Another most deserving God’s Helper award goes to Mr. Paul Rykken, our October God’s Helper. Paul has been instrumental in organizing and facilitating our adult education opportunities. He has been participating in and leading adult studies and Bible studies of various kinds at ELC since 1990. Since his transition away from full-time teaching in 2020, he has led five studies on various topics, including First Nations history and the difficult relationship between tribal nations and the Christian church, the role of Christians in our political environment, the role of Martin Luther in our church’s history, and various Bible studies.
Paul has just started the next book study related to discipleship and the various spiritual practices that undergird our faith journeys. Through this work, Paul is hoping to engage several of our elder members in articulating their faith experiences, and develop a faith-based mentoring program within our membership.
In addition, Paul sends out a weekly “Faithful Conversations Lectionary Blog” promoting learning and discussion surrounding the scripture readings of the week. His hard work and gift of writing provides a better understanding of God’s message. Paul states, “Because of my age and experience as a life-long Lutheran, I am committed to passing the faith on to the next generation and am well-positioned to do that work. I believe we are at an inflection point in our society in 2023 in terms of spirituality, and we need all hands on deck!”
Paul has been extremely active in our church and continues to be involved with ELC’s evolution to more tech-applications. He is a member of our Tech team and can be found in the ‘loft’ many Sundays. In addition, he still teaches part time through UW-Green Bay’s Dual Access Enrollment Academy in the area of First Nations History, and also coaches for the Black River School District.
Paul is blessed with a loving family including his wife Mary Beth (married 43 years), his three adult children: Kate (age 42), Jake (age 39), and Meg (age 32), and their eight grandchildren ranging in age from 1 year old to 13 years old. God is good! We thank God for Paul’s many talents.
Congratulations to Betty Steele, our other fantastic October God’s Helper! Betty was nominated as she has led the sewing circle for many years and is extremely active in our quilt projects. According to Betty, Sewing Circle has been active at ELC since the 1940’s when rugs were made for the beds at Wittenberg Indian School. Changes over the years still has this group making and donating to others, only now it is all about making quilts. When she first joined, 25 to 30 quilts were produced. That number has risen greatly. In 2022, 500 quilts were made! That year 100 quilts were sent to Kentucky to help flood victims.
Sewing Circle has added many local organizations to the donation list, such as: Sleep In Heavenly Peace Beds, Hospice Care, Foster Closet and a quilt is given to each senior graduate to know we are always thinking of them. Of course, Lutheran World Relief and Project Christmas have been our first outreach groups. We also interact with Meadowbrook Assisted Living and Time For Us where they tie quilts for us.
Betty states, “Our sewing projects are funded partially through the budget of W/ELC, but to create the number of quilts we make, more is needed. We ask for material and yarn donations and financial help to buy batting. And as always, we need people. God has been faithful to us in filling that need, always as someone moves away or can’t help for other reasons, a new person joins. If you are feeling the urge to join, perhaps God is nudging you. Come and visit and get to know us. You don’t have to sew to make quilts; there are many different jobs. We meet Thursdays 9:30 in the Fellowship Hall.”
“A donation to us of a material cutting machine, Accuquilt, was made and has speeded up our abilities to cut squares. We now have volumes of squares of all colors. I would like to see three or four people come together to design squares into quilt tops. We use squares of many sizes, it is just a matter of laying the colors out in a pleasing design”, added Betty.
Through the years Betty has taught Sunday School, sang in choir, helped with youth groups, and been on the board of the Women’s organization (W/ELC).. A current activity close to her heart is shopping for baby clothes for the Baby Care Kits.
Betty is so deserving and her ending quote warmed my heart. “This may sound self-fulfilling, but I am very glad to have connected with quilting. As I aged past 80, I felt my abilities change. I no longer wanted to be an officer or to be up front helping on Sundays. I fill my days overseeing Sewing Circle. (Although I maintain all the members are leaders in their own right. They just let me play at being the boss.) I come into church as I want and work, or I can sew at home in the evenings. I wish everyone could come by and witness the peace and harmony, and hear the laughter of friends coming together. We quilt for ourselves while we make warm quilts for others.”
God’s Helpers – September 2023
Congratulations to Beth Bue, our September God’s Helper! Beth is a tireless volunteer for our church community and we appreciate her caring and energetic work with our youth. Specifically, we thank her for her work this summer with vacation bible school.
In speaking to Beth, she states: “2023 will be my 2nd year teaching SS at ELC. it is growing by leaps and bounds! It also was my 2nd year coordinating the Community Wide VBS. There were 50 kiddos registered with an average of 40 to 45 each night. We had loads of fun!”
Other upcoming events for Beth are the first day of Sunday School – September 17th and Trunk or Treat – October 31st. Beth thanks the congregation for their continued support and says, “monetary donations are always welcome.”
When demonstrating God’s love, Beth replied: “I enjoy volunteering at ELC because it makes my soul and heart happy and full. The hugs and high fives I receive from the kiddos makes my day. Volunteering strengthens my relationship with God as well. Volunteering allows me to get to know people I may not have met yet. All in all, volunteering makes me feel like I’m part of the community.” Beth is supported by her family: Wayne, her husband (also known as Rolo), and two sons, Roger and Tyler. Thanks for all you do, Beth! Congratulations!
Our other September God’s Helper recipient is the ever-talented John Louis! John has been solely responsible for the Hatfield worship equipment needs for the past 8 years, and we felt it was about time to recognize his efforts. Each week, he loads the car with everything required for the outdoor service including piano, sound system, music stands, microphones, speakers, bulletins, communication supplies, coffee supplies, and of course, the organist. He sets it all up, takes a short dog walking break, and then tears it all down. Think eat, sleep, repeat for 15 weeks in a row.
When not spending the summer Sundays in Hatfield, John also volunteers as part of the tech team helping to run the sound system, the camera shots, the worship power point/slides, and the live stream of our Sunday services. Our tech team is always looking for additional interested members to help with this vital ministry and John is willing to be a patient and kind mentor for this work.
But that’s not all. John is also on the Building and Grounds Team and helps with numerous projects to make our space efficient and welcoming. John enjoys doing these behind the scenes efforts and prefers to stay out of the spotlight…but we felt he was so deserving of this award. John is a huge fan of our Hatfield worship and says “enjoying the beautiful lake setting, sharing in fellowship in a relaxed natural environment, and being able to bring the dogs out each week, add to the fulfillment I receive serving God.” Thanks John! We so appreciate your efforts.