Events and Information

510 S. Farwell St., Eau Claire WI 54701 • 715.835.3734 Map to the Cathedral

Cathedral Church of the Episcopal Diocese of Eau Claire, WI

News

Karen Allen

May 19, 1935 - September 26, 2024

Karen Elizabeth Allen of Chippewa Falls, WI passed away Thursday, September 26, 2024, at The Classic at Hillcrest Greens in Altoona, WI at the age of 89. Karen was born May 19, 1935, the daughter of Clarence H. and Jean E. Hapke in Milwaukee, WI. She graduated from Wauwatosa East High School in 1952 and Carroll University in 1956 and was a member of Delta Zeta Sorority.

On June 30, 1956, Karen married Robert J. Allen at St. Lukes Episcopal Church in Milwaukee, WI -- a union that spanned 68 years. In 1980, they moved their family to Chippewa Falls where Karen continued to be a loving mother to her four children, as well as continuing her participation in garden club activities with the Lake Wissota Garden Club. For more than 40 years, she was an active participant in local and state club activities and was the recipient of the Wisconsin Garden Club Federation Lydia Shaffer Award for Distinctive Achievement and/or Service to the Federation. In addition, Karen was awarded National Garden Club Emeritus status as a Master Flower Show Judge and as a Landscape Design Consultant. Karen also found time to serve on the Board of the historic Cook Rutledge Mansion both as a member and chair. One project Karen was most passionate about at the Mansion was being part of the creation and maintenance of a garden, with the help of members of the Lake Wissota Garden Club, using flowers and plant materials appropriate to the Victorian period of the Mansion. Karen was also a member of Chapter AB International P.E.O. Sisterhood – Chippewa Falls.

Karen was a member of Christ Church Cathedral in Eau Claire serving as a member of the Vestry, Altar Guild and Flower Guild. She enjoyed using her talents as a floral designer to create altar arrangements for Sunday and weekday services. She enjoyed the opportunity to create special arrangements and floral displays for major festival days, particularly Easter and Christmas.

Other activities that Karen found time for included coordinating Fine Art and Craft Shows in the Spring and Fall at Stonewood Village in Brookfield, WI which featured over 50 artists whose original works were juried for quality and appropriateness. She also taught courses in Floral Design and Arranging and worked full-time as an activity director at a retirement community.

With all the things that Karen engaged in, her greatest gift was her love and concern for each member of our family and the traditions she created for all of us. Creating magic at Christmas was one of her incredible gifts. The house reflected how special this season was for Karen with decorations both inside and outside the home, two Christmas trees decorated in two separate themes, floral arrangements, and pine roping inside and out. Karen brought the entire family together over traditional meals for Christmas Eve and Day. Karen’s love for the family showed in the beautiful way she hosted Easter, Thanksgiving, the 4th of July and those traditions will remain strong in our extended family’s memories of Karen.

Karen is survived by her husband Robert, her four children, James (Claudia French) Allen, Christine (Paul) McGinnis. Richard (Lisa) Allen, Elizabeth (David) Hartz, 10 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren, and sister Lynne (James) Goheen.

A funeral service will take place at Christ Church Cathedral, 510 South Farwell, Eau Claire, WI on Wednesday October 9, 2024, at 11:00 AM with a visitation one hour prior to the service and lunch to follow. Inurnment will occur at a later date (TBD)

Memorials may be made to Christ Church Cathedral or the Alzheimer’s Association.

Friends and family may offer condolences online at www.hulkefamilyfh.com.

#ThrowbackThursday to our historic elevator groundbreaking!

Flashback to when we officially broke ground on our mission to make Christ Church Cathedral even more accessible to everyone in Eau Claire!

Back in 2017, we took a bold step towards inclusivity with our $600,000 project, adding an elevator and opening up more spaces for all. Whether you’re attending worship, coming to a Chorale

NouvEAU event, or a community meeting, now everyone can move freely through our beautiful spaces.

Missy Stepanek, our Elevator Committee Chair, said it best: “Our Cathedral is for the whole community, and now, we’re ensuring everyone can be part of it.”

This throwback is a reminder of how we’ve grown together as a church and a community!

Curious to see the final project? Pop by the Cathedral and explore how we've opened our doors even wider to Eau Claire!

Inline image

Members of Christ ChurchCathedral gathered to serve area guests at the Community Table on Saturday September 21. Although the rain kept numbers a little lower, we served pizza, fruit, and salad to about 65 people, including families with children. Desserts and breads were available for guests to take with them. The volunteers included Mark Christianson, Doug Faulkner, Linda Caillier, Liam Caraher, Diane Bilderback, and Patty Solfest.

