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.”
.jpg)
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
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
sabbath?
Pandemic
What if you thought of it

as the Jews consider the Sabbathщ۬
the most sacred of times?

Cease from travel.

Cease from buying and selling.

Give up, just for now,

on trying to make the world

different than it is.

Sing. Pray. Touch only those

to whom you commit your life.

Center down.

And when your body has become still,
reach out with your heart.

Know that we are connected

in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.
(You could hardly deny it now.)

Know that our lives

are in one another’s hands.

(Surely, that has come clear.)

Do not reach out your hands.

Reach out your heart.

Reach out your words.

Reach out all the tendrils

of compassion that move, invisibly,
where we cannot touch.

Promise this world your love--

for better or for worse,

in sickness and in health,

so long as we all shall live.
Lynn Ungar 3/11/20, lynnungar.com
Jubilate Handbells at 2510
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
