St. Paul s LUTHERAN CHURCH 3775 East Cudahy Avenue Cudahy, Wisconsin 53110 January 2019 Address Correction Requested
Why Jesus Came Every December we celebrate the fulfillment of all those Old Testament promises about the coming Savior. We gathered more frequently to sing carols and listen to lessons so that we could properly celebrate the birthday of our Savior Jesus. We believe and confess that Jesus Christ came to this world as a baby! We believe and confess that Jesus Christ still comes to us through the Gospel which we receive in Word and Sacrament. We believe and confess that Jesus Christ will come again on Judgment Day. We believe and confess these truths.. but do we really know why Jesus came? Here s a list of reasons why Jesus came! [Look up the Scripture references and study them yourself or read them as a family devotion.] 1) Jesus came to give us eternal life in heaven [John 10:28] and full (abundant) life on earth [John 10:10]. 2) Jesus came to seek and save the lost [Luke 10:10]. That s our mission too! 3) Jesus came to bring God s love to us [1 John 4:9]. 4) Jesus came to destroy the devil s work [1 John 3:8], with his perfect and sinless life along with his innocent and sacrificial death. 5) Jesus came to break the devil s hold on us and free us from the fear of death [Hebrews 2:14-15] by rising from the dead. 6) Jesus came to give light to our dark world [Isaiah 60:1, John 8:12]. His light shows us the path to eternal life, and the light of his Word guides us through the confusion and the decisions of this life. 7) Jesus came to give us peace. As the Prince of Peace [Isaiah 9:6], he established peace between us and God [Romans 5:1]. He gives us his peace [John 14:27]. His peace surpasses all understanding and guards our hearts and minds [Philippians 4:7]. 8) Jesus came to fill our hearts and lives with joy [John 15:11, Romans 15:13]. 9) Jesus came to give us and our world hope [Colossians 1:27]. 10) Jesus came to give rest to the worn-out and weary [Matthew 11:28]. 11) Jesus came to be the Lamb of God which removed the sins of the world [John 1:29]. 12) Jesus came to be the source of salvation [Acts 4:12], and the only way to the Father [John 14:6]. Imagine a little baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger! He grew up to do all that and more.. for you! But that s why Jesus came! 2
Coordinating Church Council - 1/6/2019 We began the evening with a devotion given by Pastor Marshall on the Fourth Commandment. The meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM. In attendance were: Dave Hintz, Ken Trossen, Ruben Villa, Don Kolander, & Pastor Marshall. Minutes: MMS&P to accept the minutes of November 25, 2018 meeting as published. Membership Changes: Transfers from St. Paul s to another WELS Congregation: Josiah Nommensen to Grace Lutheran - Grenada Adult Confirmations: Denise Schlieve 01/03/2019 Beverly Lynch 01/06/2019 MMS&P to approve the membership changes as presented. Pastors Report: Presented by Pastor Marshall: Baptisms: Kalea Rose Kolosovsky 11/23/2018 01/06/2019 Financial Report: Ken Trossen See Financial Review for Report School Board: Mr. Kolander reported: 1) We received $6,124 from the state of Wisconsin as part of the school safety upgrade grant, and we are expecting another payment of $7,028. 2) We submitted our Intent to Participate in the 2019 2020 Choice Program. 3) We are in the process of implementing various marketing projects within our local community on behalf of our school. 4) The 27 th annual Lakeshore Tournament is scheduled for January 16+17, 19+20. 5) The faculty, staff and School Board would like to thank Mr. Dave Hintz and Mr. Don Wenner as well as many others who help keep our school running when things need to be fixed. Worship Board: Mr. Carr distributed an updated list of Usher Responsibilities and he is working on having meetings with the usher crews during the month of January. Properties Board: Mr. Hintz reported the Properties Group continues to work on open projects on a priority basis. They could use all the help you are willing to give. Contact Mr. Dave Hintz for details. Old Business: MMS&P to pay down our line-of-credit at Chase bank by $12,000. The next Thrivent Action Teams are the Lakeshore BB Tournament and a Food Drive for the Bay View Community Center. We are currently contacting men of the congregation to serve on our Coordinating Church Council. We thank the groups who continue to provide goodies for Fellowship following worship on the Second Sunday (Tammy Smukowski, Vicki Lindquist, Diane Richter) and Fourth Sunday (LuAnn Gaertner, Sandy Marshall). MMS&P to pay WLHS our commitment in the Gifted for Praise appeal during our 3-year 125 th Anniversary Appeal in the amount of $28,600. We used their professional fund appeal services, and in return we made a commitment to send 20% of what we gathered for our 125th Anniversary Appeal ($144,000). We are in the process of forming a group to oversee the sale of Mr. Edward Siegel s estate. Anyone interested in joining this group please contact Ruben Villa. New Business: We received a $70,000 bequest from the estate of Jim & Betty Keane. We are in the process of contacting Mr. Hosbach for upgrades to our audio-visual system. We would like to have the upgrades up and running ASAP. MMS&P to set the 2019 IRS Housing Allowance for male called workers as follows: Pastor Marshall $24,000, Don Kolander $10,400 and Bradley Nommensen $17,000. (These are not additions to their salaries, they are for IRS tax purposes.) Announcements: Our next Coordinating Church Council Meeting will be on January 27, 2019 at 6:00 pm in the school library. Our next ministry update will be on February 7/10, 2019. 3
