Care

Milestones

Deaths: We grieve this month with the loss of these members of our church or of our families.

Longtime member of our church, Ivanette Johnson, died at home in February. We remember Ivanette’s family in our prayers.

Savvy Seniors will meet at 11:30am on Monday, May 1st, at Arrow Bar in Weston.

United Methodist Women

Upcoming Events

May 3
9:30am - Sunshine Gals

May 4
6:30pm - Executive Committee

May 10
9:30am - Mary-Faith Circle

May 11
5:30pm - Love-Hope Circle

May 16
12:00pm - High Tea

Powerful Tools for Caregivers

The ADRC (Aging and Disability Resource Center) is again sponsoring their class for those who care for loved ones at home. The class is not just about how to care better for others, but also about ways to care for yourself in this stressful role.
Classes meet for 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Wednesdays
May 3rd – June 7th
9:00 am – 10:45 am
ADRC-CW
2600 Stewart Ave - Suite 25
Wausau
Suggested contribution: $10

The Ministry of Yoga

Remember that Monday nights at First Church are yoga nights. “Chair Yoga,” for those with limited mobility, begins at 4:30pm, and the class for everyone else begins at 6:00pm. There will be no classes on the New Year’s Day Holiday, January 2, however. Classes will resume January 9.

UMW Reading List

The Reading Program List is available at: umwonline.net in the Reading Program group. Click on Reading Lists in the blue box.

Prayer Shawls

One of the tangible ways that we care for those who are facing the stress and distress of life changes is through our prayer shawl ministry. Each shawl is handmade and has been prayed over by our team. And each shawl is a physical, and very soft, reminder that God is with us.

Do you know someone who would appreciate a shawl? It doesn’t have to be a major crisis or illness. If so, let us know. Tell one of the Prayer Shawl team (Marion Attoe, Mary Ann Dykes, Yvonne Firary, Nancy Flath, Alice Schacht, Jessie Stange, Maggie Werhane, and Jean Zuelke) or Pastor Jerry. We will see that a shawl is provided for the person you love.

Hospice Volunteer

As our society, state, and community age, people are beginning to pay closer attention to issues surrounding quality of life - and dignity of death. Hospice care can be a part of this.

Interim Health Care, which has already provided flu shots for our church is beginning a new hospice program in Wausau and is looking for volunteers who might want to work in this important area of care. They have opportunities in both direct care (e.g. visits or transportation) and indirect help (e.g. office and scheduling).
If this ministry appeals to you, contact:

Jennifer Juntunen
Human Resources Director
Interim HealthCare
2402 Grand Ave.
Wausau, WI 54403
715-842-7707

Assist with Funeral Meals

The United Methodist Women have, as a mission, provided funeral lunches. It is an honor to do this for the families. We are updating our volunteer list. We are inviting anyone to help set tables, prepare and serve lunch, and do the dishes. Any help is welcome. If you are interested, please contact Nancy Flath at 715-446-3252, Barb Ritchie at 715-843-7700, or let someone in the office know that you would like to be added to the updated list.

A Care Study

- Jerry Morris

“Pastoral Care” is what we usually call the visitation ministry of the church. It involves crisis care - hospital visits, prayer and presence during times of need, and it involves regular visitation even apart from crisis. There’s just one problem with the term. Most people reading it might think it’s a thing that only a pastor can do. Nope.

On a Thursday in April, just as I was sitting down to key in my sermon outline, we got a call from one of our senior members. She had woken up dizzy and unstable that day, to the point that she felt she needed to go to urgent care. But being dizzy, she knew she shouldn’t drive. None of her usual rides to things like that were available and so, with nowhere else to go, she called us.

Well, of course I dropped the sermon and went to give her a ride. Duh. So would you have. I got her in the waiting room safely, then stepped out in the hall for a moment. There, in an adjoining room, was Monica Dvorak. “What are you doing here, Pastor Jerry? Are you all right?” So I explained that I had given a ride to our member.

Anyway, Monica took over. She sent me off, sat with the member through all that long day of waiting rooms and lab tests and CT scans. She went to get them lunch, and then once all the tests came in negative and our member was feeling better, she took her home. Twice during the day she called to give me an update, but at no point did she think I was necessary. Which is exactly right.

Here’s the thing. I could have done all that. Probably not as well, but I could have done it. But at some level it would be me doing my job. This wasn’t. This was the church being the church. Thank you, Monica.

The End of An Era - and a New Beginning Arlene Trull Retires

On Wednesday, May 31, at noon, Arlene Trull will leave her desk in the church office, probably give some instructions to the volunteer who is coming to cover the desk until the office closes at 4:00. The bulletins will be printed, the newsletter will be assembled, and all will be in order, as it always is when Arlene finishes her work week. This time, though, Arlene will leave her keys behind, and when she drives home it will be to begin a new stage in her life. After serving as our secretary for 14 years, Arlene is retiring.

No, she’s not moving to Florida or Arizona (at least, she hasn’t mentioned that). She’ll still be around, and her friends don’t have to say goodbye. But she will be missed all the same. Her unfailing smile as she greets friends (including the ones she’s never met, who just wandered off the street) will be missed. Her laughter will be missed. Her unfailing efficiency will be (seriously) missed by her co-workers. Arlene has become the face of this church for more people than any of us know, and it has been a welcoming face. The church represents Christ, and Arlene has represented both. And she has represented them well.

This month, make sure you thank Arlene for her work, and if you don’t find time to do so one-on-one, then come to the coffee hour in her honor after church on May 21. We will rejoice with her and thank her.

(See Resources Page for follow-up article)

Name Tags Image

Why Wear Nametags?

Put yourself in the place of a first time visitor in our greeting time, with names being handed to you by everyone. Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone were wearing their name tags?

