Christ, our Lord. -...

NEWSLETTER WESTBY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH | JAN 2018 Issue 1

Newsletter Westby United

Methodist Church

January 2018

w

GROWING TO KNOW AND LOVE GOD IN THIS ISSUE

On Tuesday December 12, 2017 I submitted my last paper for seminary, and while I was feeling relieved, I was also feeling incomplete. Incomplete because I knew that my education had just begun. In three years of seminary I have read (sometimes skimmed) I don’t know how many books, written I don’t know how many papers, and lost all too much sleep, all because I wanted a deeper relationship with my God. All I wanted to do was to be a pastor, and God sent me to seminary. Luckily, I went to a seminary that reinforced my faith instead of the usual seminary that spends two years destroying our faith, and one year rebuilding it in their image. I don’t know how many words that I have typed in three years, but in that time I have created 1,465 files, in 171 folders consisting of 860,540,928 bytes of data. That is a lot of hours for a hunt and peck typist. Oh, I forgot to mention, before I could even start down that path, I had to qualify to be a pastoral candidate. During this process I created another 56 Files, 3 Folders, and 5,209,216 bytes of data. Sooo, now that seminary is over, I can read the books on my reading list, and focus on things that will build my faith, and build God’s church. The first book that I will be reading will be Celebration of Discipline, The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard Foster. I received

this book from my District Superintendent, Gordon Lind when he retired in 2012. Spiritual disciplines help us get to know and love God better. In this book, Foster lays out a plan of growth that begins with inward disciplines which make us better, which allows us to work on our outward disciplines that help us to deal with others, and finally the corporate disciplines that help us to be the church.

1. The inward disciplines • Prayer - Take deliberate steps to pray regularly and with purpose. Praying through the Psalms is a good way to increase our “prayer vocabulary.” • Meditation – At Westby UMC our favorite form of meditation is to read the Bible in the Lectio Divina tradition where we read scripture repeatedly, meditating on words or phrases that mean something to us. If you want to give this a try join us on Wednesday nights during Lent. • Fasting - Abstain from food, media, entertainment, or anything else that occupies our time, and takes our focus off of God. Offer up any discomfort to God.

Spiritual Disciplines by Pastor Jim Aniol

Our calling is to reach all people with the life-changing

power of God’s Love and Grace available to all through Jesus

Christ, our Lord.

Pastor’s Message . . . . . . p. 1 Birthdays - Anniversaries p. 2 Pastor’s Schedule . . . . . . p. 3 Mission of the Month . . .p. 3 Sunday School . . . . . . . . p. 4 Board Minutes . . . . . . . . p. 4 Praise Group. . . . . . . . . . p. 5 Bible Basics Group . . . . . p. 5 Forever Club . . . . . . . . . . p. 6 Lay Speaking Class . . . . . p. 8 SPRC Training . . . . . . . . . p. 9 Other News . . . . . . . . . . p. 10 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 11


• Study - Memorize Scripture and expand our universe of biblical study helps. There are many free biblical study options on the internet, or you can visit with LaVonne Barlow at the Westby UMC library and she can help you use the resources that she provides for free.

2. The outward disciplines • Simplicity – Scale back on spending, electronics, television watching. Instead go for a walk and listen to the birds. Bake your own bread, make your own meals, grow a garden. • Solitude - The practice of spending time without any others or any distractions. Early morning walks are a great opportunity to spend time with God. • Submission - Submit to the proper people in the proper ways—fight against the sin of pride. Husbands, submit to your wife, wives submit to your husband, children submit to your parents. • Service - Give our time to the church and/or to others. We can all consider tithing our time. Consider taking the lay speaking classes in February and March which will allow you to provide additional service to the church and work on the corporate disciplines of worship and celebration.

3. The corporate disciplines • Confession - Practice confessing our sins to trusted people who will pray with us and be spiritual allies. • Worship - Engage in corporate worship and include worship in our own prayer time. We can all hum hymns while we are working, reading scripture or praying.

• Guidance – Find an accountability group that can help maintain your spiritual discipline progress. • Celebration - Practice being grateful and thankful both in our own relationship with Christ and with other believers. Express encouragement and thankfulness to others.

