June 2011
From the Pastor
We all have our favorite scripture passages.
Micah 6: 6-8 is one of my favorites. In this passage we read that the prophet
Micah asks, “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God
on high?” In other words, what does God want from us? What offering can we give to God that will
please God? Micah, knowing the correct
answer to that question, first suggests things we would most likely consider to be great God-gifts, things that
people at that time highly valued: burnt
offerings of calves a year old, thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil,
and one’s first born child. But Micah contends that God doesn’t want any of
those things from us, rather God wants something for us that God values – to do
justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.
Those words from Micah 6:8 help
guide our understanding about what kind of response God is looking for from us.
If we allow them to, those words also help us shape our ministry. Those words from Micah are also the foundational
words for the Presbyterian Health, Education and Welfare Association
(PHEWA). Since it was created by General
Assembly action in 1956, PHEWA has worked to connect Presbyterians who are
passionate about social justice ministries. There are ten networks of PHEWA
which cover a wide range of social justice ministries: disabilities; HIV/AIDS;
community ministries and faith-based organizing; serious mental illness;
reproductive options; specialized pastoral ministries; child advocacy; health
and wholeness; drug, alcohol and other addictions; urban congregational
leaders; and domestic violence. You can
find out more about the justice ministries of PHEWA through the web site http://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/phewa/who-we-are/
. There you will find the interesting
Volume 5
history of the PHEWA - a community of ministries seeking and
voicing God’s shalom, proclaiming the inclusive Gospel of justice and mercy,
sharing in Christ’s work of compassion and love and witnessing the Spirit’s
prophetic activity in church and world.
As I have become more informed
about PHEWA I have a better understanding of how our denomination is responding
to Micah’s admonition to “do justice.”
It has also led me to think more about what our church is doing in terms
of “doing justice.” There is a lot of
truth to the saying - ‘if you want peace, work for justice.’
At another time we’ll take a closer look at
what Micah might have meant when he said that, in addition to doing justice,
God requires us to love kindness and to walk humbly with God.
Blessings,
Rev. Roger
The Deacon on Call for June is Gary Stigler 262-782-5153.
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 (see above) 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.
With the celebration of Pentecost this month, we will be
concluding that part of the liturgical year that centers around the three great
festivals of the church year: Christmas,
Easter, and Pentecost. The Sunday after
Pentecost is designated Trinity Sunday, but beginning on the last Sunday of
this month, we enter Ordinary Time. Let
me be quick to point out that there is nothing “ordinary” about Ordinary
Time: Rather than meaning “common” or
“mundane,” it refers to counting—counted time.
It is intended to translate the Latin term Tempus per annum (‘time through the year”). Beginning this month with the last Sunday of
the month, 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we will proceed through to
November of this year, “counting” through to the 33rd Sunday in
Ordinary Time, right before Christ the King Sunday on November 20. This being the lectionary year for Matthew’s
Gospel, we will experience a semi-continuous reading of Matthew throughout the
summer and fall. Paraments for Ordinary
Time are green, symbolizing the emphasis on this extended season of the church
year: new life and growth. When we think
about this part of the church year, which remember, now, is neither ordinary
nor mundane, we can again agree with D.E.
Saliers, who observed: “To sing
well through the church year is to encounter new aspects of Christ, for the
church year is itself a profound Biblical and Christ-centered treasury.” Along these same lines, Church Year. net tell
us: “Ordinary time does not need to be
‘ordinary,’ and is not meant to mean that somehow we get a break from the
Liturgical Year.” The opposite is true: Ordinary Time celebrates “the mystery of
Christ in all its aspects.”
-Roger Meyer
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.
SUMMER SING
It has
been a longstanding tradition here at Forest Park to assemble a women’s choir and
a men’s choir during the summer. We will
do this again this summer, so mark your calendars:
Men will
rehearse on July 10 and sing on July 17.
Women
will rehearse on August 14 and sing on August 21.
-Roger
Meyer
A big "THANK YOU" to all those you
contributed in the stophungernow campaign. Ten teens will be attending
the New Wilmington Mission Conference in late July along with four adult
chaperones. We will be assembling meals for hungry people around the
world. Our goal was to collect $200 in quarters so that Forest Park could contribute 800 meals to the hunger
effort. The congregation was so generous and open to the idea that we
collected $264.75 which translates to 1,046 meals!!!! Thank
you for supporting the teens and the efforts they will be making to end world
hunger in our lifetime.
PLAY &
LEARN
The 2010-2011 school year ends on Thursday,
May 26th. The children and staff have had a wonderful year
with lots of learning and growing taking place in our classroom. Thank
you for providing us with such a nice facility.
The final field trip of the year was held on
Wednesday, May 11th. The students, staff and many parents went
on a visit to Green Meadows Farm in Waterford. This is always a great experience for
the children and their parents, and everyone had a good time. Even the
weather cooperated –the rain held off and we had a beautiful, warm morning.
