FAMILIES! When one sees or hears the word family, continuing the thought to church family is a natural.

Transcription

1

2 FAMILIES! When one sees or hears the word family, continuing the thought to church family is a natural. There are many types of families that all of us are claimed by. For starters let s consider the family of our community. To me this is part of our local mission. We participate by supporting Agnes Table, Spirit of Christmas, Open Door Clinic, our food pantry and CareLink. This isn t solely with our cash gifts but with our time and energy. If you look at the roster of these groups, you will see a preponderance of volunteers from our congregation! Look at what this includes; the quilts, children s clothing, and dozens of hats, mittens and scarves that are stitched and given away! Our community family is the city of Chippewa Falls and we are dedicated to helping those that need a boost. This is a family where we may not know the people personally but we know they have a need where we can help and share. In today s world of mobile societies a high number of people live far beyond the core family they were raised in. So when we move, who replaces the family that was left behind? Who can fill the gap? This is where our church family comes into the picture. Sometimes the need is to locate goods and services or perhaps someone to drive them to an appointment. It of course goes much deeper than that. These are the ones we study with as we live our faith. A place where we can ask questions and learn. These are the friends that help us through difficult times. Comforting us in times of trial and reassuring us that faith will carry us through. These same folks will share our joy when we see a mountain conquered. We need fellow Christians for support, just as they need us. Small things like sending a card of encouragement, fixing a meal or being on a prayer list for support, this is our church family. These actions are done by sharing our love of Christ and following His teaching. Also by helping others to see the love of Christ in us. This is done without fanfare. As God s teachings tell us; they will know we are Christians by our love. Anyone that has moved here in the last fifteen years without a family moving with them needs the strengthening bonds of a church family that will strive to help others live in the faith. For me and my husband and many others in our church we need the bonds of a Christian family with us to share the love of Christ and to aid us in helping others. How do you share your love of Christ by serving others? Jeannette Miller Worship Leader

3 PW STARTS PLANNING FOR SPRING THRIFT SALE The Annual Church-Wide Thrift Sale sponsored by the Presbyterian women will be held Friday, March 14 & Saturday, March 15. Set-up will be Wednesday & Thursday, beginning at 9:00AM. Volunteers who wish to help may bring goodies up from the basement Tuesday night. This is a terrific moneymaker for the church, and we need your help to make it a success again this year. We will have a sign up sheet out when it gets a little closer to the sale time, but meantime, please mark the dates on your calendar so you can come have some fun along with the work. Thank you in advance Corine Boos SCRIP CARD PROGRAM CONTINUES Thanks again to all who have been participating in our scrip program with Gordy s Markets. Please keep in mind this costs us NOTHING. You pay face value for the card ($25, 50, or 100) and we get a check from Gordy s for 5% of it. And we still get the 1% rebate from the receipts that Chris Norseng totals for us. Please also remember these cards can be used for any purchase at any Gordy s store and/or gas station. From May (when we started participating), through December, 2013, we have received $ from this program alone. Cards are available for sale on Sunday mornings and again on Wednesday nights. If you wish, you can order cards ahead. These will be ordered from Gordy s on Monday morning and need to be paid for when ordered. This may be a better option if the cards are needed or a special reason, as we don t always have a large number of cards available, especially the large denominations. If there are any questions about the cards, please see me and I ll try to answer them. Corine Boos THE ORDINARY COLOR Now that the season of Advent with its bright colors is over, we are again in what is known in the church as ordinary time a time of green in the sanctuary. You will see green paraments through Transfiguration of the Lord Sunday, March 2, when we use white.

4 SHOES IN CHURCH By Doug Warburton I showered and shaved: I adjusted my tie. I got there and sat in a pew just in time. Bowing my head in prayer as I closed my eyes. I saw the shoe of the man next to me touching my own. I sighed. With plenty of room on either side. I thought, Why must our soles touch? It bothered me, his shoe touching mine, but it didn't bother him much. A prayer began: Our Father I thought, This man with the shoes, has no pride. They're dusty, worn, and scratched. Even worse, there are holes on the side! Thank You for blessings, the prayer went on. The shoe man said a quiet Amen. I tried to focus on the prayer but my thoughts were on his shoes again. Aren't we supposed to look our best when walking through that door? Well, this certainly isn't it, I thought, glancing toward the floor. Then the prayer was ended and the songs of praise began. The shoe man was certainly loud sounding proud as he sang. His voice lifted the rafters, his hands were raised high. The Lord could surely hear the shoe man's voice from the sky. It was time for the offering and what I threw in was steep. I watched as the shoe man reached into his pockets so deep. I saw what was pulled out, what the shoe man put in. Then I heard a soft clink as when silver hits tin. The sermon really bored me to tears, and that's no lie. It was the same for the shoe man for tears fell from his eyes. At the end of the service as is the custom here. We must greet new visitors, and show them all good cheer. But I felt moved somehow and wanted to meet the shoe man. So after the closing prayer I reached over and shook his hand. He was old and his skin was dark and his hair was truly a mess. But I thanked him for coming for being our guest. He said, My name s Charlie. I'm glad to meet you, my friend. There were tears in his eyes but he had a large, wide grin. Let me explain, he said wiping tears from his eyes. I've been coming here for months and you're the first to say Hi. I know that my appearance is not like all the rest.

