FOREST LARGER PARISHL a k e w o o d Wa b e n o L a o n aP R E S B Y T E R I A N C H U R C H

MAY/JUNE 2016 1

C O N T A C T I N F O

OFFICE PHONE(715) 473-3603

WEBSITEwww.forestlargerparish.com

EMAILforlarpar@centurylink.net

C H U R C H S T A F F

PASTORRev. R. Lee Jennings, Jr.

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT/NEWSLETTER EDITORLori Brooks

AWESOME CHRISTIAN YOUTH (ACY) — Pastor Lee & Becky

CHILDREN’S MINISTRIESPamela Schroeder

CHURCH TREASURERTina Flanery

CLERK OF SESSIONPatty Earnest

NEWSLETTER LAYOUTKrystal Statezny

PRESBYTERY LIAISONLin Wittmann

If you would like to submit something for the website or have a suggestion, email Cheri Kuske atscuba4us@gmail.com. All submissions are subject toCommunications Committee approval.

o the ancient way of thinking, the cross upon which Jesus was suspended could not be conceived as a symbol of achievement, honor, or victory. The cross was a stark, cruel sign that the cru-cified person was isolated and utterly cut off from the world of the living for crimes against humanity and the state. Yet, the church took this horrific implement of execution and found in it an olive branch that it extended across the plan-et. How was such a concept plausible? “For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility…that he might create in himself one new per-son…and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end.” Ephesians 2:14-16 In order to comprehend the mystery of the “cross redefined”, it is necessary to read the Gospels and understand the impact of Jesus’ life on the tiny region of Palestine, unjustly dominated by the ruling Roman superpower, where the religion of Moses was usurped by hypocritical leaders. Within the Scriptures’ lines of faith we can discover for ourselves that Jesus was one who in the words of the confession “…lived among his own people sharing their needs, temptations, joys and sorrows, and became a brother to all kinds of sinful people. But…His life and teaching judged their goodness, religious aspirations, and national hopes. Many rejected him and demanded his death. In giving himself freely for them, he took upon himself the judgment

under which all people stand convicted. God raised him from the dead, vindicating him as Messiah and Lord. The victim of sin became the victor, and won the victory over sin and death for all people.” When in humble obedience we accept God’s offer of reconciliation, the battlements of hostility toward one another are collapsed. Recognize it or not, the answer is yes. We are bound together by the power of God’s Spirit and united forever in spite of our differences, by the cross of Jesus. No single church or individual stands separated and independent of those others who proclaim the Prince of Peace. As we reach to touch the extended hand of God’s forgiveness, we are also taking the hands of broken people who, just like us, were once alienated, but are now accepted.

Yours in good faith,Pastor Lee

T

PASTOR’S REFLECTIONSby Pastor Lee

“We are one in the Spirit; we are one in the Lord.We are one in the Spirit; we are one in the Lord.And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.And they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”

CHURCH COMMUNITY

Clara Koskella, Anders Olsen, Jane Albers, Rita Pierce, Nancy Volk, Mavis Vanselow, Missy Marvin, Kolton Oullette, Winda Collins, Austin Ginter, Jim Lentz, Mattie, Roland Kortbein, Jr., Cory Schjoth, Tuscon Olson, Kay & Gary Petts, Greg Cook, Mary Reigle, Samuel Dewing, Jason VanDenLangenberg, Chris Olsen, Joan Winkelman, Roy Rassmusson, Chris Olson, Joan Winkelman, the family of Sandy Gengalo, Darlene Dault, Dale Hackbarth, Diane Johnson, the family of Mary Ness, Glenn Ness, Margaret Lowery, Wayne Lafferty, Alex Shotliff, Arthur Anderson, Jenny Buhrandt, the Albrecht family, Linda Mentz

Nu-Roc Residents: Jeanne Haskins, Phyllis Quinn, Carol Lamers

Serving in the Military: Michael Schmitt,Eric Peterson, Doug Smith, Scott Swann,Nick Swanda, Zack Ashbeck, Dakota Reynolds,Nicholas Pichotta, Clark Spaniol, Troy Graham,Mitchel Albert, Zach Derfus, Jerry Jeppson,Beau Gagnon, Ben Baker, Jesse Cotherman

PLEASE NOTE: Due to the Federal Privacy Regulations, we encourage you to seek an individual’s permission before submitting their name to our printed prayer list. *If you would like to add a family member serving in the military to the prayer list, please fill out a prayer card and note “military” and give it to the pastors or call the church office.

