CHURCH CHAT. November 2018

Transcription

1 CHURCH CHAT It is the mission and purpose of Somers Community United Church of Christ to study and seek the will of God and to transform our understanding into action. November 2018 Somers Community UCC th Street PO Box 183 Kenosha, WI ~~~ Ph: Visit us on the web at: somerschurch.org And on Facebook ~~ Pastor Kathleen Gloff Ph: Administrative Associate Barbara Sherman Moderator Dennis Curnes ~~ Church Office Hours Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 9:00pm - 3:00 pm I have been a local church pastor for nearly 25 years now. When I started my ministry in Iowa, I was doing quite a few funerals for veterans of World War II. The local Veterans who came to the graveside for Military Honors would say to me: "We are old men, Pastor; don't be too wordy out here." They were still playing Taps with an actual bugle back then. The second church in which I served there were still a number of funerals for World War II Veterans. By that time, the Funeral Director was using a recorded version of Taps, because it was increasingly difficult to find a veteran or a high school student who had the time and the ability to play it. Here at Somers United Church of Christ, I am aware of four funerals that I have officiated for Veterans of World War II--Frank Staral, Mario Maritato, Albert Schlitz, and Floyd Holloway. To the best of my knowledge, Floyd is the last World War II Veteran that was a part of Somers United Church of Christ. I honestly do not remember if we had Military Honors for Frank's Funeral...but the other three I remember quite well. Mario Maritato is buried at the Veteran's Cemetery just outside of Union Grove; I sang Taps for his service in the chapel of the Cemetery. Albert Schlitz is buried at Sunset Ridge Memorial Park, and the funeral home that assisted the family arranged for Military Honors and a recorded version of Taps. Floyd Holloway was buried next to his wife, Jane, in the Paris Cemetery. We had Military Honors for Floyd here at church in the parking lot at the conclusion of the memorial service in the sanctuary. The flag was folded and presented; the salute was fired, but I do not believe that Taps was played, either live or via recording. On November 11th, we observe Veteran's Day--a day to honor the Veteran's of all conflicts--for their service to our country. I remember when I was in elementary school, we actually still observed a minute of silence at 11:11 a.m. on 11/11, for that was the date and time that the Armistice was signed to end World War I. It was not "The War to End All War" as people then had thought it would be. As we honor our Veterans, let us pray that all would learn how to beat their swords into plowshares and lay down their weapons for peace. (continued on page 2 )

2 Birthdays 7 Brent Christenson 7 Gene Armstrong 8 Terra Newhouse 9 Lowell Charon 18 Stephanie Christenson 20 Pastor Kathy Gloff 29 Gloria Chubrilo 29 Julie Rossi 30 Carol Bishop Anniversaries 1 David & Patricia Sielaff 10 Leo & Judy Thomas 14 Bryan & Chynna Chung NOTE: If we are missing your birthday or anniversary, please let the church office know. November 4 Communion November 11 Stewardship November 18 Heritage Sunday Coffee Hour Scripture Readings Ruth 1: 1-8 Psalm 146 Hebrews 9: Mark 12: Ruth 3: 1-5; 4: Psalm 127 Hebrews 9: Mark 12: Samuel 1: 4-20 Psalm 16 Hebrews 10: 11-14, Mark 13: 1-8 November 25 2 Samuel 23: 1-7 Psalm 132: 1-12 Revelations 1: 4b-8 John 18: Sunday Volunteers Liturgist Altar Flowers Nov 4 OPEN Swartz Family Nov 11 Jane Fahey Jane Fahey Nov 18 OPEN Stephanie Christenson Nov 25 OPEN OPEN Pastor s Letter...continued from Page 1: My first encounter with the song Taps was not at a military funeral, it was at Day Camp in the Girl Scouts. We had a songbook back then, and the words of the first verse of Taps were included, and we sometimes sang them: "Day is done, gone the sun, from the lakes, from the hill, from the sky. All is well, safe at rest, God is nigh." May God be nigh to each of our Veterans as we honor them this month. 2

3 The Men s Breakfast group will be meeting for their monthly gathering on Saturday, November 10th, at 8:30 am. They will gather at the Phoenix Restaurant, th St, Kenosha located west of I94 on the north side of Hwy 50 at the West Frontage Road intersection. 179 Years of Serving God! Come celebrate our Heritage and History. Spiritual Life is making plans to serve a coffee hour after worship on Sunday, November 18th, at 11:15 am. Sunday, November 18th We will be having a food drive to restock our food pantry and celebrate Heritage Sunday. On Saturday, November 10th at 9:00 am, we will be gathering for the last B& B for Our hosts will be Shirley Mandernack and Joyce Duesing. We will be discussing the book Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. Joyce Duesing will be leading the discussion. On this day, we will be selecting books for 2019 so PLEASE bring a list of some of your favorite books that you think the group would enjoy. Also have in mind a month that you would like to host. We meet in January, March, May, July, September, and November. Always looking for new persons to join us. If you have any questions contact Bonnie It is that time of the year when the Relationships Committee are filling slots for Officers and Committee Personnel for the upcoming years. If you would like to fill one of these positions and have not been asked, please contact Bonnie Curnes at