This is quite a list, but try to not get overwhelmed. We can either select one discipline from each group, or work through the inward disciplines. The key is to start working on one of the spiritual disciplines today, and what better time, as we begin 2018, a brand-new year. Prayers for a blessed New Year for you and your family, Pastor Jim

January Birthdays

Jan. 8 – Maureen Davis Jan. 13 – Tracy Brown Jan. 31 – Kelly Bjornstad and Glenn Olstad

James 1:17-18

17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Coporate Disciplines

ConfessionWorshipGuidance

Celebration

Outward Disciplines

SimplicitySolitude

SubmissionService

Inward Disciplines

PrayerMeditation

FastingStudy


Pastor Jim’s Schedule:

Monday – Driftless Regional Ministry office (9 am - 5 pm)

Tuesday – Westby UMC (10 am – 1 pm) & Visitation Wednesday – Driftless Regional Ministry office (9 am - 5 pm) Thursday – Westby UMC (10 am – 1 pm) & Visitation Friday – Sabbath Saturday – On Call (9 am – 12 pm)

Sunday – Worship Services (8 am – 12 pm)

Missions of the Month – La Crosse Area Autism Foundation According to the CDC, 1 in 68 children are diagnosed with having autism

spectrum disorder nationally. In Wisconsin, 1 in 92 children are diagnosed. Having a child with autism can produce a financial strain on many area families and there is just not enough resources for these struggling families to go around. Thankfully, the La Crosse Area Autism Foundation is there to help! For January, this amazing organization will be the mission of the month. Please go to http://www.laxautism.org/ for more detailed information about this organization. Autism Spectrum Disorders are a group of developmental disabilities that can cause significant social, communication, and behavioral challenges. Those with this diagnosis handle information in their brain differently than others. Each person diagnosed is affected in different ways, ranging from mild to severe. No two people with autism will be exactly alike, for example, look at my three children. Kendal, Raven, and Jacoby are all three diagnosed with this disorder, but they are all so very different from one another. Kendal struggles with socializing, mental health issues, concentration, and learning challenges. Raven is very outgoing, loves to socialize, but struggles with anger, sensory issues, and understanding appropriate social cues. Jacoby has severe autism. Even though he is 8 years old, he is right now functionally at the age of about a three-year-old. He is not potty trained. Every day, all day, is a sensory overload that he has difficulty adapting to and has to follow a very rigid time schedule for everything he does from the time he wakes up, until the time he goes to bed. The La Crosse Area Autism Foundation's goal is to provide local families with resources, tools, education and support groups, and is dedicated to help find a cure for autism. One hundred percent of the funds they raise stays locally to assist families with transportation, devices, and programs that will directly benefit the child. LAF is recognized as tax exempt and your donation is tax deductible! Please consider this organization as your mission of the month and help some area families who are very much in need. Thank you!

Driftless Regional Ministry Office: E2286 Hwy. 82 in De Soto

Contact Information: Cell Phone – 608-632-3939

Parsonage Phone – 608-648-2528

http://www.laxautism.org/


Sunday School News The Sunday school kids shared The Christmas Promise with puppets and ended with the song, Happy Birthday Jesus, during the worship service on December 17th. They did a great job sharing the story of Jesus birth! Sunday school will resume on January 7th at 9:30. The adult Sunday school group will meet on January 14th and 21st. There will be a review with open discussion.

Westby United Methodist Church - Board Meeting December 13, 2017

Present: Tim Gaskell, Pastor Jim Aniol, Jane Gaskell, Jean Shore, Gary Keuser, Ardith Hoff, Verna Drake, Linda Weilnau Approval of Minutes - The November minutes were emailed to the board members and published in the December newsletter, so they were to be read by each member before the meeting. Verna Drake and Ardith Hoff motioned to approve the minutes. Motion passed. Treasurer’s Report – Verna Drake presented the Year-to-Date and November financial reports. Tim Gaskell said Janzen’s had salted the parking lot after a recent snowfall. He called them to let them know we only want salt used when ice is present. Jean Shore and Jane Gaskell motioned to approve the treasurer’s report. Motion passed. Old Business:

Cookie Walk – We raised $541 through this event. It was suggested that we use $41 to purchase a food scale and some decorations which will be used for this event in the future. The remaining $500 will be split evenly between the youth account and the outreach projects ($250 each). Ardith Hoff and Jane Gaskell motioned to approve these suggestions. Motion passed.

