SUSSEX UNITED

METHODIST CHURCH November 2019

Fertile Atmosphere

One of the most memorable things about the oak trees of the deep South are the bushy drapings of tree

moss. Hanging loosely from the live oak's low branches, they give the tree a dreamlike appearance. But on

closer inspection, you discover a curious thing, the tree moss isn't connected to the tree in any way. It hangs on

the branches, but there is no root system of any kind, no grabbers or stickers, no sap or glue cementing it to the

tree. There's none of the things we normally associate with plants to explain its existence. Scientists call it an air

plant or epiphyte, but there are no seeds or roots, it just grows in the air. The only reason it's on the tree is

because the tree was there in its way.

But you won't find tree moss on every live oak tree in the South. Some tree's branches are bare. It has to

do with the fertility of the air around the tree. It's hard to describe but in the areas where tree moss abounds, the

air is full of life. You can feel it if you're paying attention. Certainly the tree moss can feel it.

In a way, churches are epiphytes, they live by the spirit, which is another word for air or wind. (John 3)

Old churches often have their own unique special kind of aroma. Some churches smell of mold and must, yet

others have the air of our eternal home. But, more than that, a church has an atmosphere that is either full of life

or not. And, passing through its front doors, it doesn't take a newcomer long to discern what kind of atmosphere

is there. Will the tree moss grow thick there or find another tree?

What things make a church's atmosphere fertile? Keith Schwartz's Natural Church Growth has some

suggestions. One is passionate worship. Does our worship make us feel better? How can we improve it?

Another thing is good wholesome fellowship. Jesus put great stock in being friends with his followers. Other

things include a vital sense of mission and enriching educational experiences. Create the right atmosphere and

there's no telling what might grow in a church. It might be worth a look.

Pastor Jim

Scriptures & Sermon Titles

November 3 Ephesians 1:11-23 Luke 6:20-31 "Blessed Are We"

Communion

November 10 Haggai 1:15b-2:9 Job 19:23-27a "How Does It Look?"

November 17 Isaiah 65:17-25 Luke 21:5-19 "Get Ready"

November 24 Psalm 46:1-11 Jeremiah 23:1-6 "Know That God Is Real"

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

VOLUNTEER SCHEDULE

November 3 November 10 November 17 November 24

Acolytes Rachel Sromalski Matthew Maher Kaylie Bromberg Rachel Sromalski

Ushers Tim Kral Marilyn Kral

Pete Kopfhammer Nancy Kopfhammer

Liturgists Pat Keller

Fellowship Panera Kral Family Potluck

Baskets Era’s Holiday Baskets Era’s Holiday Baskets Era’s Holiday Baskets United Methodist Student Sunday

1

2

Volunteer at Food Pantry

9:00 - Noon

3

Worship 9:00 am

4

5 WW 4-6:30 pm

6 WW 8-10am

Crafts for a Cause 6:30 pm

7 NACLC in FH

10:00-11:00 am

8

9

Summerfield Meal Service Prep 2:00 Leave 2:30 Serve 4:00 - 6:00

10

Worship/Sunday School 9:00 am

11

SUMWomen 6:30 pm

12WW 4-6:30 pm

13 WW 8-10 am

Noah’s Ark Board Meeting 6:00 pm

14 NACLC in FH

10:00-11:00 am

Community Banquet 5:30 pm (no duties)

15

16

17

Worship/Sunday School 9:00 am

18

19 WW 4-6:30 pm

Finance 6:00pm Council 6:30pm

20 WW 8-10 am

Crafts for a Cause 6:30 pm

Noah’s Ark Thanksgiving Feast

21 NACLC in FH

10:00-11:00 am

22

23

24

Worship 9:00 am Potluck 10:00 am Charge Conference 10:30 am

25

26 WW 4-6:30 pm

27 WW 8-10 am 28

No Community Banquet

29 30

Annual Charge Conference Annual Charge Conference Annual Charge Conference Annual Charge Conference

Sussex United Methodist ChurchSussex United Methodist ChurchSussex United Methodist ChurchSussex United Methodist Church

The annual meeting of the entire membership of SUMC will be held Sunday, November 24 at 10:30 am in Fellowship Hall

Join us for a potluck meal at 10:00 am Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend

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November 14 (no duties) St. James Church November 28 - No Banquet W220 N6588 Town Line Road 5:30 pm Menomonee Falls WI

