 Funding for Ministry
by Rev. Tisha Brown
Securing funding for a new or existing ministry of community outreach or engagement can be a challenge. This issue of The Parish Paper provides ideas for how to raise money for your community projects. In addition, here in the Wisconsin Conference, the Catalyst team stands ready to offer support. We are ready to receive your request for funding and to walk with you as you respond to the Spirit's call to your congregation.
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"Sacred Conversations" Workshop with Rev. Velda Love
September 22, 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Plymouth UCC, Milwaukee
The Rev. Dr. Velda Love, UCC Minister for Racial Justice, will hold an afternoon workshop titled "For God So Loved the World . . ." at Plymouth UCC in Milwaukee on September 22. This engaging and interactive workshop is an opportunity to join together with people of faith in "sacred conversations to end racism."
Sacred Conversations allows the Spirit of God to journey with people of faith as they listen to one another's experiences about the ways racism has impacted and harmed humanity in general, but communities of color in particular. Sacred conversations involve making a prayerful decision to become advocates and restorative justice practitioners in order to reclaim the Christian Church and society through God's love.
Workshop participants will:
- Explore practical ways to have "sacred conversation to end racism"
- Engage with biblical texts regarding equitable treatment of all God's people
- Learn about the mythological construction of race and the reality of racism in America
- Participate in role play, active listening and response techniques, and learn how to invite others to be on the journey to engage with and end racism
- Develop strategies to move from conversations to advocacy and activism
The event is being hosted by Plymouth UCC and the Wisconsin Conference UCC Racial Justice Task Force. Cost is $10. Click here to register
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but the spirit of power, of courage and resolution, to meet difficulties and dangers; the spirit of love which will carry us through opposition.
2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)
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 General Synod Update
The co-chairs for the Wisconsin Conference's Local Arrangements Committee (LAC) for General Synod want to keep you updated as we work towards hosting General Synod in 2019! The LAC's task is to provide local assistance to the National UCC's General Synod organizing team.
Read on to learn about the planning progress and the areas for which volunteers will be needed.
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Faith in Numbers Event
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
9:00am - 4:00pm
Blackhawk Church, Middleton
Stay informed of how accounting and other financial related issues affect your church by attending this workshop hosted by Wegner CPAs. Join them for a full day of education guiding churches and religious organizations on a path to financial accountability. Cost: $35 if registered by August 31; $50 thereafter.
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UCC Offers Justice- and Disaster-related Grants
Three grant opportunities are currently available!
Grants of up to $1,000 are available to support ministries dedicated to assisting Central Americans seeking asylum are available through the Keep Families Together initiative.
Neighbors in Need Grants of $1,000 to $10,000 are available in the areas of the Rights and Freedoms of All Persons, Environmental Justice, and Economic Justice. Congregations can also support these grants by participating in the Neighbors in Need offering on October 7.
More information
UCC Disaster Ministries is offering matching grants for congregations to create Emergency Cleanup Buckets for hurricane and other disaster survivors!
Emergency kits are warehoused by Church World Service, ready to be shipped at a moment's notice when the need arises. "For families that have lost everything, CWS Emergency Cleanup Buckets and other CWS Kits are more than just relief supplies, they are an expression of love and symbol of hope for the future," said Zach Wolgemuth, UCC Disaster Ministries executive. "
More information
Grant application
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 Youth Events 2018-2019
Mark your calendars for these upcoming youth events!
Youth Faith Formation Retreats at Pilgrim Center
Join us for a confirmation-centered retreat. We will explore what it means to be the church and how that commitment continues to evolve. $50 association scholarships are available.
More information. This year's dates are:
- November 9-11, 2018
- February 22-24, 2019
- March 1-3, 2019
Knock Knock Middle School Retreat
Knock Knock will be held November 16-18, 2018 at Pilgrim Center. Come to Knock Knock with your youth group. Bring all the interested middle schoolers in your church, plus one adult leader for every five kids. The leaders go through teh workshops with the youth. Your group will feel the impact for a long time!
Jesus Core Retreat
Jesus Core will be held January 11-13, 2019 at Pilgrim Center. Experience faith in community, meaningful worship and great music. Rest from the stress of school, listen to God's word, connect with yourself and others, and find satisfaction in silence and in fun activities. Jesus Core is for Youth grades 9-12 and young adults through age 22.
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GLAUCE Conference
October 9-11, 2018
Techny Towers, Northbrook, Illinois
GLAUCE (The Great Lakes Association of United Church Educators) Conference is just around the corner...don't miss out!
GLAUCE is an excellent opportunity for clergy and lay leaders who are invested in faith formation to network and be resourced. This year's theme is Standing Together: A Sacred Conversation on Race. Our keynote speaker will be the Rev. Traci Blackmon, Executive Minister for Justice and Local Church Ministries for the United Church of Christ. The event will also be a great opportunity to connect with people from around the Great Lakes Region of the United Church of Christ.
This year's event is October 9-11 at Techny Towers, just north of Chicago in Northbrook.
If you have questions, please contact Becky Johnston.
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 Interim Ministry Training Institute
October 2018 through May 2019 in Baraboo
Attention Pastors!
