St. Timothy Lutheran Church 473 Seventh Street, Menasha, Wisconsin 54952 (920) 725-2622

www.sttimlc.org

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America God’s work. Our hands.

June/July 2014 Dear friends, Here are a few items on my heart and mind these days: For many of us, the months of June, July, and August take us away from our usual routines. Even still, I’d like to ask you to do a couple of things this summer: + Worship with us at St. Tim’s (9 a.m. on Sundays and 6:30 p.m. on Mondays). Bring your relatives and friends if they’re visiting. + Worship wherever you are when you travel. + Send your offering to the Church by mail if you’re not in town or drop it by the Church office. Another great option is giving automatically through your checking or savings account – you choose the amount that you’d like to have withdrawn. For more information, please call Karen Lamia in the Finance office here at St. Timothy at 725-2622. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Middle School and High School News + Confirmation – I’ve been very happy with Confirmation for a number of reasons. We’ve had great adult mentors who have co-led 2 small groups this year – Vicki Boushele and Monica Rasmussen, Stephanie Jacobs and Laurie Fenner. Thanks also to Dawn Vande Walle for keeping track of all the sermon notes and service hours. Students and families have also been very faithful with class attendance. I also thought the New Testament independent project presentations in the fellowship hall on Sunday, February 2 were well done. We ended this year with a Bowling Night at Sabre Lanes in Menasha on Wednesday, May 21. + Mission Trip to Benton Harbor, Michigan is July 27 - August 1. 7 high school students (Milayna Haushalter, Lauren Jacobs, Gabbie Mitchell, Emily Montour, Lauren Reetz, Jared Skarsten, and Jarret Smith) and 3 adults (Angela Cuhel, Jeff Montour, and I) will be participating. Our mission trip to Benton Harbor is part of a larger group of participants attending mission trips organized throughout the U.S. by YouthWorks. This is our 5th mission trip organized through YouthWorks – previously we’ve gone to Cass Lake, Minnesota, Benton Harbor, Michigan (summer of 2010), Milwaukee, and Minneapolis. YouthWorks’ mission is to provide life-changing, Christ-centered youth mission opportunities for youth ages 1219. Their core values are 6-fold: youth-minded, servant leadership, relationship oriented, life change, multidenominational, and ministry focused. We’ll be staying at the Dream Academy in Benton Harbor. Dream Academy is a local charter school with roughly 250 students that works to empower local youth to become leaders in their community. The entire building has air conditioning and we’ll be sleeping in classrooms throughout the school. We’ll take showers at the Salvation Army located 2 blocks away. Listed below are some of the ministry sites: Work Projects – Various projects throughout the community Page 1

