Calvary Lutheran Church
675 Shell Creek Road
PO Box 159
Minong, WI 54859
Calvary Lutheran
Sharing God’s healing love with all!
the Epistle
June 2014
CALVARY LUTHERAN CHURCH E.L.C.A.
PO BOX 159 MINONG, WI 54859
The Ministers: All members of Calvary
Pastor: Reverend Sara Pearson
Church Office:
715-466-2366
715-520-0287
Pastor Sara @home: 1-402-990-9973
OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday through Friday
9am to 3pm*
*These are the normal hours … any number of
schedule conflicts, i.e. funerals, pastor’s
conferences, etc. may cause these times to vary.
calvaryminong@gmail.com
************************************
COMMITTEE HEADS
Evangelism –
Memorial – Bob Larson
466-2517
Property – Mike Hopkins
376-2752
Stewardship –
Worship/Music – Pastor Sara
Education – Connie Visger
Mutual Ministry –
CHURCH TREASURER
Connie Visger
466-5480
FINANCIAL SECRETARY
Marge Waggoner
466-2250
CHURCH COUNCIL
President
John Hermeier
Vice President
Roger Wojt
Secretary
Denise Huset
Members
Mike Hopkins, Roger Wojt, Bill Fye, John
Hermeier, Terry Sather, Dee Heuer, Connie
Visger and Denise Huset.
JUNE VOLUNTEERS
Altar Guild-Connie Visger & Judy Denninger
June 1st
Ushers – Roger & Lorna Wilson
Acolyte – Annika Vaara
Lector – Lorna Wilson
Communion Asst. June 8th
Ushers – Bill Fye & Patti Kahut
Acolyte- Hannah Kroeze
Lector – Patti Kahut
June 15th
Ushers –
Acolyte – Reanna Michie
Lector – Donna Wilson
Communion Asst. – Kathy Turek
June 22nd
Ushers – Bob & Mary Lou Barneson
Acolyte –
Lector –
June 29th
UshersAcolyteLectorCommunion Asst. – Mary Jo Link
Fellowship- Connie Visger & Muggs Denninger
*If you need to make a change in the schedule please contact the
church office with the changes by Thursday. Thank you!
“Duty and Joy”
The woman and I would have collided if I had not been
paying attention. She was voraciously digging into her
bakery item as I was heading down the stairs to get a
cup of coffee. She didn’t even look at me, oblivious and
rudely assuming control of the public walkway. I
internally shook my head as I descended into the
stairwell. As I placed my foot on the third step, I
noticed a ten dollar bill on the ground. My eyebrows
rose, “wow, free breakfast!!” I thought. But even as I
stooped to pick it up I thought of the woman and
wondered if it was her money. I turned around and
chased her down…”Excuse me, did you drop some
money?” She turned, pulling a wad of bills from her
chest pocket. “Yea, probably…like ten dollars?” I
handed it over to her and she turned again, back to her
car. “You’re welcome.” I mumbled to myself.
As I returned to the coffee shop, my mind mulled over
the exchange, annoyed that she didn’t thank me, sad
that I lost ten bucks that was almost my own, angry at
the real possibility that the lady lied about the
money. My displeasure at the encounter increased as I
waited in line for my coffee. Why did I help that rude
woman? She had no regard for me on the stairwell and
cared little that I had gone to the trouble to return her
money. UGH!! Why did I help a person like her?!
Clearly, I had not yet had a cup of coffee and it had
been a rough night of sleeplessness with my son. As I
drank my coffee and thought about the internal
dialogue, my mind turned to a recent piece from The
Lutheran, a magazine of the ELCA. In a short article, the
pastor-writer speaks of a part of the liturgy that we do
on communion Sundays called the Great Thanksgiving…
”it is indeed right, our duty, and our joy that we should
at all times and in all places offer thanks and praise to
you.” This piece of liturgy leads us into communion and
the singing of the “Holy, Holy, Holy.” The author of the
article spoke about raising his child and the dual reality
of it being a duty and a joy. I thought of Gabe as well,
and the struggle I sometimes have with the constant
vigilance it is to keep him safe and away from electrical
outlets, ticks, stairs, and sharp objects. But it is also a
total joy when he does things like dance to Motown
music, learns a new skill like kicking a soccer ball, or
awkwardly forms words like dada and cheeezze.
