St. Paul’s LutheranChurch † 11 November 2003
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Sharing the Heart of Jesus in the Heart of the Northwoods!
December2017/ January 2018
St. Paul Lutheran Church † Page December 2017 / January 2018
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St. PaulLutheranChurch
12 East Wisconsin Avenue
Tomahawk, WI54487
715.453.5391
On the Web
Church
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Dear Members of St. Paul,
Here is a modern day parable that I wrote. With each news-letter, you will receive a new parable to inspire and motivate!
Pastor Greg Laska
Parable of the Amazing Maze
The kingdom of heaven is like a corn maze that was on the old Wilson farm. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson sold pumpkins every year and would always create a maze in their 80-acre cornfield next to the pumpkin patch. The kids who came for a pumpkin loved to run through the maze and see who could figure out the right path through the maze. Each year it was cut differently from the past. Mrs. Wilson told the local newspaper that this year’s maze would be the most amazing of all. She called it the “Amazing Maze.” They had planned it out carefully so that it would not be easy. The rules for going through the maze were posted at the entrance to the cornfield. Most importantly, there could be no cutting through the rows of corn in order to prevent trampling the clear cut walls of the maze.
A minivan arrived on a Saturday afternoon with four ten-year-old boys, the mother of one of them, and her father. Everyone picked out their pumpkins and the grandfather paid for them. Then it was time to try the “Amazing Maze.” They walked to the corner of the cornfield where the maze began, and the boys ran into the maze quickly. The mother began walking, but she looked behind to see if her father was going to be alright. He smiled at her and motioned for her to go on with the boys. She looked back at him and saw him walking along with his right hand touching the wall of corn stalks. The thought occurred to her that he might have some problems with his balance.
For the first half hour, the boys could be heard in various parts of the maze, shouting out to each other. The weather was perfect and it was a great activity for them. The mother began to realize that finding their way out of the maze would be much more difficult than she anticipated. It made her think about her divorce two years before. She expected the process to be reasonable but it was ugly. She was so grateful that her father stood by her side through it all. He prayed for her every day and often came to her home during that time to share some Scripture. He had such great faith! An hour later she had become convinced that there was no way out of the maze. It truly was an amazing maze. One by one, the boys each met up with her and decided to follow her even though she did not know where she was going. The sun was going down and she considered that they may need to break the rule about cutting through the rows. The low angle of the sun made some parts of the maze very dark.
As she and the boys walked along making many haphazard turns, they came upon her father who was walking in the opposite direction. His right hand was still touching the wall of cornstalks. She felt sorry that she had brought him along. They stopped to talk to him. The boys each saying that this was the most difficult corn maze they had ever been in. The old man smiled and said, “Actually, it is not difficult at all. There is a way out of every maze. If you walk with your right hand touching the wall of corn stalks and never take your hand off, you will eventually come out safely on the other side. I have been doing that the whole time. I suggest you turn around and stay with me because we must be close to the end. This corn maze is a lot like life. There are many turns we must make, some of them not so pleasant.” He saw his daughter’s eyes brim with tears. “But if we understand that our time on this earth is very short and we keep our contact with Jesus every step of the way, He will bring us safely to heaven. That reminds me of a song that we sing in church. It is called, ‘I’m But A Stranger Here.’ I especially like this part.” He stopped walking and raised his head upward and began to sing….
“When life’s dark maze I tread,
And griefs around me spread,
Be Thou my guide!
Bid darkness turn to day,
Wipe sorrow’s tears away,
Nor let me ever stray
From Thee aside.”
His daughter and the boys faithfully followed him, each with their right hand touching the corn stalk wall of the maze. After only ten more minutes, they came out of the “Amazing Maze.” They hugged the old man. But his daughter hugged him the most. His faith was amazing!
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~Here is some background information on
our new Vacancy Pastor~
Pastor Greg Laska was born in Wausau, Wisconsin on February 15, 1951 to Ray and Agnes Laska. Ray was a carpenter contractor and Pastor Greg grew up learning how to build houses along with his five brothers. Pastor Greg also has one sister. In 1974, his parents moved their home and business to Crescent Lake near Rhinelander. Ray passed away in 2008. Pastor Greg’s mother lives at Grace Lodge Assisted Living in Rhinelander.
Pastor is a graduate of Wausau, Newman High School. University of Wisconsin Green Bay (Communications), and Concordia Wisconsin (Lay Ministry), and Concordia Seminary St. Louis. Prior to studying for the ministry he had a career in Insurance and Investments and also a career as a Building Contractor. He is also a graduate of the Pastoral Leadership Institute.
Pastor has been married to Roberta since 1972. She is retired after working many years as the Development Assistant at Sheboygan Lutheran High School. She leads a weekly women’s Bible study. They have three married adult daughters and three grandchildren.
Pastor has been serving since February of 2013 at Luther Memorial in Gleason and St. Paul’s Town of Pine River. Prior to that he served at St. John Random Lake, WI and Emmanuel Adell, WI.
Pastor is an avid genealogist having researched their family tree, compiling the names and histories of over 6,000 ancestors. He enjoys watching the many animals and birds in the woods behind their home at N1836 Monteray Drive, Merrill.