Senior Centers – Benton Harbor Senior Center Children’s Programs – Salvation Army Day Care, Boys and Girls Club Our evening activities will include the following: Monday: I’m Saving Myself, a local music ministry, will come and speak to us about the community and their ministry. They will also perform some dance routines and songs for us. Tuesday: We will be traveling across the river to the neighboring city of St. Joseph for a scavenger hunt which is very different socioeconomically than Benton Harbor. The scavenger hunt will be a fun time to explore the city, but will also show the stark differences between St. Joseph and Benton Harbor despite how close they are in proximity to one another. Wednesday: A growing movement in Benton Harbor and driving an economic upswing has been the arts movement. Water Street Glassworks has been a huge part of the movement. Hosting a glassblowing studio, art gallery, and gelato shop, Glassworks focuses on empowering local youth by providing them with skills and a job while also providing delicious Gelato for the community. Thursday: Our meal will be hosted by a local family-owned BBQ restaurant in the community. The Lark’s have been advocates and friends of YouthWorks since YouthWorks began hosting groups in Benton Harbor! This is a great opportunity to enjoy a laid-back evening, as well as experience a local favorite meal. After dinner we will head to the beach for swimming and Club. Benton Harbor has a rich yet sobering history. Benton Harbor and St. Joseph’s are known as the “Twin Cities” given their close proximity, which is separated by the St. Joseph River. Since the collapse of Benton Harbor’s manufacturing industry, the region has faced significant racial tension and unrest due to the prevalent opportunity and prosperity of one city and the poverty of the other. While there is a significant effort at revitalization in Benton Harbor, there are also tough realities that are still being reconciled within both communities. Mission trips are important in the life of a congregation – they help students stay close to Jesus and the Church. The event itself is important; also important is the bonding and activities throughout the year leading up to the event. I know of no other church that has an active youth program that doesn’t offer at least one yearly mission trip for high school students. Please pray that our students and adults will grow deeper in the faith and in connection with the Church through this experience. Thank you for your continuing support and encouragement! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Staff update – As many of you know, Bob and Jan Fahrbach, our volunteer financial administrators since May 2005, have retired from this position. Over these 9 years, Bob and Jan have been a gift to me and to our congregation. They’ve served us well with skill, faith, and commitment. In addition to their many financial administrator duties, they’ve found time to be instrumental with many other activities and ministries. It’s also important for us to remember that all of this was done by them on a volunteer basis. I’m pleased to say that Karen Lamia has agreed to serve as our volunteer financial administrator. For a few months now, Karen has been trained for this position by Bob and Jan. We give thanks to God for Karen, Bob, and Jan! See you in church!

Pastor David Skarsten

Page 2

Parish Registry Office Hours Monday – Friday 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Funeral + Olivier Hoppe, age 73, on May 16, 2014. Congratulations to our 2014 graduates! + Brillion High School: Milayna Haushalter + Menasha High School: Jake Kraus, Brooke Mentzel, Stella Plekan + Ogden High School, Ogden, Utah: Tara Werth + UW Oshkosh: Amber All ************************ Summer worship service schedule Remember that the sanctuary is air-conditioned! Sundays throughout the year – 9 a.m. with Holy Communion. Mondays throughout the year – 6:30 p.m. with Holy Communion offered on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Mondays. Monday services continue to be 30 minutes in length and meet in the sanctuary. Make worship a priority for you and your family this summer! Flower chart is available in the narthex. If you wish to recognize a special person or event, write your name on the date chosen with an explanation as to what it is. Examples are a birthday, anniversary, wedding anniversary, etc. The cost is $30 which you may place in the offering plate marked “altar flowers” or mail your payment to the Church office. Thank you! Koffee Klutch – Are you looking for some fellowship this summer? How about some good coffee cake for breakfast? Be on board for our latest fun fellowship...Koffee Klutch! We will be doing this on Sunday, June 8, Sunday, July 13, and Sunday, August 10 in the fellowship hall after the worship service. There is a sign-up in the narthex for coffee cake donations. Let’s see how many kinds we can try this summer!

Phone (920) 725-2622 Web Page www.sttimlc.org Your Staff Rev. David Skarsten Pastor Debbie Peterson Administrative Assistant Karen Lamia Financial Administrator Mary Ellen Pomerenke Organist Kevin Plekan Music Director What’s Inside Church Announcements Church Council Minutes June/July Calendar Pastor’s Message Worship Schedules

Website – Most of you know by now that St. Timothy’s has a new website: www.sttimlc.org. But did you know that St. Timothy’s has a Facebook page as well? Click on the Facebook icon on our new website and click LIKE to become a friend. We post upcoming events and things that are going on at St. Timothy’s! We can also be found on Facebook – under St. Timothy Lutheran - Menasha. Mission Trip Bake Sale – Sunday, June 15 (Father’s Day) Mission trip students and their parents are hosting a bake sale on Sunday, June 15 before and after the 9 a.m. service with home baked goods for sale just in time to help compliment your Father’s Day brunch or dinner plans! While the students and their parents will be doing the majority of the baking, we will gladly accept your home baked goods for inclusion in the sale. You may bring your items on Saturday, June 14 between 9 and 11 a.m. or prior to the 9 a.m. service on Sunday. Any baked goods remaining following Sunday’s sale will also be available both before and after the 6:30 p.m. Monday night service. Please have the items pre-priced and prepackaged for the sale. All money earned from this sale will go towards helping to offset their costs for the upcoming Mission Trip in July. If you have questions, contact Jackie Montour at 574-2911.

