Messenger of Christ August 2018 Christ United Methodist Church TN: 414 421-0202 5200 South 48th Street FAX: 414 421-3437 Greenfield, WI 53220 Email: christumc1@sbcglobal.net Rev. Mao Her, Pastor Website: http: //greenfieldchristumc.org/ Where Are You Going? For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you, through His poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9 (NLT) Where are you going? is a question I get asked a lot these days! For this reason, I have decided to share my journey back to Thailand and Lao with you in this article. As some of you already know, I will be traveling back there in less than a month. My departure date is August 20 th and I plan to be back on September 19 th. This will be my second trip there since I arrived in the United States in 1979. I was there in 2008, but this will be a very different trip with a different experience. My husband, Rev. Nhia Wahn Her, and I have been thinking about this trip for a few years now. Initially we didn t think we would be able to travel this year. But when we were offered the opportunity to teach a few courses of studies to a few leaders (pastors) in Lao, we couldn t say no. As you can imagine, my love for the country and the people there is great. Even though I never had the chance to enjoy it as a child, I still have memories of what it was like living there. You see, Lao is a war torn country more bombs were dropped there than any other country. It was the center for the CIA during the Vietnam War. My father was recruited to fight with the CIA during the war and when it ended, everyone who was involved with the CIA had to escape the country or risk the chance of being captured and leaving their fate to the Lao government. My family escaped the country and we lived in a refugee camp in Thailand near the Lao boarder. We lived there four years before my father made the decision to bring his family to this country. Going back to Thailand and Lao will invoke many memories. It is a reminder of God s great love for me and my family. My family should have never survived. We should have perished with many others who died escaping the country. It is only by the grace of God that I am who I am today it is by his grace that someone like me is made so rich! My travel this time will involve visiting Mike and Sherri Morrissey (the missionaries with Thailand Methodist Mission). For the past two years, Christ UMC has had the opportunity to support their work of rescuing children who are at risk for being trafficked, and in planting new churches. Their ministry is among people who have very little chance of hearing the Good News. But since they have been there, God has graciously given them opportunities to plant close to 40 new churches, and they are all in areas where Christianity is known very little. Nhia Wahn and I will have the privilege of staying with them and seeing first-hand what they have been up to. You must know I am excited about seeing how your dollars have impacted God s work there. After spending about a week with them, we are planning to meet up with my oldest brother who has been living in Thailand for the past 10 years. I am excited to see how he lives, and to meet his wife and son. From there we will be traveling over to Lao where we will meet the UMC missionaries. We will be staying with them for a little over two weeks as we provide some teachings and trainings for the young pastors there. We do hope to be able to do some site seeing along with the busy schedule. I do ask for your prayers. There is so much to be done and so little time before our departure, but I am excited about the trip. Please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers as well. We will try to keep in touch as technology allows while we are there. In the meantime, if you have any questions or wish to know more about the trip, please feel free to call or pop into the office. It is always a pleasure to talk with you! Together in Christ, Pastor Mao Her
LECTIONARY READINGS FOR AUGUST 5 th 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a Psalm 51:1-12 (UMH 785) Ephesians 4:1-16 John 6:24-35 12 th 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33 Psalm 130 (UMH 848) Ephesians 4:25-5:2 John 6:35, 41-51 19 th 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14 Psalm 111 (UMH 832) Ephesians 5:15-20 John 6:51-58 26 th 1 Kings 81, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43 Psalm 84 (UMH 804) Ephesians 6:10-20 John 6:56-69 BIRTHDAYS THIS MONTH Diane Stinson Flo Graham Marilyn Bender Dorothy Pike Tyler Steeno Marge Freitag Rae Jean Lukaszewski Logan Lukaszewski Mary Ann Carr Jean Chadderdon Jayda Allen Art Pulizos Sue Thomas Please wish them a HAPPY BIRTHDAY when you see them! VOLUNTEERS FOR AUGUST COMMUNION SERVERS 5 th Jim Boehm & Pat Nefstead COUNTERS 5 th Melissa Spaeth & Janet Brown 12 th Pam Seri & Steve Montgomery 19 th Carrie Montgomery & Nancy Wolski 26 th Dorothy Pike & Denise Edlund GREETER(S) 5 th Bev & Ernie Bennett 12 th Jim Boehm 19 th George & Mary Pitman 26 th Mylee Vang & Family LAY LITURGIST 5 th Pam Seri 12 th Mary Pulizos 19 th Joanie Stepanski 26 th Shanna Bude MINI COFFEE HOUR 5 th 12 th 19 th 26 th Denise Edlund NO Adult Sunday School NO Children s Sunday School USHERS 5 th Denise & Gary Edlund, Flo & Larry Graham 12 th Jim & Sue Thomas, Pam Seri and Beth Schramm 19 th Nancy Wolski, Judy Riedy, Bev Bennett and Stephanie Brown 26 th Mary Pulizos, Mary Pitman, Pat Nefstead and Carol Olson If you are not able to be in church on your designated Sunday, please try to switch with someone else, and contact Jo in the church office. Thanks!
