CALVARY CALLERAugust 2018Church Office 920-793-3917

Office hours 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.contactus@calvarytr.org

Pastor Julie Bargerpastorjuliebarger@gmail

Pastor’s Ponderings

“We are not called by God to do extraordinary things but to do ordinary things with extraordinary love.” Jean Vanier

When I read this truth that my professor from seminary posted on Facebook, I knew it described what I have experienced since my starting at St. Paul and Calvary as your pastor. You have blest me with the warm welcome, moving help and pantry items to stock my cupboards. Thank you so much! There are also many blessings from our congregation members who are involved in ministry in and outside of our congregations. From just the short time I have been here, I see so many people who are giving of their time, energy and resources to provide for our congregation. There are many tasks that are behind the scenes that are done by members with willing hearts and hands. Thank you! I feel so blessed that I have congregation members who care and are proactive. You notice what needs to be done and you take care of it with an extraordinary love for God and our faith community.

I know sometimes we worry about summer worship attendance, but looking at our present and comparing it to the way it used to be only makes our anxiety grow. Things are different than the past and we can only go forward. We are figuring out how God is at work in our congregation and our community. Where do you see God at work in your life? Your neighborhood? Your work? I look forward to spending time with each of you in the future to hear your experiences. I hope you will share about your connection to our congregation. What brings you joy? What would you like to see more of? What ideas are you excited about for our future? Your input is valuable to me and to our church council as we move forward in ministry.

Lastly, I would like to thank you for your flexibility and cooperation in the adjusting worship times. I know it is a change that affects your schedules, so I appreciate the adjustments you are making in this transition. It is the extraordinary love of God in our lives that allows us to connect as a community and to cooperate for the greater good. We have only just begun!

Blessings,

Pastor Julie

Thanks to all who donated items, worked at the sale and all those who baked items.  We had another very successful sale this year raising $2100.00 for the General Fund.  A special thanks to Bev Schmidt who did a lot of work and also made food for the workers on the days of the sale.  Also thanks to Sonja DeVore who has been my other right hand person for the past 15 years of sales.  A big “Thank You” to Bonny Bitto who has to clean up when the sale is finished.  We really left her with a mess this year but she never complains and always has a smile for me.  I would also like to thank my husband, Steve, who always helps by bringing tables from our house and Bev's and helps with lifting heavy items for us.  This year he loaded up all that was left and helped deliver the things to the Thrift Stores.  I would not be able to do the sale without him!  Thank you everyone!

Sue Becker    

More Thanks…The Calvary Council would like to thank Sue Becker, Bev Schmidt and all other helpers and donors for another successful rummage sale. We greatly appreciate all the hard work you do for the church.

Calvary’s Annual TREP

School SupplyDonations

Begins TREP’s school supply distribution starts in August and they are in great need of donations as they have 129 more children to provide for this year compared to last year.Please help by donating any of the following Items:

3 subject notebooks 3 ring binders College ruled spiral notebooks Wide and college ruled

composition books Loose leaf college and wide

ruled paper Graph paper and graph

composition books Highlighters Colored pencils Red pens Fat and skinny washable

markers Dry erase markers Permanent markers Pencil cases Enclosed pencil sharpeners

Bibles for Calvary’s YouthEach year Calvary presents Bibles to Sunday School students who are entering third grade (or higher who have not yet received a Bible) as part of our Rally Day service. This is part of honoring our congregation’s baptismal commitment to “put the Word of God into the hands” of those who are baptized here. The Bible will be used throughout the child’s education, including Sunday School, First Communion and Confirmation classes.Bibles will be presented to students on Rally Day, Sunday, September 9th. Please fill out the form below (additional forms will be at church) for any student who is in need of a Bible. Return it to the church office by Sunday, August 26th, so that the child’s name cam be inscribed inside the cover.Please Print:Child’s Name:_________________________________(as you want it to appear in the inscription)Grade for Fall 2018:___________________Parent’s Name:_______________________________Phone number:________________________________

*****************************September Newsletter Deadline is

August 15newsletter@calvarytr.org

Editor: Teri Wagner

In Our Prayers In thanksgiving for Our New Pastor

For healing for Tina – Teri Wagner’s friend, Gary Jensen – father of Brian Jensen, Amy Russell – Marcia Nolan’s daughter, and Darrick Whitehouse.

For those with cancer, especially Nancy Ruoho, Chris Williams – son of Lori & Jim Williams, and Chris Decker – friend of Brian Jensen.

For those with chronic illness and have asked for prayer: Carrie Curcio – Diane Geimer’s daughter, Scott Spiering, Georgette Blucher – Dave & Sonja DeVore’s daughter, Julia Schwark– Jenine Soucoup’s friend, Debra Hinze, Sandra Fechner, Theo Hoffman and her mother – friends of Kay Fechner, and Kyle Dehart – Kay Fechner’s grandson.