Community Banquet is a free meal offered twice a month on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays at St. James Church to serve a nutritious hot meal and time of fellowship to any who choose to attend. Volunteers from community churches take turns providing the meals, serving and cleaning up. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Summerfield Meal ServiceSummerfield Meal ServiceSummerfield Meal ServiceSummerfield Meal Service Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, November 9November 9November 9November 9

Our meal service is 4:00 - 6:00 pm so please have any food donations at church by 1:30 pm. The side door will be open from 1:00 - 2:00 pm. We will have final prep and sandwich assembly at 2:00 with departure to Summerfield at 2:30. Please contact Marilyn Kral at 262.781.5126 with any questions.

This meal service is available to the homeless and hungry on Saturday afternoons in the downtown area. Several local parishes and civic groups share in providing meals on a rotating basis. SUMC provides a meal quarterly. Volunteers are welcome to provide ingredients, help with meal prep and serving, or come along as good will ambassadors.

ChristmaChristmaChristmaChristmas Stockings for Summerfield s Stockings for Summerfield s Stockings for Summerfield s Stockings for Summerfield SUMWomen are collecting items for Christmas Stockings for Summerfield. They will be given at the free meal on November 9. Donations of the following can be

placed in the Christmas bag in Fellowship Hall: travel size shampoo, shower gel, toothpaste, deodorant, disposable razors, individual toothbrushes, floss and Kleenex packets. Thank you! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hanging of the Greens Sunday, December 1 at 10:15 am

Join us after worship to put up the sanctuary tree and decorations in preparation for the Advent/Christmas season.

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Advent by CandlelightAdvent by CandlelightAdvent by CandlelightAdvent by Candlelight

SUMW presents:SUMW presents:SUMW presents:SUMW presents: “A Walk One Winter Night“A Walk One Winter Night“A Walk One Winter Night“A Walk One Winter Night” (a one” (a one” (a one” (a one----act play)act play)act play)act play)

Monday, December 9 at 7:00 pm

SUMWomen invites all women to join us for an evening of fellowship and dessert.

Host a table of friends or come as our guest. And as always, invite a friend!

If you would like to host a table please bring a dessert, decorate a table and invite friends. You may use your own dishes or those provided by SUMW.

Any questions? See Jill Lane.

Wisconsin Donated 335 Pounds to Hurricane Relief Two collection points were named for members of the Wisconsin Conference to drop off items for the Bahamas following the recent devastating hurricane. Midwest Mission Distribution Center in Illinois reports that a total of 335 pounds of items were collected at Wisconsin sites: 250 at Winding River UMC and 85 at Hartford UMC. Thanks to all who participated! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Noah’s Ark Christian Learning Center (NACLC)Noah’s Ark Christian Learning Center (NACLC)Noah’s Ark Christian Learning Center (NACLC)Noah’s Ark Christian Learning Center (NACLC) www.noahs-ark-sussex.org 262.246.9650

Noah’s Ark Christian Learning Center is Nationally Accredited through the National Accreditation Commission Association for Early Learning Leaders.

Thanksgiving Feast Wednesday, November 20

The Ark provides the turkey, stuffing and vegetables and our families contribute the side dishes.

The goal of Noah's Ark Christian Learning Center is to produce happy, intelligent, well-adjusted children. Here you will find a nurturing, educational environment for children of ages 6 weeks to 12 years. Classes include infant, toddler, preschool, 4-K, as well as before and after-school programs. We recognize that each child has unique talents, learning styles and personalities. Our highly-qualified teachers and staff are committed to working within each child's comfort zone to ensure optimal social, emotional and educational results. Classes are kept to a low student-teacher ratio. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sussex Outreach Services 262.246.9860 www.sussexareasos.org

Holiday Meals

Sussex Outreach Services will be providing 250 Thanksgiving meals and 250 Christmas meals this holiday season to our families. Sussex Area Service Club and the Sussex Lions will be collecting cash donations November 16-17 and December 7-8 at our local grocery stores. This will be applied to the cost of the meals which run about $20 - $25 a family. Please consider helping support this wonderful program that allows families to come together and celebrate the holidays! Items currently needed at the Pantry include canned chicken, canned carrots, canned peas, canned pineapple, applesauce, jelly, jam, Jell-O, pudding, stuffing, shampoo, body wash, deodorant, and toothbrushes.