Now imagine you’re a new pastor to this church next July ...

Click here to download the 2017 Downtown Memory Café Schedule

Remember Our 1st Sunday Birthday Table

On the first Sunday of every month, we set up in the Parlor a small table with a copy of the newsletter birthday list, and some birthday cards and envelopes.

Take a moment during Coffee Hour to write a greeting. Those who are homebound are indicated (as in the newsletter) with an asterisk, which indicates someone who might especially appreciate being remembered by her or his church family.

Home Visit...

Fair Trade Coffee. Our United Methodist Women maintain a cabinet of Fair Trade Coffee for sale. This is coffee that is grown by small farmers using sustainable methods. Will buying this coffee save the world? No. Can it make a difference? Yes. Look for the UMCOR sticker on your purchase. This sticker indicates that a percentage of this sale will go to the United Methodist Committee on Relief, so each purchase comes with a giving bonus.

Aluminum Cans. One of the more obvious ways that we can show stewardship of creation is simply not to throw as much into landfills. Where something can be recycled and reused in a different form, it should be. We should all be doing this at home and work, but recycling aluminum cans through the church is especially useful. Our Missions Team has taken on the task of redeeming those cans, and all the cash raised in this way is dedicated to mission projects.

Cookie Cookbook Report

Thank you to all who purchased cookbooks as part of our fundraiser for the parking lot. We sold nearly all the books we ordered and raised almost $1,000. Thank you especially to Nancy Runner for organizing and administering this project in September. A few cookbooks are left and can be purchased from the office.

And thank you to all of you who baked cookies for or delivered them to our local police and fire departments on 9/11 as a gesture of our gratitude to them.

Downtown Memory Cafe Programs for 2016

Our Memory Care Council has been busy, and most of our programming for this year is already planned. If you’ve been wondering about getting involved, take a look at the next few months and do so.

March 17: Feelin’ Lucky. Some Wheel of Fortune and shamrock-making. Try the luck of the Irish.

April 21: Folks and Jokes. Humor month. Folk guitarist Steve Loftus and a lot of humor.

May 19: Our Fine Feathered Friends. A visit from the Raptor Education Group.

June 16: ”I Do.” A wedding-themed program, accompanied harp and violins.

Click here to view/download Complete 2016 Memory Café Program Schedule

Cans for Missions

The Guatemala Mission Trip is paid for! But keep bringing your aluminum cans to the church!

All proceeds will support our church’s outreach projects.

Visitation Team Report

As most of you know, we have been working to establish some new systems to help our members to be more intentional about caring for each other. Here is what we’ve done:

Established the core of a Visitation Team, people who have taken on this role as a regular commitment.
Established an updated Visitation List, with a weekly record of who has been visited most recently, which is available to any member who wishes to make a visit. Both lists are in a marked mail box by the office door.
Begun a monthly birthday table, available the first Sunday of every month in the Parlor, with a list of members and friends who have birthdays that month. All members are encouraged to stop at the table and send a card - especially to those who may not be able to make it to church regularly themselves.

It’s a start. And we are just starting. If you’re interested in joining the Visitation Team or have other ideas, let either Arlene Trull or Pastor Jerry know in the Office: (715) 842-2201.

Giving by Not Throwing Stuff Away

Sometimes giving to others requires sacrifice. There’s nothing wrong with that: giving sacrificially for others’ sake is what Jesus taught us to do, after all. But sometimes it is incredibly easy to make a difference, and the only thing keeping us from doing so is absent-mindedness. Here are some examples:

Milk Moola - Do you buy milk at Kwik Trip? If so, save the caps of the jugs. Those can be redeemed for money by the Harbor House Ministry in Superior.

Labels for Education / Box Tops for Education - These little labels, found on General Mills boxed foods and Campbell’s Soup cans, can be redeemed by Northcott Neighborhood House in Milwaukee.

Pop Tops from Aluminum Cans - Those little tabs, when given to the Ronald McDonald House, become cash. And, so long as you’re pulling the tabs off the cans, bring the cans in, too.

Aluminum Cans - We all know that these can be redeemed for cash, but most of us don’t bother because the few cans that we have won’t be worth the gas to drive down to the redemption center. But if we all brought our cans in to the church, they would add up. This year, the proceeds of those cans will be used to fund the mission trip to Guatemala.

Bring your cans to the recycling bin in the kitchen. Receptacles for all the other items are in baskets prominently displayed in the Parlor. See? Ridiculously easy. All you need to do is remember.

A Resource for Cancer Patients:

Cleaning for a Reason

One of the stresses of cancer is the weariness that comes from the treatments. It’s just hard to keep up with everything when you’re tired.

Nationwide foundation “Cleaning for a Reason,” has a new affiliate in Wausau. This group provides up to four free house cleanings for cancer patients. If you know someone who qualifies and could use this service, contact:

mariearnold@execcleaning.com
715-506-0970

Yoga

Every Monday at 6:00pm

One of the best-kept secrets in our church is the yoga class that meets every Monday. Led by our own Maggie Schoenfeld, suitable for people of all ages and body types, yoga is a powerful way to nurture both body and soul. A suggested donation per session is $8, part of which supports our congregation’s Health Ministries Fund.

Senior Parking Spots

Now that the snow and cold weather have arrived (in force!), we ask you to think twice when you parking at church Sunday mornings. We have many senior members who find it difficult and even unsafe to walk very far in this weather. A few years ago, the Trustees designated the row of parking spots closest to the building as “Senior Parking”, and marked this with signs. Out of concern for those who have a more difficult time, please park as far from the church building as you can, to allow others to park closer. Remember, we can park on the street, and in the Y lots across the street