|
|
|
|
Dear Church of the Resurrection,
 Earlier in the month when I took a few days off for a retreat, I went to see my spiritual director (she’s a wise Christian lady who has given me spiritual guidance for 30 years), and she said to me, “Paula, this will be an Advent season for you.” What wonderful advice, because Advent is a season of waiting and hoping, and so it is, not only for me (about what I’ll do next) but for all of us … as you all wait and hope for a settled pastor. [The church-year geeks will have to excuse me on this, speaking out of season, because Advent is actually the season before Christmas.] But one thing I know about Advent is that hope is not a demand. Hope is an expectant trust that God knows what’s going on and has promised good for us.
When Mary, the mother of Jesus, was pregnant … I’m sure she had hopes for him. But she wasn’t able to demand of God what he would be like, or what God intended for him.
When Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, walked side by side with Mary … he also wasn’t able to demand of God how his firstborn would come into the world.
When old “Pastor” Zachariah, the father of John, was unable to hope in the birth of his son John (the Baptist), he was struck silent. I imagine God taught him to hope as he walked with his age mate Elizabeth, the mother of John. He spoke John’s name on his name day, with praises for what God had done.
I invite you to spend some time pondering the openness of hope versus the closed nature of demands. Demands are a strong way of asking, what are your expectations of the new pastor… because sometimes we run into relationship challenges where our expectations are not met, or not completely met, or not met how we wanted them to be. Relationships start well when we can both articulate our expectations, and when we entrust our hopes to the Lord.
And speaking of starting, you and I are going to have an “ending” in the next few months. So if there are ways that Pastor Stein and Pastor Liz ended well – I would love to hear what you valued! And if there are ways they could have ended better, perhaps you and I can practice ending well, and blessing one another.
Pastor Paula
|
|
SOPHIA (Stewards of Prophetic, Hopeful, Intentional Action) is a faith-based social justice organization in Waukesha County. Nine county organizations join forces as a part of WISDOM, which is the state-wide organization. Issues the organizations have worked on are prison treatment programs for people convicted of alcohol and drug offenses, affordable housing, immigration issues and health care. The Lutheran faith has had a tradition of carrying out God’s work through the social issues of the time. Financial contributions to SOPHIA help support the organizer and communicate the issues with members and the general public.
|
|
Montessori Update
I announced in church services a few weeks ago that our Montessori tenants are moving. They were here since January of 2011, so this is a big change. You may have read the Journal Sentinel article this week: http://www.jsonline.com
I want you to know that Randy Kohn and I tried very hard to retain them. We have been negotiating all summer. Our goal was to retain them until next May when the school would finish its academic year, and the new pastor and Church Council would have plenty of time to form their own conclusions and look for a new tenant if they decided to do so.
They have been renting about 4,000 square feet of space. The school’s leaders wanted to substantially reduce their space and rent because their student body had fallen from 60 to 26. The Council offered them several options to stay – a reduction of rent from $13.69 to $12.50 per square foot, and then again moving behind the back set of glass doors (about 2,700 square feet), and finally, when they announced they would move, we offered them an extra month on their lease (which they had requested.)
How can you help? We need your prayers for the right tenants for the church. We have a few appointments, including with another Montessori school, but nothing in hand. If you know schools, businesses or others who need about 4,000 square feet of lovely open space in a great location with lots of windows, have them contact Randy Kohn or myself for a tour. We are informed by real estate professionals that the market rate is $14.50. The Council and I believe this is another short-term challenge, but in the longer term, it will be best for the church.
Because our tenants moved out this week, on Friday we changed the locks on the church building. People who had keys (staff, council, property committee, altar guild) should arrange with the office staff to pick up their new key. For a short time, we will not be storing a key outside in order to secure the building. 
|
|
Confirmation Dates and Registration
The start of confirmation is just around the corner, and it’s time to get your 6 th-, 7 th-, and/or 8 th-grade student registered.
And this  year, it's EASY! Just click on the link below, fill out the form, and click on DONE in the upper right hand corner.
CONFIRMATION REGISTRATION
Mark the following date on your calendar:
September 13 - 7 pm - First Confirmation Class
And keep an eye on the Confirmation page on the church website, http://www.sharefollowserve.com/whats-happening/confirmation/. Soon, you'll be able to download the schedules and check out what is happening in class.
Don't forget to register!
Cari Matter & Jeni McCullough
Confirmation Coordinators
Sunday School Will be Starting Soon
Sunday school will be starting soon! The official start of Sunday school is on September 10, 2017. Lots of preparation is underway to make this a successful year. We have filled all of our teacher slots, and will have four teachers for each grade group. If you missed the teacher orientation on August 27, there is another on Tuesday, August 29 at 6:30 pm in the fellowship hall.
