Volume 54, Issue 1

Network

Our Sav iour’s Lutheran Church

Our Saviour’s

Lutheran Church

300 Logan Street

Merrill, WI 54452

Phone: 715-536-5813

E-mail: office@oslcelca.org

Pastor: revpatschutz@gmail.com

Staff

Pastor:

Reverend Patricia

Schutz

Office Secretary:

Carla Weisenfeld

Custodian:

Tim Ruprecht

Network articles are

due on or before

the 15th

of each

month.

God is in God’s holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before God!

Habakkuk 2:20

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

1Corinthians 3:16

This Lent I encourage us all to find time every day to practice a “sacred

pause.” Let’s take time to read and pray with the above words of scripture, readings

from Christ in our Home, or any scripture text you choose. Read the scriptures aloud

and sit with them in silence. Choose one word or phrase that catches your attention

and practice breath prayer in which you repeat the word(s) as you breathe in and out.

Know the Spirit breathes with you; Jesus surrounds you. Let this prayer lead you into

stillness. What do these words means for you personally, and for our life together as

the body of Christ?

May God’s living Word inspire the way we practice good self-care and instill

in us a profound sense of self-worth and belovedness. May God’s Word open us to

see the goodness of others and recognize Jesus in the face of our neighbors, friends

and strangers alike and lead us to acts of kindness and justice. And as we journey to-

gether toward the cross of Good Friday and empty tomb of Easter, may the God who

dwells in us draw us close and closer still into the suffering, life-giving love of Christ.

Blessings on the way, dear people of God.

*If you would like to share a word or two from your Lenten prayers, see the

bulletin board in the hall leading to the narthex, and the article Sacred Pause in this

newsletter.

Shalom, Pastor Pat

Musings from the Pastor March 2020

Sensing the Gospel: Lenten Wednesday Worship Series

During our Wednesday Lent worship services we will explore five different Gospel and New Testament readings as experienced through our five senses. Each week we will focus on a different sense. This series is based on material by Matt Skinner, Professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary. He describes the series as follows:

“In Jesus Christ, the salvation God provides cannot be reduced to an idea or abstraction. Salvation happens, instead, in human flesh. Indeed, God arrives as human flesh. Moreover, people encountered Jesus in their own bodies. These were real people in real contact with a real man from Galilee. Even today, we encounter God and God’s salvation in embodied ways -- in our bodies’ abilities to perceive familiar realities and to interpret new ones. Lent provides opportunities to acknowledge this. The season begins with smelly and greasy ash as a stark liturgical reminder of our flesh’s dusty finitude. It will end with…a bittersweet taste of wine in our mouths as we imagine the horrible sight of a man’s body mangled on a cross. In between, Lent allows us to consider together who we are and how we encounter God in tangible, sensory ways.

Come for Wednesday Lent worship March 4 – April 1, 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Confirmation students will help lead the evening worship.

Pie a Face!

Would you like to see Pastor, Council President, Choir Member or Confirmation Leader get a pie to the face? Help the youth get to the ELCA National Youth Gathering in 2021 and have some fun too! Vote for who gets it by adding your cash and change to their jar. Pies

will be “Delivered” at the Easter Breakfast.

Asset Mapping : Saturday March 21, 2020 2 pm—4 pm

From the Curiosity Team:

Core Values and Asset Mapping On February 15,

twenty-three members met for two hours to identify

the core values that define our congregation. The

session began with dwelling in the word as we

reflected on Acts 16:4-15 to see what implications

the Holy Spirit’s direction of St. Paul’s missionary

activities may have for Our Saviour’s Lutheran

Church. Following prayer, participants, in groups of

4-5, were presented with a deck of 48 cards from

which to select the values that best define our

congregation. After a fun and interesting process,

each group was to share their top five values with

the everyone. From there an identity statement was

formulated: “A worship centered joyful community

serving where Christ leads.” Some charts from that

process have been on display in the lounge for you

to view The next activity in this process will be

Asset Mapping. This will take place Saturday,

March 21, from 2pm -4pm. At this event we will

analyze the assets or resources of our congregation

that contribute to our mission. Assets categories

include: physical such as building and equipment;

individual abilities and talents; financial;

associations. This exercise will provide further

guidance in determining our mission. We

encourage as many of you as possible to join in this

enjoyable and enlightening process as together we

move forward as a congregation. Shirley Mitchell for

the Curiosity Team

Lenten Challenge!

Here's the charge: Fill the tubs in the narthex to the brim with donations for the Food Pantry and the MACHome every week during Lent! Can we do it? Yes, we can!! (Scrip cards help.) Thank you for accepting the challenge! It's a good thing you're doing.

Mark Your Calendars

PAGE 2 NETWORK VOLUME 54, ISSUE 1

PAGE 3 VOLUME 54, ISSUE 1 NETWORK

Curious Minds Book Group

So many books and never enough time to read them! Best way to tackle the dilemma is one book at a time. If you like to read, why not sign up to be part of Our Saviour’s Curious Minds Book Group!