Page 3

Get your ice cream cake just in time for your summer celebration! The mission trip students are having a Dairy Queen ice cream sale on Sundays from June 2 through June 23. Cake tickets range from $8.40 to $30.95 with proceeds from the sale going towards the mission trip. Payment is due when ordering your cakes. Ice Cream cakes can be picked up from the Oneida or Richmond St. Dairy Queen. The cakes would be a delicious addition to any event you may be planning! Cake coupons will be available on Sunday, June 29 before and after the 9 a.m. service. For questions about this fundraiser, please contact Dori Smith at 450-3734 or Stephanie Jacobs at 730-0582. Those celebrating birthdays in June are: Dorothy Van Loo 6/01 Becki Hahnen Tom Reetz 6/01 Jeff Vaughan Brett Peterson 6/01 Jamie Lamers Shane Kelliher 6/02 Jan Schroeder Jimmy Brodhagen 6/02 Terry Jacob Jarret Smith 6/02 Jamie Jacobs Glorianne Meyer 6/03 Allison Dedering Pete Johnson 6/03 Jolene Wouters Pauline Cleveland 6/04 Ros Stanke Joann Mariahazy 6/04 Don Meyer Hailey Gatza 6/04 Sandee Holewinski Isabel Lamia 6/04 Traci Klitzke Christine Huber 6/05 Alice Gazecki Alexis Samp 6/07 Holly Lohff Diane Kossel 6/08 Gary Smarzinski Judy Peterson 6/08 Robin Cleveland Maxwell Davey 6/08 Dave Hanson LaVerne Helein 6/09 Kris Stahl

6/10 6/11 6/11 6/12 6/12 6/13 6/17 6/17 6/18 6/18 6/19 6/19 6/21 6/21 6/22 6/22 6/23 6/23

Jordan Vanden Plas Samantha Davey Ashley Hildebrand Kelly Brodhagen Jeff Huber John Kasper Angela Ebben Stella Plekan Mason Goerlitz Xavier Krueger Angela Wisneski

6/23 6/23 6/23 6/25 6/25 6/26 6/26 6/26 6/26 6/27 6/29

Those celebrating birthdays in July are: Jody Mainville 7/01 Claire Gallant Brett Lamers 7/02 Ruth Bennett Tim Mattson 7/02 Arlene Sheehy Vicki Wendt 7/02 Mike Christman Drew Gallant 7/02 Patrick Borree Brianna Erdmann 7/03 Owen Krueger Brenda Samp 7/04 Brianna Huber Sunday Kislewski 7/05 Ryan O’Reilly Angela Cuhel 7/07 Chris Lehrer Dennis Lamers 7/08 Cody Kelliher Brittany Werth 7/08 Zachary Lemke Stephanie Jacobs 7/11 James Behrendt Stephen Plekan 7/11 Jim Chew Tony Lamia 7/12 Gerald Bobula Iris O’Reilly 7/14 Len Dessart Michael Steinmetz 7/15 Milayna Haushalter Arlene West 7/16 LaVerne White Janice Klitzke 7/16 Arnold Jones Beth Reetz 7/16 Jodi Goerlitz

7/16 7/17 7/17 7/17 7/17 7/18 7/19 7/20 7/20 7/20 7/20 7/21 7/22 7/23 7/23 7/24 7/24 7/26 7/26

Kasper Will Amy Borree Devon Bergner Brennan McCarthy Andrew Gatza Virginia Volkman Dina Mitchell Michael Burrows Abigail Selig Jordan McCarthy Jackie Montour