Change is a fact of life in our world, and our churches are facing transitions of many kinds. Is God calling you to help churches manage these transitions?
The Interim Ministry Training Institute is will provide the tools and techniques needed for addressing transitions. Whether you are interested in Interim or Transitional work as a special ministry or want to work within your settled position, this program is designed for you as a working pastor. The class is limited in size to encourage interaction and each of the sessions has advance readings, lecture style presentations, discussion, case studies, and an assignment intended to integrate the day's learning. Most participants find something that they can apply after each monthly session. The class is planned for the 2nd Thursday of each month from October through May in Baraboo. We meet from 9:30 until 3:30 and lunch and breaks are included.
Contact Rev. Marlea Gilbert, Ph.D. at Streams of Wisdom LLC, mgilbert.iim@gmail.com or (608) 514-3290 for more information and an application. Apply by September 17. Class begins October 11, 2018.
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 Our Faith, Our Vote
Your vote is your voice - don't give it up!
The problems in our world often seem too big to confront.
We see injustice every day and feel that change can't or won't happen. But our faith is infused with hope and built on a foundation of action. By serving the vulnerable, feeding the hungry, and standing in solidarity with the oppressed, we serve as God's hands.
Voting is a natural extension of faithful action.
The decisions made by our representatives have a wide reaching impact. We have enormous potential to make positive change. We must engage our legislators, vote, and encourage everyone in our communities to do the same.
Our faithful voice is needed.
It is tempting to disengage from the political process. As people dedicated to creating a just world for all, we know we must be involved.
Join the Our Faith, Our Vote campaign. Discover how your congregation can participate in the electoral process through faithful, nonpartisan engagement. The United Church of Christ can help with resources on civic engagement, voter registration information, issue education, and voter mobilization.
Learn more about how your congregation can legally engage in the elections
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 Fall Clergy Retreat at Moon Beach
September 30-October 2, 2018
Moon Beach Camp
"Worship for Praise, Resistance, and Hope: How Prayer, Song, Sacraments, and the Arts Inspire Us For Challenging Times"
Come prepared to learn and share creative strategies for countering our present day anxieties through engaging themes of peace and justice in our worship.
Designed and led by John Thomas, former UCC General Minister and President and Art Clyde, church musician, composer, and editor of The New Century Hymnal, the three day retreat in this beautiful nature setting will balance times to share joys and concerns, successes and failures; explore some alternative paradigms for worship; do some theological reflection; and equally important-enjoy time to relax, rest, play, eat, and sing.
The retreat is hosted by United Church Camps, Inc. and the Northeast and Northwest Associations of the Wisconsin Conference UCC! New and Retired Clergy of the Northeast and Northwest Associations are invited to attend as guests of their Association. All Wisconsin Conference clergy, regardless of association, are welcome to attend.
Register here
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Compassion Fatigue: Healing the Wounded Healer
October 5, 2018, 9:00am - 3:00pm
Cedar Valley near West Bend
Sometimes called secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue is prevalent among those serving the needs of others. Compassion fatigue is particularly common among highly sensitive persons, a significant percentage of caregivers. This retreat will focus on the wounded healer's self-care and protection: early warning signs and strategies for sustaining a healthy mind and spirit.
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Boundary Training
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
First Congregational UCC, Oconomowoc
9:30am - 2:30pm
We ask that all authorized ministers - members in discernment, active pastors, chaplains, licensed and commissioned ministers, retired ministers still performing ministerial functions - attend a boundary training session every four years to stay current on the latest thinking and laws that affect our work as faith leaders in our denomination.
More information and registration
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Conference Transitions
Searching Churches
To see all searching churches, click here.
Anniversaries
- Union Congregational UCC in Three Lakes marked their 100th Anniversary on August 12, 2018.
In Memoriam
- Rev. Dallas E. Roland passed away on July 26, 2018. Obituary
- Margery L. Grossen passed away on August 3, 2018. Obituary
Thanks
- Alan Ferguson, member at Zwingli UCC in Mt. Vernon, recently spent time at the conference office to install new outdoor lighting. Thank you, Alan!
The Conference Transitions feature appears monthly in the Wisconsin Conference Life. Please share your transition information, including church anniversaries, with the newsletter editor by emailing Nola.
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Wisconsin Conference United Church of Christ
4459 Gray Road | DeForest, WI 53532
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At our Annual meeting in June, a motion passed to study the issue of the repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery and to vote on a witness resolution at our 2019 annual meeting. Click on the link above to access study resources for this important issue.
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Church Spotlight
This Northwest Association church is led by pastor Lois Buchholz, who just started as their pastor this month. The church also just past a milestone: their 140th anniversary was in July 2018.
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Is your church considering an Open and Affirming Process? The Wisconsin Conference has a committee to help! Please feel free to use us as resources for your discussions and preparations. Contact
Laura McLeod of the Wisconsin Conference UCC Committee on Ministry with LGBTQ Persons.
Also: check out the
Facebook page for ONA churches!
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Got News?
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Let us know! If you have something you'd like considered for publication in
Wisconsin Conference Life, email
Nola at the Wisconsin Conference.
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