Pastor’s Corner
During February, the United Methodist Church (UMC) was in the news for their debates about LGBTQ clergy, laity, and how to move forward as a united church that spans the physical and theological world. We know many Methodists and we understand the difficult decisions they have been called upon to make. We UCC’ers may have experienced similar heartaches 14 years ago when our General Synod proclaimed marriage equality to be a blessed right in our denomination.

Our UMC brothers and sisters have a more traditional form of polity where the Bishop and other leaders determine the policies and then local churches are required to follow those policies. The February meetings were a part of this top-down polity. The Book of Discipline contains these policies.

The UCC polity (government) is a conversation between the General Synod, the Conferences, Associations and the local church. The ultimate authority in the UCC resides in the local church. The local church decides how to worship, when to worship, where to worship, hiring and firing of ministers, how to spend the money given to the church, plus many other powers. As such, each church and minister decide how to answer questions surrounding marriage equality.

Some churches in Wisconsin debated the merits of marriage equality in 2015, while others let the proclamation pass by without much notice. Some churches had heated debates, while others found the proclamation to be either self-evident ‘Yes’ or self-evident ‘No.’ Thus, some UCC churches in Wisconsin will allow same-sex marriages in their sanctuaries while others do not. A person may find a particular UCC church welcoming to the idea of a wedding, and a mile away another UCC church does not welcome such weddings (that is the blessing and curse of our government).

A far more fundamental question surrounding same-sex marriage is the acceptance of LGBTQ individuals. Are LGBTQ individuals loved by God in exactly the same way as other people? If ‘Yes,’ then what is the responsibility of the local church to show a genuine welcome? If ‘No,’ then how are we to explain to LGBTQ individuals that they are not loved equally by God?

The UMC is struggling to answer these questions in a way that brings unity of understanding and love and justice to all its members. We the people of Ebenezer and St. John UCC offer our blessings and prayers to our sisters and brothers in the UMC during their struggles.


Peace and Grace,
Pastor Sue and I send a grateful and heartfelt thank you to all who have shared well wishes, prayers and food with us after her heart surgery earlier this year. You have made a very difficult time less difficult through the sharing of your blessings.

Thank you all.

Pastor's Mike and Sue
Pastor's Move
Pastor Sue and I will be moving from Sheboygan Falls to the Ebenezer parsonage in mid-May. The Wisconsin Conference of the United Methodist Church decided to appoint Pastor Susan to medical leave from May 1, 2019 through at least May 1, 2020. This means that we need to leave her parsonage by May 9. Sue and I will need many prayers as this was an unexpected appointment. Her heart surgery and now a move have introduced quite a bit of stress into our lives.

Frank and Karen Cmelja deserve many thanks for the wonderful work and love they have given to the parsonage. They have been faithful stewards of the parsonage for the past five years. Thank you, Karen and Frank.
April 18 (Maundy Thursday) - 7:00 p.m. @ EUCC
April 19 (Good Friday) - 7:00 p.m. @ Bethel UCC
(W4225 County Line Rd Elkhart Lake)
April 21 (Easter Sunday) - 8:45 a.m. @ EUCC
*(there is no Sunday School on Easter Sunday)

The Easter flowers were donated by Edith and Vern Knoespel; and Betty Schilling, Dick and Karen Sohrweide, and Marvin and Grace Geiser in memory of Butch Sohrweide.
April Confirmation Readers
April 7: Max Mueller
April 14: (no reader)
April 21: Gavin Tyson
April 28: Jaren Pingel
April 29: Alex Greuel
3-4-2019 Vocal Soloist Katharina Keller 
Coffee Hosts
Thank you, again, to our committees who are hosting coffee hour each month! Below is the schedule; please note that this should be a light snack to enjoy after church. 

April: Worship/Christian Education Committee
May: Bell Choir
Pine Haven's Men's Choir Service 3/10/2019
EUCC Ushering Schedule
Below is the upcoming ushering schedule; please note that the church office does not find a replacement, but we are happy to help you get in contact with possible subs! Please let the office know when any changes are made.

April:
April 7: Council
April 14: Sunday School
April 21 (Easter Sunday): Council
April 28: Brian Adamietz Family

May:
May 5: Council
May 12: Sunday School
May 19: Eric & Jamie Plate Family
May 26: Robert & Sheri Van Beek Family

If you have any questions about your ushering duties, click here for the instructions.
Mission Education News ...
The Mission Committee Rummage Sale is on March 28 from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m., March 29 from 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., and the March 30 "Bag Sale" is from 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Please stop in to check it out! 