7/26 7/28 7/28 7/28 7/28 7/29 7/30 7/30 7/30 7/30 7/31

Page 4

Year-to-Date Budget Needs through April: $76,816 Year-to-Date Contributions Received through April: $86,263 Year-to-date surplus through April: $9,447 SCRIP SALES Cards 153 307

Card Value $6,055.00

Card Cost $5,746.77

$12,035.00

$11,715.61

April Income $243.23 2014 Income $589.39

April Giving Tree raised funds for the youth mission trip. Thank you to all who donated. $70 was raised. June Giving Tree has been designated to raise funds for Feed My Starving Children. If you wish to make an offering toward these expenses, please place your donation in an envelope taken from the Giving Tree located in the narthex and drop it in the offering plate. Thank you! July Giving Tree has been designated to raise funds for the Exterior maintenance of the garage. If you wish to make an offering toward these expenses, please place your donation in an envelope taken from the Giving Tree located in the narthex and drop it in the offering plate. Thank you! No checks, no cash, no fuss! – Did you know that you can have your pledge amount automatically deducted from your checking or savings account every month? You can choose whatever day of the month works best for you. You will still receive a box of envelopes to use for holidays or special occasions. Electronic giving makes it easy to keep up your pledge even when you are away. Please contact Karen Lamia in the Finance Office (7252622) to get your deduction started now! Church Wish List is a list of items that are available for purchase with donations. You may donate all or a portion of the cost in honor or in memory of an event or a person or simply make a donation. Memorial funds may also be designated toward wish list items. Use the extra envelopes in the pews and clearly identify what the donation is for. If you have any questions or items to add, please contact a Council member. Item

Approximate Cost

Outlets and fixtures for garage

$400

Status

**************************** Annual Food Drive – This year we’re holding our food drive from June through August. Every donation will help those in need in our community. Each month we are targeting a few items for donation, however any items are welcome! + For June, we’re looking for soup, canned fruit, and canned vegetables. + For July, we’re seeking canned and boxed pasta, and pasta sauces. + For August, we’re looking for peanut butter, jelly, and boxed or bags of cereal. Please place donations on the stage in the fellowship hall. Every donation helps those in need! Thanks for your support! Service Committee Page 5

Worship and Picnic in Smith Park 2014 – On Sunday, June 22, we’ll be holding our 9 a.m. Worship Service with Holy Communion at the Smith Park Pavilion on Doty Island in Menasha. There will be a Picnic following the service with bingo, face painting, kid’s games and activities for all ages. Lunch will be served around 11:15 a.m. Please bring a dish to pass (meat, buns and beverages will be provided). Look for more information and sign-up sheets in the narthex. Hope to see you there! Cash Donations for Picnic - there are designated envelopes available in the narthex if you would like to contribute to the cost for meat (burgers, brats, hot dogs and Boca burgers), bakery buns, beverages (soda and water) and heavy duty plates. Please place your donation envelope in the offering plate. We thank you for your generosity! We are in need of picnic helpers! Please consider giving a half hour of your time to help make this year’s picnic a successful. We will need help with set-up (7:30 a.m.) and clean-up. This would be a great opportunity for students to earn service hours! If you are able to help out in anyway please contact Greg Oberstadt (224-5109) or Michele Reinke (527-9172). Church Picnic Committee Meeting – We will meet on Wednesday, June 18 at 6:30 p.m. to make the final preparations! Spring Cleaning – Have you done your spring cleaning yet? If so, you know that great feeling you get when you’ve managed to de-clutter your home. We want to follow the same principle at St. Tim’s. While our church would not be what it is today without the generous donations of our members, we can only accept donations if they’re needed. Even though donations are appreciated, there are some items being donated that can’t be used in our church. Items that should NOT be donated include obsolete computers and electronics, floral arrangements, knick knacks, wall hangings and table decorations. When items that cannot be used are just dropped off at church, volunteers must dispose of them. Donations are still desirable, but before bringing in an item (regardless of how large or small), please contact the Church office to determine if it can be used (725-2622 or [email protected]). Thank you from your Church Council *************************************************** Feed My Starving Children – The time for signing up for packing food to help feed starving children around the world is here. St. Timothy has a time slot reserved on Monday, July 22 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. This reservation will give us the ability to pack as a group. There are 19 slots available to us. Fill out the following information and place it in the offering plate or turn it into the Church office and Debbie will complete the registration process. This information must be turned in by June 16th to be eligible for this time frame. There are other time frames available but you will need to go to the FMSC website: http://volunteer.fmsc.org/Register/mobilepack/event.aspx?event=1307-77 to sign up as an individual or family. Name: _________________________________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________________________________________ Phone: ______________________________________________ E-mail: (optional) ________________________________________________________________

