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Care
The Messenger
Newsletter will continue to be available in print and in electronic forms.
We count on being able to know what is happening in the life of our church!
Mail delivery will continue to be available. What will change is that the church will ask you to cover the first-class postage. As of January 1, we are no longer eligible for bulk mail.
We ask that you contribute $6 to the church if you would like a paper newsletter mailed to your home. We will also welcome gifts to defray the cost of mailings to our homebound and shut-in friends. We don’t want them to feel forgotten!
Alternatively, you can still read The Messenger online or you can pick up a paper copy at the church.
Please indicate your preference on the form of page 9 of this newsletter and return to the office.
This change will take effect with the mailing of our February newsletter.
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Due to the restrictions set forth by the CDC regarding the COVID-19 virus, I have made the decision to cancel our Savvy Seniors group for now. I hope that you all remain healthy during this trying time and will join us when we are able to regroup.
Thank you , Vicki Nowaczyk
Personal Finance Advice from Dave Ramsey
We are called upon by God to practice stewardship of the resources with which we have been gifted. This includes how we apportion our time, our energy and our financial resources, not just at church but in all of our earning, spending and saving.
With that in mind, for the next few months we are offering monthly suggestions for personal financial stewardship. From the Dave Ramsey website, here is your third installment:
Temporarily freeze your spending.
We spend a lot of extra money here and there on ran- dom extra things we don’t really need. Instead of spending $100 on impulse buys, try a spending freeze. How? Simple. Don’t buy any nonessential items for a whole week, month, or until you hit a specific savings goal—you decide how long.
Not spending money is the best way to save it (mic drop).
from daveramsey.com/blog/save-100-to-1000-minimal-effort?
How can you “Live & Share God’s Love ... with peace, joy & hope” today, in your workplace (if you’re still able to work) and at home? This is God’s call for us not just in the easy times but in the “interesting” ones as well.
On many communion Sundays, you receive an insert that says, “This month I commit to:” I call on you and all the faithful people of First Church this month to commit to calling/texting/emailing family and friends. And, I call on you to open your church directory and call people—the ones you know and the ones you don’t.
Pastor Jayneann
 The Sunshine Gals loved taking their warmth to the residents at The Gardens and Mount View Care Center the past years. We have spread our sunshine with music, sharing readings and our thoughts, adding laughter and smiles, conversing with memories, and showing our care through our handshakes. We have become good friends with the common cause of spreading love.
If you would like to join us and take part in this ministry of our church, we would truly welcome you!!! Please call me if you have questions at 715.359.7756.
Arlene Trull
Downtown Memory Cafe 2020 Events
January 16: “Penny for your Thoughts” Join us as we kick off 2020 with a fun Penny Ante Game—a great way to get to know one another!
February 20: “Beautiful Wisconsin” TV 9 Meteorologist, Justin Lowe, joins us to share pictures of our beautiful state—and answer all of our burning weather-related questions!
March 19: “Cutie Pie” Spring on in with your baby picture or picture of your “spring chicken” selves. We will guess who each other is! And, of course, eat pie!
April 16: “Wisconsin Supper Clubs” Enjoy piano, string bass and percussion by local music artist Ray Kraemer, mocktails, relish trays. We will host a surprise local supper club owner!
May 21: “Downtown Memory Café turns 6!” A Café of music and activities for our local police crew for National Police Week. And cake!
June 18: “Attracting our Fine Feathered Friends” Fly on in for a presentation from Wild Birds Unlimited—something to tweet about!
July 16: “Down on the Farm!” Play farm bingo for laughs. Make whipped cream at our tables and serve it over strawberry shortcake. A yummy, fun time!
August 20: “Picnic at Marathon Park” Bring your lawn chairs and a mystery/unusual item to share. We will have a guessing good time!
Sept. 17: “Travel Talk” Join us for a travel talk, complete with ethnic food and music! To be announced.
October 15: “Laugh Basket!” Too fun to miss! We will collect a basketful of fun items to don and show each other. A café complete with jokes, one-liners and tongue-twisters!
November 19: “Book Club!” Share a favorite book, cookbook, family album or novel. Open mic to those who wish to recite a poem or favorite quote! Don’t miss this chapter!
December 17: “Holiday in Song!” Back by huge demand, join Blowin’- in-the-Winds recorder group for a holiday sing-a-long and more!
Welcome, Rebecca Voss!
On July 1, 2020, FUMC-Wausau will welcome a new pastor, Rebecca Voss. Her first official Sunday in our church will be July 12. She is coming to us from New Hope UMC in DePere, WI, where she has been the pastor since 2014.
