Ministers: The People of the Church Pastor: Kevin Clark

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1 January, 2016 As I write this article I look forward, with great anticipation, to the New Year. I have always enjoyed New Year s and the celebration that goes with it. It seems like the perfect ending to the anticipation and build-up of the Christmas season. After waiting all the way from Thanksgiving until December 25 th, we finally reach Christmas. But then comes December 26 th, and we are left to think, Ok, now what? And that answer is New Year s. It is less than a week away, and for me, it has always seemed to bring closure to the Christmas season. What better way to complete the Christmas season the anticipation of the coming of Jesus into the world than to recognize the new life and new beginning we have in Christ. New Year s is commonly associated with renewal and new beginnings. I ve lost count of the number of TV commercials I ve seen with a tagline similar to New Year, New You. For many, this idea of new life means: watching what you eat, exercising, giving up a bad habit, or starting a good habit. This year, the new beginning that I am most excited about is our new beginning as a church. As of January 1 st, our leadership structure will officially be changing and our old boards and committees will be replaced by our new Council and Ministry Teams. There is a great deal of work to do, and there are sure to be some bumps in the road along the way, but those prospects don t diminish my excitement, because I believe this change in governance provides us the best opportunity to be a Bible-centered, Jesus-loving, others-serving church as we move forward. I say this because the entire focus of our new leadership structure is based on concept of the Body of Christ. As the Bible tells us You are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it (1 Cor. 12:27) and that There are many parts, but one body (1 Cor. 12:20). It goes on to explain that every part of the body serves a different purpose, and every purpose is important. Some of the parts of the body many have more glamorous jobs, while others seem to have unwanted jobs, yet every job is necessary and every part of the body must function in the way it was made to function. An eye was not made to hear, nor an ear to smell. Yet, when each part of the body is doing what it was made to do, the body will be healthy, happy and holy. I believe this is the greatest benefit of our new leadership structure the ability to do what God has made you to do. To have the ability for each of us to be the part that we were made to be and serve the function we were made to serve. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit gives different gifts to each different person and that we are each called to use those gifts to build up the body of Christ (cf. Eph. 4:12). With our new structure, it is supremely important that every member of this church begin praying about two questions: What gifts has God given me? How is God calling me to use those gifts to build up His body? As we start this new chapter in our church s history, it is a very exciting time. It is a time of new beginnings, and a time for each of us to discover who God made us to be and how God is calling us to serve. Ministers: The People of the Church Pastor: Kevin Clark FCC associates with sister churches in the Wis. Congregational Association & National Association of Congregational Christian Churches

2 ANNIVERSARIES & BIRTHDAYS January Birthdays Wil Manion... 1/12 Warren Kufalk... 1/28 Please drop a note to the church office to have your birthday or anniversary included here. January Fellowship Events January 10 White Elephant Party / Potluck January 31 Not So Newlywed Game Watch the communication table for signup sheets. Join us for food, fun and fellowship! Articles for the February Newsletter are due in the office by January 29 Upcoming Events Jan Men s Breakfast Jan White Elephant / Potluck Jan Linden Ridge Service Jan Women s Fellowship Jan Not So Newlywed Game/Potato Bake Notice: Photographs taken at church events are included in the newsletter, on our website and our Facebook page. If you would prefer not to have your photo posted to any of these forums, please contact the church office. Church Council / Staff Moderator Janine Coley Moderator Elect Treasurer Jean Brocker Secretary Beth Petersen Budget & Finance Harlan Petersen Property & Grounds Worship Linda Haeger Congregational Care Linda Garasimowicz Missions Sue Roberts Christian Education T.J. Tritz Staff Organist/Choir Director - Marni Wiggins Office Admin. - Judi Weyer Pastor Kevin Clark /20/15 Offering 105, Expenses 107, Over (Short) (1,897.81) Attendance Nov Dec. 6? Dec Dec Report on the Scholastic Book Sale The Scholastic Book Sale finished up on December 13. First Congregational earned more than $ thanks to the efforts of the members of the congregation. Special thanks to Linda Garasimowicz for help in setting up, Karen Mathew and Sue Roberts for improving the arrangement of the display, and Sue Roberts and Joanne Himebauch for help in packing up the sale items that did not sell. The most promising thing was that every day except the last Sunday between 40 and 50 per cent of our customers were not church members, but people from the community. Submitted by First Congregational Church ~ 231 Roberts Drive ~ Mukwonago, WI Church Office Pastor Kevin Clark Marni Wiggins CARE Ministry Prayer Chain (262) (612) Organist/Choir Dir. care@fccweb.net prayer@fccweb.net office@fccweb.net rev.kevinclark@gmail.com marni@fccweb.net