UMW CORNER The Milwaukee Cymanfa Ganu Martha Circle No regular meeting is scheduled for August. Our next meeting is on Wednesday, September 19 th @ 6:45 PM in the Fellowship Hall. All women are invited! See you at church in the meantime! Hope you are enjoying your summer!! The UMW Caring Circle No regular meetings are scheduled for August. Coffee Bar Volunteers for July: A BIG Thank you to all the hard working volunteers that helped set up, put together a great lunch and cleaned up afterwards for the Welsh Hymn Sing on Sunday, July 15 th. It was enjoyed and appreciated by all! Thank you to Jerry & Marge Freitag, Judy Riedy, Pastor Mao, Denise & Gary Edlund and Marilyn Bender for making coffee, making the treats and setting up the coffee bar for all of us to enjoy each Sunday! We are looking for Coffee Bar volunteers for August -see the signup sheet on the credenza in the narthex. Questions? See Carol Olson! SAVE THE DATE: The 2018 Grandparent s Day Plant (Mum) Sale is on September 9 th. All proceeds go to Southwest Interfaith! Pastoral coverage Pastor Mao will be out of the country August 20 th through September 19 th. She is going to Laos. In her absence, if you are in need of pastoral care, you can contact Pastor Gary Cole from West Allis First UMC at 414 774-5500. From August 27 th through September 19 th, you may also contact Pastor Wendee Nitz from Oak Creek UMC at 414 762-4600. CUMC is asked to remember to pray for each church or charge during their special week. July 30 Aug. 5, Racine: Christ, their pastor George Kafer, and their 201 members, Racine: Christ is located at 5109 Washington Ave., Racine, WI 53406. Aug. 6 Aug. 12, Racine: Faithbridge, their pastors Creighton Kaye, Karin Kaye, and their members, Racine: Faithbridge is located at 212 11 th St., Racine, WI 53403. Aug. 13 Aug. 19, Racine: First, their pastor Jakes Voker, and their 142 members, Racine: First is located at 745 Main St., Racine, WI 53403. Aug. 20 Aug. 26, Racine: North Pointe (former Racine: Trinity UMC & Faith UMC), their pastors Don Francis & Sue Barham, and their members, Racine: North Pointe is located at 3825 Erie. Racine, WI 53402. Aug. 27 Sep. 2, Salem, their pastor Keith Hewitt, and their 112 members, Salem is located at 25130 85 th St., Salem WI 53168.
A Week in the Wilderness Hello all! It s time again to prepare for the yearly invasion of children known as Vacation Bible School. This year we will be using a program called A Week in the Wilderness. Running through both the Old and New Testaments we find a consistent theme, where the people of God go out into the desert/wilderness on a journey to find God. These journeys into the wilderness tell us that to hear and understand God s will, we must separate ourselves, at least for a time, from the distractions of this world. Only this separation from our daily, busy lives allows us to focus on God. A Week in the Wilderness focuses on three of the bible s wilderness stories, those of Moses, Elijah, and Jesus, to help children understand the importance of setting aside time to seek God in their daily lives. When and Where: August 13 th 17 th from 5:00-7:30 each night, here at church What we need: Volunteers: We are looking for someone to lead the Craft Time. Crafts are already planned; we just need someone to lead them. We need a Game leader. We are looking for people to run the dinner each night. Does anyone have small mason jars they would be willing to donate for one of our crafts? There will be a box in the narthex to receive donations. Decorations: If anyone has any camping equipment (Tents, camp stoves, sleeping bags, pillows, blankets, backpacks, lanterns, flashlights, canteens, etc.) they would be willing to donate as decorations for the week, we would greatly appreciate them. The kids will not be using these things. They are for decoration only. You can bring whatever you re willing to let us use on Sunday, August 12 th, and pick it up again the next Sunday, August 19 th. Anyone willing to stay a while after church on Sunday, August 12 th, to help us set up and decorate would be awesome! If you have any questions or would like to help out in any way, please contact Denise Edlund at or Shanna Bude through the church office
We are also in need of the following supplies for the crafts: Large, plain cloth bags (like drawstring backpack size) Green construction paper Multi colored tissue paper Decoupage glue Small mason jars Electric tea-lights Long construction nails Thin craft wire Leather string Fabric markers If you have any questions about the supplies, please don t hesitate to contact Shanna Bude @ through the church office Stewardship Corner A big thank you goes out to Clay Baggett who has been our main volunteer in helping to keep our lawns cut. Without his help, our property may not look as good as it does. THANK YOU!
