December 2011/January 2012
From the Pastor
Tis the season of Advent.
A new church year has begun.
During Advent, Christians and Churches prepare for God’s coming. Then,
within the span of 3 ½ months, the church celebrates Jesus’ birth, baptism,
teachings, death and resurrection. For the rest of the year (8 ½ months) our
focus during worship, through the Sunday scripture readings, is upon
discipleship. We study and review what following the way of Christ means and
entails.
Since a new
liturgical year has just begun and soon to follow, the beginning of a new
secular year, it is a perfect time for us to take our annual “spiritual” exam,
to check in with ourselves to see how we’re doing “faith wise”? One of my November sermons dealt with
Matthew 25:1-13, Jesus’ parable of the
wise and foolish maidens. The distinction made between being either a wise or a
foolish bridesmaid was based upon whether or not the maiden had an adequate
supply of oil to keep her lamp shining through the darkness of night –even when
that darkness was longer than expected. The parable raises the question for
us: do we have an ample supply of faith
(faith that is deep enough) to take us through whatever dark night we encounter?
If, after checking our “spiritual” oil level, it is evident
that extra oil is called for, how might we go about securing some? Our faith can grow and deepen as we engage in
the traditional disciplines of the church. Women and men have been doing these
things for thousands of years and have found growth, and challenge, and
nurture, and strength in each of them.
The traditional disciplines of the church include: prayer (throughout the week pray the prayer
of confession in the Sunday bulletin); spiritual reading (the Bible and
Volume 10
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On-Going
Events at Forest
Park
Play & Learn
Monday 9:00-12:00 p.m.
Tuesday 9:00-11:30 a.m.
Wednesday 9:00-12:00 p.m.
Thursday 9:00-11:30 a.m.;
12:00 p.m-3:00 p.m.
4th Monday – Health Department
Immunization Clinic 3:30-6:30 p.m.
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great works written by people of faith); finding or making
spiritual friends with whom you can talk about the important questions of your
lives, and talk about how God’s spirit is moving in your lives; finding ways to
help other people; make a commitment to worship God on Sundays surrounded by
your sisters and brothers In Christ (through your presence you have something
to give God and others – not only something to “get” out of worship); find someone to bring to church with you on a regular basis – volunteer to give
someone a ride to church (when was the last time you invited someone to come to
worship at Forest Park Church?);
volunteer to help out in the Sunday school, volunteer to lead a Bible
study – or let it be known that you would like a study group to be formed and
would commit to participate in it;
join one of the committees that
shapes the life of our church life (mission, Christian education, worship &
music, stewardship, finance, parish life, building and grounds). If you’re
serious about increasing your “oil supply” (faith), don’t sit back and wait for
someone to ask you to do something or take part in something, instead tell
someone you want to -- be a liturgist, help organize youth events, join the
choir or handbell choir, help with Vacation Bible School, knit prayer shawls,
help with cleaning, go to the next New Wilmington Mission Conference, attend a
study group. If the enjoyment or
building up of community is for you, come to the church on Wednesday evenings
and be a part of the Craft and Social group, come to the ‘Hanging of the
Greens’…, help take down the ‘Greens’…. volunteer to help with our bazaars/rummage
sales/repurpose events that support our mission ministries ….and support those
events by attending them. Looking to
prevent “dry-wick” by adding oil to your lamp – I suggest that you review, fill
out and return a “Time and Talent Inventory” that is available at the church
(and if you prefer one be mailed to you, we will be happy to do that).
The truth is that no one can give us their faith, or faith
in general – we have to do the work to gather, deepen, and accrue it, mostly by
ourselves. And a second truth is that it
is very difficult to try to put oil into your lamp at the midnight hour. The time to start is NOW…. because you never
know when you’re going to be in an oil crisis – and really need it.
Wishing for you a joyous Christmas & an oil producing
new year!
Rev. Roger
If you know or hear of a prayer need and would like to have
one started on the prayer chain, notify the Deacon on Call for the month to
initiate your request. If you cannot
reach that Deacon, call the Church Office and speak to Pam, or leave a message
on the answering machine to be retrieved by her or Roger.
The Deacon on call for December is
Cindy Prom 414-587-8242 and January is Sue Mihelich 262-784-0437.
Remember our members at home in our prayers and expressions
of concern
Elizabeth Joye Todd
Jim Feldhusen
Bill Haynes
John Ellingen
Ginny Kring
Mary Delwiche
If you know of someone who should be added to this list,
please notify the church office.
