course of my many seasons as an ordained pastor and teacher of the United Church of Christ, I have found an affection for the Season of Epiphany.

Transcription

1 St. Paul s United Church of Christ Rev. Steve Davidson 1250 Leonard Point Rd. Oshkosh, WI stpauls@ntd.net February 2019 Tidings Over The course of my many seasons as an ordained pastor and teacher of the United Church of Christ, I have found an affection for the Season of Epiphany. It seems rather bizarre to have affection for a church season, but, having lived through this season 50 times, I ve had plenty of time to nurture this affection. It stems from my awareness that Epiphany seldom gets much respect or attention. This season comes fast on the heels on Christmas and how could any season compete with that? And, on the other end, it serves as a kind of overlooked prelude to the season of Lent and Easter. Too, it pops up at a time when many are paying Christmas bills and thinking bad thoughts about winter! No wonder Epiphany gets any respect, to borrow a line from comedian Rodney Dangerfield. Remember him? To remedy this, I ve been tempted to start a Society for the Preservation and Adoration of the Season of Epiphany but the acronym doesn t work. Failing that, perhaps a better strategy would be to take a closer look at the heart and soul of this Season. To begin at the beginning (always a good place to begin!), the word itself comes to us from our friends over there in Greece. A rough translation of the word would be: manifestation. A more elaborate definition would be: manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles, as represented by the wise kings. 1

2 The season begins with the arrival of the kings at the manger and it ends a few months later with the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain (Luke 9). On March 3 rd, a Sunday, I ll dwell on that. If you put these two events side-by-side, you begin to grasp my affection for this season. Among other things, during Epiphany, NEW THINGS HAPPEN; unusual things happen that had never happened before. If you were in church a few weeks ago, you heard me make the case for a God who makes all things new, who is forever doing a new thing (Isaiah 43). Those wise kings were the first Gentiles to lay eyes on the newborn King. According to the story, that happened January 6 th following the twelve days of Christmas. On the back end of the season, we have Jesus being transfigured up there on the mountain for the very first time, with a few disciples looking on. As we move through this New Year, look for new things to happen, quite likely in the form of new leadership. A few days ago, Mike Bettcher stepped up and agreed to serve as chair of the Council. To my knowledge, this is a first for Mike. Fortunately, Mike s got broad shoulders and strong faith he will serve us well as our new Chair. Also, it s likely that a new pastor and teacher will be called in this calendar year. It s exciting to think about that, to anticipate that! Moments like this do not roll around very often. You will want to be in on this. And with new leadership comes new ideas, new initiatives, new ways to tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love, as the beloved hymn has it. A few Sundays back, I reminded all of us of God s inclination to do a new thing. You would think God would be content with the way we ve always done things, but not so, apparently. In any case, as we move forward together, be on the lookout for new things. And, while you re at it, tell yourself: New things can be God things. Also, during Epiphany, RELATIONAL THINGS HAPPEN. That sounds a tad hokey, but here s what I have in mind. Before the kings arrive at the stable, they had no relationship with the Christ. They were star-gazers for pity s sake! But, after they had seen the Christ with their own eyes, things changed; they changed; they saw things differently. Relationships often have that kind of impact! And, after Jesus was transfigured there on the mountain (Luke 9), with visions of Moses and Elijah appearing, and the voice of God heard, I just have to believe that those eye-witnesses Peter, James and John had a new relationship with Jesus. 2

3 As we move on into this New Year, we need to be on the lookout for groups that might benefit from being in relationship with us, perhaps through the use of our building. As we all know, we ve got a bundle of available space in our building. As we fill up these empty spaces, it s likely that new relationships will evolve. That s a very good thing. Or: going at it from the other direction, perhaps we need to be on the lookout for relationships in the community that need to be established. Maybe there are unmet needs out there. Maybe there are people out there who need to know that we care and want to be helpful. Whether these new relationships are developed in here or out there, it s obvious new relationships are essential to our future health and well-being. The Council will lead the way on this one. Every time we sit down, rather than talk about Faith Formation, we re going to talk about Opportunities for Intergenerational Events. That line item will appear on every Council agenda until we no longer need that line item. Perhaps this explains my affection for the Season of Epiphany. This season is loaded with promise. This season gets us headed in the right direction. This season places us on the threshold of a new day, and, for that, we say with one voice, Thanks be to God, Minutes for January 10, 2019 Members present were Mike Bettcher, Debbie Wriedt, Lowell Reepsdorf, Barb Loomans, Kris Schafer, and Sherri Landig. Absent was Kathy Thompson. Pastor Steve and Liz Joachim were also present. The meeting opened with prayer by Pastor Steve. Mike facilitated the meeting and started with welcoming Kris to the council. He also expressed gratitude for Ellen Becker s years of service to council. The first order of business was the election of officers for Mike will be President, Barb will be VP, Sherri will be Secretary, and Liz Joachim and Lynn Rollmann were appointed as Financial Secretary and Treasurer. Kris and Kathy were thanked for agreeing to become part of council. Pastor s Report Pastor asked for helpful comments about what he is doing. He would like future connections with the Emmaus community. The Advent service was positive. Will try to pursue Ash Wednesday joint service. Annual meeting is April 6th. General synod is in June, and he will be attending. He continues to work on Confirmation. There are conflicts that need to be sorted out. 3

