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February 2012 |
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PASTOR’S CORNER FROM THE HEART
February’s claim to fame in the middle of a long winter is Valentine’s Day. Valentine was the name of a priest that lived in Rome in the third century. Although there are several legends about what he did, he apparently was imprisoned for some kind of acts that were seen by many as caring actions, but not by the authorities. So whether it was that he kept marrying young soldiers to their lovers against the edict of the emperor, or falling in love with the prison guard’s daughter, he was soon seen as the symbol of love, even though he apparently died in that prison in 270AD.
The idea of Valentine’s Day as a day to recognize love is not a bad thing. The way our culture defines love leaves a lot to be desired. Some of you still think it is just another day for the greeting card companies to make money. Maybe it is or maybe you just need to be a little more creative yourself to celebrate this day with someone special. After all, how can it really be a problem to celebrate love and therefore the relationships that we have. After all, who is the author of Love?
The Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love” was pretty simplistic at the time it was a hit in the 60’s, yet it carries a very real message that goes far beyond the boy and his girlfriend. The love of God is the very power that defines the value of life itself. It is that love of God that says you have worth no matter who you are or even what you think of yourself. God loves you so much that he gave of Himself to bring you from a brokenness because of sin to a right relationship with Him that will last forever. From the heart of God came the love that would sacrifice His own Son in your place to make you his own forever.
Let the love of God that makes you whole be the love that you can share even on Valentine’s Day 2012.
Pastor Don Weiss |
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LENT 2012 GOD’S GIFT OF FORGIVENESS
Lent 2012 begins on Ash Wednesday, February 22, 2012. Special Midweek worship services will be held on Wednesdays throughout the season of Lent. The Theme of these special services will be, “God’s Gift of Forgiveness” On Ash Wednesday, worship will be at 2 PM and 6 PM. Throughout the rest of the season, worship will be at 6 PM on Wednesday until Holy Week, the first week in April, when worship will be on Thursday, April 5th (Maundy Thursday) at 2 PM and 6 PM and Friday, April 6th (Good Friday) at 2 PM and 6 PM.
Sunday worship during Lent will follow the themes of the readings of each Sunday. |
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ORGANIST TO BEGIN February 5, 2012
After more than a year and a half of searching, SPI will have an organist at the 8 am service beginning in February. Gary Foxe has been organist/director of music/choir director at several churches over the last 30+ years including Hope, Milwaukee, Brookfield Lutheran, and Faith, Germantown. Currently he is just desiring part time work and will begin at SPI on a trial basis playing for the 8 am service on Sunday, February 5, 2012. The possibility of expanding into more of the worship music is a real possibility in the near future. Please welcome Gary to SPI. |
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school news “God is love.” 1 John 4:8 Conversations are a part of everyday life. Knowing how to communicate and convey ideas and emotions are part of having an effective relationship. Candy can even be used as a way to express thoughts. One of the candies available at this time of year are the “conversation hearts.” As these kind expressions are given, one might observe a smile or at least a look in the Giver’s direction. Being encouraged by one’s positive comments is motivation for many. In much the same way God provides motivation to Believer’s as they read and study His Word. If one looks closely they can find many conversation hearts in Scripture. Some of these hearts say, “I chose you, I am with you always, UR mine, God saves, God is love, God hears and Jesus loves U.” (Christian Tools of Affirmation) In the Bible Christian’s read all of these love messages over and over again. These messages come from a compassionate, caring, concerned God who wants everyone to know that He loves them. This love will never go away. It is here today, tomorrow and everyday that follows. Jeremiah 31:3 states, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” Clearly, Christian’s receive this message many times throughout the day and therefore can share this love with others. How blessed we are to have such a loving God! Amy Puechner, Principal |
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FOOD PANTRY NEWS
The holidays are over! The food pantry has been very busy during this season. We received many food donations from our sister churches. St. John Lutheran school in Glendale had a food drive and it took an SUV to bring it all back to SPI. My car just didn’t have enough room. Thanks go to Roy and my son Mike for helping pick it up. Our own SPI students also donated food for which we are very thankful. What a blessing these young people are as they are learning what it means to help others. St Paul’s Brown Deer have helped us continually during the year with much needed food. Again during this holiday season they have supplied us abundantly. Milwaukee Lutheran High School donated quite a large amount of food plus a check to help us continue to do God’s work by feeding the families that need help. We also received food from Benediction and Christ Memorial. Many, many thanks to everyone who donated food. Hunger Task Force is our biggest contributor to the food pantry. We receive a monthly shipment from them and it is all free food. We are grateful to them for their help.