As we approach the month of December, our thoughts turn
naturally toward Christmas. But as we
have three whole Sundays yet this month in Advent, it might be good to think a
little about this wonderful season of the church year. In just four Sundays, Advent takes us from
the end of the old church year through to Christmas. How it does that is most interesting, and the
pattern is the same for all three years of the lectionary. Christ the King Sunday, with its emphasis on
Christ’s Second Coming, ends the church year.
The first Sunday in Advent continues this theme of the Second
Coming. Then, with the Second Sunday in
Advent, we turn back in time to Christ’s first coming as we move into a
consideration of the ministry of John the Baptist. This year the Second and Third Sundays of
Advent are about John the Baptist’s ministry.
First we will hear Mark’s account, and the choir will sing Rowan’s
“Prepare Ye the Way”; then John’s account (see John 1:6-8; 19-28, the Gospel
reading for the Third Sunday in Advent).
Finally, we have the Fourth Sunday in Advent, and we have almost made
our way to Christmas, and as is always the case in these last Sundays in
Advent, the emphasis turns to Mary. This
year the Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday is about her (see Luke 1:26-38, the appointed Gospel for this year’s
Fourth Sunday), and as always happens in Advent, Mary’s song, the
Magnificat, replaces the usual Psalm
reading (see Luke 1:46b-55). If Advent
means “coming,” and we have considered
Jesus’ first and second coming, the third “coming” is into our hearts at
Christmas, and I believe that this coming is forcefully brought forward in our
joining with Mary in her anticipation of her son’s birth, both through her song
and her experience as presented in Luke’s Gospel.
-Roger Meyer
CHRISTMAS EVE PRELUDE!
COME EARLY . . .
to our Christmas Eve service and
hear some wonderful piano settings of your favorite Christmas carols.
"O Holy Night," "O
Little Town of Bethlehem," "What Child is This"
and many more.
Music will start a half hour before the service.
You are welcome to come and enjoy
the entire presentation, or anytime you are able.
DECEMBER & JANUARY BIRTHDAYS
12/2 Emma Schumitsch
12/6 Mike Marr
12/9 Kathryn Quandt
12/17 Casey Smith
12/21 Diane Schumitsch
12/24 Lara Krogmann
12/25 Mary Godsell
12/25 Chelsey Loberg
12/26 Lois Fitzgerald
12/26 Steve Dolan
12/26 Dustin Stigler
12/28 Wendy Bennewitz
12/28 Rick Pierson
1/2 Walt Piering
1/2 Jim Pomeroy
1/3 Laura Kling
1/4 Alexandra Quandt
1/6 Mary Delwiche
1/7 Debbie Haag
1/11 Garrett Pomeroy
1/11 Elizabeth Todd
1/15 Corey Prom
1/20 Mary Ann Boliaris
1/20 Tracey Pomeroy
1/22 Carole Luecker
1/22 Betty Marr
1/23 Penny Pomeroy
1/26 Glenn Hennum
1/27 Barb Neymeyr
1/28 Scott Marr
1/30 Marilyn Puzach
1/30 Don Otte
The Play and Learn Preschool and Extended Care enrolment is
on-going. If you would like to find out more information or have a tour, please
call us at 262-786-5818. Or visit the
web site at www.playnlearnpreschool.org. Also, if you know of someone who may be
interested, please pass this information to them.
We also have our new extended care/child care opened to
all. If you haven’t already taken a
“peek” downstairs to see how we have transformed Fellowship Hall into a warm,
clean and inviting center for our children, please do so. Denise Platzer is our child care teacher who
is a warm and caring person with many wonderful, creative activities for your
children. If it’s for a daily schedule
or just for scheduled drop-offs, we can be there for you!! Please call 262-786-5818 for more
information.
Our final theme for 2011 is DECEMBER HOLIDAYS. Along with our own activities, we also offer
to the parents the opportunity to share their special celebration/custom that
is important to their family heritage with the children. The children are also working very hard on
their Christmas programs. The 4 year old program and cookie exchange will be on
Wednesday, December 21st at 11:15
and the 3 year old program and cookie exchange will be on Thursday December 22nd
at 10:45. The programs will be held in Fellowship
Hall. Everyone is welcome to join us in the delight of watching and listening to the little ones
during this special time of year!!
Again. BIG thank you
to all of you who ordered from the Butter Braid fund raiser ~ it was a HUGE
success! With our combined efforts, we
made close to $800.00 in profit!
Classes resume on January
6th, 2012. Our
new theme will be WINTER/
HIBERNATION. We will focus on
winter weather, winter clothes, hibernation and maybe an outdoor snow play day!!!