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Dear Friends in Christ,
Thank you for your generosity in gifting me the interest from the Roman Bentz Memorial Fund again this year. I am now in my junior year at Concordia University Wisconsin, and I really appreciate the financial assistance toward my higher education. It is crazy to think that next year at this time I will be preparing for my student teaching experience (as a reminder, I am studying Lutheran Elementary Education with minors in math and theology)! For now, however, I am taking full advantage of learning everything I can to prepare me to be the best Lutheran teacher possible. I am so blessed to have such a supportive home congregation at St. Paul’s. God is great!
Blessings,
Heidi Massa
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Dear Members of St. Paul,
As Karen and I prepare to leave Tomahawk to serve Lutheran Church of the Cross in Port Charlotte, Florida as their Winter Assistant Pastor, we both want to express our sincere thank you for the opportunity to serve St. Paul for the past 25 years. We especially want to thank those members who helped celebrate my retirement at the Pine Tree Restaurant and for the congregational gift we received. Although we might cross paths upon our return for the summer months, it gave both of us a chance to see many of you for one last time.
We wish you much joy and happiness in the future as you work through the vacancy process on your journey to the installation of a new Pastor.
Several people asked for our Florida home address:
2201 Del Mar Drive, North Fort Myers, Florida 33903
In closing, I leave you with the words of St. Paul, “Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the Communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.”
In Christ,
Pastor Schoenherr
Faithful Friends
On behalf of St. Paul’s we donated 230 Candy Canesto the Chamber of Commerce’s annual Winter Wonderland. The Chamber was collecting various items to put into goody bags to give away to the children attending the Winter Wonderland. The following is the message that was attached to each candy cane:
“The Meaning of theCandy Cane”
Many years ago a candy maker wanted to make a candy that would symbolize the true meaning of Christmas – Jesus.
The hard candy was shared like a “J” to represent that Jesus is our rock of all ages. The candy was made of white to stand for the pureness of Jesus. The red represents the blood that Jesus shed to save us from our sins.
So the next time you see a candy cane take a minute to remember the real meaning of Christmas.
Once again this year we will be putting together cookie tins for our shut-ins, which Pastor Laska will then deliver. It’s such a sweet time for us ladies because we get cards of thanks from our shut-ins telling us how much they appreciate the tasty treats!
As an update … St. Paul’s will be hosting the 2018 Community Easter Dinner. So many of you contacted us when we thought perhaps we could no longer host this annual event. That is when we decided that we must continue this very valuable event in our community. On that note, however, it is imperative that we have immense support and help on Easter Sunday—April 1—preparing, serving, delivering and cleaning up. Of course we will be in constant communication in March to ensure we have enough help.
A blessed Christmas to you and your families!
Most sincerely,
Faithful Friends
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LADIES AID/ LWML (Lutheran Women’s Missionary League)
The Ladies Aid/LWML meets on the first Thursday and third Thursday of each month. We meet in the church basement. The first Thursday we meet at 9:00 a.m. for quilting, bring a sack lunch, Bible study around noon with meeting to follow. The third Thursday we meet (afterlunch) around 12:30 p.m. for quilting. We are LUTHERAN WOMEN IN MISSION (LWML)
God’s blessings to all women of St. Paul Lutheran Church. Every woman who’s a member of our church is a member of the LWML. Remember YOU are the face of LWML. You are the hands and feed and voice of Jesus as you do the work God has put before you in this church, and in our societies and I our communities. For over 65 years the LWML has focused on affirming each woman’s relationship with Christ, encouraging ministries and to support global missions. All women should affirm their relationship with the Triune God so that they are enabled to use their gifts in ministry to the people of the world. There were volunteers that boxed up 35 quilts, 21 Health Kits and were hauled by Marion Peil to Wausau and loaded onto a semi distributed to World Relief.
Any scrap materials go to the handicap center Wausau delivered by Bud and Evelyn Waldinger.
Items for Health Kits are still needed. Lists in the LWML basket by the LWML table as you come into church. Needed are: wide tooth combs, band aides 3 inches by 4 inches long, fingernail clippers with a file, adult tooth brushes in their individual sealed case, and dark-colored hand towels.
Materials needed for quilts are: gently used fabrics like cotton, cotton blends, polyester knits, twills and corduroys. Please be sure there are no stains or holes in the fabrics.
MITE Boxes are used to collect money for Missions. Supporting Mission projects in any way you can is so important in the LWML. You can pick up a small Mite Box by the big Mite Box as you come into church. Just ask where it’s located.
Our ladies sell greeting cards ( on display in the fellowship area) $5.00 a box and also individual cards for 50 cents. If anyone needs RADA Cutlery for presents for someone, just ask Blanche or Marion.
Lots of yarn given by Sandy Colhurst was appreciated. Anyone interested in certain colors please check with any of the LWML Ladies. We have lots of yarn. T-shirt Dresses for little African girls are still being made. Little dresses for Africa will be a prized possession for a grateful little girl. Patterns are available from our LWML Ladies. You can help. The yearn is for knitting, crocheting sweaters for children, which are sent to the Orphan Grain Train plus mittens for needy children in our community. Thank you Orpha Zeitilhack and Bernice Weizenicker for your busy fingers making sweaters.
Any eye glasses and lens are needed for all ages. Put them in the eye glasses box. Campbell labels can be put into the big jar on the LWML table for Camp Luther. Clip and save stamps for Mission Program. There’s a big jar for the stamps too.
Sincerely,
Marion Peil, President of Ladies Aid/LWML