For those in the military, especially Dawn Orta – niece of Sonja DeVore, Benjamin Mattes, and Peter Mattes – grandsons of Ollie Press.

For those in care facilities or living with assistance, especially Vivian Waskow, Shirley Puls, Hellen Christoffel, Gertrude Kaminsky, Gail Winter and Barb Bentshawel.

Rally Day

Join us at Calvary for a day of celebration on Rally Day, Sunday, September 9th. Rally Day is a day when the church celebrates a new year of teaching and learning. It is a time for the entire congregation to rally behind God’s intention that all Christians – children, teens and adults – grow and learn. Rally Day is also an opportunity for us to reunite with our church family and friends after summer vacations. Sunday School starts back up. Confirmation classes begin again. Our worship service is enhanced by the choir once more. Our third grade students will be receiving their Bibles from the congregation as they continue growing in their faith. Rally Day really is a celebration – a celebration of who we are as a family of Christians. We look forward to seeing you!

Dana Arneman is retiring as Sunday School Teacher and Youth Education Director. We are sad to see her go and Calvary Church Council would like to thank Dana for the past 10 years of dedicated service.

We are currently looking for a replacement for her in that position. Please contact someone from the council if you are willing to serve as Youth Education Director.

Council CommentaryAs with all Council meetings, the July meeting began with a reflection. Using the resource, “People of Purpose”, the work of John the Baptist was highlighted as an example of biblical leadership. His job was to prepare the way for Jesus, the savior. By speaking the truth, he celebrated the positive moral standards of God using baptism to restore a right relationship with God. Council members reflected on and shared their personal insights regarding baptism.

Our journey with Pastor Julie has begun! At her first Council meeting, she shared her vision as well as a number of insights and resources as part of her Pastor’s Report to Council. The initial series of worship services at CLC and St. Paul have gone well with dedicated fellowship time provided to begin forming the pastoral relationships. Appreciation of and support for lay leadership was expressed. To this end, the pastoral role is one of empowerment allowing for ownership of the service by these lay leaders. The use of communication tools, such as the Google Plus “community”, will be explored. This will be in addition to monthly meetings to provide planning and dialog. This emphasis on lay leader empowerment will also be extending to home bound member visitation. Members, with an interest, will be integrated into this ministry by providing regular social visits in combination with a monthly pastoral visit. Finally, community and clergy

connections are being formed. Outreach is an area of emphasis and will continue to grow as we build on our faith community – internal to Calvary and external to our neighbors.

The decision has been made to restore weekly communion services at Calvary. This was well-received as a trial during Lent and will resume this fall and include every Sunday and every other Thursday night. Worship Planning and Altar Guild recruitment and training will need to be emphasized.

There is a recognized, long-standing need to improve and coordinate communication within the ministries of CLC and the congregation as a whole. Additionally, in sharing a pastor, there is the same need between CLC and St. Paul. A Google Plus Community forum has been established with the Church Council used as the test group. The function of this tool is to distribute messages from one member of the group to all members of that group for comment and discussion. In so doing, a forum will be created to foster consistent dialog and connections within members of each “community”. Once the Council experience is digested, the use of this tool will be expanded to such other ministries as Lay Leadership, Worship Planning, Youth Education and others.

Opportunities for service continue to be identified. These range from leadership roles in education and stewardship to participation on our ministry teams. As people of faith, we believe that there is a power in sharing and allowing our blessings to flow through our lives. Please consider the opportunities to align your passion with the purpose of programs that serve the needs of our community – within and outside of Calvary.

Brian Jensen

August 2018Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1

7:00 AA

2

6:30 pm Worship

7:00 Al-Anon

3 4

6:00 AA58:30 am Worship9:30 am Fellowship

6

7:00 AA

7

7:00 NA

8

7:00 AA

9

6:30 pm Worship w/Communion

7:00 Al-Anon

10

.

11

6:00 AA128:30 am Worship w/ Communion9:30 am Fellowship

13

7:00 AA

14

6pm Council Meeting

7:00 N.A.

15

Newsletter Deadline

7:00 AA

16

6:30 pm Worship

7:00 Al-Anon

17 18

6:00 AA

198:30 am Worship9:30 am Fellowship

20

7:00 AA

21

7:00 N.A.

22

7:00 AA

23

6:30 Worship w/Communion

7:00 Al-Anon

24 25

6:00 AA

268:30 am EarthKeeping Worship w/ Communion9:30 am Fellowship

27

7:00 AA

28

7:00 N.A.

29

7:00 AA

30

6:30 Worship w/Communion

7:00 Al-Anon

The Calvary Caller1921 Adams StreetTwo Rivers, WI 54241

August 2018

A family of Christians growing in faith through worship and service.

Sundays8:30 am Worship9:30 am Fellowship9:45 am Sunday School9:45 am Confirmation

Thursdays: 6:30 pm Worship7:15 Fellowship