IN THIS ISSUE • November 15, 2019
Community Table March 17 ~ volunteers & milk needed
Bishop's Thank You Letter to the Cathedral Bishop's Address to Diocese of Eau Claire Convention 11.9.2019 Welcome Fr. Philip Morgan Family Promise/Beacon House Outreach Opportunity Zoom Monthly Prayer Shawl Ministry Meeting - October 20th Kids Baking Opportunity for the Cookie Walk Cookie Walk Needs Bakers It's Advent! ~ Don't forget the Reverse Advent Calendars Kwik Trip Cards Fundraiser March Needful Things Pantry Needs The 29th Annual Christmas Cookie Walk Due to incoming weather: decorating the church for Christmas tomorrow at 9:30am Ministers Schedule Community Table March 17 ~ volunteers & milk neededWe still need 2-3 gallons of milk Saturday, March 17th, help is needed between 9:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. with 2 shifts to choose from. You can sign up to stay for both shifts, or choose the one that works best for you. In-person service changes the number of people needed to commit to the service date; ideally 6 to 8 people for each shift. Interacting directly with people deepens the outreach experience and makes it more meaningful for both the person being served and the service provider. • 1st shift (9 am to 11:30 am) will prepare meals. (2 volunteers) Call the office (715.835.3734) to help with: • Donate plastic of 3 - 6 cases bottles of water or 2 - 3 gallons of milk on our service date. Please click on the button below to review the available slots and sign up. Thank you! Link to The Community Table Volunteer Guidelines ~ Updated June 1st
Bishop's Address to Diocese of Eau Claire Convention 11.9.2019Dear Family and Friends of the Diocese of Eau Claire, Around Halloween of 2016 a boy received much media attention because of his costume at the White House Trick or Treat Party. With a new President about to be elected, and President Obama not able to serve a third term, the boy dressed up as a duck with bandages all around one of his legs. President Obama delighted in seeing the boy in his Lame Duck outfit! While my body is much bigger than that of the boy, the Lame Duck costume fits me. In the fall of next year I will turn 72 and must resign as your bishop. I do this with mixed feelings. On one hand, I have always known this is the way it is, and I must move on. Meanwhile, I will be completing the best job I have ever had. I have loved being with you and delighted in being part of this very creative diocese! It is easy to point to shortcomings, but before addressing our concerns, I wish to give thanks. First, I am bishop to a wonderful group of clergy. Second, I thank the lay members of the Diocese. So many of you give so much of yourselves for the benefit of your parishes and for the diocese. Everywhere I look I see you reaching to me in friendship. I have come to cherish you. I will move away to Florida but won’t forget you. Let’s turn to some shortcomings. We only had five people go to Camp last year. It was right that we transitioned from CrossWoods Camp to join with Fond du Lac. We need now to be active in encouraging young people to attend. One reason for last summer’s small enrollment was Campers only had from March to May to register. Another is the change from Camp Horstick’s being all young people attending the same week to Fond du Lac’s having three different weeks for Camp and shifting from August to June. Finally, there is uneasiness in leaving a familiar Camp venue to one that is unknown. Camp is the primary way in which young people connect with Jesus and his Gospel. This has been proven true time and again. May Ruth and I have three children who are now in their late 20’s or early 30’s. All three found Camp to be the first and most critical time of formation in their faith. Where did they go to Camp? It was at Camp Webb, renamed Camp Lakotah—the same locale where Camp Horstick is right now! I have flyers for Camp ready for distribution. The registration form is in the brochure. As in the past a young person connected to one of our parishes (even a grandparent can be the church member) can go for free. He or she can also bring a friend to the same Camp session, and the friend can go for free as well. All parents have to do is send in the form and indicate they are connected to our Diocese. The Diocese will pay all the fees. There is a second way the Diocese wants to support its younger members. The Episcopal Youth Event will take place July 7-11. This is only for those about to enter grades 9-12. E.Y.E. takes place once every three years. E.Y.E. 2020 will be at Howard University in Washington, DC. The Diocese will pay all expenses for those wanting to attend. This will include transportation, lodging, and food. I have heard a desire for the Diocese to return to some kind of family workshop/retreat. In the past we had a weekend in the fall at Camp Manitou near New Auburn. I have also heard a desire for a retreat that is mindful of the physical needs or limitations of older people. I would be most supportive of a weekend similar to the Clergy Workshop/Retreats. The Retreat would run from Friday evening through Sunday morning. Those attending would stay at a local hotel that would