I don't like to think about what would happen if my spouse passed away. Not only is she the love of my life and the person I rely on most, but without her I'd be re-sponsible for raising three kids on my own, while working. That is a tall order. Cora is living out this reality. Her husband John was diagnosed with cancer in August and passed away three months later, leaving

behind Cora and seven kids. And the challenges keep coming. Be-cause before John passed, they had been working on fixing up an older house. But because of its many needed fixes (septic system, well, and furnace) they were forced to move out. Imagine being homeless with seven kids, and having just lost the person who means the most to you. Fortunately Cora and her kids are not alone. Another family (the owners of Golden Harvest) have

provided them a temporary home here in Rhinelander. Our church has an account called the Pastor's Discretionary Fund. It's a tool I can use as pastor whenever some extra money is needed. I recently decided to give a sizable portion of it to Cora and her kids. I'd like to make another gift if I can do it without com-pletely emptying the account. If you'd like to help, please contrib-ute to the church and designate your gift "Pastor's Discretionary Fund" or "PDF." There are other ways you can help! You can:

• If you can help with their house, either through a donation of supplies or services, get in touch with Tim and Nikki Con-jurske at 715-369-5266 or 715-360-3218.

• If you'd like to give directly, there is an account set up at Asso-ciated Bank you can donate to. Checks should be made out to "Cora and Cids Fund." Finally, please keep Cora and her children in your prayers, and ask God to spark our imaginations with new ways of helping.

Rev. Topher Mehlhoff

Can You

Help ???

I N S I D E t h i s i s s u e

• Check out all the info on KIN.

You’ll find everything you need

to know about the program!!

• Don’t Forget - Get Your Annu-

al Reports In!!

• Our Annual Congregational

Meeting is scheduled for Janu-

ary 20 - plan to attend!

• Two Wednesday Night Sup-

pers are planned! Read the arti-

cle and put the dates on your

calendars!

• Youth Group and Kids’ Studio

information inside. Check it out!

• Happy Birthday to all of you

who are celebrating this month!

A Publication of First Congregational United Church of Christ

January 2019

INSIDE this issue

The Comma

With KIN moving into the church this is the biggest question. When KIN first formed, years ago, KIN stood for Kids In Need. KIN is now used to stand for Kids Impact-ing our Neighborhood.

KIN Mission Statement: To empower youth who may be fac-ing adversity, by providing them with opportunities to build on their strengths, reducing self-blame and assisting them in gaining the tools necessary to improve their current situation and thrive as a young per-son in today's society.

Services we offer to meet that goal:

-Drop-in center -Free clothing, hygiene and school supplies -24/7 hotline/textline -Emergency shelter -Tutoring & mentoring -Chat groups led by young people -Community service opportunities -Information & referrals -Crisis Intervention -Family Mediation -Lunch Outreach (in schools) -Workshops -Advocacy -Early Intervention, Going Forward Program, SAIL, by referral through OCSS -CSS Program by referral through

HSC

What Is KIN??

Sunday, January 6 is the day the Christmas decora-tions in our church come down! The Spiritual Life Board invites you to come and help with this de-decorating project right after worship on the 6th. Thank you!

Jan. 6 Tom Winquist

Jan. 13 Mary Moxon

Jan. 20 Mark Beuning

Jan. 27 Beth Kost

The Annual Meeting of the congre-gation will be held on Sunday, January 20 following the 9 a.m. worship service. At this meeting we will elect officers and board members, and review and vote on the budget for 2019,

Annual Meeting Sunday, January 20

10:00 a.m. right after worship

Kid's Studio/Sunday School Just a reminder that Kid's Studio will start again, after our Holiday break, on January 6th. As always, the children start in church, and leave after the Children's time with Pastor Topher. All Children from 4K up to 6th grade are welcome to attend. We finish at the same time the service ends, so no need to wait for your children after church. Right now we have a single combined class. As our numbers grow we will look at splitting it into two age groups. We are currently using a progressive curriculum called “A Joyful Path.”

Wednesday Night Dinners in January!!

January

Birthdays

January 2 Mike Hamman

January 3 Carol Burton

January 8 Ann Van Buren

January 12 Lanie Shrock

January 14 Becky Corey

January 19 Tyler Eckrich

January 20 Darrell Schmidt, Justin Jahn

January 21 Jackie Schmieder

January 25 Shirley Dahlquist, Tom Winquist

January 26 Laura Effinger

January 31 Marj Saari, Leo Norden

So far we have two dinners scheduled in January! The first will be on Wednesday, January 9 when we join Judy Thoms and crew for a beef stew din-ner. Then plan on Wednesday, January 23 for our famous baked potato bar served by Mary Dork and her crew! ANYONE INTERESTED IN HELPING WITH THE DINNERS IN ANY CAPACITY?? WE NEED SHOPPERS, CHOPPERS, COOK-ERS, AND CLEANER-UPPERS!! PLEASE CONTACT THE CHURCH OFFICE AND LET US KNOW WHERE YOU CAN HELP!!