4 Dear Church members and friends: Why do you give to your church? We each have different motivations and capabilities for giving, and every gift and pledge is gratefully received. Your Resource Committee s one hope is that your support for our ministries comes from and with a profound sense of gratitude and joy for all you receive through your relationship with God and the members of our church. That s why we ve chosen What Shall We Bring as our stewardship theme this year. We are blessed. We share a strong faith with each other. We celebrate the joyful events in each other s lives and comfort each other in times of trial and sorrow. We welcome everyone and anyone to join us, and we change the lives of people in our community, (Diaper Ministry/Food Pantry) people who may never set foot in our church simply because they have no one else to turn to, and we are here, and we count ourselves blessed to be able to help. Our church has ministered faithfully for many, many years not because members have given year after year out of duty, obligation, guilt or fear. Such motivations couldn t sustain us for as long as we have been here. No, our church is still here, still strong and vibrant, because generations and generations of members have counted themselves blessed and have therefore supported its mission with generous gifts of gratitude and joy. Now it s up to us to somehow, as hard as it may seem at times to keep our church going. In worship, fellowship, faith-sharing groups, service opportunities and more, we re growing as an extended family. Your generous gift will continue to build the web of caring and community for all. As you ponder What Shall We Bring, please consider increasing your pledge for 2019 and beyond. Stewardship Sunday is November 11th. Please plan now to worship at 10:15 a.m.. Over the next few weeks you ll be hearing from the stewardship committee through bulletin inserts. Please use these to reflect on the many ways you can count yourself blessed and then give gratefully, generously, and joyfully in support of our ministries/missions in Thank you, from your Moderator Dennis Curnes 4

5 Moving Day Monday, November 5th Wednesday, November 7th Friday, November 9th 9:00 AM We need some people to help move the furniture out of the Pastor s office, main office and Memorial Lounge on Monday and Wednesday, so we can replace the carpet in these rooms on Thursday, November 8th. We also need people on Friday to move furniture back into the rooms. If you have any questions, contact Kent Mayes at This year, the clocks fall back an hour on Sunday, November 4th. It is also a great time to change the batteries in all your smoke alarms. Free for the taking. The Pastor s desk is going to be replaced by a smaller efficient desk. Her current desk is much too big for the space and is being offered to anyone that my want for the great one time price of only $0.00. Let Dennis Curnes or Kent Mayes know as soon as possible if you are interested. Also there is a nice straight desk in the Administrative Associates office that is also available. If you would like to look at the merchandise please let me know and I will get it arranged. Dennis Curnes Christmas Poinsettias will be available to beautify our sanctuary this year. We will purchasing them from Milaeger s. The Spiritual Life Committee is meeting on October 28th, so we will know more information after that date. The sign up sheet will be available in the narthex on Sunday, November 4th. Call the church office to get cost and type. Orders are due on Sunday, November 25th. Are we really talking about snow and ice already?? It may not be long before we re glued to the radio or the TV, obsessively checking our phones and our weather apps to see how many inches are predicted to come our way. So if the weather does get bad and it is dangerous to travel, there s a possibility church may be cancelled. You can find cancellation information on Channels 4, 6, and 12. Information will also be posted on our Facebook page. 5