4 Larry is on medical leave from his organist position. Ecumenical Good Friday services will be held here at St. Paul s. Minutes from the previous meeting were reviewed. Debbie motioned to accept the minutes and Barb 2nd. Motion carried. Treasurer s report Liz reported that she had to go into the money market account in order to pay last month s bills. The council would like Bobbi to come to the next meeting to explain our computer expenses and IPower. A motion made by Lowell to accept the report as presented and pay bills as monies become available was 2nd by Barb. Motion carried. Intergenerational Opportunities Some suggestions to explore include a movie event as well as a bowling outing in the future. Committee Reports Lowell had nothing to report from grounds. Chris has done the monthly inspection of the building and had nothing to report. Nachell has offered to help us dispose of the old refrigerator and Pepsi machine. We discussed trying to sell the Pepsi machine ourselves. The refrigerator is seldom used and might be good to get rid of it now. Will be explored further. Search Committee Debbie reported that the committee is meeting next week. She updated us on the response from the questionnaire that was sent out. Pastor Steve shared some thoughts and ideas he felt we could use at the congregational Annual Meeting. Council approved them and these will be included in the weekly bulletin prior to our meeting. These should help with the forms the search committee must complete. There was no correspondence. Two scholarship requests were approved. Sustaining Fund requests were reviewed. The following funds were requested: $93 for fire extinguisher inspection, $99 for lock repair, $1000 for scholarships, $1899 for OCWM, $90 for parking lot maintenance, and $951 for expected Beez Electric and Lock Work bills. A motion by Lowell to use the Sustaining Fund money as requested was 2nd by Kris and motion carried. Inactive members were reviewed and necessary letters will be sent out. Budget was the next item discussed. We did some adjustments. Council has done its best to cut expenses. One such adjustment is to have only fresh flowers the first Sunday of the month. If others would like them for a particular Sunday, they will need to contact Liz in ample time so that they can be ordered. Liz will be looking into artificial arrangements from House of Flowers to save money. A motion by Barb and 2nd by Debbie to accept the budget with changes that were discussed carried. We will present the budget at the annual meeting. The Boy Scout Troop that meets here has a request to do something special for Boy Scout Sunday. Pastor Steve will be contacting the leader to discuss this. There being no further comments or business, the meeting concluded with the Lord s Prayer at 8:26p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sherri Landig 4

5 POMMERENING, ART 02/01 WHITEMARSH, CHI 02/01 TRETOW, HARLEY 02/04 BOERNER, RYAN 02/08 SCHAFER, CAITLYN 02/10 CIRRICIONE, NICK 02/18 BORGMANN, RYAN 02/20 JOACHIM, EMILY 02/21 LOOMANS, BRUCE 02/24 JOACHIM, SAMUEL 02/25 BOSS, BEN 02/26 Beat Winter Boredom with SCRIP! Movies, Popcorn & Candy! Get out of the house and see a favorite show. Protect yourself from the cold with great post-holiday Clearance Sales. Use SCRIP cards for all these purchases. SCRIP order due Sunday, February 3 rd Save the Date! Feb. 17 March 10, 2019 Help for the Homeless hygiene drive We will place a large box in the Narthex to collect hygiene/cleaning products. Hygiene and cleaning items are expensive and are not covered by Wisconsin Food Share (formerly Food Stamps). This donation helps BOTH the crisis programs and those they serve. In the Oshkosh area we ll be collecting for: 1. ADVOCAP Homeless Program 2. Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services, Inc. 3. Day by Day Warming Shelter 4. Father Carr s Place 2B 5. The Salvation Army of Oshkosh 6. Winnebago County Human Services, serving the Homeless population PS - Cash donations: YES, we DO accept financial donations! Make checks out to The Family with Help for the Homeless on the memo line. Mail them to The Family radio, Attn. Heidi Prahl, 1909 W 2nd St, Appleton WI They ll buy $10 gift cards (Shopko) for the agencies to buy hygiene supplies. Funds stay in the community where the check comes from. The greatest of all mistakes is to do nothing because you can do only a little. -Sydney Smith 5

6 Lynn Rollmann for January communion preparation/clean up Debbie Wriedt, Sherri Landig, Mike Bettcher, Chris Reichard, Annette Reichard, Jim Beck and Dennis Krause for taking down the Christmas tree and all church decorations plus clean up Anne Gassere coordinating the Help for the Homeless Drive ALTAR FLOWERS!! Because of the decline in St. Paul s members and friends providing the flowers weekly for our Credence Shelf, the Church Council has agreed to use real flowers ONLY on the first Sunday of each month. The remaining weeks will have artificial flowers in the vases. Members hopefully will continue to purchase/provide those flowers once a month AND if anyone would like to supply the 2 vases on any remaining weeks, just phone the church office for de- tails. (We do have to have any special requests to the florist for those flowers one month in advance.) Remember, you are able to take the flowers home with you or offer them to any shut in or ill person, whether they are a St. Paul s member or not. We also still need members/friends to provide the weekly Sunday bulletins. There are signup sheets for flowers and bulletins in the Narthex Those who are recuperating at home or in care centers: Jeanette Cummings, Eileen Redemann, Betty Bettin, Lori Abraham, Dorothy Hable, Carla Gearnhardt, Ruth Hauser, Karen Kentopp, Faye Lindemann, Curt Bahr, Rev. Harley and Shirley Tretow Haitian Student sponsored by St. Paul s: Corriolant Yves St. Paul s friends and family: Mary Jaynes sister Sue and daughter Carrie, Timmy Romanesko, Mike Hrnak, Larry Klausch FEBRUARY DATES February 3: 9:30 worship with communion. SCRIP orders due! 11 AM ECC worship February 10: 9:30 worship with communion; 11 AM ECC worship February 14: 6:30 PM Church council meets February 17: 9:30 worship with communion; 11 AM ECC worship Help for the Homeless Hygiene Drive begins February 24: 9:30 worship with communion; 11 AM ECC worship Food Pantry Sunday 6