THE
GOOD
NEWS
Wacousta Community United Methodist Church
JUNE, 2015
Our Mission Statement:
“Striving to be examples of Christ’s love
through ministry and mission.”
OFFICE INFO
Email addresses:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Web site: www.wacoustaumc.org
Office Hours: Monday-Thursday, 9am-1
OFFERINGS AND ATTENDANCE
APRIL, 2015
Giving
$14,814
Needed to meet
budget
$16,493
Over/Short for
month
-$1,679
Average
Attendance
139.5
ALTAR FLOWERS
Music & Worship invites
everyone to share flowers for
our altar. We have vases
available if you don't want to
bring your own. Contact Carol
Orsborn or the church office.
DIRECTORIES ARE AVAILABLE IN THE
NARTHEX. These do not have photos, just
contact information. Please report any errors or
corrections to the office. Note: All phone
numbers are area code 517 unless a different
code is provided.
AND CHECK OUT THE NEW WEBSITE!
www.wacoustaumc.org. It’s still getting
tweaked so if you have any comments or
suggestions, let Cathy Thomas, our Office
Administrator know. Note: The church
calendar is located in Resources.
PASTOR’S NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS
Please use [email protected] and not
[email protected].
From Pastor Amee…
J
une has arrived,
and summer is
upon us. The
days are long, the
strawberries are
irresistible, and the
mosquitoes have begun to plot a savage
revenge for their sad lot in life. You may (or
may not) be interested to know that June is
also Aquarium Month, Candy Month,
National Accordion Awareness Month,
National Adopt a Cat Month, and Turkey
Lovers Month.
appreciate the uniqueness of our brother or
sister in Christ. In order to see this we
need to look beyond the surface level to
discover the spiritual gem that lies within
each of us.
My challenge for you during this
gorgeous gift of June is to dig a little
deeper and begin to know the neighbor
sitting next to you in worship. For
starters, sit with someone you don’t know
so well and begin a dialogue. Instead of
starting the conversation with the mundane,
“How are you?” ask something interesting,
like: “What is something that I don’t know
about you?”
Special days in June include:
•
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June 3rd: Repeat Day
…I said Repeat Day
June 6th: National Yo-Yo Day
June 20th: World Juggler’s Day; and
June 25th: National Catfish Day
People often joke about the numerous
“official days” or months for various causes
or occasions we celebrate in this country
and around the globe. Personally, I enjoy a
gentle reminder of how unique and varied
we are as human beings. Made in God’s
image, none of us individually could ever
encompass the entirety of the Divine. Yet,
we each have our own imprint of the
Creator and are called to unique passions,
desires, and ministries.
Paul uses the analogy of the human body
to describe how we all work together to
accomplish God’s purposes (1 Corinthians
12). According to Paul, some of us are
toenails and others are eyebrows. While we
are empowered by the same Spirit, we’ve
each got our own role to play for the body
to function.
One of the challenges to utilizing one
another’s gifts is that we often don’t really
know or understand one another very well.
It takes a little inquiry to discover and
True Christian community is built upon a
spiritual intimacy that deepens over time.
We won’t get to know each other overnight,
and there will always be some people we
know better than others. However, we
should never stop challenging ourselves to
enter into that uncomfortable place of
getting to know someone new. From the
vantage point of seeing another person’s
uniqueness, we can begin to encourage
one another in truly meaningful ways. We
may even find ourselves in interesting
conversations about juggling or catfish or
yo-yos…everyone knows God loves yoyos.
HOSPITALITY
Thank you to Mark Gober who designed and
handmade a new coffee cart for the
Fellowship hall!
Music and Worship/Hospitality
STEPHEN MINISTRY
Stephen Ministers were
Commissioned
On Sunday, May 3rd, two
Stephen Leaders and four
Stephen Ministers were
commissioned.
The Stephen Leaders who were commissioned
are: Janeen Steenhagen and Linda Jones.
Stephen Ministers who were commissioned
include: Karen Rhodes, Andy Sass, Amelia
Redman and Carolyn Beaune.
Our Stephen Ministers have all started to care
for various persons in the community. They
also engage in bi-monthly supervision and
training.
The need for more care givers has already
exceeded the number of ministers we have, so
please be in prayer about whether you may be
called to this powerful, unique care-giving
ministry. If you have any questions, please feel
free to speak with Linda, Janeen or Pastor
Amee.
