FOR THE JOURNEY September 2018 - Vol. 25, No. 9 HOPE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 2233 Golf Road Eau Claire, Wisconsin 54701 www.hope-eauclaire.org / 715-835-5310 / hopeumcec@yahoo.com A NOTE FROM THE PASTOR How has been your summer been going? Let me review what Hope s summer was like. We supported the Hope Youth mission trip to Washington D.C and hosted a youth group from Fairmount UMC in St. Paul. It is always a joy for us to support and nurture the younger generations. We had a potluck brunch and ice cream Sunday, and had discussion about our worship time in the fall, and are expecting Sundays to have more vibrant energy with more joyful noises. During the last three months, we invited our neighbors to enjoy beautiful evenings, playing games, talking, singing, eating together, and roasting marshmallows once a month. It was a time for us and our neighbors to get to know each other and break down any invisible walls that we might have. An ongoing joy and fun was the Ukulele group led by Rich Swanson. I think the person who benefited the most was me, as I could listen and enjoy their playing and their laughing. We held an outdoor service enjoying the beauties of creation, with Jim Chumas saxophone playing, and fellowship time which reminded us of the power of picnic tables in our lives. We had a guest speaker, Jean Bannen from China, a barber shoppers singing, and Threshold singers on Sundays. In all the busyness, we remembered to be quiet and still, to be with and listen to God as we practiced our breath prayer at committee meetings and centering prayer as a group during summer. All the committees, including the sub-committee for church goals, at Hope have continued to work hard, with some committees deciding to take time to be refreshed, which is a worthwhile thing to do. We have also had several members to pray for; some in surgery, those who are still in the process of mourning, adult children transitioning in life with moving, marriage, getting a new job We have been praying for them. And now we are beginning another beautiful season, fall. I will not list all the exciting ministries planned for fall, but I hope you know that God has a plan for us and you have a dream of walking with God. We will start a new sermon series, The Call. I hope this will be a time for you to tie your shoes up tightly again and be ready to walk the journey of faith with courage and joy with God for the rest of the year. Blessings on the journey that we have walked and will walk together. Pastor Hyejung. - 1 -
PREACHING THE WORD SERMON SERIES: THE CALL Date Preacher Message September 2nd *Communion Pastor Hyejung Week 1: Called to Follow Christ September 9th Pastor Hyejung Week 2: VBS / Kick-Off Sunday September 16th Pastor Hyejung Week 3: Called in Both Suffering & Joy September 23rd Pastor Hyejung Week 4: Called to Love September 30th Pastor Hyejung Week 5: Called to Give & to Receive We will be starting a new small group study Our Purpose is Love the Wesleyan way to be the church Tuesday Mornings at 11:00am September 18 th October 9 th As Christians we are supposed to love one another, but what does it mean to love God and our neighbors today in both the world and the church? We will have time to discuss how love can be an answer. Exploring our identity and purpose as the church, we will learn a Wesleyan vision of the church as the embodiment of God s love in the world. Please let Pastor Hyejung know if you are interested or sign-up on the designated clipboard. - 2 -
September 9 th September 10 th September 15 th September 18 th September 20 th September 23 rd VBS / Kick Off Sunday - Fall Programming Begins 3:00pm 5:00pm Feed My People 9:00am Women of Hope day trip to Holcombe 10:00am- 12:00pm District Event Financial Training for Church Leaders 11:00 Koinonia Gathering at Altoona Family Restaurant 7:00pm Choir Rehearsal resumes 10:30am Heritage Court Ministry Care Team All Church Birthday Potluck ALL CHURCH BIRTHDAY POTLUCK Sept 23rd Join us following worship as we celebrate the birthday of the church. Bring a dish (entrée, salad, vegetable, fruit, snack/dip) to pass. Birthday cake and beverages will be provided. This is the time to decorate the tables in the fellowship hall. Twelve tables, for the twelve months, are available to decorate. There will be a sign-up sheet to decorate a table, as you wish. You are encouraged to sit at the table of your birthday month. Help Needed with Meadowview Weekend Meals Choir Resumes Tues, Sept 18th at 7:00pm Do you like to sing? Come and check it out. Contact Andrea Blaeser (pianist) or Jan Lorentz if you are interested in joining this lively group of singers. We are fortunate at Hope to have good neighbors at Meadowview Elementary School. A few years ago we made a commitment to partner with Feed My People to provide weekend kids meals to food-insecure students from Meadowview. We pack these meals four times a year at Feed My People, and we help to pay for the meals as well. Recently, however, we have not contributed financially to this project. This month we would like to renew our commitment and raise funds for this vital mission. The cost per student is $85 per school year, and Meadowview typically has 60 students participating. We hope that you will prayerfully consider making a donation of any amount this month. If writing a check, please put "Kids meals" on the envelope or memo line of the check. Thanks, in advance, for your support. - 3 -
