SESSION - Clover Sites



March

1 (Sun.) Holy Communion

9:30 am -Full Service

11:00 – 12:00 – Adult Study Class

2 (Mon.) NO – Hand Bell Choir

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

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

NO – Hand Bell Choir

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

after church – Deacons Meeting

9 (Mon.) NO – Hand Bell Choir

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

3:45 pm – Elementary Youth Groups

12 (Thurs.) NO – Hand Bell Choir

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

11:00 – 12:00 – Adult Study Class

16 (Mon.) NO – Hand Bell Choir

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

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

3:45 pm – Elementary Youth Groups

9:30 am – Session Meeting

CHIT CHAT articles due

19 (Thurs.) 9:30 am - Guild

NO – Hand Bell Choir

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

23 (Mon.) NO – Hand Bell Choir

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

3:45 pm – Elementary Youth Groups

26 (Thurs.) NO – Hand Bell Choir

29(Sun.) 9:30 am -Full Service Holy Week Begins

Palm Sunday

30 (Mon.) NO – Hand Bell Choir

The letters in PRESBYTERIAN can be arranged to be BEST IN PRAYER.

*- meets at Little Bohemia

Duties

Ushers

Mar. 1 Parker & Mid Sharpe

Mar. 8 Vince & Joyce Hoehn

Mar. 15 Vince & Joyce Hoehn

Mar. 22 Deane & Joan Galloway

Mar. 29 Deane & Joan Galloway

Liturgist:

Mar. Hope Dougherty

Lay Leader:

Mar. 1 Deane Galloway

Mar. 8 Helyn Woolf

Mar. 15 Stephen Russell

Mar. 22 Nancy Russell

Mar. 29 Mid Sharpe

Communion Person: Dave Lukas

Counters

Mar. 1 DuWayne Schumacher and Sharon Lukas

Mar. 8 Mid Sharpe and Vince Hoehn

Mar. 15 David Foster and Joan Dioszegi

Mar. 22 Mid Sharpe and Carol Bohlin

Mar. 29 Deane Galloway

A kind word can warm the coldest day

and coldest heart.

SESSION MEMBERS 2015

Clerk Carol Bohlin-715-356-4060

Janie Williams

Joan Ouimette- 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

Hola Amigos de Cristo!

Our 2015 Guatemala Construction Mission Trip is upon us!! March 21-29, Janie Williams will be traveling once again to Lemoa, a small village in the Chichicastenango region of Guatemala. She will be joining a team of ~27 representing Pura Vida, a non-profit mission organization that has been building classrooms, houses and relationships with Guatemalans in this region since 2003. The focus of this trip will be building two cinder block homes for needy families in the Lemoa area. Team members will also attend church, visit local missionaries, hold a Bible camp for village children, experience the world famous Chichi market, and have an opportunity to meet with their sponsor child while on the trip.

A 2nd trip is also in the works! June 20 – 28th, 2015 will be our new Guatemala English Camp! Select students will be attending a week of intensive English in Lemoa. The only requirement is that you speak English! Join us for games, crafts, and music along with English conversation.

The cost for this trip has not been finalized (due to fluctuating airfares) but we anticipate the cost to be approximately $1850 per person.

Photos of the existing Cornstalk home of Ana Luisa and Diego, and their 6 children can be viewed at:

photos/puravida_archives/sets/72157650147766076.

This is one of two homes that we will be building on the March construction trip.

If you would like to contribute to the construction of these homes, you can use a pew envelope (mark it “March Guatemala”). Checks can be made payable to Pura Vida.

Thank you for your continued support of Pura Vida and our work in Guatemala!

Questions? Contact Janie Williams

World Day of Prayer

Friday, March 6, 2015 10:00 – 12:00

At Marywood Franciscan Spirituality Center

3560 Hwy 51 North, Arbor Vitae, WI 54568

Please join us for the 2015 celebration of the World Day of Prayer for Women. The service this year was written by the women of the Bahamas. World Day of Prayer is a worldwide movement of Christian woman of many traditions who come together to observe a common day of prayer each year, and who, in many countries, have a continuing relationship of prayer and service. This day is a movement initiated and carried out by women in more than 170 countries and regions. It is a movement which brings together women of various races, cultures, and traditions in close fellowship, understanding, and action throughout the years. Please come to pray for and celebrate the efforts of women to bring about a more just and equitable world.

A free will offering will be taken to support this important ministry.

 Christmas for Kids Update

A group of our church members met recently to discuss a path to explore the actual needs of our community and how we, as a congregation, can help families in need.

A number of the recipients of our program kindly returned a survey.  We will, in coming months, include portions of their comments which emphasize the importance of continuing our outreach to families.  Please read comments from a recipient family:

"My husband's hours were cut before Thanksgiving.  There was nothing under our tree. My son asked me where was I hiding all the presents.  I had a good cry when the school bus left.  Then North Lakeland called.  Wow.  And wrapping paper so they could be from us!"

