The Link Newsletter April, 2018
PEOPLE'S CHURCH WORSHIP SCHEDULE
SATURDAY 5:00PM – Traditional Worship Service SUNDAY 9:00AM – Blended Worship Service SUNDAY 10:30AM – Blended Worship Service
Sunday School is at 9:15am The Nursery is available from 8:45am – 11:45am
Love God. Love People. Show it.
Easter Sunday Worship April 1st at 9:00 & 10:30 a.m.: We will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ with song and bells. Pastor Jason’s message will focus on what difference a rock can make in our lives.
Immigrant Welcoming Congregation Workshop: Sunday, April 8th at 4 pm: The day of mono-cultural, mostly homogenous congregations is fast passing away. The fastest growing demographic groups across Wisconsin are racial/ethnic minority immigrants and their children. Wisconsin is fast-becoming an international state, though many of our established congregations do not reflect this change. Becoming an Immigrant Welcoming Congregation examines the opportunities, challenges, and potential for inter- cultural, multi-cultural, and inter-generational mission and ministry. Dan Dick, assistant to the bishop, will present on these topics: language issues, cultural complexity and competency, 1st/2nd/3rd+ generation expectations and needs, and countering unacknowledged racism. We will also offer a planning process for advocacy, organizing, welcoming, and outreaching with immigrant populations.
SPIRITUAL CARE AND DEVELOPMENT
First Monday: First Monday will be held on the SECOND Monday (April 9) this month due to Easter Monday. Pastor Jason will take us on a tour of the Holy Land as he shared some of his experiences from his recent trip there with the Wisconsin Conference.
First Mondays is a gathering of folks aged 50+ who meet for fellowship and fun on the first Monday of each month, 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. We meet in the Great Room at PUMC for a potluck lunch followed by the program. Bring a friend and a dish to pass. If you have questions about First Monday, please contact Pastor Kate, [email protected].
Mini-Growth Group Season: Starting at the end of April, we will have a 4-week mini-Growth Group season to follow up on some of the great events we have been engaged with over the past several months. This is also a great way to “try out” a Growth Group if you’ve been curious but not sure you wanted to commit to a longer group!
Green Living Growth Group: Go deeper into issues of climate change, Earth care, and how to live out our faith everyday through wise stewardship of our resources. Led by Alan Capelle and Mary Malone. Monday Evenings 6:30-7:30, April 30, May 7, 14, and 21.
“Waking Up White” Growth Group: This group will go through the memoir Waking Up White And Finding Myself in the Story of Race, by Debbie Irving. Irving “works with other white people to transform confusion into curiosity and anxiety into action.” Led by Pastor Jason Mahnke, Karin Davidson, and Jenna Jacobson. Days and time TBD.
Please look for sign-ups starting April 8th. If you have any questions regarding Growth Groups, please contact Pastor Kate, [email protected].
Reflection from Pastor of Spiritual Care and Development: In March I wrote a post for our Practice@People’s blog about a prayer practice that helps us slow down, take a break, and pray using the senses that God has created for us to enjoy. This is an especially good time of year to do this kind of prayer practice, as it helps us appreciate the small changes of Spring that begin to burst out all around. If you missed the post, here it is again!
“Stroll for your Soul” (adapted from Praying in the Messiness of Life, by Linda Douty)
This is a contemplative prayer practice that invites attention to the details of God’s creation. This can be done anywhere—a garden, around your neighborhood, in the Lerner Conservation Park, even around the grounds of your workplace.
As you begin your stroll, pause for a moment to offer your intention to God.
Gracious God, I offer this stroll to you. Open my senses to receive your presence.
Walk slowly in your chosen environment, noticing how it feels to move your body. After a few moments, take time to focus using your different senses:
Hear: For a few minutes, turn your attention to what you hear—the wind, birds chirping, the sound of your footsteps, etc.
Touch: Next, focus your attention on touch. Run your fingers along a tree branch, stoop down and touch the grass, poke your finger in the mud, etc.
Smell: Next, shift your attention to what you can smell. Breath deeply and become aware of the variety of smells that surround you.
See: Seeing is normally our dominant sense. Take a moment to focus on what you perceive around you. Notice the small variations in buds on trees, look for hidden sprouts, colors of the sky, etc.
Taste: Open your mouth and see if you can detect the taste of the air around you.
To close, offer a word of gratitude:
Thank you for the beauty of creation. May I remain open to your presence today and always.
A few hints:
• Try starting with a 10-minute stroll. You might try to take 2 minutes for each sense, working up into a longer prayerful stroll as you become more comfortable with the process. • Don’t be surprised if it is hard at first to stay focused on whatever sense you’re using. In our busy world, we don’t often take the time to remain focused on one thing! It is not uncommon to have thoughts, worries, and to-do lists interrupt while you’re trying to pray in this way. If this kind of thought comes across your mind, just acknowledge its presence and let it float away as your return your attention to the sense you are experiencing. • This kind of prayer works very well for individuals who feel overwhelmed by words, work long hours at a desk or looking at a computer screen, or learn best through hands-on experiences. • Give this prayer a try in different settings and see how it feels. Customize the prayer of intention and prayer of gratitude to fit with whatever setting you are in, or whatever you bring on your heart into prayer that day.