P.P.R.C. CORNER No, that s not a typo! The Methodist Church has gone back to the original name of the committee that is charged with communication between the pastor (plus staff) with the congregation. Up until recently it was the Staff and Pastor Relations Committee (S.P.R.C.), but it once again is called the Pastor and Parish Relations Committee (P.P.R.C.). In an attempt to better communicate with the congregation, the committee decided the committee would insert a brief message into the church newsletter at least quarterly. We met recently and began planning our annual evaluation procedure for our pastor as well as all paid employees. We will be reviewing each evaluation form and updating them where necessary, and in early September give each committee member a form to complete for each employee; we will have a committee meeting on Wednesday, September 26 th to collect and discuss all evaluations. Each committee member has been assigned an employee to arrange a meeting with to review their individual results, and any recommendations regarding salary adjustments will be forwarded to our finance committee for approval. We will also be including in our newsletter articles more details on what Pastor Mao s schedule is, and when she will be gone on continuing education meetings, other outside conference commitments as well as personal vacations. Gerald L. Freitag Chairperson, P.P.R.C. Please see the note below that Pastor Mao received Dear Pastor Her, July 17, 2018 The Welsh Club of the Milwaukee Area, Inc. would like to express its appreciation to you and the members of Christ United Methodist Church for the use of your church building for the Milwaukee Cymanfa Ganu on Sunday, July 15 th. The club and participants especially would like to thank the women who assisted in the kitchen. Thank you for contributing to a successful Cymanfa Ganu. A $25 check was made out to the church was given to Janet Brown and should be in the church office. The enclosed check is for use of the church. Thank you again for hosting a wonderful Cymanfa Ganu. Best regards, Mary S Schranz, Treasurer Welsh Club of the Milwaukee Area, Inc. Your generosity, thoughtfulness, calls, cards and prayers all meant so much to me after my surgery. I am glad to be back amongst such a warm and caring congregation! Thanks again! Jo Rivers
AUGUST 2018 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 5:30 PM Praying with Pastor Mao 3 4 6:00 PM Youth Family Ministry Meeting 3 rd 5 th Hmong Caucus Picnic @ Family Camp in Wild Rose, WI 3 rd 5 th Hmong Caucus Picnic @ Family Camp in Wild Rose, WI 5 9:45 AM Fellowship Time 10:15 AM Worship Service led by Marge Freitag Nursery 6 7:00 PM Board of Trustees Meeting 7 7:00 AM Men s Breakfast @ George Webb s Restaurant 8 9 5:30 PM Praying with Pastor Mao 10 11 3 rd 5 th Hmong Caucus Picnic @ Family Camp in Wild Rose, WI 12 9:45 AM Fellowship Time 10:15 AM Worship Service Nursery 13 7:00 PM Growth Group Stepping Out Walk Group @ Lakefront (Meet @ Marina by kite shop) 14 15 16 5:30 PM Praying with Pastor Mao 17 18 19 VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL 9:45 AM Fellowship Time 10:15 AM - Worship Service led by Connie Ziegler Nursery 7:00 PM Leadership Team Meeting 20 7:00 PM Finance Committee Meeting 21 7:00 AM Men s Breakfast @ George Webb s Restaurant 22 23 24 25 NEWSLETTER DEADLINE 26 9:45 AM Fellowship Time 10:15 AM Blended Worship Service led by Ron Stinson Nursery 27 7:00 PM Leadership Team Meeting 28 29 30 31 August 20 th September 19 th Pastor Mao @ Laos POT LUCK LUNCHEON Jo Out of Office
The NEWSLETTER DEADLINE FOR September is: CHRIST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 5200 South 48 th Street Greenfield, Wisconsin 53220 Worship....... 10:15 AM Holy Communion is Served on the First Sunday of each Month Rev. Mao Her......Pastor Church Office...... 414 421-0202 CHRIST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 5200 South 48 th Street Greenfield, WI 53220 2018