Also please read comments from our congregation survey:

"Wonderful service for children in our communities"

"This is a wonderful ministry reaching families and children in need."

"It is fun to shop.  Some of us go together.  Women shop, check out---then we go to lunch!!!

More to come...

Christian Education

In His service and yours, Joan Dioszegi

Brrr, it’s cold outside! It’s a good time to be thinking about and planning for summer camps. There are two that I would like to mention to you. Clearwater Forest is a Presbyterian affiliated camp in Deerwood, MN. They have a wide variety of camps for just about every age group, family camps and grandparent/child camps. The range of activities they provide is pretty amazing. You’ll really have to check it out yourself, but don’t wait too long, camps fill up quickly. Call me for more information or go to their website:



Trail Ridge Ranch is a camp for 8 – 13 year olds. It is located in Hillsboro, WI, which is between Madison and La Cross. They have 3 camp weeks in July, this year they are doing a nautical theme. For more information call me or go to:

trailridge

There are scholarships that may be available for either of these camps or another Christian camp that you may be interested in. For scholarship information and applications please call me.

March

Birthdays:

3rd Jack Jacobs, Nancy Bilder, Cody Meier, Jay Williams, 4th Sue Patterson, Jeff Krans, Kerry Kost, 8th Chuck De Carlo, 10th Jean Rein, Nathaniel McFarland, 11th Judy Strauser, 12th Sharon Bridges, 13th John Wilson, David Frandy, 14th Mikayla Cayo, 15th Leslie (Patterson) Sullivan, 16th Bill Perkins, Freda Masar, Sean Gardner, 18th Bob Nickerson, Cathy Breitholtz, 21st Grayson Johnson, 22nd Mary Monroe, Kelsey Backlund, 23rd Sheila Klagos, 24th Matthew Nelson, 26th Carole Berglin, Susan Rueger, 29th Bill Kauffman, 30th Chuck Behnke

Anniversaries:

24th Jack & Lynn Majewski

28th Ken & Audrey Winchell (61st)

Madams & Sirs

March, 2015

6:00 Potluck

Everyone is welcome! Invite a friend.

Program – Melissa Patterson - will talk

about the “Lakeland Sharing Foundation”

April Program –

Plan trip to Smithsonian

Fleazaar 2015, July 15

It is -10 as I write this, but at the Blochs we are thinking Fleazaar! We are working on staffing positions and recruiting volunteers. The Church and community volunteers are what makes this wonderful event happen! As we make pickups and receive donations we try to ask if the donors are willing to volunteer and we have received several names this way. It doesn't necessarily have to be just Fleazaar week. There are many areas needing behind the scenes help. Cathy Breitholtz helped write thank you notes, Helyn and Jay Woolf handled publicity, Sarah and Roger Becklund contacted not for profits about picking items after the sale and Glen Wildenberg and his crew handled far reaching pickups. These are just a few of the mighty Fleazaar supporters! As you meet in your various groups, think of asking for help. Many of the tents could use extra

help on Fleazaar day or before. Several ways of helping would be:

• Pick up scheduler and volunteers to pick up.

• Setting up and taking down tables for the Guild booths.

• Water distribution on Saturdays and Fleazaar work days.

• Treats for Saturday workers.

• Contacting volunteers.

Let the Blochs know of new volunteers by calling us at 715.356.9410 or emailing us at daniel.bloch@.

Remember 10 hours of volunteering before July 14 allows early shopping on Fleazaar Tuesday!

Membership

Well, here we are in March and Easter is just around the corner.  Can Spring be far behind?  As every year, I strongly encourage you to attend the Maundy Thursday/Good Friday worship service on April 2.  It brings a lot of emotion and great impact for the joy we receive on Easter morning.  Please come and bring family and friends.

We have had several new members join us in the final months of 2014.  It will take the months ahead to get them all introduced to you.  First, I will start with Stephen and Nancy Russell.  They have been a Ministering couple for their entire marriage.

Stephen's roots are from Boston and Nancy is a native Wisconsinite and grew up in La Crosse. She received her undergraduate degree from Lawrence College and she and Stephen both went to Seminary in Boston.  They met in an Old Testament class, and the rest is history. 

They dated for 2 months and Stephen finally proposed!  They were married 3 weeks later!  Gee, why were you dragging your feet?!!  Nancy was ordained the very next day.  The whirlwind continues as they travel to Nebraska to serve in their first Parish.  Their baby girl, Deborah, was born during their 3 years in Nebraska.  Their next Parish took them east to New Hampshire.  During their time there, they welcomed 2 sons, David and Thomas. 