We also would like to tell everyone that we do not plan to have a Rummage Sale any time soon so please do not bring any rummage items to church following the upcoming sale .  The room will be cleaned out, and if we do plan at some point to have another sale, we will let everyone know.

Thank you for all of the donations over the years!
Notes from the Music Corner ...
Have we really made it past all the Sunday weather challenges??!! Despite the weather issues, we had some very special music contributions to March worship times. Thank you to Katharina (who will be back in May), Pine Haven Men’s Chorus, Ebenezer Brass and Karen and Claudia. Ebenezer Brass will add to the joy of Easter on April 21 when they play "Jubilate."

On April 26-28, Claudia Brown will participate in the National Honors Handbell Ensemble in Fredericksburg, Virginia. This ensemble is made up of 30 ringers ages 13-19 who have auditioned from across the U.S. The group convenes on Friday evening when they have an orientation, and then begin a rigorous 20-hour intense rehearsal period through Saturday and Sunday. It culminates with a 4 p.m. concert in the Washington Pavillion on Sunday, April 28. The repertoire is made up of 10 challenging selections which each ringer has practiced in advance. A few of the song titles are "In the Hall of the Mountain King," "Lord of the Dance," "Sleeping Beauty," "Dancing Queen," etc. The group is under the direction of Kevin McChesney, a well-known bell composer/arranger. In addition to being involved with many national handbell groups. He has over 900 titles published that he has either arranged or composed, and he was one of Jeris’ favorites. Ebenezer Brass commissioned him to do an arrangement of "Joyful, Joyful" for handbells and piano in honor of Jeris. Thank you to Karen Cmejla for pursuing and mentoring Claudia through the whole process of having this unique/challenging opportunity. Good luck Claudia! We’re hoping to have the chance to see and hear the end result of your hard work in Fredericksburg!
Notes from the Sunday School Corner ...
Just a reminder that we will not be having classes on Easter Sunday, April 21.  

Our final week together will be on Mother's Day, May 12. This is also our final Children's Worship Sunday and some of our students are planning a special treat for the moms. We will round out our year on Saturday, May 18, at Pla-Mor Lanes for a bowling party from 1:30-3:00 p.m. Please let your child's teacher know if they will be attending.

Also, please consider volunteering as a Sunday School teacher next year (beginning in September). It looks like we'll be needing someone to help us out. The grade level is somewhat flexible at this point, so if you have a preference in the ages you'd like to work with, we can probably accommodate you. Thanks for considering.
Ebenezer Church Council
Meeting Minutes: March 12, 2019
Opening: The meeting of the Ebenezer Church Council was called to order at 5:35 p.m. by Colleen Marx 

Present: Pastor Mike, Colleen Marx, Kari Meyers, Vern Gasch, Zach Platner, Andy Hofmeister and Barbara DeKerf.
Absent: Ken Lisowe 

Approval of Agenda: Colleen Marx made a motion to approve the agenda. Zach Platner seconded. 

Approval of Minutes: The February 2019 meeting minutes were previously approved via email with the correction of Ken Lisowe being present. 

Treasurer's Report: 
Our February revenue was $7,830.23. Our February expenditures were $8,027.07. Our balance as of February 28 was $336,581.22. Our equity as of 02/28/19 was $95,557.00. Our stocks went up to $33,721.90. Colleen Marx made a motion to accept the February financial report. Andy Hofmeister seconded. The motion carried. Colleen Marx made a motion to accept the March bill list, Andy Hofmeister seconded. The motion carried. 

Minister’s Report: Attendance is 75 on average for a Sunday. Averaging $1,800.00 in weekly contributions. Pastor Mike will be installed at St. John UCC on April 28. 

Committee Reports:
  • Christian Education and Music: No new news. 
  • Evangelism: No new news.  
  • Mission: No new news. 
  • Property: No new news. 
  • Stewardship: No new news.  
  • Membership: No new news.  
 
Continuing Business: 
  • Church Security: Ken Lisowe will be in contact with CEC security to facilitate installation plan. 
  • Worship service recordings: Zach Platner agreed to be the council representative in charge of the recording. Please contact the church office if you desire a recording. 

New Business:  
  • Fire pup program: Ebenezer will make a $90 donation to support the program. 
  • American Legion: Ebenezer will make a $25 donation to the Holiday flag placement program. 

Executive Meeting:  
Pastor Mike’s wife, Susan, will be going on Medical Leave. She will no longer be employed at her current churches. Pastor Mike and his wife will have to leave her church's parsonage and move into Ebenezer’s. Frank and Karen Cmejla reside in our parsonage. As stated in the lease agreement, Frank and Karen will have to vacate the parsonage by April 27th. A letter was completed and signed with our intent and will be sent to Frank and Karen. Frank and Karen pay rent one month in advance. A motion was made by Zach Platner to have no rent payment due on April 1st. Colleen Marx seconded. The motion carried. 

