St. Paul Epistle

www.stpaul.org                  Volume 2000, Issue 1          February 2000

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Epiphany! I guess it's a church word. We don't use it very much out in the world. There's no big secular spending season associated with it. Most of us don't send out cards. I'm not aware of any TV specials for the season.

Epiphany! Perhaps it's akin to the word "Eureka!" or "Wow!" Occasionally we might say "I had an epiphany last night." In other words, something that had been hidden from me and didn't make sense to me has now been miraculously revealed or made known or made plain to me.

Epiphany! Before the church got around to thinking about celebrating the birthday of Jesus and connecting it up with a popular secular festival, Epiphany was the church's big festival along with Easter. The church recognized and proclaimed to the world that the mystery of who God was and what He was like had been totally revealed in this person Jesus of Nazareth. If you listened to Jesus talk and relate with others and watched how he treated others, you would see God in action. In Jesus of Nazareth, the God who was a mystery was made plain for all the world to see in Jesus.

Epiphany! A season of light penetrating darkness ... a season of "ahas!" penetrating all of our "huhs?" ... a season celebrating the central truth of the good news that the church has to offer the world - that the very God who hung the stars in the heavens and created living beings out of the dust of the earth has come among us in Jesus of Nazareth to live and die, to hunger and to thirst, to cry and to laugh, to draw everything in all creation to Himself so that just as He lives, we too might live!

Epiphany! And just as God was revealed in Jesus, my hope and prayer is that Jesus would be revealed to the world through us - in what we say and how we say it ... in what we do and how we do it ...

May this Epiphany season be a bright one for you,

Rev. Daniel Deutsch, Pastor

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Pastoral Ramblings

A monthly (or seasonal, as the case may be) rambling of thoughts ... thanks ...things coming up ... things to think about, etc.

"An Expression of God's Compassion in our community and beyond" - That's who we are and what we do as God's people here at St. Paul. That is the heart and soul of our mission statement. We need to continue to be aware that every month we send 11% of all of your offerings to St. Paul to our Synod for support of seminaries and colleges and missionaries, etc. - all of those things that we can't do alone but can do together with other congregations of our church. In addition, in order to support God's work done in our local community, we send 2.75% of all of your offerings to a local ministry. The Church Council decides each month where that money is to go and we look forward to continuing to support local ministry opportunities this coming year. This past year, we sent contributions to St. Bernard's Soup Kitchen, Area Special Olympics, Call-Us-For-Help, the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, the nearby community of Comins where a tornado wrecked homes and lives this summer, the Trinity Episcopal Sunday Night Supper program, the Sunrise Mission and the Alpena General Hospital Chapel Fund. Contributions to local ministries average $500-600 each month. Thank you for your continued support as we reach out to touch others with God's compassion.

Contributions - The weekly and monthly financial contributions each of you make to St. Paul are vital to the ongoing life and ministry of this congregation. They are vital to our hopes and plans and dreams for the future. And with this coming year filled with hopes for some additional programs and pastoral ministry, we need your increased support and prayers. But, beyond our giving out of our current incomes for current needs of the Lord's church, we also are blessed by our government and our tax codes with incentives for all of us to include the church's future ministries with income that will carry beyond our physical deaths. To that end, St. Paul has established a Trust Fund to oversee and care for the investment of funds given through wills and estates and charitable annuities that can benefit the ministry of St. Paul in this community for many years to come. There are brochures in the kiosk (round bulletin- board) as you enter the church that describe these opportunities. If you have questions about how to take advantage of these opportunities, please feel free to call Phil Straley (356-4531), advisor to the Trust Fund Committee or Pastor Deutsch. May God bless your efforts at sharing some of your blessings with the ongoing ministry of our Lord through St. Paul.

Hospital calls - If you or a loved one is going to be in the hospital for surgery, tests, etc., please call the church office to let us know. We will add you to the published prayer list in the bulletin (if you wish) so that others can join in prayers for you. Also let the church office know if you would like to be called on for prayer while you are at the hospital. Thanks for helping us out with this important ministry.

