November 24, 2002
Christmas Benevolence Offering
Kim Walters, Music to Our Ears
First Congregational Church Welcomes
Holiday/Family/Church Tradition - Cookies for Shut-Ins
November: A Time to Give Thanks for Our Heritage
Work Day Volunteers Make Huge Contribution
Take a look at what's happening at First Congregational this Christmas season and join us for the fun!
All-Church Dinner, Wednesday, December 4, 6:00 - This holiday feast will feature roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. It will be held in the Social Hall and is only available to the first 200 people to reserve spots. The evening also features a special musical program. Cost for the dinner is $8.00 for adults and $3.00 for children. Reservations are absolutely required. Nursery available.
Friendly Beast Breakfast, Saturday, December 7, 9:00 am - Bring your little children in their pajamas with their favorite stuffed animal. We'll have a "real live" Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. The children will put their animals around the family while they have breakfast and, of course, take them home afterwards. Following breakfast the children will sing carols and you'll be on your way at approximately 10:30. The cost is $3 for adults and $1.50 for children. Please register in the church office no later than December 2.
Christmas Workshop
Join us on Sunday December 8 at 3:00 for the annual Christmas Workshop. Come and make crafts for all different skill levels. Prices range between 25 cents to $1 with the exception of the millefori beaded cross necklace at $4.00. Some of the old standbys, like the button machine and the decorate your own gingerbread cookie, will return along with some new items like the beaded wire star ornament. At 5:00 a pizza dinner will be served in the Social Hall: $5 adults $3 children. Immediately following the dinner there will be a 1 hour one-man play called "Wrappings." The play is the retelling of the Christmas story through the eyes of 4 different characters played by Alan Atwood who is co-founder of the Acacia theatre. Please sign up for dinner by Friday, December 6. If you have any questions or to volunteer your time, please contact Carla at 258-7375.*
The Board of Benevolence invites the congregation to think about those in need as we plan our Christmas giving. This year the Christmas offering will be directed toward two programs under the direction of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches.
One project reaches toward South America and the work of the Argentine Congregational Mission. Congregationalism is growing in South America, indeed throughout the two-thirds world, and our support is vitally needed for this multi-faceted program of spiritual, medical, and educational ministry to have its full effect. This mission outreach, under the auspices of the NACCC Missionary Society's dollar for dollar policy, is guaranteed to receive all the money we send along, without anything deducted for administrative expenses.
The second program is the "Ministerial Assistance Fund" of the Division for the Ministry. This fund provides emergency grants for ministers and their families when they are facing a financial crisis. For some ministers, this aid marks the difference between continuing in ministry or taking secular employment to avoid debt. It serves as an important support to many who give of themselves without counting the cost.
Christmas is a season of giving, because we have been given the best gift: God's presence among us. We invite you to prayerfully consider and plan to be generous in your Christmas offering this year! *
Advent is a season that seems to be doomed to fade away. The popular culture wants to push Christmas earlier and earlier, especially when the economy isn't very healthy. Preparation for Christmas now begins with the opening of the local 'Toy Land' and is rarely extended to the heart. We appear fated to fall into the observance of what my colleague Karl Schimpf has so aptly named, "HallowThankMass," because now even the church growth gurus are saying, "Let Advent go if you want the people to come. Emphasize the warmth of the season."
I know, I'm a lonely voice advocating an apparently archaic observance. I risk being thought quaint at best and a curmudgeon at worst. Yet, someone has to speak in defense of a precious time of year and it might as well be me. I love Advent!
Ah, you ask, why do you love, as one person described, those 'dirgey songs'? I love them because they speak to the human condition. When we sing "O come, O come Emmanuel," "Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus," or "Hail to the Lord's Anointed," their words and music describe the longing, the darkness, and the expectation Israel and all of us know waiting for the Lord's presence. Advent is the season of anticipation, of hoping the promise will come true, and the gift will be as good as the advertisement. Advent is the season of delayed gratification and of joy and satisfaction for their own sakes. Advent tells me that there's a reason to look forward to Christmas and evidence that what is coming is, indeed, worth the wait.
For me the good news is that when the forty-day wait is over joy breaks forth in waves! "Joy to the World, the Lord IS come!" Angels and "men of goodwill" sing "Gloria in excelsis Deo" to the Heavenly Father of the Child born in the "little town of Bethlehem." And our joy in God's promise fulfilled swells until it is shared with all the world, represented by the Three Wise Men and their arrival on "Twelfth Night" (Epiphany January 6). Advent prepares us for Christmas, it's that simple.
