January 2011 Newsletter

Dear Friends,
I know, I know. You probably don’t’ want to read about making New Year Resolutions. I can hardly blame you. Resolutions are hard to keep. Most of us have good intentions with our resolutions to eat healthier, lose weight, exercise more, etc., but we find that within a month or so we have already failed to keep our resolutions and we simply give up. A tongue-in-cheek article suggested that we need “realistic resolutions. If you set the bar low enough, you’re bound to succeed.” So what kind of New Year Resolutions did this article suggest?

· Gain at least 30 pounds
· Stop exercising. Waste of time.
· Read less. Makes you think.
· Watch more TV.
· Procrastinate more. Starting tomorrow.
· Spend more time at work.
· Take a vacation to someplace important: like to see the largest ball of twine.
· Stop bringing lunch from home: I should eat out more.
· Start being superstitious.
· Get in a whole NEW rut!
Well, these resolutions would be easy enough to keep, but they wouldn’t lead to any personal growth, which is the whole point of resolutions!
Even though resolutions are difficult to keep, they are important for our physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual well-being. You will probably hear on talk-shows, in the news and in other media, resolutions in most of these areas. However, you may not hear much in the way of resolutions for your Spiritual well-being. How can you help yourself grow spiritually in 2011?
I’m glad you asked! Most of the resolutions you already know about – regular worship, Bible study, prayer, participating in Sunday School. These traditional approaches to spiritual well-being usually work. But perhaps there are some new things you could try. Here are some ideas to get you thinking: turn off the radio and use time in the car for prayer … read one Christian book of non-fiction and one Christian book of fiction this year … find another Christian to do weekly devotions with … fast once a week … volunteer with a non-profit organization that helps people in our community … sponsor a child in one of the poorer countries … commit yourself to pray for our church on a daily or weekly basis.
The above are just a few suggestions. There are so many other ways to develop our spiritual well-being. Make a New Year’s resolution to pick one that fits you. And ask God to help you to stick at it. To be sure, New Year’s resolutions are hard to keep, but with God, all things are possible.

Happy New Year!

Pastor Jim

Annual Meeting

The Whiting Community Baptist Church family (that’s you!), will hold its Annual Meeting on Sunday, January 30th, 2011, at 11:30 am. Our meeting will include a Potluck lunch. Please bring food to share. Thanks!

Annual Reports

Each year our church produces an Annual Report, which reflects the year’s ministry in and through our church. These reports are important for our status as a church, as a record of our history, and as a way of communicating our ministry. The following reports are needed: from all staff people in the following ministries: nursery, children’s, youth, special events, outreach, buildings and property, communication and tree farm. Reports are needed from the pastor, the moderator, the treasurer, the financial secretary, and the music director. Reports are also needed from the Velte Committee, the Community Table Committee, and the Memorial Committee. All reports need to be emailed to, or given to Lori Bowers no later than Sunday, January 9th. Thank you.

Directory Updates

In our Annual Report we include a church directory of our church’s members and friends. We include addresses, phone numbers (both landline and cell) and email addresses. Please check last year’s annual report to see if any of your information has changed. If you have a directory update, please get that information to Pastor Jim by January 9th. You can email him at pastorjjs@tds.net. You can also call him at the church office – 722-4312. Thanks.

Church Finances for November 2010

General Funds Needed for November: $6,793
General Fund Monies Received in November: $6,661
General Fund over or (short) for November: ($132)

Mission Funds Needed for November: $922
Mission Funds Received in November: $790
Mission Funds over or (short) for November: ($132)

Through November we are in the black for the year (more funds received than spent) in our General Fund by $1,918.

The Wisconsin Baptist

The Wisconsin Baptist is published once a month by our region office, and posted on our hallway bulletin board. It includes news about churches and people in our American Baptist Churches of Wisconsin, as well as other helpful information. Check it out!

Volunteer Opportunity

The VITA/TCE – Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly – is looking for 100 volunteers to help taxpayers in the Fox Valley who cannot afford professional tax assistance. Tax background can be helpful, but is not necessary. Specific training will be provided. The VITA/TCE volunteers are asked to commit to at least 20 hours on Mondays, Wednesdays , Thursdays, or Saturday between February and April 2011. Volunteer positions include: Site Greeters, who make sure the taxpayers have brought the right materials; E-File Tax Preparers, who help the taxpayer work through the return; and Reviewers, who check the returns to make sure they are completed correctly. For more information call 968-6872, or email Julie at jlamers_gw@gwicc.org.

Camp Tamarack Youth Retreat

“Jesus Flakes: You Are Unique” is the title of the Camp Tamarack Youth Retreat to be held Friday evening, January 28th through Sunday morning, January 30th at Camp Tamarack. All youth ages 13 – 18 are invited. Cost is $90. For more information, see Pastor Jim.