Page 6

New member biographies Mike and Elison Elter are a married couple with 2 children Nicholas (6 years old) and Paisley (4 years old). Address and telephone are the following: 1995 E. Shady Ln; Neenah, 358-4208. Joe and Karen DeJardine are a married couple (newlyweds). Joe enjoys baseball...the sports of sports, football, chess, and cards. Joe likes to help people out when they need a helping hand. Karen’s interests are drama and narrating – children ministries. Karen enjoys reading, writing, camping and as for sports...Baseball! Address and telephone are the following: 229 Olde Pulley Ln; #D, Menasha, 751-3726. Debbie Moe is married to Marc Moe. They have 3 grown children Dawn, Brigett and Dustin. Debbie is a controller at Lakeside Marina in Oshkosh. Debbie enjoys reading, long walks, sewing, biking, time with family, fishing, going up north. Debbie has 7 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. Address and telephone are the following: 532 Chain Dr; Appleton, 830-1309. Al Nienke is a single adult and has 2 grown children Travis and Megan. Al works as a Powered Coater Operator for Alliance Industries. Al enjoys bike riding, reading, fishing, and watching the Brewer and Packer games. Address and telephone are the following: 969 7th St; Unit B, Menasha, 707-6788. Cory Ulbrich – Address is the following: 413 First St; Menasha. Kara Walsh is married to Alex Walsh. They have a daughter Lily (6 months old). Address and telephone are the following: 1070 Melrose St; Neenah, 915-0820.

*****************************************

Pictured are confirmation students, adult mentors, and Pastor David at the Confirmation end-of-year party that was held on Wednesday, May 21 at Sabre Lanes in Menasha. Page 7

