The Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee

 

 
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E-NEWS

August 22, 2014

  

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In This Issue
A message from Bishop Miller..."Woman, behold thy son."
The Rev. Jim Kaester celebrates the 55th Anniversary of his Ordination
Peace in the Middle East - prayer service at St. Matthew's, Kenosha
Combined Fund Short-Term Income Investment Pool
Diocese offers used staff car, 2006 Saturn Ion, for sale
Trustees of Funds and Endowment Announce New Investment Pools
Learn More about your Faith!...EFM
Camp Webb 2014: "Feed My Sheep"
Register NOW for Fall Church Development Institute
Community of Hope program offered at All Saints' Cathedral
Julian of Norwich gathering
KAIROS Prison Ministry
VBS at St. Thomas of Canterbury
What does it mean to be community?...by Peggy Bean, Canon for Parishes
 

The Episcopal Church Wants Your Feedback! 
Our church wants YOUR feedback: The Task Force for Reimagining the Episcopal Church (TREC) is looking at the structure of our church and how we do our life and policies together. Go to reimaginetec.org and you will see a place on the home page for feedback about your thoughts on the church.
 
 
Welcome to E-NEWS, the Diocese of Milwaukee's weekly electronic newsletter.  If you are not already a subscriber or wish to add or change e-mail addresses, please click on the "Join Our Mailing List" icon.   We invite you to send articles, photos, and news to [email protected] so that we may include them in the E-NEWS. 
Barbara Klauber, Editor
A message from Bishop Miller

    

"Woman, behold thy son."

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

          These words of Jesus to his mother from the cross came to my mind yesterday and with them the image of Michelangelo's Pieta, Mary holding the body of her dead son, a victim of violence. My mind then turned to the other dead sons, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, and so many others who have been killed. My mind also turned to Marquette alum, the reporter James Foley killed by terrorists and the countless others who have been killed in Israel and Gaza in this most recent round of fighting ignited in no small part by the kidnapping and murder of three boys. I thought of their mothers, too.

          As a pastor, I have listened and prayed with those who have lost a child. Recently, one person shared with me that even thirty years later, the loss is still there and the absence is still felt. Even the thought of having to bear such a loss sends shivers down my spine.

          So I began to wonder if those who perpetrate violence would do so if they could see the faces, truly see and envision the faces of the mothers of their victims. I do see those mothers' faces and it renews my commitment to do all within my power to end the senseless violence in our communities. I invite you to join me and other bishops of this church who are working to end gun violence by lobbying for sensible gun laws that uphold the constitution and reduce crime. Visit our Facebook page Episcopalians against Gun Violence to learn more.  

          Join me, too, in praying for peace not just as a cessation of hostility but as an outbreak of God's reign.  May God make us instruments and agents of his peace.

 

The Rt. Rev. Steven A. Miller

Bishop of Milwaukee 

The Rev. Jim Kaester celebrates the 55th Anniversary of his Ordination tot he Priesthood
On Saturday, August 23rd at 4:30 pm at Zion Episcopal Church, Oconomowoc, The Rev. James A. Kaestner will celebrate the 55th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.  A reception will follow the service. 
All members of the diocese are invited and welcomed to join Fr. Kaestner in celebrating and giving thanks for his 55 years in the ordained ministry, all of them spent in the Diocese of Milwaukee, where he was ordained.
Zion, Oconomowoc is located at 135 Rockwell Place, Oconomowoc, WI 53066.
Peace in the Middle East:  An Order for Evening at St. Matthew's, Kenosha 
A service of prayer and remembrance dedicated to peace in the Middle East:  Please join us for an evening of prayer, silence and meditation as we remember those suffering in the Middle East. 
The service will take place on Sunday, August 31st at 5pm at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, located at 5900 Seventh Avenue, Kenosha, WI 53140.
Combined Fund Short-Term Income Investment Pool

Bake Sales?  Cookie Sales?  Yard Sales?  Chili Cook-offs?

Fund-raising for a youth group trip? A Fix-it project around the church?

Thinking about a short-term CD or a short term money market account?

Want a Bigger Return?

Ask Us About The NEW Combined Fund Short-term Income Investment Pool! 

 

The Short-Term Income Investment Pool is intended for investment of short-term funds with an investment horizon up to about eighteen months. This pool would be an alternative to money market investments and short-term CD's. This portfolio would not be FDIC insured.

 

Allocation: Ultra short-term, short-term and intermediate term fixed income funds and 5% in and S&P 500 Index Fund. 