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5/31 - combs
6/7 - washcloths
6/14 - hand towels
6/21 - nail clippers
6/28 - bath-size soaps
7/5 - toothbrushes
7/12 - toothpaste
New items only; do not wash items as they will
be considered used. There will be a collection
point in the Narthex. Thank you!
.
Please be considerate of those with
environmental sensitivities and refrain from
heavy perfumes and colognes on Sundays.
This is one simple way we can make ALL feel
more welcome!
Sincerely,
Pastor Amee
EDUCATION
Sunday School is done until fall. Have a safe
and happy summer!
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient,
bearing with one another in love.”
Ephesians 4:2
UMW
The UMW will hold their annual salad luncheon
with Dorothy Fredericks, a missionary from
Haiti, on Wednesday, June 24 at noon at the
church. They will assemble health kits for
Dorothy to take with her when she goes back
to her mission for the winter. If you want to
provide any items for the kits, here is a list of
needed items and their collection dates:
HYGIENE KITS FOR HAITI
The UMW will be collecting the following items
for Haiti on the following dates:
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
Save the date for VBS!
Vacation Bible School will be from 9 am to
noon June 15-18. All area children ages 3
through 5th grade (completed) are invited to
attend. Registration forms are available on the
church website. Thank you to the adults who
have already stepped forward to help with
VBS. We still have a few more slots
available. Teens are also welcome to
volunteer. Please see Nicole Thorne for more
information.
BANNER COMMITTEE
The Banner Committee is
meeting again on the 2nd
and 4th Thursdays at
6:30pm. You don’t have to
be an expert crafter to join
the group for one evening
or many. Sometimes really simple tasks like
cutting or gluing make quite a contribution. See
Kathy Bender if you have questions.
OUTREACH
FOOD OF THE MONTH IS BACK!
Are you ever wondering what items to bring in
for the Grand Ledge Food Bank? Outreach will
make that easier by designating a food
category every month. June’s food is canned
vegetables.
Cans can be placed on the shelves in the hall
outside Pastor Amee’s office.
Thanks Ruth and Al
Cheney, Donna Case and
friend, Sandy Bowers, Pam
Avery and Linda Schroeder
for serving at the rescue mission in May,
and to Marion Killingsworth, Outreach cochair, for making sure this mission is
staffed each month.
Lansing City Rescue Mission
Each month we receive a
newsletter from the Mission
and in it is a "Mission
Needs" list. Here are the
current needs in a handy list
that you can cut out and
take with you as you shop.
#10 cans of fruit & vegetables
Gallon-size salad dressings (Ranch, French,
1000 Island)
Instant Oatmeal packets
Foam bowls
Paper napkins
Shaving cream
Diapers, size 6
Men’s undershirts, sizes L & XL
Men’s boxers, sizes L & XL
Women’s underwear, sizes 5-10
T-shirts, all sizes except medium
Women’s pajamas, all sizes
Boys’ underwear, sizes XS, 2-4
Copy paper
If you would like to help the Rescue Mission out
with any of these items, bring them to church
and they will be taken when the group goes in
on the 3rd Tuesday each month at 6:00pm.
The rescue mission is located on Michigan
Avenue, just east of the ball park. Carpooling is
available and serving usually only takes two
hours (the mission now serves dinner twice
each evening). This is a very rewarding
mission activity. If you would like to try this or if
you have questions, please talk to Cathy.
THREADS OF HOPE
We provided baptism quilts for
Kaylyn Hansbarger and Logan
Schafer in April and Molly
Gross in May. Now it’s back to
those wedding quilts! We also prepared sewing
kits for Pastor Amee to take to the annual
conference.
YARN MINISTRY
Do you knit? Do you crochet?
Would you like to be a part of
YARN MINISTRY? If you said
"YES" to any of these questions, please talk to
Evelyn Morrow. I have yarn for prayer shawls,
and we can make sweaters, hats, baby
blankets, lap robes---- the list is endless. I'd
love more people involved.
