GOOD NEWS FROM S JOHN

GOOD NEWS FROM S

June

2016

SUNDAY WORSHIP

9:00 am

Sunday School

9:15am—10:00am (during the school year)

Holy Communion

1st & 4th Sunday

PASTOR

Gail Sowell Office Hours: 9am-1pm

Tuesday-Friday

(And by appointment)

SECRETARY’S HOURS Monday-Friday

9:00-1:00

ADDRESS

W1000 Hwy N

Edgar, WI 54426

PHONE/EMAIL

715-352-2524

EMERGENCY PHONE

715-352-2492

[email protected]

WEBSITE

www.stjohnelcaedgar.org

Items for print MUST be

submitted by the 20th of

the preceding month.

NEWS FOR ALL

JOHN

Mission Statement: Getting to know Jesus and making Him known through our Worship and Serving.

Pastor’s Ponderings

Coming and going, leaving and returning—these thoughts have

been much on my mind as I prepare to depart for my 4th Alaskan

cruise. If you were to compare my hundreds of photos from each

of the previous voyages, you’d wonder why I bother—almost ex-

actly the same pictures (except for the icebergs, which are con-

stantly changing). Yet each time I see the spectacular glaciers and

mountains and waterfalls and gorges and islands, I feel compelled

to snap another picture. . . and another. . . and another.

For me, it’s the same way with reading the Bible. Every time I re-

visit a familiar story or parable or prophecy or (especially) the

psalms, I experience God’s Word differently. Once is not enough!

Because the first and second and third times you encounter a part

of scripture, you’re just getting your feet wet, just figuring out its

place in holy history and how it fits into the context of God’s rela-

tionship with humankind. By the time you finish reading the psal-

ter (the psalms) and go back and start again, you find that you rec-

ognize certain phrases or ideas or themes; and in recognizing

them, you read each one again with new eyes, a renewed under-

standing. For me, that’s as true on my fiftieth reading as it was on

my tenth—only my understanding, the impact it has on me by the

fiftieth time, is multiplied greatly by all the previous readings.

My summer prayer for you is that you’ll take the time every day to

spend a few minutes with the Bible. Read Genesis, one chapter at

a time; read the Psalms, three a day; read Mark, the shortest, most

straight-forward gospel; read Isaiah and look for passages that are

familiar from the seasons of Christmas and Easter. Read Ephesians;

read Acts to see how the infant church grew to a (then) worldwide

way of life for thousands of people. And may you be richly blessed

in, through, and for your encounters with God’s Word!

Page 2 GOOD NEWS FROM ST. JOHN Good News!

On Sunday, May 22nd., St. John was delighted to celebrate our

High School graduates Maverick Mueller and Taylor Martyn.

Pastor Gail was on vacation, but Bev Umnus presided over the

service, and the Quilters of St. John honored them each with a

beautifully hand made quilt. After the service, there was a spe-

cial cake and coffee hour.

Maverick Mueller graduated from Edgar High School and has

plans to attend UW La Crosse to major in Business. His parents

are Rick and Marianne Mueller.

Maverick was asked about a memorable Confirmation or Sunday School experience, and

he replied “Always being a wise man in the Christmas skit with Jansen and Camden!”

Maverick can see God at work in his life today in that, he knows “Jesus Christ died for our

sins and I try to live a good life because of it”. A bit of wisdom from a wise man (even

though it’s not Christmas!). Thanks Maverick for your replies and for providing a picture

for us to include. The day of his graduation, Maverick was over at St. John MOWING the

lawn before the ceremony, now that’s dedication! Thanks Mav, congratulations and

blessings to you and your family!

Taylor Martyn also graduated from Edgar High School, and has plans to attend North

Central Technical College to study Animal Sciences. Her parents are Michelle Kraft and

Robert Martyn. Taylor was unable to attend the service in her honor due to conflicts

with her work schedule, but she will receive her quilt from the Quilters of St. John.

Blessings and congratulations to you and your family Taylor!

The St. John faith family also rejoices with Hayley Kirsch and her family! Hayley gradu-

ated Magna Cum Laude from UW Stout In Menomonie of May 7th from the Arts pro-

gram. Her parents are Jody and Dennis Kirsch. Congratulations on a course completed

with excellence. God bless and guide you in what is to come.

