SESSION - Clover Sites



January

25 (Sun.) 9:30 am -Full Service

“Angelus”

New Hymnal Dedication

Annual Congregational Meeting

26 (Mon.) 4:00 pm – Hand Bell Choir

29 (Wed.) 8:00 am – Men’s Bible Study**

3:45 pm – Elementary Youth Groups

30 (Thurs.) 1:00 pm – Hand Bell Choir

February

1 (Sun.) Holy Communion

9:30 am -Full Service

2 (Mon.) 4:00 pm – Hand Bell Choir

3 (Tues.) 10:30 am – Circle of Healing

4 (Wed.) 8:00 am – Men’s Bible Study**

10:30 am – Our Home K Care Service

3:45 pm – Elementary Youth Groups

6:00 pm – Madams & Sirs Potluck & Program

5 (Thurs.) 9:30 am - Guild

1:00 pm – Hand Bell Choir

8 (Sun.) 9:30 am -Full Service

9 (Mon.) 4:00 pm – Hand Bell Choir

11 (Wed.) 8:00 am – Men’s Bible Study**

3:45 pm – Elementary Youth Groups

12 (Thurs.) 1:00 pm – Hand Bell Choir

15(Sun.) 9:30 am -Full Service

16 (Mon.) 4:00 pm – Hand Bell Choir

17 (Tues.) 10:30 am – Circle of Healing

18 (Wed.) 8:00 am – Men’s Bible Study**

3:45 pm – Elementary Youth Groups

5:30 – 6:30 pm – Soup Supper

7:00 pm – Ash Wednesday Communion Service

9:30 am – Session Meeting

CHIT CHAT articles due

19 (Thurs.) 9:30 am - Guild

1:00 pm – Hand Bell Choir

22 (Sun.) 9:30 am -Full Service First Sunday of Lent

23 (Mon.) 4:00 pm – Hand Bell Choir

25 (Wed.) 8:00 am – Men’s Bible Study**

3:45 pm – Elementary Youth Groups

26 (Thurs.) 1:00 pm – Hand Bell Choir

* - meets at Little Bohemia

Duties

Ushers

Jan. 25 Robert & Pauline Rider

Feb. 1 Bob & Judy Ruch

Feb. 8 Bob & Judy Ruch

Feb. 15 Parker & Mid Sharpe

Feb. 22 Parker & Mid Sharpe

Liturgist:

Jan. 25 Kay Suffron

Feb. 1, 8, 15 & 22- Audrey Winchell

Lay Leader:

Jan. 25 Sharon Bridges

Feb. 1 Helyn Woolf

Feb. 8 Jan Schumacher

Feb. 15 Margo Perkins

Feb. 22 Helyn Woolf

Communion Person: Carol Bohlin

Counters

Jan. 25 Vince Hoehn and Joan Dioszegi

Feb. 1 Bob Bridges and David Foster

Feb. 8 Bob Schmidt and Sharon Bridges

Feb. 15 Vince Hoehn and Carol Bohlin

Feb. 22 Deane Galloway and Dave Lukas

As our minds grow wiser,

help our hearts to be kinder.

SESSION MEMBERS 2015

Clerk Carol Bohlin-715-356-4060

Janie Williams

Joan Quimette- 715-476-3887

Mary Koster- 715-686-7300

Tom Erickson-715-543-8046

David Foster-715-385-2217

Deane Galloway-715-543-8010

Ron King-715-583-9979

Dave Lukas-715-686-7697

Mark Schuelke-715-686-7223

DuWayne Schumacher-715-686-2074

Helyn Woolf-715-686-7173

Session meets the third Wednesday of the month.

DEACONS

Cathy Breitholtz, Susan Schroeter, Sharon Lukas,

Hope Dougherty, Jan Schumacher, Manny Markham

Feel free to contact a Session or

Deacon member with any concerns or questions.

Missions

Your Mission Committee has finalized a year of giving that any church would be proud to report. The committee worked hard to define our role and explore new areas of giving as we added the budgets from Madams & Sirs and the Westminster Guild. With these extra monies, we made sure that the recommendations from these groups were fulfilled. We now begin a whole new year with this rewarding role of helping others, locally, nationally and worldwide.