Each grade group (3K-5K, 1st - 2nd grade, 3rd - 4th grade) will have a dedicated team of teachers for the year. During the year, all children will have the opportunity to participate in learning scripture, music, a Christmas program, and a service project in the spring. In addition, we will have opportunities for you to volunteer in the service project activity and/or the Christmas program. Please contact Christine Piper ( cpiper79@wi.rr.com) or Shawn Motley ( shawn.motley11@gmail.com), Sunday school coordinators, with any questions.
Christine Piper & Shawn Motley
Living with Grief
On Saturday, September 23, Chaplain Guta Cvetkovic will join us to speak in our church service about love and grief. Following the service, you are invited to participate in a potluck dinner, hear a brief presentation about grief, receive a “mourner’s bill of rights,” and converse with one another about living with grief.
Guta is a professional chaplain at Capitol Lakes Retirement Community (a continual care organization in Madison) and a certified grief specialist. He is also Pastor Paula’s beloved spouse.
Sept. 10 - 9 am
Sept. 17- 8:30 and 10 am
Last Thurs. Aug. 31 - 6:30 pm
First Sat Sept. 9 - 5 pm
|
Grass Cutters This Week
 Thank you to Greg Foker & Andy Shattuck for mowing last week and a reminder to Team Four – Dave Groenewold & Jake Brunner that you are on the schedule for September 7 - 9.
Martin Luther Quote of the Week
Distribution of Bibles
 Attention 3rd-grade students and parents. On September 10th, we will distribute Bibles to parents of 3rd-graders. We ask parents to highlight favorite or meaningful verses. On September 24, parents should bring the Bible to church where they will present it to their child during worship. Please be sure to register your child for Sunday school so we can ensure we have a Bible for each 3rd-grader
A Need in the Nursery
Hello all! I am writing to inform you of changes in the nursery in the upcoming months. Due to the number of families with young children attending our 8:30 and 10:00 services, it was suggested we staff the nursery at both times. Unfortunately, this change was not part of the budget at the beginning of the year.
We are looking to raise $450 to fill this position. With all of the young families at our church, it is in our best interest to stabilize this with a paid person who will be there on a consistent basis. Please prayerfully consider donating to help us.
Tyler Schaber
Stewardship Committee Council Member
Attention Parents with Students in 6th, 7th, & 8th Grade!
We are excited for another wonderful year of learning about Jesus and the Bible in Confirmation classes this year! Please note these important dates for your fall calendar.
Prayer Requests Updates
 Have you updated Pastor Paula or the church office on your prayer requests recently? We pray for many people every week on our prayer list. Have some of your loved ones been healed, or are they in remission? Have some passed on to be with the Lord? Do you have praises to add? We’d like to know
Attention kids! Bring your backpack to the 9 am service on September 10 and receive a special blessing for the school year.
The Church Office will be closed on
Labor Day, then resume fall hours:
Monday to Thursday 9-4
Friday 9-2
|
|
|
Bible Study on Confirmation Night
“The Greatest Story”
 This fall, we are bringing back a tried-and-true program for our adult Bible study on Wednesday nights (kids not in Confirmation are also welcome to join). We will be using the program “The Greatest Story: Bible Introduction.” This program is different in that instead of just studying a single book of the Bible, we start in the beginning with Genesis, work our way through the Old Testament, and then move into the New Testament starting with the Gospels all the way through Revelation.
Each participant will have a study guide with which he or she can follow the lesson each week. We begin each week reading about the story for that week. The next part of the lesson is “Picturing the Story,” in which we will watch artist Joe Castillo draw pictures in sand corresponding to the lesson. As you watch the story unfold in the video, there will be some questions to reflect on. The last time we did this program, everyone had so much fun trying to guess what Joe was drawing.
We end each week by “Marking It” – we mark one or more of the passages from that week’s story to read during the coming week. This Bible study tends to be very lively, sparks the imagination and engages participants in some great conversation.
We will be previewing this program during the Confirmation parent orientation on August 30, and the first session will be on Wednesday, September 13 (the first day of confirmation classes).
If you have any questions, please feel free to speak with John Kornely, Pat or Dennis Faherty, or Lisa Schulte. We hope you can join us for this adventurous study of the Bible.
|
|
Call Committee Update
Dear Congregation,
 Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for our call team. This week we had another meeting to refine our interview\questions and strategies. We think it’s important for the congregation to know how incredibly valuable your feedback and efforts have been.