Numbers for November: We served 263 families (606 people) In December: We served 202 families (442 people). Reason for the decrease- We were closed on Saturday Dec.24th and Dec.31st. Our stock boxes continue to help about 30 senior citizens each month. If you know of seniors (60 and over) who may need help with their food, please contact someone in the office and we will see if they quality for the program. It is a box of about 40 pounds of food, well worth picking up.
My challenge is still on--- Please bring one food item with you each time you come to church. That way we can continue to have products that are needed. Watch the bulletin for suggestion as to what food products are needed the most. At the present time crackers seem to be the most needed item.
Again I wish to thank all of the volunteers who so diligently and willingly help to run our food pantry. Without you, we could not serve our community. God bless each and every one of you. |
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LADIES AFTERNOON GUILD The February meeting will be held on Wednesday 2/8/12 at 11:45 AM in the Large Meeting Room. |
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QUILTERS
The quilters are looking for more help
on Wednesday mornings, except the 2nd All ladies of the congregation are invited to try their hand at quilting. Hope to see you there! |
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Bookstore
Our Bookstore, located in the Narthex, is filled with beautiful gifts, and devotional items. If there is something that interests you or you just want to browse, stop by and see us. Usually there is someone at the counter between services on Sunday but if not or you need a special time or item, please call, Barb Justus at (414) 353-5217. Thank you. |
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SHUT-IN
Grace Baumbach Lucille Kuhm Milda Becker Bernie Mathis Ersaline Martin Cynthia Gray Doris Willie Edna Hohndorf Harvey Spiering Dorothea Schlehlein |
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If you are celebrating a special occasion or just saying thanks for how your life has been blessed, please sign up. The chart is on the bulletin board in the Narthex. If you would like a prayer said and the occasion printed in the bulletin, please call the church office by Tuesday at noon that week. You may pick up your flowers after the 10:30 AM service.
We are using Floral-Lflic Creations, which is located at 2437 W Mill Rd. (414) 352-9569. You simply call or go in, order the kind of flowers and color you wish. Either way, you pay for the flowers when you order.
You will still get a letter to remind you of the date you have chosen. We hope this will work out for everyone with less problems. If you have any questions, please call, Denise Scherer at (414) 462-6890. |
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NEW PHONE SYSTEM
We will be replacing our current phone system and telephones in February. As many of you know, from calling in, we cannot change our greetings. It has been more than frustrating and it does not serve our congregation or community. The cost to fix it was more than buying a new system. We are going with a new company as well, that is much more user friendly. They are locally operated as well. The phones will be digital and we will have some direct in dial numbers. (Which means you can bypass the operator to reach the party you are looking for.) This will also allow us to have a dedicated line for Food Pantry, Report Absences, Church service times and changes and much more. The installation will begin in the next week and the roll over should be happening early February. Besides the new phones we will also be getting our server from them as well. The two will work together and we thought it best to use the same company for both. The finances will come from CHOICE dollars and from a gift received by the congregation to improve SPI. A bidding process took place, two of the bids were extremely close. It was a tough decision to cut ties with our current provider but in the end we feel we will have a great working relationship with Digicorp. If you ever see strangers walking the building, make sure to always ask who they are. In the next couple of weeks it will be the crew from Digicorp! The new system is expandable as well, so as our needs change and grow or technology changes, we will be able to keep up with it. |
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other happenings MLHS Ladies Guild Meeting Library 12:15 PM February 21, 2012 Elaine Schmidt, daughter of Helen Paul, is a classical music critic for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She is the author of the book, Hi, Mom, Listen to this: A Parent’s Guide to Music and is a passionate advocate of music in the classroom. She will present the program, “All About Singing.” SHRIMP DINNER at MLHS Friday, March 23, 2012 Save the date, more information coming. |
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If you would like to put an announcement in the bulletin, you must submit all articles to the church office by 12:00 PM every TUESDAY of each week.
CHURCH OFFICE Regular Office Hours in February: 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM unless otherwise noted.
Much information can be found on our web page at www.stpeterimmanuel.org. |