St. Timothy Lutheran Church Council Meeting, April 15, 2014 Present: Ann Powell, Jeff Montour, Pastor Skarsten, Jayne Oberstadt, Steve Bergner, Mary Rabideau, Sherry Kutchenriter, Bob Pawelkiewicz, Kris Stahl, Arnie Jones Absent: Len Dessart, Ollie Hoppe, Stephanie Jacobs Meeting called to order at 6:02 p.m. by Steve Bergner. Devotions shared by Sherry Kutchenriter. Last Month’s Minutes: M/S/C Jayne Oberstadt/Sherry Kutchenriter to approve the minutes for March 18, 2014 with suggested changes. All voting aye. Treasurer’s Report: Jeff Montour reviewed the March 2014 Treasurer’s budget report which reflects budgeted line items only. M/S/C Bob Pawelkiewicz/Kris Stahl make a motion to approve the Treasurer’s report. All voting aye. Finance: We are in need of volunteers to help sell Scrip on Sunday mornings. We are also in need of Counters. There will be six (6) teams; this means the rotation is only counting once every 6 weeks. Giving Tree Designation: April – Mission Trip, May – Landscaping, June – Feed My Starving Children program, July – Exterior maintenance (on the garage), August – Sunday school supplies. Committee Reports: Youth: No new report. Worship: No new report. Education: No new report. Stewardship: No new report. Hospitality: Meeting held on April 13. • Wish list items were reviewed. • More color was suggested for the Fellowship Hall. Discussion occurred around that and brought forth to the Council. • Concern about securing storage items – where can they be stored? Labeled cabinet or shelf? Storage is for all of St. Tim’s. Committees should look for the place and can use what is available. • Concerns addressed about flowers sold for Mother’s Day. Hospitality committee would have liked to have been involved in that. The Fundraiser is for Feed My Starving Children and brought forward by Steve Bergner. • The next meeting is May 4 after church. Service: Seven (7) Easter baskets were delivered to homebound members. • Some upcoming events that the Service committee will be involved in is the Rose Sale on Mother’s Day and the spring flower sale on May 18 – both of those sales will go to FMSC. Property: The bathrooms will be painted soon with the paint and time donated by Jan & Bob Fahrbach. We are also receiving new countertops in our bathrooms and paper towel holders for handicap accessibility. • Terry Weiland and Steve Bergner installed a new sump pump that needed to be replaced. • The new bow window will be installed within the next month. • We discussed having a Landscaping designer come to our church for a consultation. In addition, the discussion will be held with Ros Stanke as she is one of the keys to this work every year. This was a topic brought up in the annual meeting. • Chimney – chemicals from combustion are eating through the liner and running into the basement. Further work will be discussed. • The doors on School Court (in kitchen) are the original doors. Tri-City Glass met with us and the slide glass does not meet code – current estimate for doors and glass is $8,700 from them (framework not included which is about $4,000). Bob Pawelkiewicz is getting more quotes (i.e. Feldco). A donation of $2,000 currently exists to replace those. • The leak in the skylight in the lounge was looked at last year. This will be looked at more closely now that winter has passed again. Page 8

• The flooring in the Parish hall and hallway into kitchen (stripping and waxing) work (approved last month) will be done on April 28th. • We are in need of some roof repairs. The roofing was originally done by Powell Roofing. There is a 10-year workman warranty so they will need to come back for this. • Programmable light switch was put on in the outside entryway from the parking lot to save electricity. • A walk around will be held soon (when it is warmer) to develop a list of items that should be repaired both inside and outside. Evangelism: No new report, but meeting will be scheduled in May to reconnect with the congregation. Human Development: No new report. Fund balance sent to Peter Mariahazy and Kris Stahl to satisfy their committees’ needs. Personal/Mutual Ministry: • The Financial Assistant position has been interviewed but this person cannot fulfill all hours potentially required. Cross training will start with this person and Bob Fahrbach and once she feels comfortable then another person will be interviewed to fill in the gaps. • There will be a formal notification of salary increases each year as soon as the budget is approved. The Council needs to be conscience and display reminders to ensure this happens. Theatrical Ministry: The Lenten drama was performed on April 9th in the Fellowship Hall and was wellreceived. From the feedback members received, this was great outreach to the community. Pastor’s Report: Pastor will be taking vacation on Monday, April 21 through Wednesday, April 23. • New member gatherings will occur on Sunday, May 4 and Monday, May 5 after the services. Old Business: • Painting is almost completed in the Fellowship Hall. Trim work will then be completed after the flooring has been stripped/waxed. • Additional Wish List items from all committees were combined into our master list. • Fire inspection came through the end of March and passed everything except we need to remove the dead bolt on one of the basement doors. New Business: • Request by Menasha School District to utilize FSH and stage in July. M/S/C Sherry Kutchenriter/Jayne Oberstadt make a motion to approve this request under two conditions: 1) a charge of $50 a day will be required and 2) any liability insurance is carried over from the school to St. Tim’s facility. • Fockel’s Drapery came in to understand what new window treatments we may be looking for in the future with our new windows. They will send Ann Powell rough estimates for the new Lounge bow window, Fellowship Hall, Council/Counting room, and Nursery/Music rooms. These can be put onto the Wish List when the time comes. • A bulletin/newsletter write-up will be published to the let the congregation know that used items that wish to be donated should go through Debbie Peterson or Pastor Skarsten first and not just dropped off at the church. • This year the Sunday school offerings go towards the FMSC program. What about for next year? Ann will mention this to the Sunday school teachers and superintendent in May. One idea from the pastor is Crossways. Devotions for 2014 are as follows: Kris Stahl for May, Arnie Jones for June, Bob Pawelkiewicz for August, Jayne Oberstadt for September, Len Dessart for October, Stephanie Jacobs for November, Jeff Montour for December and Ann Powell for January 2015. M/S/C Jayne Oberstadt/Arnie Jones approved to adjourn the meeting at 8:29 pm. Pastor ended the meeting with a prayer. Respectfully submitted, Ann Powell Page 9