--Evelyn Morrow
OPEN DOOR MINISTRY
I want to sincerely thank the others in our
church who given their time so willingly to help
with the luncheon: Jim Paparella, Pastor
Amee Paparella, Don and Evelyn Morrow,
Jackie Salisbury, Vicki Weiler, Linda Jones,
Lynne Waterman, Judy Devers, Cori
Feldpausch, Bill Biergans and Betty Smith,
Steve and Nancy Vertalka, Linda Glover, Barry
Stearns, Carol Orsborn and Kathy Bender.
--Sincerely, Nancy Stearns
“For the Lord your God. . .loves the
strangers, providing them food and clothing.
You shall also love the stranger. . . “
Deuteronomy 10:17
OPEN DOOR MINISTRIES – AN
OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU
For the last year and a half Open Door
Ministries has been an important part of my
life. Each quarter we have prepared a
Thursday luncheon for approximately 100 to
180 appreciative people. Open Door Ministries
is located in Central United Methodist Church
downtown and provides an open facility for the
homeless from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday
through Fridays. Clients have showers,
laundry, phones, clothing, a storage facility,
mail boxes, a referral service available and a
Thursday luncheon. Over thirty churches in the
Lansing area help provide money and
volunteers to keep these doors open.
At this time however I find I need to step back
from this very special opportunity to serve
those in need. My hope has been that
someone in our church would step up to be the
coordinator for WCMC and to continue this
service to God’s children who find themselves
in difficult circumstances and with few places to
which they can turn. Last Sunday my prayers
were answered when Linda Glover said she
would take over as the new coordinator. She
would be very appreciative if someone else
would also like to share this ministry with her
as a co-leader. Please call Linda at 517-5076479 or the church office. The next date for
us to serve at this mission is Thursday,
June 18.
Funds can also be donated to Open
Door if you are a Schwan’s
customer. When ordering, use the
campaign number 16586 through
November 14th. Schwan’s donates 5% of your
order total to Open Door.
MEMORIAL GARDEN
Many have noticed the new,
fabulous look of the Memorial
Garden. As most are aware, the
previous garden suffered each
time we got a significant rainfall.
The lack of drainage along the eastern side of
the church sent water pouring out over the
garden. The mulch ended up in the parking lot,
and the clean-up was time consuming and
discouraging.
A task force was formed to deal with the
drainage issue. Funds were made available
from Foundation, and the first phase of the
project has been completed. This was truly a
combined effort and there are many to thank:
A HUGE thank you to all who sat on the
Memorial Garden Task Force for designing a
plan for better drainage on the east side of the
church. A HUGE thank you to the Trustees
and all who put in major sweat equity to ensure
that the project came in under budget. Finally,
a HUGE thank you to the Watermans and
Deverses, who have designed and planted a
gorgeous garden, which will hopefully stay in
place!
COMMUNITY REWARDS
MEIJER REWARDS PROGRAM STILL ACTIVE
It’s easy to sign up to have a percentage of
your Meijer purchases returned to the church.
Go to
http://www.meijer.com/mcr/choose_card.jsp
and use code 277313 for our church to receive
rewards. On May 16, we received a check for
over $100 from Meijer’s! You don’t need to use
the Meijer credit card for this program; cash or
your own debit card with PIN work as well. But
using any credit card other than Meijer’s will
not give us credit.
Thanks to your use of your Kroger Community
Rewards account, we received a check for
$25.09 this quarter and $48.43 last quarter.
Unfortunately, we all need to “re-up” in April of
each year so please go to the Kroger website to
sign up to continue your contributions.
STEWARDSHIP
This year’s Stewardship
Campaign will begin June 14th
and conclude on July 12th,
Consecration Sunday.
This year we will be focusing
upon the Big Five: The five
areas of commitment that are pledged by
members of any United Methodist Church:
Prayers
Presence
Gifts
Service
Witness
Our theme this year will be “Seed the
Future” as we focus on how the seeds we
sow today will provide a generous harvest
tomorrow. Look for more information in your
annual stewardship letter.
“Don't judge each day by the harvest you
reap but by the seeds that you plant.”
-Robert Louis Stevenson
150th ANNIVERSARY
PLANNING
In 1866, the Wacousta
Methodist Episcopal Church
was formed. Throughout the
years following that historic
date, changes have
occurred and next year
(2016) the members of the Wacousta
Community United Methodist in Wacousta,
Michigan, will celebrate 150 years of
ministering the teachings of Jesus Christ in this
community. Many enjoyable occasions are
being planned from next April through the
conclusion of the celebration in September,
and it is the hope of the Anniversary
Committee members that you will be excited
and anxious to participate in the festivities. A
calendar of events will be posted soon, and
volunteers to help in various assignments will
be needed.
