February 2021

THE A Reconciling Congregation at Two Locations having Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors

Stevens Point-Plover United Methodist Church News

As we approach another season of , we always begin with . It is a time to reflect on our mortality, repentance, and the depth of Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross. It is a deeply meaningful service to begin our journey to the empty tomb and beyond. I’m also very aware when Valentine’s Day is because that is my wedding anniversary and I have no excuse to forget or not make it special when it falls on the very day of celebrating love. What is interesting is that the calendar this year has Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday just a few days apart. And so I have been thinking, is there a way that the season of Lenten sacrifice and penitence is related to Valentine’s Day chocolates, flowers, and focus on love? According to the legends, Saint Valentine was a priest who lived during the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius Gothicus. The official imperial policy of the day was that it was illegal for Christians to be married or receive aid of any kind, but Valentine chose to defy the laws of the land and marry couples anyway. For this, he was arrested and martyred on February 14th. Valentine chose to love and serve others despite the imperial voices dictating that he withhold aid. As a priest, he could easily have devoted himself, in such a time of persecution, to personal devotions that would have drawn him inward (and saved his own neck), but instead he opted to help those in need and include those the powers-that-be demanded be excluded. He became a martyr for the sake of love. Maybe during this season of Lent, we can see Valentine’s Day as a possible guide for our practices. What if we too chose to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of love? What if instead of giving something up for Lent, we would sacrifice and give away the love of God as we help those who are hurting, struggling, or feeling excluded in some way. It could be as simple as calling or reaching out to check on someone who you know is lonely in this time. This might include an elderly shut-in, stay-at-home parent, someone who has recently lost their job or someone who is grieving a loss. It is always a good thing to express our love to those closest to us. Our world would be a better place if we said and showed our love more often. But Jesus encourages us to love, not just those who love us back, but also those who may never show it in return. We all have people to love and our challenge as followers of Jesus is to see and love both those people closest to us and those who are on the sidelines or may be hard to love at times.

February 2021

I hope that having Valentine’s Day before the start of Lent will remind us of an important spiritual lesson as we journey through Lent: that sacrificing ourselves for the sake of love is the greatest sacrifice of all.

In God’s love, Pastor Tim

WORSHIP TIME We are currently holding in-person worship on Sundays at 10:30 am. Please review the mandatory guidelines on our website that we are following in order to keep everyone safe. **NOTE: Due to the cases in our area, we will continue to use the mandatory guidelines until further notice.

We will continue to live-stream our worship services on St. Paul's UMC Facebook page www.facebook.com/StPaulsUMC.Point or through our website stevenspointumc.org. Scroll down until you see the current live stream.

If you are not able to watch the service live on Sunday morning at 10:30 am, there are several ways you can watch it later:  All of our worship services are saved and posted on our Facebook page - www.facebook.com/StPaulsUMC.Point.  Our worship services are also on Youtube. Just go to our church website – www.stevenspointumc.org and click on "Worship" from the drop-down menu of the "About" tab on the top of the home page. It will take you to our YouTube channel that has a collection of our worship services

Mandatory Guidelines for In-Person Worship for St. Paul’s-The Springs UMC (visit our website www.stevenspointumc.org)

February 2021

ASH WEDNESDAY Service of Reflection and Meditation Wednesday, February 17, 2021 11:00 am - 7:00 pm

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, the 40 days that precedes Holy Week and . Normally, we would hold an Ash Wednesday service in the evening with the imposition of ashes. However, to keep everyone safe the Worship Team is proposing a different way to do our service. This year we will be setting up seven prayer and reflection stations in Fellowship Hall. Each of them will offer a different Biblical view of ashes including loss, mortality, emptiness, weakness, repentance, regret, and purity. Each station will have a different object, activity, devotion, and scripture to help deepen your reflection. We will be following very strict protocols to keep everyone safe including having the stations socially distanced in Fellowship Hall, requiring masks, gloves (fresh gloves will be available at each station), and only one individual, couple, or family will be allowed at a station at one time. After the last station, if you choose, there will be communion set up for you take on your own and a place to pray. If you are unable to attend but you would like some ashes to use at home, please let us know and we will make them available. It is our hope and prayer that this time will allow us all to reflect and be reminded that in the midst of our fragileness and mortality, we are held up in the hands of God’s grace and love.

ATTENTION SINGERS & MUSICIANS! We are looking for special music for Sundays during the month of March. We would invite any solos or duets, either vocal or instrumental, to contact the church office (715/344-3557).

