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Behold I make all things new -Revelations 21:5 |
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Parking Lot Socials!
Join us every Wednesday at 5:30p Weather Permitting until further notice. We've been having a "build a fire" challenge these past few weeks. Bring your own chairs and food/beverages. 
Tuesday, October 18, 2021
6:30 PM 
Mt. Meru Coffee
Order your Mt Meru coffee online. https://www.mtmerucoffee.org All orders for Mt. Meru Coffee of $30 or more ship free on line. Tracy Hahn will also order coffee for you and bring it to church. Please text her at 262-853-2117. 
Need a Prayer?
If you'd like the RLC Prayer Chain to keep you or someone you love in their prayers, or you would like to join our Prayer Chain, please contact Jane Fredach HERE 
Like us on Facebook.If you haven't already, please take a moment to like RLC on Facebook and follow us for updates and photos. CLICK HERE.
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October 2021
October has started (and my newsletter is late) and I’m already talking about November! Mark your calendars for November 14th Harvest Sunday when you will be asked for contributions to support RLC’s Outreach and Ministry Partners, along with our 2022 Stewardship pledges of time, talent, and treasure. You will receive your Stewardship pledge materials the week of October 18th. You may remember from last year that we combined the appeal for our own ministry at RLC and for our ministry partners. Given the ongoing pandemic and its impact on our ability to hold our traditional HarvestFaire event to raise funds for outreach partners, we again ask that you support this combined appeal. Watch your e-blasts from RLC for more information in the weeks ahead. Speakers from each of our ministry partners will present information on how our support furthers God’s work and their mission during services in October. Please join us in-person or online to learn more about our outreach partners.
I love what you and our council are doing to live our mission serving those in need. I am energized and inspired by the difference we are all making. The council is focused on developing a future vision, mission, values, and blueprint to remain relevant to our existing members and potential new and younger members. We know we are at the crossroads (literally and figuratively) in many aspects of our lives, the church overall, and at RLC, post-pandemic. Council anticipates that within a few months we will be able to present a draft of a long-range plan for your feedback. Brad Nelson and Dick Hintze deserve a big THANK YOU from all of us for their tremendous effort in correcting the issues we have had with our building’s sprinkler system. It has taken their time and our collective RLC resources to get the system up to code and have the system in good working order. I am also grateful for those members that are providing food support for the Marlin/Adrian family and we continue to pray for their well-being. Also, a big thank you to Andy Toth and Sally Weiland for food support and coordinating food support for Glen Switalski while Pam Crawford has been hospitalized. We pray for Pam’s speedy recovery. Enjoy the pumpkins, apples, leaf colors, and the crispness of the air during this harvest season. Please let me or any council member know how we can better support you in living RLC’s mission. God’s Peace to you all, Ron Reichert RLC Cooks - Meals Still NeededThe RLC cooks are continuing to provide food support for Anita and Mike Marlin, and Barb Adrian, as Anita copes with work, housekeeping and caregiving to her mother and sister. Sister Diane is also a great help, but Anita has to worry about day-to-day meal prep.
Please consider joining the RLC cooks as we continue this support into the fall. A dinner or batch of soup once a week helps out a great deal! Or throw some extra on the grill when you are cooking out! To be added to the rotation, contact Brenda Skelton at brendacreates2020@gmail.com or text 414-380-4828. City OutreachS.O.S. (Share Our Suppers)
We prepared 45 S.O.S. bag lunches on September 22 + distributed them on September 24. THANKS to everyone who donated items, assembled the lunches, and distributed them. It was a team effort. Our NEXT S.O.S. distribution is October 22nd. We plan to assemble 45 lunches on Wednesday the 20th at 5:00 PM. Watch for the signup sheet. The Divine Intervention Overnight Warming Room is scheduled to open 12/1. DI is in conversation with the Health Department +211 regarding protocols for a safe opening. Someone from DI will join us for worship on October 24 to update us on their ministry. Hungry Hearts Meals Hungry Hearts, which has distributed 300 restaurant prepared meals each Saturday since June of 2020, will wrap up in October. PRISON LETTER WRITING Sharyl McFarland continues to prepare a monthly bible study for people who are incarcerated + a number of RLC folks have established a letter writing relationship with many of them. LANGUAGE MATTERS Dear Friends, While reflecting on the kind of language we use when describing residents of our criminal justice system, I came across this. In "An Open Letter to Our Friends on the Question of Language," Eddie Ellis, a formerly incarcerated advocate + founder of the Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions, wrote: "calling me an inmate, convict, prisoner, felon, or offender indicates a lack of understanding of who I am, but more importantly what I can be." Ellis went on to make this plea: "we are asking everyone to stop using these negative terms + simply refer to us as PEOPLE! PEOPLE currently incarcerated. PEOPLE recently released from prison. PEOPLE in prison. PEOPLE with criminal convictions. PEOPLE!" It's call to use "people first" language. It makes a difference whether we use the "official" jargon of the criminal justice system or "people first" language. Two recent studies found that: -- Respondents were more likely to describe people in negative terms + make dehumanizing associations-- considering a person "dangerous," for instance--when they were defined by labels such as "felon" + a "habitual offender." -- When respondents were exposed to people first terms--alternatives such as "person with a felony conviction" or "person with prior convictions"--they were far more likely to have a positive association. -- When looking at mock headlines that used dehumanizing or people first language, 75% of those who read these stories were less likely to support reform or empathize with the people discussed when dehumanizing labels were used. -- Respondents age 50 or older (who have the greatest influence in shaping + implementing criminal justice policy) were twice as likely as other groups to change their views depending on the terminology used. Language matters! Will you join us this month in writing a letter to a "PERSON who is currently incarcerated?" Some of you are already writing to someone, maybe even more than one. Our hope is that you will continue to build a relationship with that person. If you are willing to join us in our letter writing ministry, let me know + I will send you a couple of names + addresses. Even if you are unable to send a letter, I invite you to reflect on the difference between calling someone an "inmate" or "felon" and calling them a "person currently incarcerated" or a "person with a felony conviction." Steve Wohlfeil City Outreach 
Church Council Meeting Minutes
2021
2020
RLC Website Adds ContentAs we continue to build upon our new website, the coronavirus situation has certainly made our online presence more front and center. To help keep the community of RLC going during this time, we have added a few special features...
1. Online Worship Services - Hopefully you have enjoyed Pastor Mary's services available HERE 2. Musical Selections - Linda Jakubowski has begun to suggest music selections available HERE 3. Coronavirus Resources - A wide range of resources is available on this new page HERE We will continue to update the site on a regular basis, adding new features as they become available. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
