St. Peter Communicator

Transcription

1 Dear Members, St. Peter Communicator 43 N 3rd St., Hilbert, WI Office: (920) October 2018 The Reformation Is Still Happening Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life -John 6.68 October is right around the corner. As I type this, my phone alerted me to a frost advisory tonight (Sep. 28). Candy and I were late in getting the garden in wasn t until the third week of June so I ll have to pick loads of green cherry tomatoes this afternoon and spread them out on window sills to ripen. With the cooler temps that October will usher in, we also look to observing the Reformation on Sunday, October 28 (maybe we ll have snow by then Be quiet, pastor!! ). Reformation Day is the only Festival Day in the church year that is not related to the life and work of Christ. But, we celebrate it with good cause. God used His servant, Martin Luther, and others, to rediscover the truth of the Gospel. As you know, there were many abuses and false teachings in the Church at that time. It was nothing new. The early church fathers addressed many false teachings as well. The three Christian Creeds that we confess were crafted out of necessity in order to refute false teachings and clarify the Gospel in its purity. Truth be told, while the Reformation era has ran its course, the Church is in an on-going state of reformation. Ever wonder why we call it the Reformation? We do so because we are always reforming back to what God s Word says. We are constantly checking and testing our teachings and our own presuppositions and ideas of the meaning of the Bible with what God says in His Word. After all, Jesus has the words of eternal life! When I begin sermon preparation and then craft a sermon, I begin with prayer and ask God to give me His Holy Spirit as I study His Word so that I may proclaim His Word with faithfulness and accuracy for your sake and mine. I m constantly asking myself with almost every sentence, Is this statement faithful to what the Scriptures teach? Can I say it better more clearly? I am always reforming back to God s Word. Really, a more accurate and faithful way to say that statement is this: God is always reforming me back to His Word (see what I did there!). As one of our Lutheran Confessions emphatically begins: We believe, teach, and confess that the only rule and norm according to which all teachings, together with [all] teachers, should be evaluated and judged [2 Timothy ] are the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures of the Old and New Testament alone. My preaching, our ideas of the Bible, even our own written statements of faith, like Luther s Small Catechism, are subject to review and correction using God s Word. So, as you read your Bible and hear sermons and participate in the Divine Service and engage in Bible studies, pray that God would send you His Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to His Word. He ll do it. You ll be amazed because He will reform you with Jesus words of eternal life! Your partner in the Gospel, Pastor Brassfield pg. 1

2 Mission Matters Sleeping on Plastic Mats Have you wondered what all the big plastic bags of regular plastic bags are doing in the Fellowship Hall? It s one of our recycling projects designed to put waste to productive use. They are being used for a mission project underway by the Women in Mission to create plastic sleeping mats for the homeless people in Milwaukee. It s quite a simple endeavor: we cut strips from plastic bags, tie them into long strips, and then crochet them into 4x6 foot sleeping mats. People have been very generous with their collection of bags, and we have lots of cutting, tying, and crocheting to do. This is a project we work on in the Fellowship Hall, at home, or other places we gather. Anyone who is interested in this activity is welcome to contact Carol Krepline or Judy Paulson for the very simple directions. The only equipment needed is a pair of scissors to cut the plastic or a size N or P crochet hook. Don t be intimidated by the crocheting part; we use the same stitch over and over! Easy-peasy as the saying goes. Anyone who would like to help out is more than welcome. We would like to have several more mats done by time we take our winter clothing ingathering to the Free at Last mission in Milwaukee before Christmas. Current Ingatherings Homeless Veterans at King: Each Fall we have been gathering supplies for the homeless veterans being served at King. These veterans do not qualify, nor do they need, the nursing home services at King. In order to provide them a place to live while they receive assistance in finding therapy, jobs or housing, one of the free-standing older dormitories has been converted to temporary housing. Each veteran needs twin-sized sheets, blankets, personal supplies such as soap, towels and washcloths, toothpaste, etc. They also need socks, underwear, mittens/gloves, sweaters or other items. Because all of their meals are cooked in their dormitory, they are also appreciative of staples for the pantry and snack items such as candy bars, cookies, pretzels and other long-lasting snacks. They also can use beverages like tea bags, coffee or soda. We hope to deliver these items by Veterans Day, November 11, as a statement of how much we appreciate the service these veterans have provided for our country. Retirement Party/Annual Chaplaincy Fundraiser for Rev. Fleischmann Rev. Tom Fleischmann will be retiring as the Director of the Chaplaincy Ministry of SWD. His primary service has been to the Sheboygan County area, but he has also been a consultant to many other facilities throughout the state. In November, he will be hosting his final chaplaincy fundraiser to complete funding of the current fiscal year. One of the methods of raising money is to have a basket sale. We will be putting together a basket around the theme of coffee. If anyone would like to contribute some type of coffee related item, we would be happy to include it in a basket for this fundraiser. It would also be a time for any personal retirement gifts for Pastor Fleischmann. His address is N5451 State Road 57, Plymouth For those who would like to attend, it will be held on Sunday, November 11, at Three Guys and a Grill East, N3350 County J, in Elkhart Lake. The price per person is $40.00, and the deadline for reservations is October 28. Doors open at 11:00 and dinner will be served at 12:30. The cost for children 6-12 is $20. See the bulletin board for additional information. Pastoral care at the Sheboygan area nursing homes will now revert back to the individual parish pastors. pg. 2