3 Missions Moments Adopt A Family ~ Our church has such a giving heart. Time and again we have asked for your generosity and you ve always come through. The Adopt A Family for Christmas was a great success. Thank you everyone for giving this family a wonderful Christmas. The biggest gift to us in return is the giving. It is what Jesus has taught us throughout the New Testament of the Bible. Giving opens our hearts and lets the love shine through. You are truly blessed by your act of kindness. Donated Gifts from Dollar General Store: The Dollar General has once again donated two large bags of stuffed animals and small children s toys to our church. The Missions Team decided that we d donate the gifts to the Hebron House in Waukesha. The timing couldn t have been more perfect since they had their annual Christmas Party on Saturday, December 19 th. A big thank you goes out to Dorothy Schrader for picking them up at the store and delivering them to FCC. Events coming up: We will once again be involved with a Packathon on Saturday, February 20 at the Mukwonago High School. The $25 donation for packing food will be covered by funds from the Missions Ministry. A sign-up sheet will be put out on the information table in the Narthex. Diapers: Thank you for your continued donation of diapers. We are delivering diapers weekly to Life s Connections here in Mukwonago. The Missions Team is happy to help an organization that is doing so much for families. Submitted by Beth Petersen New Member Sunday ~ Dec. 20 Welcome ~ Cory & Jess Ballard, Tom & Sue Roberts, T.J. & Erin Tritz T.J. & Erin Tom & Sue Cory & Jess

4 News from the Council The newly formed council has already met in November and December to get things organized so we can start out 2016 with a mission and a plan. We are truly blessed to have such a great team working together towards what Jesus has asked us to do in His name. Here is a chart of the 2016 Officers and Directors: Janine Coley Jean Brocker Beth Petersen Harlan Petersen Linda Haeger Linda Garasimowicz Missions Christian Education Moderator Moderator Elect Treasurer Secretary Budget & Finance Property & Grounds Worship Congregational Care Sue Roberts TJ Tritz We are excited to say we are getting our new Ministerial Teams established. There are so many areas where you can get involved in what God is calling you to do. A big thank you to all those that already filled out the forms for volunteering for the new Ministries. In the coming months you will see posters accenting the new Ministries, descriptions and who to contact. Here are some of the areas that are already in place and the contact. We are also planning an Opportunity Sunday where you can talk with all the Ministerial Team Leaders to ask questions and see what s right for you. As our church grows, more ministries will be added. If you have any ideas, please share them with one of the Council members. No idea is too big or too small. Ministerial Team Public Relations Communion Youth Sunday School Backpack Program Prayer Chain Funeral Committee Kitchen Coordinator Furnishings & Memorial Archivist Flower Committee Visiting Shut Ins Building Care Ushers Linden Services Pulpit Supply Made With Love WCA Spiritual Renewal Team Music Hospitality & Welcome Leader Jean Broker Janine Coley Joanne Himebauch Beth Petersen Beth Petersen Sue Roberts & Tom Roberts Tom Rowntree Joanne Himebauch Joanne Himebauch Minutes from Council: We will continue to post the Minutes of the Council meetings so you can keep up with what is being discussed each month. Printed copies of the Minutes will also be available on the information table in the Narthex for those that would like to read them at their leisure. Submitted by Beth Petersen

