Welcome everybody to Midday magazine for this August 16th, 2024.
Have your host James with you everybody and we're going to be joined right now
by a new friend of ours. We have Reverend Caleb McGregor in with us right now
order of St. Luke's and Reverend Caleb thank you very much for being here
right now appreciate the time. Thank you. I'm so glad to be on the segment.
We're looking forward to talking about the community trivia night that you have coming up
and it is a benefit for the Wisconsin Rapids Family Center. That's correct.
I'd like to mention to the audience to those who don't know I am on the board of
the Wisconsin Rapids Family Center. Personally, feel like they do someone
most vital work in this community and greatly appreciate not only what they do
but organizations and churches and similar nonprofits like yourself working with the
Family Center. It greatly not only helps the work that they're doing over there
but with a subject like this or there is this is black and white and for people to be on the
right side of this is greatly appreciated. The Family Center can use all the support they can
financially certainly but emotionally as well as as a community supporting what the Family
Center does can mean almost as much as dollars and cents oftentimes but I imagine that there
are people out there may not know what the Family Center is. So let's get right into the question
at Q&A with this one. First, what is this event? The community community event coming up.
Yes, the community event is a trivia night in response to the latest news of some of the
devastating funding, federal funding that has been cut from the Family Center. They announced
that about a month ago and in fact talking with executive director Trisha Fancher who had been
anticipating this as well. And appreciate that. I don't feel like enough attention has been
brought to this. It's great to see that you guys over there bring attention to this as well as
helping with it and it's greatly appreciated again. What is this for as you mentioned the benefit
for the Family Center? But I want to get into what what the Family Center does if you don't mind.
And I I've ramble about this all the time. If you don't mind touching on this, it's really
appreciated. Well, I'm really glad that your viewers probably know quite a bit already having
listened to you over the years. But for those who are new to the channel or the segment and I
guess I prepared some information just for those. And I want to be clear that I am not a spokesperson.
Now that I'm sitting with someone on the board, I feel that I'm with somebody who knows
a lot more than I do. But I just wanted to say I'm just a local United Methodist pastor who
did the research and have reached out to several of the staff as we tried to partner with them
as a church. And I do think that you touching on this subject whether it's known by the audience
or not, it means something to come from you. It means something to come from others. I as I
said, I talk about these things from time to time, but it can fall on deaf ears sometimes when
it's the same voice or it's written the same way. No different than a great coach can have a
locker room and lose them after a season or two or something because the voice just gets tired
or old to some people out there. So I do appreciate you touching on this as well. And the research
you did and everything, thank you for doing that. Again, you can't have enough people supporting
this particular cause and this organization. Why is why the Family Center needs this? I think
that that's an important one to touch on as well. You mentioned a little bit of the funding cuts.
Can we get into a little bit more of that? Certainly. As any sort of nonprofit, there are always
and need always looking for donations, of course. And every Wednesday, they post an updated list
of needed items to their food and household pantry. In fact, this week, I just like to share what
they had posted just so you get an idea because it's not just always food, but they posted recently
the need for some pillow protectors and full-size mattress protectors as well. And they
said they were very low on dry soup mixes, spaghetti noodles and ready to eat stews and soups and
hash. Hash is a very interesting thing. In fact, I grew up in southern Illinois where we had
mush and maybe mush and hash are very similar. I grew up in northern Illinois and I know exactly
what you're talking about. Oh, that was hilarious. You just give me a nostalgia there with that.
Yeah, I didn't even know what came in a can, but I learned something new.
It's right, Mrs. Amir. So last week, there were looking for adult coloring books and art supplies
and blank canvases. And they were just showing that this is just one way that they enhance community
life, but also how many survivors of abuse and violence turn to painting and drawing
for as ways to express and process their feelings and articulate their emotions.
So it was announced about a month ago that the Wisconsin Rapid Center would be receiving devastating
cuts in federal funding that was representing a cut of over $265,000 annually as we are facing a
20% increase of deaths due to domestic violence. And that was according to the July 23rd article
from the city times. So this really poses a major impact on their ability to minister to the
victims of violence in our community. So that's why it seemed just very prevalent and very
important to to be able to fundraise, but also to give exposure to the family center. In fact,
just around the time that they were announcing this, I officiated at a funeral for somebody.