Pastor Rebecca was raised in Waunakee, WI, in a very musical, Lutheran home. She went to Luther College in Decorah, IA, planning to complete a degree with the hope of becoming a band director. However, she received the call to ministry in her first semester at Luther and switched majors to Public Communications and minors in Biblical Greek and Music. Her plans to attend seminary changed when she was called to become a youth director at Fifth Ave UMC in West Bend, WI, where she recognized her affinity to the heritage and theology of the Methodist denomination.
When she was living in Illinois, she attended a two-year program for congregational development as a lay person. While studying there, she was encouraged to follow her pastoral calling, and went on to seminary school in Ohio, while serving as a pastor in Plainfield, IL. She earned a M.Div. with a concentration in church renewal, graduated in 2014 in Ohio, was commissioned as a Provisional Elder in Northern IL, transferred to the WI Annual Conference, and was appointed to serve New Hope UMC, all within one month! She was ordained in 2016 and has served the WI Annual Conference in a number of ways since that time.
While serving the DePere church, she met her husband, James, and they were married at Pine Lake Camp in 2017. They have a blended family of 3 young adult sons (Joshua-21, James Jr-20, and Micah-18) and 4 daughters (Jazlyn-17, Jordyn-13, Joy-12, and Jayden-11), plus Sandy the greyhound, Gus the cat, Lola the rabbit, and Meep the hamster. They are all looking forward to “connecting with the people of First UMC-Wausau and the region we’re called to serve as the Holy Spirit revitalizes our faith, church and city, and God writes the next chapter of new hope for all of us.”
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Your Staff Parish Relations Committee
The SPRC of First United Methodist Church—Wausau really is your committee in the church. It is a way for you to have your voice heard in ena- bling communications between the staff and the congregation, the parish. The purpose of this committee is outlined in the Book of Discipline as: ‘the administrative unit in the local church where staff and congregational interests are integrated to focus on the mission of the church”. The majority of actions taken during these committee meetings are confidential, and all input is held in confidence, but it is “owned” input. Triangulation has disrupted these confidences in recent times, but please know that the current members of SPRC are working very hard to rid our church of this practice.
In recent months, your SPRC committee has been very busy. One of our biggest responsibilities is to hire staff. We were responsible for meeting with the District Superintendent to discuss what our church wanted in a pastor, which led him and the Bishop to bring Pastor Rebecca Voss here for an interview with committee members. After some discussion and negotiations, the committee approved the recommendation of Pastor Rebecca’s appointment, which was then finalized by the Bishop of Wisconsin’s Annual Conference.
Another big responsibility has been to help Pastor Jayneann help all of us work through how FUMC—Wausau would handle the response to COVID-19. We worked with our pastor to get a protocol established that helps all of us try to navigate these uncertain times, looking at both short- term plans, as well as possible long-term plans. Because we are dealing with something that has not happened to any of us before, we will be meeting more frequently (and safely!) to determine how to move forward. Ultimately, it will be SPRC that decides church hours, how and where staff will work, when worship time will once again occur in the sanctuary, when face to face meetings will resume, etc....
Other responsibilities include annual evaluations of staff members, working with potential Lay Speakers, Candidates for Ministry, and missionary service, develop and work with staff job descriptions, etc. ... Currently, each SPRC member is a liaison to one of the church’s staff members, which hopefully fosters stronger communications. The Staff Parish Relations Committee plays an important role in our church. Please reach out to any of its members with your questions, concerns, and comments.
Bonnie Goertz, chair of SPRC
Jubilate Handbells at 2510
Random Thoughts
by Mike Zahn April 2020 THE CROSS
At a recent Friday noon Lenten Organ Meditation held at our church, one of the pieces was “The Old Rugged Cross.” I looked up at the large cross above the altar and began to put together some thoughts and previously learned information in my head.
One observation is that God has taken the cross, a tool of death, and transformed it into a symbol of life. There is amazing power in that supernatural action. The vertical beam of the cross reaches from the ground, from which our humanity is formed and re- turns to when we die; to the eternity of the universe. Linking earth and heaven is Jesus Christ.
On the horizontal beam is room for every single human being. And we are all on the same level; no one is higher or lower, as in the world. We are all equal in God’s eyes. And the arms of Jesus stretch out to love and hold each unique one of us.
As is proven in historical fact, Jesus died, like all people; in that way He is no different than us. But as we observe Easter this month, let’s celebrate this—the cross in our sanctuary is empty! The tomb is empty!
Paul writes: “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God has exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:8-11
First Church's Facebook Page
Please take a look at our church Facebook page! We currently have a meal train up for the Hornbys with opportunities to help with a meal. Some of our other activities are listed there as well.
If you have something you would like to put on the FB page, let Jen Johnson know. She will make all attempts to post it. Her number is 715-470-2527
Pine Lake United Methodist Camp
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