COMMUNION DATESMay 1 – Traditional May 8 – Traditional May 15 – Intinction — Pentecost May 22 – Intinction — Trinity SundayJune 5 – Traditional

Parents of baptized children:Baptized children who are being nurtured and instructed in the significance of the invitation to the Table and the meaning of their response are invited to receive the Lord’s Supper, recognizing that their understanding of participa-tion will vary according to their maturity.

PRAYER REQUESTS

MAY/JUNE 2016 2

MAYPete Weinert 1Don Lewis 1Patricia Rasmussen 4Holly Spaude 6Allen Schroeder 7Kempf’s Anniv. 10Debbie Klingensmith 12Michael Johnvin, Jr. 13Patty Earnest 17Kari Calhoun 20Conner Harris 20Wayne Lafferty 23Ellie Donaldson 26Flegal Anniv. 27Zech Bethke 29Linda Hartman 29

Karen Prueter 30Matilda Statezny 30

JUNE Liz Whitefoot 2Barbara Hesselink 5Phyllis Quinn 8Caleb Maurer 9Linda Kortbein 11Andy Brooks 11Ted Albert 11Kiersten Piontek 12Jane Albers 13Market Anniv. 14Roy Rassmusson 14David Fritsch 17Robert Pirus 17Kodie Erickson 17

Curt Gipp 18Frankie Derfus 20Shirley Connors 24Lanny Lafferty 24Earnest Anniv. 24Jennings Anniv. 25Lenny Roy 26Fuller Anniv. 28Hendrikse Anniv. 28Tyler Beyers 29Riley Hoffmann 29Jacob Godin 30 Mentz’s Anniv. 30

The following are birthdays and anniversaries of our members and friends. If your birthday or anniversary has never been listed and you would like it to be, please write it in on the Birthday Calendar posted at your church.

BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES

As the snow gives way to sunshine and warmer days, plans

for this year’s garden are also underway. We already have some seeds and plants donated, but if you would like to add anything, please let Mary Ellen Keller know before too long. In the past few years we have been able to feed many in the area through sharing the bounty with the church members and friends, and through the food pantries. Please consider how you can help this garden grow.

We are in need of people to do the following: roto-til the ground in mid to late May, start seeds indoors for those plants that need it, donate seeds and/or plants, help with planting near the end of May, weed as needed throughout the growing season, help with the harvest when the time comes, clean the produce and deliver it to the food pantries in the area. If you can help in any of these tasks, please contact Mary Ellen Keller. She can be reached at (715) 276-7516.

FLPPC COMMUNITY GARDEN

EVENTS/ANNOUNCEMENTSMAY/JUNE 2016 3

EVENTSJOINT PENTECOST SERVICE Sunday, May 15Lakewood Location10:30 a.m.

AWESOME CHRISTIAN YOUTH (ACY) BRAT FRY Saturday, May 21 Lakewood Krist Food Mart 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.

FLEA-ZAAR Friday & Saturday, July 15-16Lakewood LocationFriday: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.Saturday:8 a.m. - 2 p.m.

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOLAug. 1-5 • Lakewood Location

EGYPT...Joseph’s Journey from Prison to Palace Experience the thrill of visiting Egypt. Join Joseph each day and experience how God used Joseph to save a nation. Please let Pam or Lori know if you can help. Who will be Joseph?!

ANNOUNCEMENTSTHE 2nd SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH - Contemporary/praise music is performed at both our Lakewood and Wabeno services

THE 3rd SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH - The “Praise Band” leads a contemporary worship service at one of our three locations. Interest-ed in learning more about the Praise Band? Contact Mary Ellen Keller at (715) 927-7065. THE 4th SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH - The Puppet Ministry performs at one of our three loca-tions. A big hit for both young and old! Interested in learning more about the Puppet Ministry? Contact Pam Schroeder at 715-473-3803.

This project will be done “in house” with the help of two volunteer photographers, Krystal Statezny and Henry Severson. On Sunday, May 15 after the Joint Pentecost Service at 10:30 a.m. in Lakewood, be prepared to have your photos taken for the directory. A second photo shoot will be held the following Sunday, May 22 after each worship service. Please make every attempt to be present on one (or both!) of these dates. We will also be asking you to fill out a form updating your contact information, so plan to take the time to fill it out after the services, so we can collect them and start compiling information.

