Shepherd of the Hill Lutheran Church Pastor Mary Eide Office: or

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1 Shepherd of the Hill Lutheran Church Pastor Mary Eide Office: or May 2016 Newsletter FAITH NIGHT AT EAU CLAIRE EXPRESS Peanuts, popcorn batter up! Yes, it s time once again for an opportunity to cheer on the Eau Claire Express during Faith Night at Carson Park. The event will be held Sunday, June 5th at 5:05 pm. The ticket special is $10 for a ticket, hot dog, and beverage at the game. Last year we had close to 20 people join in the fun. If you d like to attend, sign up in the Gathering Area or contact Carolyn (brewersfan883@gmail.com) and Jason Laumeyer (jlaumeyer@ymail.com). YOUTH Sunday, MAY 8 th GRADUATING SENIOR RECOGNITION & RECEPTION This year we have 8 young members who will be graduating from High School: Taylor Deling, Katlyn Dierks, Alex, Hollister, Lucas Kinblom, Chase Morris, Kristin Ploeckelman, Serena Wieser, and Corrine Zimmer. On May 8 th we will recognize them, ask God s blessings on their future, give them the wonderfully crafted quilts made for them and celebrate with a reception following worship. So come and join in on this milestone celebration with them and their families, AND enjoy some delicious food afterwards. BLUE PAPER DEPOT in ELK MOUND You may have recently noticed a blue shed located by Jenson s Repair. This is a new way to recycle newspaper AND support the Luther League at our church. Are you interested in contributing? Just bag your newspaper up in a paper bag or bind them with string, and place them in the blue shed. NO PLASTIC BAGS OR MAGAZINES PLEASE, but newspaper inserts are fine. BIG THANK YOU to Rhonda and Bruce Jenson for providing space for the shed, and thanks to Keith Lee for hauling it to Elk Mound. Please share this information with neighbors, family and friends. Any questions about the shed can be directed to Randy Eide. Sunday, MAY 17 th, 7:30pm EMHS BACCALAUREATE WORSHIP SERVICE HERE at Shepherd of the Hill! What is a Baccalaureate Worship Service? This is a religious service held before graduation which offers an opportunity for any of the seniors, their families, friends, and congregations to come together to celebrate their upcoming graduation. During our time together we will hear God s word, there will be singing (including music from the school choir), a message, and an opportunity for seniors to come forward for a blessing. Refreshments will be served afterwards. pg. 1

2 FOR WORD NERDS (like Pr. Mary) here s word origin information about the word : Baccalaureate: mid 17th cent. ( sense 1): from French baccalauréat or medieval Latin baccalaureatus, from baccalaureus bachelor. The earlier form baccalarius was altered by wordplay to conform with bacca lauri laurel berry, because of the laurels awarded to scholars. Sense 2 dates from Sunday, MAY 15 h LAST DAY OF SUNDAY SCHOOL Following worship we ll move downstairs for a fun Ice Cream Sundae Party! Church Council Members will be providing the delicious treats of the day. MONEY MATTERS SIMPLY GIVING In case you ve never heard of Simply Giving, it s an electronic option for giving to the church. By completing the Simply Giving application and attaching a voided check, you can designate the amount you'd like to give to God's ministry at Shepherd of the Hill. This form of offering means you don't have to worry about bringing your checkbook or cash offering to church, because you've already decided on what you're giving each month. Some folks create their own electronic giving option by using their financial institution's online bill paying service, and have a check automatically cut to Shepherd of the Hill from their checking account. Both of these options provide YOU with the freedom to give freely and regularly to the church, and they also provide THE CHURCH with a steady source of offerings throughout the year. DO YOU HAVE THOUGHTS, IDEAS, QUESTIONS? If so, please feel free to share them with our church staff or these elected leaders of the church. We value open and honest conversations. COUNCIL MEMBERS: Offices/Committees Rita Lee President Jim Vespers Vice President Barb Vadnais Secretary Sarah Larson Treasurer Keith Lee Property Tricia Diercks Youth Heidi Schiszik Education Betty Heltne Outreach/Social Concerns Ken Millermon Stewardship Keith Lee Worship Sandy Barth Evangelism Pastor Mary Eide Terry Stamm Church Janitor Melisa Topper Church Secretary/Bookkeeper 5/1/16 6 th Sunday of Easter Acts 16:9-15, Psalm 67, Revelation 21:10, :5, John 14: /8/16 Ascension Sunday Acts 1:1-11, Ephesians 1:15-23, Luke 24: /15/16 Pentecost (Wear red) Genesis 11:1-9, John 14:8-17, 25-27], Acts 2:1-21 5/22/16 Holy Trinity Sunday Psalm 8, Romans 5:1-5, John 16: /29/16 2 nd Sun. after Pentecost 1 Kings 8:22-23, 41-43, Psalm 96, Luke 7:1-10 pg. 2