6 Somers Community United Church of Christ Council Meeting October 4, 2018 Present: Dennis Curnes Bonnie Curnes Deanna Mayes Kent Mayes Kent Duesing Barbara Sherman Char Laba Pastor Kathy Gloff The meeting was called to order by Dennis Curnes, Moderator, at 10:27 AM. Kent D offered the prayer. The September 13th minutes were amended with the money from the 2017 Holiday Cookie fundraiser was designated to the Parking Lot Fund. The minutes were approved with the addition. Dennis presented the treasurer s report. The general checkbook balance as of October 2nd is $44, which includes the money for the parking lot project. Pilgrim Heritage Fund: Kent D. reported the third quarter withdrawal of $8,100 from the Pilgrim Heritage Fund was done on September 27th to help pay church bills. There is $1, in grants available for Property: Kent M. reported the bill of $43,817 for repaving the parking lot was received. lot. We currently have $39,595 plus the 2017 cookie money of $1,447 for a total of $40,042 to pay towards the parking lot, so we are short $3,775. We still need to get black dirt to fill in around the edges of the parking lot. We have Friday, October 5th scheduled to clean the windows of the church. If we don't get the windows done, Dennis made a motion to hire a person to clean the windows in the narthex and sanctuary. Kent M second the motion and approved. We need to replace an emergency light in the Day Care area which Dennis will do. Spiritual Life: Char reported the orders for the poinsettias will need to be in by the end of November. Her group will be meeting soon to discuss the Holiday Cookie fundraiser. Administrative Associate: No report. Pastor: Pastor Kathy reported a baptism on October 7th. She has two Bi-Vocational sessions left. She invited Joe'Mar Hooper from Common Bond Communities to look at the housing in the Somers area per the Ad Hoc Committee inquiry. She will be doing October Communion to our home bound members. Old Business: Kent M reported Carpet Plus will be replacing the carpets in the Pastor's office, main office, and Memorial Lounge on November 8th. The cost is $3,741 and the money will come from the Memorial Funds. We will need help on November 5th and 7th to remove the furniture from these rooms especially four men. New Business: Dennis reported he will be ordering Stewardship material from the UCC Conference and our Stewardship Sunday will be November 11th. We will have Heritage Sunday on November 18th along with coffee hour and food drive. The Choir Cantata will be on Sunday, December 23rd. The next council meeting will be Thursday, November 1st at 10:30 AM (Note change of date). The meeting was adjourned at 11:20 AM, followed by the Lord s Prayer. Barbara Sherman, Clerk of Council 6

7 The food pantry is always in need of food (see list below). Again I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people in our Somers United Church of Christ for their faithful dedication in bringing in food and paper supplies on a regular basis. We are one of the many churches in the area who are trying to help those families that are struggling in this society. If you do not want to shop or cannot shop make a check payable to Somers United Church of Christ and mark it Food Pantry and I will do the shopping for you. Remember you can turn in your receipts of your purchases and get credit for your donations on your statements. Cereal** Chef Boyardee (15 oz. cans)** FOOD ITEMS (**food items we use the most) PAPER TOWEL** (NEED) TOLIET PAPER** (NEED) Peanut Butter** Jelly / Jams ** Jell-O Snack Pudding Cups** Small juice boxes** Syrup** Pancake Mix** Saltine Crackers Spaghetti Sauce Rice /Pasta Sides Pasta all kinds Canned Vegetables Pop Tarts** Jell-O** Canned Chicken breast** Soup** Mac & Cheese Egg Noodles Ramen Noodles (beef & chicken) Tuna Fish Bean (all kinds) FRUIT COCKTAIL, PEACHES, PEARS, PINEAPPLE, APPLESAUCE (not lite) ** (NEED) We can always use small hygiene containers like shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and mouth rinse. It is greatly appreciated. THANK YOU. Bonnie Curnes, Project Manager Diaper Ministry / Food Pantry During the month of December, we will be collecting for our annual mitten drive. Please bring in all sizes for women, men, and children of mittens, gloves, hats, earmuffs, socks, and scarves to place on the tree in the back of the sanctuary of our church between Thanksgiving and Christmas. These will be donated to Women and Children's Horizons, Salvation Army, and Shalom Center They will be greatly appreciated during our coldest months of the year. 7

8 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Service Team #3 Co-chairs Liz Borger and Patti Stolfi 1 10:30 AM Council Turn clocks back Communion 9: 00 AM Choir 10:15 AM Worship 5 9:00 AM Help move furniture 6 12:30 PM Resources 2:00 PM Diaper Ministry 7 9:00 AM Help move furniture 10:30 AM Kenosha Senior Care 8 9 9:00 AM Help move furniture back 10 8:30 AM Men s Breakfast at Phoenix Restaurant 9:00 AM Breakfast & Books 11 Stewardship Sunday 9: 00 AM Choir 10:15 AM Worship :00 PM Diaper Ministry 14 1:00 PM 3:30 PM Pastor s Community of Practice 15 9:30 AM 3:30 PM Pastor s Bi-Vocational, Portage Heritage Sunday/ Coffee Hour/ Food Drive 9: 00 AM Choir 10:15 AM Worship :00 PM Diaper Ministry 21 10:30 AM Kenosha Senior Care 22 Thanksgiving : 00 AM Choir 10:15 AM Worship POINSETTIAS ORDERS DUE!! 2:00 PM Diaper Ministry