April 2012

3700 S. Casper Drive, New Berlin, WI

(262)786-2900

www.starofbethlehem.org

cÜxààç ÉÇ à{x bâàá|wxcÜxààç ÉÇ à{x bâàá|wxcÜxààç ÉÇ à{x bâàá|wxcÜxààç ÉÇ à{x bâàá|wx Rotten on the InsideRotten on the InsideRotten on the InsideRotten on the InsideCommissioned in 1936, the RMS Queen Mary was the most awe-

inspiring ocean-going vessel in the world. She was 1,019 feet long, at

81,237 tons displaced twice the tonnage of the Titanic, had 12 decks

(the promenade deck was 724 feet long), and carried 1,957

passengers attended by a crew of 1,174. Transformed from a luxury

liner to a troop transport in World War II she carried 765,429

members of the military to and from the European war zones. The

Queen Mary was retired from regular passenger service in 1967 after

making 1,001 Atlantic Ocean crossings, and is presently harbored in

the port of Long Beach, California. Even today, her magnificent and

gleaming exterior cuts a beautiful profile against the blue waters of

the Long Beach harbor. But when the Queen Mary was retired from

active passenger service, it was discovered that part of her gleaming

exterior was hiding something far less attractive and substantial.

The Queen Mary's three elliptical smoke stacks - 36 feet long, 23

feet wide, and ranging from 70 down to 62 feet in height-were made

of sheets of steel over an inch thick. During her decades of service,

at least 30 coats of paint had been applied to the massive

smokestacks, forming a shell around the steel interior. But when the

smokestacks were removed for maintenance after her

decommissioning, it was discovered that they were nothing but

shells. When lifted off the liner and placed on the docks, they

crumbled! Over the years, the thick steel of which they had been

made had turned to rust from long exposure to heat and moisture.

The beautiful exteriors of the smokestacks revealed a rusty, crumbly

interior that spoke not of beauty and elegance but of deterioration

and decay. The external appearance was hiding the internal reality.

Jesus encountered a situation in Jerusalem

where the same inconsistency was present. The

Pharisees lives had apparently become like the

Queen Mary's smokestacks - gleaming on the

outside, rusty on the inside. “Hypocrites,” Jesus

called them (Matt. 23:25-28). They were like dishes

that were polished until they shone on the outside,

but inside had the grease and crumbs from

yesterday's feast festering and attracting flies. They

were like the tombs outside the city wall that

camouflaged the resting places of dead people's

bones with coats of bright whitewash. Gleaming on

the outside, gruesome on the inside.

We may try to hide the rotten sin that is on the

inside by covering it with layer after layer of self-

righteousness. Other people might even be

impressed by our godliness. But a “pretty” outward

appearance does not change what is going on inside.

Sin, guilt, and shame, will

weight us down and

causes us to drown in a

sea of despair. Only

Jesus’ blood, shed on the

cross for you and me,

can repair the damage

that sin has done. Jesus

wants to remove the rot

and decay, and in

himself make you into

a new creation, that is

clean both inside and

out.

As a family of believers united in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the members of Star of Bethlehem Congregation are committed, with the help of the Holy Spirit and directed by God’s Word, to glorify God by -

SUPPORTING

One another in daily living –

empowered by the freedom God’s

forgiveness brings.

REACHING

Out with our diverse gifts to

bring the lost to a saving knowledge

of Jesus Christ.

ACKNOWLEDGING

That God’s grace is the only means of saving sinners and God’s Word is the

only source of Truth.

TEACHING

God’s Word to people of all

ages so they can continually

grow in faith.

SERVING

The Triune God through regular

worship and faithful use of

the Sacraments.

OUR

MISSION

On Palm Sunday, April 1, our

Confirmation Class will be

confirmed in the 10:30 a.m.

Service. All of the Services

this weekend will have a

Palm Sunday flavor. We

welcome our confirmands to

our communicant member-

ship. The confirmands

will receive their First

Communion on

Maundy Thursday.

Members of this year’s Confirmation Class include: Nicholas

Aumend, Rachel Dummer, Drew Foren, Kole Hansen, Jacob Lee,

Hannah Leverence, William Olson, Sophia Pezze, Brittany

Pulkkila, Caleb Reichardt, Talia Treptow, Natalie Yass, and

Stephen Zaborowski.

One

Communion Service will

be conducted on

Maundy Thursday, April 5, at 6:30 p.m. Maundy,

meaning “command” and referring to Jesus’ command to “do

this in remembrance of me,” Thursday is when Jesus first

instituted his Holy Supper. “Receive the Blessings of the Cross”

will be our theme for the Service. The Confirmation Class will

also receive its First Communion on Maundy Thursday.

“Jesus Died Willingly” will be our theme on

Good Friday. Two Services, both the same, will be conducted;

at 1:00 p.m. and at 6:30 p.m. A special medley of anthems and

readings will be presented by our Adult Choir. Join us at the

foot of Jesus’ cross. Please invite family, friends, co-workers

and neighbors to join us for worship on Good Friday.

Our Easter for Kids program was held on Saturday, March

31, from 10:00 – 12:00. Our sincere thanks to all of our

volunteers, and especially to the event coordinator Tracy

Reichardt. Thanks also to those who promoted the program by

distributing fliers in the community, which included our service

times for our Easter Services. May the Lord bless this year’s

Easter for Kids!

Easter Services will be held at

special times;

7:00 and 9:30

a.m. Our children,

choirs, instru-

mentalists, etc.

will provide

special music to

enhance our

Easter celebration. Join us on April 8 for our Easter

Services. Please invite loved ones, co-workers, friends

and relatives to join us. There will be no Services on

Saturday Night or Monday Night on Easter weekend.

We hope you will all be able to be here on Easter to

worship our risen Lord!

Scrambled eggs, sausages, sweet rolls, etc. are on

the menu for the Easter Breakfast planned by our Food

Committee. The Easter breakfast will be served from

8:15 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. Please sign up on the poster on

the easel in the gathering area. Guests are certainly

welcome to join us! See also items to donate, ways to

serve, or assist with setup and cleanup. Special thanks

to our Food Committee for providing these wonderful

fellowship opportunities throughout the Lenten and

Easter Seasons!

A special Service of Thanksgiving and Praise is being

planned for Sunday June 3 to thank the Lord for the

faithful years of service by Mr. Michael Wiechmann,

our Lutheran Elementary School’s first and only

Principal, since the school was started in 1977. The

Service will be followed by

some specially-prepared

presentations and lunch for

everyone. You may inform

and invite family members,

former students, former

parents of students, former

members, etc. to attend

and give thanks together

with us for this faithful

servant of the Lord and ask

for the Lord’s blessings upon his retirement years.

Further details are being worked on by a special

committee. Please reserve the date June 3!

Our Annual Social Dinner will be held

at the New Berlin Hills Country Club on

Sunday, April 29. A fellowship time

begins at 5:30 p.m. with dinner served

at 6:00 p.m. Anyone is welcome to

attend this evening of fellowship. The

cost is $15 per person. There is a

signup sheet posted on the bulletin

board. It is a great opportunity to get

acquainted with other members of our

Star of Bethlehem family. It is also

intended to introduce our new

members to the rest of us. All new

members and their spouses from the

past year are invited to attend at no

cost as special guests of the

congregation. Please sign up as soon

as you know that you will be attending

this year’s Social Dinner, so we have a

good idea of how many to set up for

and how many meals will be served.

Give our Social Dinner a try. It’s a

great time!

Women's Bible study will be

watching the movie "Road to Emmaus"

on Tuesday, April 3rd. Then starting

April 10th we'll be starting a 4-part

series on the book of Ruth. We'll still

be meeting at the 7:15 time.

Thank You! Sincere thanks to all those who were

able to assist with the Spring Cleaning of

the interior of our church on March 24.

Many workers makes the work easy and

enjoyable. Watch of the outside

cleanup day organized by our Trustees

soon to follow. Thanks to everyone that

helps with maintaining our church and

school property which reflects our love

for the Lord’s house and portrays a great

first impression to our community and

our visitors!

STAR MEN’S BASKETBALL wrap-up

Our Star Men’s Basketball team

ended the season by winning another

State Lutheran Basketball

Tournament Championship. The

team defeated last year’s champs

Victory of the Lamb,

Franklin, 63-59.

Your team has

won the title in

four of the past

five seasons.

The team had 3

players selected to the All-

Tournament Team; Vince Lee, Shawn

Riesop and Micah Walz.

Congratulations to the entire team

on another great season! A team

picture is posted on the bulletin

board.

We welcome to our Star of

Bethlehem family Ed Geb and Joshua

Wohead by Holy Baptism. May the

Lord bless their membership among

us, growth in faith, and especially

their relationship with Jesus here at

Star of Bethlehem.

Practices will begin on Sunday

afternoons following Easter at 3:00

p.m. at Malone Park. Eighteen

players have signed up to participate

this season. Weather permitting, the

first game is on April 24. Game-time

is still to be determined when the

schedule comes out on April 17. All

games are played on Tuesday nights

at Malone Park. Fan support is

welcomed throughout the season.