And I didn't know this until I read the obituary that that she was very involved in the family center
back in the 90s. And so the two things came together. And I thought to myself, it just feels
right. And so this is actually an event dedicated in her memory as well for the years that she
spent supporting that as a nurse practitioner. So she understood even the medical and biological
impact that violence and abuse has on a person.
I think that this area, and in particular, the churches in this area do such a beautiful job
of bringing attention to somebody like that or a cause like this, while also combining the
community to have a good time, get out, enjoy, have some fellowship, some of these things.
It's a great to see, great to hear. And it's one of those things we can never have enough of.
I appreciate as well. You bring up the cuts. This is something that I talk to our politicians about.
I've talked to many behind the scenes on air about and have not gotten any real good answers
of why this happened, especially with the note that you just had there about the rise of this
in 2022. And we're still dealing with a tail end stuff from the pandemic when it comes to this
and everything. So even as a layman looking at the numbers and all of this, it doesn't make any
sense. It says something that the politicians represent us as a community, us as constituents.
And here we are, where one of those constituents, one of those organizations, one of those churches,
sees this and is doing something about it when we have so many others that aren't. I cannot
tell you how much we appreciate that. We appreciate not only you taking the initiative of that,
your congregation taking the initiative of this and going forward with it. I'm going to be
I'm not a church person. I was raised in a multi-faith family and was raised with many different
things. But one of the things that I grew up loving was my Nana was just such a advocate about her
religion, her faith. It meant so much to her. And with her as our matriarch, her as somebody who
really I looked up to and was influenced by, I've always grown to have kind of almost a second
perspective, a third perspective of churches and communities. And greatly appreciate the work
that gets put in, certainly by you all, but other churches in this area. And if I can say this,
and I may not word this properly, Sir, I apologize, but the fact that you guys don't flinch,
you guys, you see something and you're going to do something about it if you can. And I just
don't think we give churches nearly enough credit when it comes to that. Something like this is
not something that we expected from you, but you do because you see a need and you, you, you,
you do something about it. In this day and age, especially, we need that. And it's greatly
appreciated. So I may be overrambling. I may be saying thank you too much, but I, I'm not going
to apologize for it because we want to make sure you leave here knowing we appreciate this event,
appreciate you guys doing things like this. Yes. And actually, I like to do a shout out to
the parishioners of St. Louis Catholic Church who had the vision to start the family center in
in 1983. One of the things that I think pulls churches like ours to a ministry like the family
center because they both are reacting in the moment to people in need, when they're in need,
but they're also, they seek proactive ways to strike at the root causes. And even if that means
the heavy work of, of affecting a culture of, of sexual and physical violence and their vision is
to see a community that helps people live free of domestic violence and assault. And I think that's
what's great is that it's both their reaction to people in need in the moment. But also the let's,
let's see why what's causing this as that famous phrase is let's stop pulling people out of the
water or out of the river and go upstream to see why they're falling in. And I, and that's I think
that the family center is one that tries to do both pull people out of the water and then to go
upstream to see why they're falling in. So that's why that's why I think churches like ours and
many churches in the area are attracted to a ministry like this that tries to do that.
Very well said. Let's dive into the event, the community trivia night to benefit the family
center coming up Tuesday, August 20th. Can you tell us a little bit about the event?
Yeah, so it's, it is being hosted by my congregation, which is Port Edwards United Methodist
Church. And that is the church located at 411 Wisconsin River Drive in Port Edwards. And
it is the sandstone church that's on the corner of the highway, just where they reconfigured that
intersection there in Port Edwards. And this is going to be this coming Tuesday, August 20th.
It's going to be a really fun event we encourage you to make plans to attend. And what is
required if people want to attend? So while our congregation seeks to be accessible to all people
and to provide events and programs that are no cost to community members, but the nature of this
being a fundraiser means that there is going to be a fee. But everything that we collect that
evening, 100% of it will go to the family center. It is not a fundraiser for ourselves, it's for
them. So to participate in the trivia portion, it's $15 per adult, $5 per minor, and that's ages
eight to 17 and those under seven get in free. There's also a dinner option. And it's being provided
by El Café, that's the new restaurant in Port Edwards, which is doing the catering that evening.
