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| Newsletters > Good News > 05-02-07 | ||
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Searching for Meaning- Pastor Gail As I sit down to write this column, the images of Cho Seung-Hui’s final, videotaped message to the world keep flashing in front of my mind’s eye. Received by NBC two days after the worst act of gun violence in our nation’s history, in which 33 people were killed at Virginia Tech, the video portrays a deeply disturbed young man, but provides no answer to the reverberating question, “Why?” As a pastor, I feel a certain level of responsibility to try to provide “meaning” in the wake of such a tragedy, but I find myself coming up short of any satisfying answers. I do not believe that God “let” this thing happen, I do not believe that God spared some students and allowed others to die. I do not know what so infected Cho Seung-Hui’s mind before and during this horrifying act, but I did find myself praying for the mentally ill so that they would not follow Cho into the abyss. In the midst of trying to offer some meaning in light of what the media is calling a “massacre,” I received an email from the Lutheran campus pastor at Marquette University . He shared with members of the synod’s list-serve a meditation he received from the Lutheran campus pastors at Virginia Tech, which I pass along to you, as we search for meaning: “The book of Job is the Bible’s most extended wrestling with the mystery of incomprehensible, pointless, ‘how-can-a-loving God-who-cares-one-iota-about-humanity-allow-such-absurdity’ pain. It spills oceans of ink in trying to come to terms with the inexplicable. A great Old Testament scholar noted that after Job’s life falls apart, his three friends came ‘and they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.’ ( 2:13 ) The scholar notes, ‘And that is the last thing they do right in the whole book.’ The rest of the way they offer long-winded explanations of Job’s agony. They blame Job. They defend God. They try to tie up the loose ends that make no sense. They leave Job hurting. “Over the past few days I have been struck by the temptation to frenzy, the compulsion we feel to do something-anything-just so we don’t feel so impotent. We babble. We organize. We probe the minutia of the time-line. But the really hard thing to do is to simply sit with people who suffer. I would love to have brilliant answers to why this absurdity has visited our campus. I wish I had glib words about divine care and providence which would pull the poison paralyzing us right now. But pat answers are the stuff of Job’s comforters, not the core biblical witness. The Bible does not give us answers, it gives us a witness. God deals with suffering, not by making it reasonable, but by sharing it and asking us to be willing to sit with those whose agony is almost too much to bear. “One panel of Matthias Grunewald’s magnificent Isenheim altarpiece depicts the crucifixion. John the Baptist stands at the foot of the cross and points at one of the most excruciatingly detailed pictures of human suffering you will ever see. No words. No explanations. But it seems to say, ‘This is God’s answer to suffering, to all the evil we do to one another: Emmanuel, God with us.’ “Brothers and sisters, recovery is not going to be a sprint; the road to healing for our community is a marathon. There will be many opportunities to sit in silence with those who suffer. Resist the temptation to explain. Just... listen...and wait on the healing which God will provide in due season.” -Bill King & Joanna Stallings
On Sunday, May 27, our summer worship schedule begins. There will be only one worship service each Sunday, beginning at 9:30 a.m.
On Monday, May 21, you are invited to a Potluck Luncheon to be held in Fellowship Hall at 12:00 noon . Following the meal, Al Loth will give a presentation on People-to-People’s special relationship with Los Ninos, a non-profit organization based in Chula Vista, California, whose main mission is to help children and their families in the Tijuana area. Please call the church office to sign up, and let us know if you are able to bring a main dish, salad or dessert!
VIL Picnic - Monday, June 18 Join us for traditional Brats and Burgers as we gather for our annual summer picnic here at church. Afterwards there will be games, and Pastor Jacobs has agreed to call the Bingo game! Mark you calendar now, and call the church office if you plan to attend, and let us know how many brats or burgers you plan to eat!
In Deepest Sympathy We offer our Christian love to the family of Andy and Pat Neils at the death of their nephew; and to the family of Tom Pilgrim at the death of his mother.
Confirmation Congratulations to all our 9th Graders who Affirmed their Faith on Sunday, April 15: Chloe Aldag
Summer Worship Responsibilities In the coming weeks, we will begin work on the next few months of Worship Responsibilities. This book will include the months of July, August, September and October. IT WOULD BE SO HELPFUL if you would call the church office if you know of certain dates you will not be available during these months, so that we can work around you, and save a lot of phone calling. If you have decided you would like to be removed from a certain responsibility, please let us know that, as well. Thank you!
ALL COMMITTEE NIGHT Plan to attend the final All Committee Night on Monday, May 14! We won’t meet again until September, so please make every effort to attend this meeting. Dinner begins at 6:15 p.m. in the Gathering Area, after which all committees will hold their individual meetings. Anyone interested in getting involved in any of the church committees is encouraged to attend.
Special Congregational Meeting, The Mission Exploration Team (MET) will present and discuss their report which will be presented to Rev. Sue Ruehle, Assistant to the Bishop of the Greater Milwaukee Synod. She will also talk to the congregation about the Call process. Copies of the MET Report, which will contain a mission statement, a mission strategy for the next 5 years, specific mission goals for the next 5-10 years, a plan to review and evaluate mission goals, a congregational profile, and expectations of “The Leader We Seek: Profile for a Senior Pastor,” will be available the week prior to the meeting. 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 .
