is not the raising of money for the church, but the development of devoted Christians. We pool our funds and work on many fronts at the same time. It s not like tuition for school: give us money, we ll give you knowledge (or at least classes). It s not like the store: give us money, and we ll give you goods and services. Instead, as everybody gives, everybody receives. Giving to church is a way of thanking God, trusting God, and building up the church community. Our model is much closer to a family than a business. Donations to the church are used quickly and for the intended purpose of spiritual maturity. In worship, education, and outreach, all donations are overseen by teams of church members. The finance committee verifies our books, the mission committee verifies the destinations of giving beyond the church, staff members work to keep costs down. Our automatic withdrawal system (ACH) is growing. We now receive $4,450 each month this way. This helps alleviate the dip in income often experienced in the summer. Thank you for your faithfulness is supporting the ministries of your church. 7

8 Good News! th Street, Monroe, WI (608) Pastor: Randy Booth mumcpastorrandy@tds.net Education Director: mumcce@tds.net Elder Ministry Director: Jane Gaulrapp mumcfriends@tds.net Financial Secretary: Lorie Kline - ext. 564 Choir Director: Julie Shipe McClain juliesm@uwalumni.com Office Manager: monroeumc@tds.net Treasurer: Anita Best - ext. 564 Youth Director: Jane Gaulrapp mumchsyouth@tds.net Custodians: Fred &Anne Bauman Ad Council: Jen Carter Finance: John Daane Missions: Terry Tackett Noah s Ark Preschool: Renee Pivonka Open Door Ministry: Kathy Seffrood Prayer: Randy Booth SPRC: Erin Daniels Family Promise: Linda Nack Trustees: Wayne Schwartz NON-PROFIT ORG. U. S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 56 MONROE, WI Return service requested July 2018 Contents Pastor s Page 2 News 2,3 Fellowship 4 Christian Ed. 5 Worship Schedule Sunday 8:00, 9:30 & 10:45 am Sunday School begins at 9:15 Youth 5 Friends in Faith 6 Missions 7 Member News 7 The next Good News deadline is July 22 Office Hours 8:30 am - 4:00pm Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. John 14:6 Our church exists so that all people might find the Way, know the Truth, and experience the Life! Through discipleship, ministry, fellowship and worship we strive to bring the joy of knowing Christ to our members and community. 8