• Linda Weilnau will purchase a food scale and the decorations.

• It was recommended that next year we have the hours be 9:00-12:00 instead of 9:00-1:00 since we didn’t have any purchases after 12:00 that day.

Dec. 24 Candlelight Service time – This service was listed to start at 7:30 PM in the bulletins on the

website. The correct time should be 7:00 PM. Linda Weilnau will make sure the correct time gets listed on the website.

New Business:

Worship Service Dec. 31 – Pastor Jim will ask Charlie Groves or Deb Groves if they could do this service since Pastor Jim is on vacation.

Baskets of Love Mission Project – Ardith Hoff and Amanda Oney-Siam will be purchasing the food for this project on Saturday, Dec. 16. They need someone to help deliver the food that afternoon. Tim and Travis Gaskell will help deliver the food. Amanda will be able to provide a list of names and addresses for the food basket recipients.

Cleaning Sanctuary – Verna Drake noticed that it is difficult to find volunteers to clean the sanctuary

each month. Jane Gaskell and Verna Drake motioned to pay Amanda & Brian Oney-Siam $50 per month to clean the sanctuary in addition to their other cleaning duties. Motion passed.


Business from Board Committees: Trustees – no report

SPRC – Gary Keuser thanked Ardith Hoff for the newspaper articles she has written and submitted to

the Westby Times. He also thanked Tim Gaskell for his message on Nov. 26. Gary is concerned about making the congregation and community aware of issues in the world.

Worship – The children’s Christmas program will be Sunday, Dec. 17. Jane Gaskell said she is having

issues with the piano’s midi player, which uses floppy disks. She will bring her midi player from home to use for the children’s program. Jane will talk to some people and research this issue to determine if the midi player can be fixed or if we need to purchase a new one.

Education – There will not be any Sunday school classes on Dec. 24 or Dec. 31. Lay Leadership – Ardith Hoff has been writing articles for the Westby Times and will continue with this

outreach. Missions – The Baskets of Love mission project raised $454. Amanda Oney-Siam is working with Pastor

Daines to get a list of families who may need some extra help this Christmas.

Pastor’s Report – The Westby Senior Meals will start using our church in January. They will use it Monday through Thursday from 10:00-2:00. Pastor Jim and LaVonne Barlow will offer Bible studies during this time. Jane Gaskell suggested that we set the thermostat timers for this event, so they don’t need to worry about adjusting the thermostat each day.

• Lay Leadership classes will be offered at Westby UMC on February 10th and 17th for the 1st level, beginning, classes and on March 17th and 24th for the 2nd level, advanced, classes.

• The Parenting Place from La Crosse will be using our fellowship hall twice a month, on Thursday evenings, to offer classes for in home child care. These classes will start in January and go through May.

Jean Shore motioned to adjourn. Meeting was adjourned. Minutes submitted by Linda Weilnau, acting Secretary

Praise Group Please feel free to request your favorite hymns and contemporary worship songs for the coming year. Contact Jane Gaskell if you are interested in being a part of the Praise group. Everyone is welcome – no experience necessary!

Bible Basics Study Group Bible Basics will meet on Tuesday January 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th at 1:00 PM at Apt.116 at Halvorsen Apartments. We hope to see you. Please contact LaVonne Barlow if you have any questions.


The Forever Club (by LaVonne Barlow)

Forever Club Bible Studies January 2018 #7

Review of Genesis 1&2 Chapter 1

Gen.1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. First Earth Age Isaiah 45:18 He established it and formed it to be inhabited Job 38:7 The morning stars sang together and the all the sons of God shouted with joy Ezk. 28:15 Satan was perfect in beauty and wisdom till pride took over Rev. 12:9 Satan led a rebellion in heaven in an attempt to take Christ's place

The Katabole (Satan's attempted overthrow) ended the The First Earth Age Gen. 1:2 God flooded the earth to remove all signs of their habitation, cities, etc.

