FOR THE JOURNEY January 2017 - Vol. 24, No. 1

HOPE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has

filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.’ Luke 1:46-55 (NRSV) What a glorious testimony is Mary’s song of praise! And what a powerful and humbling reminder it is to all of us who claim ourselves to be Christian! God brings down the powerful from their thrones, and God lifts up the lowly. I wonder how many of the lowly in our world today are feeling lifted up? I wonder how many of the poor and the marginalized are feeling that God is their champion? I wonder how safe and secure our immigrant brothers and sisters feel today? It is Christ who is to be the source of hope, comfort and encouragement to the lowly. And where is Christ Jesus? He is coming to be born in us anew – as Christmas people, we will be the body of Christ for the lowly in the world! We had better get busy! There is much to be done. There can be no passive discipleship, but only active Christianity that is dedicated to mercy and justice for all. We must not think only of ourselves – having our own way and arguing with those who disagree with us. The world created by God cannot long survive a Church that is divided. It is time to make a decision to set aside differences, to be of one mind, one heart, one spirit, and one soul – to proclaim our faith with one accord, and to be the united body of Christ carrying on the work of reconciliation, healing, peace, and justice in the world. In Korea, there is division. In Africa, there is strife. In China, there is unrest. In Russia, there is suffering. And look at our United States, and the terrible election season we suffered through. Are the proud and the powerful bringing us together? Are the rich and comfortable modeling kindness and compassion? As Christians, do we look to government and business for our salvation? No, we are God’s people, set apart and united by a higher calling and a greater truth. We believe and claim the promises made to us by God and fulfilled in us through Christ. We are a people of faith. We are a people of hope. And we are a people of love. Nothing less is acceptable! I call us to make this new year a season of liberation. Let us be free from our selfish desires. Let us be free from our judging ways. Let us be free from our suspicions and our fears. Let us be a people of faith who walk in the light of Christ, who reach out to those most vulnerable and in greatest need. Let us think less of self as we think more of Christ, and let us be willing to think of those who have the least and need the most. Let us unite around a vision of justice and mercy, or true peace and good will, for all people, forevermore!

Grace and Peace, Bishop Hee-Soo Jung

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MINISTRY VOLUNTEERS FOR JANUARY

January 1

9:30 Worship January 8 January 15 January 22 January 29

Lay Readers

Cindy Clauson

Cheryl Muller

Jan Lorentz

John Weiland

Becky Gochanour

Children’s Moment

Bruce Gardow

Cheryl Muller

Sharon Fortune

Anne Allen

Host Team 8:15

Chuck & Jan Lorentz

Chuck & Jan Lorentz

Cyndee Kaiser Jan Lorentz

Cyndee Kaiser Jan Lorentz

Lois Nelson Judy Ganong

Host Team 10:30

Gary & Becky Gochanour

Bob Scwartz Cheryl Muller

Bob Scwartz Cheryl Muller

Merry Weiland Barb Teasdale

Coffee Fellowship

Mike & Nancy Troyan

Nursery Volunteers

Greeters 10:30

Joey Bohl

Dorothy & Dennis Barry

Kay Lee

HOPE CHURCH STAFF Pastor..............................………….

SS & VBS Volunteer Coordinator… Office Manager……………………...

Renee Marino Nancy Troyan

Pianist……………………………….. Choir Director ………………………

Andrea Blaeser Karol Hommen John Weiland

. . . FOR THE JOURNEY articles should be submitted to the church office by the 20th of each month. Contributions are welcome.

. . . FOR THE JOURNEY Preaching the Word

Date Text Message

1/1/17 * Bruce Gardow

1/8/17 Greg Wallace

1/15/17 Scott Daniels

1/22/17 Greg Wallace

1/29/16 Kate Croskery-Jones

* Communion Sunday

To the many groups and individuals that make Hope UMC such a great community! We give thanks for:

All those who made the Advent/Christmas season special in our church - to the Worship Committee for the beautiful sanctuary, to the Choir and special music from soloists, to the children and their Christmas program, for the directors of the Christmas program, and many, many more. We all together make this a wonderful season.

To Mike & Cindy Clauson for fixing all our lighting problems.

To LeeAnn Richards and Jan Lorentz for coordinating the Christmas cookie walk - to all the cookie bakers, people who set up and worked at the walk, and to the youth for your energy and smiles at the cookie walk.

To Suzie Erickson for her beautiful knitted goods that were sold at the cookie walk with all proceeds going to the youth group.

To our "anonymous donor" who donated funds to help keep our church "in the black" financially this fall.

To our "sidewalk shovelers" who have shoveled our walks on our recent snowy Sunday mornings.

Do you know someone or some group at church that should be acknowledged or thanked? Call or e-mail Joanne Mellema from the Stewardship Committee at 715-833-8549 or mellemjr@uwec.edu.

