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Our Mission: “We are a welcoming Christian Community where all can experience the saving grace of Jesus Christ. We are growing as disciples of Christ as we teach, support, and nurture one another in ministry to our community and world.

Fifth Avenue United Methodist Church

Family Connections

Volume 21 No. 3 March 2016

Sundays: 8:30am & 10:45am

Mar. 6 4th Sunday in Lent Sacrament of Holy Communion One Great Hour of Sharing Offering Choir Sings at 8:30am

Mar. 13 5th Sunday in Lent Choir Sings at 10:45am

Mar. 20 Passion/Palm Sunday Choir Sings at 8:30am

Thurs, Mar. 24 Maundy Thursday Worship at 7pm Choir Sings—Communion

Fri., Mar. 25 Good Friday Tennebrae Service at 7pm Choir Sings

Mar. 27 Easter Sunday Communion at both services Choir Sings at both services

There will be only one service at 9:30am on Confirmation Sunday, April 3.

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Pastoral Ponderings

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Holy Week and Easter fall early this year, so in the madness of March I want to invite you to be part of what could be called Christianity’s Big Dance. We know someone will win. We even know who. But we need to see it all to get the most out of it. I would

encourage you to attend all of the Holy Week services this year. If you are not used to doing this, consider trying it this year and see if it makes a difference in your understanding of Easter and what it means to follow Jesus. Palm/Passion Sunday – The Sunday before Easter, we celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey. The crowd shouted “Hosanna,” which means “Save us!” Jesus didn’t just ride a donkey to show humility. It was also a political act. He was nodding to a verse from the prophet Zechariah 9.9 and saying that he was the King of the Jews who was foretold to come into the city riding on a donkey. We also tell the story of Jesus’ passion, this year from the Gospel of Luke, which sets the mood and scene for Holy Week. Maundy Thursday 7pm – Maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum, which means commandment. On Maundy Thursday we recount the night Jesus spent in the upper room with his disciples. We read the story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet and then giving them the new commandment to love one another as Jesus loved them. We celebrate communion, which Jesus instituted at this meal in the upper room, and then strip the altar at the end of worship as a symbol of the disciples forsaking Jesus, falling asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane and abandoning him as he went to the cross alone. Good Friday 7pm – On Good Friday (originally called “good” because in the classic understanding of salvation Jesus saved us as he died that day) we have a Tenebrae service. Tenebrae means darkness, and it is based on a 12th Century late night/early morning service where we recount Jesus’ passion and extinguish candles to symbolize the darkness that we feel as Jesus dies. Many people feel this is one of the most moving services of the church year and I highly recommend experiencing it. There is no resurrection without death. There is no joy on Easter without the pain of Jesus’ passion. And there are no “Alleluias” without Jesus’ cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This year, experience Easter joy having gone to the cross with Jesus. May God bless your Holy Week journey.

In Christ,

Pastor Jeremy

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Parish Updates

Change of Address Jennifer Krell & James Saffell 2238 11th St. Greeley, CO 80631

Baptism—Feb. 14, 2016 Kayla Kay Wick, daughter of Krysti & Joe Wick, born Oct. 16, 2015. Maternal grandparents are Gordon & Susan McFarlane. Paternal grandparents are Tom & Joanne Wick.

Deaths Irene Smith on Jan. 20, 2016. She was a member since 1985. Tensa Fields on Jan. 30, 2016. She was a member since

1989. Betty Covill, wife of Gordon Covill, on Feb. 11, 2016. She

was a member since 1967. Bob Dunlap on Feb. 15, 2016. He was a member since 2013.

Breakfast Group will meet at 8:30am on Tuesday, Mar. 1, 2016 at the Copper Penny, 1700 E. Washington St., West Bend. No sign up is necessary.

School Bag Sewing Kits

Material for school bag kits are in the north entrance. Take a kit home and bring bags back when done. Thank you to Universal Strap in Jackson for again providing webbing for the school bag straps.

Daylight Saving Time

begins on March 13th. Don’t forget to turn your clocks ahead one hour!

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Adult Sunday School

The Spring lessons in Adult Bible Studies follow the theme, "The Gift of Faith". The student book writer is Jack Gilbert; Von Unruh is the writer of the teacher book.

Tests of Faith - The quarter's first four lessons deal with powerful faith, simple faith, struggling faith and resurrection faith by examining biblical texts from Mark's Gospel. The Adult Bible Study is held on Sunday mornings from 9:45am-10:30am in the Disciple Room (across from the Fireside Room) Please join us. If you have questions about our Bible study, please talk with Dick Slade or Marolyn Kell.

Wonderful Wednesday Wonderful Wednesday Meal will be held on March 9 at 5:30pm in Fellowship Hall. Dean Pok and family will serve the meal. Please sign up in the north entrance. Free Will Offering.

Wednesday Lenten Prayer Series: “When Did You See Me?”

Theme this year is “When Did You See Me?” from Matthew 25: 31-46. Each week will focus on a different aspect of that scripture, and the free will offering will go to a charity or

organization that fits the theme. The series lasts from 12:15-12:45, and will move quickly so that people may return to their work. Here is the schedule for March.

Date Location Speaker Topic 3/2 Trinity Lutheran Jeremy Deaner Naked 3/9 Holy Angels Kathryn Kuhn Ill 3/16 Cedar Ridge Holy Angels In Prison

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Lunch Group At the Ridge!

