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Pastor Gregory Laska can be reached at Cell # 715-350-9741, email address is: grlaska@yahoo.com, or at church office on Mondays 9 am till Noon.
“St. Paul’s is Committed to Encouraging Growth and Fellowship by Sharing the Word and Gifts from GOD and by living our Christian Beliefs Everywhere and Always.” Information for newsletters needs to be sent to loriloug@yahoo.com before the 20th of each month for the next month’s newsletter. This allows for planning, editing, layout, printing and available to members by the last Sunday of the month in Church. If you would like your newsletter by email please send your request to loriloug@yahoo.com so we can add you to the list of members getting this newsletter by email. February Worship Schedule February 3: Communion Worship Service at 9:00 am February 10: Worship Service at 9:00 am February 17: Communion Worship Service at: 8:00 am February 24: Contemporary Service Saturday evening worship services are offered at Luther Memorial-Gleason at 6 pm. All are welcome to Worship Services at St. Paul's 9:00 am or at Luther Memorial -Gleason 10:30 am on Sundays. February Usher Schedule February 3: Dave Schultz, Keith Duley February 10: Mark Kroening, Ashley Dornstreich February 17: Beth Wyma, John Uttech Don Voight February 24: Jack and Otis Grawien Volunteers, please come 20 to 30 minutes before worship time to prepare the building for the Worship Service. Please take head count of attendance and write it on the clip board posted by the last pew on the east side of church each and every worship service. Please wear your Sunday best clothing, you are serving in the King’s house. Thank You for your service to our Lord and our Church Family. Sauerkraut Dinner: The Ladies Aid will be hosting their annual sauerkraut dinner February 17. Menu of Pork, hot dogs, Homemade sauerkraut, potatoes, peas & carrots, dinner roll, milk coffee and dessert. 11:00 – 1:00 - $8/Adults, $5 – Ages 6 – 12, Free – 5 & under Benefit Dinner for Maggie Duley: Mark your calendar for March 3, 2019. Maggie has had major health issues during the last year and several major surgeries. Each member of St. Paul’s is asked to bring a casserole and a dessert for the benefit. A donation of $10 per Adult, $5.00 for Children 6-12, and Free for Children under 6 is being requested for the dinner. We are planning on having some silent auction items to help raise additional funds. Do you have an item or basket you would like to contribute, contact Lois Oestreich with your offer and get the items to Church by February 24th? Dinner Show: Authentic Celtic Music with a Dancer, Catered Meal by Bob’s Catering March 24, 2019 here at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Limited seating, only 110 tickets sold $37.50/per person Door open at 11:30a.m. See Lois Oestreich before or after services or send check with a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Lois Oestreich Attn: Paddygrass Tickets 247128 County Road WW Wausau, WI 54403 or call 715-536-6965 and leave a message, Food Pantry: the Ladies Aid has a basket in the back of the Church to accept your Gifts from the Heart that go to the food Pantry at Trinity Lutheran Church, Merrill. Please consider giving to the families struggling to put food on the table by buying 1 item a week to help out. SAVE! SAVE! SAVE! Please save your cancelled postage stamps for Missions. Also box tops, points, milk caps & labels, and bread loaves for education. They are collected on table in back of the church for St. John’s School A2O: Are you in need of assistance of any kind, let our Youth help you. Let one of our youth or their leaders, Dean Hill or Melissa Wanie know if you need a hand with cleaning, shopping, minor maintenance. Our youth would be very pleased to give you a hand. Next meeting for A2O is February 12 at 6:00. The donated hides have been sold and A2O will purchase already tanned hides for their moccasin project. At our January meeting we made ice luminaries and our lesson was "Seeking God's Help". This was focused on Jayme Closs and family and the fact that we can never give up hope and God does listen to our prayers. We also discussed Facebook etiquette, church softball, a moccasin making event and the February meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday February 5th at 6 pm. Sunday School: Sunday School children will be singing in Church on February 10, 2019. We will also be starting activities for our closing service in May. Parable of the Maple Syrup As expected, many of Uncle Leroy’s relatives came for his funeral. The Pastor preached well, the choir had great harmony, the funeral lunch was served with the finest of home cooking by the ladies of the church. Doug was happy that his younger brother, Tom, was able to stay for a few extra days before flying back to Arizona. As the men were standing around at the end of the funeral lunch gathering, Doug had a special request of his brother. “You know that this is maple syrup time here in northern Wisconsin. Care to join me in the sugar shack tonight? It would give us some time to visit one on one.” Tom replied, “I have a hard time understanding the appeal of sitting all night watching the sap boil down. But yeah, I will come out for a while to talk.” Later that evening the door to the sugar shack opened and Doug chuckled a bit as he saw his younger brother wearing an old jacket that Doug’s wife found for Tom. It had a few holes in the sleeves having seen its fair number of Wisconsin winters. “Now, there you look like a true north woodsman!” exclaimed Doug. The steam from the boiling sap circled around the shack, finding its way to the vented roof. The brothers sat in silence for a few minutes before Tom began to talk. “This is so contrary to my life in Phoenix. I feel like I should be multitasking rather than just sitting still like this.” Doug smiled at him, “Oh, but this is where the real fun is at. My friends and I have figured out many of our life challenges watching 40 gallons of sap become that single gallon of syrup. Maybe it’s time my brother, that your rediscover the sweetness of silence. You know, Jesus often went out to lonely places to pray.” After a long pause, Tom answered, “Prayer isn’t something that has been a part of my life. The way I look at it, God already knows my problems and what I need. I see no point in reminding God what He already knows.” Doug put his hand on his younger brother’s shoulder. “Oh it isn’t God who needs to talk with us. We need real conversation with Him. There is great value to our wounded souls when we can lay that soul bare before God and admit our sins. He desires that we humble ourselves before His throne of grace and mercy.” Tom didn’t say anything but Doug knew Tom was listening. During the course of the night the brothers had times when 20 minutes would go by with no conversation. And occasionally, Doug would make some analogies about the making of sap into maple syrup. It seemed like Doug had thought about those analogies over many previous nights in the sugar shack. He talked about how the trees would be tapped at just the right time, when the nights would still be freezing but the days would rise up to 40 degrees. He told Tom that at just the right time God sent His Son Jesus to be born for the saving of all people. Doug explained how the sap must be immediately boiled or it will spoil and ferment. He said that was just like us. When we sin, we need to confess those sins before God and not go about with a heart full of malice. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and will cleanse us from unrighteousness. Tom continued to quietly listen to his older brother. Later, as Doug took a small container of sap out of the steaming metal tub, he examined it for its color and viscosity. He explained to Tom that God regularly examines us to see if we are really becoming the sweet saints that He desires us to be. The analogies kept coming and Tom kept listening. At daybreak the brothers headed through the trail back to Doug’s farmhouse. After a night of mostly silence on Tom’s part, he spoke. “At first I was very frustrated, sitting there and doing nothing. I was wishing I had brought my smart phone along. I was trying to think of an excuse to leave. But the longer we sat, a sense of peace came over me. I know that my life and career have been going at a chaotic pace. I see the value now in taking time to just rest and allow God to speak to my heart. God has used you to do just that.” Doug felt good about the night and how God been present with them. “I will send you home with a bottle of fresh maple syrup. As you use it, you will remember this night.” |