A Note of Thanks from Bridgeway House... Dear Members of First United: On behalf of all the families at Bridgeway House I’d like to thank you for your very generous donation. We were very appreciative of the breakfast foods donated to us. Thank you for thinking of us. Sincerely, Bonnie J. Wassell
Those Blue Bins: Throughout the church building, the Care For Creation Committee has placed blue bins for paper recycling. While they are placed near the trash cans in the classrooms, they are NOT intended for trash! Please place in the blue bins only mixed paper products: newspaper, white and colored paper, clean cardboard, anything that you would recycle at home for paper pick-up by the city. Larger blue bins are available in the Gathering Area to recycle your bulletins, if you choose not to bring them home. Finally, clearly-marked bins near the serving kitchen, in the sacristy, and Fellowship Hall kitchen have been provided for recycling glass, aluminum, and plastic products. Thank you for your cooperation in helping to care for God’s creation at First United!
Just Married... Congratulations to Elizabeth Severance and Aaron Marcoux who were joined in marriage Saturday, April 21, here at First United. May God bless them as they establish a new life together!
An Ordination Service! Our very own Pres Hoffman has been called to serve as the pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church in West Milwaukee ! As this will be his "first call" as a pastor, an ordination service at First United is being planned for Saturday, May 19, at 3:00 p.m. with a reception in Fellowship Hall afterwards. Because the people of First United have been instrumental in supporting Pres in his formation and studies to become a pastor, he and his wife Kathy would like to invite the congregation to attend this festive celebration. Please join us for this service of Holy Communion as we celebrate God's call to Pres to serve as a minister of Word and Sacrament in the Lutheran church.
Articles for the next issue of the Good News should be in the church office by Monday, May 7. The next issue will be in the homes on Wednesday, May 16.
The preschoolers did an AWESOME JOB on Great Beginnings Sunday! We are so proud of them! As we work our way through April the children are learning about the earth and how to take care of it. We have our own recycling center set up in the classroom, and we are learning how to separate our garbage and how to do some recycling. The week of April 23-27 we made some recycled newspaper hats and a ball game out of old milk containers! We also have a campsite set up in our dramatic play center; the children enjoy pretending to camp out in the wilderness, and cooking over a grill. If you are interested in seeing what our preschool is all about, please come and visit us some morning and see all of the fun and learning that goes on! Just give us a call to let us know that you are coming! ~Sandy Gosse, Lead Teacher/Director
Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 13! Mom has 180 moveable parts, all replaceable; runs on black coffee and leftovers; a kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair; and six pair of hands. Tell mom how much you love her! Donuts & Dialogue Marilyn Miller, Executive Director of Lutheran Human Relations Association (LHRA) and Co-Leader of our synod’s Anti-Racism Team, and Jack Loptnow, member of the synod’s Anti-Racism Team, will be guest speakers for our May 6 Donuts & Dialogue. Marilyn and Jack will talk about their work on the synod level, and also help us reflect on what we can do, as a congregation committed to justice for all God’s people. First United will be hosting an Anti-Racism Training here in October that will be facilitated by LHRA! This will be an introductory, Biblically based training that is recommended for anyone and everyone interested! Marilyn will have more information and registration forms available. Please come to Donuts & Dialogue on Sunday, May 6, at 9:40 a.m. in the Genszler room!
Tanzanian Greetings and News The theme for Rally Day on Sunday, September 9, will be “ Tanzania !” We will have a Tanzanian worship service, complete with African music, followed by an authentic Tanzanian lunch. There will also be lots of fun Tanzanian activities for children and adults of all ages! Watch the Good News and kiosk for more updates, and how to get involved! First United pictures and information were sent to the Maangashiny Parish, along with two disposable digital cameras. Our hope is that they will take pictures of their members and the area where they live, and then send the cameras back for us to develop and share. We continue to email Pastor Mbise, and have been hearing from him more regularly. Here is his latest message: “Thank you very much for your message towards what you have asked. We are still enjoying and celebrating Easter, which was last week. We did enjoy Easter very much. “I have three children. The first one is known as Vivien, the second one is Marry, and the last one is Lemuel. I have three children whose parents died due to the world issue AIDS. I send them to secondary school just to help them for their future. It is hard for the pastor to educate children in our country because of income problems, but I pray that GOD can help me from anywhere. I don’t have my children in secondary school but only primary school. What we are doing is to open her or his account (for their fees) ahead. I need prayer on this. “We have a good choir in my congregation, three choirs, and I like to sing very much. Do you have a choir chairman? There are about 42 choir members in my congregation. May God bless you. ~Rev. C. Mbise” Thank you! On Sunday, May 20, we will recognize all the volunteers of First United. It’s our way of saying “Thanks” for all you do for the work of the church!
Holy Knitters meet in May The Holy Knitters will be meeting from 5:00-6:00 p.m. on Monday, May 14, in Room 8. If you knit or crochet, and would like to help make prayer shawls and lap blankets, please come and join us! We will continue to meet on the second Monday of the month from 5:00-6:00 p.m. during the summer. If you don’t knit or crochet, you can still help by giving a financial gift to support our ministry. Your gift will be used to purchase the yarn for the shawls and blankets. Please make your check payable to First United Lutheran Church, memo: Holy Knitters. Thank you for your support!
Last day of Sunday School Parents, please take note that the last day of Sunday School is May 20. We will finish the year with an Ice Cream Social in Fellowship Hall, and all are invited!
Avalanche Ranch VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL 2007 Join us for a wild ride at VBS this summer, July 30 through August 3, here at First United! Registration and volunteer forms will be mailed out this month, so watch your mailbox! 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.
Second Graders to join Four Star Rotation The Second Grade class will join 4-Star Rotational Sunday School on Sunday, May 6. On that Sunday, 2 nd graders should meet in Fellowship Hall for the last rotation of the Sunday School year.
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