SCHOOL NOTES & NEWS Lakeshore Tournament The 27 th annual Lakeshore Basketball Tournament will be held on January 16-17 & 19-20. The weekend tournament will feature both a girls and boys tournament. We need volunteers for the canteen, scorebook, clock, candy canteen, and tickets. Sign-up sheets can be found in the school office, at church and on-line at signupgenius.com. Your help would be greatly appreciated. If you are unable to help we hope you will be able to attend one or more of the games. Don t miss the special performances of our Spirit Squad that will take place at halftime of the St. Paul s games. Marketing Our School Efforts are being made to inform the community about our school. You may have seen the sign that was put up near the playground along Armour Ave. We are working to put a similar sign up on the Layton Ave. board to let people know of our School Choice participation and the enrollment periods. A mailing is also being planned for portions of Cudahy, St. Francis and Milwaukee highlighting our school and its programs. We pray that God will bless our efforts and bring some additional students to our school with whom we can share the precious message of our Savior. School Choice Our first semester as part of the school choice program seems to be going well. We passed our fall audit and have been able to get our student information system connected with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Recently, we submitted the paperwork to participate in the program during the 2019-2020 school year. We are beginning to prepare for the upcoming enrollment periods that will run during February, March and April. If you know of anyone that might be interested in a Christian education at St. Paul s, please have them contact Mr. Kolander. School Safety In December, the students and staff of St. Paul s participated in an emergency lockdown drill. The purpose of the drill was to practice the actions that would need to be taken if an intruder would enter our school facility. Once the drill was begun, students quickly moved to the safe zone within their classroom. Mr. Kolander and Sergeant Livesey of the Cudahy Police Department did a walk through to check for locked classroom doors and the general carrying out of the lockdown procedures. We pray that as a school we will never find ourselves in a situation that could bring harm to our students, however, it is important to prepare for any dangers that might occur while they are at school. K4-K5 Roundup Our annual K4-K5 Roundup is going to be held on Monday, February 11 from 6:00-7:00 PM. The evening will provide parents with an opportunity to learn more about our school and our early education programs. If you are interested in attending please contact St. Paul s at 414-744-9771. Invitations to attend will be sent to congregational families with children who are eligible. National Geography Bee Students in grades 5-8 will compete this month in the school competition of the National Geography Bee. The school winner will have the opportunity to write a test for the state competition. Good luck to all of the students. We will provide an update and acknowledge our school winner in next month s newsletter! Calendar January 16-17 Lakeshore Basketball Tournament January 18 Basketball @ St. John/WOL January 19-20 Lakeshore Basketball Tournament January 21 No School January 27 5 th Grade Extravaganza @ WLHS February 11 K4 and K5 Roundup 4
We are already beginning the process of planning for our participation in the school choice program for the 2019-2020 school year. The program provides a voucher for low-income families to help pay for their child s tuition at the private school of their choice. We hope that by participating in the Choice program we can help many of our church families with the costs of tuition. We also hope that our school may become an option to families outside of our congregation that otherwise may not have had the opportunity to have their children receive an education that is centered on Jesus! Families qualify for the program based on two criteria: (1) residency and (2) income. Below are the income limits for the 2019-2020 school year. Our school will participate in both the MPCP and WPCP. Please note that the income limits for the two programs are different. Families living in Milwaukee qualify for the MPCP program. Families living in Cudahy, St. Francis, South Milwaukee, etc. qualify for the WPCP. Families can apply on-line during February, March and April. Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) - 300% of the Federal Poverty Level for 2019-2020 Family Size Yearly Income (Parents Married + $7,000) 2 $49,380 ($56,380) 3 $62,340 ($69,340) 4 $75,300 ($82,300) 5 $88,260 ($95,260) 6 $101,220 ($108,220) For each additional member add $12,540. Wisconsin Parental Choice Program (WPCP) - 220% of the Federal Poverty Level for 2019-2020 Family Size Yearly Income (Parents Married + $7,000) 2 $36,212 ($43,212) 3 $45,716 ($52,716) 4 $55,220 ($62,220) 5 $64,724 ($71,724) 6 $74,228 ($81,228) For each additional member add $9,108 Contact Mr. Kolander (414-744-9771) if you have any questions about your child or grandchild participating. 5