There is so much in life that is both our duty and our
joy. In a culture and time when doing what feels good is
emphasized, we often forget that it rarely feels good to
brush our teeth, exercise, pay taxes, or go to work on
Mondays. Duty involves the reality of what must be
done, and there are to-do’s and expectations that we
face all throughout our lives. Our life of faith is no
different. Coming to church, attending committee
meetings, doing God’s work, and being disciples can all
be a chore. And there will be (or maybe are) times in
our life when Sundays are good days to sleep in and
catch up on our favorite TV shows. But it is our duty to
come to worship, to hear the good news of Christ, and
be reminded of our identity as beloved children of
God. Coming to worship changes us and affects us. It
might not always feel good and sometimes the sermon
may fall flat, but the joy and delight it is to God is
real. The Bible is full of stories about the duty of being a
person of faith…Jonah angrily refused to go to Ninevah
and speak to his people’s oppressors about repenting,
the prophet Jeremiah had to eat dung and lay on his
side for weeks to illustrate a point to Israel, and Jesus
had to…well, you know.
To be honest, if I hadn’t still been half asleep, I probably
would have kept the ten dollars and justified my action
with the old adage of finders-keepers, losersweepers. But my faith tells me that God is watching
(not in the NSA kind of way, but in the what-you-do
matters to me), and also my son Gabe is watching. He
imitates everything that we do, and I know with him
that actions mean much more than words or
instructions. It is the same for all of us in
community. People are watching, observing, and
paying attention to Calvary Lu. What we do matters. It
is our duty and our joy to care for others (even when
they are rude or oblivious to us), it is our duty and our
joy to keep our kids and the kids in our life safe. It is our
duty and our joy to listen for and be attentive to the
needs of our neighbors. It is our duty and our joy to be
a light for others. Hopefully more joy than duty!
Peace,
Pastor Sara
What’s happening at calvary
Garden Group is meeting Monday’s at
5:30pm. If you like the feel of dirt under
your fingernails and would like to help
beautify the exterior of our church, come
join us.
WELCA will be meeting Wednesday June 4th
at 1:00pm. There will be no WELCA meeting
in July.
Our Missionaries Anne and Willie Langdji
will be on home assignment in June. Please
pray for them and their time in the States
that it may be a time of rest and renewal!
Ruby’s Pantry a food share program in
conjunction with COMFORTS and Washburn
County Food Distribution are having a food
distribution in Minong. Information and
order forms are available in the Fireside
room. Local distributions will be the second
Saturday of the month, usually at the
Minong Village Hall. Check for locations.
Quilters: The quilters will meet on Mon.,
June 2 and Tues., June 3 in the church
basement at 9:00 AM. The quilts are made
for Lutheran World Aid and are sent
wherever they are needed. No sewing skills
are necessary to help with this project and
extra hands are always welcome. Also, we
are always in need of fabric and used
sheets. If you have any questions, contact
Jean Richards.
Bible study resumes starting Wednesday’s
this month. We meet at 10:00am here at
the church. Join us!
Ecumenical Breakfast, all are welcome!
New Hope Lutheran is hosting an
ecumenical breakfast on Saturday June 7th
at 8:00am. Breakfast will be catered by
Wendy’s Place and held at their church. If
interested please rsvp to Doug Whitehead
at 715-466-2704. The guest speaker will be
Joey Falch and her topic will be identity
theft.
Church Council Meeting Sunday June 15th
10am.
New Council! Welcome to our newly
elected council members! John Hermeier
(Pres) Roger Wojt (Vice President), Terrell
Sather, Dee Heuer, Denise Huset
(Secretary), Bill Fye, Mike Hopkins, and
youth rep Ryan Hill/Body
Waggoner. Thanks be to God for their
willingness to serve and lead our church!
New council members can be contacted
regarding church business at the following
email addresses:
Pres. John Hermeier hermeierj@gmail.com
Vice. Roger Wojt @ rdwojt@centurylink.net
Sec. Denise Huset @ husetd@gmail.com
Trea C. Visger @c.visger@centurytel.net
Bill Fye @ 715-699-4739
Terry Sather @ bigtsather@gmail.com
Mike Hopkins@ khopkins4@hotmail.com
Dee Heuer @ heuey79@gmail.com
Adult Education will take place following
the service on Sunday June 22nd.
Financial:
April-14
YTD
Revenue
$ 14,429.72 $128,764.00
Expenses $ 20,713.21 $142,611.62
Over/Under - ($6,283.49) -($13,847.62)
lunch Monday thru Thursday, a midmorning snack will be provided.
Youth Corner
The youth and any interested adults are
invited to a service trip with Urban
Immersion on June 18th-21st in
Minneapolis. If you want to be added to
the trip, money is due no later than June
9th to Pastor Sara. The cost for the trip will
be $225 per person, which includes all
meals and lodging. Financial aid is
available!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR VACATION
BIBLE SCHOOL 2014!!
