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Saint Mark's Messenger Beaver Dam, Wisconsin Joann Ellis, Editor December 2015

SPIRITUAL NUGGET

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

We are about to enter into the busiest time of the year from

Thanksgiving to Christmas and through to the New Year. You

will hear the message of the season of Advent to prepare for the

birth of Jesus and to prepare for his coming again. You will hear

the call to take the opportunity to sit quietly in God’s presence.

But all too often the call is muffled by all the other attractions

seeking our time, attention, and efforts. We know the path of faith is right in front of us;

however it can be very difficult to experience it. “If only I had more time, then I’d be all

right.” A classic complaint at this time of year!

How does one keep a balanced life, and especially during this upcoming holiday

season? Certainly, this goal can be attained, but one must be willing to do what it takes.

Well, this idea of a balanced life has been sought after hundreds and hundreds of times

and here is one response to this question: Pray, Work, Rest, Play! Finding a place in

one’s life for all of these ideals, many say, leads to living a balanced life. Benedictine

spirituality builds a solid foundation of monastic life on these principals, and these

principals can easily be translated into everyday life for people like you and me. This

may cause us to look closely at our worldview, but this exercise should be a regular part

of our spiritual discipline anyway. Joan Chittister, a Benedictine nun, has a lot to say

about being disciplined in our spiritual lives. In her book, Wisdom Distilled From The

Daily, she says: “Saint Benedict was quite precise about it all. Time was to be spent in

prayer, in sacred reading, in work and in community participation. In other words, it was

to be spent on listening to the Word, on study, on making life better for others and on

community building. It was public as well as private; it was private as well as public. It

was balanced.”

I used to think that only introverted people were able to successfully practice

contemplative or silent prayer. However, I have long since changed my opinion on this

matter. I believe contemplative prayer should be a part of everyone’s prayer life,

although not the only part of it. “”The great Benedictine abbot Dom Cuthbert Butler

wrote once, "It is not the presence of activity that destroys the contemplative life. It is the

absence of contemplation." As much as any monk or nun, you and I are called to the

contemplative life. By contemplative, I simply mean taking time to practice silence and

the presence of God on a daily basis (along with any other prayer we might also practice).

In Benedictine spirituality, life is not divided into parts, one holy and the other mundane.

To the Benedictine mind, all of life is holy. All of life's actions bear the scrutiny of all of

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life's ideals and all of life is to be held in anointed hands (Joan Chittister, Presented at a

Trinity Institute Conference on Benedictine Spirituality, April 2003).””

Many of us are faced with corporate pressures to lengthen weekly work hours and

to give up other activities and pursuits if we are to succeed. What we are becoming is a

nation of workaholics. Where is the balance of Pray, Work, Rest, Play? It gets way out

of whack! In this time of year it can add up to a formula with a lot of problems.

Finally, Joan Chittister says this about rest and play, “Real leisure, holy leisure,

Sabbath leisure, contemplative leisure, has more to do with the quality of life and the

depth of our vision than it does with play and vacations. The rabbis taught that the

purpose of Sabbath was threefold. The first purpose of Sabbath, the rabbis said, was to

free the poor as well as the rich for at least one day a week, and that included the animals,

too. Nobody had to take an order from anybody on the Sabbath. The second purpose of

Sabbath, the rabbis teach, is to give people time to evaluate their work as God evaluated

the work of creation, to see if their work, too, is really life-giving. And finally, the

purpose of Sabbath leisure was to give people space, to contemplate the real meaning of

life. If anything has brought the modern world to the brink of destruction, it must surely

be the loss of Sabbath. The purpose of holy leisure is to bring this balance of being, not a

balance of time, back into lives gone askew, and to give people time to live a thoughtful,

a contemplative as well as a productive life.… Holy leisure, in other words, is the

foundation of contemplation. And contemplation is the ability to see the world as God

sees the world.”

Now having said all of the preceding, I want to add that what I have written about

is just one vision of seeking a balance of life. In our rich tradition of Anglican and

Christian faith you will find many other visions which hold equal truth and credibility.

My invitation to you in this Advent season is to do some listening to God and how God

might be calling you to a more balanced life. Indeed, this could very well be the best

Christmas gift you receive this year – a more balanced life.