Grace and peace, Kate Sweet Pastor of Spiritual Care & Development
CHRISTIAN LIVING AND OUTREACH
Three Gaits, Inc. is the April Mission of the Month. Located in Stoughton, Wisconsin, Three Gaits, Inc., is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization whose mission is to provide equine-assisted activities and therapies that enhance the lives of people with physical, emotional, or intellectual challenges.
Three Gaits strives to serve all interested individuals within Dane County Wisconsin and the surrounding area.
Three Gaits, Inc. has many opportunities to volunteer. Check out these opportunities at http://www.3gaits.org/volunteer.htm.
For information on other ways to support the program, go to http://www.3gaits.org/donate.htm.
Youth Group for Middle and High School Students – led by Pastor Jason
Meets at 6:00pm on the First and Third Wednesdays of the month. The youth room is open and available for youth to use on all other Wednesdays during the school year.
Family & Children’s Ministries: MOSES: Our next rotation is the story of Moses. We will begin on April 8 with workshops including music & games, science, legos and art. We will end our rotation with Family Worship on May 13th! Our last day of rotational Sunday School will be May 20th. We will take a break from Sunday School on Memorial weekend (May 27th) and then our Cinema Summer Sunday School begins on June 3rd (more info soon)!
Mark your calendars: *Children’s Ministry Appreciation Sunday! May 13th during the 9AM or 10:30 service. If you have served in Children’s Ministry this school year, you are invited to be recognized for your important service.
*Confirmation Sunday - May 20th - Students will lead both services and be confirmed at the 10:30 service.
*High School Graduate Recognition Sunday - June 3rd - Brunch for graduates & their families and then recognition during 10:30 service. (Official invites will be sent in early May.)
How do I Explain Easter to My Children (or Grandchildren)? A good starting point is to realize that Easter is bigger than any of us ever fully understand so we do not have to know all the answers. No one ever does. Easter is new life, an empty tomb, forgiveness, resurrection, and more. That is not something to understand. It is a reality we have to grow into. The truth is that we understand different aspects of Easter better at different times of our lives.
Adults respond enthusiastically to the Easter claim and promise of victory over death because adults understand the finality of death and fear death. Children, however, have a hard time grasping the reality, especially the finality, of death. Even after attending Grandpa’s funeral, a young child will often ask, at unexpected times, when Grandpa will be visiting. This natural inability to grasp the finality of death is supported by fairy tale princesses who awake after “sleeping” for years and cartoon characters who, flattened by steamrollers, peel themselves off the road. Given all this, it’s not surprising that children can’t get too excited by victory over death.
Many books and people try to get around this by focusing on new life, paying attention to eggs, bulbs, and butterflies as new life symbols. While children are vaguely interested in these symbols, “new life” strikes few of them (for whom all of life is “new”) as particularly significant or exciting.
Instead, for younger children, the empty tomb is the ultimate victory of the good guys (God/Jesus) over the bad guys (Judas, the priests, Pilate, the soldiers). On Good Friday the bad guys thought they had won. They killed Jesus and sealed his body into a guarded tomb. On Easter morning God/Jesus blasted right out of that tomb and proved once and for all that God is more powerful than even the worst evil the worst bad guys can inflict. The natural response to such a victory is to yell “Hooray for God & Jesus!” and to celebrate belonging to God who is the most powerful power there is in the universe!
To older elementary children, who are focused on friendships and have clear expectations of “best friends”, the most significant resurrection story is the story of Peter’s breakfast conversation with Jesus (see John 21:1-19). Peter had been Jesus’ best friend. He had promised to stick with Jesus no matter what. And he had been caught three times on the same night pretending he did not even know Jesus. As a betrayed “best friend,” Jesus would have been justified in ignoring or punishing Peter for his denials. But Jesus did not. For Peter, the resurrection happened when Jesus forgave him, welcomed him back as a friend, and put him to work building God’s Kingdom. For older children, Easter holds the promise that Jesus will forgive them and welcome them back when/if they betray their friendship with him. Such Easter forgiveness is worth celebrating!
And remember the starting point-Easter is bigger than we can understand. We don’t have to know all the answers. We probably do most harm when we fail to talk with our children about our Easter faith out of fear that we will not get it right. This Easter season our congregation especially invites children and their families to start the conversation.
*From Sharing the Easter Faith with Children by Carolyn C. Brown. 2005 by Abingdon Press. Reproduced by permission.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT SUPPER Supper is served from 5:00 - 6:30 pm. All suppers are a free-will offering. Supper is served every Wednesday that the Oregon Schools are in session between September and May. Volunteers are always welcome, so stop by the kitchen if you would like more information.