Christ Church Cathedral serves at the Community Table every other month on the third Saturday in two shifts (9:00-11:30 preparing the food, and 11:30-1:30 serving and cleaning up.) Having at least 4-6 people per shift makes helping easier. There is a supervisor on site to make sure things go smoothly and a local volunteer to keep track of checking in guests.

The Community Table team would like to encourage you to consider joining us in serving our fellow community members. Our next day to serve is November 16th and you can sign up on the church website.

Chippewa Valley Street Ministry Journal

October 1, 2024

We're at the end of the month already. It's almost unbelievable that September has come and gone so quickly. We've remained busy on the street: last week we had a day where we served 70 people and most other days we served between 60-65 people. With each ready-to-eat bag of food, we provide two bottles of water and a Gatorade. By the month's end, if we averaged only 60 people per visit, we would have provided nearly 1,000 bottles of water! We give out many blankets each visit as well as clothing such as t-shirts, hoodies, socks, and other basic items. We are blessed to be able to do this work and could not provide what we do without your help. Thank you!

We recently asked some of our visitors about their ability to wash clothes as it seems that we provide the same items to the same people on a regular frequency and we were educated by their response: If someone is not staying at the shelter where there are a couple of washers or dryers, they first have to find a laundromat. They have to have transportation to the location and then they have to have the funds to wash the clothing. I went to a few laundromats to check on the prices and it appeared that the average cost of a wash was $5; that did not take into account the detergent. The dryers were slightly less but even so, the cost of a bus trip and the services and supplies would easily be over $10. For some of our people with no income whatsoever, this is an unrealistic expectation. We do, however, try to limit the frequency of what we're giving out to ensure that everyone can receive something on a regular basis. The ability to have clean clothes and wash them whether in our homes or a laundromat is often thought of as a mundane chore, but it really is a privilege.

As happens every year, we're all preparing for cooler weather. We will soon be swapping out summer clothing for fall and winter needs. With the cooler weather comes concern of cold-related injuries; it doesn't have to be sub-zero for these injuries to occur. Because of this, we'll be prepared with hoodies and sweatpants, warm socks and stretchy one-size-fits-all gloves for a while and then transition to full winter mode. We try to stock up on hoodies all year long and are always happy to accept donations. Please take a look at our needs list to see other needed items.

A woman that we have known for nearly ten years has returned to the street and we are heartbroken with her. She had obtained work and had been involved in a recovery program for the last 2-3 years. She'd had housing and was happy, we were thrilled every time she would stop to update us on her success. We're not entirely sure what happened but she arrived in tears and said she'd lost her housing and her job and had to start all over. She felt that there was no hope, nothing good in her life. We spent time listening, talking, and listening some more. Near the end of the conversation, we asked if she was still sober. Yes, she said. We celebrated that WIN and reminded her that she has the skills to get back to being happy. By the end of the conversation, she said "I'm gonna be OK." Yes, she is. She is strong and we'll be there to support and encourage her as she continues on her journey.

We are seeing an increase in women out on the street. We're not sure why the increase but wonder if it has anything to do with the closing of the Regency motel and the displacement of the people that had been staying there. We know of one woman who was trafficked while she stayed there and is safer now than when she lived there. Other women have come from out of town and stay at the shelter, others are staying outdoors and often with another person. Regardless of where they stay, the women are at risk of assault and being victimized. One younger woman declined to talk with us when we approached her. We would like to have discreetly asked about her safety but she walked away from us. If we get an opportunity to ask, we will do so.

Please review the needs list. As noted, we can only do what we do with your support and donations. If you have any questions, please reach out and check in with us. We are very grateful for your help. Please keep our unhoused brothers and sisters in your thoughts and help us to care for them. We appreciate you.

~ CVSM staff

Our Needs List reflects what we are most in need of. Please help if you are able.

We accept gently used items and prefer that they are clean and in good condition: working zippers, clean, etc.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thank you!

Hoodies - all sizes (with colder weather coming, many people prefer larger sizes hoodies so they can layer clothing)

Sweatpants - all sizes

T-shirts - Lg, XL, XXL and larger

Boxer Briefs - Med, Lg, XL, XXL (prefer new)

Financial donations: we purchase items that have not been donated

Donations can be dropped off at:

Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 1120 Cedar Street, Eau Claire, WI 54703

The office hours for donations are Mon-Thurs, 9:30am-12:30pm

Monetary donations can be:

Mailed to: CVSM, PO Box 51, Eau Claire, WI 54702

Donated via PayPal via our website or Facebook page:

Chippewavalleystreetministry.org

Facebook.com/chippewavalleystreetministry (use the Shop Now button)

Richard James Moen
Richard James Moen Obituary

March 21, 1947 - September 2, 2024

Richard James Moen (Rick) of Eau Claire, WI died of Glioblastoma on September 2, 2024 at age 77. Rick was a gentle, soft-spoken, humble guy. He loved his wife Esther, his circle of close friends, his doggie pets, gardening, motorcycling, Sammy’s pizza, Apple computers, and listening to his 10,000+ song collection on his pride and joy stereo system.