**Next council meeting is on April 15, 2019 at 5:30 p.m.**

Adjournment: Vern Gasch made the motion to adjourn the meeting. Colleen Marx seconded. Meeting was adjourned at 7:07 pm. 

Minutes submitted by:

Colleen Marx 

Approved by: The Church council via email. 
Tod ~ Katy ~ Lorraine ~ Da’Nisha
Arlene ~ Rebecca ~ Vern ~ Marlene
Beverly ~ Rod ~ David ~ James
Jeff ~ Steve ~ Shelly ~ Janice
Pastor Susan ~ Sue

Due to privacy laws, last names cannot be printed on the prayer list because the Eagle goes on the church website which can be viewed by anyone on the Internet. 

If you want someone added or removed, please contact the church office . Thank you.
Building Use Form: If you would like to use Fellowship Hall, please fill out the Building Use Form and return it to the office. We require a completed form for all events in the Fellowship Hall that are not related to EUCC (if you are planning multiple events, i.e. a recurring meeting, you only need to fill the form out once.)

Newsletter Articles are due to the office on the 3rd Tuesday of the month (unless posted otherwise); be sure to check the calendar for the month’s due date. Please also share any pictures for inclusion!

Weekly Bulletin Announcements are due to the office by Tuesday mornings.
Ebenezer Office Hours:
(Labor Day - Memorial Day)
Monday - Thursday 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
(920) 849-4331

Pastor's Ebenezer Hours:
Monday 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Tuesday 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Wednesday 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Thursday 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Pastor's St. John Hours:
Monday 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Thursday 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
2111 Church St
New Holstein, WI 53061
(920) 898-4259
Pastor's Cell Phone: 920-286-1956

Please make sure to write a note on the pad on Sunday mornings if you need to communicate with the office. Pastor Mike is a little preoccupied on Sundays, so use this pad to assure these tasks are completed. Thank you!!!

Please schedule any appointments with Pastor Mike through the office .
Follow Ebenezer UCC Chilton on Facebook to be sure you're getting the latest news!
Dexter Sattler: April 1
Judie Giebel: April 1
Serenity Kubichka: April 3
Zach Platner: April 3
Kevin Lau: April 5
Rosemary Daun: April 10
Callie Woelfel: April 10
Jason Wagner: April 11
Kari Meyers: April 14
Jamie Plate: April 15
Frank Cmejla: April 16
Colleen Marx: April 18
Meghan Adamietz: April 20
Addison Brown: April 20
Sheri Van Beek: April 21
Sophia Bechlem: April 22
Lela Rona: April 23
James Gleason: April 26

May God bless your years and may you continue to bless Ebenezer!
  • Ebenezer Brass will be playing at St. John on the 2nd Sunday of the month and at EUCC on the 4th Sunday. Practice is on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. and open to all! Contact Jill for more information!
  • The Mission Committee is looking for some new members; talk to Nan, Jeanne, Janet, Ruth or Karen if interested. Thank you!
  • Contact Don W. if you are interested in joining the Evangelism Committee!
  • EUCC Rummage Sale: March 28 (5:00 - 8:00 p.m.); March 29 (12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.); and a $4 Bag Sale on March 30 (8:00 a.m. -10:00 a.m.).
  • Sunday, March 31, is the One Great Hour of Sharing Offering.
  • The 21st Annual Women’s Break Away is on Saturday, April 6, at Chilton High School. For details, see the flyer on the board. 
  • The Chilton American Legion Unit 125 is hosting a Spaghetti Supper on April 6 from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. See the letter and flyer on the board for details! 
  • Free Car Seat Check: Stop in at Vande Hey Brantmeier and get your child’s car seat checked on Wednesday, April 10. See the flyer on the board for details! 
  • The Memory Café meets on the 2nd Thursday of the month at the Chilton Public Library. See the board for details.  
  • Upcoming events at Lakeland College have been posted to the bulletin board. 
  • Information about The Appleton Visually Impaired Support Group is located on the bulletin board for anyone interested in the topic of vision loss. 
  • The March/April Upper Room devotional guide is available in the Narthex book rack. Help yourself!
  • A pew card for those that give electronically is available for placement in the offering plates on Sunday morning. 
  • Please call the office to schedule any needed appointments with Pastor Mike.
  • EUCC will be video recording select worship services; please contact the church office for details. 
The EUCC Calendar can be viewed online anytime at: https://churchtraconline.com/public_calendar?ui=FDBEB63