In 1983, they settled into life for 31 years in Wausau, WI.  How nice that Nancy was able to come back home.  They served at Grace United Church of Christ as a Pastoral Couple for 20 years.  In 2002, Stephen entered into Hospice as a full time Chaplain. Nancy became an Associate Pastor for 2 other Wausau churches. 

They have been enjoying their home on Hiawatha Lake in Winchester part time since 2000 until their retirement in 2014.  We are thrilled to have them as full time residents and as a wonderful addition to our community and church.

They are head over heels in love with their 4 grandchildren, ranging from 6 years to 22 months; 3 boys and a girl.  Their daughter and one son, parents of these cuties, live in Minnesota with great opportunities for visiting.  They also have a son living in Oregon.

If you have noticed their absence in February, it is because they have taken a well deserved trip to New Zealand to celebrate retirement.  Besides the fact that they love to travel, they also volunteer at the Manitowish Waters Library.  Nancy volunteers 1 day a week with the first grade reading program at North Lakeland Elementary.  They are both enjoying snowshoeing and look forward to getting back on the bike trails when weather is appropriate.  Stephen also plays pickle ball and tennis.  They are looking forward to acting on their plan to adopt a rescue Lab and train him to be a therapy dog. 

As you can see, their interests are widely varied.  They are a bright, happy, active, thoughtful, family loving couple.  You will love to sit and visit with them over coffee.  I am mesmerized with Nancy's glowing smile, and if you sit in front of them some Sunday, you will enjoy her beautiful voice.  Greet them with open arms!

I will try to pin down our other new members so you can "read all about it" in the future Chit Chat newsletters.  We also have people who are interested in learning about our church so they may consider it their home.  If you know someone looking for a church family, please let Lois know so we can meet them.  543-2998

I hope all of our youth members will enjoy Spring Break and we look forward to seeing them back on Wednesday, April 8.

Respectfully submitted,

Helyn Woolf, Membership Chairlady

Manitowish Waters Community

Presbyterian church

PO Box 69

Manitowish Waters, WI 54545

March

2015

Bible Trivia

…check your Bible knowledge

Up Against the Wall

1. Who built the walls of Jerusalem?

2. What foreign invader tore down the walls of Jerusalem?

3. What wine steward sat down and wept when he learned the walls of Jerusalem had not been rebuilt?

4. What city was famous for its fallen walls?

5. Who escaped through the wall of Damascus by being let down in a basket?

6. Who stuck his spear in the wall when it failed to strike its intended target, David?

7. What prophet was trapped against a wall by an angel with a drawn sword?

It’s the season of

LENT

Office Hours:

Monday through Friday = 9:00 am till noon

715-543-2998

Rev. Chips 715-776-2998

manwtrschurch@



1. Solomon (1 Kings 9:15), 2. Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:10), 3. Nehemiah (1:3-4), 4. Jericho (Joshua 6:20), 5. Paul (Acts 9:25), 6. Saul (1 Samuel 19:10), 7. Balaam (Numbers 22:24).

Westminster GUILD

Westminster Guild met on February 5, continuing our Bible Study of 2 Corinthians. With the help of our dedicated leader, Father Bill Radant, we tackled Lessons 5 and 6. In Lesson 5 we considered our understanding of reconciliation, healing, and transformation -- broadening these concepts to a cosmological "new creation." Lesson 6 challenged us, as followers of Christ, to show our faith in action and imagine all the ways we can make God's presence visible in our world. Our hostess for this meeting was Mid Sharpe, who treated us to a delicious cake!

Our regular "work" meeting, scheduled for Thursday, February 19, was cancelled due to the extreme cold, but we will be "back at it" next month, continuing mission projects like our pillowcase dresses, little boys' shorts, and hygiene kits for young girls in Africa -- as well as preparations for various Fleazaar venues. And, speaking of Fleazaar, we are still in need of empty clear glass wine bottles and plastic gallon-size water or milk jugs! And soon we will be looking for pie filling again -- last year we made 37 pies for the Fleazaar bake sale!!! So . . . if you happen to see pie filling on sale, buy an extra can or two and bring it to the church kitchen -- we will find it there! We thank you so much!

On Thursday, March 5, we will meet for our next Bible Study -- Lesson 7, which deals with the "Economy of Grace." It promises to be an interesting lesson, and we invite all of the women of our church to join us. We meet at 9:30 AM, and we have extra study guides available -- AND we always have a delicious dessert (following our bag lunch!).

Our recipe this month is one of our desserts from last summer's Fleazaar lunches:

Baker's One Bowl Brownies

Yield: 24 Brownies

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate

3/4 c. butter or margarine

2 c. sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. milk

1-1/2 c. flour

1 c. coarsely chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil so that you have handles to lift out the brownies when done. Spray foil with cooking oil.

Melt chocolate and butter together. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and milk. Add flour and nuts and mix thoroughly. Pour in prepared pan, and bake 30-35 minutes.