Will It Be You

Who will go the extra mile and move when I command?
Who will step out in faith and grab hold of my hand?
Who will dare to trust me when reason tells you no?
Who will wait upon me in a world that’s on the go?
Who will I find praying, expecting me to hear?
Who will follow faithfully when the pathway isn’t clear?
Who’s willing to obey me in spite of what others think?
Who will climb out of the boat when others say, “You’ll sink!”
Who will praise my name when the roof is caving in?
Who will resist temptation when it’s popular to sin?
Will you be the one who hears my voice today?
If you are, then come, and I will lead the way.
Christine Hare

American Baptist International Ministries

For more than two centuries International Ministries (IM) has walked alongside political refugees from every continent. Eleazar Ziherambere, the former General Secretary of the Union of Baptist Churches in Rwanda (UEBR), has experienced this fact, saying, “International Ministries stood with me in the darkest moments of my life, exiled from my motherland.”
Before he was forced to leave Rwanda, Eleazar had already observed IM’s sensitivity to refugees in Africa. He remembered how in 1988 thousands of citizens from Burundi fled to Rwanda. Because of IM’s financial support, UEBR was able to provide food, medication and New Testaments. That same type of help came to Rwandan refugees in 1994-96, after Eleazar and others fled their homeland in the wake of the genocide that killed more than 800,000 Rwandans. Many of them sought safety across the border in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), where they stayed in refugee camps.
A number of the Rwandan refugees later left Zaire and traveled west, to the Republic of the Congo (known as Congo-Brazzaville). IM again responded to their needs with assistance that included seeds, farming tools and educational materials for children. Today, IM continues to help these former refugees who have established churches in their adopted country.
(from International Ministries ON LOCATION, Autumn 2010)

Living In A Peaceful World

Often when my family gets together and we start dwelling on the awfulness in the world, after awhile my Dad will break into the conversation and remind us what my grandmother would generally say, “Ya, ya, est ist ein bose velt” (loosely translated means: yes, yes, it is an angry world). It generally gets a laugh from the whole family as we affectionately remember my wonderful grandmother, but it also brings to mind the helplessness she felt about what was happening in the world.
As technology causes our world to grow smaller, we are reminded of the wars and scrimmages from the past that have wounded and hurt us. We are also confronted by the diversity of people and places in the world and find out that not everyone thinks the way we do. So, the question is how do we relate to one another, how do we let go of the anger from past hurts and make those healthy connections?
Rev. Desmond Tutu makes the ominous prediction that without forgiveness there is no future. Henri Nouwen suggests that we are all looking for the same unconditional love from one another and when we don’t get it, we strike out and hurt each other, even to the point of abuse and war. He goes on to say we are all guilty of looking for that love in the wrong places (money, success, drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc.) and if we could accept that God is the only source of that love, we could forgive one another and live in a world of peace.
(Prepared by the Samaritan Center of the Fox Valley, 886-9319.)

Food Pantry Change

The American Red Cross Food Pantry of Neenah-Menasha will be discontinued as of January 1, 2011. The Red Cross Food Pantry has seen a drop off of those seeking assistance while other larger food programs have reported significant growth in their programs. With the American Red Cross Food Pantry no longer being an option for us to feed the hunger in our community, we will now be collecting food for St. Joe’s Food Program. St. Joe’s has been around for a long time and has effectively fed the hungry of our community. They are located on Opportunity Way in Menasha, which is the same complex that has Leaven and Community Clothes Closet. Please continue your ministry to the hungry of our community by bringing food to our church which will then be donated to the St. Joe’s Food Program. Thank you.

The Essential Old Testament, by Rev. V. Rex Woods

The late Rev. Rex Woods was pastor of Whiting Community Baptist Church for over a dozen years. While pastor, Rex wrote curriculum and taught a class on The Essential Old Testament. Rex’s wife, Nancy, recently published his book, and has sent us a copy inscribed in this way: To Whiting Community Baptist Church. Thank you for twelve wonderful years together. We are so blessed to have this manuscript. If you would like to borrow it from our church library, please see Pastor Jim.

January Greeters

2 Nancy Biettler
9 Nancy Biettler
16 Nancy Biettler
23 Nancy Biettler
30 Nancy Biettler

January Birthdays

7 Margaret Huff
9 Troy Fisher
12 Kristin Bachorz
14 Krystal Rose
14 Perry Smith
18 Nancy Biettler
19 Doug Johnson
19 Holly Robinson
22 Kordell Grade
23 Kortney Fisher
26 Christina Hudson
27 Kaley Hill
28 Tina Bachorz

January Wedding Anniversaries

12 Dottie & Tom Dowman