We celebrate with our dear brother Terry Borchardt and his wife Dawn on the gradua-

tions of their 2 sons! Austin graduated from Edgar High School and has plans to go to

UW Marathon County to begin a degree in Engineering. Their son Gavin also graduated

with High Honors from UW Stout with a degree in Plastics Engineering. These young

men have church membership elsewhere, but are dear to our hearts due to strong

“family ties”. Members Gerald & Barb Borchardt are the proud grandparents of these

fine young men. We rejoice and pray God’s guidance and blessing in the lives of these

young men and their family.

Good News! GOOD NEWS from ST. JOHN Page 3

Isn’t she PRECIOUS?! We’d like to introduce you to Naomi Carmen

Rosien. She is the daughter of Adam and Fabi (Dan & Shirley’s son

and daughter-in-law) and was welcomed home by big sister Stella.

She was born on April 28th at 8lbs 4oz. Congratulations & blessings

to proud grandparents (members) Dan & Shirley Rosien and to the

rest of the family too! Adam & Fabi reside in...

We had a special time of appreciating Mothers on Sunday, May 8th that was marked by a

puppet show and a unique bulletin insert which stated what each of our Sunday School

Students appreciates about their mom. Thanks to the Sunday school teachers for their

efforts in planning and preparing these special mementos!

The puppeteers for the puppet presentation were: Nathan Drabek, Dylan Hollatz, Skylee

Manecke and Lauryn Wiesman. Many thanks to them and to their coaches Mark & Bonnie

Bargender. It was a special treat!

We took a few moments to express our appreciation for our Sunday School Teachers on

Sunday, May 15. Along with sincere words of thanks, each teacher received a gift card.

This was also the LAST week of Sunday School for the term.

It’s important to express our appreciation for those who give of their time & energy to help

us grow!

On May 1, 2016 the St. John ELCA

church participated in a highway

clean-up. There were some young,

middle, and old age people doing this.

There were prizes for the smelliest,

biggest, and most valuable. They

were tough to get for everybody to

earn. The most valuable was a

surprise to everybody, when the two

girls found this on the road. Abigail

and Greenly found a cell phone holder

that sticks to your dash board. They

were vey glad to win for the most

valuable. Garrison and Nathan took

home the other prizes for winning the biggest and smelliest. Thanks to Sklee Maneckee for

submitting this wonderful report, and thanks to Niaomoi for the photos! More on the next page...


MORE highway clean-up photos!

Thanks for serving the community and

serving God by caring for his creation in

this way!

JUNE 3—5 is the Edgar Fire Department’s ANNUAL Celebration!

66 people attended the Ecumenical Community Worship in the Park on Thursday,

June 2nd at 6:30pm. The Pastors and congregations of St. Stephen Lutheran, St. John ELCA,

Hope Lutheran, and The Mill Church, Edgar, hosted this special gathering.

We’ll be serving up Breakfast in the Park on Saturday, June 4, from 7am

until 11:30am at Oak Street Park, Edgar. There will be a Basket Raffle as

well as PACKER Raffle tickets available too!

The YOUTH Group is sponsoring a KAYAKING trip for members and their immediate family

members to Adventure Outfitters, LLC in Waupaca, on Sunday, June 26th. Attendees will

meet in the parking lot of the Outfitters at 12:45, and Kayaking will begin PROMPTLY at

1:00pm. It‘s a 2 hr. Crystal River adventure. This is a great course for beginners, but an inter-

esting enough route for those with experience! Maximum number of 30 for this trip, with a

generous 50% discount for a minimum group of 20. They provide life jackets, kayaks, and

paddles. The adventure will go on regardless of weather, except in the case of lightening/

severe weather. To bring the adventure to a sweet close, there will be stop at

CULVERS in Waupaca on the way home. The order will be placed ahead of time to

make it easier. Sunday June 12th is when Niaomi needs YOUR commitment if

you want to go! Any questions or concerns, talk to Niaomi...


Extend her your congratulations! Let

her know how she has been a blessing

to you through her calling as a Pastor.

1st Place: 2 Packer Game Tickets for Sunday, October 16, 2016

PACKERS vs. DALLAS COWBOYS

2nd Place: $50.00 Fleet Farm Gift Card

3rd Place: $25.00 Cenex Gift Card

4th Place: $25.00 Walmart Gift Card

Drawing will be September 1, 2016. Proceeds will go toward

refurbishing the stained glass windows at

St. John Lutheran Church, ELCA, Edgar.