Blessing of the Birds May the power of Eagle give you strength and guidance in this life. May the wisdom of Owl guide and direct you and teach you the beauty of the night. May the keen sight of Hawk give you clarity and insight. May the magic and humor of Crow help you to laugh and dance along the way. May the peaceful beauty of Dove soften the winds of fate in your personal universe. May the grace of Swan permeate your consciousness and give you balance. May the voice of Jay teach you to speak your truth clearly. May the brilliance of Cardinal warm your heart and bring you love. May the dignity of Crane teach you the value of integrity and faithfulness and sustain you when life's lessons are challenging. May the giveaway of Turkey gift you with a generous heart. And may the flight of Heron lift your spirit and keep your purpose clear and bright. May the broad wings of Condor shelter you from storms. And may the healing powers of Vulture keep you clean and strong. May the flight of Goose keep you directed and secure on your path. And may the iridescent beauty of Hummingbird fill your life with rainbows and lovely reflections of all that is. May the grace of Egret fly you through your dreams. And may the playfulness and intelligence of Parrot remind you to play like a child, with joy. And may Bluebird always sing you the song of happiness. Author Unknown Your Trustees are finalizing furnace bids and planning to have the new furnace and air conditioning units installed in our Sanctuary/Office complex by November 1, at an anticipated cost of $22,500.00 Thanks to your generosity, we currently have $18,753.00 in our furnace fund, and there are $3,000.00 in pledges not yet received. It would be most helpful if we received these funds by November 1. When all pledges have been received, we will have funded 97% of the cost of this update. Have you noticed the new pavement at the entrance to our driveway? We were able to save almost half the cost of this repair by having the work done while Fairfax Street was being repaved. Thanks to several members 100% of the cost for this repair has been donated. Thank-you to all who have supported these projects!! - 4 -
Thank you for all your help and donations that made our Community Fun Nights possible this summer! CONGRATULATIONS! A big thank you to Kwik Trip on Golf Road for donating three car wash cards. Barb Pond won a car wash for perfect attendance at the Wednesday Community Night. Judy Shuck and Jean Fredrickson each won a car wash from the general drawing. BEACON HOUSE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED We will be serving at Beacon House (Interfaith Hospitality Network) on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday September 26 th - 28th. We are in need of servers, food providers, evening hosts and overnight volunteers. If you are interested, please sign up at the Ministry Opportunities area, or contact Joey Bohl at 715-831-8410 or by email at gibbonje@hotmail.com. Supper is served each night at 5:30 p.m., and servers are encouraged to eat with the guests. Evening hosts hang out with the guests from 7-8:30 p.m. - bring your family and games to spend time with families. Just sit and chat with people. We are also in need of overnight volunteers: volunteers sleep overnight from 8:30pm - 7:30am. If you would like to pair up with an experienced volunteer and join us in this fantastic opportunity, contact Joey. - 5 -
WOMEN OF HOPE Our gathering for September is a road trip to Holcombe, WI. We will make a yard art glass and bead dangler at the home of Linda Bergen. We will depart HOPE UMC at 9:00 am, carpool to her home and make our project. After our class we will go to the Lake Holcombe Cafe for lunch. The cost of the class is $20.00, and lunch. Please sign up on the sign-up sheet posted at church. Due to space at her home, we are limited to 10 people. You will choose cut glass and beads to thread, so start thinking of what colors you may want to use. Please contact Jan Lorentz with any questions at 608-886-0668. Happy Birthday to you, to Jesus be true May God s richest blessing, now rest upon you! HOPE FOOD PANTRY Did you know we have a food pantry right here in our church? Our food pantry is located in our kitchen in one of the large shelving units labeled Food Pantry. Items can be placed in the baskets located in the area outside the kitchen. Thank you for your contribution to this ministry that our church is able to provide to our neighbors and those in need. Other local food pantries: Immanuel Lutheran Church 3214 Golf Road / 715-832-7832 Tues, Wed, and Thurs please call first Chapel Heights UMC 300 E. Hamilton/ 715-832-0233 Wednesdays please call first Trinity Lutheran Church 1314 Lexington Blvd / 715-832-6601 Mon-Thurs 1:30-3:00pm &Tues 5:50-7:00pm Birthday Blessings to all who are celebrating a September Birthday! You are invited to be part of a ministry care team that will lead and participate in monthly devotions at Heritage Court Memory Care Community. This group will meet every 3rd Thursday at 10:30am. Our next meeting date will be Thursday, September 20th. If you are interested in this ministry, please contact Pastor Hyejung. - 6 -