The Lunch Group will meet on Thursday, Mar. 17, at 12:00 Noon at Top of the Ridge Restaurant. No sign up necessary. Lunch will be the special of the day. Join in for food and

The following “People at Home” will have March Birthdays: Margery Papenfuss (Mar. 3) Serenity Villa 1707 American Eagle Dr. #9 Slinger, WI 53086 Kathy Preston (Mar. 30) 105 N. University Dr. #21, WB 53095

Cookies For Our People at Home

On Wednesday, March 9th, we will be packing about 50 boxes of Easter cookies for our at home people.

How can YOU help?? *Bake cookies for the boxes, no bars, please as they tend to dry out after being cut and no spicy cookies as they tend to share their spiciness with the other cookies in the box. No large cookies, just small sized only please. *Help package the cookies in the boxes. Come to the Fireside room at 9am on Wednesday, March 9th. *Help in delivering the cookies to our at home people.

Any questions, please contact Katie Glaser, 677-0162. Thank you for helping bring some Easter joy to our people at home.

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Holy Week Schedule Palm Sunday, March 20—Worship at 8:30am & 10:45am Maundy Thursday, March 24—Worship at 7:00pm Good Friday, March 25– Worship at 7:00pm Easter, March 27—Worship at 8:30am & 10:45am

Our Easter offering will go to missionaries, Dan & Rachel Gabler, who are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. $2,500 will go towards this covenant. The balance of the offering will go to Imagine No Malaria.

Men’s Pancake Breakfast The Men’s group will have a Pancake Breakfast on Palm Sunday, March 20th, from 7:30am-8:15am and also from 9:45am-10:30am. A free-will offering will be taken. Menu: Egg Dish, Sausage, Pancakes,

Applesauce Coffee, Milk, Juice and all the fix-in’s. Proceeds are for Men's Ministries. Please sign up on the bulletin board in the north entrance. Thank you for your support!

Sunday School Bake Sale

We will be having a bake sale on Sunday, March 13, between services. All proceeds will go to "The Shoe That Grows". This organization

provides shoes that are expandable up to 5 sizes for children in under developed countries. Baked good donations can be brought to the church kitchen from 8am to Noon on Friday Mar. 11, or 1:00 - 2:30 pm on Saturday, Mar. 12. Thank you! Thank you for your support!

Thank you all for your cards, letters, and calls. Your prayers have lifted me up and supported me. I ask that you keep praying as I journey forward in my treatment. Blessings, Shirley Simmons

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United Methodist Women’s Book Review

An Invisible Thread by L. Schroff and A. Tresnioski is the true story of a busy ad executive

who walks past an 11 year old panhandler, turns back and buys him lunch at McDonalds. This is the start of a long-term relationship that saves them both from their demons. The book shows how we each have the power to elevate another's life and enrich our own.

Welcoming Words of Wisdom Our biggest fear is welcoming someone we do not recognize and it turns out they are a church member. What can you say? ”Oh, that is wonderful. I am sorry that I did not recognize you. It is good to see you.”/”Oh, I am so sorry, I

usually attend the first (or second) service and do not know everyone.”/”Oh, I am so sorry. I do not remember meeting you. I am not very good at remembering everyone I meet. Glad to see you again.” - The Welcome Team

Harvest House Saturday, March 19, 2016

8:30am to 1:30pm St. James Episcopal Church, West Bend

Time for Harvest House and to help St. James serve people a free, hot meal. We need 12 to 15 persons to volunteer to help set up, prepare and serve food and clean up; and persons to bake seven 9x13 size cakes. Cakes need to be delivered to St. James by 9:15am. The two or three volunteers who help cook need to come at 8:30am. Volunteers who are helping set up, serve and clean up need to come at 10am. Please use the sign-up sheet in the nor th entrance or call Marolyn Kell at 334-5865. Thank you for your suppor t.

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Happy Birthday, Missionaries! Rev. Don Smith was in mission in Sarawak, Malaysia, Indonesia. He taught in the University and carried his mission to other islands – for 21 years. We gave salary support for all of that time! As such we got to know them and their children quite well. They

had many good, personal friends here. He introduced us to a new way of making music so, in a measure he was in mission to us! If you were in this church in the 1980’s and 1990’s you surely remember the Boards and Bamboo. You had to be healthy and strong to play those things! It was great fun! He is retired now and living in Coloma, Wisconsin.

Own a Piece of the Rock Sidewalk Replacement Fund Drive Summary We still have donations coming in and the Trustees are thrilled to announce we have met our goal of $25,000 to complete the first phase of the Sidewalk

Replacement Project! With generous donations and a substantial gift from the Estate of Don and Carol Clement, we have successfully funded this project that totaled approximately $55,000 for phase one. This was after expanding the initial project to include more areas. A large gift from the Estate of Dick Daggett was the foundation that started the funding process. The first phase of our project is completed with the exception of hand rails and patio lighting and additional funds will be utilized to begin phase two of the project. This will include continued replacement of curb and gutter along Fifth Ave. and Poplar St. as well as selected sidewalk areas. Additional donations are always welcome as this will be an ongoing project. The Trustees would like to extend a BIG thank you to all who have made contributions and much gratitude to the Clement family as this has and will continue to be a very successful project for our Church! It not only adds to the beauty of our Church but also makes our sidewalk and curb areas safe for years to come. Recognition of gifts will be listed at a later time and thank you again for “owning a piece of the rock!” -Board of Trustees

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