Your Brother in Christ,

Fr. Gary+

Treasurer’s Update ~ Fred Ellis ~October 31, 2015:

Year-to-date income: $87,210.48

Year-to-date expenses: $80,825.80

Balance $ 6,384.68

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Transition Happenings You have heard, perhaps, at Sunday morning announcements that the Transition

Committee has been meeting quite regularly. What’s been talked about? Well, part

of the transition opportunity is discovering our strengths, challenges, and dreams.

Where is God leading us?

One thing St. Mark’s has always been good at is taking care of each other.

And, so, that is where we begin. Calls were made to several parishioners to whom the group

felt might need some help with fall yard cleanup. There were a couple takers, and on

Saturday, November 7, several of us descended onto the yards of Ken and Robin Peters and

Jody Langfeldt. It was a gorgeous day. Lots of leaves were raked and bushes trimmed.

As you may recall, the Episcopal Church is in communion with the Evangelical

Lutheran Church of America. We are exploring the possibility of setting up a meeting with

leadership at First Lutheran Church in Beaver Dam to discuss ways in which we may be able

to learn from one another and share ideas and opportunities. Stay tuned for more on this.

What next? We need your help. Beginning Sunday, November 22 you will see a

board set up in the Narthex with lots of little sticky-note pads and some pens or markers

nearby. The board will be divided into two sections: How you see St. Mark’s now? And

how would you like to see St. Mark’s? Are there issues, large or small, that need to be taken

care of? If you could, in just a few simple words, put some of your thoughts or ideas on the

board. One or two words is fine. It will be fun to see the collection of our responses. It is

our hope that everyone will contribute at least one thought, feeling, critique, suggestion, or

dream.

As the search process gets under way in the near future, exercises like this will help

assess our strengths and our needs as we search for new clergy leadership. If there are

matters that can be addressed immediately, the vestry will look into them.

There have been some inquiries about the search process …. From where do we get

applicants’ names, how does the process work? More information will be forthcoming on

this when Peggy Bean, a member of the diocesan staff, visits St. Mark’s on Sunday

December 13. It will be discussed at the Annual Meeting in January also. For now, in what

is sometimes referred to as the “in-between time,” we give thanks for the leadership we had

under Rev. Mary, give thanks to each other for the terrific send-off she received, support

Rev. Gary, our very experienced and gifted interim, take care of each other, be encouraged

to experiment with new ideas, and pray that, with God’s help, we will grow in strength and

spirit as we walk this journey together. I am very optimistic!

Transition Committee Members:

James Cleary, Meredith Harmon, Deb Jenson,

Kit Marceil, Bambi Tischer and Linda Zamzow

Save The Date: A Message from your Transition Team

Sunday, December 13 we will host Peggy Bean, the transition coordinator from the diocesan

office. During the sermon Peggy will explain the steps to calling a permanent rector. We

look forward to her guidance. Please come with an open heart and any questions you may

have.

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Lonely Piano in search of player. Attractive upright piano seeks

home with player. Not picky about skill level, I just want to play.

Over the years I’ve worked with everything from hymnal pieces to

Chopsticks. I have years of music left in me and wish to find a

budding pianist of any age to belong to. I’d make a swell Christmas

gift because I’m FREE! You simply need to make arrangements to come get me. I’m

worth the hassle. Please, let your friends know I’m here. I’d really love to be in

someone’s home this Holiday Season. If interested please speak with a vestry member. ~

Meredith Harmon

Sep Profit: $275.78

Address Updates & Welcome, Phone Number Shannon & Andy Wesener’s & Joe Breitweiser’s change of address.

Please welcome our newest families in church: Melissa, Joshua, and Hunter

Kent & Jerry Foster.

Shannon & Andy Wesener Joseph Breitweiser

105 Greenview St. Arizona Premier Adult Care II

Columbus, WI 53925 9716 E. Pampa Ave

920-763-29113 Mesa, AZ 85212

Geraldine (Jerry) Foster Melissa, Hunter & Joshua Kent 209 Webster St, Apt. #63 1105 Rock Ave, Apt. #203

Beaver Dam, WI 53916 Waupun, WI 53963

573-220-3029 Email: joshuakent3@gmail.com

IN THE SERVICE ~ Dennis Adams, Joshua B., James Brink, Jimmy Brink,

Sam Budde, Barry Hilbert, Karl Krueger, Brian Lampert, Stephen Strube.

Lord, keep our servicemen and women safe, whether they serve at home or

overseas. Hold them in your loving hands and protect them as they protect us.