CREATING SACRED MOMENTS AT HOME THIS LENTEN SEASON Each season of Lent, the Family Ministries of St. Paul's and The Springs offer special intergenerational programs and activities to enhance our faith formation as we journey through Lent in preparation for Easter. For safety reasons during this time of COVID-19, we will not have an in-person program, but will be creating and delivering special at-home boxes for families, children, teens, and people of all ages. The boxes will have fun and meaningful activities that include a finger labyrinth, age- appropriate art and science activities, Bible verses and devotions to read, wonder, and talk about. These boxes will also include ashes for Ash Wednesday worship at-home and interactive February 2021 activities for children and families to connect with our Sunday morning children's moments and live-streamed worship services. Please let us know if you would like at-home resources--we are happy to have boxes available for pick-up at the St. Paul's building or delivered to your home. Please contact Laura Courtright Burns at 715-340-4523 or [email protected].

FINANCE CORNER Greetings!

The point is this: "whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:6-8) “God loves a cheerful giver.” Why do you give? Why do you put money in the plate? Why did you sign up for EFT? Is it to keep the lights on? Is it out of obligation? Is it because “it is just the thing you do”? In this month of February, when consumer products turn red, chocolate, and velvety, society asks us to think about love. We give gifts to others because we love them. Could it be that we give in church (online) because of Love? We are called to give to God because God loves us. We are called to give to God because we love God. We are called to give, not begrudgingly, but cheerfully! When we give, we are saying, “I love you God!” We are not saying, “Fine, here you go God.” Why do you give? Look inside of yourself right now. Be honest. Why do you give? When the plate passes you, what goes through your mind? In this time of online giving, has your giving changed? Have you been giving more or less? More or less often? Why? Always remember, you cannot out give God! God loves us and has, does, and will do so much for us. So, in response, we give back to the Lord. We give out of LOVE.

The above is from the United Methodist Foundation.

If you have any questions, please either give me a call 715-340-5991 or send me an email at [email protected].

May God Bless your day~ Joy Pennell Dir of Finance

February 2021

DON'T FORGET TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR MINISTRIES You can give by one of the following: 1. You can mail your check to the church office at 600 Wilshire Blvd., Stevens Point, WI 54481 2. You can use ACH. If you don’t have that set up & would like to, please contact Joy Pennell and she will help you with that. 3. You can use Bill Pay through your bank. This is a free service through your bank. They draw the money from your bank account and send the church a check as you direct them to, whether that be weekly or monthly. This way would save you on postage. 4. You can go to our website www.stevenspointumc.org and there is a button that says “Donate”. That will take you through the steps to use your credit or debit card. If you continue down on that page, you can also text on your phone to give.

COINS OF COMPASSION COINS OF COMPASSION The Coins of Compassion for February will be in support of Operation Bootstrap. Be sure to label your envelope so your coins/currency will be deposited into the correct account. If you are submitting a check, please write "Operation Bootstrap" in the memo portion of the check. Thank you for supporting this important ministry.

FAMILY FUN February 21 @ 2:00 pm St. Paul's-The Springs United Methodist Church 600 Wilshire Blvd., Stevens Point

On February 21 at 2:00 pm let’s: (1) paint some snow with squeeze bottles of colored water - we can work along the sidewalks and write messages of wintry encouragement for those who walk past our church; (2) drink lots of hot chocolate; (3) for our littler ones (and maybe us bigger ones too) there is always time for sledding down the hills made by the plowing trucks at the edges of our parking lot too and (4) let's have some fun together. If you have any questions, please contact Audra O'Brien (262/388-0366) or [email protected].

February 2021

GROWTH GROUP STUDIES

Tuesdays 7:00 pm - Women's Bible Study - James (via ZOOM) (Contact Audra [email protected] if you would like to join us)

Wednesdays (beginning 2/24) 7:00 pm - Lenten Study - "He Chose the Nails" by Max Lucado (via ZOOM) (contact Pastor Tim [email protected] if you would like to join us)

Fridays 12:00 pm - Fly High - "Words of Life" by Adam Hamilton (via ZOOM) (Contact Yvonne [email protected] if you would like to join us)

“HE CHOSE THE NAILS” Wednesday’s – February 24, March 3, 10, 17, 24 at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom The season of Lent is one of reflecting deeper on the love and grace of God shown to us through the cross and empty tomb. I invite you to come hear about the hope we receive because he chose the nails. This study will be on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. starting on February 24 online using Zoom. Please use the link below to connect with this class. There is a study guide available for $5.25. If you would like a study guide please contact the church office. Each class is independent so come when you are able. Everyone is welcome.

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81078841011

Meeting ID: 810 7884 1011

February 2021

THE WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY Tuesdays at 7:00 pm via Zoom

We continue the year with looking at the book written by James, who was Jesus’s brother and a leader in the Jerusalem church. This book was written to expose hypocritical practices and to teach the people about Christian behavior because at the time there was quite a concern for those who had once been a part of the church but who were now being persecuted. This book has three sections (genuine religion, genuine faith, and genuine wisdom) that focus on how genuine faith transforms lives. True faith will produce loving actions toward others. Join us on Tuesday nights at 7:00pm for an hour because we would love to hear your perspective. The zoom meeting address, meeting ID and password are below. To join please click this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9273218018?pwd=NHh3Uzc0RHBRWmk2NG9qWGZIZFJkdz09

Meeting ID: 927 321 8018 Password: 5986234 See you Tuesday!

FLY HIGH STUDY GROUP Fridays at 12:00 noon

Fly High will begin the study of “Words of Life” by Adam Hamilton beginning Friday, February 12 at 12:00 noon via Zoom. Nearly everyone has heard of the Ten Commandments, the list of "thou-shalt-nots" found in the Bible. Jesus saw these commandments not as onerous burdens, but as guideposts to help us experience a good and beautiful life. In this book of Scripture and inspiration, Adam Hamilton brings modern eyes to the most important set of ethics in history. He considers the commandments in their historical context, considering the meaning of each commandment in Hebrew, unpacking how Jesus reinterpreted them, and showing how every thou-shalt-not was intended to point to a life-giving "thou shalt." In a culture marked by workaholism, materialism, and social media-driven envy, God has given us a time-tested path that leads to gratitude, confidence and peace. Words of Life is an inspiring, thought-provoking read for anyone seeking to live a meaningful and joyful life. The book is $13.00. If you would like to join this group or have any questions, contact the office and Yvonne would be happy to answer any questions you may have and/or send you the link.

February 2021

GOING AWAY THIS WINTER? If you will be gone for a time this winter please let the office know when you will be gone. If you would like any communication sent to you, please give us the address of where you will be staying. We can also send any communication via email. Thank you for your attention to this matter. This will help the church to not have to pay for return postage on items sent while you are away. Any questions, contact the church office (715/344-3557).

BROWN PAPER BAGS Operation Bootstrap is in need of brown paper bags. If you have any you would like to donate, please bring them to the church and place in the south coatroom. If you have any questions, please call the church office (715/344-3557).

FAIR TRADE COFFEE SALE The following Fair Trade products are on sale:

Hazelnut Creme - 12 oz. ground - $3.00 ea. French Vanilla - 12 oz. ground - $3.00 ea. Hazelnut Creme Decaf - 12 oz. ground - $3.00 ea. Organic Decaf - 12 oz. ground - $3.00 ea. Extra Dark Panama Chocolate Bars (71% Cocoa) - $1.00 ea. Very Dark Chocolate Bars (80% Cocoa) - $1.00 ea

All other Fair Trade products will be at regular price.

You can find these items in the church office. Call the church office (715/344-3557) if you would like any of these items pulled for you and placed in the church exchange box outside of the church building for you to pick up.

WAYS TO HELP We are all looking for ways to share God's love in this anxious time. Here are some samples of things you can do during this time:

Make Face Masks – We have several masks available in the church office, including Holiday fabric masks.

Interfaith Food Pantry – We have the grocery cart in between the entrance doors on the south side (school side), Tuesday through Thursday, 9am-3pm. Here is a list of their urgent needs: Canned Fruit, Canned Vegetables, Cereal, Pasta, Pasta Sauce, Peanut Butter and Jelly. February 2021

You can also send a check to the office with “Interfaith Food Pantry” in the memo portion and we will make sure the funds go for this cause.

Prayer Walk Guide – We know many are taking the opportunity to walk or bike when the weather permits. Why not use this time for praying:

Go past a home – pray for health of those inside Go past a school – pray for the children who are at home and the teachers as they try to figure out ways to educate from a distance Go past a hospital – pray for the medical workers and the patients inside Go past a police station – pray for our first responders Go past City Hall – pray for wise decisions Go past a business – pray for those who are unemployed Walk the Green Circle and give thanks for the beauty that surrounds us

Call church people or neighbors – Just a friendly phone call can make someone’s day.

TAKE NOTE If you or a loved one are in the hospital and would like a visit from Pastor Tim or a lay person, please contact the church office at 715/344-3557. If this happens on a weekend, please contact Pastor Tim (262/388-4635). At this time, Pastor Tim will connect with your loved one by phone.

Plover – The Springs Stevens Point – St. Paul’s 2820 Plover Springs Rd 600 Wilshire Blvd Plover, WI 54467 Stevens Point, WI 54481