First Presbyterian Church
Celebrations
Faith in Action Newsletter
Contact Us
Rev. Lisa Taylor
416 Ash Street
Baraboo, WI 53913
(608) 356-5945
[email protected]
Office Hours
Tuesday—Friday
8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Worship
Sunday
9:15 a.m.
Communion First Sundays
Blood Pressure Screening
First and Third Sundays
8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
GLOW
Youth Education
Wednesday
4:30 Doors Open
5:00—6:00 p.m. 4K-Grade 5
6:00 p.m. Dinner
6:30– 7:30 p.m. MS & HS
August 2014
To everything there is a season, and a time to
every purpose under the heaven. –Ecc 3:1
I absolutely love putting together the Celebration Newsletter. It is
such a joy to look back over all of the ministry that has happened
this summer at First Presbyterian Church! Together, we have
indeed fulfilled our vision statement this summer:
Through God’s grace
we are a nurturing family of faith,
serving Jesus Christ with diverse gifts,
responding in gratitude,
guided by the Holy Spirit
demonstrating and reflecting Christ’s love and light
to our community and beyond!
And I know, as a church family, we have lived out this statement in
many ways through our own individual lives, family lives, and
through our associations with groups and organizations in Baraboo.
I hope as you read through this issue of the newsletter, you smile
are you remember all of the wonderful ministry FPC is participating
in, as well as reflect on these questions of your own summer: What
light have your brought into the world this summer? What kindness
have you shared with others?
The only things that makes me even more excited that
remembering the fun and faith we have shared this past summer, is
planning for the fall! And boy do we have things in the works:
GLOW is getting it’s light ready to shine, CROP walkers are getting
their tennis shoes ready, shoppers are checking out our special
food pantry items to drop into their baskets, and everyone is excited
for the potential of a second annual Mission Fair! And more!
This year, instead of each ministry planning their year separately,
we will gather together after church on September 7th to plan for our
year together. Everyone is welcome, and I hope that this will help
our ministries plan for events that will be meaningful to the whole
church family, and spread out the fun so the calendar is balanced,
with each month bringing opportunities for mission, study and
fellowship! Please plan to attend, and bring your ideas! What will
the next season of church life bring for FPC? Let’s prayerfully
discern together.
In Christ,
Pastor Lisa
Congregational
Life
A ministry dedicated to
caring for our members
Seder
We celebrated a joyous and holy Easter this year at First
Presbyterian Church. We again shared a meaningful Seder
Meal with our friends at First United Methodist Church and
then both churches gathered at First Congregational Church
for a Maundy Thursday worship. The three congregations
joined again at First United Methodist Church for Good Friday
worship and the First Presbyterian Church celebrated Easter
both at Sunrise and our regular worship time with a lovely
fellowship breakfast in between worship services.
through intentional
connections, fun activities, fellowship and
worship.
If you would like to
learn more about the
work of this ministry,
Young at
Heart
feel free to contact
Kathleen Thurow,
Chair or Pastor Lisa
A great steak fry was
enjoyed on June 26 by
all. Thanks to Jim and
Kathy Allen, Gene and
Mickey Rau and many
more helpers. Be sure
to join us for our next
time of food and
fellowship.
Prayer Shawls
Thanks so much to all those who are faithfully
knitting prayer shawls for this ministry. So far, we
have given away over twenty prayer shawls to
members and friends of the congregation. They
have gone to those undergoing medical tests,
grieving losses, celebrating births and experiencing stressful life transitions. If you would like to
be involved with this ministry, please contact
Pastor Lisa!
Circus
Outing
June 29
It was a great day to go to the circus! On June 29th members and
friends of our congregation met to enjoy our local Circus World Museum and celebrate the hard work of our very own David SaLoutos. A great day was had by all under the big top.
On July 26, the Circus Days Celebration Parade passed by
our doors at First Presbyterian Church. Thanks to everyone who
purchased parking spots, the youth raised $230.
May all your days be circus days!
Circus Days Celebration
July 26
Thank you from Marlene Kent
To the First Presbyterian Church Members: Thank you so
much for all the cheer-up cards, notes and announcements.
May Day
Balloons
This year our youth group again offered
the great opportunity to spread cheer to
members by delivering May Day
balloons!