BIBLE STUDY LIVING THE QUESTIONS 2.0 Join us Sunday mornings before worship at 8:45am in the Ministry Room for and adult study using the video series Living the Questions 2.0. LtQ2 is a popular video and internet-based small group exploration of progressive Christianity featuring premier religious voices of our day. The 20 minute video segments include conversations with leading voices of faith, digital stories illustrating aspects of an evolving faith, and concrete spiritual practices and disciplines. We will watch the video each week and some time together discussing it and sharing our thoughts. In September we will finish the series we started last year. After finishing this series we will continue with studies as decided by the group. All are welcome, come when you can! WOMEN S BIBLE STUDY We will continue to meet at during the summer at 6:30pm on the 4th Monday of each month. Our next meeting date is September 24th. Please contact Cindy Hanson with any questions. 715-878-4941. ADULT BIBLE STUDY Please join us as we read and discuss God s Word. Beginning on Sunday, September 9th we will return to our study of First Corinthians from where we left off last year in chapter 6. Our study is informal and open to all, no matter where you are in your Faith Journey. Our class will meet in the Library after the church service from 10:45 11:30am. If you have any questions or would like more information about the class feel free to talk to Mike Clauson (mclauson60@gmail.com). All Faith Formation Opportunities Resume Sunday, Sept 9 th - 7 -
ATTEND LISTENING SESSIONS FOR 2019 GENERAL CONFERENCE Why is there a special General Conference coming February 23 26, 2019 in St. Louis, only a year before the regularly scheduled 2020 session in Minneapolis? How might my church be affected by this talk about choosing among a One Church, Connectional Conference and Traditionalist plan? Will other possibilities emerge? Change is coming for The United Methodist Church, and there will be meetings this fall to help Wisconsin United Methodists understand what is being proposed. Formed following authorization by General Conference 2016, the Commission on a Way Forward identified three possible options, or plans, for our denomination as we move into the future. Read press release. Read report in English. The Council of Bishops has recommended adoption of the One Church Plan. The Wisconsin Delegation to GC 2019 is hosting nine educational and listening sessions around the state to allow feedback about the proposals. These sessions for interested clergy and laity will each last between 60-90 minutes. The dates and locations are: Sunday, September 30, 3 p.m., Webster Grace UMC, 26503 Muskey Ave Monday, October 1, 7 p.m., Eau Claire Lake Street UMC, 337 Lake Street Saturday, October 6, 10 a.m., Wausau Wesley UMC, 1101 Elm Street Tuesday, October 9, 7 p.m., Onalaska UMC, 212 4th Avenue North Saturday, October 20, 10 a.m., Kaukauna Peace UMC, 2300 E. Wisconsin Avenue Tuesday, October 23, 7 p.m., Waukesha First UMC, 121 Wisconsin Avenue Thursday, October 25, 7 p.m., Sun Prairie UMC, 702 North Street Saturday, October 27, 10 a.m., Janesville Cargill UMC, 2000 Wesley Avenue Saturday, November 3, 10 a.m., Dodgeville UMC, 327 N. Iowa Street In addition, invitations have been extended to Conference boards, agencies and other groups to provide their feedback to Delegation members. The purpose of all this information gathering is for the Delegation to hear from the diversity of membership that makes up Wisconsin United Methodism. The desire is to better understand the thinking and feeling within our Annual Conference membership about our denomination s future. All are welcome to participate! The Wisconsin Conference Delegation to the 2019 General Conference consists of six voting delegates, along with reserves. Clergy are Dan Dick, Sam Royappa, Steve Zekoff and first reserve Amanda Stein. Lay delegates are Lisa King, Barbara Dick, Gail Burgess and first reserve Katie Crise. There are additional reserves who would serve should any of these eight be unable to attend. In order elected, they are clergy Jorge Luis Mayorga, Dan Schwerin, Jeremy Deaner, George Kafer and Jenny Arneson; laity Tom Popp, Judy Vasby, John Lawson and Julie Schubring. All remain engaged in the Delegation s preparations for the upcoming General Conference. - 8 -
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MINISTRY VOLUNTEERS Sept 2 Sept 9 Sept 16 Sept 23 Sept 30 Ushers Dan & Judy Shuck Jan & Chuck Lorentz Ruth & Ray Nyland Kay Lee Elsie Bartlett Cyndee Kaiser Barb Teasdale Greeters Dan & Carolyn Johnson Joey Bohl Elsie Bartlett John & Merry Weiland Kay Lee Scripture Reader Dan Shuck Anne Allen Merry Weiland Janet Carson Audio Visual Mike Clauson Gary Gochanour Gary Gochanour Children s Moment Sharon Fortune Cindy Clauson Pastor Hyejung Anne Allen Coffee Fellowship Patsy Pierce Christian Educ. Committee Lois Nelson Church Potluck Counters Mike Larabee Joey Bohl Bob Schwartz Chris Widstrand Lynne Larabee Mark Hysell Cheryl Muller Dan/Judy Shuck Mike Clauson Mike Larabee Sunday School Cindy Clauson Sandi Hysell No Class Bernie Allen ** for the most updated copy of the Hope Serving Schedules, follow this link: https://bit.ly/2g383pk HOPE UMC STAFF Pastor....... Rev. Hyejung Hwang Office Manager... Kristen Kirchman Pianists.......... Andrea Blaeser & Melissa Ruhbusch SUNDAY MORNING SCHEDULE Worship Service 9:30am Followed by Fellowship Children s Sunday School 10:45am Adult Bible Study Groups 8:45am & 10:45am HOPE UMC OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 9:00am 1:00pm FOR THE JOURNEY Newsletter articles and updates should be submitted to the church office by the 20 th of each month. Contributions are welcome. www.hope-eauclaire.org Visit and LIKE the Hope UMC Facebook page From our website, click the Like Us on Facebook button just above the map showing our location OR follow this link: www.facebook.com/hope-united-methodist-church-116517175038771/ - 11 -