K4 and K5 Roundup Monday, February 11 6:00-7:00 PM Please join us to learn more about our school December Church & School Income & Expenses December Income...$65,996.00 December Expenses...$62,172.00 Christmas is often called the Season of Giving. The Lord in his goodness saw fit to have longtime St. Paul s members, Jim and Betty Keane and Ed Siegel, all safely tucked into their heavenly mansion, include their church home, St. Paul s, in their wills. As a result, St. Paul s received a gift of $70,000 from the Keane Estate. We Thank Our God! Since the called workers and staff had not received a pay increase for several years, the Church Council wanted to show the appreciation our congregation has for the work they do for us in Jesus name, they decided to use a total of $5,500 to give each of our called workers and staff a Christmas gift. In addition, $12,000 from the Estate was used to pay down our line of credit. And $28,600 from the Estate was used to meet our commitment to Wisconsin Lutheran High School for the Gifted for Praise campaign. Again, St. Paul s is on the receiving of a gift, this time from the Siegel Estate. Our church received his house on E. Allerton Ave. and all the contents of his house. There are still a few legalities to iron out before the church technically receives it. In the meantime, Norm & Janet Siegel, Ed s cousins, are taking good care of the home. We Thank Our God! While our expenses listed above were a little bit higher than normal, again, the Lord moved the hearts of his people to bring gifts that exceeded those expenses. We Thank Our God! As the calendar turns to 2019, our 3-year 125th Anniversary Appeal comes to a close. We will soon begin the process of determining which of the projects to proceed with. When we first started planning the appeal 4 years ago, we identified that it s really about making sure we re using the physical gifts to carry out the spiritual mission the best way we can. Making our church as welcoming of a place as possible, for both members and visitors, is a huge part of being faithful with God s blessings. Since our church is 50 years old and has never been significantly updated, the ideas included: 1) Moving the communion rail down to the main floor (chancel), 2) Remodeling the worship space (sanctuary ), and 3) Remodeling/Expanding the gathering space in the front entryway. 6
Online Directory and Mobile App Instructions Easy to download! Easy to use! Downloading the Mobile App: Go to your mobile app store and search for Guide Book Publishing Download the app to your mobile device Enter your mobile privacy code stpaulscudahy then click Submit Enter your personal username & password & click Go (If you want your log-in information stored, select Remember Me ) Once you have logged into your directory s mobile app you will see a complete list of members, individuals, staff and also ministry groups. Search Features: To locate a member of family you have 2 options: Type the name in the Search box and click on the blue finder button Click on the first letter of the member or family s last name One Touch Texting: Locate the member you want to message Click on their profile image Click on the SMS icon by their cell phone number Write your message and hit Send One Touch Emailing: Email an Individual: Locate the member you want to email Click on their profile image Click on their email address Write your email and hit Send Email a Family: Locate the family you want to email Click on their profile image Click on Email Family Write your email and hit Send One Touch Mapping/Directions: Locate desired member or family Click on their street address A map to their house will appear Follow directions provided Uploading a New Photo: Go to your individual member or family profile Select Change Photo Click Update Upload a Family / Individual Photo to Our Online Directory Did you know we have an electronic photo directory for our congregation? It's time to upload a photo of your family via the Online Directory & Mobile App. To upload a photo, go to https://stpaulscudahy.gbpd.co. Log into the system and locate your Family Profile Page. Then follow the steps to upload a photo. We would love to see photos of where you went on your last family vacation, or a family photo from your phone's gallery. You can also upload individual photos on your Member Profile Page(s) as well. (If you need your username and password, contact the office) 7
Young Family Open Gym Night Tuesday, January 15 from 6:00 7:00 PM(ish), is the next Open Gym for Young Families. We had a nice turn-out at our November & December Play-Dates. While everyone is welcome, we especially want this to be a time that our toddlers and preschoolers can get some energy out, meet some new friends, and have fun. If you have any questions, please call Daniel and Melissa Tomczyk at 414-367-8009 or email them at dan.mel.tomczyk@gmail.com. If you missed December, come in January. SUNDAY SCHOOL... SUNDAY 8:30-9:15 AM Ages 3-12 years old meet in the school. BIBLE STUDY... SUNDAY 8:30-9:15 AM, repeated MONDAY 6:30-7:45 PM Idols We Never Knew we Had STARTING POINT... WEDNESDAY 6:30-7:45 PM Our next Starting Point (New Member Class) will begin after Easter. WOMEN S... 9:00 AM & 7:00 PM 1st and 3rd TUESDAY of the month At Dorothy Schlueter s Home: 6215 Walnut Lane #41 Cudahy. MEN S BREAKFAST... 6:15 AM 1st and 3rd TUESDAY of the month At Andrea s Restaurant: 5921 S. Packard Ave. Cudahy 8