Test for doneness with a toothpick. Do not over-bake.

Kay Suffron

Moderator

Deacons

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

Members of the Board of Deacons are:

Cathy Breitholtz, Manny Markham, Janis Schumacher , Sharon Lukas, Susan Schroeter and Hope Dougherty.

**the board of deacons will be meeting the second Sunday in the choir room**

We appreciate your help, and ask that you please let any Deacon know if you are aware of someone who could use some support.

*Did you know?

* There is a Letter Lab in the Fellowship Hall with cards and a list of people to send cards? Or, send one to someone you feel could use a hug?

* There is an informational hutch next to it with various information on organizations.

* In the narthex, by the fireside room, there is a collection of “Care Notes”, booklets designed to help you thru various journeys in your life.

The Deacons are in the process of updating all of the above, so if there is something you would like us to add, please see a deacon. Thank you.

Sisters and brothers in Christ, Grace and peace to you in the midst of the cold … as I write it is about 21 degrees below zero with a nice breeze to top it off. Snowbirds, just think of all the fun you are missing!

Cold, bitter cold, for me, initially lends itself to a contemplative withdraw … hot chocolate, a good book, and a crackling fire. I really enjoy it for a little while. It is not long, however, before that sedentary sense of reclusive contentment is replaced with a dull lethargy. It is caused, perhaps, by re-breathing the air in the cozy home for too long, or maybe simply a let-down brought about after the first flush of a long-awaited rest, or perhaps it is simple Seasonal Affective Disorder untempered and untreated by exercise outside in the sunlight. Whatever it is, the result is a heavy sense of hovering depression. I fight depression. It is, for me, an enemy, and activity is one of my weapons against it. Unable, therefore, to dwell under that inactive stupor for long, I rise up into a sense of agitation. I am cagey. I am restless. I need to be ‘doing’ some of the miriad of things that need doing. Cabin Feaver has arrived, and so, regardless of the cold, it becomes time to venture out; allow my nostrils to constrict with the cold, take a couple coughs as the frigid air enters my lungs, and get-on with my activities. Sometimes I wonder, though, do all of those activities, all the things with which we occupy ourselves throughout most of our waking hours, do they really mean anything in the long run? Does our life count? Are the things which I do, any different qualitatively, from the things the craftsman who is laying ceramic tiles at our home does?

I believe everything each of us does with our lives matters. There is, I believe, no good deed done, no thing of beauty created, no word of comfort offered, however small it may seem, that does not contribute to the greater good in that veiled parallel reality we call, “The Kingdom of God.”

The tile-man takes his work very seriously. He is good, very good at what he does. He brings a bit of beauty, and the sense of order, symetry, and balance into the world through his experienced, skilled, and artistic talents. That beauty can be construed, perhaps, as part of the work of the kingdom as much as one of my sermons … given it’s lasting presence, perhaps even more so. And in his work, there is I think, a metaphor for each of us.

The variety of shapes, sizes, tones and textures of each piece of ceramic will be used by the artisan to create a thing of beauty. Is that not also the process involved in the building of our church … not the physical eddiface of wood, brick, mortar, stone, and glass, but rather the “Living Stone” of our lives. We have gifts, each of us, that come in all shapes, shades, sizes, colors and textures. It takes all of those shapes to create the church. Each

of you contribute your own presence, your own talents, your own unique gifts to build up the life of our church. And each of you are an irreplaceable, unique part of the beauty of our family of Christian faith. Each of you are part of the mosaic of our life together.

Your presence brings special gifts to our life together. There are things that you can do, that no one else can do; there are experiences you bring, that no one else has had; there are insights you bring, that would be painfully absent without your presence. As the tile-layer completes his work in our home, it would take only the absence of one little piece of ceramic to hurt, deeply hurt, the overall composition of the beauty he has created.

You may not, at this time, understand and see your place in that overall composition, but in God’s good time, not one good word you’ve shared, not one hug you’ve given, not one report you’ve written, or meal you’ve shared will be wasted. God is the redeemer of everything, and there is no waste in his workmanship. You are the living stone of that workmanship, and from you, and from me; from our church, God is creating a wonderful gift for the world around us. Share! Give! Participate! For you are the Body of Christ.

Chips

A special reminder of two other aspects of our life together: Adult Education and the Healing Circle. First, our Adult Education offering is off to a wonderful start. We have had between twenty and thirty participants at our first two classes. The March classes will be on Sunday the 1st and Sunday the 15th from 11:00-12:00. The topics for those two classes will be: The Role of Religious Experience in early Christianity, and Sourcing Christianity in the religious and experiencial context of its’ original Jewish, and Greko-Roman roots.

Adult Education Offering

Post-Worship, Sunday Morning Course

The 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month; 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, caregiver’s support, addictive illness support, and 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 (i.e. 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.

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March 2015

Pastor’s Page

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