3 to Kayla Ruppelt, Michael Heltne, Cara Dempski, Tony Zimmer, Ralph Suechting, Keith Lee, Linda Dempski, Bud Barum and Carol Stuckert for giving up an absolutely beautiful spring day to share your experiences and ideas during our Comprehensive Ministry Review to council members who supplied food and refreshments for the CMR team and our congregational members earlier this month. The food was delicious, and the friendly service provided made everyone feel welcome and appreciated. to Keith Lee and Randy Eide who helped us get our phones back in working order. As always, many thanks for congregational and community members who make the weekly Food Pantry, Mounder Meals and monthly Ruby s Pantry happen! Financial donations, food donations and donation of time and talents make these meal ministries possible, and they greatly impact the lives of countless individuals and families. MANY THANKS to all the volunteers who helped make the quilts given to our High Seniors. We know that MANY HOURS and MUCH LOVE went into making these wonderful quilts. A special thanks to Barb Vadnais for organizing the quilt making, and finishing them off with her amazing quilting machine! April Special Gifts To Memorial Fund: In memory of Mary Dean by Ted & Carol Heimstead, Faylene Howe, Billy Heltne & family, Marvin & Vivian Heltne In memory of Carmen Larsen by Sarah Circle, Faylene Howe To Building Fund: In memory of Mary Dean by Vic & Lori Jenson, Olivia & Sandy Kenefick and Duane & Anita Clemmens In memory of Carmen Larsen by Vic & Lori Jenson To General Fund: By Audrey Bracher In memory of Mary Dean by David & Mary Gilbertson In memory of Carmen Larsen by David & Mary Gilbertson and Diane DeMoe pg. 3

4 What does the description VIBRANT FAITH mean to you? Would you describe your own faith as vibrant? Would you say that as a church we are teaching our children, youth and adults how to have a vibrant faith? To be honest, I think we ve been working towards this end, but perhaps just didn t have the words to describe such a goal. I ve just completed the first of six continuing education classes through Vibrant Faith University, which is giving me a clearer sense of what it means to have/live out a vibrant Christian faith. The class is also teaching me ways WE as a body of Christ can begin to articulate, plan, and promote faith formation in new ways. Our newly formed Faith Formation Team has been hard at work gathering information through interviews, focus groups, community observations and getting detailed demographics of the Elk Mound School district. Armed with this information, our plan is to identify the top needs of parents and families within the school district. This list of needs - and lessons learned through my VFU classes - will be used to create as a Fall Season plan that integrates some new learning opportunities with our congregation s current worship, learning and service activities. The overall goal is for the Team to continue addressing the parent and family needs through additional seasonal learning opportunities. Our ultimate goal is to strengthen families lives, and to help them grow in their faith. However, our team is quickly learning that our families could use help in many other areas of their lives. And while we don t know at this time exactly how this will all work out, our desire is to extend an invitation to local congregations and community members to participate in some of the education opportunities we ll be planning. These plans may include parenting classes, healthy meal planning, and classes on handling family finances. Here s how YOU CAN HELP: if you have any expertise in any of these areas, or know of someone who does we d love for you to let us know how you can help with the providing instruction in these areas (and others as they are identified). In the meantime, let s continue on this faith journey together. ~ Pastor Mary W-ELCA Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! That's the program for the May 11th W-ELCA meeting. Join us for a light lunch at noon, followed by the "program" and meeting. Hostesses are Anita Clemmens and Carol Heimstead. Devotions are by Sandy Barth. Hope to see you there. pg. 4