Now, will we sing a mix of Advent and Christmas music in December? Yes. Will we "keep Christmas" for the full twelve days? Yes. Will we seek to understand that waiting and celebrate it? I pray we do, because our world needs to know there are some things that are worth the wait however long. This comes home to me in a Hasidic tale told by Elie Wiesel that goes like this:
Rebbe Barukh's grandson, Yehiel, came running into his study in tears. "Yehiel, Yehiel, why are you crying?" "My friend cheats! It's unfair; he left me all by myself, that's why I am crying." "Would you tell me about it?" his grandfather asked. "Certainly, Grandfather. We played hide-and-seek, and it was my turn to hide and his turn to look for me. So he gave up; he stopped looking. And that's unfair." Rebbe Barukh began to caress Yehiel's face, and tears welled up in his eyes. "God too, Yehiel," he whispered softly. "God too is unhappy; he is hiding and man is not looking for him. Do you understand, Yehiel? God is hiding and man is not even searching for him."
Advent is about the search and how God, when we stopped looking, decided to come and find us.
May your holidays be filled with joy, enriched with the love of family and friends, and blessed by the presence of God! I am:
Yours in Advent hope,
Steve
Rev. Steven A. Peay, Ph.D.
As of 11/11 we have 305 pledges valued at $577,901. This represents an overall increase of 7.1% on these same cards for last year's canvas. That is a very encouraging response from those particular members.
However, we mailed almost 600 letters to households requesting a pledge card be returned so we have only received about 1/2 of the possible cards from this congregation. The Board of Stewardship has sent two letters and made phone calls to many people who have not responded.
The Budget & Finance Committee cannot begin their process until they know the total of the pledged income for 2003. If you have not returned your pledge card, we would very much appreciate your efforts to do so promptly.
Kim Walters, director of the handbell choir, is a very talented conductor and musician. A senior at Concordia University Wisconsin, Kim will graduate this December with a Bachelor of Arts degree in general music, which she will have completed in 31 years. Kim played the clarinet in Concordia's Symphonic Wind Ensemble for the past three years and traveled to England with the group last year. She played handbells with the Alleluia Ringers, Concordia's touring handbell choir, Chapel Ringers, and now plays with the Alumni Ringers. The Alumni Ringers is a unique group of musicians who advise composers about their new compositions, helping them work out problem spots and revise their work in preparation for publication by Concordia Publishing House.
Kim has many other interests besides music. She enjoys baking, reading, and shopping for other people (when her budget allows it). For relaxation she likes to cross-stitch and needlepoint. Someday she also hopes to learn how to play the piano. Kim enjoys working with children and has taught gymnastics and assisted in kindergarten classroom instruction in the past.
After graduation in December, Kim will concentrate on finding a job and planning her wedding. She and her fiancé, Scott Williams, will be married in March at the Concordia University Chapel. Kim and Scott plan to live in Grafton.
As a longtime member of the handbell choir, I can say that Kim is more than just our director; she's our coach and cheerleader, too. She brings an incredibly positive attitude to our practices. An experienced ringer herself, she understands how important it is to make ringing fun. She has established several goals for the choir and for herself as director:
1. Keep increasing the difficulty of the level of music we are playing. Music difficulty ranges from 1 to 6. Last year we were playing level 2 music, and this year we are ringing level 3 music.
2. Start a youth handbell choir.
3. Add hand chimes. Hand chimes look like large tuning forks and add another dimension to bell music.
4. Work toward replacing our 30-year-old bells. Kim made repairs and adjustments to all the bells this summer, but due to the age of the bells, repairs are just temporary fixes. Unfortunately our bells are wearing out.
5. Recruit new ringers. Anyone interested in becoming a member of the handbell choir, please contact the church office. No experience is necessary. Those of you who have rung bells in the past could really help us out by volunteering to substitute at Thursday evening practices.
by Beth Andersen
THANKSGIVING
Nov. 28
Worship Service 9:00
CHRISTMAS
Dec. 4
All-Church English Dinner 6:00
Dec. 7
Friendly Beast Breakfast 9:00
Dec. 8
Worship w/ Pageant 8:45 & 11:00
Christmas Workshop 3:00
Supper 5:00
Dec. 15
Christmas Concert 4:00
Dec. 24 Christmas Eve Services
Family Service 4:00
Communion Worship Service 7:00
Candlelight Service 11:00
Brian and Sharon Bahr
Brian and Sharon reside in Wauwatosa. They have two children, Danielle and Nathaniel. Brian is a manager at Advanced Therapeutics and Sharon is a homemaker who also plays in the Festival City Orchestra. They are interested in couple, family and service activities through the church. They were introduced to First Church through friends.