5 Learn to Knit in January Thank you to all who provided the baked goods and craft items for our December bake sale. Also, thank you to all who purchased items. This year we earned $ God has truly blessed us. Bring a sandwich and join us January 20 th at 12:30 pm in the upstairs lounge. We will be planning meetings through June. Please remember to keep filling your blessing bags. January is the month of new beginnings, we ask all to join us in trying to remember to thank God daily for something we are thankful for. Submitted by bonnie Geiser Jess Ballard and TriSkill would like to humbly thank each and every one of you for your tremendous generosity and support of our community day program. We are touched by how welcomed we have been and by how you have reached out to support this program and those involved. TriSkill has been blessed to find such an incredible home for our program, and we are excited to see all that we can do to serve the Mukwonago community in 2016! God bless all of you! Knit-wits would like to invite you to join us in January and learn to knit, crochet or do other hand work. You can also brush up on skills that you haven t used for a while. We meet on Tuesdays from 10:00 until noon. You should know that if it is snowing hard or really, really cold we will not meet, so call the church before coming out in questionable weather. We have righthanded and left-handed members in our group so someone will always be able to lend a hand in learning new skills. Some of the things that we make are for our own use, but many of the items are given to groups for distribution to others. We currently have members who are making thumbless mittens for infants (given to Life Connections) and infant and premie hats in red to be given out on Valentine s day to babies born in the Aurora health care system. If you would like to make items, but need a pattern, we have patterns and they will be made available to you. In the past, we have made hats, scarfs, baby quilts and blankets and many other items that have been given to the Hope Center, the Women s Center, the Mukwonago Food Pantry, Waukesha County Social Services for young adults aging out of foster care, the Caldwell Food Bank, and other agencies and mission programs. We will also have patterns available if you would like to make laprobes or prayer shawls for distribution to our shut-ins. If you have questions, please contact Bonnie Geiser or. Submitted by

6 From the Kitchen of: Debbie Maske Bars to the Stars 2 cups butterscotch morsels 1 cup chunky peanut butter 8 cups rice krispies 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips 1 cup powdered sugar ¼ cup butter 2 TBS water Combine peanut butter and butterscotch morsels in bowl, microwave until melted. Add cereal, press ½ in greased 9 x 13 pan. Chill while preparing fudge mixture. Combine and heat chocolate, powdered sugar, butter and water. Melt, stir often until smooth. Pour over chilled mixture. Spread remaining half over top of fudge layer. Press down firmly. Chill until firm. Worship at Linden December 20 ended another year that First Congregational offered a monthly worship service at Linden Ridge. January will be the start of another year. We are getting more people in attendance from the residents of the Linden Grove Health and Rehabilitation Center. As a result, we need help for the following: Liturgists Providing music Serving communion Greeting those in attendance Transporting those in wheel chairs to or from their rooms. If you have an interest in sharing a message, we would love to offer you the opportunity. This is a very receptive and supportive group. There will be a sign-up sheet on the table in the narthex so that you can volunteer for an opportunity to serve in this important ministry. Submitted by Servant Schedule Date Refresh. Greeter Ushers Nursery Liturgist Sunday School Jan. 3 Group 1 Claire H Jan. 10 Potluck Group 2 Beth & Sydney Kay R Joanne H Jan. 17 Group 3 TJ & Erin Joanne H Jan. 24 Group 1 Jess & Cory Janine C Jan. 31 Potato Bake Group 2 Janine C In darkness God s truth shines most clear. Corrie Ten Boom

7 231 ROBERTS DRIVE MUKWONAGO, WISCONSIN «Final_Merge Mailing_Labels» «Address» «City», «State» «Zip» «Newsletter_Delivery_Preference» The lounge will be used for Christian Counseling: Sundays 2pm 10pm, Mondays 6pm 10pm and Thursdays 6:30 pm 10pm