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St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
May 2019 Newsletter W2604 Cty Hwy P, Merrill, WI 54452 715-536-8459 Please leave a message Pastor Gregory Laska can be reached at Cell #715-350-9741, e-mail address is grlaska@yahoo.com or at church office on Mondays 9am 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 the monthly newsletter 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 availability to members by the last Sunday of the month in Church. If you would like your newsletter by 3-mail, please send your request to loriloug@yahoo.com so we can add you to the list of members getting this newsletter by e-mail. April Worship Schedule May 5: Communion Worship Service @9:00 am May 12: Worship Service @ 9:00am May 18: Communion Worship Service @ 9:00 am May 26: Contemporary Service @ 8:30 am Saturday evening worship services are offered at Luther Memorial-Gleason at 6pm. All are welcome to Worship Services at St. Paul’s 9:00am or at Luther memorial-Gleason 10:30 a.m. on Sundays. April Usher Schedule May 5: Tim Duley, Jerry Hackbarth May 12: Mark Kroening, Joshua Otto: May 18: Jeanne Schubring, Kirsten Wanie May 26:: Martin and Donna Stenberg Volunteers, please come20 - 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. Save the Date Organ Concert: Zion Lutheran Church – Sunday May 5, 2019 @ 3:00 p.m. – Zion Lutheran Church – Dr. Craig Cramer, A Professor of Organ and Artist in Residence at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana will be performing. Free admission and open to the public Party on P: Events Committee / Party on P: We are getting excited as all aspects of this festival are coming together. We need your help with raffle tickets as they are a major part of our financial success. Please sign up if you are planning a basket for the prize tent. If you have any questions in that regard talk to Beth Wyma. The committee has been out seeking donations. This year we will have a separate event within our event, a bean bag tournament held on Saturday morning and afternoon benefiting the Honor Flight. If any question or a desire to have a team entered call Jenny Simon or Jody Grawien. St Paul's will definitely benefit by their use of concessions and the influx of people not having been to our church before. Tom from Tom's Timber Carving will also be there in the afternoon with a display of his carving skill. As in years past we would like members to provide pies for BBQ Chicken dinner and perhaps a fancy pie for the pie auction. Dale Erickson is handling the volunteer signup for concession, kids’ games, prize tent, set up, take down and parking. Please volunteer! This is huge undertaking for our congregation but this event allows larger projects not feasible otherwise. Luther Memorial will again help us with some volunteer support. Don Voight is handling advertising so listen for him on the different radio stations. New for this year are yard signs, please pick one up for your yard. We have purchased these for multiple year use so return them after the Party on P. Thank You for your help! Heidi Duley The weekend Itinerary is as follows; Friday – Christian and Gospel music by local and regional talent. No gate charge but a donation for the food pantry is appreciated. Ed and Sharon’s Fish Fry with the picnic tables under the big tent as well as our concession stand and cold refreshments. Saturday – a bean bag tournament in the afternoon, totally arranged by Jody Grawien and Jennifer Simon. (They are doing super finding sponsors with the goal to donate to the Honor Flight and the Veterans Post.) The entertainment will be Mark Wayne, Grudgeville Grass and Quarry Road. Sunday – Our Polka Service with Carl Uttech playing, 2nd Edition will be playing in the afternoon. *Yes we will have a dance floor) we will have kid’s games on Saturday and Sunday along with the bouncy house. Thank you Heather Olivotti. Also different this year will be an item spe3cific raffle in the prize tent. Marilyn Evenson has made a Cross Quilt for Friday. A Brewer Quilt and money cake for the remainder the weekend. A Chromebook and Metal bench are also available as an item specific raffle. If you have questions as a committee member Thank you for your help and spread the word so we have the best attendance possible. Food Pantry: The Ladies Aid has a basket 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 top points, milk caps & label and bread loaves for educations. They are collected on the table in the back of the church for St. John’s School We Need Your Help: The MAC Home in Merrill is currently looking for volunteers for all shifts. If you have any interest in helping us serve the homeless and perhaps change their life into a self-sustaining living experience, please contact us at 715-722*-1200 or MerrillCommunityHomelessCenter@gmail.com 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, shipping, minor maintenance. Our youth would be very please to give you a hand. A2O will be attending the Faith and Family Day Woodchucks game on Sunday June 23rd at 3:00 pm. Tickets are $11 each and include a reserved box seat, pop, brat or burger and a Woodchucks