Did you know that April is National Volunteer Month?
Are you currently a volunteer or have you been a volunteer before?

Just read the Voice or the Sunday bulletin and you will be amazed at the volunteer opportunities through St. Matthew’s. We are a congregation of volunteers. Many of the volunteer opportunities have been suggested by our members.

 According to the United States Department of Labor, faith-based volunteers are the largest pool of volunteers, representing over 34.8% of volunteers. The value of the time donated by faith-based volunteers is $51.8 billion each year in the United States alone (Corporation for National and Community Service and Department of Labor). The challenge is that very little of this volunteering happens outside the walls of the church. According to Lester Salamon of the Institute for Policy Studies of Johns Hopkins University, only 7-15% of volunteering through churches helps the larger community.

In the book It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over - A user’s guide to the second half of life by William E. Diehl and Judith Ruhe Diehl, an entire chapter focuses on the importance of volunteering as older adults: “volunteering has been an important part of American life through its history. In our first centuries, volunteering originated primarily with religious organizations. Toward the end of the 1800s the notion of helping others - particularly the less fortunate- became a part of our civic duty. Today, both volunteering and philanthropy are roughly twice as common among Americans as among citizens of other countries.

“Why do people volunteer today? Among the motives for volunteering a Peter D Hart survey found that 71 percent of the respondents included ‘feeling an obligation to give back’ as one of the mot important. Give back/ Give back to whom? Why? The first response to those questions usually is ‘I want to give back to society in gratitude for all that I have received in my life.’  When I press that notion of ‘for all that I have received’ many people will refer to God’s blessing. God has blessed me so much with a good family, a rewarding career, good health, many material goods and good friends. Because I have been blessed far more than I deserve, I want to give thanks to God by serving God’s creatures. That’s the way many, many volunteers feel, and it is a wonderful example of sensing the grace of God.”

A part of our SAINTS mission is to encourage outreach to others - not to just be focused on ourselves. One of our SAINTS sponsored outreach programs is the Prayer Shawl Ministry.

At our March Prayer Shawl Ministry gathering we were visited by Marilyn Corlew, Pastoral Care Volunteer at Froedtert Hospital. She invited us to join the hospital’s Prayer Shawl Ministry in addition to our own. She provided this information:

In March 2008, the Chaplaincy Services at Froedtert Hospital began a program of providing prayer shawls to comfort seriously ill or dying patients and their family members. Currently six churches that already had a Prayer Shawl Ministry for their members have been willing to also create prayer shawls for Froedtert Hospital on an ongoing basis as outreach to the community. In 2008, 101 prayer shawls were given to seriously ill/dying patients and their family members. There was an increase in 2009 with a total of 222 have been given. We are seeking additional churches to help provide for the increased need. During the past year, many of the shawls were received through unanticipated donations that may not occur again.

Froedtert Hospital received a grant to buy yarn for this program. Participating churches are provided bags of yarn with enough to either knit or crochet a shawl. Patterns and instructions are included with the yarn. The finished shawl is to be placed back in the bag when completed. Arrangements can be made to deliver yarn and pick up shawls.

As a means of thanking those who knit or crochet shawls, they can be included in events for Froedtert volunteers. There is a very nice luncheon every year as well as other events. In addition, the brochure that is included when the shawls are given will contain the name and address of the church whose group made the shawl in order to provide recognition for their efforts.

It is a blessing for a patient or grieving person to feel wrapped in God’s love and mercy in the shawls that have been made with prayers for their comfort and healing. We would appreciate your church considering participation in this ministry with Froedtert Hospital. "

St. Matthew’s Prayer Shawl ministry has opted to become connected with the Froedtert program. It will not replace our own ministry. Three kits were taken home after our meeting. More are available. They have chosen yarn that is soft and light weight. Patterns are included.

If you are interested please let me know and I will get a kit to you with instructions and yarn. This is a wonderful volunteer opportunity for anyone that likes to knit or crochet. If you are not able to get to church, arrangements can be made to get a kit to you.  Does it sound like something you would like to do but you don’t know how to knit or crochet let me  know? We have some wonderful teachers in our group.