FOR SALE Farm Fresh Eggs ~ Come and get your fresh, large

brown eggs at St. Mark's! The price is $2.25 per doz. If you run out

of eggs before Sunday, you can also call Libbie at 920-885-4791 or

920-296-1611 and request some more. ~ Libbie Kacuba

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It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! ~ We are now only one month out

from the biggest event in Beaver Dam! ….Lake Days? No! There won’t

be any overpriced beer here….The Dodge County Fair? Nope, even

yummier than that!................Give up?...

It's almost time for the annual St. Mark's Episcopal Cookie Walk!

When most folks do it, I'm sure it looks just like a bake sale,

nothing too out of the ordinary. However, when the insanely talented folks at St. Mark's

host a cookie walk, it is just this side of the Divine.

Folks are ravenous for our annual fund raising event! Seriously, we have people

who start cueing up at 6:00 AM...the doors don't open until 8!

Last year, I pulled into the parking lot at 5:57AM and there was already a guy

sitting on the bench. At first I thought perhaps he needed some food from our little food

pantry. Then I realized he was flipping through sales flyers just waiting to get to our

cookies! That is dedication; it was cold that morning. By the time 8 AM rolled around the

narthex was packed. Our lone early-bird was now in good company.

We need to make sure that we have supply enough to satisfy our faithful patrons.

Last year, we sold over 137 pounds of cookies in less than 15 minutes! We need to make

sure we have plenty of buttery yummy goodness to go around.

If you’ve never baked for the sale before, please consider it. If you need help with

purchasing ingredients, please contact Rev. Gary for scrip cards to cover costs. If you are

a loyal baker, please consider adding another batch or two of a favorite cookie. We need

bakers! And variety! We will also need folks to work the day of the cookie sale. Look for

the sign-up sheets in the narthex for bakers and workers on the sale day.

Meredith Harmon and/or Lindsey Cleary will be accepting cookies on December

11th from 11AM until 8PM. If you can’t make it, please call Meredith (608)516-2156

and we’ll arrange to pick up your cookies or schedule a convenient time and place for

cookie hand-off.

So now we bake! This whole month (and especially the week before the sale) we

need the ovens of Dodge County fired up! ~ Meredith Harmon

Church School News

Our church school kids love to be a part of and we love to see them be involved in

our services and activities. We will have the opportunity to hear them sing for us on

three special days. Under the direction of Stephanie Moore the children will sing

Christmas carols to our awaiting customers in the Narthex beginning at 7:30 a.m.

Cookie Customers line up very early on Saturday morning even though we don’t open the

doors at 8:00 a.m.

On Christmas Eve and the 1st. Sunday of Christmas the church school kids will

sing two songs. Parents Note: Stephanie will post a list of practice times in the

Narthex. ~ Linda Zamzow

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GET WELL Cards to Josh and Margaret:

Josh Kopmeyer Margaret Ihrke St. Mary’s hospital #4611 Charleston House 700 S. Park Street 104 Fakes Court #403 Madison, WI 53715 Beaver Dam, WI 53916

