Concordia
Chimes
Concordia United Methodist Church
585 Fifth St.
Prairie du Sac, WI 53578
608/643-6356
www.concordiaumc.org
Rev. Doris Simpson, Pastor
Dan & Heidi Halling, Youth Leaders
Ann Fiene, Chimes Editor
Paul Webster, Missionary
Volume 36 Number 4
April 2015
What’s inside?
From the Pastor……….Page 2
UMW…………………..Page 3
SOFAS…………………Page 3
Budget News …………Page 4
Stewardship…………..Page 4
Our Mission Statement
As a witness to Christ in our
community, we are committed to
spiritual growth and service.
Vision Statement of the
Wisconsin Annual Conference:
Birthdays………...........Page 5
Church Library………...Page 5
Youth Group…………..Page 6
Book Club……….…….Page 7
Trustees……………….Page 7
Outreach……………...Page 8
Resident Bishop: Hee-Soo Jung
Assistant to the Bishop:
Steve Polster
Coulee District Superintendent:
Sam Royappa
Calendar….…………...Page 9
ADMINISTRATIVE
ASSISTANT HOURS
8:30 a.m.—2:30 p.m.
Monday, Wednesday & Thursday
Ann Fiene, Adm. Assistant
[email protected]
PASTOR’S OFFICE
HOURS
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday
Rev. Doris Simpson, Pastor
608-643-8822—church
[email protected]
608-632-1825—cell
608-643-8068—parsonage
A WORD ABOUT
PASTOR’S OFFICE HOURS
I have set office hours so that you
will know when you can be relatively sure I will be in the office if you
want to stop in.
That being said, there are times
that I need to be gone for meetings,
nursing home worship, scheduled
pastoral visits or emergencies during those hours.
I am also often in the office until
5:00 pm or later, so you can stop in
any time you see a blue Buick
LeSabre parked at church (Galena
Street or the parking lot).
DEADLINE for
May Chimes is
April 23rd
Things You’ll Want to Know . . .
(lots more info inside…check it out)
Apr. 1, 9:30am—SOFAs
6:00pm—Cantata Practice @ St.
John’s, PdS
7:30pm—Handbell Practice
Apr. 2, —-No Choir Practice—6:30pm—Maundy Thursday, “Is It I,
Lord?” Service
Apr. 3, 12:00pm—Cantata Practice @ St.
John’s PdS
1:00pm—Good Friday Service @ St.
John’s PdS
6:00pm—Cantata Practice @ St.
John’s, PdS
6:30pm—Good Friday Service @ St.
John’s, PdS
Apr. 5,, 7:00am—Sunrise Service
8:00am—Easter Breakfast
10:30am—Easter Worship
Apr. 7, 9:30am—UMW Board Mtg.
Apr. 12—SP Food Pantry Collection
4:00pm—Community Meal (Team
Virchow)
6:30pm—Discipleship Class
Apr. 14, 6:30pm—Finance Committee
Mtg.
Apr. 18,10:30am—UMW Spring Brunch
Apr. 19, 6:30pm—Discipleship Class
Apr. 20, 7:00pm—Book Club
Apr. 21, 7:00pm—SPRC Mtg.
Apr 23—Newsletter Articles Due
Apr. 26, 4:00pm—Community Meal
(Team Tetiva)
6:30pm—Discipleship Class
Apr. 28, 7:00pm—Outreach Committee
Mtg.
2
March 29th...Holy Week
begins this week with a
procession on Palm Sunday
(at our regular service at
10:30 am). We remember
Jesus riding into Jerusalem
on a donkey as the crowds
waved palm branches and
placed their coats on the path
for the king. They had been
waiting long years for the
messiah, the one who would
redeem Israel. We will move
from the palm celebration to
the passion of Christ as, one
by one, the crowds and
Jesus’ followers fall away.
April 2nd...At the last
supper with his disciples,
Jesus gave a new
commandment, that we love
one another as he has loved
us...so at the Maundy
Thursday service (6:30 pm)
we remember his mandate;
we are told that we are to be
servants as he was; and in
the bread and cup we
remember the measure of his
love in giving his all. Prior to
celebrating holy communion,
we will be hearing from each
of the disciples as they ask
themselves, “Is it I who will
betray you?”