Thomas Islas and Kelly Kosik
Thomas and Kelly reside in Milwaukee and both attended a PF lock-in here as teenagers. They plan on being married here in May. Kelly is a hairdresser and both of them enjoy youth work and a variety of other activities. Thomas works as an engineer.
Bert and Nancy Restyanszki
Bert and Nancy are residents of Wauwatosa and have two children, Ellen and Nathan. Bert is a Supply Chain Manager with GE Medical and Nancy is a self-employed engineer. They enjoy family activities and sports and found out about our church when they drove by it one day.
Dick and Sandy Buchman
Dick and Sandy reside in Mequon. Dick was an Associate Minister here at First Church in 1961 and 1962. He has served churches in New York City and Milwaukee since then. Sandy was raised at Plymouth Congregational Church and both she and Dick were instrumental in starting Ozaukee Congregational Church from which Dick recently retired as Senior Minister.
As of the beginning of November, the Sunday School students have collected more than $500 toward their benevolence offering for Heartlove Place.
Students received their giving envelopes in mid-September. Since that time, teachers have encouraged students to participate. The Doxology is now sung in each class while the offering is taken it has become a part of the class curriculum.
The donated funds will be given to Heartlove Place, a ministry described by Rev. Chris Rygh as, "an urban outreach effort which has been effectively multiplying and wisely using it's resources." After touring, Chris said he was quite impressed that most of the facility is dedicated to job-producing, income-generating ministry. "It is what the ministry founders call 'social entrepreneurism.' Really this is a practical outworking of Jesus' parable of the talents," said Chris.
Heartlove Place embodies a wide variety of projects including a quality day care program (which is a revenue producer), a silk screening workshop and a food service program. In each of these areas, student workers are helping to create revenue for the mission while completing their hands-on training.
Now, our students learn the importance of benevolent giving, while supporting students at Heartlove who earn practical credentials and gain experience to enter the job market. We're very excited with the enthusiasm shown by our students and thankful for the opportunity to assist such a worthwhile ministry.
For approximately 20 years, members of First Congregational Church who are unable to get to church have been treated to a delicious box full of homemade cookies each December.
While a holiday tradition of the Care Board here at First Church, it's a care ministry which has been coordinated by Holly Krull for the past 12 years and originated by her aunt, Gertrude Ziegenhagen and a friend, Helene Heinz.
Holly noted that when she first started with this project, they delivered approximately 80 boxes of cookies. In 2001, it was only about 30. She attributes the decrease in deliveries to the increase in independent-living, healthy seniors.
Cookies are boxed the day of the Choir Concert, December 15. Your assistance would be very much appreciated by Holly as well as the homebound recipients of the holiday treats. You can drop off one batch of cookies (any type) the morning or day of the concert. Additionally, Holly would gratefully accept any volunteers to help deliver the cookies which can be picked up from the church following the concert. If you are interested in delivering, please call the church office at 258-7375. You need not provide any notice if you plan on providing a batch of cookies. Cookies are packed by Holly and a few volunteers.
Any extra cookies which are unused in the gift boxes are frozen and used at church functions such as funeral gatherings.
Finally, if you are aware of any homebound church members who are not currently under the watch of the Care Board, please contact the office.
Our Church family is so blessed to have Holly and the entire group of volunteers involved in this service. Are you interested in spreading some holiday cheer?
The November Breakfast with the Girls was a very special morning indeed. Molly Rouner shared stories of the ministry of reconciliation that has taken her and husband Arthur to places and people they never expected to see and meet. Her life story illustrated a picture of love and service to others whose lives and circumstances are harsh beyond our understanding.
We wish the Rouners well and send our love and prayers with them down this rocky road that they and others of like mind and heart have chosen to travel.
We won't be meeting in December, but will be back again on Saturday, January 4th when our own Pat Schwai will be with us to bring her story of courage and faith. If you can be with us and would like to be a baker this month, please contact Jennifer Wakefield, our goodie coordinator, to get on the list. We look forward to seeing everyone after the holiday break.
Char Schweitzer
More than 6 boxes of books were collected by members of this church for the Book Buddies program at Joy House. Every third Sunday of the month the Senior High youth group has been reading to children at Joy House. Joy House is a temporary shelter that houses women and children.
In the past they had taken books from the FCC children's library, read to the children and then returned the books to the library. Now, after the youth group reads to the children, the children may keep the books.The smiles and excitement of the children and mothers show what a worthwhile project this is.