January 2016

Liturgical Ministries Schedules

Year C

Date

Ministry

Jan 3

2nd

Sunday

After

Christmas

Jan 10

1st Sunday

after

Epiphany

The Baptism

of our Lord

Jan 17

2nd

Sunday

after

Epiphany

Jan 24

3rd

Sunday

after

Epiphany

Jan 31

4th Sunday

after

Epiphany

Acolyte Fred Ellis Deb Jenson James Merrill Jasmine

Moore

Leah Helmer

Altar

Guild

Monica

Gagnon

Linda

Zamzow

Libbie

Kacuba

Deb Jenson

Sue Hilbert

Joyce

DeZarn

Gayle Elbert

Betsy

Lampert

Linda

Zamzow

Chalice

Bearer

Jan Byrd Jim Merrill Joann Ellis Deb Jenson Fred Ellis

Christian Ed. Linda Zamzow Christian Education Director

Intercessor Steph Moore Deb Kuenzi Libbie

Kacuba

Dan Hilbert Mary Ann

Kenitz

Reader James Cleary

Jeremiah

31:7-14

Ephesians

1:3-6,15-19a

Matthew

2:13-15,19-

23

or Luke 2:41-

52

or Matthew

2:1-12

Psalm 84 or

84:1-8

Lindsey

Cleary

Isaiah 43:1-7

Psalm 29

Acts 8:14-17

Luke 3:15-

17, 21-22

Amy Diebaren

Isaiah 62:1-5

Psalm 36:5-

10

1 Corinthians

12:1-11

John 2:1-11

Mary Ann

Kenitz

Nehemiah

8:1-3, 5-6, 8-

10

Psalm 19

1 Corinthians

12:12-31a

Luke 4:14-21

Julie

Sherwood

Jeremiah 1:4-

10

Psalm 71:1-6

1 Corinthians

13:1-13

Luke 4:21-30

Ushers Bob & Linda

Zamzow

Dave & Cori

Drexler

Bob &

Marsha

Horne

Dan & Sue

Hilbert

Bob & Linda

Zamzow

Counters Mary Ann

Kenitz & Jim

Merrill

Mary Ann

Kenitz &

Andy Harmon

Mary Ann

Kenitz &

James Cleary

Mary Ann

Kenitz &

Joann Ellis

Mary Ann

Kenitz &

James Cleary

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December 2016 Baptismal Anniversaries

10-Dec Barb Conley 20-Dec Bob Zamzow 24-Dec Carter Beaudry 27-Dec Bambi Tischer

December 2016 Wedding Anniversaries None

December 2015

Liturgical Ministries Schedules

Year C

*PLEASE REMEMBER IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO SERVE THE DATE YOU

ARE SCHEDULED, YOU NEED TO FUND A SUB AND TO LET JOYCE IN

THE OFFICE KNOW

Date

Ministry

Dec 6

2nd Sunday of

Advent

Dec 13

3rd

Sunday of

Advent

Dec 20

4th Sunday of

Advent

Dec 27

1 Sunday After

Christmas

Acolyte Deb Jenson Azalea Helmer James Merrill,

Sr

James Cleary

Altar

Guild

Monica Gagnon

Linda Zamzow

Libbie Kacuba

Deb Jenson

Sue Hilbert

Joyce DeZarn

Gayle Elbert

Betsy Lampert

Chalice

Bearer

Jan Byrd Joann Ellis James Merrill Fred Ellis

Christian

Ed.

Linda Zamzow Is our Christian

Education

Director

Intercess

or

Joann Ellis Fred Ellis James Cleary Lindsey Cleary

Reader Steph Moore

Baruch 5:1-9

or Malachi 3:1-4

Canticle 4 or 16

Philippians 1:3-11

Luke 3:1-6

Jan Byrd

Zephaniah 3:14-20

Canticle 9

Philippians 4:4-7

Luke 3:7-18

Libbie Kacuba

Micah 5:2-5a

Canticle 3 or 15

or Psalm 80:1-7

Hebrews 10:5-10

Luke 1:39-45, (46-

55)

Deb Kuenzi

Isaiah 61:10-62:3

Galatians 3:23-

25;4:4-7

John 1:1-18

Psalm 147 or

147:13-21

Ushers Bob & Linda

Zamzow

Dave & Cori

Drexler

Bob & Marsha

Horne

Dan & Sue

Hilbert

Counters Mary Ann Kenitz

& James Cleary

Mary Ann

Kenitz & Jim

Merrill

Mary Ann

Kenitz & Andy

Harmon

Mary Ann

Kenitz & Vanda

Wiegert

December 2016 Birthdays 1-Dec Naomi Saalsa 7-Dec Sue Kuhn

9-Dec Jim Merrill 11-Dec Bambi Tischer 15-Dec David Nehls 20-Dec Bruce Strieff 22-Dec Holly Strieff 23-Dec Jeri Lambert 27-Dec Barbara Panzer & Deb Jenson

28-Dec Tom Guptill

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Christmas Eve Service will be Caroling at 6:00 pm Holy Eucharist @ 7:00 pm

Please note if you wanted to serve or cannot serve for Christmas Eve please ask

Rev. Gary or contact Joyce Dezarn to make changes.

The New Sound System ~ Our new sound system is installed and first put into use

Sunday, November 15th. You will notice new speakers installed in the

church and new auxillary speakers located in the narthex and the chapel.

The installers returned this week and tuned the system acoustically to fit

our particular building to assure clear sound coverage in all areas of the

church and narthex.

We also have some new capabilities. The new system has expansion

possibilities for additional microphones if we need them. It has inputs that

allow playing music and voice from a laptop, recorder, smartphone or ipod device. It also

has an audio output should we want to record a service.