The meal cost also goes as proceeds to benefit the family center. And we're setting that at a cost
of $15 per plate, which the owner Fidel Perez also says is actually cheaper than their normal
specials. So in some ways, $15 as a flat fee without tax is equivalent to what they would have
on any given day at the restaurant. There is a choice of chicken alfredo and spaghetti with meatballs
with all the fixings that go with it. The dinner portion will begin at 5.30 in the last for 90 minutes
until we reach seven and then we'll have our trivia portion. So for those not having dinner,
they can just show up at seven. And once we get started, I think trivia will be in around 8 o'clock
maybe a little bit afterwards. And I do have had, I've had several people interested in just the
dinner. And so, you know, it is possible to do both or just the dinner or just the trivia.
And there's just multiple ways that you can help us raise funds for this ministry.
And as an additional fundraiser, the ladies of the church are preparing a boat load of baked goods.
And I just have to tell you a funny thing is I created a sign-up sheet with just like eight spots.
Just fill up these eight spots that should be enough. And they filled up the eight spots in one day.
And then they started writing their names in the margins and like stuffing them in lines or to use.
And I just thought it was so funny. It's like when you ask the ladies to do something like this,
they really show up and just blow that out of the water. It was just really great.
And that is another way that we are helping to fundraise as well through those baked goods.
I have said this many times on the air, I will stand on this hill. There are not
but any better baked goods than church baked goods. They are the greatest you're going to come across.
I apologize to my mom, but they are just the best you're going to find. And that's
surprising to hear those ladies stepping up like that. A big thank you to them for it.
Yeah. And my doctor has been noticing that as well as how good they are and telling me to
counteract that was the more I was. Is the space accessible, sir?
Yes, it is located in our fellowship hall. And that is accessible by our brand new Otis
elevator that we just put in a handful of months ago. So we are we're really excited to be able to
to have this space fully accessible to everybody who wants to be there.
We covered the food part of this. And I do want to send a big shout out to our friends Fidel
and everybody the gang over at L Cafe. They sponsor our birthday and anniversary club.
Great friends of ours here at WFHR and amazing food. Just the only thing more amazing than their
food is the people there. Absolutely. Go ahead and check that out at L Cafe. They got a great
Friday fish fry for everybody as well. And they're going to have some great food for you at this
event. Talking about the trivia portion of this, how does the trivia part work?
Yes. And you know, I wanted to explain that a little bit. In some places, trivia nights are very
common as fun razors. But in other places, we associate trivia night as, oh, don't the bars and
pubs do that. And so it might be a common understanding of what it is. But I just wanted to
kind of clarify, what does it look like when a church hosts it? There'll be 10 categories of
10 questions each. It's a variety of categories. There won't necessarily be religious or Bible facts.
The questions, if I do them right, are various degrees of difficulty. So this is really
something for the whole family, for all the ages. I mean, youth and adults would be able to
contribute to the answers. We will compete in groups of four people to six people. And a group
could be a family. They could represent it a business or an organization. Or if you sign up
individually, we'll place you in a group with others. So you can sign up as a group or just by
yourself. There's also chances to purchase a mulligan. And a mulligan on trivia night
saves you from missing a point, even if you get an answer wrong. And so mulligans will be $2 each
or you can bring in some canned goods or some non-perishable foods as payment for those. And remember
that they do have food pantry needs as well. Two cans or two boxes for each mulligan. And so just
keep in mind that the food pantries need at this time. A great opportunity to not only help
out our local food pantry, help out our family center, but also give people a little grace, if you will.
The mulligan thing is a great idea. I should already give you four bucks right now,
just to be covered that because I'm definitely one of those people that would need the mulligans.
