8

Non Profit Org

US Postage Paid

Eau Claire, WI

Permit No. 334

Current Occupant or

Phone

715.832.1414

Website

www.hopechurchec.com

E-mail

hopechurchec@outlook.com

Fax

715.832.3922

Address

2226 Eddy Lane

Eau Claire, WI 54703

Office Hours

Mon—Thur: 8:30 am-4:30 pm

Fri: 8:30 am-1:00 pm

Hope Lutheran Staff

Hope Lutheran is a handicapped accessible congregation providing barrier-free and elevator access,

marked parking spaces, large-print materials and accessible restrooms

Voicemail E-mail

Pastor Rick Lund 2103 richardlund@aim.com

Gary Polden Music Director 2104 hopemusic.gary@outlook.com

Vicki Kastel Office Administrator 2100 vicki.hope@outlook.com

Ann Miloszewicz CYF Ministry Coordinator 2101 hopechurchec@outlook.com

Leanne O’Bryan Dir. of Rachel’s Place 2200 rachelsplace@gmail.com

Dave Halvorsen Buildings and Grounds 2107

Maintenance

Hope’s Happenings

October 2015

The Newsletter of Hope Lutheran Church—Eau Claire, WI

10th Bountiful Harvest Dinner Featuring Foods from Land and Water

Thursday, October 15, 2015

5:30 pm Doors Open 6:00 pm Buffet Style Dinner

Venison, Elk, Turkey, Fish and Chicken Entrees

Drawings follow dinner 7:30 Featured Speaker

Dinner and Speaker $20

Limited of 200 Tickets

Please purchase

tickets in advance

Falconer Christian Cold Chris Cold serves as a mobile, non-formal educator for the

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. He travels exten-

sively throughout Wisconsin offering programs on Wisconsin

wildlife and related topics.

A licensed falconer since 1970 and former bird bander for 28

years, Cold lives near the Flambeau River. He maintains a fleet

of educational animals, takes nature hikes, hunts, fishes, wakes

and snorkels in area streams, reads natural history and collects

fossils, insects and other natural history objects.

Bucket

Raffle

&

Silent

Auction

1st Prize—$500 Gordy’s Gas/Grocery Cards

2nd Prize—50” Contex LED-LCD Smart TV

3rd Prize—Yeti 65 Cooler donated by Swimrite Retail value $399

4th Prize—10’ Sun Dolphin Fishing Kayak & Paddle Retail value $335

Raffle tickets $5 each or 3 for $10

Need not be present to win

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Hope’s Happenings

Is Your God Too Small?

Death is a natural part of life. Long-time member Margaret Jacobson, age 99, died

peacefully yesterday. In spite of the sadness of her passing, Margaret was excited to

go to her Lord. In fact, she had many visions of Jesus himself in recent months, and

was often frustrated that it was taking God so long to let her go! Gotta love that kind

of faith!

Death can be a blessing, but some deaths seem so inexplicable that it makes you wonder about Gods work-

ings. The same gracious God that granted Margaret 99 years of life and a tranquil death, also allowed the un-

timely passing of Pastor Lewis Thompson yesterday.

Pastor Lewis served faithfully and tirelessly at Osseo Evangelical Lutheran Church for many, many years. I just

got to know Lewis late last spring when he and I talked of the possibility of “sharing” Pastor Jamie with Osseo

over the summer so he could take a much-needed Sabbatical leave. Lewis shared with me how exhausted

and in need of spiritual refreshment he was, and how much he was looking forward to spending more time at

his cottage in the Upper Peninsula. He was also reflecting on a plan to move toward retirement. None of that

happened. In fact, in between then and now he and wife Karen suffered the unthinkable tragedy of their

paraplegic son’s suicide on May 3rd. Now Lewis is gone.

None of us can find an explanation for such seeming absurdity. How could a God who is all-loving and all-

powerful be so callous as to allow this kind of pain and injustice? As your pastor, I have no satisfying answer.

Instead, I pass on to you insights from a book written in 1952 by J.B. Phillips called “Your God is Too Small.”

Dr. Phillips was an Anglican theologian who also happened to have translated the New Testament into Eng-

lish in an enlightening way that still resonates freshly 63 years later.

In his classic, very readable, 140-page reflection on the Christian faith, Phillips names at least a dozen images

of the false God we create for ourselves, and he helps us see the real God who is so much larger and greater

than humanly possible to understand. In this way, Phillips shares with us a truer and richer view of God than

we conceive in our mind. In his defense of Christianity he reminds us of that other great British theologian,

C.S. Lewis, who does much the same in his classic book, Mere Christianity.

In days like today, when my God is feeling awfully small in my life, I need to re-read Phillips and Lewis and

remember how small I am in comparison to our great God.

Pastor Rick

From Pastor’s Study

7

Hope’s Happenings

October Lectors and Ushers

October 4

Lector: Katherine Lund

Ushers: Mike O’Connell

Colt Hartwich

Don Rassbach

October 11

Lector: Jim Sekel

Ushers: Rich Schuman

Jim Sekel

Dave Swan

October 18

Lector: Joanne Martin

Ushers: Rod Bagley

Mark Turner

October 25

Lector: Carol Mohr

Ushers: Jim and Jean Wold

Dave Carlson

Help Needed The Harvest Dinner Committee is seeking helpers for the event on October 15. There are sign-up sheets in the Gathering Area listing all the ways in which you can participate. Please consider volun-teering a few hours of your time to help make this year’s dinner a success.

* Sunday, November 1 is All Saints’ Sunday. Congregation members will

be invited to share names of loved ones during the Prayers of the

Church.

* There will be a Thanksgiving Eve service at Hope on Wednesday,

November 25 at 6:30 pm.

Rachel’s Place Early Learning Center

Is currently accepting applications/resumes

for the following positions:

2 & 3 year old Teacher & Assistant Teacher

Before school Teacher

Infant/Toddler Teacher

We are looking for energetic, experienced teachers to work in our Early Learning Center. Applicant must have a passion and love for children, as well as an Associate Degree or Registry Level 7. Rachel’s Place offers a fun, Christian working environment with flexible schedules and free meals.

Send resume to :

Rachel’s Place Early Learning Center

2226 Eddy Lane

Eau Claire, WI 54703

Or

rachelsplaceelc@gmail.com

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Hope’s Happenings

Quilt Sunday On Sunday, September 27, we took time to give

thanks for the hands that created the beautiful

quilts that adorned our church pews and to bless

those quilts before they are shipped to LWR and

area schools and organizations. Our dedicated

quilters meet weekly during the program year to

sew quilts and put together school kits and lay-

ettes for Lutheran World Relief. This year 242

quilts were made.

We thank the following women for their dedica-

tion and commitment to this ministry: Elaine

Clark, Karen Edelman, Vonnie Field, Sharon Hartl,

Liz House, Helen Keith, Audrey Pearson, Diane

Peterson, Nancy Randen, Joan Rehberg, Sally

Schuman, Darlene Tubbs, Joan Wolf, Bonnie

Haug, and Barb Zeug. A special thanks also goes

out to all the generous people who have donated

material and items throughout the year.

ATTENTION - ALL WOMEN !!! The Women's Ministry of the new Spirit Lutheran Church in Eau Claire, is hosting a relaxing evening for women of all ages. Join us, at our Main St. Cam-pus, 1310 Main St. (Our Saviors Lutheran) for an evening of fun, food and fellowship. Moira Kneer will join us as she shares stories about "What Do I do With All These Dwarfs??"

Mark the date: Tuesday, October 6 @ 6:30 pm

For more information, or if you have questions, con-tact Helene Anderson, 715.874.5207

Women's Book Club Join the Women's Book Club in October for a chance to catch up and discuss our book for Octo-ber - Voyage of the Heart by Soraya Lane

In October we will meet again at Deb's Cafe (formerly Camille's Sidewalk Cafe) near Hwy 53 and Melby Road) - on Monday night, October 19th at 6:30 pm. Come join the conversation and great company!

Women of Hope

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Hope’s Happenings

Hope Lutheran Church,

HELLO!! It is such an honor

to be on staff here in this place

serving Youth and Family Min-

istries! What a beautiful thing

God has in store for this up-

coming semester! I am excited

to love on you all as we walk

through life growing closer to

the love of our Father. What an incredible Father

He is!

Here's a little bit about myself:

I grew up in Spooner, Wisconsin which is about

an hour and a half north of Eau Claire on HWY 53.

It's been the perfect place for me to grow up as it's

a small town where everyone knows everyone. I've

come to love and appreciate this small-town at-

mosphere especially after living in Eau Claire for

the past 2 (going on 3 years). I was very active in

my home Church, Trinity Lutheran in Spooner,

ever since we moved to Spooner. I was 4 years old

and was instantly enrolled in Sunday school - I

LOVED IT! As years passed, I remember Sunday

school and Church just being a place I could go to

embrace this new, beautiful- type of love that I'd

never known before. My faith journey really took

off on the day of my confirmation. My pastor at

the time stood over me with his hands on my head

and blessed my future walk with God. WOW- this

was so powerful for me! I had never been

"blessed" before. I had never had someone lay

their hands on me and pray for me. My heart

melted into a puddle of tears. It was the most en-

couraging day. From there, my faith intensified as

each day passed. It was such a beautiful thing for

me to walk through each and every single day with

my Father by my side. I also remember there being

a conference I went to as part of the youth group

at my Church where the guest speaker, ( I still re-

member his name) Jay Gamlin, spoke directly to

my heart. He dug deep into our Father's love.

That it's not this love that we need to fear, but a

love that we can make personal, that we can own

and grasp onto with all of our might; a love that

has freely been given to us because of Jesus

Christ. He spoke repeatedly about how God is

constantly, every single minute of every single

day, showering us with "I love yous". These come

in the form of people, blessings, you name it-

God gave it! He ended with the most profound

thought. He said, "All we need to do is say, I love

you too, Daddy." Ever since that moment, God

has been this ultimate Father to me. He has been

my Daddy, and He has been the provider of eve-

rything good and beautiful in my life. So, I am

SURE that He has His hand laying over this next

chapter in my life as the Interim Director of

Youth and Family Ministries at Hope Lutheran. I

am sure that He has purposefully placed me in

this beautiful place to love on you all and to walk

with you all in your faith journey.

There is SO much more that I would love to

share with each of you, so PLEASE stop me on

Sunday mornings, or send me an email OR letter!

I would love to meet you! I would love to hear

your testimonies and what our Father has done

in your life, what He's doing right now, and what

He will do tomorrow!

Here is my contact information:

Sammy Henk

2418 Sessions St.

Eau Claire, WI 54701

Email: HENKS@uwec.edu

Phone: (715)- 416-0146

Many beautiful blessings to you, Hope Lutheran

Church! I look forward to this new chapter God

has for us all!

Sammy

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Hope’s Happenings

Affirmation of Baptism On Sunday, October 25th at the 10:30 worship service, our 9th graders will be affirming their baptism. Join our confirmation students and their families during Coffee Connections at 9:30 am in the Fellowship Hall as we mark this milestone in their faith life. We gather around these milestones to lift up the occasion and support our young people as they grow in the faith.

Those affirming their Baptisms on October 25th are:

Alexis Anderson Jordan Anderson

Raeann Brenner Riley Freid

Austin Goetsch Sam Haslow

Anna Kent Hunter Lokken

Emma Mickelson Kary Petricka

Maddie Poteete Will Poteete

Rebecca Running Kellie Smrecek

Loran Stolt Laura Swenson

Emily Zawacki Feed My People Hope Lutheran has maintained a food pantry for many years. Although we will continue to accept food items for Feed My People, we can no longer accept items that have past their expiration date.

Feed My People Food Bank gratefully accepts our food donations, as well as household and per-sonal products. Donations are sorted, packed into boxes containing a variety of items, then distrib-uted to partner agencies.

Another option is a monetary donation which allows Feed My People Food Bank to obtain needed food items, while stretching your dollar. Because of their partnership with Feeding America, they are able to distribute $10 worth of food with every dollar donated . Any monetary donations should be made out to Feed My People and can be brought to the church office or put in the offering plate on Sunday morning.

Hats & Mittens Needed ! The Bolton Refuge House and Beacon House have requested a supply of hats & mittens so they are prepared for the upcoming winter season. Many of their clientele are in need of these items when the weather changes. SO, if you happen to see hats & mittens on sale, would you please be so kind as to donate a pair or two. Please place them in the box la-beled "Hats & Mittens" near the rocking chair in the Narthex. We will be collecting these items October through November.

Thanks from the Board of Out-reach!

Outreach

First Communion Preparation We have had a number of requests from families for Communion Preparation classes. The ELCA teaching is that "baptized believers" are qualified to commune, and Hope's policy is therefore consis-tent with this, but as a general guide our classes are aimed at children 3 and older. All sessions be-gin at 9:00 am to11:30, but about 90 minutes for children 3-5.

If you would like to attend a course with your child or grandchild, please let the church office know of your preference:

Saturday, October 24

Saturday, October 31

Saturday, November 7

While children are able to communion anytime, we will discuss scheduling a special "First Communion Sunday" before year-end.

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Hope’s Happenings

El Salvador Update We are now in the planning and preliminary packing stages of the Family Wellness Fair 2016 in El Salvador. Our hope is to have multiple “booths” or areas of health and wellness teaching with a little gift or remem-brance of some kind for the people who attend each presentation. Preliminary ideas for areas of teaching (or charlas) were listed in the September Happenings. The supplies we will be collecting are related to the adult or children’s teaching areas. We will also be purchasing prenatal vitamins and parasite medication (the only medicines we will be dispensing) in El Salvador and condoms from the UWEC Student Health Service.

We are currently recruiting people to join us on the trip January 30-February 7. There will be a need for helpers in each area to help people transition in and out, perhaps escort them to their next station, and con-trol the giving of the gifts. It is not necessary to speak Spanish to go on the trip, since there will be transla-tors and much can be accomplished with sign language. However, if you or someone you know would like to come as a translator, we’d welcome him/her! Linda Muth, who is the logistics organizer of the trip and who does the communicating with the Salvadoran mission team, has placed a lot of information on the Partners with El Salvador web site. In addition to photos and information, the application to join the trip is at this ad-dress: http://www.partnerswithelsalvador.org/subpages/missionsofhealing.html. We promise you will re-ceive much more than you give from this experience!

Other than joining the team or recruiting others to join, here are ways in which you can help:

· Collect Band-Aids (boxes of regular size - no tiny ones). We want to give some basic first aid items to each participating family!

· Collect toothbrushes!! Adult and child sizes, soft bristles. The goal is to give out 10,000 toothbrushes to people who need them!

· Collect arts and crafts supplies (construction paper, scissors, glue bottles, stickers, crayons, acrylic paint, brushes, tissue paper etc.) for the adult and children's art centers and to leave with Sunday Schools. Use your imagination to come up with fun items.

· Collect chess sets, memory games, and other games that are not language-dependent

· Make a monetary donation to help with the purchase of prenatal vitamins and parasite medication in El Salvador or other supplies here. Checks may be written to Hope Lutheran Church with “El Salvador” on the memo line.

There will be a box for collecting supplies in the Gathering Area starting on October 4, and collection will

go through November. Since we are not taking medications to El Salvador, we are not as limited by deadlines

as in the past. However, it helps us plan packing and identify what more is needed if we can collect supplies

before the holidays.

If you have any questions about the trip, please contact Deb or Bob Adams (715-720-7119 or debo-

badams@gmail.com), Carol Mohr or Savanna Buckley. We love to talk about El Salvador!

Thank you for your ongoing interest and support! Bendiciones!