April 3rd...We will
worship with our Christian
brothers and sisters at St.
John’s Lutheran Church
(1:00 and 6:30 pm). The
community choir will sing,
‘The Final Hours’.
April 5th...Our youth will
lead us in celebrating the
resurrection of Jesus Christ
at the Easter Sunrise
Service (7:00 am) with
‘Messengers of a Messiah’.
Easter breakfast will be
served immediately following
the sunrise service (8:00
am).
And...if the sunrise
service is a little too early for
you, we will have our
traditional Resurrection
Service (10:30 am) with the
Handbell Choir’s music
ministry playing three songs.
This is a sacred time for
God is doing something
new. Our lives and the earth
are filled with God’s
presence. We see new life
as early spring flowers have
begun to break through the
soil. We see new life in the
warmth and light of the
season. We see new life in
the mercy God gives us and
the mercy we offer to each
other.
APRIL LECTIONARY
READINGS:
5th—Acts 10:34-43
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
John 20:1-18
Mark 16:1-8
12th—Acts 4:32-35
Psalm 133
1 John 1:1-2:2
John 20:19-31
19th—Acts 3:12-19
Psalm 4
1 John 3:1-7
Luke 24:36b-48
26th—Acts 4:5-12
Psalm 23
1 John 3:16-24
John 10:11-18
May Holy Week be a time of
hope and love. May you
have a blessed Easter
season.
Blessings,
PLEASE NOTE:
Pastor Doris
Pastor Doris will be on
vacation from April 6th
through April 12th. If you
need pastoral care, you can
contact our lay leader,
Suzanne Paskey at
445-1004, or the church
office at 643-6356.
3
Celebrate Spring!
Come to a GARDEN PARTY on
Saturday April 18.
Brunch will be served at 10:30am.
A program will follow featuring
Country Gardens with highlights on wonderful,
colorful flowers and spring flowering bulbs.
All women of the church are invited.
For planning purposes, please let us know you are coming.
RSVP by signing up in Fellowship Hall, dropping a completed
reservation form in the collection plate, notifying Ann at the
church office 643-6356. Reservations, questions and/or
transportation needs may also be directed to Jane Cordero
643-2864 or Mary Peetz 643-6720.
This is a UMW sponsored event.
Upcoming UMW Activities:
 Apr. 7—UMW Board Mtg.—9:30am—church Memorial
Lounge
 Apr. 18—UMW Spring Brunch—10:30am—Fellowship
Hall
CONCORDIA CARES!
Please volunteer your
time and show compassion
to Concordia Church
families during times of joy
(birth of a baby) and hardship (death in the family, ill
family member etc.)
If you know of a family or a
situation that would benefit
from some TLC in the form
of meals or transportation,
please contact Pastor Doris
(643-8822) or leave a message at the church (6436356). We have a group of
volunteers who are willing
to offer assistance in those
kinds of situations.
SECOND SUNDAY
DONATIONS
The UMW continues to collect Campbell’s Soup Labels and
Boxtops for Education. The collection box is located on
the radiator by the kitchen door.
SOFAs
(Seniors—60+—Out
for Adventure)
The SOFAs will meet
for coffee and
fellowship on
Wednesday, April 1st
at 9:30 am at
church.
Like us on Facebook! Search “concordiasaukprairie”
to find us. Post news, pictures, updates and schedules
so we can all stay in touch.
Second Sunday donations
(food, cash, hygiene, household items) for March will go
to Hope House.
ZELPHA’S PANTRY
Donations for Zelpha’s Pantry will be accepted the
fourth Sunday of the month.
Personal hygiene items are
accepted and offered to
attendees of our Community
Meal on the last Sunday of
the month.
4
BUDGET NEWS
Budget Receipts for February 2015
$13,894.17
NON-BUDGET RECEIPTS FOR FEB. 2015
Sauk Prairie Food Pantry
$20.00
BUDGET SUMMARY-YEAR TO DATE
Beginning Balance 1/1/15
$8,835.40
Receipts
$42,729.17
Disbursements
$23,938.41
Budget Fund Balance 2/28/15
$27,626.16
Capital Maintenance Fund 2/28/15
(Closed-$7,441.52 transferred to General Fund)
Capital Improvement Fund 2/28/15
Lift Fund 1/31/15
During the Easter season, it is encouraging to see both new and familiar faces at
our worship services. Throughout the
year, many of you already support the
congregation with your time, talent and
financial contributions but greater participation is always welcome. We encourage
you to look into our electronic giving program. It takes just a few minutes to setup
a recurring giving plan. If you're interested you'll find information sheets on the
table in the narthex. You may also contact Mary Zins if you have questions, or
would like to set up your EFT transaction.
$0.00
$91,224.94
$2,877.32
A STEWARDSHIP MESSAGE FOR YOUR CHURCH
#15-4 Give Willingly…..”Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar—and to God what belongs to
God.” (Matt. 22:21)
Did you know? The average tax refund is up 3% to $3,034 so far this year, the Internal Revenue Service
reported on March 5th. The average tax refund for the last three years, paid in 2012, 2013 and 2014
was just over $2,700.
How will we spend our tax refunds? We know that some taxpayers do not receive a refund. But, of
those who do, how do they spend it? The most popular answers are: 1) Pay off Debt; 2) Have fun – do
something special or buy something special and 3) Save it. On most lists of ideas the thought of 4) Giving it Away to a favorite charity is either last on the list or never makes the list!
If we’re going to “give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God,” what
are we called to give away? As people of faith we may wish to consider giving a tithe (10%) or some
portion of our tax return to the church to say thank you to God for the jobs we have and the earnings
we receive.
Consider tithing. If the average refund is $2,700 and 10 people tithe at $270 each, the total giving to
your church would increase $2,700. That might pay most of the snow plowing bill for the winter or
help you do something new and creative for Vacation Bible School.
Your tithe might be more or less than average, but a gift of $270 would save 27 lives at $10 apiece for
the Imagine No Malaria Campaign. Gifts totaling $2,700 would also make a big difference in paying the
mission giving through our apportionments for a number of churches – for some it would pay their apportionments in full, for others it will cover 1/10 of the total or one month.
What is God calling you to give?
Wisconsin United Methodist Foundation, 750 Windsor Street, Suite 305 , Sun Prairie, WI 53590
1-888-903-9863 or [email protected]
5
Got a Name Tag?
Please remember to start wearing your name tag when you come to
worship. If you need a new tag please call the church office, 608-6436356
APRIL
BIRTHDAYS
1. Mckenzie Halling
1. Leslie Koch
2. Roger Cole
5. Karmin Enge
8. Chuck Frank
8. Amy Lang
8. Sara Nehring
10. Gillie Fritsch
12. Deklan Koenig
15. Jane Cordero
17. Nancy Maschman
24. Carson Enge
24. Tim Enge
25. Dan Halling
25. Dan Marshall
26. Alex Lang
27. Jim Allen
28. Maddy Mauch
30. Lisa Alyea
E-Mail?
If you have an e-mail address and you aren’t receiving e-notes or
newsletters from Concordia please let us know. You can e-mail us at
[email protected].
Can You Hear Me Now?
We have a dedicated group of people who work on our sound desk each
week. They record the service and duplicate the CDs so we can distribute
them to shut-ins. It’s a way for us to stay connected to people who aren’t
able to join us for worship. There’s always space for new volunteers at
the sound desk. If you’d like to do that please contact Bruce Koch, our
volunteer coordinator. He’ll be happy to answer any questions. you have.
Can You Deliver?
Are you willing to give about an hour on Sundays to deliver the CD’s of our
worship service to our faithful members who are not able to attend church
anymore? Most of these CD’s go to Maplewood Nursing Home. This is also a
good opportunity for families to share in an outreach program, If you are
willing to participate in this important service, please call the church office,
608-643-6356 or Betty Granger.
MEALS FOR SHUT-INS
Do you know of a shut-in that would appreciate a meal delivered
to them on our Community Meal days? If you do, please contact
the church office.
CONCORDIA CHURCH LIBRARY
New books in our church library (purchased in January 2015):

What’s So Blessed About Being Poor?—An inspiring exploration of how happiness and holiness can exist in
the midst of poverty and illness.
UMW Reading List Category—EDUCATION FOR MISSION

Sum it Up—Pat Summitt’s autobiography of her life as the head coach of the University of Tennessee Lady
Vols and later, her struggle with Alzheimer’s. The story is full of humanity, wit and fierceness.
UMW Reading List Category—LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Whatever Happened to Dinner?—Recipes and reflections for family mealtime.
UMW Reading List Category—NURTURING FOR COMMUNITY

Kind of Kin (A Novel)—A new Oklahoma state law makes harboring an undocumented immigrant a felony.
The story reveals how an ad hoc family and an entire town unite to do anything necessary to protect its
own.
UMW Reading List Category—SOCIAL ACTION

Finding God in a Bag of Groceries—In a tiny food pantry, the author of the books discovers her own hunger
for God and a world of neighbors she never knew.
UMW Reading List Category—SPIRITUAL GROWTH
6
Who’s Doing What, When
April 2nd-Maundy Thursday
Communion
Steward: Dolores Bahr (Seder Meal)
CYF—“GO ON--To discipleship with acts of piety”
Spring is here, and the youth group was able to walk to the
park in March and play Frisbee golf. We were able to shed
our usual layers of winter clothing for Food Pantry night,
and we could push carts with light jackets and no hats. We
April 5th-Easter Sunday (10:30)
Ushers:
Larry Hinyup
John & Joanne Budd
Amy Willey
Alyssa & Matthew Wenzel
Karen Pape
Greeters:
Acolytes:
Liturgist:
Communion
Stewards: Emily & Gordon Carncross
Nursery:
Flowers:
Easter and the warmth and light of the message of the Resurrection to fill our days with Easter hope.
Youth group will continue on Wednesday nights through May
13, with food pantry on April 8 and May 13. Mark your calendars for Youth-led services on Easter Sunday at 7 AM
and Youth Sunday worship on April 19 and May 17.
The fair trade items for sale located on the shelf by the
ramp door will GO ON SALE starting March 26. Chocolate
April 12th
Ushers:
rejoice in the warmth and light of spring, as we prepare for
Kevin Emshoff, Fred McIntosh
Mark & Ilene Fritschler
Kevin & Debbie Emshoff
Ethan & Lydia Emshoff
Dave Rogalla
bars, coffee, tea, cocoa and gift items will be sold on the
honor system at a reduced price. You may make purchases
Greeters:
Acolytes:
Liturgist:
Nursery:
Flowers:
Comm. Meal: Team Virchow
any time the church is open by placing your money in an en-
April 19th
ternational to help support Rony, our compassion child from
Ushers:
Greeters:
Acolytes:
Liturgist:
Nursery:
Flowers:
you to everyone who has supported the youth by buying the
fair trade products.
Each month, our youth group sends $38 to Compassion In-
Youth
Youth
Taylor Haas & Zara McIntosh
Youth
India. The youth would like to share information about becoming a sponsor at an upcoming worship service. Our group
has enjoyed Rony’s letters through the last four years. It
brings us joy to know that through our fundraising and
sharing our funds, Rony has been receiving support with
April 26th
Ushers:
velope and putting the envelope in the church office. Thank
Don Wenzel
John & Joanne Budd
Roger & Jan Cole
Ella & Sam Drescher
Suzanne Paskey
Greeters:
Acolytes:
Liturgist:
Nursery:
Flowers:
Comm. Meal: Team Tetiva
Snow Removal:
March 30-April 5
April 6-12
April 13-19
April 20-26
Virchow
Andres
Koch
Lang
food, water, clothing, education, medical care and Bible
study. We hope the letters and pictures we send help him
know that the love of Christ travels thousands of miles
when a connection is made to spread peace! We pray that
our support can make the difference in one life, and that
hope and goodness will ripple out from one life to many.
If you find that you’re
not able to serve as
scheduled please contact
the church office (6436356) or at
[email protected].
7
CONCORDIA BOOK CLUB--JOIN
US ON
APRIL 20TH
AT
7:00
PM.
Join us Monday, April 20th at 7:00 pm...We meet in a comfortable place and have a
comfortable (much of the time anyway) conversation about a book that we've read. We will be
discussing, "The Red Letter Revolution: What If Jesus Really Meant What He Said?--Part
1" by Shane Claiborne and Tony Campolo.
For all the Christians facing conflict between Jesus' words and their own lives, for all the
non-Christians who feel they rarely see Jesus' commands reflected in the choices of his followers, Red Letter Revolution is a blueprint for a new kind of Christianity, one consciously centered on the words of Jesus, the Bible's "red letters."
Framed as a captivating dialogue between Shane Claiborne, a progressive young evangelical, and Tony Campolo, a seasoned pastor and professor of sociology, Red Letter Revolution is
a life-altering manifesto for skeptics and Christians alike. It is a call to a lifestyle that considers first and foremost Jesus' explicit, liberating message of sacrificial love.
Shane and Tony candidly bring the words of Jesus to bear on contemporary issues of violence, community, Islam, hell, sexuality, civil disobedience, and twenty other critical topics for
people of faith and conscience today. The resulting conversations reveal the striking truth that
Christians guided unequivocally by the words of Jesus will frequently reach
conclusions utterly contrary to those of mainstream evangelical Christianity.
If the Jesus who speaks to you through the Gospels is at odds with the
Christian culture you know, if you have ever wanted to stand up and say, "I
love Jesus, but that's not me," Red Letter Revolution will prove that you are
not alone-you may have been a Red Letter Christian all along.
CONCORDIA TRUSTEES COMMITTEE ACTIVITY
by Bruce Koch, Committee Chair
It is refreshing to see folks using the lift often and that makes our efforts and resources well used. That should give years of
good function and hopefully allow those that come to visit our place feel more welcome. The company is going to return in the
next couple of weeks for some finish tuning to address the minor issues that have been noticed.
One of our continuing efforts is to be more informative to you, the congregation, about what we do as a committee.
Another item that has been brought to completion is the installation of video surveillance cameras at the entrances of the
church that are used most. They are at the Galena Street, ramp and lift entrances. This gives the staff more ability to know
who is coming and going in the building. This adds a level of safety to our building which is necessary with today’s world occurrences.
Then we also had extensive discussion about the church policies and charges if any. A copy of those will be published soon
since there are a couple of line items to be set yet. If you did not know the church is for your use as well as other community
functions. We have guide for meetings, weddings and funerals so that can be consistent for all. It is a nice place to use for
those types of things.
Our new custodian is Tony Misslich and he has been doing the ongoing tasks of that position so greet him if you see him
around the building. This has been going well.
One item that has been noted is that because the lift is used by quite a few folks and because our parking lot is small
we are asking those that do not use the lift or ramp to not park in the parking lot. That will enable the lift and ramp
users to have comfortable parking. Please help in this effort.
See you in church?
Bruce Koch
8
Summer Camp Opportunities
What do you need this Summer?
Friendship and Laughter Challenge and Skills
Praise and Worship
Fun and Adventure
Exploring and Relaxing
Campfire and Prayer
Horses and Nature
Swimming and Canoeing
Spiritual Growth
Leadership Development
There is something special for you and your family at Camp. Explore an adventure of Faith, Fun, and Friendship! For information on Summer Camps, call The United Methodist Camping Office at 877-947-2276 or visit
www.WIUMCamps.org.
OUTREACH COMMITTEE UPDATE
By Dennis Roelke, Committee Chair
The Outreach Committee has been a recipient of several memorial
donations over the past few years. These memorial donations have
been designated for specific use, such as missions and world hunger. As a result, the responsibility of the Outreach Committee is to
disburse these funds to appropriate charities, missions and causes
that support the request of the memorial donations. There have
been typically two funds; the May-Schaefer fund to be used for supporting mission work and the Meyer-Sprecher fund to be used for
addressing projects related to world hunger. Currently, the MaySchaefer fund has been depleted and the Meyer-Sprecher fund has
$42,867 available for use.
This past year over $15,000 has been donated to various missions
and world hunger related projects. Mission related projects include
the Melodies of Compassion, scholarships for various mission trips,
Imagine No Malaria, Ganta Hospital Advance (medical supplies for
treating Ebola), Paul Webster, and general mission project related
expenses. World Hunger related projects include Sauk Prairie
against Hunger – Feed My Starving Children, Sauk Prairie against
Hunger – Feed 10 local families, and the Food Pantry (the Food
Pantry receives $500 per quarter from the Outreach Committee).