Can I say too, there is a uniqueness to this event. You're so right about this where we think of
trivia nights, we think of bars and some of those things oftentimes. But we don't have a lot of
things where families can do a trivia night together. And the idea, just picturing this in my own
head of families and father and son or daughter and father or any of these kind of combinations
working on answers together. And oh, I think I got it. And all the little moments that can happen
from that and families being able to bond together on these kind of events is really just as
noteworthy as some of the other things we've talked about. So that's a really cool idea.
I like that. Do you need to register or prepay for this? That is a yes and a no.
We are asking that everyone pre-register for this event. So if you do see one of our posters
around, you'll notice that the deadline is actually today. But since you are hearing this segment
Friday evening, I will be extending the deadline to tomorrow morning, which is Saturday the 17th
at noon. And the reason for the pre-registration is mostly to let El Caffe know how much food to
prepare and how we can prepare the space as well. Our website currently does not have the
capability yet to receive payments to the forms. So you are registering beforehand, but to be
reminded that all the fees and costs that will be collected at the door of the event.
Are there prizes? Yes, there are prizes. There will be $150 worth of prizes, and that's a
combination of cash and gift cards, and the winning team can choose their prize. And is their child
care provided? Yes, there is for any child seven years of age and below. And that's not to say
that every child seven years or younger cannot participate in the event, but that's just an option
and you'll just need to indicate that on the form. So we know how to prepare and to care for
your child. We know how busy you are. We don't want to keep you too long, sir. Do appreciate the
time. Just one final question. What is asked on the online form and what information does someone
emailing or calling need to give? Yes, we're just asking for each participant's names. First
names at the very least, the number in your party, if you're acting as a group, just a contact
information so we can confirm and then follow up with a thank you. You can choose your group name
if you're asking if you're acting as your own group or whether you are representing a
business or organization, there's a question about the meal and that just helps us with numbers.
You're not reserving a plate. You're just helping us with those and about child care as well.
And so if you see one of our posters, you'll see the QR code or you can just call the church
office which is 715-887-3011-887-3011 or you can email us at office at peumc.org and so that's
Port Edward United Methodist Church. That's our acronym peumc.org or you can just go directly
to our online form if you just want to type it in. It's peumc.org slash trivia.
And I typed into my search bar the Port Edward United Methodist Church and that popped up
right away so listeners know that as well. It's one of the, it's the first thing that pops up
on your search list so go for it and find out more of that way as well. And Caleb, you had some
last notes you wanted to wrap up with. Yeah, I just wanted to share some more information about the
family center and what they provide just so everybody is aware and then you maybe hear it framed
from another person but I'm so glad that there's so many advocates of the family center
in this community. They are a self-safe shelter providing shelter 24 hours a day, seven days a
week for people and their families who are in crisis as a result of domestic violence. The shelter
is a home-like environment and a secure building. Even the parking is secure and discrete as well.
It helps family members regain a sense of strength and control. They are also an advocacy
service and these services are available to men, women and children who are dealing with
current and or past abuse of experiences. They are an inclusive organization offering services
to the LGBTQ plus clients which I would like to add so is our congregation at Port Edward
United Methodist Church as well. They also include clients with limited English language skills
and they provide some criminal justice legal and personal advocacy services during divorce
or custody proceedings and in criminal cases related to domestic violence. Lastly, they do provide
some self-help and support groups to build self-esteem and coping skills and to offer an opportunity
to speak with others who have had similar experiences to men and women who are in need of that.
Great. I appreciate the time today, sir. I appreciate hanging out with you and getting to know
you a little bit better and what you're doing with this event. Thank you so much for the time.
Don't be a stranger. You're going to come back sometime. Absolutely. I'm a pastor. I can always
fill up 23 minutes. It is a weekly description in my job. Right up. Find out more at p-e-u-m-c-dot-org-p-e-u-m-c-dot-org and
be sure to follow the Port Edward United Methodist Church on social media and share what they are doing
over there. You just never know who might see it on your page that wouldn't otherwise. Reverend Caleb,
thank you again for the time, sir. Absolutely. Thank you so much.
Well, a more midday magazine for you next week. We want to send a special shout out to our own
friend, our good friend. The heart of this station, Pam Hilke, and the amazing scheduling she does
week in and week out. Have a great weekend. Everybody, we'll talk to you soon
and later right here at WFHR.