I’d like to hear from any of you about your volunteer experiences…what, where, and why. I'd like to share your experiences in future Voice articles. Such experiences can be an inspiration to others. Do you have any suggestions for the SAINTS to provide other areas of outreach?

Happy National Volunteer Month. Speical thanks to our Prayer Shawl ministers.

While looking for a particular Scandinavian recipe for Easter I came across this interesting information. Norwegians take advantage of their Easter break by stuffing their backpacks full of crime novels (yes crime novels) and heading up to their mountain cabins. “Evenings will find them curled up next to their fireplaces with spine-chilling Easter thrillers in hand.  Reading crime novels at Easter time has become a national passion in Norway. So popular is this annual “crime wave” in Norway that the sale of mysteries increases 500% in the week leading up to Easter Sunday. 

I found an equally interesting quote in one of my favorite books Spiritual Literacy - Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat. Doris Donnelly, a teacher of spiritual theology, describes a curious custom in the Greek Orthodox tradition. Believers gather on Easter Monday to trade jokes. “Since the most extravagant joke of all took place on Easter Sunday - the victory against all odds, of Jesus over death - the community of the faithful enters into the spirit of the season by sharing stories with unexpected endings, surprise flourishes and a sense of humor.”

American philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson, is reported to have said, “It is a happy talent to know how to play.”

Martin Luther in his Table Talks says that “our loving God wills that we eat, drink and be merry.”

The Brussats add this: “Playing around is a good and holy thing. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise. It enables us to express ourselves creatively, to use our intuition and imagination to savor pleasure and the lightness of being, and to make our humble contribution to the unfinished masterpiece of the world.”

And now, my attempt to share some humorous Easter Season stories with you.

1  It was Palm Sunday, but because of a sore throat, 5 year old Johnny stayed home from church with a sitter. When the family returned home, they were carrying several palm fronds. Johnny asked them what they were for. “People held them over Jesus’ head as he walked by” his father told him. “Wouldn’t you know it”, Johnny fumed. “The one Sunday I don’t go and he shows up.”

2  A bulletin announcement: This being Easter Sunday, we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay an egg on the altar.

3  The pastor’s son was told to wash his hands before dinner. When he protested that his hands didn’t look dirty he was told that there were unseen germs that needed to be washed away. As he headed to the sink he was heard to mumble: “Jesus and germs, Jesus and germs. That’s all I ever hear around here and I never get to see either one.”

How do you see Jesus? Can you believe the incredible message of Jesus' life, death and resurrection? Is it too good to be true? As we wash the germs (that we can't see) off our hands may we be reminded of our baptism and the daily renewal of our salvation. May you have a most blessed and truly happy Easter.

St. Matthew’s has long been a supporting congregation for Greater Tosa (formerly Mayfair) Interfaith Programs and Services for Older Adults. If you might be interested in volunteering and need services please speak with me or Marge Shantz.

Greater Tosa Interfaith has been serving our frail older neighbors in Wauwatosa and western Milwaukee since the mid-1980’s. We are a non-profit, congregation and community based outreach ministry. Our mission is Connecting Older Adults to a Caring Community.

• CLIENTS: Greater Tosa provided direct service to more than 322 people in 2009. Two hundred fifty-eight were women. All but fourteen were Caucasian. One hundred forty-four were 85 or older. One hundred nine were between 75-84. The remainder were younger than 74.

• SERVICES PROVIDED: During 2009 Greater Tosa Interfaith provided 911 rides. We shopped with or for our clients 637 times. Friendly phone visits were made 383 times. Over 685 friendly visits were made during the year. We helped with minor chores or home repairs 323 times.

• VOLUNTEERS: One hundred six volunteers provided 4,773 hours of service to Greater Tosa Interfaith in 2009.

• EXPENSES: Salary and office are our main expenses. In 2009 our staff included a Director working 40 hours per week and a Program Assistant who worked 24 hours per week. Our total expenses for 2009 were $80,351.