Risk Profile: Goal is not to have a loss in any single one-year period. There could be a loss in a given calendar quarter. 

Anticipated Total Returns:Investment returns are expected to exceed the rate of inflation and to exceed money market fund rates by 2% annually over time. 

Minimum Initial Investment:   $1,000.00

Withdrawals: There are no automatic distributions of income from the Pool. Withdrawals may be made on demand once per calendar quarter.  

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Please Help the Homeless of Milwaukee by supporting Sundries on the Avenue & Red Door at Diocesan Convention  

 

Daily, too many of our economically distressed brothers and sisters in the Milwaukee area ask themselves the following question,

"Do I buy food, medicine or hygiene products?"

 

St. James Episcopal Church is delighted to help answer that question through the ministry of "Sundries from The Avenue." Working in concert with Outreach Ministry of the Central City Churches of Milwaukee, "Sundries from The Avenue" gathers and provides sundries at no cost to single adults and families living on low-incomes, on fixed-incomes or with no incomes.

 

Please join us in helping meet a critical need by bringing the following unused personal size or individually wrapped sundries to the Diocesan Convention on October 10-11, 2014 at the Madison Marriott West in Madison.

 

Items needed include:

Tooth Brushes,Toothpaste, Shampoo, Soap, Kleenex, Deodorant, Disposable Razors, Mouthwash, Feminine Hygiene Products, Combs, Hair Brushes, Shaving Cream, Lip Balm, Dental Floss, Band aids, Bandages, and  Hand Lotion.     

 

Gently used or new jeans are also being collected for the Red Door clothing ministry.  Greatest need is for MEN'S jeans in large/extra large sizes.  Please bring jeans to the "Sundries" display at Convention.                                                                           

Thank you!  Together we can make a meaningful difference!

Diocese offers used staff car, 2006 Saturn Ion, for sale
Know of anyone who needs a good used car?  The Diocese of Milwaukee offers for sale this 2006 Saturn Ion for sale for $5700 -- make an offer!  The car has 72,966 miles and has been well maintained.  Contact Marlene Udovich, diocesan finance officer, for more information at [email protected] or (414) 272-3028/ext. 157.
 
Trustees of Funds and Endowment Announce New Investment Pools

For the past year or so, the Board of Trustees of Funds and Endowments has been discussing alternative investment opportunities that would benefit all of the Episcopal entities in the Diocese of Milwaukee -  large and small,  well-resourced or struggling.

The Board has developed two different potential options for investing in addition to the long-term, legacy funding that is the current Combined Fund.  The new pools include a mid-term investment opportunity that might work for capital fund drives and a short-term opportunity that might work in lieu of a CD or money market account.

Please click on  survey link  or cut and paste this link into your browser -  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NXZCWLG  -  then read the information and answer the seven-question survey.   

Thank you for taking the time, we need to hear from all parishes and Episcopal entities.  


Learn More about your Faith!
EFM is a distance learning program administered by the School of Theology of the University of the South at Sewanee.  It is an in-depth program of theological education that seeks to expose laypersons to theological studies and to help them to integrate those studies into their lives and ministry.
EFM has two components.  The first component is study.  The program is a four-year course that you commit to one year at a time.  In the first year, you study the Old Testament.  In the second, the New Testament.  In the third, Church History, and in the fourth, Christian Theology.  Many of the texts are the same ones used in our Episcopal seminaries.
The second component is weekly group meetings, where readings are discussed and we enter into theological reflection, which connects our own experience to our Christian heritage.  It is truly an amazing process that has to be experienced to be understood.
The commitment is significant.  It requires a meeting a week and several hours of study time. Our meeting time is Thursday night.   This is an adult learning environment, so there are no tests or quizzes, but you get out of it what you put into it.  There is a tuition cost of $350 for the year (reduced if couples sign up), but there are scholarships available from many sources.  PLEASE, if money is stopping you, don't let it.  We will make sure that anyone who wishes to participate will not be turned aside for monetary reasons. We have scholarship aid available from the parish, the diocese, and Sewanee.  I myself needed financial support for several of my years of EFM. 
You can get more information at the EFM website .  If you are interested, please e-mail me and let me know. [email protected] .

The Rev. David Simmons
Camp Webb 2014: "Feed My Sheep"

What an awesome camp season! We had 11 staff members and 40 campers! This year's theme was "Feed My Sheep," from John 21:15-17. We discovered together about how to plant and grow gardens and eat the fresh produce our gardens grew. We learned about the issues and needs of the hungry in our local communities and around the world. We completed a food pack with World Hunger Relief and shared a World Hunger Dinner. At this special dinner our first course was a bowl of white rice for 6-8 people to share at a table - this is what the majority of the world's population eats in one day. The message really hit home in the minds and hearts of our campers and staff.

