The OPEN DOOR. Heard through

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1 Heard through The OPEN DOOR Manchester Road Wildwood, Missouri Phone: FAX: Volume 15 Number 2 March, 2019 Editors: Chylene Daub & Shirley Giebel LENT BEGINS MARCH 6 What is Lent? Specifically Lent is the 40 days and six Sundays before Easter about six weeks. (The Sundays in between aren t counted in the 40 number as they are considered days of celebration, according to some sources.) So why 40 days? The number 40 has Biblical significance. It is the number of years the Israelites wandered in the desert, and more significantly, the number of days Jesus fasted in the wilderness and dealt with Satan. The Lenten season is a time for reflection, repentance, and renewal a time to re-focus and realign our lives with God s purposes. Three practices that I have found to be helpful during this season of Lent are fasting, service, and meditation. The idea of fasting is not just about giving up something so that at the end of forty days we can pat ourselves on the back and say we survived without whatever it was we gave up. Fasting is usually more effective when we give up something in order to focus on and hear from God. As such, rather than giving up a certain food, we might find it more effective if we were to give up something that clutters our calendar and life. For example, what if one evening a week we turned off the TV and/or our electronics and instead spent time in study, prayer, or conversation that focused on God. Think of fasting as a way to simplify life so that you have more time for God. Another way to draw us closer to God is to take on something new for Christ. Maybe work as a tutor at a local school or as a volunteer in a food pantry. You might commit to befriending someone at work or in the neighborhood. You might take one morning a week to visit shut-ins or give a care-giver a break. Be creative! You ll be pleasantly surprised by how God refreshes and renews you as you reach out to help others. And of course meditation (prayer and study) always open us up to God s grace. Write a short prayer that you will repeat each day of Lent. Pick up a copy of the Upper Room and use it to guide daily devotions. Set aside a daily quiet time. Join a study group. Read the gospel of Luke! The point is During the Lenten season consider what you might give up and/or take up so that when Easter arrives you are not only prepared to celebrate Jesus resurrection but you are able to celebrate the renewal and resurrection you ve experienced during the season of Lent.

2 We Know Her as the Card Lady Sherryl Rohlf settles into a chair in Fellowship Hall following a December church service and spreads an assortment of donated cards across the table. It s Care and Connection Sunday and she greets other members who join her to write notes and send cards to a list of Bethel friends and members. Some are shut-ins, some on the sick list, some on the mend, some unable to attend for one reason or another. (Other members set out as teams to make Care and Connection Sunday home and nursing-home visits. A story on that ministry will be in a future Open Door issue. ) Making the List. These special Sundays take place every couple of months or so. In between, Sherryl is part of the Praise Team and has a good view of the congregation on Sunday mornings. If you ve been unable to attend for one reason or another you may find a nice typewriter written letter or a card from Sherryl letting you know you were missed and thought of. A big part of this ministry is organizing the list of who to send to and their current addresses. Sherryl is a great organizer and it is no easy task keeping track when people are moved from home to different facilities--often more than one. Gifts of Cards and Postage. The card project started the guestimate is five or six years ago--with a suggestion by Ruth Anne Krueger to reach shut-ins and the Crafters donated a lot of greeting cards. Ruth Agolia also donated cards. And the program got off to a good start with a gift of $50 for stamps. Cards and postage come from other groups and sources, but postage is always a big item as with the recent increase. Stamp donations are welcomed! What to Write. In the photo at right, Elaine Hellweg helps Kim Hotze with some information about the person Kim has chosen to write to. Card writers don t suffer much writer s block once started. More than words, the card and the effort itself lets the recipient know they are remembered and still part of the Bethel family.

3 Bethel Men s Club Pancake and Sausage Supper Going Whole Hog for 70 Years! There is no doubt, even with fewer hands and hard work, the Men s Club have not broken with the traditions of their annual Pancake and Sausage supper; and the making and sale of its premier scrapple. There is coed help of course, as with all Bethel events needing all hands on deck. The 2019 event held Saturday February 23 rd marks a milestone and was a success in both fellowship and fund raising. Started To the best of recollections, the ball got rolling by Rusty Pendleton in 1949 when Harry Atwell, Sr. donated a hog to Bethel. The slaughtering and resulting sausage made from the whole hog-- took place on the Atwell farm where Ruth Anne Krueger now lives. The first scrapple was made as the butchering and sausage-making moved to the farm of Herman Yeager. Later the work continued at the Stan Kreienkamp farm before moving to its permanent location on Bethel church grounds. No matter the place, the one given each year is that in February the weather is always cold as the men cook scrapple outside! No Scraps in Bethel Scrapple. There are differences of opinion on why scrapple is called that, but food historian William Weaver thinks the original German word panhaskroppel was likely and it was shortened to scrapple. That gave rise to the notion that it was made with scraps of meat left over in the butchering. In early days, it was made from hogs head. But since the early to mid- 1960s Bethel s scrapple is made from whole shoulder and pork butt cuts what pork steaks are cut from. These cuts are cooked slowly until the meat is falling off the bone, then sliced and ground in small batches. (continued next page)

4 Bethel Men s Club Pancake and Sausage Supper (cont.) Second Day the Cooking Begins. The finely ground pork is mixed with cornmeal, quick cook oats, water, flour and spices in a huge kettle. It is cooked until it reaches the right consistency which Karl Schoenefeld says is judged by look and experience then it is poured into flat pans to set. Serving portions are cut and sold by the pound. At home, scrapple is generally browned until crispy and served with eggs and those delicious sausages, apple sauce, syrup, honey or any preference. Straight from the Store. For many, many years now Williams Bros. in Washington, Missouri has supplied the whole hog sausage and the pork cuts for the scrapple so the tradition can continue. Bill Kesselring says they are fair in price and top quality in product. Funds raised. The Men s Club has contributed the funds from the supper to various organizations: Boy s Town, Epworth, Kingdom House. They have no specific charity in mind until they know what funds they have available to give. (More pictures next page)

5 More Helping Hands.

6 Daylight Savings Time Begins SUNDAY MARCH 10 Remember the time change. It s time to spring ahead, and lose that hour of sleep we gained the first Sunday of last November. On the bright side it will be brighter as the days grow longer and Spring begins with a full moon on March 20! Editor s Note: The following letter was received from Rev. Karen Hayden, Director of Pastoral Excellence and Jenny Gragg, Conference Candidacy Coordinator following Bethel s donation of 2 prayer shawls. Dear Bethel UMC Prayer Shawl Ministry, Often, we never get to see the actual fruits of our prayers. We offer them to God in faith. However, a few of us were able to see the first results of the prayers you offered in making the prayer shawls that you contributed to the 2019 Winter Candidacy Summit. The Candidacy Summit is a gathering of Missouri candidates in ministry. Through the generosity and faithfulness of churches, 25 persons were offered a prayer shawl as a part of worship on January 26th. It was a very moving service and act offered on behalf of those participants. If they could thank you individually for their shawls, we know they would. And to think the way in which these prayer shawls will accompany them in their discernment! Who knows, this shawl may show up years from now in the belongings of one of your pastors. That is the neat thing about offerings we give and trust that the Holy Spirit directs as needed. That you again for this generous gift. Our next Candidacy Summit is July 25-27, On Saturday April 27, the Wildwood police and Rockwood school district are holding a prescription drug take back program at Wildwood City Hall from 10am to 2pm. We at Bethel have in years past volunteered to help with this event. We hand out literature and ask people to complete a survey. If you are interested in volunteering for either the shift or the 12-2 shift, please contact Diana at the church office ( ).

7 Editor s Note: This letter is in response to our Care Packages that were sent last fall to members of the military to express our thanks for their service. To Whom it may concern: I wanted to take a moment and thank you from the bottom of my heart for my two care packages. The timing of those snacks could not have been any better. Not to mention the kindness and generosity of your church to think of me when sending those. I can never express my gratitude to its full extent. I truly hope you and your families had a blessed holiday season. I know I surely was blessed. Please continue to look out for our soldiers. Some are in great need! Again, thank you SO much!!! God Bless, and Take Care, SSgt Susan Good DATE A/V BREAKFAST GREETERS / USHERS FELLOWSHIP Dave Strickland & Brenda Krueger, Ron Ruth Anne Krueger 3-Mar G Hayes Mike Lantz Guentz & Jewel Dougan & Katie Schuch 10-Mar M Muthukumaru Carla DeSalme &???????????? Ruth Anne Krueger & Bert Foster Sheila Olive & Chuck Hoker 17-Mar C DeSalme Gary Hayes & Angie Strickland Jim & Judy Baugus Jan & Greg Allerdissen 24-Mar A Strickland The Camden Family Don & Roberta Verbeck Louella Phipps (Elev.) 7-Apr G Hayes Dave Strickland & Brenda Krueger, Ron Ruth Anne Krueger Mike Lantz Guentz & Jewel Dougan & Katie Schuch 14-Apr M Muthukumaru Carla DeSalme & Alison Ruth Anne Krueger & Sheila Olive & Verbeck Bert Foster Chuck Hoker 21-Apr D Camden Gary Hayes & Angie Jim & Judy Baugus Strickland 28-Apr A Strickland The Camden Family Louella Phipps (Elev.) Kim Hotze & Jan Allerdissen Can you help fill in the blanks above?

8 Bethel United Methodist Church Manchester Road Wildwood, MO March News! Bethel United Methodist Church 8:00 8:30 a.m. Contemporary Issues Group 8:30 9:00 a.m. Breakfast Served 9:25 10:30 a.m. Worship 10:30 10:45 a.m. Fellowship Love God, Love Others, Serve All! 10:45 11:45 a.m. Additional Small Groups