K I N A big thank you to the congregation for allowing KIN to operate out of the church. Without this decision we would be forced to close our doors. Our plan is to move in and be operational by Jan 2nd. We will be us-ing the first two rooms in the education wing. You will notice us most with the drop-in center we run after school. Students will enter the church through the end of the education wing, so the only time you may notice them is when they are going down to use the bath-room. You may run into some middle school and high school-age youth in the hallway during that time. You may see the two people who operate the KIN pro-gram - Angela Dexter and Sharon Kintop - throughout the day as they carry on the other functions of KIN. If any issues arise, please feel free to talk to Angela or Sharon, contact me, or talk to a member of the Board of Building and Grounds. We are committed to mak-ing this wonderful outreach by the congregation suc-cessful for all involved. Thank you! Merlin Van Buren

All youth 6th grade and up are welcome to attend Youth Group. We meet every other Wednesday night from 5:30 to 7. The group is led by Pas-tor Topher. Our first half hour we share things happening in our lives. Then we have a lesson led by Pastor Topher. We finish with one of Pastor Topher's multitude of games. When Confirmation class starts in February, we will alternate from Wednesday to Wednesday between Confirmation and Youth Group on Wednesday evenings.

Movies That Matter The next movie will be shown on Saturday, January 12th at 6:00 p.m. in the Dean Theatre. The title of the movie is “RMG” and it provides an illuminating look at the life of trail-blazer Ruth Bader Ginsburg, includ-ing her career-defining work in gen-

der-discrimination law. This engaging documentary charts her journey to becoming a justice on America's highest court. Don’t miss this great documentary. Come and bring your friends! Snacks are provided.

Executive Council -12/18/18

The Executive Council met on December 18 for the monthly meeting. Minutes from the last meeting were approved as read. Pastor Topher reports that worship continues to be well received, anticipating Christmas Eve service. Rev. Drueck will be filling for Jan 6 absence of Topher. Four new members received a couple of weeks ago and two more will be joining this week. Topher is working on mapping out worship plan for the year. Some up and down in youth group attendance, perhaps confirmation class will build that. Attended listening session for a group wanting to form a multi-partisan Citizen Committee to address community concerns. A discussion for the annual meeting may be on the question around shared goals building group cohesion and strength.

Outreach Board: Met with Merlin about KIN. Per Ex. Council request, the KIN leadership will submit monthly report of their activities to include: number of kids, KIN supervisors, paid and volunteer concerns/needs for board attention and any incidents. Program use of the building is on 6 month trial. Outreach Board is looking at dates for spring Love Rhinelander as the last week in April or first week in May. Also looking into an Aug. work trip to West Virginia. Group would conduct fund raisers, but would also need some church support. Budget reviewed, looking for $3,500 for 2019, will talk to Trustees. Spiritual Life Board: Ordering new alter candle holders that will be shorter. $340/pair. Video display is well received. New software will allow secretary to set up Sunday Power Points. Jan 6 is undecorating of the church. Looking for help with World Day of Prayer. Sandy McKitrick has volunteered, but looking for others. Minka will deliver plants to shut ins. 2 or 3 board members would like to be relieved for 2019. Mary Dork has agreed to serve on Sp. Life in 2019-2021, but will need at least one more to allow for appropriate succession. Board of Trustees: Accounts have been consolidated to allow for more sensible access of funds. A motion to Tom Winquist as signator and replace with Rev. Topher Mehlhoff on checking was made by Jackie Schmeider, with second by Mary Peter-son. The motion was carried. Ted Fisher moved to change the signator for the Pastor’s Discretionary Fund checking account from Tom Winquist to Rev. Topher Mehlhoff. Jan Winnicki seconded the motion and it was passed. There is concern that a third person have access to the safe in order to secure offering appropriately on Sundays when the other two members are away. Motion to give this access to Larry McKitrick made by Dave, second by Jackie, carried. Need someone to be second eyes for counting offering. Jan moved to approve Sandy McKitrick, second by Mary Peterson, carried. Copier bill $3,200 for the year; Larry called the vendor and got it reduced by $300. Budget for 2019 is $122,151, and we are about $23,000 short of pledges to make that. Board of Building and Grounds: Lawn mowing bids range from $3000+ - $8000. Decided to buy lawn mower and Ted will mow lawn. Heating project is done. Boiler had pump problem, and relay on other boiler wasn’t working. All good now.

Christian Ed Board: Gearing up for confirmation. Planning to mention confirmation and Kids’ Studio at the Christmas ser-vices, as there are usually more families in attendance. Looking for adult mentors for confirmation. Motion to adjourn by Merlin, second by Ted, carried. Next meeting: Tuesday 1/15/19 5:00

Annual Report Deadline

The deadline for submission of board reports and any other information for the Annual Report is Friday, Janu-ary 11. ALL ITEMS FOR INCLUSION IN THE ANNUAL REPORT MUST BE RECEIVED IN THE CHURCH OF-FICE BY THAT DATE!!!

Offering Envelopes For 2019

Offering envelopes for 2019 are available in a box on the desk in the Narthex. If you indicated on your pledge card that you would like offering envelopes, or if you have had them in the past, they will be in the box in alphabetical order. If you don’t see envelopes there and would like some, please contact the church office and we will be sure to get them for you!