Small Groups - There are a continuing number of Small Groups available for spiritual growth or fellowship. Besides the various Scouting programs and the three Ladies Circles which meet monthly, there is an every other week Monday morning Bible Study led by Arlene Anderson ... an every Monday evening Bible Study led by Les Nye ... an every other Wednesday morning Bible Study for women led by Denise Hoeksema and Carey Morgan ... an every Thursday evening men's Basketball group spearheaded by Jeff Hoeksema. If you are interested in any of these existing groups, please feel free to contact the leader of the group or the church office.

Stephen Ministry - St. Paul has recently enrolled in the Stephen Series. The Stephen Series is a program used today in over 6,000 congregations throughout the world. It is a program whose purpose it is to train and organize lay people of the church to do caring ministry. Those who vounteer to become involved in this ministry will learn skills and develop their talents for bringing Christ's healing love to people who are grieving, depressed, lonely, shut-in, etc. The first phase of this program involves the training of leaders - those who will recruit and train and supervise the Stephen Ministers here at St. Paul. Those who will or have already attended a week-long intensive training course and will be commissioned as Stephen Leaders at a worship service the end of this month include Leslie Nye, Mary Lou Deutsch Georgene Hildebrand and myself. The second phase of this program will begin this Spring and involve those who will or have already volunteered to serve as Stephen Ministers. They will receive approximately 50 hours of initial training in various ministry skills. The third phase of the Stephen Ministry program will involve the commissioning of those who complete this training program and commit to a two-year period of service. During this two-year period of service, there will be monthly meetings of the Stephen Ministers for sharing and continued training. If you have an interest in or questions about serving your Lord as a Stephen Minister, please feel free to call me or Les Nye.

God's richest blessings to each of you as we continue to experience the light of the Christ in each of our lives!

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Funeral Luncheons - Thank God for the ministry of the Funeral Committee. This group of ladies and a couple of men provide an essential ministry of our congregation during difficult times in people's lives. We are trying to make it easier for our group of volunteers to serve by lightening the load and changing some of the ways we have been doing things. If you wish to volunteer your time to serve when called upon, please contact Edna Miller or Pauline LeBlanc who head up this Committee. Thanks! (There is a copy of a recently updated Funeral Luncheon brochure included with this newsletter.)

Prayer ministry - As you pray daily, lifting up your lives and the lives of those around you to His care, please keep in mind the elderly and the lonely and the ill of our congregation:  Jim Hartman, Loretta Kowalsky, Matilda Ohlrich, Marilyn Stephan, Agnes Sonnenberg, Cleo Sonnenberg, Alma Welk, Mildred Benac, Dorothy Sims, Mabel Jury,  Jeanette Diemond, Hattie Kelm, Margaret Knechtel, Jim O'Brien, Eileen Werner, Ruth Schrader, Helen Kihn, Louise Cochrane, Alice Standen, Alice Bluck, Helen Martinson, Hilda Sommerfield, Martha Beck, Erna Golder, Betty J.Kollin, Viola Marquardt, Dorothy Schiler, Virginia Kraft, Delores Stevens, Frank & Hilda Kelley, Margaret Kreutzfeldt, Grace McKay, Lila MacMillan, Bessie Nordguard, Pauline Olsen, Ardath Thorburn, Edna Zielinski.

Remember the sick and the hurting who are unable to join us in worship this month: Evelyn Siegert, Ione Anderson, Marie Kirschner, Inez Owens. Jesus said, "Inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these, my brethren, you have done it to me." (Mt. 25:40)

R & R - (that's Renewal and Restoration, not Rest and Relaxation). If you check out the basement under the sanctuary you will see many changes and improvements. The prayer room should be complete by the time this is in the mail. We will have a dedication of this space that also includes room and storage for the choir and for our scouting programs sometime during the next few months. The R & R Committee will soon turn its attention to our next project - the renovation of the gymnasium. An oral report and plans and funding needs for the next project will be presented at our worship services some weekend during the month of March.

Service opportunity - There is a newly formed group of St. Paul members who provide a complete meal for members of the congregation who have just been released from the hospital when they return home. We are looking for additional volunteers to cook and/or deliver meals. If you are interested or know of someone who would like a meal following their hospital stay, please call Arlene Williams, 356-0598 or Lori Ludwig, 356-4753.

FUNERAL LUNCHEON SERVICES

St Paul Lutheran is committed to "being an expression of God's compassion in our community". One of the ways in which we do that is to serve the needs of the membership and their families during times of loss. When a death occurs, please contact the Pastor(s) or the parish office as soon as possible. The Pastor(s) will work with you and the funeral home.

One of the services that our congregation provides is a funeral lunch or a funeral dinner: A funeral lunch typically would consist of sandwiches, pickles, cake and jell-o, desserts and salads, coffee, tea and milk. This might be an option for a funeral held in the afternoon.

A funeral dinner typically would consist of some kind of meat (ham, chicken, etc.) potatoes, vegetable, bread, cole slaw, jellos, cake, milk, tea, coffee. This is an option for a funeral either in the morning or afternoon.

The cooking, serving, cleaning up, etc. is provided by the church. The family will be billed for the cost of the food that is served. Those costs average about $1.00-$1.50 per person depending on the menu items. Costs for the lunch rather than the dinner would be less.

If a family cannot afford these costs, but would still like a funeral dinner, the Funeral committee and the church will help. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the church office.

PASTORAL ACTS

ANGUS L. ATKINSON, joined his Lord in eternity on December 25, 1999. His funeral was held December 29, 1999 at Bannan Funeral Home.

HENRY TESSMER, passed away on December 29, 1999. His funeral was held January 3, 2000 at St. Paul Lutheran Church.

WILBUR LASKOWSKY, joined his Lord in eternity on December 30, 1999. His funeral was held January 5, 2000 at Wachterhauser Funeral Home.

RICHARD "DICK" BROWN, passed away January 3, 2000. His funeral was held January 7, 2000 at St. Paul Lutheran Church.

WALTER D. WAGNER, joined his Lord in eternity on January 9, 2000. His funeral was held at St. Paul Lutheran Church on January 12, 2000.

PAULINE WOERPEL joined her Lord in eternity on January 20, 2000. Her funeral was held at St. Paul Lutheran church January 24, 2000

RICHARD A. MILLER AND MARYANNA C. PILARSKI were joined in marriage on December 4, 1999. They were attended by Kristie Laren and Bruce Miller.

On January 9, 2000 AUSTIN LEE SCULL, son of Matthew and Noreen Scull was baptized with sponsors Mike Scull and Tona Bleau.

The Church Newsletter Deadline will always be on the 20th of every month, so please be sure to turn in your information to the church office by then. Thank You.

THE BOY SCOUT SPAGHETTI DINNER IS COMING The date is set for Friday, February 4th, from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. here at the St. Paul Lutheran Church. Tickets are available from Boy Scouts or at the church office. The prices are $15.00 - family, $5.00 - adults, $3.00 children (ages 5-12), under 5 - free.

Troop 92 Information

The Popcorn Sales were a Success! Over $2,000 in popcorn was sold this year by Troop 92. We had some boys working really hard to sell this year! Way to go guys! Boy Scout Sunday is February 6th at 8:00 a.m. The Klondike Derby is scheduled for Saturday, February 12th.

1999 Contribution Statements Year end statements are now available upon request. You may stop by the church office or call and we will prepare a statement for you.

POTATO PANCAKE SUPPER

Shrove Tuesday will be March 7, 2000 Vern Kingsbury Jr. and Alice Gapske will again be co- chairpersons of the Potato Pancake supper at St. Paul Church that evening. We need all our good, faithful workers to help us again as we can't do it without you. We will be doing it the same as last year - there will be 2 servings - one at 4:30 p.m. and the next one at 6:00 p.m. When you purchase your tickets from our church office, please tell which time you want to attend. The tickets will be $4.00 for adults, $2.00 for children 12 & under, $10.00 for a family ticket. If you can help us again, please call Vern, 356-9790 or Alice at 356-1910 as we both work, so leave a message on our answering machines. We had 50 plus people. to peel 160 plus lbs of potatoes, bake over 100 lbs of home made sausage from Neimans Market, set up the dining room, grind the potatoes and turn it all into the batter, heat the syrup, cook the pancake, etc. We have lots of work and lots of fun but many helping hands make it all go smooth, so we are ready to serve at 4:30 p.m. and re-set for 6:00 p.m. Then another crew to come in and help clean up when its all over. Thank you and call us! Get your tickets early - we served over 300 last year.

CARDS & COOKIES PARTY

Hey kids, bring your parents!!!  Hey, parents bring your kids!!!!  Since we are all children of God, everyone is included in the invitation - this means YOU!!!  The Education Committee is hosting a Cards & Cookies Party!!!  Everyone is invited!!!  The date is Wednesday, February 16, 2000.  The time is 7:00 p.m.  The place is The Dining Room.  The occasion is to make Valentine cards and decorate Valentine cookies.  The F.L.Y. group will deliver the cards and cookies to our shut ins later on in the week.  Everyone is invited for an evening of fun.  The cookies, frosting, decorations, and the glue, construction paper, glitter will all be provided for you.  All you need to bring is yourself and your creativity.  If you haven't any creativity, come anyhow.  It promises to be a fun night!

ECUMENICAL SERVICE

Did you attend the service on January 19, 2000 at St. John the Baptist Church, sponsored by the LARC committee? Wasn’t it awesome!?! What a wonderful opportunity for us to worship God along with our brothers and sisters in Christ—no matter which denomination we represented. It was such a moving service. The music provided by our choir, along with the choir from St. John’s was superb.

WHEN? The fourth Sunday of every month for 10:45 am. worship
WHO? Various shut in members of our congregation.
HOW? On a Thunder Bay Transportation bus.
WHAT????? Yes, that’s right, on the fourth Sunday of every month, at the late worship service, we will be having various shut ins join us for worship. They will arrive on a contracted bus driven by TBT employees. This bus is wheel chair accessible. We can hold approximately twenty passengers on a bus. By the way, your church council has given its approval to implement this plan.

WHO MAKES THE ARRANGEMENTS?I do. If you know of someone who needs a ride, please call the church office (356-1658) and let me know.

WHO PAYS FOR THIS? The funds for this project come from the Nensewitz estate. The passengers ride free of charge.

HOW DOES TBT KNOW WHO TO PICK UP? On the Friday afternoon before our “Company Sunday”, I fax TBT a list of names and addresses. TBT picks up a couple of volunteers and myself here at the church on Sunday morning and we ride the bus along with our shut ins.

WHAT HAPPENS ONCE THEY GET HERE? They worship with the rest of us!

I SUPPOSE NOW YOU’RE GOING TO ASK FOR SOMETHING. You got that right—you knew it was coming... .It would be nice if we had a member of our congregation to meet each shut in as they come in, and to sit with them during worship. If you regularly attend the 10:45 a.m. worship service, or if you know you’ll be there on the fourth Sunday, please let me know. Also, if you have had CPR training, or are a medical professional, and could be at this service, please let me know that too.

SO WHAT DO YOU WANT? A couple of volunteers on stand by basis to go on the bus, a couple of volunteers to ‘adopt a shut in’ for the worship service (you DON’T have to ride the bus), a couple of volunteers with some CPR training or nurses or home health aides or nursing students or doctors to be at this service (you DON’T have to ride the bus, unless you want to).

HEY. I’M BUSY. HOW MUCH TIME IS THIS GOING TO TAKE? If you ride the bus, it is approximately 3 or 4 hours just once a month. If you are ‘adopting a shut in’, or being on stand by with your medical expertise, just one hour a month—and let’s face it, you’ll be here worshiping anyhow. If you can help out just one time, that’s fine. If you can help out a couple of times, that’s fine too.

OK. OK. IF THERE IS SO LITTLE TIME INVOLVED, I SUPPOSE I COULD TRY IT. WHAT DO I DO? Call LES ~ 356-1658 or 356-6109.

I’VE GOT MORE QUESTIONS... Call LES @356-1 658 OR 356-6109 for more details.