SUMC’s next volunteer day at the Pantry is Saturday, November 2 from 9:00 am to Noon. To be sure the Food Pantry is well staffed, each church within the Cooperating Churches of Sussex (CCOS) is assigned one day a month to provide three people to assist their volunteers. SUMC provides our team on the first Saturday of each month from 9:00 am to noon. If you would like to volunteer please sign up on the clipboard at Church or contact Annita Moore.

ERAs Senior Network 262.549.3348 www.ERAsWaukesha.org

A faith-based, community-centered nonprofit organization serving Waukesha County, Wisconsin

When volunteering with ERAs, you can decide how much or how little you would like to volunteer. When called for a specific task, you can say no if it does not fit into your schedule.

Volunteer Opportunities

Fall Yard Clean Up This opportunity is perfect for individuals and groups. Clients need help with weeding, raking leaves, washing windows, cleaning first floor gutters, and/or putting away lawn furniture. Dates and time are flexible around your availability during the end of October into the beginning of November – once most of the leaves have fallen. Contact Marisa for more details at 262.522.2402 or MarisaS@ErasWaukesha.org.

Holiday Giving Program On December 21 we aim to distribute self-sufficiency care packages to 350 isolated and low-income Waukesha County seniors and adults with disabilities. Items we are collecting include the following gift cards: $10 Walgreens, $10 Pick ‘n Save, $10 Walmart, $5 McDonald’s; books of Forever stamps; handmade flat ornaments, bookmarks, and door hangers; and puzzle books (crossword, word search, Sudoku.) Items are needed by Sunday, December 8.

We are also looking for volunteers to help organize donations, decorate cards and envelopes, and hand-deliver the care packages. Contact Becca at Becca.Snow@ErasWaukesha.org.

Winter Snow Removal Adopt the driveway of a senior or adult with a disability for the winter season. Each time there is a snowfall, shovel your assigned driveway and walkway. Meals on Wheels cannot deliver meals if the recipient's walkway is not shoveled. This is a great opportunity for a group who can either serve together or take turns.

Phone Assistance in Eras Main Office needed Thursday mornings from 9-11 am to call volunteers to give them their driving assignments. We are looking for someone who is comfortable making phone calls, likes talking to people, and is interested in helping with the coordination of volunteers. Contact Spring at 262.522.2407 or SpringK@ErasWaukesha.org.

Friendly Visiting Be a friend to a senior or an adult with a disability who is isolated and looking for someone to talk to. Opportunities are available to visit with clients in their home on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. If you are interested, contact Judith at 262.522.2411 or JudithA@eraswaukesha.org.

Drive Eras Senior Network’s new shared-ride van in Menomonee Falls! Find-a-Ride Network program transports seniors and adults with disabilities to medical appointments at Community Memorial Hospital and Froedtert Town Hall Health Center. We are looking for volunteers interested in serving on a regular basis. Volunteers will drive our new Dodge Caravan and have access to a mobile tablet with GPS mapping. Only clients living in Menomonee Falls will be transported with the shared-ride van at this time. Contact Jenn at 262.522.2414 or JenniferS@ErasWaukesha.org.

Volunteer from Home Call clients to talk with them or just make sure they are doing okay.

Volunteers age 18 years and older are welcome to participate in all programs as volunteers of ERAs Senior Network. Volunteers age 55 years and older are encouraged to become RSVP members. Special youth volunteer opportunities are also available.

ProHealth Care Community Education Classes Each month ProHealth Care offers a wide variety of Community Education classes and events. Classes help you make informed health care decisions and develop healthy habits. All classes and events are free unless otherwise indicated. Registration is required for all events. For a complete list of classes go to ProHealth’s website at prohealthcare.org/Classes.

Opportunities for SUMC Nurture, Outreach and Witness (NOW)

Crafts for a Cause is a fun and friendly group who meet at the church every other Tuesday evening to make prayer shawls, lapghans, and prayer squares. Please join us! If you cannot join us, please consider taking one of the easy patterns in the folder on the shelf outside the office and making something at home. You can also help by donating yarn. This month’s meetings will be Wednesdays, November 6 and 20 at 6:30 pm.

Prayer Shawls are available for you to take at any time. The display is set up outside the church office.

Prayer Squares are small knit or crocheted squares (about 18”- 20” square) to offer to those parents whose babies do not survive the birthing process.