Kay Von Rueden, Play and Learn Director
DAYLIGHT DRIVERS
SILVER SPUR TEXAS
13275 WATERTOWN PLANK RD
DECEMBER
16, 2011
The
Daylight Drivers will be returning to an old favorite, the Silver Spur Texas
restaurant, in nearby Elm Grove. They are well known for their Texas style ribs and barbecue sauce. We
will meet at the restaurant on December 16th at 12:00 for this last gathering of the
year. Please sign up in the narthex.
INNOVATION RESTAURANT
10499 1NNOVATION DRIVE
JANUARY 20,
2012
New Year,
new restaurant for the Daylight Drivers! It is located in the Crowne Plaza, Milwaukee West Motel at the corner
of Highway 100 and Watertown Plank Rd. None of the Drivers have been there
yet but some have heard good things about it. So sign up in the narthex and
let’s try it out together at 12:00 on January 20th.
Forest Park Crafting
& Social Society
Season's Greetings to All,
Forest
Park started a crafting & social evening every
Wednesday in September and those who have been attending are enjoying the
sharing of crafting ideas and the social interaction. It has become a great way to get to know each
other better.
The Holidays are
upon us and with their arrival comes the frantic activities of preparation
including: shopping, traveling, parties, cooking, and baking. With that in
mind, the C&SS will not be meeting on December 21st or December 28th.
In 2012, we will
return to our weekly get-togethers beginning January 4th. I hope to see the regulars return and to see
new faces as well. I encourage the members of Forest Park
to come together for evenings of crafting and socializing. It will be a great
way to help get through the long and chilly winter ahead.
Bring your own
current crafting projects, bring a friend, and bring your ideas on how and what
can be made year round for the benefit of various Church missions.
We meet every
Wednesday from 6:30 to 9pm in the hospitality room. Attendance is not
mandatory on a weekly basis so join us as often as you wish.
This is a great
opportunity for members to get to know one another and to help our community at
the same time.
I look forward to
seeing you on Wednesday nights.
Enjoy a safe and
joyous Holiday Season,
Kathy Hahn
414-453-2294
Children's Christmas
Pageant:
The Light Before
Christmas,
Sunday, Dec. 18th at 9:30 AM.
Come one and all to our Pageant on Sunday, December 19th during morning
worship. The program this year is "The Light Before
Christmas" and will feature all of our Sunday School students. On
that Sunday we will be holding our service downstairs in the fellowship
hall. The kids are really looking forward to sharing our pageant
with you. Hope to see everyone there!
CHRISTMAS ANGEL TREE 2011
This year we have about 25 children.
Each child receives 2 gifts – one fun gift and one of clothing. The gifts are given in honor of the parent in
prison. We also give each caregiver a gift to show they are appreciated. Almost
all the angels are gone. Wow! A few
angels are still available. Please see
Karen Zobel, or Cindy Barbieri if you have any questions or are interested in
sponsoring an angel. Gifts should be
returned to Church by December 4th.
Anyone interested in helping wrap gifts is welcome on December 16h
at 9:15am, it's lots of fun!
Thanks to all participating in the Angel Tree program.
Karen Zobel
Angel Tree Coordinator.
Christmas Cookie Sale
Sunday, December 11th
Sponsored by the Helpful Hannahs
Bakers: Please
bring your homemade
Christmas cookies to the Church kitchen
by Saturday, December 10th, before
11am.
The Hannahs will package them
on plates of assorted cookies, to sell the
next morning. Let me know if you need
help getting your Christmas treats to
Church.
Non-bakers:
Please plan to participate----as shoppers!!
Don’t forget to
mark your calendars – we
need your help to
make this a successful event
Questions? Call Cindy Barbieri
262-782-6862
A Healthy Congregation
During this up-coming flu season we would like to avoid passing viruses
to fellow congregation members. Please be considerate of others if you
are not feeling well by following these basic guidelines:
-When greeting others or during passing of the peace, simply smile and say
hello, without a hug or a handshake if you prefer.
-Wash hands or use hand sanitizer to avoid spreading germs. (Hand
sanitizer will be available at the usher’s table and in the hospitality room.)
-If you are not well, especially with a fever of 100+, please stay home to get
your rest.
Let's strive to maintain a healthy congregation in the coming season.
The Hannah's were able to deliver 30 gift bags to the
Women's Center in Waukesha. The
donations of personal care items that we collect throughout the year were
sorted and the bags were filled to the top!
The center is so very appreciative! Our collection basket is in the narthex,
we've already started collecting for next year!