5 TAYLOR DELING Taylor is the daughter of Kris and Tracie Deling, and older sister to Kyle. Based on Taylor s answers to the questions, it quite obvious that family and friends are a top priority to her and she values the gift of growing up in a small town. Her favorite memories of her thirteen years in school and her involvement in church all involve these important people in her life and the possibilities afforded her by living in Elk Mound. She put it this way, My best memories are just growing up in a small town, knowing everyone. Being with my friends on our many crazy adventures, playing sports, and all the dances. These are memories I just can t see myself forgetting. And who were some of those friends she loves being with? Corrine Zimmer and Kristin Ploeckelman. (Taylor again about favorite church memories) That one time Corrine, Kristin and I were the 3 Wise Men in the Christmas Program. And just any adventure with these two Detroit Trip (National Youth Gathering) is up there definitely. But the impact of family on her life is told in other ways, as Taylor explains in her response to the following questions. (1) Biggest Influence in her life: My mother She is so strong and never gives up. She is always there for me and has blessed my brother and I with more than we deserve. (2) Who she d like to interview: Grandma Deling She had a great influence on my life and I miss her dearly. I want to know why she wouldn t tell us she didn t feel okay when she was taking care of great grandpa? Why she felt the need for us to not be troubled with her problems? How her life was like when she was growing up, and also when raising my dad? I want to tell her I love her just one more time. (Editor note: Grandparents out there your grandchildren probably want to know a lot of the same information about you, too.) (3) Most important lesson she s learned in life: You don t get everything you want, and you have to learn to work hard to get what you want. (Kris and Tracie, sounds like she s been listening to your message.) Mr. Winchester is Taylor s favorite teacher. He was also her basketball coach when she was younger. She appreciates how he has something witty, but also very intelligent to say. She added, Sometimes you just can t understand why someone has such a strong influence on you, but you just know inside, that they have. After high school Taylor will be attending UW-La Crosse, hopefully participating in the Athletic Training Program and staying in the Health and Science area of study. She might even minor in Coaching. We pray for God to protect Taylor in this new chapter in her life and to continue to strengthen her Christian faith in the years to come. pg. 5

6 2016 Ushers We are including a list of all the ushers and contact phone numbers. A complete list of names and addresses can be found on the bulletin board by the church office. If you have any questions, please contact our Head Usher Tim Jenson at Ushers Adams, Dale Barum Bud & Barb Blicher, David Delong, Wade & Brenda Dempski, Bob & Linda / Dempski, Cara Eide, Randy Fuhrman, Marshall & Bonnie Gilberson, David Heltne, Billy & Betty Jenson, Tim Jenson, Vic Kinblom, Greg & Lucas Lee, Keith & Rita McLaughlin, Julie, Matt & Dillon Millerman, Kenneth Mohr, Nick & Jenni Oebser, Jim Sessions, Gordy Schiszik, Mike Sweeney, Steve Vesper, Jim Zimmer, Tony & Kim Sweeney, Steve McLaughlin, Julie, Matt & Dillon pg. 6

7 Shepherd of the Hill Council Minutes April 11, 2016 Meeting called to order at 6:41 pm by President Rita Lee Members Present: Pastor Mary, Rita Lee, Ken Millermon, Sarah Larson, Tricia Langer, Heidi Schiszik, Betty Heltne, Jim Vesper, Sandy Barth, Barb Vadnais Members Absent: Keith Lee, Jordan DeLong Motion made by Pastor Mary to add Addendum to last month minutes as followe, Seconded by Sandy Barth, Motion passed. Addendum to last month minutes: Loan was given by member to start separate Good Sam account at Independence State Bank to be repaid monthly to the member until paid in full. Motion made by Sarah Larson to approve minutes with corrections, seconded by Ken Millermon, Motion passed. Motion made by Heidi to file Financial report, Seconded by Jim Vesper, Motion passed. Melissa will be adding building fund balance to monthly report. Budgeted amounts for Benevolence have been met, future Benevolence will be voted on quarterly. New Business: Pastor Mary requested funds for Confirmation participation at Kids For Hunger event in Menomonie. Suggested donation to this off-site food packaging event is $25.00 per person. With an estimated 16 students and 2 adults, cost would be $ Ruby's Pantry donated $ to help with the cost of this event. Heidi Schiszik motions that up to $ be paid from the Memorial Fund to cover the balance of this cost, Seconded by Betty Heltne, Motion passed. Heidi Schiszik makes a motion to go with new copier lease from Baurenfiend for 60 months at $ per month, and sell old copier back to them for $20.00, seconded by Ken Millermon, Motion passed We will have a Dedication of the Baby Grand piano on May 1, Sandy Barth makes a motion to accept the resignation of Jordan DeLong from council, Seconded by Tricia Langer, Motion passes. Old Business: Barb Vadnais will take pictures of the old piano and the old desk and post for sale on-line. Occupancy capacity - It was noted on the construction plans that the capacity is 300 people, but we can obtain a variance of the capacity from the fire department if we have another large event happening in the future. We will be having a thrift sale in June during the city wide sale dates. Proceeds from the sale will go to the General Fund. Committee Reports: Property: Terry Stamm and Bob Dempski did a light audit in the parking lot. pg. 7

8 Youth: Sock hop scheduled for April 23, sign-up for donations Social Concerns: Easter Cards were sent to shut-ins/elderly. Holy Week Senior dinner was well attended. Thanks to Sandy Barth, Betty Heltne, and everyone else who helped. Food pantry is being utilized. Continue to pack Mounder Meals every Friday. Worship: No report. Evangelism: No report. Education: We will be packing up the spring semester project on the 24th and will hopefully have someone from each site there to see all of the stuff we collected. They can then take the donated items with them. We are having Teacher Appreciation breakfast this Sunday, April 17 at 8:00 am Stewardship: Fundraising ideas - Need to set meeting with executive committee. Sunday School/Confirmation: We are looking for 2 teachers for the K-1st Graders for next year. We are also looking for a helper in our 3rd-4th grade class next year since the number of kids is quite large. We also need parent teachers to sign up for the Confirmation class. VBS: Vicki has a theme but we need to set dates. The time that she has open is August 8-12, does this time work for the Church? Ruby's Pantry: Next distribution will be April 18, May date is May 16, Next Meeting: May 9th, 2016 at 6:30 pm Motion to adjourn at 8:15 made by Jim Vesper, Seconded by Betty Heltne. We closed with the Lord's Prayer. Respectfully submitted by Secretary, Barb Vadnais PASTOR MARY will be out of the area from Thursday, April 28 th through Monday, May 1 st. Pastor Michelle Nickodemus will be available should you need to contact a pastor. She can be reached at (H) or (C) pg. 8

9 FUND BALANCES Balance on Hand 3/31/2016 Independence Checking 7, Bremer Checking Good Samaritan Checking 1, TOTAL ACCOUNTS 10, BALANCES IN FUNDS Benevolence Building General Operating Good Samaritan Luther League Luther Park Scholarship Memorial Fund (Undesignated) National Youth Gathering Organ Fund Payroll Liabilities Interest on Thrivent Mutual Fund Interest on Mission Term CD (Shepherds Fund) Sunday School Kitchen Fund Special Gifts not in investment TOTAL FUNDS 10, $2.74 CREDITS FOR MARCH 2016 DEBITS FOR MARCH 2016 General Operating Offering $17, General Operating $13, Benevolence $ Benevolence $1, Building $30.00 Building $0.00 Good Sam $1, Good Sam $1, Hunger $ Hunger $ Memorial $20.00 Memorial $0.00 Sunday School $38.00 Sunday School $0.00 Luther League $ Luther League $0.00 $20, $17, Mortgage Principal as of 4/6/ $216, pg. 9

10 Hello everyone ~ I know catching me in the office this year has been difficult so I have decided to make some set hours. These hours will be in effect during the school year. Monday ~ 8:30am 2:30pm Tuesday ~ 8:30am 2:30pm Wednesday ~ 8:30am 10:30am Thursday ~ 8:30am 10:30am If you have any questions, or need to contact me, please do so at sothlc@sothem.org or If it s an emergency and you can t reach Pastor Mary, please call Thank you, Melisa Topper Office Secretary/Bookkeeper FUTURE EVENT It's that time of year again!! Yes, we will be having our ANNUAL THRIFT SALE!! It is scheduled for June 2nd, 3rd and 4th. If you have been bit by the spring fever bug please keep us in mind. We will take anything that still has life in it. The items MUST be marked ahead of time. Drop off times will be earlier that week...but keep your eyes open for more details to follow. Also...we do need volunteers to help set up...sit at the sale...and take down. If you are interested, please let Melisa know sothlc@sothem.org or call/text pg. 10