2 Peter 3:6 The world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished

Gen. 1:3-19 God spends four days renewing the earth, on the fourth day He finally sets the sun and moon in place

that gives us 24 hour days, months and years, our solar calendar. Ps. 104:30 Gen.1:20-23 On the fifth day He creates the whales and fish of the waters as well as birds of the air. Gen. 1:24,25 Day six God creates living creatures to reproduce after their kind

Gen. 1:26, 27 God creates all the races in His image, male and female with flesh bodies and tells them to replenish and subdue the earth. Gen. 1:29-31 God provides food for them. He looked at what He had done and saw that it was very good

Chapter 2 Adam and Eve are the beginning of God's Plan of Salvation for man

Gen. 2:1-3 The heavens and earth were finished and inhabited with people and animals. He blessed the seventh

day and rested. Gen. 2:4 These are the generations of the earth-meaning more than one. Gen. 2:5 Before they were in the earth God had created the seeds (DNA) for plants

Gen. 2:7 God forms eth ha adam-a special man. Gen. 2:8 God plants the Garden of Eden and places the special man-the eth ha adam there

Gen. 2:9 Tree of Life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil are in the garden Ezk. 28:13 Satan was in the garden

Gen. 2:20 Adam gives all animals names Gen. 2:22 God makes Eve from Adam's rib, In Hebrew the word is curve (Helix curve?) Eve is to be the mother of all (Spiritual alive) living-meaning all those who accept Christ Gen. 2:24 The institution of marriage Gen. 2:25 The age of innocence *References: The Companion Bible and Strongs Concordance Prepared by: LaVonne Barlow 608-632-4707


First Prophecy of Christ In The Bible! Genesis 3:15

SEED OF WOMAN Prophecy: Gen. 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. It

shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise His heel.

Understanding And I, God will put hatred between Satan and the woman, and between Satan's children and Eve's

children. Christ will destroy Satan, but Satan shall bruise Christ's heel.

Fulfilled: Gal. 4:4 “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman under the law.”

Why Didn't God Destroy Satan After the Katabole?

Rev. 12:9 that old serpent called the devil Rev. 20:2 that old serpent which is the devil Ezk. 28:12 I gave you the full pattern, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty

13 Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God

14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth (protects the Mercy Seat of Christ)

15 Thou was perfect in thy ways from the day that you were created, till iniquity was found in thee

Genealogy of Jesus Luke 3:23 And Jesus himself began to be about 30 years old age, (being as supposed) the son of Joseph, which was

the son of Heli. Since Mary was betrothed to Joseph, Jesus was assumed to be the son of Joseph. Here it says that Joseph was the son of Heli, but Heli was the father of Mary so therefore Joseph was Heli's

son-in-law, which explains the words of Gal. 4:4 phase of (under the law) which means son-in-law. The true genealogy of Jesus which is given here by Luke starts with Mary and goes all the way back to Adam

and Eve. The Bible gives us 75 generations over a period of 4000 years.

The O.T Contains The Story on how God Struggled to keep A PURE SEED LINE from which Jesus could be born to meet the requirements of His Sacrifice on the Cross as an UNBLEMISHED LAMB FOR OUR SINS.

The old serpent the devil knew of God's plan to have His son be the sacrificial lamb for our sins. So after His first attempt to take over Christ's Mercy Seat failed, here he is in the garden ready to try another tactic.

Just as we are thankful for all the men and women who have died or suffered for our Freedom in this great country, God also had to be constantly alert for the attack plans of Satan who was determined to contaminate the Seed Line that went from umbilical cord to umbilical cord for the 75 generations till the fulness of time came for Jesus to be born. Give thanks to our Father!

God made eternal Life possible, accepting it is our choice!

Prepared by LaVonne Barlow Forever Club


Basic Lay Servant Class

Basic Lay Servant Class Saturday: February 10 & 17, 2018

9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Place: Westby United Methodist Church

202 E State Street Westby WI 608 648-2528 – Church Office

http://driftlessministry.org/

Teacher/Facilitator: Pastor Jim Aniol

Theme: Introduction to Lay Servant Ministry The Class is the required first step for becoming a Lay Servant or Lay Speaker in the United Methodist Church, and is a prerequisite for the Advanced Lay Servant courses. Participants are encouraged to discover and employ personal spiritual gifts as God intended, and to consider the importance of exercising servant leadership, developing future leaders, remaining rooted in consistent spiritual practices, and being part of a group that holds members accountable in their discipleship. Ministry isn’t just a clergy endeavor; all Christians are called to serve, this is our United Methodist history. Laity serve on the front line of evangelical living and serving. The required text is “Lay Servant Ministries Basic Course Participant’s Book” (ISBN #978-0-88177-627-0) and may be purchased from The Upper Room Bookstore, or Amazon.com. There is no registration fee for this class, your only cost is the book. Please come to class on February 10th having read through Session Three – Caring, and knowing that you will be in a non-threatening environment where your thoughts and contributions are valued. Also, please bring a bag lunch as dining options in the area are very limited. To register – or with questions send an email to: mailto:[email protected]