The new microphones are much more sensitive than we are used to and thus are set to

operate at lower levels. This means that persons using the handheld mic, or reading at the

lectern, should speak closer to the mic than previously. The installer suggests speaking

with our lips the distance of a fist from the microphone. ~ Kit Marceil

Stewardship 2015 ~ Our stewardship campaign has begun. We talked about the

questionnaire reponses from last April, and the new sound system, we also talked about

our mission and vision, who we are and where we are going. The preliminary 2016

Budget was presented to you in a new format and we await the return of the pledge cards

so our Finance Committee can finalize the 2016 Budget. We have a strong group of

stewardship leaders and will keep you informed on all the planned activities. ~

Acolyte Joann Ellis

Altar Guild Sue Hilbert and Joyce DeZarn

Chalice Bearer Fred Ellis

Intercessor Lindsey Cleary

Reader

Isaiah 9:2-7

Titus 2:11-14

Luke 2:1-14(15-

20)

Psalm 96

James Cleary

Ushers Bob & Linda Zamzow

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St. Mark’s Episcopal Church

Vestry Minutes October 19, 2015

Members in attendance: Cori Drexler, Joann Ellis, Meredith Harmon, Sue Kuhn, Darci Mosher,

Bambi Tischer, Julie Sherwood and Linda Zamzow.

Members absent: Lindsey Cleary

Also in attendance: Deb Jenson, Sr. Warden, Dave Drexler, Jr. Warden, Fred Ellis, Treasuer and Kit

Marceil

1. Our Opening Devotion was read by Darci Mosher from Devotional Christian.com “Friends”

2. There were no Additions to Agenda

3. Approval of September 13 meeting minutes

A. Correction to the minutes was the email version was dated as July 13, 2015. It should have been

September 13, 2015. Motion was made to accept minutes as corrected by Julie Sherwood and 2nd

by Bambi Tischer. Motion passed.

4. Treasurer’s Report

A. Looking at the January through September Profit and Loss our Pledges and Giver of Records as

well as Fundraisers are up. Miscellaneous Line Item 418 the $4,000 was money we transferred

from Line Item 250.8 House Sale Money Market because we thought we were going to need it to

make our payroll. We need to transfer it back to the Line Item 250.8. We need to verify what Line

Item 440.9 Sympathy Loss of a loved ones is for-Fred to verify with Joyce/Judy. Motion to accept

the Treasuer’s Report as presented by Julie Sherwood and 2nd

Cori Drexler. Motion Passed.

B. Finance Committee – Met October 13 and have made a2016 proposed draft budget. The 2016

Proposed Draft Budget was mostly kept at what the 2015 amounts were. We left Rector’s Salary

the same for next year, even though we may not have a rector for some time. We need to have

those figures in there for the Annual Meeting as well as for prospective rectors to be able to look at.

We will see what needs to be changed after the Pledge Cards are received.

C. 2014 Audit – Carol Timm (Contact) 414-531-8714. Deb Jenson will check to see if the Audit

materials have been delivered to Carol Timm.

5. Old Business

A. Rev. Mary Mail’s Retirement Celebration/Retirement Party went well. A big thank you

to Kit Marceil for preparing the invitations and enlisting help to get them mailed out, the

Fellowship committee who coordinated all the extra coffee hours, it was well done. THANK YOU.

It turned out that LeRoy’s charges by the plate as opposed to by the person when they do their

buffet line.

B. Diocesan Convention-October 17. Thank You to the delegates attending: Fred Ellis,

Meredith Harmon, Sue Kuhn, and Bambi Tischer. This year it was held at St. John’s Northwestern

Academy, which is an Episcopal Church but not handicapped assessible and there was a lack of

heat. It was a new experience for Meredith, Sue and Bambi to attend a Diocesan Convention. One

of the speakers in the morning was the lady from Watertown that had come to St. Mark’s. All were

glad they had attended and all feel that every member should attend at least one convention. Joann

Ellis stated the most beautiful part of the convention is the Celebration of the Eucharist with so

many Episcopalians in one place.

6. New Business

A. Issues From the Rector and Senior Warden

i. Rev. Gary will be gone from 1/12/16-1/26/16) He will be gone for the Sundays 1/17/16 &

1/24/16. We can either do Morning Prayer or ask Father Chuck Partham as he has expressed

interest in being a supply priest for St. Mark’s.