For tickets or more information contact

Barb Borchardt at 715-352-2938 or

Terry Borchardt at 715-352-2671

St. John ELCA Lutheran Church Lic.# R003118A-15583

GREEN BAY PACKER

RAFFLE

Tickets: $20.00

St. John ELCA Brat Fry—Friday, June 17th AND Friday June 24th, serving

from 8am until the food runs out! BOTH will be held at Pro Vision (Cenex)

parking lot in Stratford. PACKER Raffle tickets will be available for sale.

Volunteers are needed to help with the set up, cooking, serving and clean up, Please

make time to come and help with these outdoor events. Many hands make light work and

MORE FUN! A sign up sheet for your availabilities has been posted on the bulletin board in

the narthex. MENU / PRICES

Cheeseburgers $4.00

MEAL, burger, pop or water, chips $5.50

Hamburgers $4.00

MEAL, burger, pop or water, chips $5.50

Brats $3.50

MEAL, brat, pop or water, chips $5.00

Hot dogs $2.00

Chips $1.00

Pop and Water $1.00

Stained Glass Window

Project

$25,738.50

in pledges/donations

Time for the pledges to come in!

June 1 was our target deadline for

Pledges to be paid. Thank you so

much for your faithful generosity!

The NCW Antique Gas & Steam Engine Show is

coming up August 26th—28th at the Kurt Umnus

Farm. St. John will be serving concessions from 2

stands as usual. So please keep these dates open

and join the ranks to serve refreshing ice cream and

corn dogs to the show attendees!

June 19th is Pastor

Gail’s ANNIVERSARY!

It will be the 17th

anniversary of her

Ordination.


As a community of women, created in the image of God, called to discipleship in Jesus Christ, and empow-

ered by the Holy Spirit, we commit ourselves to grow in faith, affirm our gifts, support one another in our

callings, engage in ministry and action, and promote healing and wholeness in the church, the society, and

the world.

Next Bible Study—Tuesday, June 7, at 1pm.

Next General meeting—Wed. Sept. 7, at 6:30pm

Every woman that is a member of St. John is a member of

the women’s group. All are WELCOME and encouraged to

participate in our activities. Each woman of St. John is

assigned to a funeral group and is relied upon to help serve

in the time of need.

WOMEN OF THE ELCA

Many thanks to those who have been tak-

ing up the responsibility of lawn mowing

for the church & parsonage! More volun-

teers would be APPRECIATED. We don’t

want to “burn out” those that are gra-

ciously serving in this area. A sign-up

sheet is posted in the Narthex. Thank you!

Summer is here! Halleujah!

Just a reminder that the Baby Layette collection is still going on this month. The items are

listed in the bassinet or on the bulletin boards or in your yearbook in addition to the ones

Rose included in the bulletin.

The Salad Supper, held on May 10, was a very enjoyable get together. We had a large number

of salads and I don’t think there were any duplicates. Even our guests brought salads. We

gave 10 door prizes to the women – potted flowers, and a grand door prize which was a quilt

that the quilters made. Cindy Manecke was the lucky winner. Our attendance was about 35

and we had 4 members of the band which entertained us. Crosswinds from Stratford was the

entertainment. They were very entertaining.

Our July – Sept kits that we will work on collecting is for the school kits. School supplies will

be going on sale in the next month or two. Please watch for the sales.

Our next meeting will be on September 7. We would like to see a larger turnout.

Bev Umnus,

President

Bring your aluminum cans to the shed

for RECYCLING! Please remember, no

aluminum foil or pie tins, they don’t

recycle because they are a different

grade of aluminum. Thanks!


It’s Tully here, your original St. John Church Mouse. Whew, am I EXHAUSTED!

What a trip we had! I just wish Twink and Miri could’ve come along! But

Pastor Gail’s backpack was so full, there was hardly room for yours truly!

But am I ever glad I was able to stow away, because you’ll never guess what I saw:

“TULLY’S COFFEE”!!!! It was the last day of the trip to Alaska, and we were back in Seat-

tle. (Can you believe the humans were all going to an OPERA that night? I’m glad I was

able to stay in the hotel room!) They left their luggage at the pier and almost left me be-

hind, but when I saw that Dave was taking his backpack along, I jumped in quick when no

one was looking. And the very first place they stopped was “TULLY’S COFFEE.” Now you

may think this is odd, but I have no memory of getting my name there 3 years ago, but all

4 of them were really having a good time telling the – barista?—that they had a church

mouse named after the coffee shop. I guess I was too young back then to remember be-

ing named there. Anyway, I’m really glad I was there, because they talked a LOT about

me. (Sorry, Twink and Miri, I guess you just got here too late.)

