The Messenger
Newsletter of Forest Park Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

The Rev. Roger Woehl, Pastor
2300 S. Sunny Slope Road • New Berlin WI 53151
Website: www.forestparkpcusa.org Email: fppcsec@aol.com
Phone: 262-786-5850 · Fax: 262-786-5483

Church Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday

DECEMBER CALENDAR
Thu 12/2	6:30 pm	Deacons
Sat 12/4	8:30 am	Handbells
Sun 12/5	9:30 am	Worship Scrip Orders Taken
Tue 12/7	9:15 am	Helpful Hannahs
Thu 12/9	9:15 am	Worship & Music
Fri 12/10	TBA	Youth Club
Sun 12/12	9:30 am	Worship Christmas Cookie Sale
Fri 12/17	11:30 am	Daylight Drivers
Sun 12/19	9:30 am 11:00 am	Worship/Pageant Session
Fri 12/24		Church Office Closed
Sat 12/25		Christmas Day
Sun 12/26	9:30 am	Worship/Communion No Sunday School
Mon12/27		Church Office Closed
Fri 12/31		Church Office Closed

JANUARY CALENDAR
Sun 1/2	9:30 am Following worship	Worship No Sunday School Scrip Orders Taken Taking Down Decorations
Mon 1/3		Church Office Closed
Thu 1/6	6:30 pm	Deacons
Sun 1/9	9:30 am	Worship/Communion
Tue 1/11	9:15 am	Helpful Hannahs
Thu 1/13	9:15 am	Worship & Music
Sun 1/16	9:30 am 11:00 am	Worship/Messenger Deadline Session
Fri 1/21	10:00 am 11:30 am	Staff Meeting Daylight Drivers
Sun 1/23	9:30 am	Worship
Sun 1/30	9:30 am	Worship

December 2010/January 2011

One of the biblical stories we often read during the season of Advent is the story of Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth. That story, found in Luke’s Gospel, concludes with Mary’s song of praise (Luke 1:46-56). Her song, the “Magnificat” (so called from the first word of the Latin translation), is based largely on Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel 2:1-10. Mary begins by saying, “My soul magnifies the Lord.”

When something is magnified it becomes clearer, is enlarged, brought into focus, and more is revealed.

There are times when things that are vague and confusing come into focus and we see. The veil is lifted and the fog lifts. Sometimes people, when describing a spiritual experience, say it was as a moment when “a light came on and I finally saw what I had before only dimly thought.” For many people, when God gets close, it is like things suddenly fall into place, become apparent, focused and certain.

Sometimes people, usually older adults, use a magnifying glass to help them read small print. Children, however, have been known to use a magnifying glass to examine bugs and to focus the sun on an object (you can actually start a blaze in just over a minute). The magnifying glass reveals secrets that couldn’t be known without the revealing glass.

Then there is the experience of looking through a microscope. A drop of pond water put between two pieces of glass and examined under a microscope reveals a whole world there, teeming with life, organisms moving about. A whole world there – unknown, unseen – until the lens of the microscope reveals it to us, magnifies it for our limited vision.

So Mary sings, upon being told that she is going to have a baby, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” She calls God “Spirit,” “Savior,” “Helper.” Did she mean that the God, who previously had been to

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her only an idea, a concept, a vague, abstract, distant thing – became in that moment a living, embracing, loving reality? Did she mean that in that moment of her pregnancy she saw who God really was, that things came into focus for her?

In magnification, something is expanded. I wonder if by “my soul magnifies the Lord” Mary meant, “I now have seen and experienced God in a larger, expanded way.”

Perhaps one thing Emmanuel, “God with us,” means is that God comes to us, keeps pushing into our narrow, limited, and confined world – giving us an expanded, larger world.

As God comes to us and is with us, may our souls magnify the Lord – enlarge our vision of God, declare God’s greatness, and reveal the wonders of God in Christ.

Celebrating with you the wonders of Christmas and the possibilities of a new year,

Rev. Roger

On-Going Events at Forest Park

Play & Learn

Monday 8:30 – 11:30 a.m.

12:15 – 3:15 p.m.

Tuesday 9:00-11:30 a.m.

Wednesday 8:30 – 11:30 a.m.

12:15 – 3:15 p.m.

Thursday 9:00-11:30 a.m.

Friday 9:00-11:00 a.m.

12:00 – 3:00 p.m.

4^th Monday – Health Department Immunization Clinic 3:30-6:30 p.m.

For those of us who work in church music, music is always secondary to words. In looking at the texts for this Christmas and Epiphany season, we have in our gospel reading for January 16 John the Baptizer declaring in John 1:36, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” Looking at these words led to more words, a choir anthem for that day with a text by Christina Rossetti, “None Other Lamb.” Rossetti was a Romantic English poet who lived from 1830-1894. She led a troubled life—a family with financial difficulties, a nervous breakdown at age 14, several romantic breakups caused by religious differences, and Graves disease. Out of this life, however, came a great outpouring of religious poetry. In “None Other Lamb” she declares that there is none other “hiding place from guilt and shame.” She confesses that her “faith burns low,” her “hope burns low,” but confesses that Christ is the Lord of Life. Who of us cannot identify with such a firm conviction of faith in the face of doubt? Wikipedia notes that Rossetti’s Romantic poetry became unpopular as the 20^th century moved toward Modernism, but that there has been a revival of interest since the 1970’s. The Episcopalian church honors her with a feast day celebrated on April 27. Another Christina Rossetti text, “In the Bleak Midwinter,” appears in The Presbyterian Hymnal (TPH#36).

-Roger Meyer

If you know or hear of a prayer need and would like to have one started on the prayer chain, notify the Deacon on Call for the month (see above) to initiate your request. If you cannot reach that Deacon, call the Church Office and speak to Pam, or leave a message on the answering machine to be retrieved by her or Roger.

Remember our members at home in our prayers and expressions of concern

Elizabeth Joye Todd

Jim Feldhusen

Tong Roh

Bill Haynes

Maureen Wise

John Ellingen

Ginny Kring

If you know of someone who should be added to this list, please notify the church office.

The Deacon on Call for December is Deanna Gillespie 262-971-0841 and January is Sue Mihelich 262-784-0437

Children's Christmas Pageant: Just Believe!

Sunday, Dec. 19th at 9:30 AM.

Come one and all to our Pageant on Sunday, December 19th during morning worship.   The program this year is "Just Believe!" and will feature all of our Sunday School students as well as a few adult cast members.  We will be holding our service downstairs in the fellowship hall.  The kids are really  looking forward to sharing our pageant with you.   Hope to see everyone there!

HELPFUL HANNAH CHRISTMAS COOKIE SALE

BRING YOUR CHRISTMAS COOKIES TO CHURCH ON SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11^th BEFORE 11am

On Sunday, December 12^th the Hannahs will be selling cookie plates, cookbooks AND wood cutting boards, hand crafted from Forest Park maple.

Don’t forget to mark you calendars;

we need your help to make this a

successful event. !!!

Call: Cindy Barbieri or Sylvia Larsen for questions or alternate drop-off times

JOEY’S SEAFOOD AND GRILL

12455 CAPITOL DRIVE

DECEMBER 17, 2010

The Daylight Drivers will be at Joey’s Seafood and Grill, 12455 Capitol Drive, for our December 17^th meeting. It is our first time there as a group, but one of our couples has been there and gives it high marks. Our new time to meet is 12:00 noon at the restaurant.

OLIVE GARDEN RESTAURANT

18180 W BLUEMOUND ROAD

JANUARY 21, 2011

We will be back at an old favorite, the Olive Garden Restaurant,18180 W Bluemound Road for the January 21^st meeting at 12:00 noon. It is one of the restaurants that participate in the Scrip program so be sure you get your coupons before then.

For more information call Sally Daugherty at 262-786-6041.

Something Old, Something New

What has peeling paint, tan in color, is cold and hard, makes a lot of noise when moved on the floor and sits around on racks when not in use? If you answered our old folding chairs, you would be right! A committee of Building and Grounds is looking at replacements for these old chairs. The thought is to find something in stacking chairs that would take up less room and would be more comfortable to sit on.

The committee has not found the right chair yet, but are asking members and friends to think about helping to pay for a chair when the right chair is decided on. More about this later.

A Sad Good-Bye

After much discussion, thought, and prayer, we have decided to transfer our membership from Forest Park Presbyterian to Highview Presbyterian in Genesse, WI. We joined Forest park in the early 70’s, so this was a hard decision as we have been members for almost 40 years, and our three sons grew up in the church and remain members.

Seven years ago we moved from New Berlin to Genesse and the 40 mile round-trip has prevented us from being as fully involved in the church’s activities as we always used to and still would like to be. Highview Presbyterian is only a block from our house, well within walking distance, and we’ve attended services there many times in the past seven years.

Forty years is a long time, and we are going to miss all of you, our church family for all these years, so very much. We do intend to remain in touch, and we will return for visits as often as we can.

In Christ’s Love,

John & Ann Orner

IN MEMORIAM

Grace Jean Wright

Services were held on November 17 for Jean Wright who passed away on November 12 at the age of ninety years.

Jean and her husband, Marvin Wright, joined Forest Park Church in 1986.  Marvin died in 1994.  She in later years married Howard Ehlers, who in 1998 joined the church.  He passed away in 2001.

In 2009 Jean moved to Tennessee to be near her son, Gary.  She first resided in an assisted living facility and then later in a nursing home because of failing health.

Jean was known in the church as a pleasant person who was interested in others.  She worked with the Careful Crafters, the former women's group, in making crafts when the group was active in the 80's.

Survivors include Gary, her son, and Bonnie Larson, her daughter.  There are three grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Alternative Christmas Market

Tired of hunting for a gift for someone who doesn't need anything?  Give the gift that everyone can appreciate, a donation to a cause they can believe in!  Consider giving a gift from our Alternative Christmas market!  This year we're going to be running the market from November 28th through Christmas Eve, so you'll have plenty of time to look through the list for just the right item.  Our list includes some repeats from last year as well as some new items, so make sure that you check out the list.

Loaves and Fishes

Each year we serve two meals to some of the people who need a little help or a little companionship on a Sunday afternoon.  Our first meal for 2011 is right away on January 9th.  Please consider helping out for a few hours after church by serving a delicious meal to a few of your neighbors.  Also mark your calendars for our second meal of 2011, July 3rd.

Scrip

Giving gift cards out this year?  Why not consider buying your gift cards through the Mission Committee and let your money do double duty!  You get the full face value of your purchase plus a percentage of the value comes back to the Mission Committee to fund various mission activities of the church.  Gift cards can usually be purchased on the first Sunday of every month, so December will be the 5th.  We're postponing the January purchase to the 9th for any after Christmas gift cards you might need.  If you have any questions please talk to Lee Tan or Deb Haag.

Mission Committee

What Goes Up, Must Come Down!

On January 2^nd we will be taking down the Christmas Decorations after the Church Service. Please plan to stay a short time and help. A light lunch will be served.

Thank you,

Sylvia Larsen

Consecration Sunday

Forest Park members and visitors had an opportunity to give back to God some of what we’ve received from Him at the Nov.14 worship service.  During the month leading up to the Consecration Sunday Stewardship Service, members and visitors learned about what stewardship means from our worship leaders, Rev. Woehl and our guest leader Rev. Ann Gibbs, as well as personally from some Forest Park members.  At the conclusion of the Nov. 14 service, those in attendance were able to make a financial commitment for 2011 by completing an Estimate of Giving card.  We then shared a meal together to celebrate our church family and the joy we experience when sharing and giving. The church was filled to capacity on that morning and about 125 people attended the meal.
As a result of that morning, 52 pledging units (adult households) completed cards and a total of $109,266 was pledged for 2011.  67% of those returning the cards were able to increase their giving over last year.  Forest Park has 96 adult household pledging units and an additional 36 Confirmed youth.  If you were not able to be at church on Nov. 14, letters were sent, along with an Estimate of Giving card. Please return the card as soon as possible so that finances can be planned for next year.
Many hands were at work on the stewardship program.  Thank you to committee members Jodi Godsell, Walt Piering, Kristen Tan, Mike Wise, Pam Acker, Peg Woehl, Sheryl Dolan, Rev. Ann Gibbs (guest leader) and Rev. Roger Woehl.  The support of Forest Park Deacons and Session members must also be recognized.  And finally, appreciation goes out to Heritage Presbyterian church for the assistance serving the meal.

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE

We will be celebrating Jesus’ birthday with a Christmas Eve Service December 24^th at 7:00 p.m. at Forest Park Church. Please join us for a service of lessons and carols, concluding with candle lighting ceremony.

Sylvia Larsen

DECEMBER & JANUARY Birthdays

12/2 Emma Schumitsch

12/6 Mike Marr

12/9 Kathryn Quandt

12/17 Casey Smith

12/21 Diane Schumitsch

12/24 Lara Krogmann

12/25 Mary Godsell

12/25 Chelsey Loberg

12/26 Lois Fitzgerald

12/26 Steve Dolan

12/26 Dustin Stigler

12/28 Wendy Bennewitz

12/28 Rick Pierson

1/2 Walt Piering

1/2 Jim Pomeroy

1/3 Laura Kling/Brumer

1/4 Alexandra Quandt

1/6 Mary Delwiche

1/7 Debbie Haag

1/9 Rob Martin

1/11 Garrett Pomeroy

1/11 Elizabeth Todd

1/15 Corey Prom

1/20 Mary Ann Boliaris

1/20 Tracey Pomeroy

1/22 Carole Luecker

1/22 Betty Marr

1/23 Penny Pomeroy

1/26 Glenn Hennum

1/27 Barb Neymeyr

1/28 Scott Marr

1/30 Marilyn Puzach

1/30 Don Otte

ASSISTING IN WORSHIP

If you cannot serve on your assigned date, please arrange a substitute and notify the church office.

5/1	12/5	12/12	12/19	12/24	12/26
Liturgist	Sara Grant	Peg Woehl	Caitlyn Marr	Wendy Bennewitz	Sally Daugherty
Head Usher	Gary Stigler	Ron Reuteler	Mike Marr	Gary Stigler	Ron Reuteler
Ushers	Cindy Stigler Howard & Sally Hasselkus	Mike & Sue Washic Cindy Barbieri	Pat Janecek Linda Koszuta Sue Mihelich	TBA	Howard & Sally Hasselkus Mike Bellek
Hospitality	Helpful Hannahs	Simpson	Stigler		Marr

5/1	1/2	1/9	1/16	1/23	1/30	2/6
Liturgist	Carol Anne Bozosi	Kristen Tan	Caitlyn Marr	Sylvia Larsen	Jeff Krogmann	Lee Tan
Head Usher	Mike Marr	Gary Stigler	Ron Reuteler	Mike Marr	Gary Stigler	Ron Reuteler
Ushers	Linda Koszuta Frank & Ann Marie McLeod	Cindy Barbieri Denine Dulde Bob Wall Art Reimer	Gordon & Marne Willey Sue Mihelich	Mike & Sue Washic Pat Janecek	Howard & Sally Hasselkus Sara Grant Mike Bellek	Sue Mihelich Pat Janecek Art Reimer
Hospitality	Godsell	Deacons	Bennewitz	Koszuta/Bozosi	Reuteler	Daylight Drivers