Upcoming Meals: April 4th – Tater Tot Casserole April 11th – Turkey Feast April 18th – Ham & Roasted Potatoes April 25th – Taco Bar
OREGON FOOD PANTRY The Oregon Area Food Pantry will be open on April 26th from 3 – 7pm. Donations are accepted at church, items can be placed in the cabinet located next to the office door. Volunteers are always needed to help with stocking and distributing food. People’s Church runs the Food Pantry every 5th month, but people can help in whatever month best fits their schedule. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact www.obfp.org.
GIVING From the Wisconsin United Methodist Foundation - Questions for a Money Autobiography, Pt 1 - April 2018
Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. (Galatians 6:7)
From Writing a Money Autobiography by Dan Dick A money autobiography is a reflection process on the role and influence of money and material possessions in our life. It challenges us to explore the past to see how our attitudes, assumptions, and values concerning money and wealth were formed.
Formative Questions: Reflect on these questions relating to how your family treated money when you were growing up: • What is your earliest memory of money? • What is your happiest memory in connection with money? • What is your unhappiest money memory? • What attitudes about money did your parents and other family members have? • Did you feel rich, poor, or neither growing up? Did you worry about money when you were a child? A teenager? • Where did your money come from? (Did you work for it, receive an allowance, have your parents buy you things, etc.?) • Who governed how you related to money – how you spent money, saved money, gave money to charity or church? It is useful to create a money autobiography journal to record your thoughts, reflections, and feelings. Then, you can return to the money autobiography journal months and years afterward.
Jim Wells Wisconsin United Methodist Foundation
GROUP MEETINGS Bell Choir - Bell choir practices every week during the school year on Wednesday nights from 6:00 PM to 7:15 PM. The Bell choir provides music at a service once a month, plus Christmas Eve and Easter services. If interested contact Tricia Suess - [email protected].
Adult Radiance Choir – The choir practices every Wednesday evening from 7:15pm – 8:30pm. Contact Music Director Chuck Philyaw for more information – [email protected].
Aspire Praise Band – practices every Thursday from 6:30 – 8:00pm. The band plays at both Sunday morning services. Contact Music Director Chuck Philyaw for more information – [email protected].
APRIL BIRTHDAYS
1 Uriah Carpenter; Mary Wilson 3 Owen Kramer; Reggie Matzke 4 Liana Case; Diane Newton 5 Olive Andersen; Linda Kuhn; Brian Rudolph 6 Darlene Groenier; Kaelen Jacobson; Andrew Krenz 7 Alli Locy; Robin Talley 9 Greta Andersen; Duane Draper 12 Noah Kienitz; Debbie Moyer; Tessa Williamson; Joan Zuhse 13 Chad Russell 14 Bill Baumgartner; Austin Wachtl 16 Homer Bellus 17 Elena Alfonso Hoffmann; Dempsey Krenz 18 Amanda Kuntzelman 19 Isaac Hawkey 20 Hannah Jacobson 22 Paige Borgmeyer; Katie Jones 23 Abigail Arttus; Joshua Hawkey; Steve Hjort 24 Michele Augustine Clark; Stacey Anderson; Steven Culp; Sean Panzer; Walker Shedivy 25 Mary Schnelle 26 Kylie Jones; Tyler Mavis; Dena Wendlandt; Jahmir Whetstone; Brandon Wiemann 27 Jen Flogel; Deb Gordon; Reese Richardson; Lola Subera; Jan Witzel 29 Raleigh Poole; Nathan Powell; Deborah Tofte 30 Lisa Yeakley
APRIL ANNIVERSARIES
3 Pat & Andy Anderson; Allen & Jen Flogel 4 Rosie & Dave Fiscus 9 Jim & Charlotte Clark 14 James & Darlene Groenier 16 Greg & Mary Schnelle 18 Kevin & Kari Borgmeyer 22 David & Michelle Beauchaine
STAFF LISTINGS, OFFICE HOURS, AND OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION Office Hours: Monday - Thursday 9:00am - 3:00pm
Church Phone: 608-835-3755 Parsonage: 608-291-0825 Church Office Email [email protected] Church Website www.peoplesumc.org
Staff: Pastor Jason Mahnke, x22, [email protected] Pastor of Spiritual Care & Development Kate Sweet, x24, [email protected] Office Manager Sue Koch, x21, [email protected] Family & Children’s Ministries Director Emily Shook, x25, [email protected] Little Angels Early Learning Center Director Katie Grady, x26, [email protected] Christian Living & Outreach Director & Treasurer Kathy Smith, x30, [email protected] Office Assistant &Worship Secretary Meghan Lisowski, ext. 21 [email protected] Worship Arts & Music Director Chuck Philyaw, x23, [email protected] Bell Choir Director Tricia Suess, [email protected] Building Maintenance Matt & Tracy Sundell, [email protected]
Committee Chairs: Church Council Chair Laurie Kelly Board of Trustees Chair Steve Staton Staff Parish Relations Committee Chair Anne Staton Worship Committee Chairs Duane Draper & Robin Talley Finance Committee Chair Ron Schroeder Memorials Committee Chair Connections Team Chair Anne Staton Adult Discipleship Team Chair Pam McIntyre Living Our Faith Missions Chair Family & Children’s Team Chair Daniel Jones