• FUNDING: Our income in 2009 was $72,519. Twenty congregations donated $32,703. Other income included:

• Mum Sale: $2,636
• Individual Donations: $16,490
• Community Block Grant: $11,720
• Noodles Fundraiser: $1,163

Because Greater Tosa funding has declined we have been running at a deficit. Therefore, our Director and Program Assistant hours have been cut. More fundraising events are being considered. If anyone has suggestions please let me know.

Thanks to St. Matthew’s for providing seventy-five gift certificates (from the Giving Tree) at Christmas time that were distributed to our clients. And, thanks to our St. Matthew’s volunteers. We could certainly use more.

I have shared with you before that I am a latecomer to the Lutheran Church. Growing up in rural Missouri I attended the tiny “Freewill Baptist Church” across the road from my home. There was not a called minister and certainly no liturgy or theology. We were a small group who gathered to sing and read the Bible on Sunday mornings.

When I was twelve we moved to Rock Island, Illinois and a school friend invited me to attend her Sunday School class at St. John‘s Lutheran Church. And, then, when I was invited to become a part of the confirmation class that meant attending church services as well. I learned about the “seasons” of the church and experienced Lent for the first time.

I remember Lent as being a very somber, inward time with Wednesday evening services. Confirmation students were required to sit in the front row for the services and take notes. If we misbehaved in the least way the pastor would stop speaking and wait until the offender was quiet. And, I remember the sermons seemed much longer than on Sunday mornings. But, I wanted to be there.

The Rev. Dr. Herbert Brokering in one of his devotionals found on the Wheatridge Ministries website evokes memories of that time.

He says: "Lent. It is a time I have liked since childhood. It was never clear what the one focus was. Sometimes it was the suffering of Christ, or our own suffering, difficult issues, or something to give up, a bad habit, or something to take up such as a new good habit. I especially liked focusing on looking twice at something happening -- looking more deeply -- so that it touched the life of Christ. Here are such times. These events are all around, but when looked at slowly and deeply they are connected to the life and passion of Christ. They have to do with God’s compassion and love.

Nathan, a four-year-old grandson, pointed to the Christmas tree. I asked, “Is this your Christmas tree?” He answered: “Our Christmas tree.” Our! “Is this your house?” “Our house.” “Do you live here?” “We live here.” For me Lent is a time for “Our.” Pain and hurt and suffering cannot be carried alone. Real pain is our suffering. Death is our death. It is not good to be alone in Lent. Lent is a time for compassion and love with one in need, our suffering. We do Lent together.

I recall so well in early life lying in the church bench at night on Wednesdays looking through the ceiling, seeing Jesus with my eyes closed, and hearing my father read and preach about the passion and suffering of Christ. I was thankful for my mother next to me and the people around, for the people in the stories father read and preached hurt Jesus. Ouch! Oh no! I felt the hurt and wondered how my mother felt and how old Fred Vienop and Mary Schmidt felt, our neighbors in this little Nebraska town. Lent was a time to be with people who cared and who showed compassion. A season to hug and care."

I hope you will be able participate in the SAINTS sponsored Food and Fellowship time following the Wednesday morning Lenten services. It’s our time to experience Lent together - to be with people who care and show compassion. We do Lent together!

We usually laugh at our so-called “senior moments” - a temporary lapse of memory. But at the mention of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease our reaction is different. Statistics show that by 2050, the number of Americans with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia could soar to 16 million. No joke. Nothing to laugh at.

But what can be done? We've been told that doing things to keep our minds active are helpful. I like to work word games but I wonder how effective that is. 

A new approach is being developed….so called memory clubs or gatherings of persons who participate in memory exercises in a group setting . Luther Manor, in connection with researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is currently sponsoring Jump Start classes - a study to determine the positive effect of early memory loss programs.

An article in the March 2009 resident newsletter says: “The broad goal of this ground-breaking research project, supported by the Helen Bader Foundation, is to determine whether participation in the class enhances memory and thinking skills and decreases the burden and stress associated with very early memory loss. Predictions suggest participants will prove to be more engaged and attentive, leading to decreased rates of cognitive decline. Other expected outcomes include a decrease in depressive symptoms and an increased sense of well being for those experiencing the early stages of dementia, as well as fewer burdens, less depression and improved quality of life for caregivers.”