Vacation Bible School 2014 “Agents of the Cross” Registration Form August 4-6, 6:15 to 8 p.m. Vacation Bible School is offered for children in grades Pre-K to 5th grade. Registration forms can be turned into the church office. If you have any questions, please contact Amanda Gawlick at 997-3199 or [email protected] Child’s name: _________________________________________________ Address: _____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Home Phone: _____________________ Cell: _______________________ Age: _____________________ Grade entering in fall of 2014: _____________________________________ Allergies or special diet considerations: ______________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ I would like to volunteer Name: ______________________________________________________ Yes

No

(Circle One)

If yes, Amanda will be calling you.

Page 10

Newly Elected Bishop Gerald Mansholt Congratulations to Bishop Gerald Mansholt who was elected as the Bishop of the East Central Synod of WI (ECSW) on May 17, 2014! He has served as the Interim Bishop in ECSW since January 2014. To learn more about Bishop Mansholt, read his Introductory Letter to the Synod written in January 2014 which is printed below.

Dear Friends in Christ, As your Vice-President and I conversed several times over the past week, we thought it might be helpful for me to write a brief letter of introduction regarding my appointment as interim bishop. Ordained in 1974, I am a pastor at heart. I have served congregations in Oklahoma, St. Louis, and Wichita, Kansas. For the past 12 years I served as bishop of the Central States Synod, one of the larger synods geographically, covering the whole of two states, Missouri and Kansas. The past 4 months have been a time of sabbatical for me with opportunities for rest, reading, lots of exercise, and tending to my spiritual life. Nearly a year ago I began meeting with a spiritual director, a practice that has been of enormous benefit to me in these days of personal transition and discernment of call. My wife Anita and I have been married 43 years and are the parents of two daughters, both married, one in Ohio and and one in the Boston area. And we are grandparents to three girls, ages 8, 3, and 2. Anita teaches middle school math at Notre Dame de Sion in Kansas City. We recognize these are days of transition for us. While living apart for an extended period of time is not our preference, we have done it before and know we can manage a commuter marriage. And Anita herself looks forward to experiencing a bit of Wisconsin as well. My pastoral style is one of listening, first and foremost to the voice of God in Holy Scripture, but also the voice of God that comes through our brothers and sisters in the Church and in the world around us. I have a passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the mission with which we have been entrusted. I bring administrative, relational, and leadership gifts to ministry and work collegially with lay and pastoral colleagues. We are always called to a spirit of humility, but I think that is especially true following the unexpected resignation of your bishop and in these days of transition. Working with the synod staff and the elected leadership of the synod, I would hope that during our time together the spirit of humility would fill our work and help us to provide strong leadership for people of the East Central Wisconsin Synod. God has come to us in grace and mercy and has a promised future for all. While these must be difficult and challenging times for your synod, I hope you can lean into and claim the future God has promised in Jesus Christ. Through the weeks and months to come I trust God will continue to bring healing to all and will strengthen the East Central Wisconsin Synod for your participation in God’s mission of reconciling the world in his love. And you can also trust the Holy Spirit will be at work as you begin the process of discernment leading to the election of a new bishop. I look forward to getting to know you and walking with you over the next several months. In Christ’s peace, Gerald L. Mansholt

Page 11