The St. Matthew Communicator

Transcription

1 JUST A REMINDER: WORSHIP & SUNDAY SCHOOL TIMES HAVE CHANGED! Worship: Saturdays at 7:00 PM & Sundays at 10:00 AM Sunday School & Bible Class: Sundays at 9:00 AM St. Ma hew Ev. Lutheran Church Hemlock Street PO Box Marathon, WI - Website: stma hewmarathon.org Phone: - - Jon W. Hadler, Pastor stma hewmarathon@charter.net Cell: - - Jackie Ma hiae, Secretary smlsecretary@outlook.com Cell: - - CHURCH COUNCIL Randy Hamann President Mike Ma hiae Vice President Jim Zimmerman Secretary Jake Lemke Treasurer Don Koeller Chris an Educa on Larry Block Buildings & Grounds Bruce Stelter Buildings & Grounds Dennis Cramer Finance Commi ee Simon Fuhrman Finance Commi ee The St. Matthew Communicator Lent is Upon Us As we pass through the season of Lent and meditate more fully upon our Savior s great sufferings and death for our forgiveness and salva on, a number of series have been planned. SUNDAY SERMON SERIES Pastor Hadler and Pastor Andy Schmidt (Immanuel, Mosinee) will be rota ng pulpits on Sundays throughout Lent and conduc ng a sermon series focusing on Learning of Our Lord s Love in Lent through Song. These sermons will reflect on six familiar (and favorite) hymns of the Chris an faith: Sunday, February 14 CW 465 Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken Sunday, February 21 CW 125 When I Survey the Wondrous Cross Sunday, February 28 CW 588 Abide With Me Sunday, March 6 CW 105 O Sacred Head Now Wounded Sunday, March 13 CW 446 I Am Trus ng Thee Lord Jesus Sunday, March 20 CW 131 All Glory, Laud, and Honor On Sun, Feb., Jerry Worden, the recently called Mission Advancement Director, will be presen ng on the mission and ministry of Northland Lutheran High School during the Bible Class hour beginning at : AM. Pastor Joel Suckow will serve as the guest preacher for our services on Sat, Feb. and Sun, Feb. as well. For Sunday s : AM worship the Northwinds, NLHS s traveling choir, will also be performing during the service. On another note, NLHS will have their annual "Together We Shine" open house on Sunday, February 2016 MIDWEEK LENTEN SERIES (WEDNESDAYS AT 1:00 & 7:00 PM) Pastor Hadler, Pastor Rick Russow (Salem, Wausau), and Pastor Bob Edwards (Our Savior s, Wausau) will have a three way rota on for the special Wednesday services at 1:00 and 7:00 PM (February 10 thru March 16). This year s theme will be Ironies of the Passion, which will focus on significant and las ng ironies of our Savior s ministry, death, and resurrec on. BIBLE CLASS Pastor Hadler will conduct the Bible Class on Jan. 31 to conclude the study of the Augsburg Confession. Then on Feb. 7, Jerry Worden, Mission Advancement Director at NLHS, will give a presenta on on the mission and ministry of our area Lutheran High School. Thrivent s representa ve, Kevin Maloney will present his seminar, Re re Wisely, on Feb. 14. Beginning on Feb. 21, Jake Lemke will lead the viewing and discussion of our synod s recently released film, My Son, My Savior. A er that, there will be a four-part video series with discussion ques ons on Pa erns of Evidence: Exodus, which explores the archaeological evidence for the Israelite s slavery in Egypt and the exodus. Please plan to join us this month! Special Northland Presentation on Feb. 7 Jerry Worden March from Noon - : PM. The commi ee is seeking dona ons of services, hand-cra ed items and theme baskets for the silent auc ons to be held that day. If you wish to donate a large item for the silent auc on such as a meshare, co age rental, or service please talk to Jerry Worden when he visits next week or call him at ( ) -. Silent auc on items may be dropped off at the school office any me in February. Thanks in advance for ge ng involved to help make this day truly shine for Northland Lutheran High School.