Of course we had all the fun of camp: swimming, ropes course, variety show, camp fires and a dance party. We also said a big, "Thank you," and "Good-bye," to Sarah Hoff who has been our Program Director for the last five years. We'll miss her and wish all the best to her. We welcomed Rev. Elizabeth Tester, Rector of St. Paul's, Watertown as our new Camp Webb Director! Liz brings with her many years of experience as director of Camp Henery in North Carolina. Rev. Carla McCook will still have oversight of the director and Camp Webb; but, Liz will be responsible for planning, programming and staffing camp.

We want to say a THANK YOU to all campers and persons who donated craft items and costumes to replenish what we had lost in the flood of 2013. I also want to say THANK YOU to the parishes and individuals who gave scholarships so campers could attend camp. Without your prayerful and financial support Camp Webb would not be growing again and successful. Liz and I hope to expand the Camp Webb program in 2015. We want to move from a maximum of 40 campers to 80 campers! This will include a new Counselors in Training program in 2015, too.  

Please LIKE our Camp Webb Face Book page at https://www.facebook.com/CampWebbWisconsin . You can keep in touch with the Camp Webb Community and get up to date camp information. You can also stay connected through E-News and Christian Formation E-News or check out website at http://www.diomil.org/forming-disciples/camp-webb/ .

 

The 2014 Camp Webb campers! 

Register NOW for Fall Church Development Institute
Now is the time to register for upcoming cycles of Church Development Institute!

Peggy Bean, Canon for Parishes, explains that the next cycle will be a Saturday - Sunday format, which provides opportunity to invite people who cannot take a Friday off work.  It also  allows for experiencing Morning Prayer not only at DCDI but also at participant's home parishes if they so choose.  

The upcoming DCDI Cycle:  

November 1 - 2, 2014; Jan. 17 - 18, 2015;

March 21 - 22, 2015; May 16 - 17, 2015

 
hope dove
Community of Hope program offered at All Saints' Cathedral - Fall 2014

All Saints' Cathedral will offer a fall Community of Hope session on Monday evenings.   This program is designed to help lay people discern a call to any variety of ministries (such as, but, not limited to, volunteering at nursing homes, hospitals, home communion ministries, helping in shelters, teaching Sunday school, etc...)  It is a 12-week course that meets weekly.  At the end there will be a day-long retreat.  Participants will also be asked to think about some form of ministry that they would like to explore for 6 months following the completion of the course work.  COH provides some practical and spiritual tools for these ministries.  COH is deeply rooted in Benedictine spirituality.  As part of the course the participants will read and discuss Benedict's rule.

 

After discerning and finding a particular ministry, COH has a second component called Circle of Care.  Graduates meet on a periodic basis for mutual support.  The Circle of Care group here meets once a month.  They share simple supper and spend the evening talking about their various ministries and any problems or successes that they would like to share.  People from our first cycle from 2 years ago are working as volunteers at St. John's on the Lake and at two hospices in the area.

 

If you would like more information, including class schedules, please contact Fr. Kevin Carroll at All Saints' Cathedral via phone or email at [email protected].

LECM is looking for 30 people to donate $300 to help change the world!
Do you want to transform others and teach them about God's LOVE? 30 by 300 is the answer. The Lutheran-Episcopal Campus Ministry in Whitewater is looking for 30 people who can commit to support the LECM by donating $300.00 dollars. By supporting LECM and the 30 by 300 program, you will be feeding 250 students weekly and you will teach others to give freely in the name of God. Help us transform this community, help us teach the youth about God's love and help us feed thousands by supporting the LECM Spaghetti Meals. For more information about LECM and out spaghetti meals for the UW-Whitewater students please visit us at www.lecmww.org or email us at [email protected]
Julian of Norwich gathering

Madison-Area Julian Gathering

Wednesday, September 10, 7:15 - 9:00 PM

St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church

6205 University Avenue

Madison, WI  53705

 

Who is Julian of Norwich, and why are people gathering to learn about her?

 

Julian of Norwich was a 15th Century English mystic and anchoress.  [What's an anchoress?  In the Middle Ages, certain women and men chose to live a life intensely devoted to prayer permanently enclosed in a small room, called an anchorhold, attached to a parish church.]  Little is known about Julian's life, but she wrote a book, as far as we know the first in English written by a woman, about a series of revelations which opened her to the depths of God's unconditional love for us in Jesus Christ.  Nearly forgotten for 600 years, Julian's insights and gentle wisdom are becoming ever more widely known and appreciated.  Thomas Merton called her "the greatest theologian for our time."