Our first book will be, Fire Road: The Napalm Girl’s Journey through the Horrors of War to Faith, Forgiveness, and Peace, by Kim Phuc Phan Thi and Ashley Wiersma. Kim was the nine-year-old girl in the iconic photo of children running down a Vietnam road after a napalm bomb blast. She was left for dead in the morgue but miraculously survived. This is her story of healing and finding faith and peace through the suffering love of God.

Led by Pastor Pat, there will be a session every Friday morning at 10:30 a.m. beginning March 13.

For those of you who work or prefer evenings, we will meet for the first time on Thursday, March 19, 7 p.m. and then every first and third Thursday evening.

If you want to join but can’t make either time above, please let Pr, Pat know.

Tell your friends! This book group is open to anyone, whether or not a member of the church.

You can buy the book on your own, or order through Pastor Pat. If you would like to order, please let Pastor know by March 6. (For those in the evening group, you have until March 12.) Cost is $13.50.

Office Hours As of February 19, 2020, church office hours will be Monday-Wednesday-Friday, 8:00-4. Volunteers will be in for a few hours on Tuesday and Thursday. If you want to make sure someone is in the office other times, before you stop by church, please call ahead and we will try to schedule accordingly. Thank you.

Miriam Circle The Miriam Circle will meet on March 2nd at 1:00

pm at Bell Tower.

Sacred Pause; Share the Word!

Pastor Pat is a word person (you’ve probably caught onto that by now). She is going to share the prayer words that rise out of her daily scripture reading, as described in her front page newsletter article, by posting them on the large bulletin board by the narthex and on the church Facebook page. There might be a short thought or prayer with the word, or a photograph, or there might not be. Let’s make this a communal project and fill the bulletin board with the Spirit-breathed words and prayers of our entire community of faith!

For example, as I listened to music to prepare for Ash Wednesday, the word “surrender” from one of the songs really grabbed my attention and stuck with me the rest of the day. Hmmm…what might God be nudging me to give up? I’m going to pray on that. Look for “surrender” on the bulletin board. ~Pr. Pat

PAGE 4 VOLUME 54, ISSUE 1 NETWORK

Funerals

Irene M Jourdan

April 3, 1923—January 10, 2020

Service January 16, 2020, 11 am

at Our Saviour’s

Ronald Nutter

November 17, 1937—January 18, 2020

Services January 24, 2020, 11:00 am

at Our Saviour’s

Daniel J Hagedorn

February 21, 1962—February 18, 2020

Service February 29, 2020, 11 am

Remember to Recycle

We have a container on the table by the

lounge for you to bring in your used ink

cartridges and we will recycle them for you.

Calling all youth that will be in 8th –

12th Grade in September 2020!!

Any youth that will be in 8th - 12th grade in

September 2020 can attend the ELCA National

Youth Gathering in the summer of 2021.

We invite anyone interested in attending as a youth

participant, chaperoning or just someone interested

in the process or helping with fundraising to please

attend a brief informational meeting on

Wednesday, March 4th at 5:45 pm right before

Lent service.

Topics to Discuss:

What is the ELCA National Youth Gathering?

What will it cost to attend?

Will there be fundraising available?

Who is interested in attending?

LADIES, LLAMAS AND LUNCH!

Our Saviour's Women have been chosen to

host the Wisconsin River Valley Conference

Spring Event on Saturday, April 25, 8 until

noon. There'll be a program, "Passage to

Peru", a worship service and a delicious lunch!

Mark you calendars now and keep your eyes

open for more information.

Hope to see you then!

JOB OPENING

Our Saviour's Lutheran Church has an immediate opening for a Youth and Family Director, 30 hrs/week with employee only benefits. Please see job description on website or in office. Fill out documents and email to revpatschutz@gmail.com; or mail to OSLC, 300 Logan Street, Merrill, WI 54452; or drop off at the church office. Only qualified applicants should apply.

PAGE 5 NETWORK VOLUME 54, ISSUE 1

Congregation Council Minutes

Financial Stewardship Update

Council Meeting Tuesday, January 21, 2020 at 6:00 pm

Present: Pastor Pat Schutz, Steve Strasman, Larry Wolf, Jose Countryman, Bonnie Kloth, Aimee Pederson, John Hahn, Ruth Ellen Lindstrom, Christa Lahti Absent: Mary Fischer, Jay Peterson, Keagan Schoone At 6:03 pm Steve called the meeting to order. Bonnie led devotions and closed with prayer. Reviewed reports:

Secretary’s report Financial Pastor’s report Outreach Worship & Music Property & Maintenance

Christa made motion to accept the reports. Seconded by Bonnie. Motion carried. Old Business: Hopefully at February Council meeting we will discuss job descriptions for Youth & Family Director position. Budget Christa moved to follow the housing allowance resolution supplied by Pastor Pat. (See attach resolution) Jose seconded motion. Motion carried. Discussed budget for 2020.

Benevolence 5% for a total of $20,000.