2 Roger & Judy Kraft Meet Our Members R J K Roger & Judy have done and con nue to do so much for our congrega on as you will see here. We appreciate everything they do and with a joyful a tude that is contagious. Our congrega on is truly blessed to have them in our church family! Members Since: Family: Roger & Judy have been married for years and were blessed with two sons: Sco Kra and Todd Kra (deceased). Hometown: Roger grew up in Rib Falls and Judy in the Hamburg area. They moved to Marathon a er they married and have lived here ever since. Occupa on: Both are re red. Roger worked for many years at Marathon Cheese and then Peterson Kraemer Funeral Home. Judy cleaned the offices of Marathon Cheese and numerous other area businesses for many years. She also assisted with the care of an elderly neighbor on a regular basis. Interests/Hobbies: Roger & Judy enjoy me with family. They also love tending to their flowers at home and the one at church, which Roger starts from seed. Judy also enjoys reading, playing the piano, sending gree ng cards, going for walks, and shopping (just to look of course). She enjoyed volunteering with the Epilepsy Founda on years ago, and today she finds great joy in caring for two li le neighbor girls. Favorite Food or Restaurant: Roger s favorite restaurant is Buck-a-Neer in Rozellville and their all-you-can-eat steak & shrimp. Judy enjoys breakfast at the Village Inn and their Friday fish fry, as well as 2510 s deli chicken. Church Involvement: Roger has served on the Church Council, the Buildings & Grounds and Finance Commi ees. He currently serves as an usher, maintains the oil in the altar candles, changes mers, and helps Pastor with any odds and ends. Judy enjoys playing organ and piano, singing in the choir, and serving as a greeter for worship. She also manages the gree ng card and napkin inventory in the church library. Judy is a member of the Ladies Aid and Altar Guild, visits the shut-ins, and sends cards to missionaries. She is also wellknown as the Cookie Queen for her volunteer work every year at Vaca on Bible School. She also assisted with the St. Ma hew s preschool when it was in opera on. Together Roger & Judy take care of plan ng and watering the flowers at church all summer and deliver all the food/goods to the Circle of Joy food pantry. In years past they also served on the Stained Glass Window and Christmas Decora ng Commi ees. Church Memory, Song or Bible Verse that Inspires You: Rogers favorite hymn is CW - Jesus Lead Us On and Judy s is Lord, Take My Hand and Lead Me. Her favorite Bible verse is Psalm : - - My soul finds rest in God alone; my salva on comes from him. He alone is my rock and salva on; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. Roger picked Ephesians : - - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gi of God not by works, so that no one can boast. Geneva Endres Special Gifts & Memorials We acknowledge with thankfulness the special gi s and memorials we recently received. In Memory of Geneva Endres To the Ladies Aid: Gen Endres Family To the Memorial Fund: Pastor & Anne Hadler Orville & Darlene Hanke Majorie J. Fromm Merlin & Sharon Goetschen Roger & Jill Reisner To the Library Fund: Roger & Judy Kra To the Altar Guild Fund: David & Gloria Ma hiae To Northland Lutheran High School: Darlene Zocher In Memory of Myron Genger To the Memorial Fund: Lorraine Romang A Gi to the Congrega on To the Music Fund: Roger & Judy Kra Myron Genger T h e S t. M a t t h e w C o m m u n i c a t o r

3 Highlights of the Church Council & Annual Voters Meeting Council MeeHng on Monday, January, Annual Voters MeeHng on Sunday, January M, Membership Robert Blume, Jr. and Lauren Natzke were married on Jan., ' at St. Ma#hew. The funeral of Geneva Endres (date of death: ' -' - ' ) was held on Dec ', ' with interment at Edgar Cemetery, Edgar. Worship & EducaHon Council approved a NLHS Sunday scheduled for Feb. / with guest preacher Pastor Joel Suchow. The Thrivent Re<re Wisely seminar was moved back a week to Feb. '. Mountain of the Lord member, Gavin Gauger ( th gr.), will be a#ending Catechism Class at St. Ma#hew during the vacancy. ' WELS Youth Rally plans will begin at the February mee<ng. Cemetery Commi ee The voters approved changes to the bylaws and fee structure for cemetery u<liza<on. Please see the chart to the right for updates effec<ve April ', '. This <me delay will allow anyone who is interested in purchasing a site to do so before the new fees go into effect. Old Business A laptop computer was purchased for ] with funds from the Library Fund (card sales) to run the HymnsoP program. New Business A Christmas gip of ]' to the congrega<on from a nonmember family will be used to purchase copies of the WELS recently released video My Son, My Savior. The next Church Council meeting will be held on Monday, Feb. 8 at 7:00 PM. ST. MATTHEW S CEMETERY FEES Current Fee Fee After April 1, 2016 Site Fee $250 Perpetual Care Fee $250 Non-member Burial Fee Site Transfer Fee $ 25 $ 25 Sexton Fee $100 Cremation Site Fee $125 Cremation Perpetual Care Fee $125 Cremation Interment Digging Fee $300 Cemetery Improvements This Summer S E A THANS TO Brian Ahrens County Materials The Gumtz Family The Kreager Family The members of St. Ma#hew s Cemetery Commi#ee have worked diligently to make a few improvements at our church cemetery located near the Marathon water tower and Sports Center (as you can see from the photos). A road was installed in the new sec<on, the old road was upgraded, and now you can get from Hwy. B all the way through to Hwy A certain number of sites were surveyed in the new sec<on as well. This took a lot of work and some much appreciated dona<ons of <me, materials, labor, and talent! Thank you to County Materials, Brian Ahrens, the Gumtz family, and the Kreager family for these dona<ons. The Cemetery Commi#ee also needs to be applauded for the work they have put in to get this work coordinated - Mark Ahrens, Brian Gumtz, and David Ma#hiae. THANK YOU TO ALL!