Our final theme for this year was “Wonderful
Me”. Our classroom activities focused on the five senses and the
wonderful things the children can do. This was a perfect ending for the
school year!
Preschool and Extended Care enrollment for
September is currently in progress. If you have an interest in enrolling
a child in our program, call us at 262-786-5818 for information or visit the
website at
www.playnlearnpreschool.org. If you know
of someone else who may be interested, please pass this information on to them.
Loaves and Fishes
Come and join us on
Sunday July 3rd as we not only celebrate our independence, but also renew our
commitment to help our brothers and sisters who want a little companionship or
need a little help. We'll leave church at noon on July 3rd and, usually get back between 4
and 4:30 (the
more help we have, the sooner we get back!). If you have any questions,
please see Lee Tan.
The Mission Committee
Beach Party VBS - Surfin' Through the Scriptures - August 8th-12th, 9-12
Surf's Up and we are getting
ready to hit the beach at our summer VBS adventure! Plan to join us for
the Beach Party VBS - Surfin' Through the Scriptures, August 8th-12th from 9-12
each day. We will be learning Beach Be-Attitudes: Be Obedient, Be Kind,
Be Forgiving, Be Bold and BElieve. We invite all kids and their
friends, grades 4K-6th grade, to join us for some summer beach fun.
Registration for students is $15 per child or $35 for a family of 3. A
great deal for all of the fun and excitement we will have during the
week! We are also looking for help from hands of any age as we set up,
decorate and teach. Please talk to Heidi Todd or Kristen Tan if you are
willing to help in any way! Registration materials are now available.
Your Scrip Profits at Work!!!!
Forest Park's Mission Committee has decided to
match the funds generated
from the Easter Morning Breakfast! As a result, an additional $90 will be
donated
to One Great Hour of Sharing. Thanks to all those who participate in the Scrip
Program. Orders for Scrip are taken on the first Sunday of the month. You
can also call Debbie Haag to place an order if you aren't able to attend
services on Scrip Sundays.
Sunday Flowers
Please consider signing up to
sponsor Sunday Flowers, especially in the summer months. There are many
spaces available. Flowers are $30 a week. Please be advised that
the order is placed a month at a time, so please be sure to sign up well in
advance.
VBS Supplies
We are looking for the following
basic supplies for our VBS week. If you can donate or loan any of the
items below, please let Heidi & Kristen know. More items will be
added in future lists. Please be sure to label any items you would like
returned to you. Thanks in advance for your help!
Surf Board
Beach umbrellas
Sand toys
Hawaiian shirts
Shells (all shapes and sizes)
Pink Flamingos
Life jackets
Flip flops
driftwood
Life ring
Toy pails/shovels
Tiki Torches (no fuel)
Packs of Construction paper (large size)
Poster board
Crayola Markers
Masking Tape
Scotch Tape
Colored Pencils
ANGEL
TREE BACKPACKS
Once
again we are asking for help to fill backpacks with back to school items for
the Angel Tree children we had at Christmas.
We have 27 backpacks to fill.
Watch in June for information about items to purchase to fill the backpacks. We could use help delivering the
backpacks. Let Jodi Godsell 262-895-7609
or Karen Zobel 262-786-4225 know if you can help.
Thank you
in advance for your help.
Summer Dates
June 17,
2011 - Bonefish
Grill
18365 W. Bluemound Road
July 15,
2011 - Parkside 23
2300 N Pilgrim Square Drive
August 19th -Brookfield Family
Restaurant
18000 W. Bluemound Road
Let’s meet at the restaurant at 10:00.
Please sign up in the narthex
GREENFIELD AVENUE PRES.
STRAWBERRY
FEST
JUNE 19, 2011
11:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
You are invited to Greenfield Avenue’s Strawberry Fest. It is a good old fashioned “Ice Cream Social”
with huge strawberry shortcakes and sundaes, hot dogs, pizza, soda, games for
the kids, lots of music and other entertainment, all held on the front lawn of
the church, at 1455 S. 97th Street in West Allis. Come
join the fun!
JUNE BIRTHDAYS
6/2 Howard Gleisner
6/2 Rebecca Reuteler
6/8 Maureen Wise
6/9 Heidi Todd
6/10 Sheryl Dolan
6/11 Louise Hennum
6/25 Paul Piering
6/27 Sally Daugherty
6/27 Linda Koszuta
6/27 Kathryn Giles
Saturday, June 18, 2011
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
□ SPOTS ARE STILL AVAILABLED FOR RENTERS/VENDORS – Information and applications are available on
our website at www.forestparkpcusa.org Remember vendors can sell: rummage,
collections, crafts, services, plants - anything – that is within a
family theme.