Lap Robes are for persons confined to wheelchairs that are often chilly and appreciate a hand crafted blanket to keep their legs and laps warm. Blankets may be knit or crocheted. Size should be from 25” x 36” to 30” x 40”.

Kingdom Workers If you need help with a project around the house that you are unable to tackle yourself (cleaning gutters, washing windows, small painting projects), contact Pat Keller, Roberta, or Pastor Jim. Your needs will be assessed and a crew will be established to assist you whenever possible. If you are willing to assist when there is a need, let us know to add your name to the list.

Naomi’s Cupboard This ministry of caring for those recovering from illness or surgery is still active. If you need help as you recover, please contact Verda, the church office or Pastor Jim and meals and other help needed will be arranged. If you are willing to provide meals, please let us know to add your name to the list.

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Giving Funds to the Church Without Giving Cash

Amazon’s sister website Smile.Amazon.com offers the same goods, prices and shipping with a big bonus. If you sign on to Smile.Amazon.com and choose Sussex United Methodist Church as your designated charity a percentage of your Amazon purchases will be directly donated to our church. Just be sure you choose the church in Sussex, WI as there is another Sussex UMC in another state! Scrip gift card purchasing is a great way to benefit the church. There is a six page list of participating retailers that will sell you gift cards then donate a portion back to our church. You can get a copy of the Scrip vendors from the table outside the offices and choose your gift cards. Then give me a list along with a check made out to SUMC for the total and I can order the cards for you. Or, sign on to Shopwithscrip.com and set up an account for yourself. Make your account Presto Pay and order your cards online. Our church enrollment number is FC24B7A136863. You will need this number to designate your orders go to SUMC. Scrip will then take the correct amount of your purchase out of your account and deposit the profit right in our SUMC checking account. I will process your order and deliver your cards to you either way. Before I can process orders I do need a large enough quantity to cover shipping so the more people that order the more often I can order and the more profit we can make. We are going to designate the Scrip profits to specific needs within our church.

Questions? Please contact Debbie Jansen at 262.617.5748 or dandjjansen@gmail.com. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are you an Online Banker? Do you pay any of your bills online through your bank? Did you know you can set up Sussex United Methodist Church as a payee and a check could come weekly, bi-weekly or monthly - at no additional cost to you? This is a great way to support the well-being of your church.

Sussex United Methodist Church

Rev. Jim Altman, Pastor

N63 W23523 Main Street, Sussex WI 53089

Website: www.sussexumc.org

Office Phone: 262.246.3748

Office Email: sussexmethodistchurch@gmail.com

Office Hours: 9:00 am - 1:00 pm Mon. Tue. Thur.

9:00 am - 12:00 pm Wed.

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Find Sussex United Methodist Church on Facebook to hear a hymn, read a summary of the sermon, and see what Scripture was read on Sunday. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you would like to have an article posted in our monthly newsletter, please submit it to the church office by the 21st of the month.

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PRAYER FAMILIES

The purpose of the prayer families is to share our concern and support at times other than during a crisis. Ways to do that are to include the person or family in your prayers during the week. You may wish to let them know that they are in your thoughts by sending a note, talking to them at church or a telephone call. The names are chosen at random, but sometimes seem by design, in that it has come at a particularly appropriate time for them.

November 3 Russ & Liz Fuher Adam & Nicola Nielsen November 10 Russell & Delores Naragon Dean & Barbara Molstad November 17 Dean & Barbara Hubbard Billy & Jen Mochman November 24 Gabe & Nancy Kolesari Don & Shirley Edmonds

November Birthdays

1 Barb Bathke 1 Marilyn Kral 2 Leo Brissette 3 Bob Pechanach 8 Jeanette Fuher 11 Barbara Behling 12 Nicholas Hinrichsen 12 Derek Moore 15 Amy Sromalski 16 Joyce England 17 Emily Nielsen 20 Jane Burg 23 Jim Altman 28 Nancy Kolesari 28 Delores Naragon 30 Pat Keller

November Anniversaries

4 Chris & Jill Lane 5 Tony & Kathryn Povletich

SUSSEX UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

N63 W23523 MAIN STREET

SUSSEX WI 53089

Sunday Morning Schedule

9:00 am Traditional Worship

9:00 am Sunday School (Sept - May)

Rev. James Altman, Pastor

sussexmethodistchurch@gmail.com

www.sussexumc.org

262.246.3748