high school students are welcome! - St. Matthias Episcopal Church

Florence Melster: a leader in volunteering
There is a popular book about women and spirituality
that is being discussed by book clubs everywhere. “Being a
Mary in a Martha World” is about nurturing our spiritual
side in a world that makes many demands on us. St. Matthias
ECW will be sponsoring a retreat based on this book
at the DeKoven Center in February. One of our valued
members at St. Matthias exemplifies being both a Martha
AND a Mary in our troubled modern world. She balances
her deep spirituality with a deep commitment to making
her world a better place. That member is Florence Melster.
One of Florence’s better-known traits is her modesty.
She does not talk about herself freely. But St. Matthias
should be aware that Florence (along with her daughter
Cathy Bellovary) recently received the Volunteer Center of
Waukesha County Community Leaders Award for many
years of commitment and devotion to volunteering. For
Florence, those years began during World War II and have
not slackened off since.
Her children have been the catalyst for some of her
activities: she spent many years on PTA and school committees
and she and husband John were among the first
grandparents to join the Waukesha West Boosters Club.
The Melsters still spend many hours supporting their
grandchildren in their activities.
Florence has also been an active member of the Waukesha
Service Club and worked in the Thrift Shop and
Hospital Gift Shop. She was president back in the 1980s
and involved for years in organizing the Charity Ball which
is the major fundraiser. She remains a very active member
of the Senior League of the Service Club. She also volunteers
at the Food Pantry, was a long-time board member of
the Visiting Nurses Association, helped establish the Rolland
Nelson Hospice, and served on the first board for the
Caring Place, an adult day care center in our community.
She was president and still continues to volunteer and support
it. She and John have been stalwart supporters of the
Waukesha Public Library (in fact, John was honored by the
The Messenger
Friends of the Public
Library for his many
years of service there.)
The list could go on
and on and on. For the
sake of brevity, let’s just
mention the Board of
Family Service, The
YWCA, the United Way
(she received the first
United Way Bev Sisson
award six years ago for a
senior making a difference in her community), the Waukesha
County Department of Senior Services, the Red Cross.
Ten years ago the Waukesha Freeman named Florence and
her daughter, Cathy, among the seven most influential
women in the county.
Needless to say, Florence has been an invaluable member
of St. Matthias, attending since 1952. There is no area
in this church in which Florence has not served. She and
John plant and maintain the little garden adjacent to the
sanctuary. Church members can look out of the library
window and see a little of the impact that the Melsters have
had on our church community.
Florence continues to be an inspiration in her joyful
and passionate approach to living. She swims every morning
at 6:00. She is a faithful and lively participant in the
Thursday Bible Study. She belongs to book clubs, being a
charter member of an intergenerational discussion group at
Waukesha West High School. She is informed, outspoken
and generous. As her daughter Cathy puts it, “She is an
amazing woman who has a passion for life and makes
every day count. Life is a gift.” We have to agree with
Cathy and thank Florence for all of the gifts that she has
brought to Waukesha County and to the St. Matthias community.
Jonie Varner
Congratulations to Cheri!
The “All Episcopal Church Women” board wanted to help celebrate Cheri
Schulz’ summer wedding with her. We wanted her to know how appreciated and
cared about she was by all of us at St. Matthias. Her generosity to the Humane
Society and her love for her animals led us to a gift that supported this. We enrolled
her as a member of HAWS and gave a little basket of toys to her cats. This
is a gift from all women in the parish. Please congratulate Cheri Schulz Krofta on
her new marriage.
PAGE 9