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Vestry Minutes October 19, 2015

Page 2

ii. The Keiths from Missouri, a new family who had visited several months ago have finally arrived

to Beaver Dam. We welcome Tim, Kate, Noah and Emma. Rev. Mary did make a home visit to

them the last week she was here. Ken Peter’s had knee surgery today, Jerry Frank is at Golden

Living Center for rehab and Josh Kopmeyer is still at St. Mary’s. Fr. Gary has been visiting all our

sick ones.

B Junior Warden and Committee Reports

i. Building and Grounds (D & C Drexler, Tischer, Marceil)

a) Garden Shed Project is coming along nicely, two of the sides are already completed.

The door is keyed with the church key. It looks great and will be maintenance free. Two families

have spoken up for the old sheds; (Rubbermaid-Kit Marceil, and the metal one-Andy & Meredith

Harmon). It was decided by the vestry they only needed to haul them away and they were excited

to not have to put them on Craig’s List.

b) Sound System ~ Kit Marceil gave a brief description of the new sound system. The old

system is workable, but it was quite a mess in the cabinet. Kit built a new shelf and plugged

everything back in. Kit checked with several other churches who use the system. He also spoke

with the company we are dealing with about the speakers and the system. Kit’s suggestion was to

go ahead with the new sound system. We also could use the old system downstairs. We have

enough money to go forward with Phase 1 of the Sound System. Motion made by Meredith

Harmon and 2nd

by Julie Sherwood to move up to $1,500 from Line Item 256.8 Organ Fund

Money Market to Line Item 440.3.5 Sound System and to authorize Kit Marceil to utilize funds for

Phase 1. Phase 2 will have quite a bit of work to do before we go forward. We need to find out

how many persons have loop enable hearing aids. We should look into grants, possibly from the

hospital.

c) Outside Sign-The cost of this will be around $6,000-7000. Dave handed out a drawing of

the new proposed sign. Jr. Warden Dave Drexler is proposing we move forward with this project.

There is an anonymous donor to fund this project. Dave stated the design is wonderful. Motion by

Julie Sherwood to give the go ahead to Dave Drexler to pursue the design and installation of the

sign and to create a line item for any donations that may be given; 2nd

by Meredith Harmon.

Motion Passed.

d) Parking Lot-the cracks were sealed last year; it still needs to be seal coated, but can wait

until next year to be completed..

e) There needs to be a Fall Clean-Up Day for the church. It hasn’t been done for quite a

while. The outside has been done, but the inside needs to be done. We need to schedule a date.

ii. Columbarium (D Drexler, L. Cleary, Garside, Marceil, Peters)

a) Blessing of Columbarium Held Sept. 27

b) Costs & Guidelines Proposal are still being worked on. Dave handed out proposed

guidelines, please take home and read. The cost of engraving is an additional cost from the

purchase of the niche. There was a question as to whether the remains needed to be interred in just

a plastic bag or do they need to be inside an urn or a box. There was also a question of being able

to make time payment arrangements for a niche. The committee will continue to work out the

details and present to vestry. Deb Jenson received an email from Jody Langfeldt with regards to

the purchasing of a niche for she and Steve. Discussion ensued due to guidelines for the Columbari

have not been completed. Deb Jenson will respond to Jody to accept a payment of $1,000 for a

double niche and two $500.00 payments to be received by the end of 2016. Also someone from

the Columbarium committee will be in touch with her to fill out the paperwork which needs to be

completed.

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Vestry Minutes October 19, 2015

Page 3

iii. Transition Committee (J. Cleary, M. Harmon, Jenson, Marceil, B. Tischer, L. Zamzow)

a) Met on Wed. September 23 talked about keeping our eyes and ears open; Linda

Zamzow will be the next speaker to update the congregation. Next Meeting Sun. Oct. 25

b) Bambi. Tischer had brought up the idea of mid semester school supplies (i.e. fill the

backpacks) this might be a good project for outreach. Local contacts might be Stephanie Moore

and Darci Mosher. Darci will check into this idea for Washington School. Another idea was an in-

school food pantry.

c) Peggy Bean, Diocesan Transition Coordinator will be visiting St. Mark’s on Sunday, Dec.