4 In February we will begin planning for the 2017 church directory. If you are interested in serving on the committee that will oversee the process & layout, please contact the church secretary at or All Are Invited to Lenten Fellowship A er our special Lenten worship services on Wednesdays at 1:00 PM and 7:00 PM beginning on Ash Wednesday, February 10...all are invited to come to the Fellowship Hall for refreshments and camaraderie. Everyone pitches in to provide and serve the refreshments. Currently this is what the schedule looks like: Feb Youth Group & Chris an Care Commi ee Feb Altar Guild Feb Ladies Aid March 2 - Dessert & Snack Food Potluck with members (last name) A - K bringing in food items March 9 - Dessert & Snack Food Potluck with members (last name) L - Z bringing in food items. March 16 - Church Council Ice Cream Social Youth Group The Youth Group members all received a note in their mailboxes le ng them know that the mee ng on Sunday, Jan. 31 was rescheduled un l Sunday, Feb. 21. The mee ng will start at 4:00 PM at the Marathon Sports Center. The group will be discussing the 2016 WELS Youth Rally, which will be held from Tuesday, June 28 - Friday, July 1 at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO. If you are interested in more details about the Rally, please visit the synod s website at wels.net/events and follow the links. Retire Wisely Seminar On Sunday, Feb. 14 at 9:00 AM (during the Bible Class hour) Thrivent Financial Representa ve, Kevin Maloney, FIC, will share how to manage six risks all re rees will face: outliving income, infla on, unpredictable events, market vola lity, income taxes, and rising health care costs. Please plan to a end this fun, interac ve Thrivent educa onal event! The Dessert & Snack Food potluck is not your normal potluck...it is just meant to be desserts or finger foods (cheese & sausage, crackers, chips, etc.). Those who bring their item to 1:00 PM service are asked to take it home when they leave; you do not need to leave it for the late service as those a ending at 7:00 PM will bring their food at that me. AND even if something comes up and you are not able to make something (life happens to us all)...please feel free to stay and visit. The generosity of many in our congrega on provides for each other in our church family! We hope to see you at these Lenten worship services and the fellowship following. SCRIP Update Groceries, gasoline, restaurants, home repair - you name it - Northland Lutheran High School sells SCRIP for that! Purchasing SCRIP for your everyday needs supports NLHS and our tui on assistance fund. SCRIP can be purchased through our congrega on or if you are in a rush, you are always welcome to call the Northland office at (715) or mmleziva@nlhs.org to place your order. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED -- The NLHS SCRIP Office is looking for some extra help. They are currently in need of couriers to pick up gi cards from local businesses and deliver them back to Northland to fill orders on Wednesday mornings. This would require a small me commitment of a few hours a week or biweekly. If you are interested or would like more informa on, please call Mindy at the school office at (715) or by at mmleziva@nlhs.org. Mark Your Calendars for These Events in 2016 Please make note of these special services and events planned for the coming year: Maundy Thursday with Holy Communion: Thurs, March at : & : PM Good Friday: March at : PM (Service of Medita on) & : PM (Tenebrae Service) Easter Sunday: March at : AM (Sunrise Service) & : AM (Celebra on Service) Confirma on: Sun, April at : AM (Examina on on Fri, April at : PM) Vaca on Bible School: Monday thru Friday, July -, from : - : AM VBS Worship Service and Family Day Picnic: Sun, July at : AM with the picnic to follow at Veteran s Park. T h e S t. M a t t h e w C o m m u n i c a t o r

5 Stewardship Report To the members of St. Ma hew's: A new year has begun and with it, all of the expecta ons and hopeful accomplishments lay before us. I would pray and ask for each of you to increase your studying of the Word. Whether it is through personal Bible study, increased worship a endance or partaking of Bible study at St. Ma hews, let s all make a renewed commitment to further enjoy and experience the free gi of grace and salva on of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As Pastor has said to each of us numerous mes, our bodies would be in disarray if we didn t constantly nourish them with food and drink, how much more must we nourish our souls with the Bread of Life and the water from which we will never thirst again? Please consider this as you look into your expecta ons for and beyond The financial health of St. Ma hews con nues. We are experiencing very good bank balances and are able to make some improvements throughout the church and parsonage. We will con nue to make the necessary upgrades as they are deemed necessary. If there are any ques ons, concerns, comments, feedback, sugges ons or any other topic you wish to talk about with me, I welcome them all. In His Service, Jake Lemke, Treasurer Change for Life: We are collecting the Change for Life baby bottle donations during the month of February. Half of the money will go to our synod s agency that addresses sanctity of life issues, Christian Life Resources, and the other half to Hope Pregnancy Resource Center in Wausau. WELS Multilanguage Publications Missions YTD Budget WELS $ 26,966 $ 26,895 NLHS $ 6,125 $ 7,500 Door Offering $ 4,584 $ 2,500 Total $ 37,675 $ 36, % Dec-14 Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15 Apr-15 May-15 Jun -15 Jul -15 Aug-15 Sept-15 Oct-15 Nov-15 Dec-15 General $ 7,354 $ 6,894 $ 5,274 $ 4,391 $ 2,629 $ 3,178 $ 3,426 $ 5,317 $ 4,292 $ 5,959 $ 7,286 $ 6,934 $ 5,801 Buildings & Grounds $ 7,852 $ 8,316 $ 7,827 $ 8,876 $ 9,526 $ 9,738 $ 10,497 $ 11,252 $ 11,992 $ 10,917 $ 11,377 $ 6,667 $ 6,963 Total $ 15,207 $ 15,209 $ 13,101 $ 13,267 $ 12,155 $ 12,916 $ 13,923 $ 16,569 $ 16,287 $ 16,876 $ 18,664 $ 13,600 $ 12,763

6 St. Ma hew Ev. Lutheran Church 206 Hemlock Street PO Box 647 Marathon, WI Safeguarding Religious Liberty Recent developments in our society and government have begun to pose a real threat to the freedom of Chris an churches to prac ce their firmly held beliefs. In some cases, churches have been the target of lawsuits challenging their prac ces. These lawsuits are most o en related to the use of church facili es, employment decisions, and enrollment in churchoperated schools. While nothing can be done to prevent such legal challenges, congrega- ons may be able to provide themselves with some degree of protec on in the event of a lawsuit if clear policies are adopted and consistently followed. Many of our congrega ons have asked for assistance in developing such policies. With input from the synod s legal counsel, several sample policies have been developed dealing with facili es use, employment, and school enrollment. These are only samples and are being made available to congrega ons that wish to adopt such policies. These sample policies are posted on the synod s website. Given the rapid changes in our society and culture, we know that our congrega ons, schools, and synod will likely be faced with increasing challenges as we strive to be faithful to the Word of God. Pray that God would give us the courage to con nue to stand on our beliefs and to con nue to proclaim the saving gospel to a world that desperately needs to hear it CONGREGATION MISSION OFFERINGS INCREASE Congrega on Mission Offerings (CMO) for calendar year 2015 ended the year 1.1 percent higher than 2014 receipts and 2.9 percent higher than subscrip ons. Total CMO for the year was $21,507,100, an increase of $234,000 over the previous year. This was the highest CMO total in the synod s history and the fourth consecu ve year that congrega ons have exceeded their subscrip ons. For the first half of the fiscal year (July through December), total opera ng support is running ahead of plan due to the posi ve CMO results and the fact that opera ng expenses are lower than planned, primarily in the areas of Financial Services, Human Resources, and Facili es. The plan approved by the synod conven on last July assumed that CMO subscrip ons for 2016 would increase by 1 percent over 2015 receipts. Most congrega ons are in the process of finalizing and submi ng their 2016 CMO subscrip ons. Those results will be known in early February. Once again, God s blessings to our synod con nue uninterrupted. Our thanks to him and to his people for these generous gi s given to support the work that we do together as a synod. JOINT STATEMENT DRAFTED BY THE CLC, ELS, AND WELS Representa ves of the Church of the Lutheran Confession, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod have been mee ng over the past year in formal doctrinal discussions. The group has centered its discussions on the ques on of when a church body must separate from another church body for doctrinal reasons. The group adopted a dra of a joint statement, which has been forwarded to the doctrinal commi ees of all three synods. The statement is available online. Ques ons and reac on to the statement can be forwarded to any of the representa ves whose signature appears at the end of the document. The statement has not yet been formally adopted by any of the three synods. Discussions on fellowship and other topics will con nue at future mee ngs. Serving in Christ, President Mark Schroeder