Sadly, our committee will be losing 3 very valuable members. Sarah Becklund, who is the most organized and thorough person I know, will be leaving the committee but will always be available for consultation and advice. Bob Schmidt and Bill Kaufman, who have faithfully and diligently served for years, have decided to step down and hand the reins to willing and very competent familiar volunteers. We will be welcoming Eileen Dybvad, Mid Sharpe, John Suffron, Dennis Breitholtz and Nan Bloch. With the addition of Nan, this should make the coordination of giving items through Fleazaar, an easier and smoother transaction. Give them all a big hand for stepping forward and stretching their personal talents into a new area of service.

The Loose Change Offering continues to be a very successful and worthwhile effort. The change that we pull from our pockets, wallets and bottom of our purses is unnoticed by us but makes a big impact in lives of those in need. From October through December, we donated a total of $394.60 to benefit DOVE. Way to go! Keep digging out that change as we collect for Heifer International in January through March.

Blessings to you as we Praise and

Serve The Lord.

Respectfully submitted,

Helyn Woolf – Mission Committee Co-Chair

The Stewardship Campaign

For 2015

Giving has always been a key part of our lives as Christians. As good stewards, said Peter, “each of us should use whatever gifts we have received to serve others” (I Peter: 10). Our stewardship shares the magnifying power of God’s grace—just as from a few loaves of bread Jesus made a feast for a multitude.

The Stewardship Committee reports that for the 2015 campaign, there were 88 pledges made for a total of $103,029 with an average of $1170 per pledge. This compares with a 2014 total of 93 pledges for a total of $118,084 with an average of $1269 per pledge. As can be seen, the number and total amount of 2015 pledges dropped from last year. However, it should be noted that in the past several years the total full-year envelope giving has exceeded the pledged amount. The Session has planned the 2015 budget with the confidence that our congregation’s generosity will continue.

Our giving month by month throughout 2015 will be especially important, in order to maintain support for our church’s commitments. The Apostle Paul promises us that we “will always have more than enough to do all kinds of good things for others.” (2 Corinthians 9: 8).

Respectfully submitted,

David Foster, Stewardship Committee

Membership

The end of 2014 proved to be very busy in the life of our membership.  On November 23, we installed new members, Ries & Pat Behling, Bob & Barb Schroeder, Rev. Steve & Rev. Nancy Russell and welcomed back Pat Pohl. On November 30 we installed Don Psenicka.  We have all been going different directions, so I have not had the opportunity to feature these new family members in the Chit Chat, so I will work on that in the near future.

On November 30, over 50 members and friends stayed after the church service to “Deck The Halls and Hang The Greens” to begin a festive Christmas Season.  By 12:00 noon, we were all sitting, munching and chattering during a warm and yummy lunch provided by the Membership Committee and our first over indulgence of Christmas cookies provided by all of you.  

We enjoyed a warm glow and twinkling of lights that Pastor Chips added for the Christmas Eve Service which proved to be, as always, a rich and blessed time together to celebrate the coming of our Savior.  

Madams & Sirs

February 4, 2015

6:00 Potluck

Program –

Melissa Patterson will talk about the

“Lakeland Sharing Foundation”

March Program –

Mr. Kruger will talk about “Life Direct”

Unfortunately, what goes up must come down!  On January 4, a hardy group of people braved the frigid cold to worship and stay to undecorate.  Again, we had the help of over 50 people. This was done in the record time of 30 minutes!  We had to have them all visit for a short while, smelling the wonderful aroma coming from the kitchen, until lunch was served--munching, chattering, laughing and on their way home before 1:00 PM.  We always say, taking down is not as exciting or fun as decorating, but it was hard to tell with all the laughter and enthusiasm.  I think we have this down to a science.  Thank you so much, everyone, for the help and wonderful camaraderie.  

Now, we wish all of the snowbirds who are heading to warmer places, health and lots of sunshine.  We look forward to seeing you for Easter Brunch!

We do have a few people who are looking for us to organize an inquirer's gathering.  If you know anyone who would like to get to know us better, please pass their name on to myself, Lois in the office or Pastor Chips.  We have 2015 wide open to greet new members!