5 But I really do try to always look my best. (continued on next page) (Shoes continued) I always clean and polish my shoes before my very long walk. But by the time I get here they're dirty and dusty, like chalk. My heart filled with pain and I swallowed to hide my tears. As he continued to apologize for daring to sit so near. He said, When I get here I know I must look a sight. But I thought if I could touch you. Then maybe our souls might unite. I was silent for a moment knowing whatever was said would pale in comparison... I spoke from my heart, not my head. Oh, you've touched me, I said, and taught me, in part. That the best of any man is what is found in his heart. The rest, I thought, this shoe man will never know. Like just how thankful I really am that his dirty old shoe touched my soul. BIEGINGS SPREAD CARE TO THE NEEDY Although not part of the church s official mission, two of our members, Doctors Jim and Deb Bieging, are sharing their medical knowledge far from Chippewa Falls. Deb has just returned from her second trip in the last six months to the far reaches of Alaska where she has treated dozens of Eskimo children. While most of who have visited Alaska think of it as beautiful and filled with wondrous sights, the area where Deb lived and practiced was far different, more remote and populated by natives who sorely needed medical attention. As if that wasn t enough, she and Jim are now in El Salvador where they will meet and treat the poor and needy in that country. Deb is a retired pediatrician who served for many years as our clinic coordinator and her husband, Jim, is a retired internal medical physician. They both still give their time to the clinic when they aren t ministering elsewhere. Born on an Army base in Virginia, Deb grew up in a family of five children in Minnesota. She attended the University of Minnesota for two years, majoring in math but soon decided to be a doctor. It filled her need for being around people and stressed math and science. She attended Johns Hopkins for three years and got a BS in Human Biology. She and Jim met in high school in Stillwater, MN. Jim graduated from University of Minnesota where Deb did her residency. She practiced in Hibbing, MN in a small clinic for 10 years before moving to Chippewa in She practiced at the Marshfield Clinic until 2007.

6 THE GENEVA BIBLE GIVING GOD S WORD BACK TO THE PEOPLE The Bible is the best-selling book of all time but for centuries, it was available only to scribes and clergymen. If you were just a regular English speaker, you couldn't read and study God's Word for yourself. In fact, one of the first English Bibles, authorized by King Henry VIII after he declared himself head of the church, was called the "Chained Bible" because it was chained to the pulpit so no one could take it home. If you can't study the Bible for yourself, you have to rely on the words of men. After the Reformation broke out, the common people were less willing than ever to take the Pope's or the King's word for it. People wanted to see for themselves what the Bible said. And that's where the Geneva Bible came in. The New Testament of the Geneva Bible was published first in The entire Bible followed in The Geneva Bible: A Bible of Firsts The Geneva Bible was the first English Bible to use cross-references. It was the first to use verse numbers for easy reference and memorization. It had extensive notes throughout to help explain and apply the text. It was the first English Bible to translate the Old Testament directly out of the Hebrew. It was really the first English Bible published for common men - the first "study Bible." The Geneva Bible was created to help even the most unscholarly readers understand God's Word for themselves. It was no "Chained Bible." And because of this, the monarchs of England and the elitists in the high church feared it would upset the civil and ecclesiastical hierarchy they had worked so hard to build and maintain. A Mighty Weapon Against Tyranny The Geneva Bible was conceived and printed in Geneva, Switzerland when a number of Protestant scholars fled there from England. These Protestant refugee-scholars were eager to free the Bible from the distortions of popes and kings. John Calvin and John Knox endorsed the Geneva Bible and had some hand in its popularity. They were active and vocal in their opposition to the "divine right of kings" doctrine. Knox and Calvin, as well as the other Reformers, wanted the Bible to speak for itself. The Geneva Bible fulfilled that need. It nurtured liberty of conscience and freedom of thought. King James's Authorized Replacement Recognizing that the Geneva Bible and its notes were undermining the authority of the monarchy, King James I of England commissioned the "Authorized Version," commonly known as the King James Bible, as its replacement. The King James Version did not include many of the footnotes, but it also altered key translations to make them seem more favorable to episcopal and monarchial forms of government. But the people were not fooled. The Pilgrims and Puritans preferred the Geneva Bible to the King James Bible. (continued on next page)