Church Directory Update

It’s time to update our church directory!

ACY BRAT FRY

& BROWNIE

SALE

Saturday, May 219 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Lakewood Krist Food MartReminder to ACY parents:

Please send a pan of brownies!

 

If you are a regular Facebook user, please “like” the Forest Larger Parish page in order to get regular updates on church events.

The Flea-Zaar is coming to FLPPC July 15-16! We need your donations: household items (that have no disposal fees!), large items like boats, cars, ATVs, mowers, snowblowers, etc.

Hand-crafted items made by YOU, the people of Forest Larger Parish are also welcome, but we ask that you price them. Keep in mind that unsold items will go to 50 percent off at noon on Saturday of the Flea-Zaar. If you don’t want your hand-crafted items to be subject to that kind of mark-down, please pick up any unsold items before noon on Saturday. Our hope is to give everyone a chance to use their talents to make something to benefit the programs that FLPPC supports in our communities.

The Bake Sale will be held on Saturday and the plan is to move it to an outside (tented) location that will attract more customers instead of the cramped space inside. Consider baking ahead and freezing your homemade goodies so you will have that done before we start working on setup.

We will again have a jewelry tent, which was quite popular last year, so check your jewelry box for possible donations. Remember that even broken jewelry has value to crafters.

New this year will be a FREE WATER tent as an Acts 1:8 ministry to workers and shoppers alike.

Brochures and other information about our church will be available at that tent for folks new to our church. (Thanks to Janine Albers for volunteering to keep this area staffed.)

Set up begins on Monday, July 11, with preliminary stuff (tents, tables, and inside set up) and we really get down to work starting on Tuesday, July 12, up through the sale on Friday and Saturday of that week. Mark your calendar to be a part of this event! (P.S. We really DO have fun even though we’re working!)

Please help replace the

Flea-Zaar tents by

donating using the special envelopes

in the pews and in the

fellowship hall.

Although Forest Larger is one church, we do have three separate locations where we must maintain the buildings. Since each building has its own specific issues, each lo-cation has its own part in the overall budget for capital improvements. Some of the money in these ac-counts was put in place many years ago as funds were donated with the restriction that they could only be used for building improvements and not for operating costs. Some of the funds are further limited in that only the interest can be spent on the building issues.

In Wabeno, the interest on one portion of the overall building fund is used to pay about 80 percent of the mortgage costs for the Wabeno renovation. The balance of those mortgage payments comes from donations made to the church in the “building fund” envelopes in the Wabeno pews. In Laona, the build-ing fund is there to replace the fur-nace if necessary, refinish the wood floors in the sanctuary, to replace windows and other capital proj-ects. Laona welcomes gifts to their building fund as well — just be sure to mark your contribution as being for that use. In Lakewood, there are also funds that were designated long ago for similar capital projects such as replacing flooring and address-ing parking lot issues. Lakewood, too, welcomes gifts to their building fund — again, be sure to mark your contribution for that use.

We are thankful for the generous donors who make it possible to pro-vide safe, clean and modern facilities for the use of our church through our building funds.

OUR COMMUNITYMAY/JUNE 2016 4

DONATIONS FOR THE FLEA-ZAAR

How Your Church Works:

BUILDING FUNDS

2016 PENTECOST OFFERING

Thank you to all who donated to the One Great Hour of Sharing Offering. The total amount raised by FLPPC was $1,045!

The Pentecost Offering will be received by Forest Larger Parish Presby-terian Church on the day of Pentecost (May 15, 2016).

The Pentecost Offering is tradition-ally received on the day of Pentecost. However, you can help sustain the important PC (USA) ministries and programs that are supported by the

Pentecost Offering by making an online gift at any time throughout the year.

The Pentecost Offering is unique in that congregations direct 40 percent of what they receive for ministries which benefit children at risk. The remaining 60 percent supports mission through child advocacy (10 percent), youth ministry (25 percent), and Young Adult Volunteer opportunities (25 percent).

SESSION MINUTESMAY/JUNE 2016 5

>>>MARCH 2016Regular Meeting - Wabeno• The meeting opened with a devo-

tion and prayer.• Motion to approve the agenda with

additions. M/S/A• Motion to give voice to all present.