The information provided via the cottage sessions, personal interviews, the transition team, and ultimately the ministry profile are the backbone of our sessions. Our productivity and ultimately our results can be directly linked to all our your efforts.
Thank you all very much and please continue to monitor our announcements, the newsletter and the website.
Thanks,
Call Committee Members
|
|
Outreach for Hope Family Bike Ride
Sunday, September 10 is “God’s work. Our Hands” Sunday! This is an opportunity for us to celebrate who we are as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Service activities offer an opportunity for us to explore one of our most basic convictions as Lutherans: that all of life in Jesus Christ – every act of service, in every daily calling, in every corner of life – flows freely from a living, daring confidence in God’s grace. Here is a description of what is happening at Church of the Resurrection.
There will be a single church service on September 10 beginning at 9 am. After the church service, we are asking for volunteers to participate in two worthy service projects. Those service projects will run from approximately 10:30 am until noon. After the service projects have been finished, we will hold a picnic lunch at COR. Hot dogs and drinks will be provided and we are asking for you to bring a dish to pass. Sign-up sheets for the service projects as well as for a dish to pass at the picnic are located in the narthex.
Here is a description of the service projects:
Join us to spend some time with the residents at Matthew's of Hartland (did you know this was our original church building?). The previously listed TBD activity to take place at Matthew's of Hartland will be Family Bingo. All ages are welcome to join the residents from 10:30-11:30 for this family activity.
Please join us as we spruce up the Ice Age Trail in Hartland at Cottonwood Avenue. We will be hauling and spreading bark mulch on the trail as well as trimming brush around the trail. The Village of Hartland has graciously agreed to provide a dump truck load of bark much at the trail head which will save us a lot of time and effort and allow us to focus our efforts on the trail. Please bring your wheelbarrows, shovels / pitch forks, gas powered trimmers and branch pruning tools.
Steve DeRosier and the Human Concerns team
|
|
Monday Sept 4
Labor Day Holiday - Church Office Closed
Thursday Sept 7
6:30 a.m. Bible Class at This Great Coffee Place
Saturday Sept 9
9:30 a.m. Outreach for Hope Family Bike Ride
5:00 p.m. Worship with Holy Communion
Sunday Sept 10
9:00 a.m. Worship with Holy Communion
Sunday School Starts
Backpack Blessing
Bibles to 3rd Grade Parents
10:30 a.m. God’s Work Our Hands Service Project & Picnic Lunch
|
|
|
We Pray For:
Prayers for our country, those serving in the armed forces, and our leaders
- Michael, Sue Hader’s Grandson
- Jeanne Kunath,
- Mickey, Dee Morris' daughter
- Ellen, Susan Daniel's cousin
- Erik Kotajarvi, Sherri Bruss brother
- Mahrya Draheim
- Don Schaf
- Melissa, friend of Salstroms
- Bill Bravener, friend of Matt Stein & Susan Daniels
- Dee Morris
- Michelle
- LeAnn
- Wenslaff Family
- Betty Rooney, Colleen Rooney's mother
- Ruben Zoroghlian, Leda Patrick's brother
- Brittany Caruso, Bob Patrick's granddaughter
- Olivia Hautula, Jesse Niederbaumer's cousins daughter
- Scott, Susan Daniel's cousin
- Amy, friend of Palovcsik
- Megan, friend of Palovcsik
- Jim Klink
- Julie, friend of Phil Salstrom's
- Wayne Higgins, Ann-Marie Bergman's dad
- Shirley, Gail Wojtkunski's mom
- Tyler Schaber
- Gloria Harmmond
- Kristi Evinrude, sister of Dennis Evinrude
- Jenny Lloyd, daughter of Will Perriog's sister-in-law
- Lauren
- Cindy Evinrude
- Courtney & Amber, friends of Bob Kunath
- Dan Merkel
- Heather Swataek
- JR, Beth Berger's cousin
- Brittany
- Tom Stone, friend of Will Perrigo
- Nancy & Art Mitchel, friends of the Perrigo's
- Kirstie, granddaughter of Sue Hader
Our friends in El Salvador
- Luciano
- Rosa
- Candida
|
|
Birthdays This Week:
9/4
Ove, Jon
9/5
Dassow, Renee
Hergott, Luc
Tompsett, Joan
9/6
Schlegel, John
9/7
Gukich, Timothy
Quas, Emily
Wallner, Patti
9/8
Vifquain, Scott
9/9
Wallner, Richard
9/10
Cannon, Makenna
Kellar, Richard
|
|
|
Our mailing address is:
Church of the Resurrection
W287 N3700 North Shore Drive
Pewaukee, WI 53072
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