Good luck to this year’s Star Men’s

Softball Team!

The Life of Christ, taught by our Staff Minister Intern Brian Gulrud, will be

the subject of study in the weeks

leading up to Easter and in the weeks just after Easter. Join our

Adult Bible Class any Sunday in the Fellowship Hall at 9:20 a.m. Come

early for donuts, coffee and fellowship. There will be no Adult

Bible Class, Teen Bible Study or Kids’

Bible Hour on Easter. These programs resume again on April 15.

Star of Bethlehem

Open Chess Tournament

If you are a chess player, chess fan, or avid volunteerer, keep Saturday,

April 28 open. Star of Bethlehem will be hosting the inaugural Star of

Bethlehem Open chess tournament

and you are invited to play, watch, or help out. Kids from K-12 of any

experience level can play in the tournament in casual or US Chess

Federation rated sections. There will also be a tournament section for

"friends and relatives" where adults

can see what its like to experience the thrills and stresses of

tournament play. In addition to being great fun for the players, this

will be a great outreach opportunity for Star. We expect to have over

100 players and their parents as our

guests for the day--most of whom have never been in our

building. Please consider volunteering

a few hours of your time as the Spirit

moves you.

Look for more information in your

worship folder, the bulletin board in

the narthex, the Star website, or

contact Ken or Julie Becker at beckers@rynok.org.

Why Am I So Tired? (Part 2 of 4)

Submitted by Nicole Marrari, RD, CD

Adapted from RD411.com

Thyroid problems

The thyroid gland produces

hormones which help get oxygen into

the cells. The thyroid is the master

controller of metabolism.

Both hyperthyroidism and hypo-

thyroidism can lead to fatigue. Symptoms of

hyperthyroidism include: excessive sweating,

increased bowel movements, irritability,

unexplained weight loss even with increased

appetite, irregular menstruation, heat intolerance, high blood

pressure, eye and hand tremors, anxiety, and fast heart rate.

Symptoms of hypothyroidism include: weight gain, cold

intolerance, pale and dry skin, puffy face, irritability, coarse/dry

hair, hoarse voice, elevated blood cholesterol, muscle aches, muscle

stiffness, joint pain, heavy menstrual flow, slowed pulse, cold

intolerance, forgetfulness/ confusion, thin and brittle nails, and

constipation.

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and

know my anxious thoughts. Psalm 139:23

Joshua Marshall Wohead, son of

Crystal and Shane Wohead, was

baptized at Star of Bethlehem on

Sunday, March 25. Joshua’s

Sponsors included Daniel

Helinski and Erin Wohead. May

the Lord keep Joshua faithful to his

baptismal promises and in his loving

arms throughout life to life everlasting.

STAR SENIORS A Potluck Supper was held on Tuesday, March 27. All senior

members, 55 and over, are invited to attend these Senior Meetings.

Our Star Seniors meet monthly for various activities and outings.

Join us for any or all of our get-togethers for spiritual nourishment,

service, food and fellowship.

QUARTERLY VOTERS’ MEETING Our next Quarterly Voters’ Meeting will be held after the late

Service on Sunday, April 29, at approximately 11:45 a.m. We

encourage all of our voters to be about our Father’s business.

WLC OPEN HOUSEWLC OPEN HOUSEWLC OPEN HOUSEWLC OPEN HOUSE High School students are invited to Wisconsin Lutheran College for

a Weekend Warrior Preview on April 28. Take a campus tour, meet

professors, and enjoy a brunch. To register, visit wlc.edu/admissions

or call 414-443-8810.

Congratulations to Christa Winslow, a member of

Star of Bethlehem, who was recently selected to be

the Valedictorian and one of the speakers for the

Graduation Service of Wisconsin Lutheran High

School on Sunday, June 3. A 5th Grade Extravaganza,

something new, will be held on Sunday, April 22, from

5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for parents and 5th grade students.

Come and see what the high school is all about

through various displays and demonstrations. RSVP

by Friday, March 30, to Kirk DeNoyer at 414-453-4567

ext. 2303.

DARTBALL CHAMPS! Congratulations to our Dartball Team, which

recently clinched the title for 1st Place in the Dartball

League. Great job on an outstanding season! More

information will be found in next month’s newsletter.

People to fill the Pews

Let us not give up meeting

together, as some are in the

habit of doing. Hebrews 10:25

Make Church a Regular

part of your life!