M/S/A• Motion to accept treasurer’s re-

port. M/S/A • Motion to accept clerk’s report. M/S/A

Pastor’s Report: • Copies of the February Pastor’s

report were distributed and discussed. This listed many meetings, services, and home visits, including bringing com-munion to Sylvia Markusen. Motion to accept Pastor’s Report. M/S/A

COMMITTEE REPORTSWorship:• Pam highlighted several items

including the positive feedback on the Lenten services. Discussion was held regarding the March 16 planned Healing service. Pastor Lee said he will be gone from April 15-18. Mary Scheuerman will ask the personnel committee to approve this time off. Suzanne Bell will be pulpit supply. April 17 will be a joint service, followed by a Flea-zaar meeting. Motion to have April 17, 2016, be a joint service.

Buildings and Grounds:• Lori sent word that the request

for dumpster removal has been made and she has volunteers to remove the garbage.

• Larry said he is still collecting quotes for the materials for the planned structure in Lakewood.

• Mike explained the planned floor refinishing at Laona. Someone from Crandon will do this refinishing and install rubber steps and carpeting down the middle, approximate cost - $3,000. He also said Laona has $733.48 in the After School Program left from before the merge. This came from a rummage sale and Christian Challengers. Motion to leave this money with Laona. M/S/A

Mission/Evangelism:• Pam reported on the weekend

“back packs to go”program. Motion

to store the food and assemble these backpacks in the cry room at Wabeno. M/S/A

• Suzanne Bell discussed the young adult adventure group that is being organized by Kelly Roy and Cheri Kuske. She also explained a new Flea-zaar item which will be a tent where members will hand out Christian brochures and bottles of water.

Communications:• Pam Schroeder said we need to

have updated church directories done and money has not been budgeted for this. Motion to approve these new di-rectories, to be done in house using our printer and volunteers. M/S/A

Deacon’s Task Force:• What steps should be taken to re-

move members who are not active were listed in their report.

• Motion to accept Christopher Pont and Steve and Janine Albers into mem-bership. They come to us via letters of transfer. M/S/A Pastor Lee will soon be baptizing Chris Pont’s baby.

>>>APRIL 2016Regular Meeting - Wabeno• The meeting opened with a devo-

tion and prayer.• Motion to approve the agenda with

addition. M/S/A• Motion to give voice to all present.

M/S/A• Motion to accept Treasurer’s Re-

port. M/S/A • Motion to accept treasurer’s re-

port. M/S/APastor’s Report: • Copies of the March Pastor’s report

were distributed and reviewed. This includes many meetings, services, home and hospital visits, Bible classes, Praise Band practice, Nu-Roc service. Pastor Lee also met with the Pont family and made arrangements to baptize their baby Raymond.

COMMITTEE REPORTSWorship:Pam Schroeder said she felt our

Lenten and Holy Week services this year were very well done and received.

Copies of the Procedure for Distributing the Communion Elements for all three churches were distributed and reviewed. Pastor Lee gave a history of sacrament procedures and the symbolism. A mo-tion was made to appoint two ordained elders or deacons to serve in Wabeno and Lakewood and appoint one ordained elder or deacon to serve in Laona, except for special circumstances with Pastor’s approval. M/S/A

Buildings and Grounds:• A meeting of the Bldg,Grnds Com-

mittee will be held April 6 and Larry Market will moderate this meeting. A list of those who have signed up to be on this committee was given to Larry and he said there needs to be more women on this committee.

Deacon’s Task Force :• Copies of the proposed policy on

Deacons and their responsibilities in maintaining accurate member rolls was distributed and discussed. A Deacons meeting is set for April 10 at Lakewood.

• Our new members Steve and Janine Albers and Chris Pont will be in-troduced to the congregation at our joint Pentecost service.

NEW BUSINESS• Discussion was held regarding can-

celing church services because of inclem-ent weather. Several suggestions were made and all or some will be implement-ed, ie; e-mails, texts, Lori will put the cancellation information on the church answering machine, deacons could call each of their people on their lists, etc.

• Suzanne Bell said M/E had their last Jail Alpha session. She said a special thank you is due to Ron Popp and Louis Spaude for their help with this mission.

• Mike Mentz and Henry Severson will be our delegates to the May 14 Pres-bytery meeting and Larry Market will be the alternate if one of them can’t go.

• The meeting adjourned with prayer.