Julian prayed often in silence, and at a Julian Gathering we support each other in the practice of contemplative prayer and contemplative spirituality.  These gatherings are initiated and supported by the Order of Julian of Norwich (www.orderofjulian.org).  They are open to all who want to deepen their life of faith through the practice of contemplative prayer, for beginners as well as those already practicing.  Each meeting includes time for contemplative prayer, fellowship, and reading/discussion of Julian's book.  At the beginning of each meeting, brief instruction on the practice of contemplative prayer is offered.    

We meet the second Wednesday of each month from

7:15 to 9 PM.  For additional information, contact Susan Fiore at (608)845-2413 or [email protected].

KAIROS Prison Ministry

St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Sussex, Wisconsin will host the Wisconsin State Chapter Committee meeting

of the Kairos Prison Ministry on Saturday, August 23 from 9am to 12noon.The meeting is open to all who have an interest in prison ministry in Wisconsin. Those who attend will learn what is being planned for this special ministry in the Wisconsin prisons and how to become a volunteer for upcoming weekends in both men and women's correctional institutions in Wisconsin.  

Depending on the number of prison residents who attend a Kairos weekend, volunteer inside teams of 24 to 45 are needed for each facility, plus an outside team of 6 to 8 men or women.Kairos has entered the Oshkosh Correctional Institution and hopes soon to present the Kairos Program to other prisons throughout the state.Kairos is similar to the four day Cursillo weekends, except for being held inside prison walls. It is an opportunity to spread the love of Jesus Christ to incarcerated men and women, offering an opportunity to reconnect with God and find forgiveness.

All are welcome to learn about Kairos Prison Ministry on Saturday August 23rd from 9:00AM to 12:00PM at St. Alban's Episcopal Church, located at W239 W6440 Maple Avenue, Sussex, WI 53089.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Lots-A-Loot sale at St. Luke's, Madison
On Friday, August 22 (9am-2pm) and Saturday, August 23 (8am - 3pm) the Lots-A-Loot Rummage & Bake Sale takes place at St. Luke's, Madison.  The event features toys, linens, furniture, baby items, electronics, housewares, clothing (kids and adult), books, videos, DVD's, craft supplies, sporting goods, collectibles . . . and MORE!  The parish is located at 4011 Major Avenue, Madison, WI 53716 (corner of Lake Edge Boulevard & Major Avenue, 2 blocks East of Monona Drive).  Questions?  Call the parish at (608) 222-6921.
 
St. Mary's, Dousman Fall Fest October 5 
In conjunction with the Dousman Fire Department and in memory of Richard Stephan, St. Mary's, Dousman hosts the 2014 Fall Fest on October 5 from 11AM - 3PM.  The fest will offer music, a Farmer's Market, food, pottery, fun activities for children, a Bake Sale, and a Fire Department raffle for a child to win a ride to school on a fire truck!! ALL are WELCOME! St. Mary's is located at the corner of Hwy 18 & Hwy 67  in Dousman.  Flyer
What does it mean to be community?
by Peggy Bean, Canon for Parishes

What does it mean to be community? We know as we look at our congregations there is a lot that happens in the parish community both in mission and ministry and there are many individuals apart from one's parish who are active in a variety of communities.

But what about us as a Diocesan community, what does that look like? The Commission on Mission and Development has pondered that question over the last few years and continues to hold that question up as we do our work.

We believe by building relationships, in offering support (financially, educationally, and prayerfully) and by journeying with others into the wider world we form Diocesan Community. Together we are building stronger congregations, forming disciples and doing the work of the Kingdom.

 

The Rev. Mike Tess, Vicar of Good Shepherd in Sun Prairie and I are looking into the issues of hospitality in a multicultural world. We started asking questions such as: How are our congregations in truly welcoming those who come from different parts of the globe? What does the word welcome really mean and specifically how do we show it? Is our community really open to all in our neighborhoods?   Do we know who are neighbors are and if they were to come into our churches what would they see and feel? Would this be a place they would truly feel welcomed into?
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One more time . . . THANK YOU for forwarding this newsletter to parishioners and others who may be  interested and for sending YOUR news/events / photos to [email protected] !
  
See you next week!
 
Sincerely,
 
Barb

Barbara Klauber
Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee