St. Paul’s United Church of Christ
1250 Leonard Point Road Oshkosh, WI 54904
Phone: 920-231-3080 E-Mail:
Web:
APRIL 2015 Tidings
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1
We have had a taste of spring this past week. It got me thinking – What are you looking forward to this spring? Flowers coming up out of the ground, the smell of the earth, the sun shining longer each day, warmer days and nights? Maybe you are looking forward to vacations or Easter egg hunts or baseball or outdoor soccer or the end of school. Maybe each year you look forward to the same thing. I bet whatever it is that you are looking forward to, you have thought about it all winter long. Especially when it was so cold out you hoped for spring to come.
Each spring, we are greeted by the same things – puddles in the streets and on the sidewalks as the snow melts, lots of mud in our yards (and in our homes!), buds on the trees and flowers poking out of the ground (for some of us our allergies kicking in). All winter long the promise of spring is there even if we can’t see it under the ice and snow, even if we can’t feel it because of the cold. We have hope. We know it will come someday! Because it has and it will again. Experience tells us that.
The disciples thought all was lost. Jesus was dead, crucified by the Romans. How could they ever go on without him? Their lives would never be the same. They had given up so much and hoped for so much more, but now he was gone. But just as he had promised them, he returned. Easter morning the tomb was empty and the angel announced that he had risen. He stayed with them for a while and then he left again. This time, they knew that he would always be with them even if they couldn’t see him anymore. Experience told them that Jesus’ promises are true. God’s promises are kept.
The Resurrection offers us many gifts,one of them being the gift of hope. Even in those cold, dark days of winter we know that spring is coming. Even in those dark times in our lives when nothing seems to be going right – when jobs are lost, relationships end, illness comes, depression overwhelms us – we know that God is there with us guiding us through. We have hope that new life is possible because of the Resurrection, because God’s promises are true. Sometimes the world seems like a hopeless place, but we who follow Jesus know that isn’t true. Resurrection offers us the gift of hope and the means to move forward in spite of our circumstances.
I am looking forward to getting outside, smelling the smells of spring, watching my flowers come up, and praising the creator of all of these things. What are you looking forward to?
Happy Resurrection and Happy Easter,
Pastor RaeAnn
SCRIP FOR EASTER!
EASTER will soon be here and it’s time to take this opportunity to purchase your SCRIP cards for:
Easter baskets – use SCRIP for all you need to fill these.
Easter meal – use SCRIP to buy all you need to make that meal special.
Easter travel – use SCRIP for gas, etc. to make your trip a breeze.
Easter cards – put a SCRIP card inside. Everyone loves receiving them.
PLEASE NOTE: NEW DUE DATE: SUNDAY, MARCH 29! (for delivery on Easter Sunday)
If cards are needed before Easter, they can be picked up at Dennis Krause’s house from 5 PM on Wed. April 1st till Sunday, April 5th at church.
(If you need a card immediately, check at church, We carry some cards in the office and at church on Sunday.)
You may also phone in your order to the office (231-3080)
EASTER FLOWERS
RememberedCameron Gassere given by Anne and Paul Gassere
HonoredSpencer Gassere given by Anne and Paul Gassere
HonoredKate Gassere given by Anne and Paul Gassere
Rememberedour parents given by Bill and Elizabeth Joachim
Given by Bobbi and Lowell Reepsdorf
RememberedAlthea Tesch given by Irv Tesch
RememberedMyron Jovaag given by his family
RememberedMyron Jovaag given by his grandchildren
RememberedRichard Gabbert given by the Gabbert family
RememberedJohn and Mary Boss given by Kathryn Thomsen
HonoredSt. Paul’s UCC given by Pastor RaeAnn
RememberedJack and Lorraine Becker given by Mary Schmitt and Ellen Becker
RememberedDavid Schmitt given by Mary Schmitt
RememberedWally and Lucy Wriedt, Dorothy Lerch given by Debbie Wriedt
RememberedCameron Gassere given by Grandma and Grandpa Cameron
RememberedAnne G. Boss given by Benjamin Boss
KRAUSE, DENNIS & CAROL
(#51) 04/18
KENTOPP, JOE & ANNIE
(#17) 04/25
WISCHOW, GORDON & JACKIE
(#57) 04/26
HARVOT, BARRY & JEAN
(#26) 04/29
MEYER, JACK04/01
WOOD, LYNN 04/01
JOACHIM, CALEB 04/08
DAVIES, DONALD 04/09
ROBIEN, ROD 04/11
SCHNEIDER, JORDYN 04/12
SHELDON, MICHAEL 04/14
TESCH, APRIL 04/14
SPAULDING, SARA 04/18
CIRRICIONE, CHANDLER 04/19
LOOMANS, DEVIN 04/21
JUEDES, MICHAEL 04/22
LANDIG, SHERRI 04/25
TRAMPF, VALERIE 04/30
March 29 – Palm/Passion Sunday worship at 9:30 AM
April 2 – Maundy Thursday worship at 7:00 PM with communion
Friday, April 3 – Good FridayEcumenical Worship at Algoma Methodist Church at noon.
Sunday, April 5 - Easter breakfast at 8:30 AM
Sunday, April 5 – Easter Sundayservice at 9:30 AM with communion. NO Faith Formation
“The Path” - Wednesdays
Meal at 6:00 pm. Worship begins at 6:30 pm.
NEEDED!
Volunteers to help mow the lawn!
You choose your own time – evenings, weekends!
Please sign up in the Narthex if you are able to help this summer at a time when it’s convenient for you. We’ll set up a schedule after we receive names of volunteers and their schedules. (Check with Bob Trampf for details)
Easter breakfast will be held Sunday, April 5th, 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM. A free will offering will be accepted. Menu includes pancakes, sausage, bacon, and egg bake. A signup sheet is in the Narthex. If you are able to make an egg bake or have another idea for a food item, please call Hiedi Sheldon (at 920-203-7726, or email her at ), Carley Robinett or Katie Robinett.
Coffee hour thank yousgo to Mary Jaynes for doing coffee hour as well as baking cookies for it! Thanks to Sherri Landig for always willing to lend a hand and to Dorothy Hable for continually providing goodies in support of coffee hour! A special thank you to Hiedi Sheldon for volunteering to take over the coordination of coffee hour!
Thank you also goes to the anonymous person who did set-up for coffee hour one Sunday and others who have brought candy and chips and just left them in the kitchen. Without your help, there’d be no Coffee Hour!
.
On Sunday, March 8th following church; we had a wonderful fleecy fun gathering! About 25 members and friends of St. Paul's cut, tied and stuffed fleece pillows for those at hospitals in Oshkosh. There was much measuring and re-measuring, cutting and tying and laughter... a great multigenerational event to benefit those in our community.
The pillows will be distributed to the volunteer departments at Mercy and Aurora Hospitals who will then give them to patients in need during a hospital stay or visit. Thank you to all who helped out that day, those that took materials home and returned with more pillows done the following week and those that donated materials. We'll plan to have another fleecy gathering in fall.
Volunteers Needed:
The St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store is in need of volunteers for a wide variety of duties. Sorting, pricing, bagging, merchandising, metal recycling, and sporting goods are just a few areas where we can use some additional hands. If you have just 4 hours each week that you could help, please stop in at the store or call 235.9368. Ask for Laura or Emily.
Thank you for your generosity to the One Great Hour of Sharing offering. St. Paul's will be sending $279 on to the Conference Office. There is still time to give if you would like to. There are envelopes in the pew racks or you can give on-line.
It's another short and sweet mission report for April. The pillow making day was a great success, producing a huge pile ofpillows which are ready to be donated tolocal hospital patients. Thank you to everyone who participated and I hope it was such a fun project that you'll want to repeat it soon (because we still have a lot ofsupplies left!). Special thanks to Anne Gassere and Sherri Landig for all of their coordinating and preparation to make a fun and productive work day.
It is also time to renew our VIP Haiti student scholarship, as they are already calculating how many children they will be able to support next school year. If anyone is interested in making a donation to the church's scholarship fund or sponsoring a child on their own, please contact Barb Loomans or the church office.
Happy Spring! ~Barb Loomans
Biblical Texts for Personal Devotions and Reflection
based on the Narrative Lectionary (Sundays and Wednesdays)
The Path will not meet on Wed April 1. Please join us for Maundy Thursday (4/2) worship at 7:00 pm and Good Friday (4/3) worship at noon at Algoma Boulevard United Methodist Church.
The texts for this Easter season lead us out of the sanctuary and into the world.
April 5/8Matthew 28:1-10Easter
April 12/15Matthew 28:16-20The Great Commission
April 19/22Acts 10:1-17, 34-35Peter’s Vision
April 26/29Acts 13:1-3, 14:8-18Paul’s Mission
I would like to thank Brecca Bettcher, Kate Gassere, Owen Spaulding, Brinley Bettcher, and Spencer Gassere for designing our bulletin covers during Lent. You did a great job. I looked forward to seeing your drawings each week
to see whatyou found important in the stories. All of the designs are on display in the Narthex. I hope everyone takes the opportunity to take a look at them.
I will be asking more of our young people to design bulletin covers in the future and if there are any adults who would like to design a cover, just let me know.
Credence shelf flowers on March 8th remembered Mabel Reichard and were given by her children. Bulletins that day also remembered Mabel and were given by her sister Dorothy Hable.
Anne Gassere–Preparation and clean up of March communion
Hiedi Sheldon and Annette Reichard- taking over Coffee Hour responsibilities.
Lyle Rudy – Adjustments on basement doors for improved closure.
Hiedi Sheldon, Carley Robinette, Katie Robinette and Paul Gassere-organizing the Easter breakfast.
Ellen Becker – Clean up and refilling of sanctuary pew supplies
Spring Clean-up...Good Bye Old Man Winter...Hello Spring!
Inside and out...we could use your help to pick up after Old Man Winter and straighten up our closets! Join us on May 2ndat 9:00 AMfor our annual Spring Clean-up. Help us take pride in OUR church!
PLEASE KEEP THE FOLLOWING IN YOUR PRAYERS:
Those who are homebound or in care centers: Jeanette Cummings, Don Kieckhafer, June Otto, Betty Gabbert, Eileen Redemann, Betty Bettin
Those who have been hospitalized recently or are under ongoing medical care: Marion Abraham, Jean Fuller, Sharon Rudy, Liz Joachim, Agnes Bahr, Phil Panoch, Rena Gomach, Larry Klausch, Bobbi Reepsdorf, Ruth Hauser, Bob Richardson
Haitian Student sponsored by St. Paul’s: Corriolant Yves
St. Paul’s friends and family: Neil Starke, Mary Jaynes’ sister Sue,Steve Jones, Mike Juedes’ sister Judy and niece Katelyn
The 2015 St. Paul’s Members’ and Friends’Directory is available for pickup in the Narthex.
Easter greetings to you all! I don’t know about you, but for me Easter is a very happy time of the year. I think the fact
that the weather is changing and getting warmer is all
part of that. Then of course the idea of new life is the best. The new life in the trees, the grass, and finally the flowers. OOOOH! It is so refreshing.
For me, Easter was always a very special holiday. When I was teaching, I would fly to Virginia to visit with my Mom and Dad. We had so many traditions such as Easter sunrise service in the earlier days, spiral ham for dinner, homemade Easter eggs with yummy chocolate and filling, and of course, the lily. That lily was always planted in the yard and would bloom again sometime in the summer. One year, I made the mistake of pulling my Dad’s lilies. I thought they were weeds and I was trying to be helpful. That was a tough lesson to learn. Of course, the next Easter there were new lilies to replace the ones I had pulled. Thank goodness for new beginnings.
The activity I enjoyed the most was the dyeing of Easter eggs. My Mom would always wait for me to come so we could do that together. I hope that your families are developing some traditions for Easter so that someday you can also share stories like mine. Keeping that in mind,I have included an activity below that you might consider doing. It is a recipe and story for Easter cookies. I did this once with my Mom as this idea came from her church in Virginia. If you do it, please let me know.
In closing, I am hoping to see everyone at church on Easter Sunday. We will not have Faith Formation. Why not consider coming to the breakfast? I have something special planned for the children that morning before the service and after we have eaten. At least, that is the time I currently am planning on. It could change.
Happy Easter to all! Sherri Landig FFD
AN EASTER EXPERIENCE
It seemed like such a wonderful way to share the Easter story as a family. I just wanted to pass it along. While making the cookies, you should read the scriptures associated with each of the ingredients. These should be made the evening before Easter.
Ingredients you will need: Bible
1 cup whole pecans1 tsp vinegar3 egg whitespinch of salt
1 cup sugarzipper baggiewooden spoontape
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. (this is most important – don’t wait until you are half done with the recipe)
- Place the pecans in the zipper baggie and let the children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.
- Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp vinegar into the mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, he was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.
- Add egg whites to the vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.
- Sprinkle a little salt into each child’s hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus’ followers and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27.
- So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup of sugar. Explain that sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.
- Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that thecolor white represents the purity in God’s eyes of those whose sings have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.
- Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’ body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60.
- Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus’ tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66.
- GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus’ followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16: 20, 22
- On Easter morning, open the oven. Give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface. Take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter, Jesus’ followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9
Sherri Landig
Sun / Mon / Tue / Wed / Thu / Fri / Sat
1
NO
Path worship / 2
Maundy Thursday worship @ 7 PM / 3
Good Friday worship @ Algoma Methodist Church @ noon / 4
5 EASTER
NO Faith
Formation
8:30 Easter Breakfast
9:30 Worship with
Communion / 6 / 7 / 8
6:00 PM
The Path supper
6:30 PM
worship / 9
Pastor @ Clergy Support & Study Group – Neenah
6:45 PM Choir
Rehearsal
7:45 PM Bell
Rehearsal / 10 / 11
12
9:00 AM Faith
Formation
9:30 AM
Worship / 13
Adventures in
Music / 14
Adventures in
Music
Pastor at