7 (Geneva Bible continued) The Geneva Bible was brought to America on the Mayflower, and it is not an exaggeration to say that the Geneva translation and footnotes were the biblical foundation for the American Republic. The 1599 Geneva Bible Restoration Project When it was first printed, the Geneva Bible was the most reader-friendly version of the Bible ever created. Numerous innovations made it ideal for the common reader. Since the sixteenth century, other Bible publishers have built on the wisdom of the Geneva Protestants. In fact, today, it is nearly impossible to find a version of the English Bible that does not include chapter and verse numbers, cross-references, and a translation from the original source languages in straight-forward contemporary language -- all of which were originally unique to the Geneva Bible. The Geneva Bible is one of the most historically influential books in English-speaking history, and its notes and translation still have much to teach us today. Elder Bob Denman has purchased a copy of the Geneva Bible and presented it to the church to add to our library. THE ORIGIN OF THE CELTIC CROSS Celtic cross used by Presbyterians is a symbol that combines a cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. It originated in Ireland, where it is a popular legend that the Celtic Christian cross was introduced by Saint Patrick or possibly Saint Declan during his time converting the pagan Irish. It has often been claimed that Patrick combined the symbol of Christianity with the sun cross, to give pagan followers an idea of the importance of the cross by linking it with the idea of the life-giving properties of the sun. Other interpretations claim that placing the cross on top of the circle represents Christ's supremacy over the pagan sun. In the Celtic Christian world it was combined with the Christian cross and often used for high crosses a free-standing cross made of stone and often richly decorated. A distinctive tradition of erecting monumental stone high crosses like the Celtic cross began by the 8th century, and possibly earlier. They probably followed earlier versions in wood, perhaps faced in metalwork. Standing crosses in Ireland and areas under Irish influence tend to be shorter and more massive than their Anglo-Saxon equivalents, which have mostly lost their headpieces, and therefore perhaps required the extra strength provided by the ring.

8

9 From the treasurer By Barbara Shorrel Carla and I have been working on the transition from 2013 to Files needed to be boxed and stored; reports needed to be written; statements for employees and contributors needed to be sent: the old year needed to be put away and all readied for the new. January has been a busy month! 2013 CONTRIBUTION STATEMENTS: You should have received your 2013 Contribution Statement and a verification letter if you made a 2014 pledge. If you did not, call Barb ( ) immediately. NEEDED: The Finance Team needs additional members. I happened to speak with a member of the Finance Team from Frame Memorial Presbyterian Church in Stevens Point today. In our discussion he told me that he had trouble balancing a checkbook, but that wasn t his role on the Finance Team. He was there to share his entrepreneur expertise as a salesman. I want to assure you that Carla Ingalls (our Finance Clerk) and I are pretty good with the numbers, and I am a whiz at balancing a checkbook. We have that covered. The Finance Team needs people who can look at finances from different viewpoints. This is the reason that we felt that representatives from the mission team, the stewardship team, and the Endowment Board should meet with the Finance Team on a quarterly basis as outlined in our team description. This coordinated effort would bring about better communication and oneness of purpose for our congregation. Of course, we do not currently have a mission team or a stewardship team. But until we do, perhaps Finance could be a start in this discussion. So, can you? Could you? Please give it some thought. What role could you play on the Finance Team? OFFERING ENVELOPES: Last summer we asked you to sign up if you wanted to have offering envelopes this year. In the past we ordered envelopes for all members, but we noticed that many households were not using them. So we wanted to give you an option whether or not you wanted envelopes. We publicized this in many ways, but we missed some of you. If you have decided that you do indeed want to have offering envelopes, please talk to me. I will add your name to the list. Please do so now while we are thinking about this. The 2015 order will be placed in July or August. If you received a box of envelopes for 2014, I will keep you on the list for next year. If you change your mind, please let me know. Another option: I liked using the envelopes because it helped me to keep track of my pledge contributions. However, I have begun paying my bills online with my bank. Now, I have set up automatic payment on a monthly basis to the church. The bank sends the check. It is easy, and it shows up on my monthly statement. If you would think that you might be interested in doing this, please contact your bank. ANNUAL MEETING AND ANNUAL REPORTS: Please remember to read the financial reports published in the Annual Report. It is important for all members to be informed about the finances of the church. I expect people to have questions, so please ask. I expect people to have opinions, so let s discuss them. CHRISTMAS JOY OFFERING: Our members contributed $761 to the Christmas Joy Offering this season. Thank you for your generosity.