Deadline for Registration: February 01, 2018

Cookie Walk Results Thank you to everyone who helped with the Cookie Walk last month. Through your contributions we raised $541 which will be used towards the youth fund and outreach projects. Thank you to those who took the time to bake delicious goodies for the Cookie Walk. Thank you to those who helped with getting the flyers distributed, setting up the tables and selling items. Thank you to those who came and purchased cookies and other goodies. Without everyone’s help, this event would not have been a success.

http://driftlessministry.org/

mailto:[email protected]


Norseland Residents Gifts

SPRC Training Opportunities

SPRC Training available in our district with 3 choices available.

SPRC TRAININGS Saturday, January 20, 2018; 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Mineral Point: First UMC 400 Doty St

Mineral Point

Saturday, January 27, 2018; 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Reedsburg UMC

833 3rd St Reedsburg

Sunday, January 28, 2018; 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Madison: Wellspring UMC 5702 S Hill Dr

Madison

Norseland Nursing Home Residents & Staff would like to

send sincere thank you to Westby Methodist members

who donated generous gifts to make our season bright! It is the small acts of kindness and thoughtfulness like this that make the most difference in

the lives of others. We truly appreciate it!

https://maps.google.com/?q=400+Doty+St%0D+Mineral+Point&entry=gmail&source=g

https://maps.google.com/?q=400+Doty+St%0D+Mineral+Point&entry=gmail&source=g

https://maps.google.com/?q=5702+S+Hill+Dr%0D+Madison&entry=gmail&source=g

https://maps.google.com/?q=5702+S+Hill+Dr%0D+Madison&entry=gmail&source=g


Westby Senior Meal Lunch Site Starting Tuesday, January 2, 2018, the Westby United Methodist Church will host the Westby Senior Meals for lunchtime. Lunch will be served at the church’s fellowship hall Monday through Thursday. The doors will open at 11:00 AM and lunch will be served at 11:30 AM. If you come for the meal, you are welcome to stay as long as you like. There will be cards, games or a Bible study available. Make your lunch reservations today if you are 60 years of age or older. Please call Megan Hanson, Nutrition Coordination for the Vernon County Unit on Aging, at 608-637-5201 or 608-637-5368 to make your reservation or if you have any questions.

Family Provider Cohort Class The Westby United Methodist Church will be allowing The Parenting Place, which is based in La Crosse, to conduct a Family Provider Cohort Class in the fellowship hall on Thursday evenings, from 6:00-8:00 PM. This class will start on January 18th and will be held about twice a month, through May.

Pictures of December Events

Children’s Christmas Program

Baskets of Love Mission Project

Christmas Caroling


January 2018 - “Save the Date”

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2 10:00-1:00 - Westby Pastoral Office Hours

3

4

5 Pastor Jim’s Sabbath Day

6

7 9:30 AM – Sunday School – Youth 10:00 AM – Fellowship 10:45 AM – Worship Service (Communion)

8

9 10:00-1:00 - Westby Pastoral Office Hours 1:00 PM – Bible Basics Study Group @ Halvorsen Apt. #116

10 5:00-6:00 PM – Westby Pastoral Office Hours

6:00 PM – Church Board Meeting

11


13

14 9:30 AM – Sunday School – Youth & Adult 10:00 AM – Fellowship 10:45 AM – Worship Service 12:00 PM – Confirmation Class

15


17

18 10:00-1:00 - Westby Pastoral Office Hours


20

21 9:30 AM – Sunday School – Youth & Adult 10:00 AM – Fellowship 10:45 AM – Worship Service & Children’s Christmas Program

22


24 Pastor Jim @All Day Meetings

25 Pastor Jim @All Day Meetings


27

28 9:30 AM – Sunday School – Youth 10:00 AM – Fellowship 10:45 AM – Worship Service 12:00 PM – Confirmation Class

29


31

Christ, our Lord. -...

Documents

Transcript of Christ, our Lord. -...