He was a middle and high school math teacher in the Menomonie and Chippewa Falls school districts for 21 years. His wry sense of humor served him well, and he delighted in soliciting eye rolls and groans from his students after a corny joke. He enjoyed the camaraderie of his fellow teachers, especially the Friday social hours at the Fill Inn Station in Chippewa Falls.

After retirement in 2006, Rick shared many cross-country motorcycle trips with his riding buddies, Ron, Harry, Bob, and Dave and day rides for pie or ice cream with Jim and Jean. He was a proud member of the Iron Butt Club, after he and Harry rode 1,000 miles in one day. He achieved Master Gardener status and worked on many community projects. He was a faithful Brewer and Packer fan and spent many hours watching games on TV and attending Brewer Spring training games in Arizona. He and Esther enjoyed 8 sunny retirement years living in Tucson, AZ, returning to Eau Claire in 2022.

Rick is survived by his wife of 45 years – Esther, his sister, Jean Polk and niece Robin Polk.

Thank you to his medical and hospice teams from Mayo Clinic Health System and Dove Healthcare and our wonderful supportive friends who helped us through 9 difficult months.

Donations may be made in his memory to the Eau Claire Community Humane Association, 3900 Old Town Hall Road, Eau Claire, WI 54701.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Dove Healthcare-West Community Room, 1405 Truax Blvd, Eau Claire, WI from 1:00-3:30pm on Wednesday, October 2, 2024 with a program at 3 pm.

Greetings Region A members!

I wish to introduce myself as the Regional Missioner for our 19 churches. In this email I will remind you of a few items.

The first is that the position of Regional Missioner has been created in the hope it will assist all of the clergy and lay leadership of our Dioceses of Wisconsin parishes to feel and know the Bishop’s Office is concerned about them. With the increase in the number of churches Bishop Gunter is now responsible for, as much personal contact as we had previously will not be possible. The Regional Missioners are the “first responders” or “first contact” for the parish leadership.

The Annual Convention is coming up on Oct. 4 - 5. This will be the first Annual Convention for the Diocese of Wisconsin for over one hundred years! The last pre-convention meeting is September 19. A recording of the September 11 meeting is on the Diocesan website (https://www.diowis.org/annual-convention) towards the bottom of the page. We do have a full slate for the election of Mission Council members from Region A. Those I know of are: Lay member - Deb Lorenze of Christ Church Eau Claire, Clergy member - Fr. Phil Morgan of St. Barnabas Clear Lake and Mtr. Deborah Woolsey of St. Matthias Minocqua.

Fr. Mark Ricker will be installed as priest in charge of Christ Episcopal Church in Bayfield on Saturday, September 28 at 2:00 pm. Clergy should vest with white stoles. Join Bishop Matt and the folks at Christ Church in welcoming back Mark to Wisconsin and celebrating his new ministry. Christ Church is located at 125 North 3^rd Street, Bayfield, WI.

Bishop Matt will also be in the region at St. Alban’s Church in Superior with Fr. Steven Burns on Sunday, September 29. Speaking of St. Alban’s Superior - Fr. Steven is requesting information, recommendations, and curriculum resources for a new Sunday School / Christian Ed program. You may email him at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I have tentatively scheduled a Regional Clergy meeting on Zoom for Oct. 15 at 6:30 pm. We will do these on a monthly basis. The goal will be to meet in person once a quarter instead of on Zoom. The link for the Zoom meeting is: Regional Zoom Meeting. The goal of these meetings is to share news, stay in touch, and have another opportunity to get to know one another. Let me know of suggestions for any topics, times, or thoughts. The day and time selected are simply to get us going. We can change them to whatever works.

I am also including 4 photos from The Church of Our Savior Lugerville. Last Tuesday, September 10, eighteen people joined Bishop Matt in remembering the ministry of Our Savior Lugerville during the past 86 years. After celebrating a final service with Holy Eucharist in the church, the congregation witnessed the Declaration of Secularization by Bishop Matt. Over the years amidst changing demographics Our Savior Lugerville ministered to children and adults faithfully and joyfully. Well done to the saints of Lugerville.

Grace and peace,

Dave+