Helyn Woolf, Membership Chairlady

MANITOWISH WATERS COMMUNITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

PO Box 69

Manitowish Waters, WI 54545

January

&

February

2015

Bible Trivia

…check your Bible knowledge

Author, Author

Who, according to tradition,

wrote the following books of the Bible?

1. Genesis?

2. Exodus?

3. Revelation?

4. Ruth?

5. Numbers?

6. Pslams?

7. James?

Come worship with us

at the:

Manitowish Waters Community

Presbyterian Church

Office Hours:

Monday through Friday = 9:00 am till noon

715-543-2998

Rev. Chips 715-776-2998

manwtrschurch@



1. Moses, 2. Moses, 3. John, 4. Samuel, 5. Moses, 6. David, Asaph & many others, 7. James, the brother of Jesus.

Westminster GUILD

Westminster Guild met just once during the month of December, on the 4th, for our annual Christmas Luncheon. A baker's dozen of us gathered at Little Creek Coffee Company in Arbor Vitae, where we celebrated the season with a delicious lunch and lots of great conversation. Because of the way the holidays have fallen this year (date-wise), we again met only once in January -- on the 15th -- when we continued our Bible study, "Reconciling Paul: A Contemporary Study of 2 Corinthians". We will meet again on Thursday, February 5, to discuss Lessons 5 and 6. Each of these lessons can stand on its own, and we have extra copies of the study guide available. Just ask any Guild member for a copy, and please consider joining us. We will gather in the fellowship hall at 9:30 AM.

At our January meeting we also began our preparations for Fleazaar, and we are seeking clear plastic one-gallon water jugs and clear wine bottles for two of our projects. If you have any of these cluttering your household, please drop them off in the kitchen at church -- we will find them! Thank you!!

Continuing with our delicious Fleazaar recipes, here's the one from Sunday's lunch (July 13th) -- Chicken Enchiladas!!! The recipe serves 6, so we multiplied it by 25 to serve the HUGE number of worker bees we had that day!

February

Birthdays:

1st Chrystel Paulson, 2nd Marion Jacobs, Hayle Woolf, 3rd Lee Leeder, 4th Helyn Woolf, 6th Betty Gunther, Vanessa Hahn, 7th Julie Detling, 8th Mark Kayser, Journey Jacobs, 9th Heidi Jahnke, Jake Schilling, 11th Ruth Horner, Ana Erickson, 12th Andrew & Thomas Spencer, 13th Glenn Ripley, David Vogt, Amy Slone, 14th Glen Wildenberg, Becky Kayser, Daniel Slone, 15th Parker Sharpe, 16th Tom Larum, 19th Mary Willson, 22nd Maren Moll, Susan Glynn, 23rd Carol Bohlin, 24th Winnie Carlson, 25th Steve Jacobs, 26th Jasmin Erickson, 27th Kit McFarland, Luke Schilling, 29th Judy Erickson

Chicken Enchiladas

15-oz jar mild green salsa

1 cup sour cream

4 cups cooked chicken breasts, chopped

12 flour tortillas (6-inch)

4 plum tomatoes, diced

4 green onions, diced

8 oz. Mexican or co-jack cheese, shredded

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 pan.

2) In blender, puree the salsa and sour cream.

3) In a large bowl combine the chicken with 1 cup of the salsa-sour cream mixture; reserve the remaining mixture.

4) Soften the tortillas according to package directions, and place 1/3 cup of chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla.

5) Roll up tightly and place seam-side down in the prepared pan.

6) Top with reserved salsa-sour cream mixture; cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes.

7) Uncover and sprinkle with tomatoes, onions and cheese. ENJOY!!

Kay Suffron

Moderator

Anniversaries:

2nd Mark & Dawn Halliburton

10th Mark & Marjean Schuelke

14th Bud & Judi Arnold

John & Ann Wilson

19th Dick & Elaine Newton

22nd John & Jane Bals

We apologize for not getting a January news letter to you. Due to Christmas activities, the weather, sicknesses, and lack of many articles it did not come together.