baseball hat. Siblings, parents, friends etc are welcome to join us. Ticket deadline in May 1st and all tickets must be paid for in advance. Dean 715-574-3008. Night in the Woods is scheduled for Friday May 17th, 6:00-10:00 pm at church. We also have a camping trip scheduled at Pastor Laska’s lake place June 7-8. Swimming, games, fishing, food, fellowship and a community project. More details to follow. There are signup sheets in the Narthex. Tentative dates for the Spooner Lake Retreat are July 14-17. We will attend Sunday Service and leave from church. Cost is $100 per person and each attendee will be responsible for their own costs. Sunday School; Sunday School children will be working on songs for their closing service on Mother’s Day. Come listen to the enjoyable voices of our young children. We will also be having closing day activities for the children on May 12 following church service. (An abbreviated Sunday School Class). VBS: There will be a planning meeting for the joint Vacation Bible School on May 8 at 6:30 pm at Calvary. If you are interested in volunteering please attend. This year's theme is Roar! Life is Wild. God is Good. Plans are being made for the week of July 8-12, 2019 at Calvary. Parable of the Unbelieving Carpenter A carpenter invited a pastor to his business office. The carpenter wanted to receive counseling and to ask some troubling questions. As the pastor sat before him, they started a good conversation; they talked about so many interesting things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the carpenter said: “I don’t believe that God exists.” “Why do you say that?” asked the pastor. The carpenter replied; “Well you just have to go out in the street and look at the shape that the world is in to realize that God doesn’t exist; Tell me, if God exists, why would there be so many sick people? Why are there wars? Would there be any abandoned and abused children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can’t imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things.” The pastor thought for a moment, but didn’t respond because he didn’t want to start an argument. The pastor finished the hour of counseling and left the carpenter’s office. Just after he left the office, he saw three houses on one block that needed new roofing. There was a garage with a broken door. A large house at the end of the street had pieces of siding that were falling off its walls. The pastor turned back and reentered the carpenter’s office again and said to him; “You know what? I do not think that carpenters exist.” "How can you say that?" pondered the surprised carpenter. “I am here, and I am a carpenter.” “No!” the Pastor exclaimed. “Carpenters don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with buildings needing repairs and remodeling.” The Pastor pointed out the office window toward a few of the houses needing repairs. The carpenter said; “Ah, but carpenters DO exist; people are free to do as they wish with their homes. What happens is, people don't come to see me.” ...“Exactly!”- affirmed the Pasto To Those Who Bring Small Children to Church: There you are at church. Your baby or toddler is restless. Perhaps even a little boisterous. You try to silence them, and nothing. You try to pacify them with food or toys, and nothing. Eventually, you resort to the last thing you wanted to do: you pick them up, and before a watching audience, you make the march out of the church. All the while you’re a little embarrassed, maybe a little frustrated too. You might even think to yourself, “There’s no point is coming to church. I get nothing out of it because I have to constantly care for my kid.” I want you –Mother and/or Fathers-to know just how encouraging you are to so many. The elderly woman who often feels alone beams with a smile at the sight of you wrestling with your little one. She’s been there before. She knows how hart it can be, but she smiles because to hear that brings back precious memories. Seeing young parents and their small children brighten her day: she may have just received bad news about her health but seeing the vitality of young ones removes- if but for a moment – her fears. The older man who always seems so grouchy notices you too. He’s always talking about how children in this day have no respe3ctor sense of goodness. But he sees you-a young family – in church every wee. Like clockwork, he can depend on the sight of you and your family. You give him hope that maybe the church isn’t doomed after all, because there are still young parents who love God enough to bring their restless children to church. Bring your children to church! If we don’t hear crying the church is dying. As hard as it might be for you as a parent who’s half-asleep, keep doing what you’re doing. You are an encouragement, and you’re starting off your children’s lives as you should. Author Unknown Note: If you are one of the church goers that is bothered by the noise, remember that without this noise we have no future St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. Embrace the noise and if it’s too loud and interrupts your hearing of the work, just change where you sit to lessen the interruption. |