One of the Jump Start participants said;” I started to stay home and close myself in because I didn't trust my ability to converse with others. I've found that I need to do just the opposite and be around people.”

The program uses memory enhancement exercises, provides information on brain health and function and encourages participants to practice at home techniques to continuously challenge their brains.

Dawn Adler, manager of the Adult Day Center, oversees the Jump Start program. She will be the presenter at our SAINTS gathering on Thursday, Jan. 14. She will tell us more about the program and lead us through some memory exercises. The program will be at 11:00; lunch to follow.

I hope you will mark that date on your calendar and join us. Don't forget!

A friend I never met has died.  On November 7, 2009, the Rev. Dr. Herbert Brokering died of congestive heart failure at the age of 83. He was a pastor, seminary professor, mentor, teacher (often at Holden Village) writer of lyrics of hymns (Earth and All Stars, Thine the Amen), devotionals, reflections and over 50 books.  He was a world traveler and a guide to over a hundred Luther sites.  When my children were young we used devotions prepared by him and his wife, Lois.  He wrote the words. Lois provided activities to enhance the words.  Indeed, he has been a part of my life for many years.

His last position was as an associate staff person for Wheatridge Ministries.  It was Wheatridge that provided a grant toward the startup of our SAINTS.

His words have continued to speak to me.  The following is an excerpt of a devotional he wrote when he was 82.  I think it will speak to you as well.

John 3: 16-21
"We are not meant to live in the dark.
I often close my eyes and think and feel and pray my way through the dark. Alas, I know the dark. Advent, to me, is dark, wintry, cold, desert, quiet. God comes to us in the winter, in the coldest times, in the hard and bitter times. Incarnation comes to a birthing room not meant for a king or prince or any newborn – a cattle stall. God comes to low degree, and exalts. Christmas! Then comes Epiphany, the burst of light, the rays of fire and good news and light and glory into all the world, to all people. Epiphany is filled with light.
Then suddenly comes dark, the night of ashes and the mark of death and cross on brows and hands all over the earth. Ash Wednesday! From ashes we came and to ashes we will return. These are some of the most sober words I have said facing young and old in ministry. “From dust you came and to dust you will return.” And so we are moving back into a season of cold and winter and war and the journey of life. Alone? No! God is going all the way with us. Better, we are going all the way with God, as we journey with Jesus.

I frighten rather easily. I need someone by my side, or ahead, and behind me. I do not like walking alone through a valley or around a bend or through hurt. I do not like walking to Good Friday by myself. Pain, suffering, death, alone? Please, no! After 82 years I know the markers along the way. I know the way, but someone go with me.

My God, I need my medicine: saints, friends on every side.
I tremble deep inside
The path seems one I do not know
Too dark, too deep, too steep, too wide
But when I see with eyes of faith
Good saints on every side
I heal with those who know the path
We’re not alone; we’re side by side
...Where I live winter can be overcast and dark. In the hallways I often hear the whisper, sometimes a cheer, “the sun is out today!” I did not know; I had not looked out. I go to a window. Epiphany! The light is bright, the Son is out. The star has burst!  Wait! Wait! The light will blaze. Glory will be outside the window. The Son will be out.

We are meant to come through the dark and live in the light.

Prayer: O God, You take us through dark to light, through valleys to open plains, through winters to warm, through fear to joy. You do not fear the dark, the freeze, or pain or death. When we are in these places and times, You are already there, waiting for us. We know this through the life of Christ our Savior, our Brother. Amen."

May you know light and warmth and have good saints on every side.  A most blessed Christmas to you all.

Advent is a time of anticipation…
of waiting for Christ. This prayer speaks of waiting
through uncertain times.

I AM WAITING, LORD
by Jessie R. Sandberg
I am waiting, Lord, and I feel immobilized by fear—frozen by the things I do not understand. I cannot step ahead toward goals that once seemed so obtainable. Late storms have brought disaster to my landscape. Familiar things seem somehow not to sit quite soundly on their old foundations.