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Women of Hope Meets on the 3rd Saturday of each month at 9:30 a.m. in the Hope Fellowship Hall. The next meeting is January 21st. If you have any questions, please contact Lee Ann Richards at 715-456-7233

Women's Bible Study will be meeting the 4th Monday of each month. The next meeting is January 23rd, at 6:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. If you have any questions please call Cindy Hanson at 715-878-4941.

Hope Book Club is meeting on Thursday January 12th and has selected The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff for our January meeting at 6:00 p.m. If you have any questions contact Nancy Troyan at 715-878-9099.

Senior Prime Time Meets the third Wednesday of each month at 10:00 a.m. in the Hope UMC library followed by lunch at a local restaurant. Please contact Susie Erickson at 715-828-2592 if you have any questions.

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Ulla, Linnea, Annika, Malina and I wish to convey our immense gratitude to the people of Hope for the incredible tribute you gave to us at the Dec. 18 worship services (including the beautiful stole and heartwarming tribute video), for the celebration potluck, and for the very generous love offering you presented and are still collecting for! There aren’t enough words to express how much you all bless us. Our hearts are so full!

- Pastor Robb

Adult Sunday School

The Adult Sunday School that meets in the youth room across from the nursery will be starting a new DVD series on January 8. We meet at 9:15 on Sunday mornings between services - we will watch a 20 minute DVD each week and have time to discuss after. Feel free to join when you can - don't worry if you are late or have to leave early! Join us for some thought provoking insights from these scholars!

Join preeminent New Testament scholars Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan on location in Turkey as they trace the Apostle Paul's footsteps throughout the Roman Empire in "Eclipsing Empire - Paul, Rome, and the Kingdom of God". This 12-episode DVD program explores fresh insights into Paul's message of the Kingdom of God, its challenge to Roman imperial theology, and the apostle's radical relevance for today.

. . . FOR THE JOURNEY Sunday School News for January

Renee Marino-Hope UMC Sunday School Volunteer Coordinator

For the month of January grades 5 and younger will be studying “The Miracles of Jesus.” This is a seven part, stand-alone lesson, series that will teach children about the miracles Jesus performed while on earth.

Lesson 1 - Water into Wine

Lesson 2 - The Great Catch

Lesson 3 - Jesus Heals A Paralytic

Lesson 4 - Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

Lesson 5- Jesus Walks on Water Lesson 6- Raising of Lazarus Lesson 7-Faith of the Centurion

4K-5th Grade…meets in the Sanctuary each week for opening time (9:15-9:45) and then heads downstairs to the Sunday school wing for class time (9:45-10:15). Middle School... This semester we are using “You got Talent” curriculum. The class meets at 9:15 am- 10:15 am downstairs, 3rd room on the left. If you would like to be a part of this ministry, please contact me at 715-577-1134 or rjmarino5@gmail.com

Help us fill the tree for those in need.

Join the Sunday School Youth by collecting new socks, mittens, gloves and hats for the residents at Sojourner and Beacon Houses. Donations can be hung on the Christmas tree in the main entrance or placed in the basket next to the tree. We will be collecting items through January 29th. Dates to remember…

January 1st No Sunday School

January 8th Classes resume

March 12th Daylight Savings begins

April 9th Palm Sunday

April 16th Easter/ No Sunday School

May 21st Last day of Sunday School

Happy Birthday to… Alyssa Hysell………………..January 24th

Annika McClintock…….…January 27th

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Upcoming Training

District Conference - Called to Pray/Teach us to pray Saturday, January 28, 2017, 9 am - 3 pm Rice Lake UMC Cost: $20.00 - includes training material and lunch Registration - contact Sue Olsen at the District Office Jan Lorentz will be attending the training - and is interested in car pooling. Save the Date March 10 - 11 - 2017 Laity Statewide Convocation Open to all laity statewide. Location to be determined. More details to follow Jan Lorentz will be attending the convocation and is interested in car pooling. Want to know what is happening statewide within the Methodist Conference in Wisconsin? Go to wisconsinumc.org/connections/conference-news. Sign up to get a weekly e-news from the conference.

SAVE THE DATES YOU DON’T

WANT TO MISS A THING !

SPRC TRAININGS

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Eau Claire Lake Street UMC, 337 Lake Street, Eau Claire WI 54703

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

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SPRC TRAININGS

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Osceola UMC, 306 River Street, Osceola, WI 54020

9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Sunday, February 12, 2017

Ladysmith UMC, W8125 Shady Lane, Ladysmith WI 54848

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

EZRA STATISTICAL TRAINING AND FINANCE SEMINAR

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Eau Claire Lake Street UMC, 337 Lake St, Eau Claire, WI 54703

10:00 am – 12:00 pm (ish)

NW DISTRICT CONFERENCE

Saturday, January 28, 2017

Rice Lake UMC, 1221 Wesley Drive, Rice Lake, WI 54868

9:00 am – 3:00 pm

BISHOPS DAY APART

Monday, February 27, 2017

Shell Lake UMC, 135 Reinhart Dr, Shell Lake WI 54871

9:30 am – 3:30 pm