Filling the Vacancy

The first pastoral vacancy that occurred in the church is recounted in the first chapter of the book of Acts. Since Judas had betrayed Jesus and was no longer counted as one of the Twelve Apostles, his position had to be filled by another. Peter stood up “among the believers” who numbered about 120 people, presumably men and women, and told of Judas’ betrayal and death and the need to replace him. He then described the criteria for the position:

So one of the men (apologies to the women) who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when (the Lord) was taken up from us - one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection. (Acts 1:21-22)

Two men were nominated: Joseph (also called Barsabbas or Justus), and Matthias. The Call Process continued at this first congregational meeting:

Then they prayed and said, ‘Lord, you know everyone’ s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in the ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.’ And they cast lots for them and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles. (Acts 1:24-26)

There are a number of things that are important about this story:

1. The text implies that the decision was not just by the leaders, the eleven apostles, but by the whole congregation.
2. There were specific criteria, qualifications for this position.
3. There was a primary expectation: to be a witness to the resurrection.
4. The process began with prayer.
5. The congregation presumed that God influenced the decision.*
6. The decision was accepted by all members - no account of complaints.

*Just a note about “casting lots:” this is not to be understood as a kind of “game of chance” like dice or lottery numbers. The word derives from another Greek word which means “heir or inheritance.” Thus the decision is seen not so much ruled by Fate as ruled by Grace.

To update this scene to the present, all we have to do is substitute the Mission Exploration Team (MET) for the Apostles, and First United for First Jerusalem Church . The MET has been working since November to involve as many members as possible and to develop criteria and expectations for the new pastoral role. We, too, begin with prayer and presume that God is influencing our decisions. The MET is nearing completion of the ‘Congregation Mission Profile’ which includes data about the history and current status of First United and Sheboygan, as well as a mission statement and strategy, and a series of mission goals for the next five years. The final piece of the ‘Profile’ will be a description of ‘The Leader We Seek’ to be the Senior Pastor of this congregation.

All of this will be available to the congre-gation in mid May in preparation for the Congregational Meeting to receive the MET Report. The meeting date has been set for Sunday, May 20, at 9:40 a.m. At this time, the Rev. Sue Ruehle, Assistant to the Bishop of the Greater Milwaukee Synod, will be present to receive the Report and dialog with members about the next steps in the Call Process. The Congregational Council will be appointing a Call Committee to begin the next step in the ministry of First United as we seek God’s guidance to receive a new Senior Pastor.

Please continue to seek out and converse with members of the Mission Exploration Team as we finish our work on your behalf: Vickie Sauve, Rob Thomas, Bob Shaffer, Bev Lee, Annette Schaefer, Andrea Reisenauer, Steve Schneider, Lisa Knitt, Jim Schuessler, and Amy Reinholtz. ~Pastor Jacobs

Confirmation

Congratulations to all our 9 th Graders who Affirmed their faith on Sunday, April 15:

Chloe Aldag
Kayla Billmann
Nicole Billmann
David Britton
Stephen Hamilton
Lisa Ingels
Brenden Johnson
Allison Kruschke
Jordan Kusel
Maxwell Meller
Andrea Reisenauer
Brandon Schwarz
Anna Shircel
Karly Telschow
Samuel Van Akkeren
Tyler Walters
Holly Zehfus

St. Nicholas Hospital needs your help!

St. Nicholas Hospital is currently looking for men and women with varied skills and abilities who are able to commit to volunteering on a regular basis. Currently they are looking for individuals who enjoy greeting and assisting people as they enter the facility; people to assist with escorting patients and visitors to their destinations in the hospital, run errands for the staff, deliver flowers, cards and gifts, and to help in the Gift Shop. If you are interested in learning more about volunteering at St. Nicholas Hospital , please contact Susan Sellars at 459-4714, or email ssellars@sns.hshs.org.

Announcing a special Congregational Meeting for First United Sunday, May 20

The purpose of this meeting is to receive and discuss the report from the Mission Exploration Team (MET). The MET Report will contain the following:

• a mission statement
• a mission strategy for next 5 years
• specific mission goals for next 5-10 years
• a plan to review and evaluate mission goals
• congregational profile
• expectations of “The Leader We Seek: Profile for a Senior Pastor”

The Rev. Sue Ruehle, Assistant to the Bishop of the Greater Milwaukee Synod, will be present to receive the Report and to dialog with the congregation about the Call process.

Copies of the MET Report will be available the week prior to the meeting. Upon approval of the MET Report, the Church Council will appoint a Call Committee to receive names, interview candidates and make a recommendation to the Council for the position of Senior Pastor.