3 Parish Nursing by Judy Paulson, RN, BSN, Parish Nurse Flu Shots: It s time to get your flu shot! Each year we have this discussion, and some of you tell me you don t believe in flu shots. And each year I implore you to get your flu shot so that you can avoid the flu or get a much milder case. Symptoms of the flu (influenza) are fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body ache, headache, chills, fatigue and sometimes diarrhea and vomiting. Most experts believe that flu viruses spread mainly by tiny droplets made when people with flu cough, sneeze or talk. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby. Less often, a person might get flu by touching a surface or object that has flu virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose or possibly their eyes. The first and most important step in preventing flu is to get a flu vaccine each year. Flu vaccine has been shown to reduce flu related illnesses and the risk of serious flu complications that can result in hospitalization or even death. CDC (The Center for Disease Control) also recommends everyday preventive actions (like staying away from people who are sick, covering coughs and sneezes and frequent hand washing) to help slow the spread of germs that cause respiratory (nose, throat, and lungs) illnesses, like flu. When people get a flu shot, they not only probably won t get the flu, but they also won t be spreading it to the people around them. Flu shots are available at your primary care provider, Calumet County Health Department, or some of the area pharmacies. Health Department clinics will be held on October 9, 8:30-4:00 and November 15, 9:00-1:00 in the Health Department and November 15 from 1:30-5:00 in the courthouse basement. Learning CPR: This fall we have an opportunity to learn the skills needed to assist a person having a heart attack. We do have an AED (automatic external defibrillator) in the church, located in the Narthex, but it s also necessary to know basic CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and the procedures to use the AED. We will be offering AED/CPR training on November 18 available to anyone in the congregation. It will be held after worship services and there will be no charge to participants. We will learn skills that we can use when we are places without an AED, too. Watch for more information. LUTHERAN WOMEN IN MISSION At our last Women in Mission meeting, we had a lengthy discussion about the intent of our WIM group. More to the point, members reported that there was discussion in the congregation that we no longer have a Ladies Aid at our church. Others felt that we no longer had an LWML. Let s look at our history. These observations only go back 50 years and are based on memory, not documented records. Fifty years ago, we had about 300 members who worshipped at St. Peter on a regular basis. There were about 60 ladies who met together monthly during the school year as a Ladies Aid, about 30 ladies who met quarterly as the LWML, and there were also a number of men (maybe 20 or more?) who met regularly as a pg. 3