Thank you
The Helpful Hannah's
Forest Park Sunday School
updates:
The children and youth will remain
in church during worship instead of attending Sunday school on the following
dates:
* On Sunday, November 27, 2011 - Thanksgiving weekend the children and youth will remain
in church to celebrate the First Sunday in Advent in worship with their
families.
There will be pageant practice after worship with Mrs. Tan that Sunday
from 10:45 -
12:00.
* On Sunday, December 18, 2011, the children and youth will participate as the pageant
will be presented during worship at the 9:30 a.m.
service.
* On Sunday, December 25, 2011 -
Christmas Day and on Sunday, January 1, 2012 - New Years Day the children and
youth will worship with their families.
Youth group activities
Please mark your calendars for December 2nd and 18th and January 6th.
The children and youth are very
busy in November and December preparing and
practicing the Christmas pageant.
They will share their performance
of
"The Light Before Christmas” with the
congregation during worship on Sunday, December 18th.
Children and youth will join with other members at Forest Park on Friday, December 2nd at 6 p.m. to participate in the Hanging of the Greens.
Children and youth are also invited to join in the Epiphany Party on
Friday, January 6th at 6 p.m. to
remove the holiday decorations.
Can't decide what
gift to get?
Get a gift card! When you order your gift card through the
Scrip program, you get the full value of the card but a portion of the money
stays with the church and helps to support the mission work of the
congregation. We will be collecting orders December 4th for distribution
December 11th. If you can't make it to church on the 4th and would like
to place an order, or for any other questions, please contact Kathy Hahn or Lee
Tan.
Memory Walk
Pavers
The pavers
for the Memory Walk are an on-going fund raiser to help retire the New Look
mortgage. The cost of the granite paver with engraving is $100 dollars out of
which we pay the company that provides the paver and engraving $19.80. This
continues to be a popular way to have a space of your own on the Memory Walk
and to help pay down the New Look mortgage. Applications are available in the
Office.
COMING IN
JANUARY
LUNCH BUNCH
SUNDAYS!!!!
Our first date will be either January 22nd or 29th
(this is to accommodate our diehard football fans as we await the playoff
details). Lunch Bunch Sundays will be
held after coffee hour and are to simply provide us the opportunity to mingle
and enjoy lunch together. So as we wait
to see who’s on first (oops, sorry that is baseball) start thinking about your
favorite soup as our first Lunch Bunch will be “SOUPED UP SUNDAY!” Bring a
crock pot of your favorite soup to share - beverages and bread will be
provided. Dessert donations welcome! The
date and a sign up sheet will be posted on the Parish Life Bulletin Board and
announced ASAP! Go Pack Go!
Holiday Script
The Holidays are upon us & that frantic search for the
perfect gift is in full swing. Why not
look into the Script program for the help you need to make the Holidays easier
& more joyous.
Here are some suggestions to prepare our homes, families,
meals & ourselves:
-
Retail store cards for the decorations &
gift wrap
-
Great Clips & Super Cuts cards for those
festive pictures
-
Grocery cards to give us all a hand with the Holiday
menus
-
Gasoline cards will keep our vehicles going as
we gather our supplies & travel to see friends & family
Gift list suggestions:
-
Do-It-Yourselfer… building supply store
cards stuffed into a new pair of work gloves
-
College Student far from home…fast food
& pizza cards inserted into a new wallet or purse
-
Super Shopper…one of the many department
store gift cards wrapped up with a reusable shopping tote.
-
Crafter … Michaels or Jo-Ann Fabrics
cards attached to a new crafting magazine
-
Bookworm… Barnes & Nobles card with a
fun book bag.
-
Teenager…movie theatre, fast food, &
trendy Mall store cards wrapped up with the new socks & underwear they get
every year
-
Computer/Techno Geek…electronics &
office supply store cards tucked into a new pocket protector.
-
Outdoorsman/woman…sporting good store
cards snuggled into a warm pair of gloves
-
Golden-Agers who need a little extra help
…drugstore & grocery cards included in a personally picked out Holiday
card that lets them know how special they are
Then after the hustle & bustle of the Holidays are past,
how about treating yourself to some of the many restaurant cards offered
through the program.
Script orders are taken every first Sunday of the month
& the cards are available for pick up the following Sunday. Each gift card is associated with a monetary
percentage which goes to the Church for its Mission Programs. You get the full card value plus the Church
gets an extra gift.
And that makes for a very Joyous Holiday indeed!!
May you all enjoy a very safe & Blessed Holiday
Season,
Kathy Hahn
The Todd’s new
address is:
801
Ashwood Drive
Venetia,
PA 15367