Please make plans to attend this very important meeting. It will be held on Sunday, May 20, at 9:40 a.m. in the Genszler Room .

Donuts & Dialogue

Come to Donuts & Dialogue on Sunday, April 22, as we continue to discuss the issue of racism by seeing what the Bible has to say about it. Bibles will be supplied, so all you need to bring is yourself!

On April 29, Grace Mathias Sawanja, from Tanzania , will be our guest speaker. Grace is a sophomore at Carthage College , Kenosha . She is from Arusha , Tanzania , and is majoring in Accounting. Her plans are to return to Tanzania after she graduates, and use her knowledge to help her community, especially the poor. Grace enjoys listening to and singing gospel music, and is looking forward to coming here to share her stories with us.

On May 6, Marilyn Miller, Executive Director of the Lutheran Human Relations Association, and Co-Leader of our synod’s Anti-Racism Team, will be our guest speaker. Marilyn will help us to dream and vision as to what we can do and be as a congregation that is committed to justice for all God’s people.

So don’t miss Donuts & Dialogue! Join us every Sunday morning at 9:40 a.m. in the Genszler Room!

Good News Deadline

Articles for the next issue of the Good News should be in the church office by Monday, April 23. The next issue will be in the homes on Wednesday, May 2.

Tanzanian Greetings and News

We are thrilled to share with you another message that we recently received from Pastor Charles Mbise, who is the pastor of the Maangashiny Parish, our new companion congregation in Tanzania .

He wrote: “Thank very much, it has been good to hear from you. I thank God because me, my family and the Church are doing well. My parish has three congregations led by evangelists. The first congregation is Maangashinyi, led by Ev. Simon Urio. The second is Abraham, led by Ev. Charles Nnko, and the third is Nkuiwaunambwe, led by Ev. Akundaeli Mbise. We have one government primary school, a vocation training under our parish whereby those students who completed primary school and their parent cannot afford to send them to secondary school. We train cookery, carpentry, and textile/ retailing.

“I do not have my own computer. For me to communicate, I have to go to Cyber Café at Usa River where I do my correspondence - which is about 30km from where I am living/working.

“Yes, we are beside the national park and sometimes the animals like elephants, buffalos and hyena visit to our vicinity. These animals sometimes do eat our crops but we are lucky that they do not harm people.

“I appreciate that you are planning a program for having a special Sunday pertaining to our partnership. I hope you will tell me that particular Sunday so that we can do the same in the same day. Hoping to hear from you soon. Greet Rev. Eliasi Kitoi, our missionary. May God bless you, Charles Mbise.”

Pastor Mbise has three children, named Vivien, Mary, and Lemuel.

It helps to have the support of others...

Many of us are dealing with grief every day, yet we don’t want to acknowledge it. We want our grief to go away, so we do all kinds of things to pretend that it doesn’t exist. We try to get rid of it, or “box it up,” thinking that we will deal with it later, but it keeps coming back. No matter what we do, no matter how hard we try, it’s still there, eating away at our lives.

In times like this, it helps to know that we’re not alone. It helps to know that everything we’re experiencing and feeling is normal. And it helps to have the support of others who will listen.

Come to a time of Grief Support on Thursday, April 26, from 6:30-8:00 p.m. , in the Genszler Room. Bring your pictures! Bring your family and friends! And bring your grief. After all, who knows? It just might help!

Boy Scouts’ Spring Court of Honor

On Monday, April 23, Boy Scout Troop 861 and their families will enjoy a time of fellowship at a Potluck Supper prior to the annual Spring Court of Honor. Families should plan to arrive at the church by 5:30 p.m. , and each family is asked to bring a dish:

• Black Panther & Flaming Arrow Patrols - Main Dish
• Crow & Eight Ball Patrols - Salad or vegetable
• Thunderbirds - dessert

Please RSVP by April 19! Call Amy at 452-2275, or email Amy.Lavey@Aurora.org.

Praisefest - April 22

Show your support for Cross Lutheran Church , one of our local partner congregations, by attending their annual Praisefest on Sunday, April 22.

Once a year Cross Lutheran celebrates their relationships with each of their partner congregations (Ascension Lutheran in Waukesha , Immanuel in Watertown , St. Mark in Neenah , and First United) with a service of prayer, music and praise to God. The atmosphere is casual, fun, and exhilarating, and it’s a wonderful opportunity for us to meet and get to know the members of Cross Church .

Praisefest begins at 3:00 p.m. at Cross Lutheran Church , Milwaukee , followed by a delicious pot-luck dinner. So plan to come! Sign up on the kiosk if you want to carpool. Directions to Cross are also available on the kiosk. See you there!

Scholarship DEADLINE

The First United Lutheran Church Foundation Fund is reminding you that the deadline for scholarship applications for the upcoming year are due by May 1, 2007 . Please submit your requests in writing to the Foundation Fund for consideration by that date. If you have any questions, please contact Dave Dielentheis, Chairperson, or Cindy in the church office.

2007 Easter Egg Hunt Wrap Up

We had some friends to get it ready!
We had a Great Big Easter Bunny!
We had children wrapped up in winter clothes!
We had moms & dads that nearly froze!
We had colored eggs for hunting!
We had cookies & goodies for chomping!
We had snow and it was cold!
We had hot chocolate to warm us up!
We all had a Great Adventure!
Thank you all for coming!

~Louis & Joyce Milsted

Vacation Bible School
Avalanche Ranch

Howdy, pardners! Mark your calendars for this year’s Vacation Bible School at Avalanche Ranch! VBS will run here at First United the week of July 30 through August 3. Registration and volunteer forms will be mailed out during the month of May. If you know of a family from outside our congregation that might be interested in registration information, please contact the church office, or Mary Gorges.

Join us in the Kitchen!

The Youth & Children’s Ministry is offering a 4-session cooking class for the children and youth of First United. These sessions begin Wednesday, April 18, and run through Wednesday, May 9. Those who have signed up need to be in the church kitchen, ready to cook, at 4:30 p.m. Dinner will then be served at 5:20 p.m. in Fellowship Hall.

Classes will be split into two age groups: Main Course dinner will be taught by Thom Nicla to the youth in the 6 th Grade and above; Dessert will be taught by Mary Gorges to the Kindergarten through 5 th Grades.

The cost of these sessions of classes is $10 per student (which covers all 4 weeks). Registration slips can be found in the church office, or on the Youth & Family Bulletin Board.

Our first session menu consists of Italian Sausage & Pasta, served with a side salad, followed by a Rainbow Ribbon cake for dessert. Meals will only be served to the families who sign up, or participate in the Songs & Supper program.

Questions? Please contact Mary Gorges or Thom Nicla at 452-2401.

Great Beginnings Preschool Notes

The Great Beginnings preschoolers will be singing at the early service on Great Beginnings Sunday, April 22, here at First United, and the Great Beginnings teachers and board will be on hand to answer any questions you may have, and give you a tour of the classroom, if you so desire. Please invite your family and friends that might be interested in our wonderful early childhood program.

If you know of a family looking for a preschool, Great Beginnings is now offering enrollment for the 2007-2008 school year. If you have or know of a child who will be 3 years of age by September 1, 2007 , please consider enrolling them in our wonderful preschool. Enrollment information is available in the church office. If you have any questions, please contact Mary Gorges or Cindy Wigdahl at 452-2401.

Sunday School News

• The 2nd grade class will join 4-Star Rotational Sunday School on Sunday, May 6. On that Sunday, the 2 nd graders will meet in Fellowship Hall for our last rotation of the Sunday School year.
• May 20 is the last session of Sunday. We will end the year with an Ice Cream Social in Fellowship Hall.

Time & Talent Sunday

God has given all his children special gifts. That includes YOU! Not just talents and interests and experiences that are unique to every person - God has also given you spiritual gifts! We use these gifts, guided by the Holy Spirit, to benefit God’s kingdom and God’s people. When we utilize these gifts, we see people’s lives being changed, and we experience great blessing!

In worship on Sunday, April 29, we will be filling out Time & Talent forms. The responses will be used to fill immediate needs, and for planning the 2007-2008 program year, starting in September, 2007. Your time and talents are so vital to the ministry of First United! So we encourage you to take some time to think about how God has blessed you, and how you may be able to use your many gifts to serve God, your church, and your community.

What to expect on Time & Talent Sunday

• Upon arriving at church, pick up your Time & Talent response form and envelope included with your church bulletin. Each member is encouraged to fill out their own response form. (Extra forms are available from the ushers.)
• After prayerfully considering your gifts and blessings from God, please indicate your areas of interest on the form.
• Seal your response in the enclosed envelope.
• Place your response envelope in the basket as you come forward during the offering.

St. Nicholas Hospital needs your help!

St. Nicholas Hospital is currently looking for men and women with varied skills and abilities who are able to commit to volunteering on a regular basis. Currently they are looking for individuals who enjoy greeting and assisting people as they enter the facility; people to assist with escorting patients and visitors to their destinations in the hospital, run errands for the staff, deliver flowers, cards and gifts, and to help in the Gift Shop. If you are interested in learning more about volunteering at St. Nicholas Hospital, please contact Susan Sellars at 459-4714, or email ssellars@sns.hshs.org.