One of the first things the committee is looking
for are pictures that might be stored in your
attic, closet or somewhere else, of happenings
around and about the church. If you have any
of these items, please contact Chairman Nancy
Stearns to LEND the items to us temporarily.
Be sure you mark your name on anything you
lend!!!
We started out as a circuit church – having a
pastor who was assigned to more than one
church – thus became the saying ‘the Circuit
Ridin’ Preacher.’ Now we haven’t yet
convinced Pastor Amee to arrive on horseback
some Sunday, but you never know. Let’s get
on board and get excited about this special
celebration.
Nancy Stearns, Chairman
Kathy Bender, Tana Boehm, Carol Orsborn,
Lynne Waterman, Betty Smith,
Evelyn Morrow
LIONS CLUB
A BIG Thank you to Norm and Lois
Leonard, Don and Evelyn Morrow,
Carol Orsborn, Judy Devers, Lynn Waterman,
Tana Boehm, Linda and Ashley Glover, Dottie
Feighner and Richard Noble for helping with
the Lion's Club meals this year! They so
appreciate the food that is so lovingly prepared
and served to them.
-- Cori Feldpausch
CAMPING 2015
A parent or guardian is required to submit to
the church office the ‘Camping Scholarship
Application Form’ along with proof of
registration. The scholarship form is available
in the office door bin or on the website home
page.
It’s not too early to register! Many camps fill up
fast. Register at www.umcamping.org.
LOL: LIVE OUT LOUD
Wacousta UMC Youth Group
SUMMER 2015 MISSION TRIP
Fundraising for this trip continues. Donation
envelopes are still on the wall outside the
pastor’s office. Please take one and fill it with
the amount on the envelope and give to Kara
or the office.
2015 Camping Scholarship Guidelines
Camping scholarships are limited to $200 this
year. Each camper is eligible for one
scholarship per calendar year and scholarships
are available only to those attending faithbased camps.
The camper must have some affiliation with the
Wacousta Community United Methodist
Church, either by direct membership (or by
parent or guardian), participation in youth
group activities, regular Sunday school or
worship attendance, or through participation in
Vacation Bible School.
Registration and all fees are the responsibility
of the parent or guardian. Scholarship
payment will be made once the camp session
is closed and the camper has attended the
entire session.
If the remaining cost of the camp (above the
$200 scholarship) creates a financial hardship,
additional funds may be made available on a
case by case basis and will be determined by
the pastor in consultation with the Foundation
Committee.
The SOWER Work Mission Program is the
proposed mission project for LOL (Live Out
Loud), our church youth group. The dates of
the trip have yet to be determined. This year
the youth would like to extend the invitation to
all persons in the church to join in the fun.
SOWER (Share Our Witness Enriching
Relationships) is a United Methodist mission
located at the Epworth Center in Bethesda,
Ohio, a rural Appalachian region. Projects will
include both building repairs and a Vacation
Bible School. Anyone over the age of 12 is
welcome. Please see Kristen Stallings or Kara
Christy if you are interested. For more
information, visit:
http://epworthcenter.org/sower-work-missionprogram/
On Saturday, June 6th, the
youth will hold a rummage sale in our parking
lot. Please gather items to donate to their sale.
Proceeds will go toward their mission trip
expenses.
FARMERS MARKET
FARMERS MARKET NEWS
Father’s Day Sale on June 14
The Farmers Market Church Booth Committee
will be selling items appropriate for Father’s
Day gift giving on Sunday, June 14th, before
and after worship in Fellowship Hall.
You will find birdhouses, wind chimes and
garden art, along with a great selection of
chocolate bars. New to the inventory is a
selection of handmade cards by WAR (Women
At Risk) International. Our jewelry selection is
outstanding and a bit unusual! Check out our
upscale baskets, straw hats and hand fans for
a unique gift! Added to our line of items of
interest are books, musical instruments,
clothing, scarves and much more. This will be
the last indoor sale as we move outside at the
July 16th Farmers Market.
Join the fun and become a Farmers Market
volunteer!