provide the first meal on Friday night and breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings. There would be a first session Friday after the meal at the hotel. Saturday would have morning and afternoon sessions. Lunch would be provided by the parish or we could place an order for box lunches. We could then all go to a restaurant for dinner. On Sunday, we would again have a session and attend the Eucharist as part of the Sunday congregation before going home. How much would this cost for those attending? The participants would pay for the two hotel nights while the Diocese would pay for all meals and for the program. The Clergy retreat/workshop had two nights with the hotel charging $64 per night. Children could come on this type of retreat, for we would choose a hotel that had swimming or other activities. What do you think of this? Our biggest shortcoming is a decline in membership and attendance in our Churches. Based on the Parochial Reports of 2018, the Diocese has reported a membership of 1700 and an average Sunday attendance of 680. I have since learned of an over reporting of membership and attendance by one of our larger congregations. The true number is 1350 members and an average Sunday attendance of 600. This is a qualitative change that forces us to look at our membership and attendance with concern. While our finances are solid, the membership decline is serious and if not addressed will impact finances in future years. What can be done about this? There is no magic formula for growth. The work of the Transition Committee, and its proposals for the future of the Diocese are important. Still, addressing the decline is a primary, strategic objective. Proposing changes for the future of the Diocese is tactical in nature. What is the difference? Strategy accomplishes an overall goal. Tactics hopefully provide the means of achieving the goal. For me the ultimate strategy is for us to serve God as taught to us through Jesus Christ. As we love Jesus—his manner of life and teachings—we need to invite the Holy Spirit continually to shape up and shake out our lives so that we can convey this love to others. We need to gain new insights in how to do this and to have the courage to act upon what we believe. We must be like Jesus and ready to react with faith in the situations we encounter. Jesus didn’t get up and say, “Whom can I bring into the Kingdom today?” Instead he went about his daily routines and responded to the people in his midst. We need to do this as well. When we act like this and find comfort and joy in what we are doing, our parishes will find growth, one person at a time. This will only happen when we are excited about ourselves and can’t help sharing what we are doing with others. What is to happen within our parishes once we have “newcomers” amongst us? Determining the future structure of the Diocese has merit and could provided further insights and resources for encouraging visitors to join. Still, I as your bishop of only one more year have five other tactical proposals that may be more useful. Here they are: 1. Quality, Biblically based Preaching that connects the Good News of Jesus to everyday life. As you move into small groups, and we rejoin later in plenary session, I ask that you discuss these dimensions of parish life along with the future of the Diocese. While they seem to be separate matters, I ask that you consider these tactical ideas and see how we can connect the various models of structure to achieve growth in our parishes. In closing, I thank all of you for your support of me as your bishop. I want especially to thank the good work of: In addition I thank Bob Gadwill who died this spring. From becoming Vice President of the Buffington Trust in 1988 until the beginning of this year, Bob shepherded the Trust to enhance independent retired living by providing quality shelter to people in need. Residents pay very low rent (usually $100 per month) because this Trust has been well administered. Currently we have 8 apartments and hope in the next year to add four more. The Buffington Board and I believe that without Bob Gadwill’s direction the Trust would have disappeared or morphed into something no longer connected to its mission. In thanking many people, I conclude with my wife, May Ruth. Through nearly 40 years of ordained ministry she has been my constant helpmate. She too loves this Diocese and its people. We delight in our three children, two sons in law, and our 17 month old grandson. We look forward to the birth of our first granddaughter around Thanksgiving. In August we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary by gathering everyone together at Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. I am most thankful to serve God as your bishop in ways that allow me to celebrate my family and Church life. Make no mistake about it. You are a great Diocese, and I am privileged to be a part of it. With my love and best wishes as I enter my “Lame Duck” year, Your brother in Christ, Welcome Fr. Philip MorganFr. Philip Morgan will be preaching for us this Sunday, October 18th! Please help us to welcome him back for the first time since the pandemic began.
Family Promise/Beacon House Outreach OpportunityChrist Church Cathedral’s next opportunity to serve at Family Promise of the Chippewa Valley/Beacon House will be the the third week of March. We share duties at the Family Homeless Shelter one week each quarter with Lake Street Methodist Church. Our responsibility for this outreach opportunity is to provide 2 people to spend the night at Beacon House on Tuesday, March 17th and Friday, March 20th, we also need to provide the evening meal on The 20th. Staying overnight is very easy, it involves arriving at Beacon House at 8:15 PM and staying until 7:30 AM. The accommodations are very quiet and comfortable, duties include answering the door for registered guests and solving any minor issues that may arise, Beacon House Staff is always on call and available for assistance. Please see Rick or Ellen Allison or Doug Faulkner to sign up for an overnight or to provide food for the Friday evening meal. Spending time at Beacon House is a great way to provide assistance to our neighbors in need and fulfill our mission as servants of Christ. Zoom Monthly Prayer Shawl Ministry Meeting - October 20thThe Prayer Shawl Ministry will hold its monthly meeting on Tuesday, October 20th at 6:00pm, via Zoom. A link will be shared via the weekly Friday email update from the parish office in order for you to join the meeting. Please join us as we always welcome newcomers, even if you are just curious to find out more about our ministry! If you would like to participate in our ministry, you will need a set of size 10.5 or 11 knitting needles and 3 skeins of Homespun Yarn, machine washable/dryable, all in the same color. If you don't have experience with knitting, we will teach you how to make a prayer shawl. Our meetings are open to everyone and hope you will join us! If you have questions, please contact Becky Van Es (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 715-579-0895). Click here to join the Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 924 746 7996 Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
Kids Baking Opportunity for the Cookie WalkAs we all know the annual Cookie Walk is fast approaching. For the past several years, we typically run out of cookies/treats within the first hour or two. It has been suggested that since "Cookies & Kids" go hand in hand, a table of cookies/treats made by the Cathedral kids could be added this year to the regular cookies/treats that we ask everyone to make. Every parent and grandparent knows the joy that making their own cookies brings to the kids. Yes, they may not all be "pretty & perfect" but what better way to get the kids involved? We would ask that the Cathedral kids make a batch of cookies/treats of their own choice and decorate them to be delivered on December 6th. After the service on November 24th we will have pretzel sticks and frosting and sprinkles for the kids to decorate as a group which will be sold at the Cookie Walk as well. This would only take about an hour. Any questions, please call Wendy Clark at 715.829.2934. Kwik Trip Cards FundraiserWe are still partnering with Kwik Trip Fundraising Card Program! As of November 1st, the program is changing slightly. They are now offering a new Grocery Only/In-Store card that we purchase at a 15% base discount. This card can be used toward in-store products. Items not eligible to be purchased with the new card offering include fuel, tobacco, alcohol, gift cars, lottery/lotto, and stamps. This allows us to take advantage of the discount at the point of purchase instead of having to wait for a rebate on grocery items. Regular and Fuel-Only gift cards are still available. We purchase these at a 5% base discount. This is a great way to support the church while purchasing the gas and/or groceries you were going to buy anyway. These cards make great gifts for your friends & family, service providers or employees! SAVE THE DATE •Due to incoming weather: decorating the church for Christmas tomorrow at 9:30amDue to the incoming weather, the Flower and Altar Guilds have decided to move the the greening the church for Christmas to 9:30 a.m. tomorrow, Wednesday, December 21. We could also use some people to come closer Noon to help with the clean up of one billion pine needles. Everyone is welcome! Please come and enjoy the festivities. MINISTERS •Ministers ScheduleSunday, March 15th / The Third Sunday in Lent: Sunday, March 22nd / The Fourth Sunday in Lent Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral The Episcopal Diocese of Eau Claire To ensure that our messages arrive in your inbox, please add This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to your contacts. If you prefer not to receive news from Christ Church Cathedral in the future, click here to unsubscribe. |
||