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I would like to thank everyone who helped make 2014 come together smoothly. Your volunteering for lay leaders, liturgists, coffee servers, ushers, Youth Group needs and other duties were very much appreciated in many ways. Each contributes to the whole of what makes our north woods church warm and a special place to worship.

YEA!!!

Trigs’ Cash Program has done us well in the last quarter of 2014

Village Market - $276.82

Trigs of Minocqua – $51.47

To keep this coming…just write 14 B

on your grocery receipt and put it in the box provided.

God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters

Deacons

The Board of Deacons will continue to serve and be the “caring arm” of the church.

We would like to say “thank you and well done” to our outgoing Deacons: Dale Ekdahl, Mark Suckow and Ruth Stober. Your dedication and service was outstanding.

Please welcome the new additions to the Deacons: Susan Schroeter and Sharon Lukas! We look forward to working with them, and they too, will be great help in caring for the special needs of our Church Family and community.

Items the Deacons are involved in are:

• The Letter Lab with cards and a list of people to send cards to.

• There is an informational hutch next to this lab containing various information on helpful organizations.

• In the narthex, by the fireside room, there is a collection of “Care Notes” (booklets designed to help you through various life journeys).

• The above are in addition to help with food, travel, visitation, etc.

With this new year upon us, the Deacons are in the process of updating. If there is something you would like to add, please do not hesitate to contact one of the Deacons. And, we appreciate your help, and ask that you let any Deacon know if you are aware of someone who could use some support!

Board of Deacons Members:

Cathy Breitholtz, Manny Markham, Jan Schumacher, Susan Schroeter, Sharon Lukas and Deacon Chair – Hope Dougherty.

The Board meets in the choir room the third Sunday of the month.

Christian Education

We are in the “second semester” of our Wednesday Youth Group now. How very quickly the time goes by.

Our youngest ones are going chronologically through the main bible stories, and have different activities to go along with each one. Helyn, Stacey and Margo have been kept on their toes preparing and leading this precious group.

Nan, David and Sharon have developed a rotating schedule with the middle school youth. They are working on memorizing the 23rd Psalm, as well as doing some more in depth studies in the New Testament and working on Bible skills.

We have two 7th-8th grade classes, both working towards the goal of confirmation, on different tracks. Chips and Mark are working with one group, while I have been teaching the other, now with Sharon’s help.

I just really want to thank all who stepped up and helped with the Christmas Program. I couldn’t have done it without you!

Note: Ash Wednesday is on February 18th this year. Please plan on coming to this special service at 7:00 pm. We will also be serving the Annual Soup Supper that day from 5:30 – 6:30 pm. All are welcome, and there is no charge for the meal. If anyone would like to help with planning, preparations, serving, making soup or desert donations, please call Lois at the office and she will connect you with the people in charge.

In His service and yours,

Joan Dioszegi

Ash Wednesday

Soup Supper

February 18

5:30 – 6:30

Everyone is invited to the Annual Soup Supper!

Come and enjoy several kinds of soups, a beverage and a variety of desserts.

(Donations will be accepted.)

THEN:

You can stay and attend

MWCC

Ash

Wednesday

Worship Service

7:00 pm

February 18, 2015

Hope you are able to attend

both events!

Sisters and brothers in Christ, Grace and peace to you at the beginning of this new year.

January is a reflective time of the year. The hustle and bustle of the holiday season has slipped behind; children and young people have returned to school; parents and working adults have returned to their jobs; retirerees are retiring to catch their breath following their children’s joyful tramp over the hills and through the woods to their homes. The sense of a new beginning is accompanied by fewer “must-do’s,” and the awareness that a whole year stretches out before one to meet one’s goals and clear the air.

I recently read that: “Happiness is living by inner direction, not by outer pressure.” Outer pressure is a constant in our lives because, as Lily Tomlin puts it: “Reality is stressful for those who are trying to cope with it!” The New Testament makes a distinction between being “in the world,” and being “of the world.” This is often misunderstood as a cloistered withdrawal from life and nothing could be further from the truth.When the writers use the word, “world,” they are refering to the priorities and values of a Machiavellian world-view divorced of any higher morality or spirituality than that of the tooth and claw survivalism of the Darwinian jungle.