The Church Booth will need volunteers to staff
the booth at the Farmers Markets in July
through September. The shifts are: 3 – 6pm
and 6 – 8:30pm. The dates are: July 16, August
20 and September 17. The responsibilities
include selling items from the Church booth and
talking with people about our Fair Trade Mission
and Women at Risk Mission, both of which we
support by selling items and providing
information from our Booth at the Market. It is a
fun time to see neighbors, friends and family
and help out too! Please let Deb Plichta or
Michelle Smith know if you can help at our
Church Booth. Thanks!
We continue to add new products to our
selection of items, to keep it fresh and
interesting. No more chocolate will be
purchased now until the fall, when shipping
is cheaper. So, stock up for the
summer! Because it melts, we prefer not to
take the chocolate outside once the weather
becomes warm.
Thank you for your support.
2015 Farmers Market Season Announced
The Wacousta Farmers Market will take place
three times this summer - from July through
September on the 3rd Thursday from 4 to 8
p.m.
Once again the market will include 30 plus
vendors and musical entertainment. Coming
back again to as dining vendors are El Burrito,
featuring excellent Mexican food, and The
General’s Smokehouse, featuring tasty
hamburgers, hot dogs and sandwiches made
with meat smoked right here in Wacousta.
Coming back by popular demand after a year
absence is The Creative Kitchen, featuring
healthful salads, soups and marvelous
homemade dessert treats.
July 16
The July market on Thursday, July 16 features
a theme of “Summer Fun.” A local favorite the Grand Ledge Bums - will provide the
musical entertainment. Two of the “bums” are
members of our congregation - Mark Gober
and Al Cheney. There will also be a car show
at that market. The market committee is
looking for people with antique or classic cars.
August 20
The August market takes place on August 20
with the theme “Dog Days of Summer.” Market
visitors can bring their dogs on a leash.
Entertainment will be provided by members of
the Coffee House in Wacousta (CHoW),
featuring Christian, oldie and contemporary folk
music. There will also be an antique tractor
show.
September 17
The September market features a theme of
“Celtic Fun.” Musical entertainment will be
provided by a crowd favorite - The Glen Erin
Pipe Band - along with the Lansing Highland
Dancers. One of the members of this band is
our own Janeen Steenhagen.
How can you help?
Would you like to volunteer for this communityminded event which draws over 500 people to
our church grounds at each event? We would
love to have you join us!
1. We are looking for people with classic or
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
antique cars for our July show.
We are looking for antique tractors for the
August show.
We are looking for a few people to help us
staff the Church Booth for each market.
This booth sells giftware, garden art,
jewelry and other items - many Fair Trade.
Profits from this booth go back to the
church.
We are looking for people to help set up and
tear down the market.
We are looking for a Volunteer Coordinator.
We are looking for a few people to help with
the food vendors and monitor the dining
area.
We are looking for a few additional
members to the Farmers Market
Committee. This committee does the
planning and coordination of the markets
and meets about 5 times per year.
Please contact Deb Plichta at
[email protected] or call her at 626-2039
if you can help in any of these areas. We will
also be circulating a sign-up sheet for
volunteers prior to each market.
Members of the Farmers Market Committee
are Deb Plichta, market manager and chair;
Michelle Smith, marketing and publicity
coordinator; Judy Devers, Marion Killingsworth
and Nancy Thompson.
EVENTS
CHoW (the Coffee House of
Wacousta) continues sessions of
music and fellowship on the
second Wednesday of the month
in the Chapel. The music includes Christian,
Oldie Folk and Contemporary Folk. Fellowship
is something we have all proven ourselves to
be quite good at! Gathering starts at 6:30 pm.
Coffee (bring your own mug if you can), bottled
water and munchies will be available for a free
will offering. Other beverages (non-alcoholic)
are BYO. Come, bring a friend and be ready to
sing and enjoy a relaxing evening among
friends.
WEAVER HOUSE OPENING
Monica and Mallory Weaver donated the old G
and W Maytag store in Ionia to the Safe Haven
Humane Society to use as a shelter/home for
their animals. They had inherited this from their
Mom and Dad after their deaths. There will be
a dedication of the building as the Weaver
Animal Shelter on Saturday, June 13, 1-4 pm
at 302 E Lincoln, Ionia. Monica and Mallory will
be there to help open the building and we invite
the congregation to come and celebrate this
occasion.