13 She will give some type of program, perhaps have her preach or talk instead of the sermon.

iv. Stewardship (J. Cleary, J. Ellis, D. Mosher, B. Tischer)

a) Tentative schedule of team members giving a five minute talk right after

announcements. The first Sunday, October 26 will be Joann talking about survey which was done

in April results. The biggest item that came out of the survey is that a lot of people think we have

outstanding debt, which is not true, it is our everyday operating expenses. The other item was what

our upcoming projects are. 2nd

. Sunday, November 1 will be Kit Marceil and the Sound System;

the 3rd

. Sunday, November 8 will be Bambi Tischer with our community Outreach, A letter, draft

budget and pledge cards will be handed out Sunday, November 15th

requesting they can turn them

in that day or by November 29th

.

v. Christian Education (M. Harmon, S. Kuhn, J. Sherwood, L. Zamzow) Meredith has

discovered the resources available through the Dicoesan office and is excited to investigate further.

vi. Liturgy Worship ( J. Ellis, J. Sherwood) (B. Panzer & Maryann Kenitz-Music Selection)

a) Organ – Rob Hoppe is currently working on the recording of the hymns for our organ.

b) Directory Pictures is 99% completed. It will always be a work in progress as new

people arrive and folks change addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.

vii. Fundraising (L. Cleary, C. Drexler, L. Zamzow)

a) Scrip Update – September Profit $ 275.78

b) Amazon Smile-this is up and running we need to get information on how this program

works. Deb will be checking with Steve Helmer.

c) Christmas Cookie Sale-December 12th

8:00 a.m. to ? Linda Zamzow counted the number

of persons who have either left or passed that were bakers, so we need to encourage lots of people

to bake, bake, bake!

d) Avon and Steeped Tea fundraisers have been combined to be held on November 1, 2015

during the Coffee/Fellowship time. Cindy Helmer has signed up to bring in samples of her teas

from Steeped Tea and scones and other goodies to sample so you will know what you can expect.

Final orders will be made on November 8, 2015

viii. Evangelism/Outreach (M. Harmon, Jenson, D. Mosher)

a) Fall Highway Cleanup Date if needed will be scheduled on November 1, 2015 along with

an outside yard clean-up preparing the grounds for winter. Announcement to be made to notify

folks.

ix. Electronic Media (C. Drexler, J. Sherwood, J. Cleary, K. Marceil)

a) Web Page - Check Out What’s New! Kit is very prompt about posting the newsletter

each month as well as keeping the web page fresh with new pictures of the happenings around St.

Mark’s.

b) FaceBook – Keep Posting. Julie Sherwood placed a “paid ad” announcing the Church in

the Park date event on Facebook. She suggested we do something similar for the Cookie Sale.

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Vestry Minutes October 19, 2015

Page 4

x. Fellowship (M. Harmon, S. Kuhn, D. Mosher, B. Tischer)

Senior Warden Deb Jenson thanked all Fellowship Committee Members for excellent

planning of Rev. Mary’s Retirement party, the Blessing of the Animals special coffee hour and Rev.

Gary’s first Sunday special coffee hour. Lots of planning and lots of help from the committee as

well as others.

D Other New Business-Reminders

Start thinking about Annual Meeting Reports and Elections Senor Warden Deb Jenson reminded

folks to get the annual reports into our Administrative Assistant in December to allievate the rush of

putting together the Annual Report.

7. Next Meeting will be November 22, 2015, after church. Devotion will be done by Meredith

Harmon 8. Closing Prayer given by Deb Jenson

9. Motion to Adjourn made at 9:05 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Joann Ellis, Clerk of Vestry

Poinsettias for Christmas ~ We will be decorating our church for

Christmas Season with poinsettias and garlands. If you wish to remember loved

ones by contributing to this fund, please fill out the information below and return

this form and your check to St. Mark’s, either by mail or by placing in the

Offering Plate by December 13th. Thanks!

In Memory of:

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Other reason:

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

My Name:

___________________________________________________

I wish to give $ _______ toward the purchase of poinsettias and garlands.

14

ST. MARK’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee http://www.diomil.org

UPCOMING EVENTS ~ SAVE THE DATES

~ Mark your calendars! DECEMBER 2015

Sunday, Dec 6

Choir Practice

Sunday, Dec 13

Peggy Bean

Diocesan Transition Coordinator

During the Service &

Fellowship Time

Sunday, Dec 20

Vestry Meeting

After Coffee Hour

10:30 a.m.

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church

P. O. Box 126

700 East Mill Street

Beaver Dam, WI 53916

www.stmark-beaverdam.org