WHEN: August 11th – 15th
TIME: 9:00am to 2:00pm Monday –
Thursday and Friday 9:00am – 12 noon
KICK OFF PICNIC: Sunday August 10th at
5:30pm
CLOSING PROGRAM: Friday August 15th at
11:30am – The campers will be singing the
songs they have learned for family, friends,
and the community. A light luncheon will
follow the program.
Once again we are teaming up with Luther
Park Bible camp to provide a super fun VBS
day camp. All campers need to bring a sack
Campers 2nd grade thru 6th grade will be led
by the Luther Park counselors. The theme is
Running the Race. Hebrews 12:1-3 “…run
with perseverance the race marked out for
us.”
Campers 3 years thru 1st grade will be led by
Julie Hermeier & Julie Hill. Join us in the
Workshop of Wonders: Imagine & Build
with God! Campers will discover how the
ordinary becomes extraordinary with God!
Psalm 77:14a “You are the God who works
wonders.”
VBS is offered at no charge, but donations
are always welcome! Registration forms
are available in the church office and this
Epistle. To help us plan better please have
registrations filled out and returned to the
church by July 27th.
Ways you could help out with camp:
 Be a volunteer – help with lunch
supervision, playing games, aid in
teaching.
 Bring a snack for campers – enough
for 30 campers
 Provide housing for the Luther Park
team. – 3 to 4 young adults.
 Provide sack lunches for the Luther
Park team.
 Provide dinner for the Luther Park
team
Please see the volunteer sign-up sheet
posted on the bulletin board or contact
Pastor Sara, Julie Hermeier or Connie
Visger.
report, and the Statistics report. All ayes. Motion
carried.
VBS
Motion by Patti Kahut, seconded by Sandy Barbee
to approve the budget. All ayes. Motion carried.
We are looking for confirmation or high
school youth to assist during VBS camp.
Please talk with Pastor Sara, Julie Hermeier
or Connie Visger if you are interested.
Nominating Committee for 2015- Nominations
were: Marge Waggoner, Max Ericson Sr., and
Kathy Hopkins. Motion by Jerry Scribner, seconded
by Kathy King to close & accept nominations. All
ayes. Motion carried.
___________________________________
Calvary Lutheran Church Annual Meeting
May 11 , 2014
Present: Patti Kahut, Susie Clark-Tenney, Margie
Waggoner, Gerry Huse, Jan Huse, Bill Matthias,
Max Ericson Sr, Sandy Ericson, Julie Hermeier, Brian
Olson, Linda Olson, John Hermeier, Denise
Waggoner, Pete Bock, Terry Sather, Adrienne
Sather, Tim Lord, Sue Lord, Mike Hopkins, Kathy
Hopkins, Sandy Barbee, Phyllis Scribner, Jerry
Scribner, Kathy Turek, Bill Fye, Shirley Fye, Donna
Wilson, Judy Denninger, Muggs Denninger, Doris
Denninger, Connie Visger, Joan Johnson, Bob
Larson, Elaine Orvold, Jerry Orvold, Martha Larson,
Pastor Sara
Opening Prayer by Pastor Sara.
Call to order by Vice President, John Hermeier at
10:10 am.
5 Council members leaving – replacements
nominated were: Bill Fye, Roger Wojt, Terry
Sather, Dee Heuer, Denise Huset. Motion by Jerry
Scribner, seconded by Max Ericson Sr. to close &
accept nominations. All ayes. Motion carried.
Old Business- Straw poll done last fall and was
unanimous to accept the Jack Link family’s gift of
Adeline and Wolff Links house, (swap with the old
parsonage) as the new parsonage. Motion by Max
Ericson Sr., seconded by Joni Johnson to accept the
fall straw poll. All ayes. Motion carried.
Bill Matthias wanted to thank Calvary for sending
e-mails to its members about upcoming events at
Calvary.
FYI that a new bank will be in the village and
Calvary will be doing their banking with them (Shell
Lake State Bank).
Natural Gas is going to be put in the Parsonage as
well as the church, there is also new carpet in the
budget for the parsonage and the church altar.
Motion by Jerry Scribner, seconded by Max Ericson
Sr, to approve the agenda. All ayes. Motion
carried.
Motion by Jerry Scribner, seconded by Max Ericson
Sr., to adjourn. All ayes. Meeting adjourned.
Motion by Jerry Scribner, seconded by Jan Huse, to
approve the annual meeting minutes from May
19th, 2013. All ayes. Motion carried.
Denise Waggoner
Motion by Jerry Scribner, seconded by Susie
Tenney to accept, with thanks, the Pastor’s report,
President’s report, Youth ministry report, Nursing
home outreach report, Altar guild report, Memorial
fund report, Evangelism report, WELCA president’s
report, WELCA treasurer’s report, Treasurer’s
Respectfully submitted by