□ BRING
YOUR DONATIONS for the church rummage and craft sale to the stage starting
Memorial Day weekend. While we will
accept items up until noon on Friday,
June 17th we would greatly appreciate it if you
could bring the majority of your items to the church by Sunday, June 12th. PLEASE NO CLOTHES or TV’s If you have any questions about what to
donate, or if you need help getting items to church, please give Sam or me a
call.
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If
you are willing to participate in the bake sale, please give Karen Zobel a
call at 262-786-4225. Our bakery
sales really add to our success! Karen will be out of town the sale weekend
so we are still looking for some volunteers to price and organize these
items the day of the sale!
Bake sale profits will go with the Forest
Park group to the New Wilmington Conference to
support their meal program effort
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□ Help for pricing/organizing
rummage/crafts as well as extra hands throughout the day of sale. Note: we will not turn down ANY amount of
time you can share with us!
□ Or simply stop in and join us the day
of the sale, shop, enjoy lunch by our Youth Group (profits help support their
New Wilmington Mission Trip expenses) and enjoy the music of Rick Pomeroy from
11::00 to noon.
Thanks
in advance for your participation, support, and well wishes for a successful
day!
Sam
and Sheryl Dolan (414-329-9688)
Time and Talent Stewardship
Stewardship is faithfully using whatever God gives us for His
glory. When the topic of stewardship comes
up, most people think of only money.
But, it includes every area of life.
In May, flower seed packets were handed out to each family with the
charge of planting and nurturing your seeds and delighting in the blossoms and
flowers that result. In the same way, we
are asking everyone in the Forest Park
family to sow seeds of stewardship by faithfully and cheerfully giving of your
unique talents and time to share in the mission and responsibilities of growing
our church into as active and vibrant of a community as it possibly can be.
This summer there are some opportunities for you to give of
your time and talents . We are listing
several of them for you now, along with whom to contact for more information or
to sign-up. As other opportunities
arise, we will make you aware of them. If you have ideas for other areas
for volunteering, feel free to make them known.
Renew/Repurpose – June 18: Many workers are needed to help make the day
a big success. There are things to do
before the day, on June 18 and after.
Please contact Sheryl or Sam Dolan (414-329-9688) to find out what you
can do. If you can bake for the bake
sale, please let Karen Zobel know. (262-786-4225)
Ushers and Liturgists:
If you are able to do either one (or both) of these, please contact
Maureen Wise (262-695-4947) Assignments
are on a rotating basis and are flexible according to your schedule. It's a
great way to meet members and guests while serving an important role for our
church.
Summer singers and musicians: Every summer our wonderful choir gets to take
a break, allowing for soloists and small
groups to fill the music roles. If you
can provide any music service this summer, please contact our music director,
Roger Meyer (262-785-9484)
Care for the outdoor
flowers: The front of our church
looks great; flowers are planted and thriving.
But, in order to keep everything looking beautiful, volunteers are
needed to water and weed, as well as trimming.
This can be done according to your schedule and even if you can only
help out once, it would be very appreciated.
Please contact Sue Mihelich (262-784-0437)
Vacation
Bible School: This will be happening Aug. 8 – 12.
It is a wonderful week for children from Forest
Park and our community. As you can imagine, there is much work involved
in planning and facilitating Vacation
Bible School. Help is needed before and during the
week. There are a variety of things that
need to be done, so whatever your talents are, Heidi and Kristen can find a
place for you.
Contact either Heidi Todd (414-235-4298)
or Kristen Tan (262-797-8278)
Kitchen work: If you haven't found a thing to do in the
list so far, how about getting a few people together and thoroughly cleaning
the downstairs kitchen? One of the
things that could be done is taking everything out of the cupboards and
cleaning them. Don Larsen is the contact
for Building and Grounds work (262-782-7667)
Bell
Ringers: The bell choir needs
several more ringers to begin this fall.
Please contact Kristen Tan (262-797-8278) for more info.
In August, we will be asking you
to bring in some of the flowers that resulted from the seeds you received. May your stewardship of your time and talents
also grow this summer.
ASSISTING IN WORSHIP
If you
cannot serve on your assigned date, please arrange a substitute and notify the
church office.
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5/1
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6/5
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6/12
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6/19
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6/26
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Liturgist
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Caitlyn Marr
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Jim Gillespie
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Mike Washic
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CarolAnne Bozosi
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Head Usher
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Mike Marr
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Ron Reuteler
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Gary Stigler
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Mike Marr
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Ushers
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Sue Hoover
Pat Janecek
Mike Bellek
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Cindy Barbieri
Linda Koszuta
Art Reimer
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Cindy Stigler
Bob Wall
Sue Mihelich
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Billy Prom
Gordon & Marne Willey
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Hospitality
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Godsell
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Reuteler
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Daylight Drivers
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Helpful Hannahs
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