Additionally, the Outreach Committee is supporting the Free Trade
initiative and is supplying Free Trade coffee for use by all church
committees and functions.
The Outreach Committee also supports the Melodies of Compassion by matching up to $200 for each of these ministries. The Melodies of Compassions for 2015 are the Reedsburg Hispanic Ministry
(Jan – Feb), Northcott Community Center (Mar – Apr), Hope House
(May – June), UM Children’s Services (July – Aug), Madison Hospital Chaplaincy (Sept – Oct) and Redbird Mission (Nov – Dec). At the
beginning of each donation period there will be a short presentation
about the particular mission during church service.
The Outreach Committee will also be researching some prison project ministries. Previously, Concordia has participated in a book
ministry which purchased selected books that were distributed to
incarcerated individuals.
LADIES NIGHT OUT
to benefit
Sauk Prairie Against Hunger
Friday, April 17, 2015
at the Dorf Haus in Roxbury, WI
6:30pm dinner
(FREE to eat—vote on food with
your
dollars. Cash bar available.)
7:30pm live auction
Donations for auction items (gift
certificates, baskets, crafting,
cooking, make-up or gardening
items; new/gently used purses,
accessories or anything else a lady would enjoy, please contact
6:8 at (608) 658-4700 or drop
off at 485 Prairie St., Prairie
du Sac
To enter the Soup, Bread or Dessert Cook-Off, please register
online at
MakingServicePersonal.org/SPAH
or call John at (608) 658-4700.
9
5
Sun
7:00am—Sunrise Service
8:00am—Easter Breakfast
10:30am—Worship
Easter Sunday
12 9:00am—SS
10:00am—CoffeeTime
10:30am—Worship/SP
Food Pantry Collect.
4:00pm—Community Meal
(Team Virchow)
6:30pm—Discipleship Class
19 9:00am—SS
10:00am—CoffeeTime
10:30am—Worship/Youth
Sunday
6:30pm—Discipleship Class
26 9:00am—SS
10:00am—CoffeeTime
10:30am—Worship/
Zelpha’s Pantry
4:00pm—Community Meal
(Team Tetiva)
6:30pm—Discipleship Class
April 2015
4
Sat
3 7:00am—UM Men @
Eagle Inn
12:00pm/6:00pm—
Cantata Practice @
St. John’s, PdS
1:00pm/6:30pm—Good
Friday Service @ St.
John’s, PdS
11
Fri
10
Thu
9
7:00am—UM Men @
Eagle Inn
18
Wed
8
6:30pm--Choir
7:30pm--Handbells
17
10:30am—UMW
Spring Brunch
Tue
7
5:30pm--CYF @ Food
Pantry
16
7:00am—UM Men @
Eagle Inn
25
Mon
9:30am—UMW Board
Mtg.
15
6:30pm--Choir
7:30pm--Handbells
24
2
14
6:00pm--CYF (dinner
@ 5:30pm)
23
7:00am—UM Men @
Eagle Inn
—-No Choir Practice—
6:30pm--Maundy
Thursday—”Is It I,
Lord?” Service
6:30pm—Finance
Committee Mtg.
22
6:30pm--Choir
7:30pm--Handbells
29
6:30pm--Choir
7:30pm--Handbells
30
Newsletter Articles Due
28
6:00pm--CYF (dinner
@ 5:30pm)
1
9:30am—SOFAs
—-No CYF—6:00pm—Cantata
Practice @
St. John’s, PdS
7:30pm—Handbells
21
6:00pm--CYF (dinner
@ 5:30pm)
6
20
7:00pm—SPRC Mtg.
13
7:00pm—Book Club
27
7:00pm—Outreach
Committee Mtg.
Pastor Doris will be on vacation
from April 6th through April 12th.
If you need pastoral care, you can
contact our lay leader, Suzanne
Paskey at 445-1004, or the church
office at 643-6356.
CONCORDIA UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
585 FIFTH STREET
PRAIRIE DU SAC, WI 53578
[email protected]
(608) 643-6356
NEWSLETTER
April 2015