4 Men s Club. Eventually, the men started having their meetings on the same night as Ladies Aid, and they met in the kitchen. This was because most of the men s wives were in Ladies Aid and depended on their husbands to drive them to the evening meetings. It seemed logical. After a number of years, the number of men attending Men s Club became much smaller, and they approached the Ladies Aid about combining the groups. Since we could no longer be called Ladies Aid, the group decided on the name Christian Fellowship. Eventually, there were no men attending, but we kept the name of Christian Fellowship. During all this time, the ladies kept their checking account titled Ladies Aid. More years passed, and now both the Christian Fellowship and the LWML had dwindled in membership. The LWML was now meeting monthly, and each group had a Bible study monthly. In addition, there was now a morning weekly Bible study that women attended. This group, too, eventually dwindled and was discontinued. The Fellowship had moved their hours from the evening to late afternoon to accommodate driving during daylight hours and the women who were still working. Again, at the time it seemed like a good compromise, but eventually some of the women felt it interfered with preparations for their evening meal. It was voted to change the time back to earlier in the afternoon, but now our working women couldn t make it and again the numbers dwindled. All of this led to the idea to combine the Fellowship and LWML. Only one member of LWML did not attend Fellowship, and a very few Fellowship members did not attend LWML. Instead of the LWML being absorbed into the Fellowship and renaming our LWML charter status, we again voted to change our name. The ladies voted on Women in Mission. This name seemed to encompass the goals of both groups: The mission of the original Ladies Aid was to serve the needs of the church, and the LWML was a part of the LCMS Ladies Auxiliary which had a more global mission approach. In practice, the Ladies Aid also had a larger mission focus as it contributed toward various missions such as Lutheran Bible Translators and gave many Christmas gifts to various Lutheran missions. The new group, Women in Mission, continued with such activities as coordinating funeral luncheons, church decorating, and kitchen activities. Some of these now overlapped with the recently formed Altar Guild. The new group also maintained ties with the LWML of SWD and sent delegates to the biennial convention to adopt new mission grants. Currently, attendance at WIM varies from 6-10 ladies each month. So as to the concerns that we no longer have a Ladies Aid at St. Peter, we have a ladies aid with a new name. All women of the congregation are considered members, and everyone is welcome to participate as they are able. If you are concerned or interested, come and lend your ideas at one of our meetings. We will be happy to see you. St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church Our Mission: The purpose of this congregation shall be to seek the honor and glory of the Triune God, to carry out his will, to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all the world, to manifest the unity of our faith in Jesus Christ as God and Savior, to foster Christian fellowship and love, to extend a helping hand in human need, and to achieve our objectives by the preaching of the Word of God, by the administration of the sacraments, and by the religious instruction of all its members according to the confessional standard of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. pg. 4

5 Happy Birthday Our Response to His Love General Offering Missions Memorials Alvin Koffarnus Janice Schroeder Totals October 6 Brynn DuPrey 8 Terry Hackbarth Dennis DuPrey 10 Adam Hernke Corey Manders 11 George Schroeder 12 Christine Hillegas Oliver Ott 13 Silas Ott 14 Eva Kamps Minda Hernke Brecken Roehrig 15 Gerald Schroeder 17 Doris Bergelin 18 Brad Diener Nelson Teinert Jr. 21 Joshua Schaffer 24 David Zuelke 25 Jeff Voigt Dan Koffarnus 26 Dan Grimmer 27 Cheri Koffarnus 29 Joshua Hein Justin Hein 30 Connie Tennessen Jerilyn Fochs 31 Debbie Brantmeier Happy Anniversary October 1 st Crysta & Jonathan Ladwig 10 th Amanda & Wes Pompa 17 th Grace & Dennis Roehrig 18 th Jennifer & Richard Vander Sande 19 th Sally & Dan Grimmer 22 nd Jody & Ben Behnke 25 th Debbie & David Brantmeier 26 th Judy & Harold Paulson Linda & Dan Schroeder 30 th Connie & Dan Diener 31 st Cindy & Dan Koffarnus pg. 5

6 Greeters: October 2018 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday th Donna Marose 14th Dennis & Joanne Hernke 21st Ron & Dolores Bornemann 28th DeAnn Eldred 7 LWML Sunday Green 8:30 Divine Service Muffins for Mites 8 9 1:30p Women in Mission Project Day 6:00p Elders Meeting 10 Fall Pastors Fond du Lac Servants of Christ CUW, Mequon st Sunday after Pentecost Green :30 Divine Service (NC) Blood Pressure Readings 11:15 Qtly Council Meeting 2:30p Women in Mission Meeting and Bible Study 6:00p Elders Meeting Fall Decorating 9: nd Sunday after Pentecost Green :30 Divine Service 1:30p Women in Mission Project Day Newsletter Articles Due 28 Reformation Sunday Red Reformation Day Altar Guild: 8:30 Divine Service (NC) 6:30p Voters Meeting Dan & Cindy Koffarnus 7:00p Joint Committee St. Peter Divine Services marked (NC) will not have Holy Communion pg. 6