Saturday February 15, 2020 from 2-4 pm Pastor Pat encouraged everyone to attend the Core Values Event led by Pastor Rich Block and Sandy Block. The church annual meeting will be Wednesday Jan 29, 2020. Meal will be at 5:30 pm. Meeting to begin at 6:00 pm. Council will bring desserts. At 7:58 pm Jose made a motion to terminate Rebecca’s employment with Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church effective Wednesday January 22, 2020 at 9:30 am. John seconded the motion. Motion carried. Aimee made a motion to offer a severance package of 4 weeks’ pay which includes vacation and does not include accrued sick time or insurance offset. Contingent upon return of all church property, keys, and proprietary passwords and immediate removal of all personal items. Christa seconded the motion. Motion Carried. Next regular meeting will be Tuesday February 18, 2020 at 6 pm. Pastor Pat will have devotions for the next meeting. Special council meeting Tuesday February 4 at 7:00 pm. Aimee made a motion to adjourn. Seconded by Bonnie. Motion Carried. Closed meeting with The Lord’s Prayer. Meeting adjourned. Respectfully Submitted, Ruth Ellen Lindstrom, Council Secretary

FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP MINUTES January 14, 2020

Financial reports were reviewed: We had a good December and ended the year with Total Income of $318,118, ($4,198 less than 2018), however, we transferred in $5,000 less in 2019 than we did in 2018 and we didn’t have a Challenge Gift effort in 2019 that raised $13,250 in 2018.

Total expense was $318,916 resulting in a shortage of $603 for the year.

Checking account balance ended at $9,160

FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2020

INCOME $ 19,133.00

TRANSFER

EXPENSES $ 17,624.30

NET $ 1,508.70

From January 2020 Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, I am so grateful for the dona-tion of $150.00. In the coming months, this gift will make a di-rect impact on the lives of our most vulnerable neighbors. Our Conference continues to deal with the homeless, those facing evictions, power and water shut-offs and a myriad of other needs. We extend not only financial help but our prayers and friendship to the poor that we serve. God Bless, Dick Duginski Conference President Society of St. Vincent de Paul Dear Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, Thank you for your donation of $311.81 to Homme Homes on January 07, 2020. We appreciate this generous gift for our residents and your thoughtfulness is truly appreciat-ed. Thank you again for your con-tribution to Homme Homes. Sincerely, Kathy Unverzagt Foundation Coordinator Our Saviour’s Thank you for your continued support. With your help we are able to provide safety and guid-ance to empower survivors of abuse. “Peace on Earth begins at home’ Haven

********** From February 2020 Dear Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, The Community Food Pantry of Merrill thanks you for your re-cent donation. The Food Pantry functions on monetary dona-tions, grants, and food donations.

Without donations, such as yours, we would not have the privilege of fulfilling our mission to provide food to those in need in our Merrill community. We thank you again for your wonderful do-nation. May God bless you always. Sincerely, Lisa Carlson The Community Food Pantry of Merrill, Our Staff and Volunteers and Especially from those we Serve Pastor Schutz and friends, Thank you for the generous gift of $20.00 to Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services. Your congregation’s gift is provid-ing life-sustaining care of migrant and refugee families as they ar-rive and during the time It takes to build a new life. Together in faith, Krish O’Mara Vignarajah President and CEO Thank you for the donation of money, we truly appreciate it. Sincerely, The board, staff & volunteers St Vincent de Paul Free Clinic Dear Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, The Community Food Pantry of Merrill thanks your Church and its members for their re-cent donation of $20. The Food Pantry functions on monetary donations, grants, and food dona-tions. These donations allow us to meet the nutritional needs of those less fortunate in the Merrill Community. Thank you for your generous gift to the Community Food Pantry of Merrill; it is vital and greatly appreciated! Without donations, such as yours, we would not have the

privilege of fulfilling our mission to provide food to those in need in our Merrill community. We thank you again for your wonderful donation. May God bless you always. Sincerely, Allan Crevier The Community Food Pantry of Merrill, Our Staff and Volunteers and Especially from those we Serve Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, I am so grateful for the dona-tion of $42.60. In the coming months, this gift will make a direct impact on the lives of our most vulnerable neighbors. Our Conference continues to deal with the homeless, those facing evictions, power and water shut-offs and a myriad of other needs. We extend not only financial help but our prayers and friendship to the poor that we serve. God Bless, Dick Duginski Conference President Society of St. Vincent de Paul Dear Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, Thank you for your donation of $14.20 to Homme Homes on February 12, 2020. We appreciate this generous gift for our residents and your thoughtfulness is truly appreciat-ed. Thank you again for your con-tribution to Homme Homes. Sincerely, Kathy Unverzagt Foundation Coordinator

*********

Thank You

PAGE 6 NETWORK VOLUME 54, ISSUE 1

PAGE 7 NETWORK VOLUME 54, ISSUE 1

March 2020

Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church 300 Logan Street

Merrill, WI 54452

Return Service Requested

Non-Profit

Organization

U.S. Postage

PAID

Permit No. 33

Merrill, WI

Recipient’s Address

Newsletter Network

Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church

300 Logan Street · Merrill, WI 54452

Parish Announcements Page 2-5

Funerals Page 5

Thank You’s Page 6

Scrip Form Page 7

Birthdays Page 8

Monthly Calendar Page 9

Inside this issue: