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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
    On November 20^th we celebrate the feast of St. Edmund. He’s not a well-known saint, but one who has an important lesson for each of us. As a boy he was adopted by the King of East Anglia, that part of eastern England on the North Sea just above London. He became king as a young man in AD 855 and ruled well in a time when many kings did not. Then the Vikings came. Edmund fought to defend his people but was captured, and when he refused to turn over his people to the heathen Vikings he was barbarously murdered (AD 870). Later he was regarded as a martyr, and the town of Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk (which I know well) was named after him.
    Why remember Edmund? Well, he was still a young man when he was killed and nothing in his life before the Vikings came had prepared him for what happened. That’s true for so many things in our lives. However much we try to plan and think ahead, there are always going to be those things which come upon us unexpectedly. We are always going to be faced with sudden, hard, decisions. Edmund knew what was right, and knew what he had to do when faced with the easy way out. The easy way out is always going to appear for us also. It is often very tempting to duck the hard issues. It’s always a mistake since they generally come back later even worse. And yet, like Edmund, we often have a price to pay for doing what we know is right. We are not going to be faced with martyrdom, but we may have to suffer in some other way. The truth is that our lives these days are so comfortable and easy compared with those of past generations that we find it hard to make even small sacrifices.
    Edmund was a Christian king, which meant that not only did he try to live his personal life as a Christian but that he also tried to do his job as king as a Christian. There’s a lesson there for us too. It is not enough to try to follow Christ in our private lives and somehow mark off our work world as different, as somewhere where the rules are governed by ‘practical’ and ‘realistic’ considerations. We are called to be followers of Christ in the totality of our lives: at home, at work, at school, at play…….wherever.
    Being a Christian is not a part-time calling.
    We don’t know if Edmund was normally very brave or courageous, though he obviously was when it came to the crunch. Equally, however often we have failed in the past to live up to our calling as children of God there is no reason why we should not do better tomorrow. It is in the testing not the easy times that our faith and what we say we believe is revealed, to ourselves and the world. It is then that we find, like Edmund found, the grace and strength of the Holy Spirit to guide us and keep us on the right path. It is our calling always to keep our hearts and minds open to the voice of that Holy Spirit; and to pray that when we really need it we shall recognize it for what it is, the voice of God speaking to our better self.
    Yours in Christ, Fr. Michael +

Outreach Committee Update Our committee has been very busy lately…
    Bay View Bash: On September 15, eleven faithful parishioners came to spread the word that St. Luke’s is a great place to worship! We gave out flyers and talked to many Bash goers, and even gave away some bubbles. We even had a drawing to give away two mohair teddy bears that Jaime’s mom so graciously donated. Overall this was a great event, and allowed us the opportunity to really connect with the Bay View community. Thanks to all who helped to run our booth!
    Packer Potluck: October 14, the Bishop visited and we showed our Packer pride after church at the potluck. Many brats & barbecued beef were consumed! We had so much fun visiting with the Bishop and enjoying the many different dishes people brought to share. Thanks to everyone who attended, and special thanks to Mary Arriola, our cook extraordinaire who organized it all.
    Social outing: On November 30, a group of 25 parishioners will be attending Winter Tales with John McGivern at the South Milwaukee PAC. Thanks to Marge Lower for organizing this outing, and to those of you who plan to attend, enjoy!
    Bake Sale: On December 16, the Outreach Committee will have a Christmas bake sale. Please plan on donating treats if you are a baker, but otherwise just plan to enjoy the treats that will be there for you to purchase.
    Outreach Quote of the Month: "What we are is God’s gift to us; What we become is our gift to God."- Anonymous
Submitted by Dana Washburn

Treasurer’s Report
September: Income $8637.01 Expense $12,699.50
net income ($4062.49)

Spaghetti Dinner & Bazaar Nov. 3^rd. 4:30 – 7pm
Gymanfa ganu November 4^th
1^st Tuesday Bible Study, November 6^th 7pm
Thanksgiving Service – Wed. Nov. 21^st 7pm
AFRICAN TEAM MINISTRIES craft display and sale – December 2^nd & 9^th
CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS PROGRAM Dec. 16^th at 9am Eucharist
LESSONS & CAROLS with Sunday Eucharist, December 23^rd 9am
Christmas Eve Eucharist 8pm
CHRISTMAS DAY Mass 9am

Sing, Sing, Sing
    Come to the gymanfa ganu on Sunday, November 4, 2007 here at St. Lukes. What is a gymanfa ganu ? It is a festival of sacred song featuring four-part harmony sung by the gathered congregation and directed by a musician. Many of the hymns can be traced back to the spiritual life in the land of Wales where four-part harmony began way back in the 12^th century. Trefor Williams will be the director. He was born in Trefor, Wales, and moved to Milwaukee in 1999. A conductor of choirs both here in the USA and in his Welsh homeland, Trefor Williams has committed much of his life to music.
    The gymanfa ganu is sponsored by the Welsh Gymanfa Ganu Association of Wisconsin which celebrated it 75^th year this May in Racine where the first Wisconsin state gymanfa ganu was held. The members of the board of directors come from all over the state of Wisconsin and Illinois. Yours truly is currently the vice-president of the association. If you have any questions, please contact me. I hope that many of you will join in the singing.
    Submitted by Marilyn L. Schräder

Baptized into the family of Christ and the family of St. Luke’s ~ Sophena Mae Wondrachek, daughter of Kris & Bill.

GOD IS GREAT – GOD IS GOOD – LET US THANK HIM FOR OUR PETS
A hearty crowd turned out for our annual Pet Blessing on October 3^rd to praise God for His gifts of the animal kingdom.

ATM a holiday opportunity
The holidays are close and to help with your shopping we will have African Team Ministries crafts for sale at church on December 2^nd and 9^th. These are lovely and unique handmade items and through their purchase we help provide for orphans, refugee relief, missions and evangelism in East Africa. There will be jewelry, decorative items, musical instruments, many inexpensive enough for children to enjoy their shopping experience. We’ll be seeing you at the sale table, during coffee hour as you choose that elusive gift idea for family, friends or even yourselves.

What to do with all those pesky bags: The Bay View Community Center food pantry is in need of paper and plastic bags. If you can bring them to the front desk: 1320 E. Oklahoma Ave. we would be ever so grateful.

To My Church Family: Many thanks for prayers and cards following my recent knee replacement. Chris Stringfellow

NEWS FROM THE PEWS
The busy Susedik kids have been at it again. Courtney, the family runner, has placed in the top 10 in all of her cross country meets this year. She runs for Cardinal Stritch. Andrew goes to Gateway Tech in Kenosha. He is pursuing a radio broadcasting degree and is working at the college radio station. Ben played JV football for the So. Milwaukee Rockets and was Captain of the team. We’ll keep cheering for the Susedik gang as we all wish them well on their future endeavors.

To our extended family at St. Luke's - Thank you to all for your care, concern and mostly prayers during this very difficult time.
St. Luke's has lost one of the original "church ladies" who will be dearly missed. The family of Ruth Lenz

Our diocese is faced with a challenging decision about our outdoor ministry at the Camp Webb Wautoma site. Despite diocesan support, contributions have fallen seriously short for a long time. As a result, for over fifteen years, we have funded budget deficits through borrowing money and now have a debt of $350,000. We need to raise $125,000 for camp operation in 2008. Bishop Miller, the Board, and staff are committed to not borrowing money. To ensure this, we need to raise the total by December 15th or we will have to do something very different for 2008. This campaign comes with a "NO RISK GUARANTEE." We will hold all checks in the safe at Nicholson House until December 15th. If we have not raised necessary funds by then, all money will be returned in time for people to make an alternate charitable contribution before the end of 2007. Blessings and peace, Carlynn Higbie Camp Director
Please mail this form, along with your donation by December 15^th to:

 Enclosed, please find my gift of ____________, an amount I can faithfully commit to giving annually for at least the next five years.

 I’d like to make this donation by the enclosed personal check.

 I’d like to make this donation by credit card, knowing that this will not be charged to my account until December 16, 2007, once the $125,000 has been
successfully raised

 I am including an additional gift of _______ to be applied towards the principle of the debt after December 15, once the $125,000 is raised and we know that Camp operation will continue in 2008. --OR- -

 In addition to my subsequent donation to the 2008 Annual Appeal, I anticipate that I will be able to donate to the 2008 debt elimination campaign. I believe that the outdoor ministry of Camp Webb is a vital part of our diocesan mission of Christian formation.