As for the rest of the trip, all I can say is that God sure is a great artist! We saw glaciers

and icebergs and mountains and snow-capped mountains and bushes and trees and

flowers and calm water and wavy water and waterfalls. And whales and seals and

sealions (I can’t tell the difference between those two) and an otter, and a lot of eagles

and seagulls. It was pretty impressive, and I think I enjoyed it almost as much as the hu-

mans. And of course there was LOTS of food, and we went to 6 different restaurants on

the ship. I don’t think anyone was ever hungry.

One scary thing happened, though. The day before Seattle we were in Victoria (British

Columbia, I think) at the Butchard Gardens. (Now that’s a place for mice!!) The humans

discovered, of all things, a merry-go-round. I’d never seen one before, naturally, so I lis-

tened while they described the “rides.” I guess most merry-go-rounds have horses to

ride, but this one had all sorts of critters: a whale, a husky, a frog, a giraffe, a camel, a ze-

bra, a cheetah, a bear (with a fish in its mouth), and a CAT with a MOUSE in its mouth! I

heard Pastor Gail say, “Look, there’s Tully!” so I peeked out of Dave’s backpack and what

a fright I had! There was a huge cat with a rather large mouse hanging out of its jaws. Oh

my, I was so glad we were leaving the next day, I really needed to get back to Twink and

the safety of St. John. (Though I hear there was a bat there last Sunday….) Anyway, if you

want to see pictures, I hear Pastor Gail has 127 of them! I’m sure she’d be glad to show

them to you—including the cat with the mouse. UGH!

Well, I don’t know about that Tully! This is Miri and Twink writing together. When

he took off without so much as a goodbye, we got together to keep each other

company. We were pretty mad at him at first, but after hearing some of his ad-

ventures, I guess we’re glad we stayed home. And WE got CAKE at St. John last

Sunday when they celebrated the graduates! So there, Mr. Bigmouth!


Reflections from Rose . . . Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea crea-

tures and all ocean depths, lightening and hail, snow

and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding,

you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars,

...Let them praise the name of the LORD for his name alone is ex-

alted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.”

Psalm 148: 8-9,13

Praise God for his amazing creation! What a joyful time of being refreshed and having just plain FUN in

Alaska. We were a foursome this time, our dear friends Pat & Dave Harrison were able to join us. Above

they are pictured with me at Mendenhall Glacier. We took this excursion while in port at Juneau. Below, we

are all four hailing you from a Zodiac ocean craft we were privileged to take while the Jewel was in Skagway’s

port. It was a wonderfully wild ride and we got up close and personal with the base of mountains, waterfalls,

and some seals/ sea lions pictured on the right (below). How exhilarating! When we were visiting Buchart

Gardens in Victoria (British Columbia) we came upon a carousal that I don’t remember seeing before. Well,

it beaconed to us, and we answered the call. Now THAT was just plain FUN! Although, Tully, our dear church

mouse managed to get inside my head a bit at the same time. That little snot, he follows me everywhere!

I pray for YOU, times of awe-filled, refreshing, fun in God’s creation this summer!

!

YUP, it’s her!

Pastor Gail

enjoyed a

mucical glide

on the back

of a giraffe!

I rode the

beautifully

painted white

horse (of

course!)

to her left!

Children need a Daddy

For many, many things:

Like holding them high off the ground

Where the sunlight sings!

Like being the deep music

That tells them all is right

When they awaken frantic with

The terrors of the night.

Like being the great mountain

That rises in their hearts

And shows them how they might get home

When all else falls apart.

Like giving them the love

That is their sea and air,

So diving deep or soaring high

They'll always find him there.

%icholas Gordon

See Inside for Articles:

Page 1 Pastor’s Ponderings,

Page 2 Family News

Page 3 More Family News

Page 4 What’s Coming Up Next?

Page 5 What Next? (Continued)

Page 6 St. John Women of the ELCA

Page 7 Adventures of the Church Mice

Page 8 Reflections from Rose

Page 9 Good to be Home/ Happy Father’s Day!

Please remember to check your bulletin

for updates. If you would like to have us

e-mail the Newsletter to you, please let

us know.

GOOD NEWSGOOD NEWSGOOD NEWSGOOD NEWS St. John Lutheran Church ELCA W1000 Hwy N

Edgar, WI 54426

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Www.stjohnelcaedgar.org

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GOOD NEWS FROM S JOHN