If our lives and the decisions that direct them, says a friend of mine, are nothing more than the sum of external pressures, there is bound to be an unhealthy (and here the Bible would say “earthly,” or “fleshly”) tension that will break-down even the strongest among us. The inner direction of Christ’s Spirit, however, far from being a retreat from the world, is its own tension that can act to equalize the inevitable pressure that surrounds us. Let me put the issue of outer and inner pressure another way. It’s like a vessel being shaped on a potter’s wheel … it is the balance of internal and external tensions that assure the vessel’s strength.

May God help us in this new year, to invest time and effort in developing that sense of Christ’s inner direction which will help balance the external pressures pushing upon us. I would like to suggest two possible ways in which you might find greater blessing and balance in Christ’s activity in your life. These are quite pragmatic suggestions. One is a Sunday, post worship/fellowship time adult education offering, and the second is a reconfiguring of our “Grief Support Group” to encompass other life-changes (ie external pressures) your loved ones or you may be facing.

Adult Education Offering

Post-Worship, Sunday Morning Course

Beginning February 1st, 2015; Time: 11:00-12:00

Understanding our own Religion: Early Christianity: The Experience of the Divine.”

Dr. Timothy Luke Johnson says, “Christianity is the most familiar and least understood of the world religions.” He further contends, “Americans in general suffer from a systematic religious illiteracy… (our) sophistication in other areas is not matched by knowledge about religion.” He emphasizes that although we have a very limited smattering of knowledge about other world faiths, we actually know very little about our own religion as well.

The intent of this 12 Session Course is to better understand Christianity as a powerful and persuasive religion. The Format of the course will combine lecture and discussion. The lecture portion will be an AV course taught by Professor Timothy Luke Johnson through a series of lectures offered through “The Great Courses” presented by “The Teaching Company.” Following the lecture, I will facilitate a discussion about the issues raised in the lecture, and about the significance of these issues in our daily lives. This course will be, I trust, challenging, informative, and interesting. Ideally, regular and consistent participation in each of the 12 courses would be optimal, however, given the nature of our community, each session can also, to a certain degree, stand independently, and I would welcome you to the courses you are able to attend.

Support Group Meeting

The Healing Circle

Tuesday mornings from 10:30-12:00 pm on the 1st & 3rd Tuesdays of each month

Our Grief Support group has been undergoing changes over the past few years, and it has slowly evolved to broaden the nature of the support we provide and experience. To more accurately reflect the nature of these changes, and to open the group to more people, we are re-badging the name as “The Healing Circle,” and will expand the group to encompass all significant life challenges. Although the woes of the human heart are wide spread and varied, almost always, the active and engaged support of others facilitates and enhances healing. I am specifically using the word “healing,” and am intentionally avoiding the word, “cure.” While there are many issues we face causing affliction and pain, not all of these can be “cured,” … at least not in this present life. On the other hand, there are very few people experiencing these sources of duress who cannot experience greater health and wholeness. One of the best ways for this to take place is by sharing with a caring and supportive community of others gathered as “wounded healers.” The witness of successes in dealing with issues such as addictive illness such as alcoholism, gambling addictions, eating disorders, and physical/mental health issues such as cancer support, Alzheimer’s support, etc, bear witness to the effectiveness of this ‘group-styled support.’ Our group is aimed at providing this type of support to issues including, but not limited to, cancer support, caregivers support, addictive illness support, relational challenges, not to mention grief support. We invite any of you who may be grappling with difficult issues to join us in our bi-monthly meetings (ie the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month, from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm.) Ground rules in the group include absolute confidentiality (what is said in the group, stays in the group), avoidance of unsolicited ‘advice giving,’ and a clear recognition that we are not ‘professionals’ in these areas … we are, as I stated at the outset, “Wounded Healers” who gather to share our experience, strength and hope with one another so that we may experience greater peace and joy in the midst of the challenges of our lives. If this is something you feel you might find helpful, please come and join us, or call me to talk further about the group.

May your new year be both blessed and increasingly balanced by Christ’s presence with you, in you, and for you. Amen.

Chips

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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Pastor’s Page

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