Strange shifts of angles in the shape of forms once stable and secure confuse me, make me lose my compass-point. Where to turn? What to do? I have no clue as to the future. My options have dissolved and trickle away with the run-off from the storm. And so I wait ... Lord, help me not to simply sit among my broken things, turning them over and over in my hands, grieving for the past. Teach me in my waiting to find the valued remnants and store them in a place quiet and safe. Help me to take the time to bury dead dreams with dignity--not to wallow in regrets nor to collect small grievances.

Let nothing be wasted in this crisis that has seemed to stop the clock and lock the door to all I felt most precious.

Help me to watch beyond my altered skyline for that first faint glow of Morning Sun. Let me wrap myself in faith and snuggle down with hope. Help me to discern, even now, the soft gilding of these ruins with early dawn. Let me see
approaching with the morning light, the form of Him who stills the storm and transforms with His presence.
–From the book: “Letting People Off the Hook”

At our SAINTS October gathering while Robert Teske of the Milwaukee County Historical Society was showing slides of Milwaukee area landmarks, I stood at the back of the room listening to the responses to his questions on what each landmark photograph showed. I was impressed with the memory of those in attendance. It was good to remember.

But I was a bit sad as I thought of so many who were not present because of illness or relocation - or death. When I got home I pulled out a book I had purchased when the library had a sale on books they had culled from their inventory - About Dying by Sara Bonnet Stein, written especially for children and their parents in 1974. I found the paragraph I was looking for: “Mourning is not just feeling sad. It is the specific psychological process by which human beings become able to give up some of the feelings they have invested in a person who no longer exists and extend their love to the living. Mourning is hard, emotional work. It is pulling memories into focus and allowing ourselves to be touched by the feelings they carry with them. It is struggling with guilt that we might have done better and anger that we are left alone. It is taking up the disrupted threads of our life and finding new patterns to weave of them.”

We mourn for so many reasons; the loss of loved ones, the loss of a job, the loss of health, the loss of our home and the fear of losing our memories. As we work to remember may we find new patterns to weave.

Maybe you read it too. The September 2009 issue of the AARP Bulletin reported the findings of a June study in the Archives of Internal Medicine that the more people do socially, the better they do physically. It said that “exercise is good for you, but cognitive and social activity may offer benefits as well.” The 11-year study followed 906 older adults and assessed their ability to walk, grip and balance. The results showed that the fewer social interactions subjects had, the more rapid their loss of muscle control. In fact, each one-point decrease in social activity was associated with about a 33 percent more rapid rate of motor function decline.”

I recently attended a symposium on senior ministry at Luther Manor. Representatives from several ELCA congregations gathered to discuss the way we provide ministry for our older adults. Each congregation received two books. One of the books is No Wrinkles in the Soul - A Book of Readings for Older Adults by Richard L. Morgan.

At the symposium we were asked two questions. What do we look forward to as we age and what do we dread about aging? Many seemed to enjoy more free time to do as we want and being grandparents. Most of us were not happy with memory and physical issues. Pastor Elias Kitoi Nasari was in attendance and commented that in Africa surviving to old age is considered a blessing and becoming an elder in the community is highly regarded. This reading from No Wrinkles for the Soul speaks to that respect due our elders.

It begins with a quote by Maggie Kuhn. “We are not ‘senior citizens’ or ‘golden-agers’. We are the elders, the experienced ones; we are maturing, growing adults responsible for the survival of our survival of our society. We are not wrinkled babies, succumbing to trivial, purposeless waste of our years and our time.

“We are a new breed of old people. There are more of us alive today than at any other time in history. We are better educated, healthier, with more at stake in this society. We are redefining goals, taking stock of our skills and experience, looking to the future. Erik Erikson speaks of old age as a ‘time of integrity’, of absolute honesty in an age that has lost its way, in terms of deception, double-dealing, corruption in high and low places. Old age is also a time for great fulfillment- personal fulfillment, when all the loose ends of life can be gathered together.”

The meditation closes with this prayer: “Redeemer God who strengthens us, help us as older people to stand up for ourselves, lest we fall for anything. Give us the grace not to be angry with others or to let others control us. Help us to be our own persons. Amen.”