Northwest Word August 2020 |
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This year more than ever….Neighbors in Need
In 2020, more than ever, your contributions to the Neighbors in Need offering are needed. Our country is experiencing unprecedented needs in this time of the Covid-19 crisis. “I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me - you did it to me.” Matthew 25:40 (The Message). The theme of the 2020 campaign is: “All Children have the right to simply be children”.
The Neighbors in Need Offering supports ministries of justice and compassion throughout the United States. On average, this vital offering annually collects around one million dollars. At present, nearly 100% of monies raised is used to fund mission programs and projects.
One-third of the offering supports the UCC’s Council for American Indian Ministries (CAIM). CAIM is the voice for American Indian people in the UCC with 20 UCC congregations on reservations and one urban multi-tribal UCC congregation in Minneapolis, Minnesota. These churches, as well as more than 1,000 individuals from dozens of other tribes and nations who are members of other UCC congregations, are supported to strengthen their participation in the life of the church.
Two-thirds of the offering is used by the UCC’s Justice and Witness Ministries to fund a wide array of local and national justice initiatives, advocacy efforts, and direct service projects. In 2019, there were four grant recipients in the Wisconsin Conference. They included; the Finley Foundation,Inc for construction ASAP Pre-Apprenticeship Program, Lake Edge UCC for Invest in People, Union Congregational Church UCC for On the Mark Dyslexia Clinic, and the Alliance for Justice organization.
The Alliance for Justice is a newly formed corporation conceived by the Ho-Chunk UCC congregation in Black River Falls. The purpose of this organization is to respond to the need for education and action regarding the continuing impacts of the Doctrine of Discovery on the health and well being of indigenous people, African Americans, Asian, Latino and all others who have been negatively affected by this Doctrine.
Due to the prolonged impact of Covid-19 and the fact that many of our churches and conferences are experiencing increased economic challenges, there are some differences with NIN grants this year. The Covid-19 relief microgrants program has been established to provide financial assistance to local church ministries in crisis by repurposing and redirecting established grant funding for one year. Funds are intended to be used only for issues directly related to the impact of the coronovirus.
Neighbors in Need helps make a Just World For All possible. The suggested date to receive the offering is October 4, 2020. The Northwest Association’s Division of the Mission of the Church in the World, encourages you to give generously.
Prepared by Sue McBride
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CREATION CARE GRANTS 2020 |
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The Conference Creation Care Team, in response to the Kairos Call to Action, is making grants up to $1000 available to Wisconsin Conference UCC Congregations that are planning initiatives to deepen their love of creation and positively change their relationship with the environment.
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To the NW Association WI Conference Congregations:
Dear Siblings in Christ, We, the WI Conference UCC North West Association Executive Board members are sending to you, the 60 NWA churches, “care” packages. With it, we are sending hopes… that it will brighten your day and provide some extra masks and useful resources; we are sending prayers… for your safety and good health. We are in this together! God is continuing to bless us!
~Mary Jo Laabs, Chr. NWA Div. of Ministry in the Local Church
Earlier this month care packages were sent out to the churches in the NWA. The following prayers and resources were included.
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~Dear God, please comfort, shelter, and heal us during this time of trouble. May the brilliance of your love pierce the wall that has shut down familiar routines so that in the bright light of that love, we may pick out new ways to amplify our love for each other. May your love, O God, be so bright that, even on the darkest day, it picks out row upon row of people from the community, NW Association and Wisconsin Conference that care about this church and what happens to everyone in it, not just in word but in deed. That’s what the contents of this box mean. Through Jesus Christ. Amen.
~Rev. Elizabeth Hazel, WI Conference Board of Directors & Chr. NWA Div. of Ministry in the World
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~Dear Friends in Christ,
This COVID 19 Care Package comes to each Northwest Association congregation as a sign of our covenant unity in Christ and in the mission of Christ’s church. Each congregation brings gifts to the whole church. Each gift is required for the church to be whole and to reveal the reconciling presence of the Holy One in this world. May this gift to you stand as a symbol of God’s healing presence among us during this perilous time. May this gift support your care each for the other and for the community around you. By God’s grace may you be reminded in some way each day that nothing “in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Anchored in this promise together may we live in hope. Blessings, ~Rev Mark Pirazzini, WI Conference Board of Directors
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~Greetings to all the dear church folks in the NW Association of the Wisconsin UCC!
As members and staff of your local congregation, you all are walking through difficult and uncertain times both in your personal lives as well as the life of your church.
Jesus promised to walk with us during difficult times. I, as a member of the NW Association Executive Board, want you to know that your Exec Board makes the same promise. We care about you and want you to know we are here to walk with you during this difficult time and help you as best we can. (We can offer support for your pastor/church in a variety of ways: conversation, a list of resources available online, even the possibility of financial support.)
May you be filled with courage, hope, and strength as you walk into the days ahead. Blessings!
~Rev. Christine Stack, NWA Member at Large
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~As we continue our CoVid - 19 journey without a road map, I am reminded of the text from Romans 12:4-5: 4 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.
Our continued reality reminds us how important our Body of Christ connections are. We as your NWA Executive Board, want you to know that we are here for you and any services and/or help you may need. We are the church - Covid19 will not change that nor our care for you - our beloved congregations of the NW. Blessings,
~Teri Hanson - NWA Moderator
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We have been taught to look with new eyes, to hear with new ears the message of Christ so that we may share it, by living it. Thank you for leading the way, even when you yourself feel lost. You are not alone, may you feel sustained and encouraged by the Holy Spirit and the prayers of the Northwest Executive Committee.
~Patti Steevens, Member at Large
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Gracious Peace-Maker, thank you for the life you have given me. I desire to be filled with your serenity. Clothe me in your calm presence. Be the stronghold of my heart. Help me to accept the irreversible and to change what is possible. May your peace grow ever stronger in me.
~Susan Vornholt, NWA Vice-Moderator
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Blessing for a Face Mask
God of health and wholeness, of neighbor love and kindness, bless this mask, my slight shield against great ills:
bless the fabric that repels the drops, the ties that go behind my ears, the wire that fits snug against my nose, the folds that cup my chin.
Make me grateful for my mask even when it makes me hot, even when I look funny in it, even when I’m dying to take it off.
Bless me also, and everyone who for their own and other’s sakes put on this holy inconvenience every day, our minds made up to love.”
~Recommended by Rev. Rob MacDougall, WI Conference Associate Minister for the NWA
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Philippians 4:6 has guided me through many worrisome journeys. The verse recognizes human anxiety, divine providence, and the power of thankfulness. As we continue to journey this troubled world, I pray in gratitude for the amazing love of our God that we will soon know God's calming peace and healing of our world. I keep our NWA congregations close in prayer - especially during this difficult year. - Carrie Fisher, NWA Treasurer
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Merciful God of grace and surprise, may your spirit of love that gathers us together be upon the pastors and leaders of all our congregations in the Northwest Association to keep them in community and maintain their relationships in this time of separation. Give all leaders of your churches an extra measure of your spirit of faithfulness to open our hearts to be willing to see and accept the new ways of being your church that your Holy Spirit is offering to us in this time. Even as we lament what has been lost let us be receptive to the newness you call us to. Amen. ~Rev. David Huber, NWA Secretary
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A Prayer: During this pandemic time--may you find hope and encouragement from the words of Scriptures may you find nourishment and strength through your prayer and devotional life,
may you find time for rest and sabbath to sustain your own spirit and refill your well.
Blessings upon you and all that you do to give words of hope to the people of your community.
In the name of God made known to us through Creator, Christ, and Eternal Spirit.
~Rev. Lisa Bodenheim, Member at Large
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~A Note from the Division on Church and Ministry
On behalf of the Northwest Association Division on Church and Ministry I give thanks for the faithful work and worship of our churches during this difficult time. I know that our pastors and congregations have found many creative ways to be together while being apart. And, you have worked hard to maintain your outreach ministries when it would have been so easy to pull back.
It has become apparent recently that this prolonged pandemic has caused some of our neighbors to become frustrated and to let down their guard. But we on the DCM encourage all of our churches to continue to employ safe practices as long as necessary to protect our members and to be responsible examples in our communities.
Your Division on Church and Ministry continues to meet and do its work via Zoom. And we do remember all of you in our prayers. If there are other ways in which we can support you, please be in touch.
~United in Christ, Rev. Don Baumann, Chr. of the NWA Div. of Church and Ministry
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Just a smile and a hug to let you know that we love you and we care about you 🥰. Stay well, stay safe, and carry our blessings with you
~Ann Larrabee, WI Conference Board of Directors
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COVID 19 Resources from Wisconsin Council of Churches |
Given the accelerated spread of COVID-19 in Wisconsin, lack of a coordinated statewide response, and requests from churches around the state for updated information, Wisconsin Council of Churches staff has prepared a critical midyear Returning to Church update. We’ve been gathering a great deal of information to inform these latest recommendations.
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PULPIT SUPPLY
The pulpit supply list has been updated. You can find it on the Northwest Association Webpage.
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Wisconsin Conference Newsletter
August 12, 2020
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RACIAL JUSTICE RESOURCES
A Conference-wide Racial Justice Task Force gathers resources and encourages congregations to engage in conversations around race. If you and your congregation are interested in participating in this group, you are welcome.
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Who are the Hmong and Why their Fear of Deportation?
By Cindy Halfen
President Trump’s efforts to deport some Hmong are stalled because Lao government is unwilling to receive deportees [1]
Wisconsin has the third largest population of Hmong people with 49,000. However a majority of us don’t know much about Hmong history or why a threat to deport certain Hmong to Laos calls up very real fears that such an act would be a death sentence to those deported. During the Vietnam War, Hmong in Laos aided and partnered with US forces against Southeast Asian Communists. In 1975, the North Vietnamese army and Pathet Lao captured Royal Lao positions and South Vietnam fell to Communist North Vietnam. The 1973 peace treaty required all US and foreign powers to withdraw. Their protection gone, Pathet Lao aggressively captured and killed Hmong solders and families of those that helped us. Many fled to Thailand. Hmong interviewees for Wisconsin Public Radio tell stories of families and their children being hunted down and having to move every three months from one refugee camp to another. Churches were instrumental to bringing Hmong refugees to the United States in the late 1970’s. . If the threat to deport second generation Hmong to a country foreign to them is revived again, would we be ready to stand behind them?
It’s a very complicated story. I can tell my story about my personal experiences with Hmong, but you will have to use the links at the end of this article in order to learn more about their history and culture. I hope my experiences give you a taste of what it was like to get to know these hard working, friendly, loving people who laugh often.
Working as a RN for 43 years, I witnessed the arrival and evolution of a culture. Hmong refugees started arriving in the United States after the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975; the end of America's war in Vietnam. [2] [3]
By the time I retired in 2016 I was working with staff and patients who were second generation Hmong. I might have been present at their births in the 1980’s and ’90’s when I worked in Labor and Delivery. [4]
In the early 1980’s I worked on the maternity unit at an Eau Claire hospital. Houa Vue Moua, one of the early refugees, acted as translator for patients and staff and explained the many customs/ beliefs related to labor, birth, infants and children. “Trail Through the Mists” Ais Houa’s life story, beginning as a child in Laos, until she and her family escaped to Thailand in 1975. [5]
Decades later, the early 2000’s, I was a diabetes educator in Eau Claire. Hmong medical interpreters helped me and patients understand concepts and cultures that were foreign to both of us. I could see their good-nature come through despite the difficulties. “Pancreas” is not in the Hmong language and chronic disease is not a concept either, which made diabetes education challenging and interesting. Shamans and traditional medicine work towards curing the ailment in the Hmong culture. As I tried to explain that we didn’t have a cure for diabetes, one woman asked “why not”? My reply was “because we’re not smart enough yet” and she said “why don’t you find it”. You can imagine the lengthy discussions of the already complex concepts regarding type 2 diabetes. The interpreter and patient would speak back and forth; sometimes laughing as I sat there not knowing what was being said. That made diabetes education fun as well as interesting.
In 2002 l attended a conference in Wausau, sponsored by North Central AHEC (Area Health Education Center).[6] Houa Moua as the sole presenter at the daylong session. Houa recommended “Healing by Heart: Clinical and Ethical Case Stories of Hmong Families and Western Providers” so I bought it. When I retired in 2016 I gave this book to a young second generation Hmong woman who I worked with at the end of my career. I asked her about the shamans, the culture of Hmong before they became refugees. She replied “I don’t know about that, we’re Christian”. When I became a RN I never imagined I’d see a culture change in less than 40 years. It was an amazing experience.
[1] Opinion, Star Tribune, March 1, 2020 Counterpoint from U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum: Deportation of Hmong, Lao refugees is cruel
[2] https://www.mnhs.org/hmong/hmong-timeline 1963-1975: The Vietnam War and the U.S. Secret Army in Laos, 1975: Hmong Refugees Move to Thailand1976 to Present Time: Hmong refugees move to the U.S., France, Australia, French Guyana, and Canada
[3] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/1975-cbs-news-footage-shows-the-dramatic-evacuation-of-saigon/
[4] I recommend this book as a start: Hmong in America, Journey From A Secret War by Tim Pfaff
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Interested in writing an article for the Northwest Word? We'd be happy to include a story on what your church is doing. Email to northwword@gmail.com and for backup, wendy.dittmann@gmail.com. |
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