If you would still like to donate gently used children's books you may leave them at the Christian Education office and make sure they are clearly marked for Joy House.
"Faith of our fathers living still . . ." Hart, Damon, Potter, Warren, Gilbert are all names we're used to seeing on street signs and buildings in Wauwatosa. A hundred and sixty years ago those names would have been seen, with faces, "coming to meeting" at First Congregational Church. November is 'Heritage Month' for Congregationalists and First Church celebrated it well. Even our All-Church dinner followed the heritage theme in its menu!
The celebration began with the Reverend Dr. Arthur Rouner, Jr., author of The Congregational Way of Life, who, with his lovely wife, Molly, told us of the Congregational "way of reconciliation." The weekend seminar, November 13, with the Rouners included a "Breakfast with the Girls" and a day-long seminar, in which we were joined by representatives of five 'sister churches.' The work Arthur and Molly are doing in war-torn Rwanda, Burundi, and Kenya humbled and inspired those who came to listen.
Each Sunday we worshiped according to forms drawn from historical sources, including the bulletins of First Church from the 40's and 60's. The final Sunday worship service is a copy of an order used in New England in 1848, when choirs and organs had become common in Congregational worship. Throughout the month we were reminded of our rich history with a display of pictures and artifacts assembled by Rich Raymond. A series of adult education classes by Dr. Dan Schowalter reminded us of women's role in our Congregational tradition. Dr. Peay took us on a tour of the history of our church through the development of its meeting house and told us about the roots of the Puritan/ Pilgrim movement. Heritage Month will come to a grand close with our Thanksgiving Worship service, including elements that would have been familiar to the Pilgrims.
Heritage Month reminds us that we have a great deal for which to be thankful as the Lord's Free People gathered on Church Street. Each year the tradition grows deeper and richer as we celebrate the faith of our fathers and mothers living still.
Pristine flower beds, shining chandeliers, sparkling windows and freshly painted walls these and many other facility facelifts were completed throughout the church grounds at the Fall Workday. An enthusiastic team of approximately 50 volunteers of all ages donated their time and elbow grease on October 19, cleaning and repairing inside and out. Thank you to each person involved. Roughly estimated, $5,000 was saved compared to hiring professionals to complete this work.
Please Support These Youth Fundraisers
December 8 Gourmet Coffee Sale
2003 Events
March 9 Pre-Auction
March 15 Italian Dinner/Auction
Harmony Singers is looking for a "Roadie" someone who enjoys music and has a car to transport the group's equipment for Friday AM rehearsals and occasional daytime concerts. Compensation to be determined. Call Helen Strehlow, 414-257-2546.
Pageant at The Congregational Home
Wed. Dec 18 at 6:30 pm
Calling all actors and actresses between the ages of 3 and 11. We will be presenting a Christmas pageant at the Congregational Home and we need your help. Memorization and prep work will be minimal. If you would like to participate call Carla at 258-7375 by December 6. We will rehearse after church on December 15th.
New Church Logo
We have TWO winners of the church logo contest. Below are the submissions of Cathy & Steve Denney (left) and Jane Jacobson (right). You will see both of these depictions of our church steeple in future church publications. The phrase "First in Faith, Freedom, Fellowship and Wauwatosa" has been chosen as the "tagline." We thank all those who took time to submit entries.
The deadline for submitting articles for the next issue of the Columns is
(Please note the early deadline due to the Christmas holiday.)
www.FirstChurchTosa.org
Editor, Beth Linscott
Communications Committee
Mary York - Chairperson, Nancy Fisher,
Barb Dunham, Rod Schmidt, Bill Edens,
Arlette Lindbergh, Bill Edens
*
Rev. Steven Peay, Ph. D., Minister
Rev. Chris Rygh, Associate Minister
Rev. Charles Goldsmith, Ph.D.
Congregational Home Chaplain
Rani Gusho, Administrator
Lee Jacobi, Director of Music
Betty Dethmers, Organist
Sally Boyle, Secretary
Anne Callen, Office Manager
Charles Nelson, Administrator, Congregational Home, Inc.
Rev. Dr. Norman S. Ream, Minister Emeritus
*
Congregational Columns (USPS 010-493) is published monthly by The First Congregational Church of Wauwatosa, 1511 Church St., Wauwatosa, WI 53213-2593, 414/258-7375. Periodical Postage Paid at Milwaukee, WI 53203-9998. Postmaster: Send address changes to Congregational Columns, 1511 Church St., Wauwatosa, WI 53213-2593.
Vol. 11, Issue 11