Thank you to all who purchased
these balloons to share God’s light
and love with our church friends
and also to all the you, parents and
teachers that hand delivered them.
What a way to let our light GLOW
in our church family!
“This shawl was handmade for by our Prayer
Shawl Ministry. As it was
created we prayed for
you.”
Outreach
Ministry
A ministry
committed to
sharing the love
and faith of our
congregation with
the world through
mission and
evangelism.
If you would like to
learn more about
the work of this
ministry, please
feel free to contact
our session
representatives for
Outreach: Steve
Stoffels, Gail
Schmiedlin, Cyndy
Croft or Pastor
Lisa.
A Thank You
Dear Members of First Presbyterian, We wish to thank you
for your continuing support of Hope House. Your first quarter donation of $125 on 4/22/14 and the Denim Day donation of $74.50 on 4/29/14 will provide services and support
to individuals and families affected by domestic violence
and sexual assault. With your repeated donations, it is clear
that you understand the need for our presence, and as long
as there is a need, there will also be hope—Hope House.
Thank you again for your generosity!
Brenda Gurgel Operations Manager
Baraboo Food Pantry
To the Congregation of First Presbyterian, Your continued support
helps many families!
Thank you for your donation to the Baraboo Food Pantry It is
greatly appreciated by so many that we serve.
The Baraboo Food Pantry
Interested in volunteering at the Baraboo Food Pantry? The FPC
works there every second Monday from 12:45 to 3 PM. If you
would like to learn more, please see Pastor Lisa.
Food Pantry Special collection for August: PB&J
Eat Well for $4/Day
During July and August, donations towards the purchase of the
booklet “Eat Well on $4/Day, Good and Cheap” have been made
for the clients of the Baraboo Food Pantry. These booklets will
help with the Baraboo Food Pantry’s mission of helping individuals become more self-sufficient. The cost per booklet is $4. To
date, we have collected $ 64. Our goal is to buy 27 booklets.
Lynn’s Legacy
Thank You
This group creates bags full of self-care items that
are safe for patients undergoing cancer treatment.
With the help of (and discount from) Corner Drug,
our congregation was able to collect 17 complete
kits to give away to help those undergoing
treatment locally. We were also able to include
Hope House’s Devotional “Growing Roots” to aid
with spiritual comfort.
On behalf of Sauk County Home &
Community Education, I wish to thank you for the gift bags you presented to the St. Clare
Radiation Oncology Dept. Patients receiving treatments for cancer are always so grateful for
them. The products help them in their recover, but even more important to them is the
knowledge that someone cares for them and is cheering them on to recovery.
Your parish families and staff have blessed this community with your generosity. We
thank you so much.
Shirley Vorndran, HCE Lynn’s Legacy Chair
Shanty Town
May 17th, at the Lodi Fairgrounds, a collection of churches came together to raise awareness and
money for the homeless. Habitat for Humanity Sauk County sponsored this event. Our church family
sent 7 of our members to experience one night of homelessness. Together, we built two large circus
tents out of cardboard, duct tape, and tarp. With a cardboard floor, we slept on the ground throughout
the 35 degree night. While attending this fantastic event, our youth were given the opportunity to make
friends, meet other Christians, experience a night of living outside, and be a part of a generous community of God’s disciples. Shanty Town was an amazing experience for all attending. We had fun, we
froze, and we strengthened the hope of those who live outside year round by the generous support of
our church families, community, and sponsors.
Thank You from Habitat for Humanity of
Sauk-Columbia Area
“Your generous gift
is much appreciated,
and will help us realize our goal of doubling the number of
families we help in
the next 2 years.”
Education
and Nurture
A ministry committed to
passing on the essential
tenets of our faith
through study, worship,
breaking of bread and
mentoring. If you would
like to learn more about
the work of this ministry,
please contact
Deb Nieuwenhuis, Chair
or Pastor Lisa.
Consider joining us at
our September 3 planning meeting, 6:30 p.m.
Upcoming events:



GLOW teacher training—
September 10 at 6:00 p.m.
Adult Study—September 14 after
worship. Screwtape Letters
(Books Available)
Presbytery-wide High School Retreat—November 7,8 and 9. More
details to follow.
Summer Games
This year for Summer Games we found a permanent
home at Sky Lodge Christian Camp located just outside
of Montello, Wisconsin. Our brave group of Huddle
Leaders mentored and strengthened the faith of 28
Campers from July 20th to July 25th. Our new home
brought us a fantastic week of new activities, better
bonding, and spiritual growth. We could feel God’s
presence with us, helping us, and guiding us to help our
campers and leaders grow closer to Jesus. Throughout
the week we had huddle time where we would discuss
different stories of the bible, we had a variety show
which could have been the funniest thus far, we listened
to music and had amazing inspirational speakers during
worship, and we captured the selfless act of Jesus by
washing the feet of our campers and viewing His sacrifice for our sins. Our theme this year was Overcomers
and we learned a lot about Abraham and Sarah – their
strengths and weaknesses. Each day our huddles were
given a mission to overcome a weakness every Christian faces on a daily basis. Towards the end of the day
and week, we asked what weaknesses were overcome
and what techniques were used to overcome them.
Then we had all of our huddles write letters to their future selves about how they will use what they learned at
camp this year to be a help them be a better Christian.
They will be able to read these letters next year at
camp, so they can see how they improved their lives
with God and what needs to be their next goal on their
faith journey. By a unanimous opinion, this year was by
far the best year for Summer Games and it could not
have been done without the preparation before camp,
all of the volunteers, our huddle leaders, our campers,
the parents, our churches and the support from the generous donations we received during our fundraisers.
Meals on Wheels
Thank you to all who signed up to serve Meals on
Wheels! We have filled our August and September
dates and are excited to give to our community in
Thank you
Dear Pastor Lisa and Presbyterian Women,
Thank you for your sponsorship of the June Monthly
Birthday Party. We are grateful for the Presbyterian
Women and your ministry to our residents at St. Clare
Meadows Care Center. Thank you, Pastor Lisa, for
your leadership at First Presbyterian and for all you
do, not only for The Meadows, but for the Baraboo
community at large. Darlene Otto, thank you for being
our contact person and for having Cheryl Anderson
bringing some humorous poems to read. They gave
us quite a chuckle. John Miller also played our favorites on accordion. Our residents were delighted and
grateful.
Jan Berkebill, St. Clare Meadows Care Center
Prayer Shawl Thank
You
To the Women of First Presbyterian Church,
I want to thank each and every one of you for
the beautiful prayer shawl. It was given to me
at a time when things were a little scary and it
stayed with me until I received the news we
were hoping for. What a true gift. You give
both time and talent. I feel blessed. Thank
you!
Rhonda Gruber
Births
Max Ryan Shimon
to Jeffrey and Kristin
Life Eternal
Jaxon Kramer
to Luke and Paige
Baptisms
Carolyn Walser
May 26, 2014
Aubriella Skye Hart
May 11, 2014
Nita Joanne Dippel
June 6, 2014
Max Ryan Shimon
August 10, 2014
Keith J Anderson
July 4, 2014
Mildred Louise (Millie) Zantow
August 3, 2014
Personnel
A ministry committed
to caring for our staff
and providing support
through them for our
congregation.
If you would like to
learn more about the
work of this ministry,
please feel free to contact Chris Anderson,
Chair.
Hellos, Goodbyes
This summer has brought the entrance of Rosemary Vorndran
as our bookkeeper and administrative assistant. We are thrilled
to have her dedication, skill and pleasant smile in our office.
Rosemary is happy to re-establish herself in the Baraboo community after 20 years of commuting to Madison as a State of
Wisconsin employee. If you have not had a chance to meet her,
please stop by the office to say hi!
We also gathered to say thank you and goodbye to Bruce Hart,
our Director od Discipleship. After his year here of directing
GLOW and Summer Games for our youth, and chairing our Outreach Ministry, he has been accepted to Hamlin University Law
School. He and his family will be moving to Minnesota. We
wish him all the best and thank him for his faithful, creative and
heartfelt dedication to are congregation.
Finance
A ministry committed
to the stewardship of
our present gifts, and
the planning for our future fiscal security.
Mid-year Financial Update
Income
If you would like to
learn more about the
work of this ministry,
please feel free to contact
Chris Anderson, Chair.
Expenses
January to July
Budget
$94,925.56
$104,449.10
$119,062.01
$123,892.93
<$24,136.45>
<$19,443.83>