- Bay View - Milwaukee
A great place to worship and grow

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
   August is the height of summer, a time of hot (sometimes muggy) days and for many the last vacation spot before the kids go back to school. We should enjoy it and try to remember it when the winter snows pile up again in our streets. It is a good time of the year. The fields are in full growth, the harvest is not far off; and our yards are looking at their greenest. Even the Church is in the middle of its ‘green’ season: those long "Sundays after Pentecost" that take up most of the liturgical year. Yet August also has its special days, those great feasts that mark the stepping stones through the Church’s year. Right in the middle is the great feast "St. Mary the Virgin", that wonderful old Anglican phrase for the Blessed Virgin Mary. This year it falls on a Wednesday, so it is a time for making a special effort to attend the Wednesday midweek Eucharist. We need to celebrate the holy mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, just as we need to imitate her quiet acceptance of God’s will for us.
   However, towards the end of August (on the 28^th) falls the Feast of St. Augustine of Hippo, who died in AD 430. Augustine was one of the great theologians of the Church, and probably had more influence down the centuries than most others. Not everyone would agree with that influence today, as some of his views have been taken to support rather gloomy positions. However, Augustine remains a profound thinker who did great good in his day, and who is still well worth the study.
   He wrote many things, but probably the most influential was a book entitled The City of God. It is not an easy book to read these days, as it was written in a style we don’t use any more; but it still makes an important, simple, point that we could all do well to remember. Basically, Augustine reminds his readers that we are citizens not only of whatever society we happen to live in this world, but also citizens of a kingdom that is not of this world. Ultimately, whatever political party or allegiance attracts us, we need always to measure our standards by our allegiance to the kingdom of Heaven. It is only too easy to muddle the two, and persuade ourselves that God is somehow identified with political movements or parties in this world. This can never be. We can hope and pray that we live in a society, and should always strive to work towards a society in which our basic Christian beliefs are reflected in our laws and customs. And yet when we look around and see the hungry and the homeless, when we see injustice and greed, when we see the abuses of power and privilege, we are surely conscious that God’s claims on us can never be equated with the world as we know it.
   Perhaps Augustine’s greatest legacy is to remind us of this. It is well summed up in the 2^nd verse of a hymn which is sadly not in our hymnal (it was Princess Diana’s favorite hymn), sung to a beautiful tune by Gustav Holst:

What our members are up to
Laurel Stringfellow completed her 2^nd annual Danskin triathlon. The event held in Pleasant Prairie is a fundraiser for breast cancer with many survivors joining the race. The terrifically supportive group of women who participate have a great time. Each one receives a medal but that is nothing compared to the inspiration embodied in survivor’s stories and by the participation of all the rest who join in the race or provide much needed applause along the route. Laurel trained for 10 weeks with a great group of gals for the 1 ½ mile swim, 12 ½ mile bike ride and 3 mile run. The team is still ‘there for each other’ as they continue to remain great friends. And Laurel plans to participate in another marathon in October as part of a relay team.
   Courtney Susedik ran in the Lighthouse Run in June. She was the 10^th woman coming in and 82^nd out of 570 runners. On Sat. July 21^st Courtney ran in the Fish Days race in Port Washington taking first in her age group.
Also, Ben & Andrew just returned from a baseball trip. They went to see the Yankees, Red Sox and went to Cooperstown. Thanks to Jim Stringfellow for buying a membership for Andrew to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Treasurer’s Report June 2007:
Regular Income $22,474.85
Restricted Income $16,133.24
Expense $45,063.74
Net ordinary income $(22,588.89) Net income $(6455.65)

Outreach Committee checks in
We’re taking a short summer break but we’re already making plans for the fall! We’re excited about ideas for upcoming events, and are happy with some new members!
Fathers’ Day Potluck was another event organized by Mary Arriola, and despite having a non-operational refrigerator, this fun event went off without a hitch. Thank you, Mary! Also thanks to Joan Luetzow for her musical talents and for finding the very funny "new" version of My Favorite Things! Next quarterly Potluck tentatively scheduled for 9/23, the first day of fall. Seeing that date ventures into coveted Packer Territory, we’re thinking of calling it Bring-A-Friend-Sunday with a Packer themed luncheon. It will be great! The game’s at noon so we’ll all be sure to eat fast (just kidding)! Invite all your family & friends; to show everyone what St. Luke’s is made of, and what they’re missing!
We’re taking part in the 3^rd Annual Bay View Bash! As one of Milwaukee’s newest festivals, there’s an estimated attendance of over 16,000 this year! What better way for Bay View’s only Episcopal Church to say ‘Hi’ to all our neighbors!? Thanks Dana for filling out the application. Between 11am and 10pm on September 15^th we’ll be manning (and womaning) a booth to hand out information about our church and community involvement, sell tickets to our Spaghetti dinner, hold a small raffle, and possibly throw some water balloons at Larry. We’d like to break the day up into 2-3 hour shifts of at least 3 church members each, so we’ll need plenty of smiling volunteers!
Other ideas include a Tea and Art discussion (it’s always great to discover talents or passions of fellow church member!), diversity talk/sermon (in the Samaritan spirit!), t-shirt fundraiser (we’re small but mighty!), bake sale, and a possible Gallery night/Art Show for summer 2008. As always, we appreciate any comments or ideas, and welcome any help you can offer.
On a final note, it’s my thought that while we enjoy a very spiritual and personal experience of worship through our denomination and that many of us would rather say a few hundred (thousand?) Hail Mary’s before we’d consider going door to door with the word of God, there are plenty of small and personal ways that we can tell others about our faith, our church and our Lord. When’s the last time you invited a neighbor or family member of yours to join us on a Sunday? When’s the last time you had a really good "God Talk" with someone? We can all afford to share the love and spirit of our faith and congregation a little more.
And my Outreach quote of the month:
The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become. -Charles Du Bois Respectfully Submitted by Jamie Verley

E.C.W. news ----
The new refrigerator has been delivered, is working great and a nice addition to the kitchen.. Per Health Department regulations everything must be stored in covered containers. Also, IF you leave food, please make sure it has your name on it and the expected date of use. Otherwise, it will most likely be discarded.
At the special parish meeting on July 1 it was unanimously voted to purchase a new dishwasher for the kitchen. If everything is on schedule installation should begin the first week in August. Again our thanks to those of you who so generously donated funds towards the purchase. This will be a huge improvement in the kitchen. We will have training sessions on how to run it soon.
The Fall Rummage Sale will be held on Saturday, October 6th. Donations can be brought to church and placed outside the "rummage room" anytime or if you need a pickup of smaller items call the Kuenstler's @ 744-5499. Remember this is one of the fund raisers that allows E.C.W. to do outreach and keep the kitchen in working order.
Our thanks to Ed Mueller for cleaning out the kitchen drain trap so the sinks will run smoothly - a very nasty job - and to Ed and Art Kuenstler for repairing the exhaust fan above the stove. This will make a big improvement for the upcoming Spaghetti Dinner.
We leave you with the following :
+ Each of us is a vital thread in another person's tapestry.
Our lives are woven together for a reason.
One of the best things to hold onto in this world is a friend.
Author Unknown
November 3^rd Spaghetti Dinner & Bazaar -
Pat Kuenstler & Marge Lower

Caught in action – thanks follow
Thanks to Ed Mueller for removing overgrown scruffy weeds in the Educare playground area, and for some kitchen maintenance that caused quite a stink around here: the unpleasant job of cleaning a grease trap in the kitchen. Also to Art Kuenstler for fixing the kitchen exhaust fan. With the help of these two men and the arrival of the new fridge the kitchen is getting ship-shape.
And Lanny Melville for regular retrieval of clothing that Kids Kloset is unable to use. Some donations are just too large and they find a good home at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission thanks to Lanny’s delivery service.

EcCo Minutes June 19 2007 Christ Church
Represented: St. Veronica, Bay View United Methodist, Christ Church, Islamic Society, Sacred Heart, Tippecanoe, St. Luke’s, St. Paul, POP

Events in our communities -Islamic Center 9/6 – 9/9 celebrating 25^th anniversary with various programs; includes Open House on 9/8. Lectures 6/20 Islam and Violence -7/18 Islam & women 6:30 – 9:30 public welcome to all. We meet July, August, September 3^rd Tuesdays 7pm at Islamic Center. All are welcome to join us.

Diocesan Convention seeking volunteers
Needed: registration/hospitality volunteers and tellers for the Convention business meeting, at the Italian Community Center, Friday and Saturday, October 12^th and 13^th, 2007. Registration/hospitality volunteers would work on Friday from mid-morning until early evening to help at desk, and help people find their way around the ICC during the Friday afternoon sessions. Late Friday afternoon, people will be asked to move (via busses) from the ICC to All Saints’ Cathedral for the Eucharist (starting at 5:30pm) and then back to the ICC for the evening banquet (intended to start at 7:30pm). On Saturday, volunteers will be needed again to help with registration and also to help people find their way to the sessions. In addition, tellers will be needed for the business meeting. Please contact Claudia Bartz at cbartz@uwm.edu or 414.315.8875.

Her open mind reaped many rewards
In my mind, camping is done in an air-conditioned RV and roughing it is a hotel without room service or an ice making machine. So when my spiritual director suggested helping at Camp Webb (a way to continue my getting to know the diocese), I indicated that I am not much for sleeping on the ground. He assured me that there were cots, so I said OK with some reservation. I became a little disconcerted when Dana Washburn mused about what cabin I might have and what OUTHOUSE it would be near. She told me that I did have the option of walking through the woods to the main lodge and so I might want to take a flashlight. What had I done?
All of these things, where I slept, traversing the darkened woods to the restroom, ceased to matter once I arrived at Camp Webb and it began to work its magic.
I was touched by the camaraderie, energy and commitment of the young men and women who serve as camp counselors. They are there because they want to be there; it is not about money or glamour. Though there are regular activities like archery, swimming and arts and crafts, there is also time for praise and worship. The theme this year is "light." At each prayer time the camp staff led us in an activity focusing on a particular aspect of light. The culminating experience was creating a mural of a "campfire" of our hands that grew larger as each person’s hands were added.
Because of my willingness to stretch myself, to move outside my comfort zone, I have many fond memories of shared laughter and singing and shucking sweet corn and laying in the teepee field at 10:30 at night looking at the stars, just musing. I encourage anyone who wants time away from TV, computers and cell phones to offer to help at Camp Webb. It is enriching and rewarding.
Marge Kiss

THE GREAT HUNGER BOOK SALE at All Saints’ Cathedral
Over 25 years of feeding the hungry
Opening Night $5 donation: Thursday August 2^nd 6-9pm
Then open Friday 8/3 through Tuesday 8/7 from 11-6
414.271.7719 ascathedral.